Best of NFL News Part 2: Ernest Jones IV Wants the SMOKE, Maxx Crosby's convo with Tom Brady

19:24Shannon Sharpe:So they're going to want two, three first-round picks. And he's really the draw. He's really the draw. And it's rare that you have a defensive player that's the draw. But currently, because they're kind of devoid of offensive players, he's the draw. He is. He's the best defensive player in football. And I don't think the Browns will trade him. I don't.

19:54Ernest Jones IV:You never know. It's a funny business, huh? Crazier things have happened.

20:04Shannon Sharpe:I believe they're going to trade him if they traded him last year.

20:10Shannon Sharpe:Trade him after he won the second defensive player of the year and he won it unanimous after breaking the sack record. That would be strange. I mean,

20:21Ernest Jones IV:well, you only won four games with everything you just said. Are you trying to win or not?

20:31Shannon Sharpe:I believe they're trying to win, don't you? I do.

20:38Shannon Sharpe:But I just don't believe they're going to trade. I don't believe they're going to trade Miles Garrett in order to help to speed that process up. But I've always felt this, considering the way George Pickens was playing, that there was a great chance that they were going to probably franchise and try to get something done long term. He's going to want big money. He's going to want more north of CD. Because CD signed up the years two years ago. Yes. And in order for you to keep elevating the salaries, Ocho, I can't, well, CD's the number one. I get it. I'm happy for CD. But I'm just basing on what I did last year.

21:16Shannon Sharpe:And my numbers exceeded his.

21:21Shannon Sharpe:And I think Pink is younger than CD. yeah yeah he gonna want he gonna he gonna want he gonna want north of he gonna want north of that he gonna want 37 38 million dollars Ocho to stay yeah I mean I don't anyway I don't show

21:37Ernest Jones IV:he worth it he's earned it yeah I I speak for the player in general I'm not I'm not I speak for the player in general and in in wanting him to get all he can that that's all and a lot of people you know, upset at me, especially Cowboys fans. Oh, he didn't say that when it came to T and Chase. And T, T, T, Higgins and Chase wasn't in a situation like, like pick, you know, he wasn't going from one team to another, you know, he, I think he is in a great situation. Just understanding the game that Jerry, Jerry plays when it comes time to playing players. And I mean, this is a unique, a unique situation though.

22:14Ernest Jones IV:It's a unique situation. I just hope Jerry gets this one right this time, you know, for the sake of that fan base and in the sake of that team, obviously. But there's so many, so many, so many questions that need answered defensively. They do. But you know, Jerry, I love offense.

22:33Shannon Sharpe:The triplets. I mean, he remember Emmitt and Troy and Michael. And, you know, he figured he has that with Javante, Dak, and he has two. And you heard Emmitt was talking about it. You know, Alvin Harper thought he was the number one until he went to another team and was asked to do number one things. It's a little different. But it also says something that I've been saying. Chase was upset at me. I was like, hey, yeah, I'm not saying that he's number one, but number ones don't quit on routes. Number ones don't drift. Yeah.

23:12Shannon Sharpe:It's hard, Ocho, when you've done that a lot in your career. It's hard to break that. people think you just break a habit. Like, people that's been smoking, how many times on your day is like, okay, I'm just going to stop, I ain't smoking no more cigarettes. Or I'm going to stop drinking, I ain't going to drink no more. I'm going to stop. When you develop that habit over a period of time, it's hard to just break it. Because you're like, here we go again. And you start drifting, you start like, oh boy. And it's hard to break. but I ain't got no problem look he's gonna want his money and he doesn't want to play another year I've already proven what I can do now compensate me he's gonna want maximum compensation and I can't say that I disagree with him yeah and it's gonna be look he has a Moologeta as an agent

24:13Ernest Jones IV:I talked to him at the flag game Who pick or move together Okay Just say hello Just introduce myself that's all What the hell you need to introduce yourself for He ain't negotiating

24:29Shannon Sharpe:Your contract

24:31Ernest Jones IV:I just want to introduce myself you know Hey how you doing Dave you know My mocho That's it you know I ain't getting nothing else like that that was it Oh, so when it come out, you have some news to share, huh? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We stuck, we stuck, we didn't even talk football.

24:52Ernest Jones IV:Oh, you didn't think he knew who you was, huh? I do that regardless to everybody, you know, that I don't know. Well, how'd you know who it was? You going up to him, how you didn't know who he was then? My agent that was with me told me, oh, yeah, they were mistaken. You know who that was. Stop it. I'm not supposed to know. I don't play no more. I don't know everybody by face.

25:18Shannon Sharpe:You know David.

25:19Ernest Jones IV:Not a player, yes. People who represent him know.

25:25Ernest Jones IV:Yeah. It was cool. I took a picture with his son.

25:31Shannon Sharpe:A pink look. And people look at it with 28 million. Yeah, 28 million is a nice chunk of change. Yeah, not for it. But I want long-term security. Security, yeah. I want$35,$40 million over five years. I need to get by$85,$90 million at the time of signing. That'll make me very happy.

25:53Ernest Jones IV:Yeah, very.

25:55Shannon Sharpe:That'll make me very happy. Hold on. Let me get my... Well, that's Dave's job. Dave's job is to get maximum value. you've done what you're supposed to do now this offseason no speeding tickets no trouble keep your nose clean and for it should start what second week first week of March because you can have your tampering period and then you have the next week Ocho you have the signing so

26:37Shannon Sharpe:it'll be it's going to be very very interesting to see how this thing shapes up I know he's not going to be pleased if he

26:47Shannon Sharpe:if he gets franchised yeah hey what do you think about what Emi had to say at the Radio Row about Pic like he thought that Pic the perfect place for him the Batman and Robin 1A, 1B, whatever you want to call them he said, and you said well, picks the number one, he said, are we sure? because he had a lot of concerns that I've had and, you know mainly effort I know when he when he get to cooking yeah, oh, he burned he burned white hot

27:27Ernest Jones IV:yeah, listen picks the number one, if you watch football you know what he can do you understand he's one that can elevate the offense when used correctly when put in positions to make the plays you know what he can do on short routes you know what he can do on intermediate routes we know what he can do on deep balls obviously you put him in a situation or on a team that has an adequate quarterback which he didn't have in Pittsburgh you understand what Kipagans is capable of doing you know I understood I understood what Emmett is saying, but he's going to say all the right things in favor of his Cowboys.

28:03Ernest Jones IV:He's going to. But I think the thing is, Ocho, is that you don't get put in position

28:08Shannon Sharpe:to make plays. Chase is not in position to make plays every single play. Sometimes the play is fatigue, and he said that. You say, well, when he's in position, yes. But when you're not in position, you can't take that time off. That's the problem. Far too many times. For your coach to come out and say what he said Thanksgiving when you play Detroit. That's not, we should not have that discussion about a George Pickens.

28:32Ernest Jones IV:So I have, can I ask him? Are we going to keep using that same thing every single time? Did he do it? Are you going to keep doing it every single time? Hold on, are we going to keep weaponizing that one situation? So if there's a problem with that, why want to keep him there? Don't keep him there if it's a problem. Ocho, you said it wasn't going to be a problem.

28:50Shannon Sharpe:That's what you told this entire chat it wasn't going to be a problem. Did he do that? He had multiple issues. Did he have, Ocho, you do realize, Ocho, if you run a file with the law and they say you can have no more slip-ups, if you have a slip-up, what can you say? Well, I only had one. I know I had five previously, but I only had one this time. So you do know the job is not to have a slip-up, right? Yeah.

29:20Ernest Jones IV:I mean, we all have slip-ups. even if we don't want to.

29:25Shannon Sharpe:But I'm saying is that in that situation it was so obvious. You saw him have going through routes and getting plays picked. You watched it. Everybody watched it. It was trending. A guy like George Pickens shouldn't have that. He's too good of a talent. Great. He's too good of a talent to have that. Oh, shit.

29:54Ernest Jones IV:What the hell happened to you? That goddamn coke done went down the wrong pipe. That what you get for yelling?

30:04Shannon Sharpe:Nah, my bad, my bad. Nah, I just think the thing is, look, he's too good of a talent and to have that, we shouldn't coach shouldn't have to talk to him about effort. Not at this juncture of his career. When you were young In Pittsburgh I'm going to leave all that baggage in Pittsburgh Oh Joe Only thing George Piggy should have brought out of Pittsburgh Was himself I'm going to leave everything back in Pittsburgh I don't want no clothes from Pittsburgh I'm going to sell my car I'm going to sell all the furniture in my apartment I ain't bringing nothing but my black ass Out of Pittsburgh Clean slate I'm starting from scratch don't you know how that is yeah

30:51Ernest Jones IV:and you know everything is magnified too because now you got the star on your helmet you got the star on your helmet everything is magnified

30:58Shannon Sharpe:because there are some games Pittsburgh don't get televised and Dallas and then you play it on Thanksgiving yeah now you know everybody play on Thanksgiving we gonna see everything

31:15Shannon Sharpe:I want him to get his money Yeah

31:19Ernest Jones IV:He had a little slip up But outside of that Boy he's the real deal No questions

31:26Shannon Sharpe:After helping the Seahawks win Super Bowl 60 Offensive coordinator Clint Kubiak Confirmed he will be the Las Vegas Raiders Next head coach You guys know I'm going to Las Vegas I'm fired up about that How big of a get is this for the Raiders

31:41Ernest Jones IV:it's a good thing for the Raiders obviously the first thing first things first though Mr. Kubiak has to figure out who the quarterback going to be obviously common sense with the draft stuff going up uh Fernando Mendoza is probably going to be the first first quarterback taken first player taken uh so I'm assuming he's going to be the quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders so outside of that then you address issues with Mack Crosby is Mack Crosby happy or is he looking for a move. Other pieces need to be added to that puzzle along with Aston Gentry. I think another big receiver over in Oakland is needed.

32:17Ernest Jones IV:Obviously, I don't know the team that well. They got Brock Bowers. I agree with you. They do need a number one receiver. Go ahead. They need a big boy. Someone that can move the needle that doesn't need much help from the offensive coordinator. get out there and just get it done like a Brock Bowers can at his position. Defensively, I'm sure there's some questions that need answers.

32:43Shannon Sharpe:They need a lot defensively. They need a lot, Ocho. Secondary. I don't know if Devin White is going to be back. You got Max Crosby. He can't do everything on his own.

32:56Ernest Jones IV:He can't do it all. He can.

33:00Shannon Sharpe:They got cap space, but it ain't how much money you spend it's where you spend the money at yeah sometimes you might be able to find a bargain because you know a lot of times teams try to win the offseason oh they spent the most money they got the flashes no I need to know the guys that I'm getting fit the scheme understand what it is to be a raider now it's lost some of its luster obviously gone through head coaches and quarterbacks. But they got to get this thing figured out. How big of a loss is this for the Seahawks, Ocho? Ooh, you know what?

33:50Ernest Jones IV:It's big. Players, it's big. It is big, but players make coaches' job easy when you have the personnel. So I think whoever comes back in in place of Mr. Kubiak will still have the same personnel that he just left.

34:06Shannon Sharpe:Did they have the same personnel in Detroit when Ben Johnson left? How was that? Offensively?

34:17Shannon Sharpe:Take your time.

34:23Ernest Jones IV:It was good, except for the injury bug defensively. It haunted them again.

34:28Shannon Sharpe:But you said Detroit looked the same offensively as they did when they had Ben Johnson?

34:33Ernest Jones IV:No, I said it was good until the injury bug haunted them. It didn't haunt them offensively.

34:40Shannon Sharpe:They were injured last year defensively too, two years ago defensively. When they lost to Washington, they was beat up defensively. But how did they look offensively? They looked good offensively until the injury bug caught them towards the end of the season.

34:55Ernest Jones IV:Caught them on what side of the ball? offensively. Who got injured?

35:01Shannon Sharpe:I forgot his name. J-Mo was there. Give was there. Montgomery was there. I'm trying to pick up Jared Goff.

35:09Ernest Jones IV:You do realize their offense was rolling all season long except the last five weeks of the season.

35:16Shannon Sharpe:I'll get back to you. Check it out real quick.

35:35Shannon Sharpe:bear with me chat

35:42Ernest Jones IV:I know about my Lions now

35:50Shannon Sharpe:2025 season they were fifth in total yards, fourth in points third down conversion See?

36:00Ernest Jones IV:Keep going. Hold on.

36:04Shannon Sharpe:Go ahead.

36:16Shannon Sharpe:2024, there was second in total yards, first in points, third in passing yards, seventh in rushing yards, first and third down conversion.

36:30Shannon Sharpe:they will overcome some of that. Because the defense has been bad for a minute with the injuries. Yes. Taron Arnold got hurt. What's the other guy? What's the other DB, Ocho? Branch. Who? Brian Branch got injured? Brian Branch, yeah. I think Arnold, I think the other one, isn't there another corner from Alabama? I mean, Taron Arnold. Yeah, he got injured. Joseph got injured. The middle linebacker. I can't remember his name. Jack Campbell was back. Yeah, Campbell was there.

37:10Shannon Sharpe:But the thing, Ocho, plus you got to remember, they demoted the offensive coordinator and what you call them, started calling plays. Yeah, and then they ended up firing him and got a new coordinator in.

37:28Shannon Sharpe:it always takes you a little time to get to to get to a groove of how he likes to call plays I thought Clint Kubiak I've known Clint Kubiak his dad bringing him to practice he could have been no more than about 8 7 or 8 and to see him be a head coach I'm like that's dope

37:55Ernest Jones IV:everything comes full circle

37:57Shannon Sharpe:Same thing with Christian McCaffrey, to see him and to see former teammates, you know, whole room. I was like, hey.

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39:54Shannon Sharpe:The Seattle Seahawks had their parade today. Let's take a listen to our friend, Ernest Jones IV.

40:04Chad Johnson:I'm going to keep it a book. I'm probably the last person they should have gave the mic to. But we finna turn up, man. First off, I want to say shout out to Jody Allen. Shout out to John Snyder. for making this all possible man shout out to coach mike mcdonald for helping us get to this point man but also shout out to these badass who play this game the right way hey

40:34Chad Johnson:not only do we have the best defense in the world we got the best team in the world and quite frankly if you got anything to say for my quarterback you got anything to say for my defense you got anything to say my whole line and you got anything to say by the city of seattle i got two words for you fuck you damn well he told you as soon as he got the mic he's probably

41:03Shannon Sharpe:the last person you should have given to mike and he did not disappoint um the adulation the excitement i mean you know they brought a world championship and they did it in dominating fashion that defense was sensational throughout the playoffs yeah they bend a little bit against the Rams guys you know Matthew Stafford had a night of nights but Matthew Stafford won the MVP for a reason so we can expect them to have those type of nights but in the Super Bowl that defense was dominating. Ocho did you like what Ernest Jones

41:31Ernest Jones IV:had to say? I mean I absolutely love it all the hard work they put in obviously reaching the Super Bowl all the talk about Sam Donald and the stuff that they had to say any of the naysayers that doubted the Seattle Seahawks, it's okay. You won the Super Bowl. It's the one opportunity you have a chance to celebrate and talk a little trash behind it because now you have that ring, you have that trophy, so why not? It doesn't happen often, and there's no guarantee that you get back there, so I'm all for it. I'm all for it. Joe?

42:01Shannon Sharpe:Hey, yeah, I'm with Ocho. You know, you reached the top. I mean, we played this game, obviously, to compete, but, you know, we also want to win championships as well. he got his opportunity to shine. Hey, let him get it off his chest, man. Let him know how you feel, baby. John Snyder in front, it might be like, maybe a little less. But I get it. But like I said, Ochoa, it's so much excitement. And he's been through this before. He won it with the Rams. And so, you know, here he is. He changed teams in the division, got traded to Tennessee. Tennessee trades him to the Seahawks. And he's one of those guys that led spearhead of that defense.

42:40Shannon Sharpe:But this was a total team effort you look at the special teams look at the kicker 5 field 17 points by field goals to get a tease look at the punter and how many times he kept them pinned down pin back in the back Rashid Shaheed did not have a big return game, but guess what he didn't do Ocho put the ball in the dirt So when they say total team victory, that's what it was being ran the ball Well, they threw the ball effectively Sam Donald didn't put the ball in harm's way That first or third down play, I thought Jones got a great jump, but he wrong-handed, probably should have did this instead of that because you get more extension like this than you can like that.

43:18Shannon Sharpe:But all that being said, I thought as a team aspect, special teams, defense and offense, I thought they played a complete game. Obviously, the offense wasn't as dominating as it was against San Francisco, but man, that's an unbelievable feeling. And for a lot of those guys, look at the shirt. but he got Sam Donald with a cigarette in his mouth, flipping people off.

43:44Shannon Sharpe:But that's what you have. You want to, and we're going to talk about this. Yeah. You see what, how guys support you when you are a good teammate? Man. You heard what he said when they lost to the Rams, and he said, look, y 'all don't mess with a quarterback. He said the reason why we end up every game is because of the quarterback. And now he has a mishap. he doesn't play as well as we're used to seeing him. Now y 'all want to beat him up. F y 'all. He said that way back when. Now Sam Darnold's like, okay, now look at me. I'm at the top of the mountain. I'm at the top of the mountain. I'm sitting pretty.

44:18Shannon Sharpe:A lot of teams gave up on me, but he said something. Sam Darnold said something very interesting. He said, I appreciate you guys believing in me. Because, Ochoa, you remember the last game of the season? And then the playoffs, he didn't look good. And maybe that scared Minnesota off. that didn't scare that didn't scare Seattle off because John Snyder and and and McDonald felt like you know what with the what we've have assembled here yeah we get a quarterback we can we can go far we can go really really far go ahead Ocho now I was gonna say um what Minnesota saw it

44:54Ernest Jones IV:shouldn't have scared them off it shouldn't have scared them off I mean it's ridiculous because now look where they are again I'll say it again Minnesota is in quarterback purgatory because you don't know where you're going to go or what you're going to do from now on. Okay, maybe J.J. McCarthy comes back and he's somewhat half of what Sam Donald was before he left Minnesota. But as of right now, everything is up in the air. Maybe Kirk Cousins comes back and saves you if J.J. McCarthy doesn't play up to par and that offense stalls the way it is. But Sam Donald, in certain conversations now because he's won a Super Bowl trophy, he's tend to go into the conversations with some of the quarterbacks that we talk about all the time that haven't won one yet.

45:34Ernest Jones IV:Some of the greats. I'm not saying he's one of the best in the game, but he has that ring. So therefore that catapults him in the conversation of the Lamar Jackson, the Joe Burroughs, the Josh Allens, and the Patrick Mahomes.

45:44Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. But it also goes to show you situations. Sometimes being in the right situation at the right time. I'm not one of those guys on show and I've never been one of those guys. And Joe, let me know what you think. because a lot of times what people try to do, you win a Super Bowl and then they say, well, you better than that guy. Brad Johnson won a Super Bowl and they never said he was a top 10 quarterback. Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl and they never said he was a top 10 quarterback. Guys win championships and they never say they're top 10 NBA players. So we got to be careful. Let's look at a total body of work over an extended period of time before we start arbitrarily just trying to put somebody in that bracket because they won a Super Bowl.

46:20Shannon Sharpe:Go ahead, take off for it, Joe.

46:22Ernest Jones IV:And one thing, Joe, one thing I do want to say, I want to clarify that too. Now, if you take a, let's say you talk about the quarterbacks, right? I'm not saying Sam Donald is better than those top three, those top four, top five. I'm just saying the fact that his name is in the conversations because he's won a Super Bowl. But if you're taking a choice and you're starting a team, you have Sam Donald, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, I'm sure everyone is going to the cipher. Sam Donald is not going to go for any of those guys. Exactly. So I'm not saying that. I'm just saying his name needs to come up in the conversations going into next year when we talk about some of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.

46:58Ernest Jones IV:I think it will.

46:59Shannon Sharpe:I think it will. Joe, what do you think about that? Because we've seen that in the NBA. Guys win a championship, and the first thing they say, well, he's better than this guy that's never won a championship. No, that is a team victory. We can say for a moment he had an unbelievable. But I'm not one of these guys because you won a championship. Now, all of a sudden, I'm thinking you're a Pantheon great. Yeah, it's like we're prisoners of the moment. Okay, oh, Joe. You know, what's going on right now, right now in time is what we stuck on. So Seahawks won the Super Bowl, Sam Donald got a ring, and now that's all everybody's talking about.

47:32Shannon Sharpe:You know what I mean? Yeah. But yeah, I'm with you. It's like, you know, you got to give it an extended period of time, and then you can really gauge on how great a person is. You know what I mean? We all can have one great year. You know what I mean? Two pretty good years. But let's see if he can sustain and put together, you know, a few great years like that, that's what, you know, enhances your greatness. And I think the thing is, is quarterback is the only position we do that with. Because a DB wins a Super Bowl, ain't nobody saying, well, he's better than this, or he's better than that. A defensive lineman wins a Super Bowl, a linebacker wins a Super Bowl.

48:08Shannon Sharpe:That's not what we do. Now, if they're already on the cusp, now, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, now they want to win a Super Bowl, now we're going to really have to have a real, real, real discussion. because now you're talking about Lamar that's one of them VP, two of them. Josh Allen that's one of them VP. And now you're talking about we're going to attach a Super Bowl to it? Ain't a whole lot of guys that can say that. So with that being said, I just like to be patient when we start throwing things around. And Sam Donald had an unbelievable season. We are not trying to take that away.

48:42Shannon Sharpe:But we need to be careful because I'm sure nobody is saying, give me Brad Johnson over Dan Marino. Give me Trent Dilfer over Dan Marino. Give me some of these other quarterbacks that's won a Super Bowl over Dan Marino. So let's just be careful. He should enjoy this. They should redo his contract. They should redo his contract, Ocho. What did he sign for? He signed three years, like$100,$105 million, but he made$4 million in incentives. A million dollars for the Super Bowl,$500 ,000 NFC Championship, $500 ,000 for the Divisional, $500 ,000 for making the Pro Bowl thing. So he made$4 million just in incentives.

49:26Shannon Sharpe:Hey, so listen, when you're not playing up the part of your contract and they want to restructure it then, so can you come in and renegotiate when you just won a Super Bowl? You're like, hold on, this ain't good enough for me. Normally they do that for the quarterbacks. There are not a whole lot of positions that they're willing to do that for, but the quarterback is the one position that they're normally willing to do that for. We see that a lot with Patrick Mahomes because it seems like every year, Ocho, they tear his contract up, give him more guarantees, but he's taking less money. Because Patrick Mahomes, when he signed that 10-year, what was it, Ocho, $450 million deal?

50:01Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, 450, yeah. $500 million. It was at a discount. But he knows within basically like the day after the season, they've got to guarantee the contract for next year. So he's like, I'm cool. And plus he understands like the Tom Brady. Tom's like, look, yeah, I could be the highest paid, but at what expense? Because I'm trying to collect rings, and the best way to collect that is to have money so I can keep a Travis Kelsey. I can keep a Chris Jones. I can keep a Trace Smith. I can keep some of these guys in order to build out my roster, and so we're not so top-heavy. We're paying a handful of guys, and we're not able to build a complete roster.

50:41Shannon Sharpe:But what Sam Donald has been able to do, the turnaround that he's enjoying, I don't know in my time of really following the NFL, basically since about 76, 76, 77, I've never seen a story like this. I've never seen a guy. I mean, he was basically a reclamation project. Ocho, he was on the trash heap. The Jets got rid of him after three years. Carolina got rid of him, and he goes to San Fran for a year. And think about what he said. He said, I learned a lot in San Francisco. I learned a lot in San Francisco. Then he goes to Minnesota, parlays that, goes 14-3. That's what I tell guys, Joe. I tell you guys, oh, Joe, you know I've said this.

51:22Shannon Sharpe:The team that you're playing for, they're not the only one that pay players. You're auditioning for the other 31 teams. Yes, sir. And I need guys to understand that. You think, well, oh, man. So? It's just like if you're a young lady or a young guy. Your girlfriend ain't the only one that got eyes. Your guy ain't the only one that got eyes. and just because they might not want to be with you or might want to be in this relationship long term, that doesn't mean somebody else won't. Yeah. And so I just need more guys to think about that because sometimes they get caught up in the thing. It's the end all be all where I'm at.

51:57Shannon Sharpe:And it's not. All 32 teams pay. All 32 teams have a scouting department and they watch tape. And that tape don't lie. Man. When you put that tape in, that tape don't know what position you play. It don't know how much money you make and it doesn't know where you came from. All it does is record what it sees, Ocho. So what you put on tape, that's your resume.

52:22Ernest Jones IV:That's who you are. You know, to me, obviously, I'm not sure where Sam Donald ranks as far as pay goes, but after winning the Super Bowl, I would love for them to give you some of the pay raise, but not a pay raise where it depletes being able to sign other players. I think Tyreek Willen is up I don't think he comes back Ocho

52:42Shannon Sharpe:he's going to get too much money and you got Spoon what you going to do with Spoon what you going to do with JSN

52:51Shannon Sharpe:you know JSN is in his third year

52:55Ernest Jones IV:he just finished his third year so they want to do it now this offseason if I'm not mistaken I think Spoon

53:02Shannon Sharpe:and JSN came in together didn't he

53:04Ernest Jones IV:yeah Devin Witherspoon might be up so he has to take care of them Tyreek Willen, you're finna hit him across the head on the market. He's gonna hit him across the head on the open market. Outside, I mean, just give him, I understand, just looking at Sam Donald and understanding the situation that he's in, and the fact that he has a competent organization around him, a competent GM, they're gonna continue to build and put pieces around him, his ceiling is extremely high on him. And he's young. His ceiling is extremely, very, yeah, he's young, he's fairly young, So I'm excited for him. I'm excited for the Seahawks.

53:39Ernest Jones IV:They found their quarterback of the future. All they have to do now is continue to put pieces around him. As long as he stays injury-free, damn Seahawks are always going to be competing coming out of the NFC.

53:49Shannon Sharpe:Hey, but y 'all know the more you win, the more money you got to spend. It is. And the more people, they come, think about it. You already lost your offensive coordinator. He gone. Just like that, Ocho.

54:01Ernest Jones IV:Yeah.

54:02Shannon Sharpe:No, really. When you win, everybody wants winners. So they come rent your hen house to get your chicken that's laying golden eggs. That's how it works. So you start to lose a lot of players. The more you win, the more they rob you. Now, Will and I will say this. He gets lazy sometimes. He got beat for a touchdown because he got lazy. He got lined up late, didn't he, Ocho? And then he bulljibed and then he realized that Mac Hollis was already buying. Yeah. you cannot have a lap. The man that hesitate, I had a coach tell me this. He said, the man that hesitate is beat. In the NFL, and Joe, you know this in basketball.

54:40Shannon Sharpe:If you hesitate on Joe, you beat. Because the margin is so small. So small in order to win. Go ahead, O.

54:50Ernest Jones IV:I'm going to tell you, hey, Joe, there's a reason why in football they call it it's a game of inches. Because that's all it takes. Joe, one mistake. False step. One mishap. One false step. one hesitation and you beat. And you think about the NFL. I'm speaking from a receiver standpoint and a DB standpoint. Like Joe, wide open is this. This is wide open. Joe, I swear for God, this is wide open. So most of the time, quarterbacks have to throw players open and sometimes you see busted coverage or stuff like that. But understanding when people say it's a game of vengeance, it's simply that. And most of the time, it comes down to three, maybe four plays out of 70 plays in four quarters, that makes a difference.

55:34Shannon Sharpe:If you between the man and the ball, that's open. Yep, basically. So if the DB on my hip, Joe, I'm open. If he's right here and I'm here, I'm open. This is college, you're running Scott free and you five, six, no. Unless it's a busted coverage, that ain't happening.

55:53Ernest Jones IV:That's about the only time.

55:54Shannon Sharpe:That ain't happening.

55:55Ernest Jones IV:Yeah, that's about the only time. And Joe, there's a few receivers, Joe.

55:59Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

56:00Ernest Jones IV:There's a few, and I'm talking about a handful, maybe two or three, that can create that kind of separation where it's like, well, goddamn he wide open. Now, it ain't too many. I'm talking about off the muscle, Joe. You know how you call for ISO?

56:14Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, yeah.

56:14Ernest Jones IV:I don't want no help.

56:15Shannon Sharpe:Right.

56:16Ernest Jones IV:And every time, you finna give him that work. Joe, see, I want the one four.

56:19Shannon Sharpe:Give me that one four. Now, go on. Get out of here.

56:22Ernest Jones IV:Skadam, skadam. Come on, now. Back up. Shoot. Hey, I don't need the offensive coordinator help. Hey, I don't need you to put me in motion. I don't need you to condense my split. Line me up to y 'all outside the numbers. I'm finna go to work.

56:36Shannon Sharpe:You finna get money.

56:38Ernest Jones IV:Man, get money. It's only about three of them, Joe. That's it.

56:46Shannon Sharpe:All right, guys. We got a very, very special guest joining us. You know, he'll love a nightcap. He starred in the Seattle Seahawks parade yesterday. Y 'all know it. EJ IV, Ernest Jones IV, congratulations, man. Hey, you said, I'll be back. You said, I'll be back. You wasn't on the sports, nigga, Terminator. You said, I'll be back, and you're going to be carrying hard work with you. Congratulations. Yes, sir. EJ, you was on the Rams when they won this thing actually in your own home stadium. Right. Is there a difference? I mean, can you compare or contrast the two if you could?

57:25Chad Johnson:Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing, man, I won at L.A. my rookie year, so I thought it was sweet, man. I thought that's what you do every year, man. And then, you know, it took me, you know, three, four years to get back to this point and to do it with this group. Man, the way we love each other, the way we fight for each other each and every day, man, It definitely was different because I understand the struggle and how hard it takes to get back to that point.

57:52Shannon Sharpe:Yeah. Ocho, Joe? Hey, look, you won a Super Bowl with two different teams, bro. Tell us what's the mindset and preparation that separates championship teams from I probably would say just regular teams.

58:11Chad Johnson:Yeah, I think the biggest thing I think is the mindset. Man, we went into that game like, you know, we weren't going to be denied. We were coming out of that game with something, and it was something. We were coming out of that with a win. Right. And mentality on, you know, all sides of the ball was just that. And I think that's what separates, you know, the teams that, you know, get the job done versus those that, you know, don't make it all the way. Right.

58:36Ernest Jones IV:Yeah, EJ, after watching that game and the way you guys dominated defense, obviously having a moniker for your defense now called the dark side. that is reminiscent of that of the Legion of Boom. Did you know you would dominate the game in this way and fashion, the way you guys did?

58:53Chad Johnson:Yeah, man. I mean, we were watching the film for two weeks, man. We were like, man, ain't no way you give Mike McDonald two weeks. But not only that, we're watching the film, and we're like, man, we've seen it all. What is this team going to do against us? You can tell from on film that we're a different group, But when we get in front of you, it's much different. It's real life at that point. So I knew we would come out there and dominate.

59:20Shannon Sharpe:EJ, you must have been on La Portia yesterday because you all been the other day because you feeling good, man. I like what that is.

59:26Chad Johnson:I wish I had some of that. I wish not, man. That was a little bit of that done then. Where you getting that T-shirt from? I had it made on the spot. I had been seeing it online. Like, I've seen pictures of it floating around. And I'm like, man, I've been saying F you about my quarterback all year. So let me go ahead and get this shirt. That's what's up. You mentioned your first Super Bowl, you're a rookie.

59:58Shannon Sharpe:So you're coming in and you got J-Rams. You got Aaron Donald. You got veteran players. You got OBJ. You got Stafford. You got Vaughn Miller. You got Leonard Floyd. You got veteran guys on that team. now you're in a different role you're a leader now and so now guys are looking to you because even though you were a rookie on that team they're looking to you okay EJ what do we need to do okay we win the championship game what do we need to do between the time we win the championship game leading up to the actual Super Bowl game so what type of advice were you able to give them

1:00:34Chad Johnson:man honestly for me you know it was a lot different being in LA because our Super Bowl was home Everything we did was at home. Media day, everything was at home. So I just told him, get ready, enjoy the experience. But ultimately, man, when it comes down to when it's time for us to go to practice or go to meetings, man, let's be locked in. We came here ultimately to win this game, win us the Super Bowl. And that's what we're going to do. So that was mainly my advice.

1:01:02Ernest Jones IV:What do you do now? You got the trophy. You got the ring coming. Off season is here. Obviously, your offseason is starting a little bit later than others that didn't make it to the playoffs. So what does EJ do now that the season is over?

1:01:17Chad Johnson:Man, I'm about to go get away. You know, me and my family, we love going to Hawaii, so we're going to get away here for a little bit.

1:01:25Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.

1:01:25Chad Johnson:And then, you know, at some point I'll get back in the lab and get ready to go, you know, do this thing again. Yeah. Hey, you from Georgia, EJ. Yeah, South Georgia.

1:01:35Shannon Sharpe:What part? Oh, yeah.

1:01:36Chad Johnson:Way across Georgia.

1:01:37Shannon Sharpe:Oh, hello. Your coach took around. Yeah.

1:01:40Chad Johnson:See, Unk, that's what I'm saying. You didn't even, you just finding this out, man. I am. I didn't know you from Waycross. Yeah, man, I'm right there.

1:01:51Shannon Sharpe:Man, we used to go, man, we used to catch chickens over at Waycross and Baxley.

1:01:55Chad Johnson:Baxley, yes, sir.

1:01:58Shannon Sharpe:Hey, check this out. That ring, you guys kind of started that ginormous one of those big, I'm talking about this thing, this big around.

1:02:06Chad Johnson:Right.

1:02:06Shannon Sharpe:You trying to top that with the Seahawks?

1:02:10Chad Johnson:Oh, most definitely. We got to. I'm hoping and praying they let me design this thing. You know, let me get a few ideas out there.

1:02:20Shannon Sharpe:Man, the Seahawk, he might be a real, instead of the head, he might be the whole Seahawk.

1:02:29Shannon Sharpe:But on a more serious note, John Snyder smoked at the ceremony, the presentation, conversation about how you, Jake Bobo, Drew Locke, and Charles Cross all lost your fathers this year. Right. Talk about that special kind of bond that you guys had going through loss, but still having the main focus because you know the football season doesn't stop, even though there might be a loss or tragedy that someone in the family might have faced.

1:02:54Chad Johnson:Man, it was definitely tough when we all had those conversations together. You know, I think I lost my father first, and then right around the time that I was losing mind, you know, Charles had started going through, you know, the complications with his. So it was tough, man, you know, speaking to him and, you know, not having all the answers myself because I'm still trying to deal with it. But we got a great support system there. They, that team, I tell you, they look out for you. They really, truly care about you. So it was easy when we came back to work because they knew, you know, that we were dealing with stuff, but they let us, they let us grieve.

1:03:27Chad Johnson:They let us have our moments. They let us come back and be around our boys and you know do this thing that we love so it honestly you know made it easier being around the guys because it takes a special type of compartmentalization

1:03:39Shannon Sharpe:because you realize like you know what i am i am grieving but i know my dad would want me would want x y and z and i know the level of expectation because you know a lot of times sports is sports is not like a regular job you know a regular job they might give you bereavement time you might get able to take a week or two right that ain't how professional sports work Now, maybe in baseball, I can just speak to football, so I don't want to get out of character and say, well, this is how it is in basketball. I'm talking about football. Right. Man to A, basically, you go to the – hey, also, you go to a funeral when you think you'll be back.

1:04:12Chad Johnson:Right, yes, for sure. And that's what I say, like, you know, for most teams, and I can't speak for every team, but I know that, you know, they wouldn't be willing to let their start middle linebacker leave too much and missed that much of time during training camp and the things before. And they didn't stress me out about it at all. They let us, you know, do what we had to do. So I really appreciate them for that.

1:04:36Ernest Jones IV:Yeah, it's funny, especially when it comes to losing loved ones. I think teams understand that the owners, the GMs, obviously the head coaches, we've all dealt with loss. Sometimes it happens during the season and in season. I lost my father when I was with the Patriots. He passed away from pancreatic cancer as well. and they allowed me to do what I needed to do, to do what was necessary as far as funeral arrangements and going to a funeral and having to come back. And they understand that most of the time, your brothers in that locker room, they understand what you're going through. So sometimes it's somewhat good and you want to be back in that environment of your extended family, to be around the fellas, to kind of get away from that.

1:05:17Ernest Jones IV:Because most of the time you go to work, especially after a tragedy like that, that's your sense of peace. That's your sense of peace being around your brothers, man. It may make you feel a lot better.

1:05:27Chad Johnson:Oh, for sure. Definitely.

1:05:29Shannon Sharpe:Well, the thing is, the best thing about that with you, EJ, is that you're a vested player. Because a lot of times, I remember my great-grandmother passed, I was afraid to ask. I was like, no, I ain't going to even ask. I ain't going to even ask. Then when my grandma, my dad's mom passed, we ended up like, we're going to have to have this thing on a Monday. Because if you don't have it on a Monday, I'm not going to be able to make it. That's for sure. So, you know, fortunate enough, like you said, you're a vested player and you know they gave you that kind of time because they like like i said we understand that this is uh they say this this is what they say oh you know family is the most

1:06:00Chad Johnson:important thing man stop it yeah it's football important too exactly man ej congratulations man

1:06:09Shannon Sharpe:we're proud of you thanks for coming on during the season and talking with ocho and i at nightcap congratulations two-time super bowl champ yes sir now hey in the same division one with the ramps Now with the Seahawks. That's it. Been a linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. Great defense. Had an unbelievable game. Before we get you out of here, what did you guys see on tape? Because y 'all brought Spoon a lot more on the blitz. Normally it's emo that would come on the blitz. But this time it was Spoon. And he was getting home because he timed it up perfect. What did you guys see that said, you know what, that Coach Mack said,

1:06:45Chad Johnson:you know what, Spoon, you can get home with it. We got to play them next year. But I will say this. I will say this. The way Coach Mike seen it is how it worked out. Yeah. The way Coach Mike seen it. So in other words, they had a tail. They had a little tail, and we had to do what we had to do. Yeah. Well, that's awesome, man.

1:07:10Shannon Sharpe:Well, congratulations, EJ, man. Enjoy. Hey, get away with your family for a couple of weeks. Hey, you know it's either being the hunter. hunter that the end of the hunt is yeah

1:07:20Chad Johnson:I love to hunt though we still go hunt that's what I'm talking about

1:07:25Shannon Sharpe:alright man congratulations enjoy your time off and we'll see you down the road

1:07:29Chad Johnson:thank y 'all thanks sir

1:07:30Shannon Sharpe:Ernest Jones the board Super Bowl champ of the Seattle Seahawks

1:07:49Chad Johnson:This is the biggest night in podcasting. The countdown is on to our 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards. Live from South by Southwest, March 16th, we'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative, talented creators in the industry. It's truly a who's who of the podcasting world. Creativity, knowledge, and passion will all be on full display. And the winner of the iHeart Podcast Award is... See all the nominees now at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app.

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