In short
Debo and Joe discuss NFL locker-room culture and quarterback politics, plus CBA labor issues and team-building decisions. On Dallas: Micah Parsons is described as being viewed by some Cowboys teammates as “easy, egotistical and self-centered,” with Sports Illustrated reporter Albert Breer citing that Zach Martin, C.D. Lamb, and Dak Prescott are popular, but Parsons allegedly “rattled/wrangled” teammates and his podcast created issues going back to Dak Prescott. The hosts argue podcasts aren’t the problem; the issue is whether players can handle criticism and whether relationships broke down after business/contract negotiations. They also debate a reported “hold hands”/injury-concealment dynamic in the next CBA, claiming it can let players cite real or imagined injuries to avoid practice, potentially benefiting Parsons’ exit from Dallas. They propose stronger NFLPA leadership and voting eligibility only for vested players, plus health-care voting rules. On Cleveland: they address Shedeur Sanders conspiracy talk, with Joe Thomas saying there’s no sabotage; the hosts suggest Browns staff may be managing noise and leaning on Joe Flacco for stability while giving Shedeur chances. Examples include preseason usage and comparisons to other teams’ vet-first approaches. On Pittsburgh: they reject tanking for a quarterback, credit Mike Tomlin’s no-losing-season record, and discuss Aaron Rodgers’ fit if healthy, plus praise for Jalen Warren’s two-year extension through 2027.
Guests
none clearly identified in the transcript (it’s Debo and Joe Hayden as hosts).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOMichael Parsons Controversy
2:27 to 5:00
Discussion on Michael Parsons' reputation among teammates and implications of his podcast.
“You don't want to miss what we got going on here.”
Accountability in Sports
5:00 to 10:10
Debate about the sensitivity of modern players and the importance of accountability in sports.
“But to the point of it's not really self-centered, everybody self-centered egotistical.”
CBA and Player Rights
10:10 to 14:00
Discussion on collective bargaining agreements and the rights of NFL players.
“I think we need, when I say we, NFL, the NFLPA, I think they need way, way stronger leadership.”
NFLPA Representation Issues
14:00 to 18:33
Discussing concerns about the NFLPA's representation of players and the impact on agreements.
“I mean, look at the collective bargaining agreement I think that just passed.”
Shador Sanders' Future in the League
20:11 to 28:00
Analyzing opinions on Shador Sanders' potential and the Cleveland Browns' strategy.
“Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.”
Quarterback Discussion and Predictions
28:00 to 29:50
An analysis of quarterback performance and potential changes in the lineup.
“the starting receivers, the starting line.”
Steelers' Season and Coach Tomlin's Leadership
29:50 to 31:40
A look at the Steelers' current season and Coach Tomlin's approach to winning.
“I guess the Stillers sent a scout to look at the South Carolina quarterback Sears.”
Tomlin's Record and Coaching Philosophy
31:40 to 33:50
Discussion on Tomlin's impressive coaching record and philosophy on winning.
“He's not going to go out there and try and have a losing season.”
Personal Experiences with Coach Tomlin
33:50 to 35:50
A personal account of experiences with Coach Tomlin and communication challenges.
“Like, I know me, for instance, just playing for a bunch of different coaches in Cleveland, coming to Pittsburgh, Darius Slay, Jalen Ramsey.”
Business Side of the NFL
35:50 to 39:50
Insights into the business dynamics of the NFL and personal relationships with coaches.
“I know, Debo, but I'm just saying, that was my first time over there.”
Show all 20 chapters
Analyzing Aaron Rodgers' Impact
43:18 to 47:40
Discussion on how Aaron Rodgers can influence the Steelers' season.
“Stillers, like, we got Aaron Rodgers over there.”
Jalen Warren's Contract Extension
47:40 to 49:46
Review of Jalen Warren's performance and contract with the Steelers.
“Jalen Warren, headed into the last year of his deal, just signed a two-year deal extension that keeps him contractually tied to the Pittsburgh Steelers through 2027.”
Controversy with Ocho
49:46 to 52:18
Lighthearted banter about a potential confrontation with Ocho Cinco.
“Why this dude on live talking about he go beat my ass, bro?”
Giants' Quarterback Situation
52:18 to 56:00
Analysis of the Giants' quarterback challenges and potential strategies.
“So the Giants got some issues over there, right?”
Young Quarterbacks and Pressure Management
56:00 to 58:20
Discussion on how young quarterbacks manage pressure and expectations.
“He didn't feel like they putting the whole, everything on him.”
Russell Wilson's Future in the NFL
58:20 to 1:00:40
Exploration of Russell Wilson's prospects and the potential for becoming a backup.
“in the third game, having the rook ready to go ahead and step on in.”
Distractions of Fame in Smaller Markets
1:00:40 to 1:02:50
Discussion on how fame and entourage can distract players in smaller markets.
“I'm just trying to say how to way, you know, I'm saying leave.”
Financial Realities for NFL Players
1:02:50 to 1:07:40
Overview of contract structures, back pay, and financial education for players.
“That's going to be the big thing that is going to be yet to be seen, I would say.”
Investing and Financial Responsibility
1:07:40 to 1:10:01
Insights on the importance of financial responsibility and investing for players.
“and that is the uh micah parsons contract and that's exactly why we get to this back pay Micah Parsons signed four years,$17 million fully guaranteed in his rookie contract.”
Financial Literacy in Sports
1:10:01 to 1:14:10
Learn why financial literacy is crucial for young athletes managing sudden wealth.
“And I didn't, you know, I didn't have that, that understanding that like, yo, this could be over with and it could all end out of nowhere.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. I'm Nick Turturro. You probably know me from NYPD Blue, The Longest Yard, or Spike Lee's Black Klansman. And on my new podcast, Delivering Happiness with Nick Turturro, I deliver pizza to a new guest. I've shared a slice with everyone, from Seth Rollins. What are you doing with my belt? To Bill Burr. I don't think I've ever met somebody so exactly out of their mind as I am. And now, we even have more great guests coming up, including the great John Turturro. It's called happiness. Delivering happiness. And many, many more. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Delivering Happiness with Nick Tuturo, and listen now.
0:39On Raiders of the Lost podcast, we explore cinema like no one else, including huge interviews with stars like Ryan Gosling on Project Hail Mary. It was like the Jaws shark. Didn't always work, came with its own problems. That's what made it great. The cast of Obsession. On set, there was so much magic happening with each scene we were putting together. Deep dives into classics like 2001 A Space Odyssey or Fight Club. Plus weekly episodes on all industry news. Listen to Raiders of the Lost podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And for more, follow at Raiders of the Lost podcast and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.
1:21Hey, Portlandia fans. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here. The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form. We're launching Podlandia, AO Rewatch, our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters, and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song.
1:57Well, I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia, AAO Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So welcome to your first episode of Debo and Joe. I am your host, James Debo Harrison. and I'm here with my co-host Joseph Walter Hayden III, better known as Joe Hayden. Please like, subscribe. You don't want to miss what we got going on here. How you doing this morning, Joe, on the first day of work, baby?
2:35James Harrison:Brother Debo, I'm doing great. It's an honor, a pleasure to be here with you. I'm excited about the show, excited to get to it, the vibes, everything. You gave them a full-blown government name. people don't do the third nobody knows walter nobody knows the third you out here giving the gems off the ring let's get we gotta give them what they ain't never had baby you know what i'm saying let's get into this though let's get into our first topic man uh michael parsons was uh reported that uh some of his cowboys teammates viewed him as a easy egotistical and self-centered I guess Sports Illustrated reporter Albert Burr, he said Zach Martin, C.D.
3:15Lamb, and Dak Prescott are very popular in the locker room. Not the case with Parsons. He rattled, well, wrangled teammates in different ways, seen by some as egotistical and self-centered. His podcast has created issues, too, that go all the way back to quarterback Dak Prescott. But Dak also added that he wasn't completely surprised by Parsons' trade. What do you think of, you know, players having podcasts?
3:46James Harrison:I'm not mad at players having podcasts. My thing with players having podcasts is if you're going to be able to take criticism, you're going to be able to give criticism. I think you should be able to. It's like an interview. Like after the games, you can be able to. If you win, you're going to be able to talk to the media. If you lose, you'll be able to talk to the media. being able to just give constructive criticism and just let them know how you really feel i think egotistical and self-centered seems personal to me yes i want to know who said this who's saying that i'm egotistical who's saying that i'm self-centered you know i'm saying put a name to it it's real easy once you get out the locker room to be like this oh that man was egotistical nobody was saying that when he was there nobody was saying that he was sacking everybody up so i just need people to put names to that and it seems a little personal to me because nobody was saying that when he was making$2.9 million last year.
4:35James Harrison:When he left for the 47 ball, now he's egotistical. So my thing is this. I think that all players are self-centered to a point. And when it comes down to it, you have to be because this is a business. I think what may have happened there, he let the business of football kind of get into the locker room and ruin the personal relationships that he built with those players. And, you know, when that get involved and you start to lose the locker room, you know, that's not something that coaches want, especially, you know, when you're trying to create and get that Lombardi, you know, you don't want discord in your locker room.
5:14James Harrison:No, a thousand percent. Yeah. I understand what they're saying. But to the point of it's not really self-centered, everybody self-centered egotistical. like you said i find that being very personal um the feelings a lot of these players nowadays they are very sensitive they really shouldn't be getting into their feelings you know like when we play you know back in 2007 to i believe 2012 um our defense was ranked 1-1 5-2 and 1-1 in those years but we were highly you know critical of each other we were critical you know of ourselves and we held each other accountable it was you know it was nothing to to yell and scream at a guy you know you know i go back to i go back to uh stories where you got foot case you got casey hampton and you got foot and you know hamps are our big nose tackle he clogging up the middle he holding up two guys all the time so we get and they'll get maybe four or five yards on the run you know and then maybe they'll get four or five yards later on and the first thing hemp would do he'd be like god dang what the hell y 'all doing back there man y 'all gonna stop and make a tackle or what and this is like four or five yards so you got foot and hemp right there and they're arguing And the ref is like, who are you talking to?
6:45Like, they think we argue with the other team, but we talk to his own. I'm about to get a flag, man. So that was something that, you know, I was used to, you know, even when I first got to the Steelers, you know, you're going to be held accountable. What you do and don't do is going to be pointed out. Bill Coward, dude, when we watch special teams, the whole team watched special teams together. And he pointed out everybody that did something wrong, did not do a block right. Like, so we're going into meetings like, yo, man, how'd you play on special teams, bro? No, for sure. I don't know, man. I kind of missed that one block.
7:20So I think today's, you know, players are very, very sensitive
7:26James Harrison:when it comes to, you know, being corrected. When you're saying that, it makes perfect sense because the eye in the sky doesn't lie. And if a coach can show you on the tape and you can take accountability, that's me out there messing up, doing that wrong and not being able to have somebody like you did that being able to be like no that's me coach that's on me i got the next one you know i'm saying being able to take that criticism not be like nobody trying to do one up you or let you know but that's not acceptable like if it's on the tape then it's not good if you're doing good things on the tape we're gonna let you know that's perfect we need to be done so you know he's in the right stuff and when you do the wrong stuff being able to take it on the chin and be like nobody trying to clown you bro we just know that's not gonna work we're gonna lose with that you know what i'm sure and then you know like with him uh you know holding in as as they say and you know saying you know that he had an issue with his back and and all that other stuff um you know guys either know or don't know you can't tell somebody if their back is hurting but you know that's something else where uh i believe mike flores he he reported that you know the next cba will find a way to to try and stop the hold hands he said the holding process gives players who are willing to cite injury real or imagined and not play the real power the ultimate it's all the goal is it ultimately gave parsons the power to get out of dallas it's power the nfl wants to keep the nfl doesn't want players to have it so what do you think could be done or what do you think the could happen in the next collective bargaining agreement that would try and outstack so the nfl basically like this this the thing it is a business it is a business I think with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb and with the dudes on the on the team the teammates you understand that he's going through negotiations he doesn't want to put himself out there he's making two million dollars he's about to be making 40 to 50 million dollars per year there's no point of going out there and if you are a Cowboys fan or a Cowboys teammate you're looking at his situation a little different from like you So how do you think the NFL will try and attack this with the CBA, though?
9:35James Harrison:I think the NFL, man, they going. I mean, you can't tell me my back's not hurt. So I'm trying to figure out what specifically they can do to get me to practice or get me to not practice. I think when he's there getting treatment and saying things like that. But I mean, I don't know. Maybe they have to say if you get you're going to go get an MRI, you're going to go do all this stuff. But at the same time, you can't tell me that my back doesn't hurt. You can't tell me my back isn't tight. Go ahead. It's going to be tough for them to make that, you know what I'm saying, make NFL players have to do that.
10:10James Harrison:I think so. I think we need, when I say we, NFL, the NFLPA, I think they need way, way stronger leadership. And I go all the way back to, you know, the 2011 lockout. You were there for that, right? Yeah. Yeah, my biggest issue with that was we had poor, poor leadership. D. Marie Smith, I think he was trash, dude, when it really come down to it. I should be president. That's what it should come down to. I really should be president. I hear you. I'm here for it, D, bro. I'm voting for you. Come on. The first thing I would do is I would stop letting players vote that are not vested into the program that they're voting for.
10:53so you got 53 players on the team right you got another what is it now six or eight ten so you got six three total yeah 10 11 practice squads okay so now you go into the season and they bring in an extra 50 guys right those extra 50 guys get to vote on the collective bargaining agreement now if i'm a rookie yes i'm going to vote yes i don't care what's in there why because i get the opportunity to make half a million to multi-millions of dollars. I don't care what's in the collective bargaining agreement, but you're not probably going to be there. The average NFL career is three and a half years.
11:32To get vested, it takes you four years and four games to get vested, right? With that being a case, you're allowing people who will have no say he in the pod, save for something that won't happen. So I think the NFLPA should make a ruling. That's the first one, that if you aren't vested into this, you cannot have a vote into this. The second thing I think they should allow is players, you know, you get five years of health care after you're out. Players who are still on that health care plan, still into the NFLPA, they need to be able to have a vote. You know, the biggest issue I had with Dee Smith was you were put in position to make the hard decisions.
12:16And when it came time to make the hard decisions, you let the majority of what he's told me was 80 percent of guys are saying, yo, I need to go back to work. I don't have this. I don't have that. Didn't they tell us for two years to save up your money so that you had enough to last a year of a lockout? So the guys that didn't listen, I'm sorry, but me being the president of the NFLPA, I'm trying to take care of past, present and future. What he did was worried about the guys that didn't listen and didn't do what they were supposed to do. And for me, that is a trash move. I'm not going to allow my son to do something that I know is not good for him.
12:57You were put in a position of power where you can make that decision. I had guys on other teams that were like, dude, we didn't even vote. We went in and they were like, oh, yeah, we're going to practice. Everything passed. How did Jaws go, man?
13:09James Harrison:Yeah, I mean, a little bit of the same way. I think the vested players, the older guys, the dudes that were really in the league for a minute, were reading it. Were reading the contract, was trying to figure out to try to get the best deal. A lot of dudes, some other dudes, like you said, that didn't save up, weren't really ready for it. Like, man, living more paycheck to paycheck. They like, this is my second year in the league. I need to go get this check. I don't know what y 'all are talking about. Right. So that's what they're counting on. They're counting on the guys in years two, three, four that didn't do what they were supposed to do.
13:38Now they're going to be that extra, you know, 10 percent or whatever it may be. That's going to put them at the 51 percent that they need to get it passed. As the NFLPA president, I think the biggest thing they need to do is make it to where you cannot vote on the CBA unless you are vested into it. And I think that would make it a whole lot more beneficial for us as players, past, former, all that, to be able to get the things that really matter. I mean, look at the collective bargaining agreement I think that just passed. The biggest thing in there was, hey, we don't get suspended for smoking weed.
14:17James Harrison:Come on, man. Yeah. Yeah, you know, and that's another thing, too. They're keeping that over the NFL's head because weed is something that nobody, they need to let it be legal. They need to not test dudes for weed because at the end of the day, that is medical. I can't agree with that. Let me tell you this, Debo. Let me tell you why I say this. Let me tell you why I say this. Because if you're going to tell me that somebody can't go and do their job, they can drink and go on the job, you'll get fired. If you there high and can't practice, you're going to get fired. Nobody's going to want to lose their job over some weed, or maybe they might.
14:54James Harrison:But that's going to be their prerogative. They're grown. They're an adult. They can go smoke weed. They can go drink right before practice and come there. They better be on time. They have to do their meetings. That's your job. That's your profession. Nobody got to tell me what I can go do on my recreational time. But you also got to understand that, you know, I believe and I see that a lot of these NFLPA reps or people that are working for the NFLPA, it looks like half of them are trying to get a job at the NFL. I mean, you go with a prime example. Look at Troy Vinson. He was an NFLPA rep person.
15:33He worked for the NFLPA. next thing you know he's gone now he's working for the nfl that was during that whole time you know you know uh when uh upshaw ended up passing away sadly and they switched the over and then maurice came in and he shot over to the nfl uh to the nfl and now all of a sudden you know this thing you know gets passed with flying colors where you had teams talking about we didn't even vote. I mean, I understand all they needed was 51%, but like it, it, it doesn't make sense. And it seems like it's a, it's some self-sabotage going on in the NFL PA with them making it possible for the NFL to just glide over with these, you know,
16:20James Harrison:these CPA agreements, man. No, I feel you. I think you just, you just want better representation strictly for the players. And I, I think that you're, you feel like they're a little bit of, they're in a little bit of cahoots you know what i'm saying at the end of the day not trying to protect us as much cahoots i'll give you cahoots so i'll go back to um the whole al jazeer thing where they were saying that i was on gh and it was all these other players on gh right so the lawyer that the nfl pa gave me she said she was close friends with d smith so i'm like all right cool whatever so i sit down with her and i'm talking to her she's asking me all the questions have you ever did this have you ever did that no i ain't did this i ain't did that you know um you know i was telling her some stuff that uh my father had did i had did some alternative uh treatments for him because he had cancer and so on and so forth she's like whoa well did you you know do this do that no i didn't do none of that you know blah blah blah right so i get into the meeting with the nfl lawyers who are trying to make like i did something that i didn't do and i'm in there with her as my representative right i sit down in the meeting and the first thing the nfl lawyers tell me is okay um so your your uh your dad you know he had cancer he did some alternative treatments you uh uh you say you didn't do none of that are you sure about that if i was guilty and had told her this she would have ran and told them everything and That's the representation you sent for me as an NFLPA attorney to defend me?
17:59You're crazy.
18:02James Harrison:Dude, it was out of control. No, okay, no, I can respect that. You did. That's wicked. With the American Express Platinum card, I can unlock experiences like no other. Since I'm always booking my next trip, I love that I can earn points on travel. Plus, I get a resi benefit, so you know I'm hitting the restaurants everyone's talking about. And you can find out your welcome offer after you apply, which could be as high as 175 ,000 points. For experiences like no other, there's nothing like platinum. Learn more at AmericanExpress.com slash Explore-Platinum. Terms apply. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia.
18:42I also led the team that created MTV. And my co-founders and I are celebrating MTV's 45th anniversary this month. On my podcast, Math & Magic, Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing, you'll hear the untold origin story from the people who built MTV from the ground up. I want my MTV! Those are powerful words. My. Something for me that felt like mine and want. What a powerful word. Listen to Math & Magic, Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y 'all? It's your girl, Sam Jay.
19:21And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I Heart Women's Sports. Because let's be real, women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days. So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii. My first thought is just like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating? The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire timeline. And the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports.
19:54Naomi Osaka showing out. She beat Sabalenka. Shout outs to you, Naomi. You get the palm, Naomi. You get the palm for that. Because we're not just interested in what happened. We're interested in why everyone's talking about it. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to Everyone Watches Women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
20:16yeah for sure i see you got that cleveland hat on though so let's go ahead let's go ahead go to cleveland so you're uh they said uh shador your your guy joe thomas had something to say about the door they say it was strong i don't know exactly how you know strong i would i would say this is um thomas said they're not conspiring to sabotage somebody who by the way would be great for the league and he is great for the league because the league wants eyeballs on it there is no reason they would be trying to conspire against him and sabotage him he all goes on to say i think his ceiling i think he has a higher higher ceiling he's a great playmaker he was a tremendous he was tremendously accurate he has the feel when he's in the game and how to make the big plays.
21:12But just because you have the ceiling that's really high and the potential to be able to do that doesn't mean you could do that right now. What do you, what do you think of those comments about Shadour? Well, from Joe about Shadour.
21:27James Harrison:I love Joe Thomas. I love Joe T. And I know that Joe T is in Cleveland. He's out there. He's amongst the people. So he knows the pulse a little bit. And for me, I think it's more of the staff, the managers, the general managers, the owners and things trying to just chill the noise. They understand that they have Shador. They're just really trying to start Joe Flacco right now because he's just a consecutive that. You know what you're going to get. I think that they're going to try to build Shador up a little bit. Just give him a little bit of chances. But all right, let me keep it a bean. OK. When Shador did his last preseason game and they had the third stringers, fourth stringers out there, I didn't feel like that was a good position to put him in to win.
22:11James Harrison:And then when they had the fourth quarter drive with one possession left and they took him out and put Huntley in, I don't think they did not want him to drive that ball down there and get a touchdown just because it's just too much noise for the Browns to handle right now. I think they want Flacco to get in there, steady the ship, and then let Shador and let Dylan keep on battling it out. In my mind, Shador is going to be the better quarterback. Shador is selling this higher than what Joe Thomas is saying. But he's saying it's no point of throwing them into the fire right now. They have an OG.
22:43James Harrison:They have Joe Flacco. Somebody can just try to settle the thing. Let the season go. Let's get us some wins. You know what I'm saying? He's been in the league now, what, 18 years? So he's more of a just vet. The same thing that they're doing in New York with Dart and Wilson. You know what I'm saying? You need to just have a vet out there because you don't want to throw your rookie. You know, he's the long term deal. He's going to be there for a while. Yeah, I kind of I kind of agree with Joe. I don't I don't see them going in and drafting a guy that they don't see could possibly help the team. Rather, that is if that's right now or later on down the line that, you know, that is up to them to to to make that decision or where they see his development going to.
23:23But I don't see the conspiracy of actually drafting a guy anywhere and then, you know, not giving him opportunities or just sitting him there just to sit him there. I mean, you could just not draft him at all.
23:39James Harrison:I got a question for you, though. Do you, in your personal opinion, do you think Shador should have went in the fifth round? And if you like, or if not, why do you think he went in the fifth round? I don't think he should have went that low. And the reason I think he went that low is I think it has something to do with his dad. Rather that is them not liking him or him not going and doing the workouts. Answer the questions the way they like. His father told him not to. I mean, it's a big difference between Deion's talent and Shador's talent. Deion, that's generational. Shador is a talented athlete.
24:22But to, you know, go in there and not, you know, not work out, not not give him something. I think, you know, for me as a as a owner or a head coach that, you know, I want to see him do or, you know, throw certain, you know, throws or just having there to to see it, you know, in front of. And yeah, I would feel some type of way. but I mean to be fifth you know I think I think that was a little low no for sure I respect that
24:54James Harrison:though too I think that he thinks that he didn't go into the process the way he should have answering the right questions you know at the end of the day you're trying to you're working for somebody you're working for a company you know what I'm saying and that the quarterback position is a little bit different than DB or wide receiver where I'm gonna just come here I'm gonna do what I gotta do and just handle business regardless when you're a quarterback you're face of the franchise they want you to act a certain way you know i'm saying maybe treat them a certain type of way you know i'm saying because you're gonna have the keys you're gonna be the man so i think if he would have go back and do it he would have probably did that a little bit differently you know i'm saying just being a little cocky letting them know like yeah i'm him but at quarterback you gotta kind of transform and just be a little more uh yeah they gotta they gotta they gotta have an opportunity to really you know see and and and get the the for sure yeah this is what i'm getting it wasn't because you know you had this prolific receiver you know you had horn too you know so it wasn't you know it wasn't like uh you know he didn't have some good receivers over there so i totally you know understand it and like i said at the same time i understand you know how other people see it as being unfair because of you know the comparison of you know with his father but your boy Travis Kelsey your Clevelander he said that they should give the people what they want in terms of Browns fans Shador Stark give the people what they want the world wants to see him go out there and not only play but have success at this point guys are rooting for him this isn't anything against Dylan this isn't anything against Joe I'm just saying the excitement minutes there for Shador to go out there.
26:39He's going to put eyes on the screen. He's going to bring people to the game. What do you think about Travis saying that, man? That boy Travis is speaking that good stuff right there. Listen, this is what I think. This is what I think Travis should do, man. Travis can afford it now. Or will be able to. I think what Travis should do is go ahead since he feels so strongly about this. Travis, you should go and buy the Browns and let the fans make the decisions of who is going to play and who's going to start.
27:16James Harrison:That's it. I'm not going to lie. I mean, you know, no disrespect to the Haslam's. Love the Haslam's death. But if they were up to sale, sell it to Travis because him and Taylor got the bag enough to buy it. And I'm going to be there chilling with my good man, Travis Kelsey. The new owner of the Cleveland Browns. But for real, Frodo, Travis is speaking the way that I feel like. And I know, like, end of the day, they got Flacco just to make sure everything's good. He's a veteran. He's been in the league for a long time. But giving people what they want, he's talking about giving me what I want. He was talking to you.
Read the full transcript
27:56James Harrison:He was talking to me. I want Shador Sanders out there doing for real, starting with the starting line, the starting receivers, the starting line. You're saying go ahead, put him out there as a starter. No, no, no, no, no. Let him do what he do. I don't want. If that don't work, then you fall back to Joe? No, no, no, no, no. That's not what I. Travis is saying what I want to say, but I'm not going to really say it. I really want. Oh, OK. So that's what Travis is saying. That's what Travis said. Travis is saying what. That ain't what Joe is saying. That's not what I'm saying. I feel Travis, though, because I wouldn't be mad at it, but I want it to be Flacco.
28:33James Harrison:Just go in there. You know what I'm saying? Hopefully, Flacco does as best as he can. But as soon as he starts losing, boom. How many games? Shador's going to be in there ready. How many games? I'm not wishing on Flacco's downfall. So that's why I'm trying to say. How many games you got to lose before Travis throw – I'm going to say Travis. Before Travis throw Shador in there? If it ain't you. He got to lose – he got to lose three of them jumps. Three, three, three. It got to be three in a row or just three, period? It depends on our record. If it's two in a row and we're looking foggy and then we lose another one, three in a row for sure.
29:12James Harrison:It's definitely time. Okay. But he win a game, he bought some time. He lose one. He win two in a row? Two in a row. He win two in a row. Oh, he's chilling for a little bit. Shador needs to just start, you know what I'm saying, making sure. Take notes. Watch and see what he's like. Okay, so then he lose one, though. It's working. then he win one and lose one win one and lose one yeah to lose one win one lose one now he had he had three and two long as he don't lose two in a row and close to three in a row he's solid he's square business because like that means we're oh we're we're in the mix we keep it keeping it 500 keeping it 500 soon he gets two below 500 it's time okay so so speaking of quarterbacks let's go over here to the Stillers, man.
29:58I guess the Stillers sent a scout to look at the South Carolina quarterback Sears. It says, if things start off poorly, could you, could this finally be the season that the Stillers tank for a top quarterback in the NFL? Do you think that Stillers would tank for a top quarterback in the NFL? That sounds ridiculous.
30:20James Harrison:Do you think Coach Tomlin would come into one of those team meetings in the morning talking about taking an L like we're men we have something to do like this is our job we don't get paid by the hour you know what i'm saying like coach t not with that you're gonna come in that jump motivating with speeches and everything like we're gonna go undefeated it don't matter what they not even undefeated we're gonna win this week that's what i like about coach t he's not looking too far ahead what we're gonna do is who we plan what is our thing is we're gonna work on our schedule we're gonna do mondays we're gonna do like line we're gonna do uh red zone we're gonna do certain things We have a schedule that we're going to do, and we're going to do it no matter who we play.
30:57James Harrison:You know what I'm saying? What do you want to say? The nameless gray faces. It doesn't matter who they play. They're going to have to come see us. You know what I'm saying? So tanking for the Steelers is crazy that somebody would even think about that because we were with Duck Hodges, my good man, not knocking Duck. We're trying to win. We thought we were going to win. Every game in the Duck was the quarterback. Every game we go out, we never felt like we were inferior or anything like that. We're about to bust your ass. Seriously. I would never think of the Steelers tanking. And, you know, again, my biggest reason is Mike Tomlin.
31:35Mike Tomlin is not going to tank a season no matter what. He hasn't had a losing season in, what is it, 18 years. He's not going to go out there and try and have a losing season. And I know people say, you know what, man? it's time for a change it's time for this it's time for that you know he hasn't won a playoff game since 2016 um yeah you know that's that's that's one of the knocks but uh how many coaches out there you know can you say has the record he has has never had a losing season and to be quite honest with you i i believe that's one of the reasons why he will always keep a job in pittsburgh you know, whether he wins a playoff game or not, if he doesn't have a losing season, then, you know, he's going to be there.
32:27They're not going to get rid of him. They're going to re-signing. If you, you know, you look at the history of all coaches that is in the position that he's in, none of them have been fired. All of them have been rehired. And if you do that today in the hypersensitive racial culture that we have things would explode and i get it i totally get it for the people who are like a but the standard is the standard yeah it's it's sort of starting to sound like lip service because now it looks like the standard is 500 because we haven't won a playoff game since 2016. You know, you got six in one hand, you got a half a dozen in the other, and, you know, I understand both routes.
33:16The issue is you can't get rid of that. It's not, you can't, you know, you jump out of, you know, the grass is always greener on the other side. You think it's greener. You know what I'm saying?
33:33James Harrison:It's not really greener than that. And if somebody were to let go of Coach T, he would be picked up the quickest of any coach of all time. A lot of the other coaches would, a lot of other organizations would love to have Coach Tomlin as their head coach. And especially the way that people speak about him. Like, I know me, for instance, just playing for a bunch of different coaches in Cleveland, coming to Pittsburgh, Darius Slay, Jalen Ramsey. It's not just us. It's like, that's not normal. The way that he just is able to interact with his players, the way he's able to legitimately like have real conversations with you.
34:09James Harrison:He's not. Well, I will say this. I understand where you're coming from with that. And I had that I had that relationship where my relationship with Tomlin broke down was towards the end, you know, the last last year. And he always says, as a tough question, I'll give you a tough answer. well I was asking the tough questions you know I was asking the tough questions but I wasn't getting the tough answers I was getting the answers that you know he thought would appease me to be quite honest with you I'm like yo I need to play I need to do this I need to do that like okay yeah we got you know we got plans we're going to do something and you know nothing came to it and what it really came down to is I'm like yo if you just sitting me here to have me as a backup just in case one of your young guys go down and you can put me in there i understand that but say that say that say that to me say that right say that to my face i could do better than you sitting here and feed me a whole crock of stuff that does not make sense you know to the point of where we're going i think it was houston or something can't remember but it was before Christmas.
35:25And I'm like, yo, I know you're not going to dress me. I know you're not going to play me. Why don't you just let me stay at home? This is 2017. Right. So why don't you just let me stay at home for this game? And that way I could spend Christmas, you know, with my family, whatever. No, no, no, I can't do that. No, no, we go, you know, we go, we might need you. okay and then immediately leave it was that thursday or friday he released me like that's that's not something you just did on the top of a hat you know what i'm saying that was in the works yeah he was as he said a numbers you know thing or whatever it may be no you saw and here's the crazy part i said week one we played cleveland we played y 'all and i said hey that was i see what you want to do you want to you want to play your young guys i totally understand that phase me out you got younger guys i don't feel they're better than me right now but and time yes they will be so why don't y 'all just release me and let me go play my you know year out somewhere else no no no no we got a plan for you no you don't have a plan man and that's the same thing you kept feeding me so i got to the point where like you know what i'm just disgruntled i'm trying to do anything to get out of here like i'm trying to make y 'all release me dude like i'm i'm i'm not practicing i'm doing a little bit of everything i'm saying my back hurt i'm telling
36:59James Harrison:them any and everything like just release me you are funny because you saying this is bringing it back that was my when I first signed was 2017 when it was the when you was like kind of like that was the year you know I'm saying when they had it was a tj and bud you know you was getting the time and then you was coming into the meetings I'm like oh yeah just thugging it debo like you said I said yeah no I yeah I remember I remember I was there I said oh yeah that's debo for real but that's the thing that ain't that ain't even they made me go out of character. I know, Debo, but I'm just saying, that was my first time over there.
37:37James Harrison:You wasn't being me, but you was like, yeah, I could just tell you wasn't on that, but it was like, it was, you've been there so long, did so much. That's when the business kind of really hit to where you have a personal relationship with Coach Tomlin. Like, you feel like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm asking you the hard questions. You should be able to give me the hard answers. We're grown. We're maturing. We're grown men. Yes, I can understand that's what you want to do. No question. 100%, but tell me something. So, no, for sure. I can see that 100 ,000%. And, like, literally on my way out the door, too, in Pittsburgh, you have those conversations until they get a little bit too difficult for them to have, and then that's when the business side clicks in.
38:15James Harrison:It's like this, dang, it really is still a business. We cool as a mug. We super chill. But, dang, I still got chopped and didn't even know. You know what I'm saying? Right. It gets to that because, at the end of the day, it is love. Once you sign that contract, now we're going to make this family a family because we're going to be here. We got to be here. You know what I'm saying? I'm working with you because I'm going to do my job to make sure myself does good. You're going to coach me up, and now we got a relationship. But soon that somebody else coming in, contracted to acting, Kevin Colbert, get to talking to him, and he like this, ooh, so we got to have to let buddy go?
38:50James Harrison:That's their conversation. Don't have nothing to do with our relationship. My kids that you see. You know what I'm saying? Where mine really fell apart is, I believe it was either Tennessee or Indy. I done practiced all week. He's saying, all right, you're going to get reps. You're going to rotate you in, whatever, whatever, right? I get to the game. When I get to the game, Joe, I am a no-dress. I have no uniform in my locker. I am a game-based scratch, and I ain't been told a word until I walk in and see it. I told him right then and there, I said, listen, if I ain't playing, I ain't staying.
39:31And I left and went home. Yes, you did. That's when I started trying to do everything I could to get out of there. Now are you only lying. Now you disrespect me. You're not even talking to me and telling me anything. You're just blatantly lying now.
39:52James Harrison:Are you coming to the game, Debo, when your pads aren't in your locker? And it's a sweatsuit in the joint. I'm, oh, yeah, you fed, you have every right to be fed. Especially when you talking to them. You asking these questions when they like, just let me know where I'm at. And I'll let you know where you stand. If you want to know, I'll tell you. And then you're not telling me that. Yeah, that's great. That's great. I'm sorry that joint happened like that, brother. But you know how that, but you know. Yes. It's the size snapped. And that's what you like. Oh, okay. So I'm like. Right. You got to snap out of it.
40:21James Harrison:You got to realize the business is business. You know what I'm saying? you thought that personal relationship you had was going to get you honesty. No, it's going to get you what he needs to tell you to keep his business, keep his position to keep what he needs going so he can keep his job at this business. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? No, no, no, for sure. You know, uh, speaking of this, I am Bob Pittman chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. I also led the team that created MTV and my co-founders and I are celebrating MTV's 45th anniversary this month. On my podcast, Math & Magic, Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing, you'll hear the untold origin story from the people who built MTV from the ground up.
41:00I want my MTV! Those are powerful words. My. Something for me that felt like mine and want. What a powerful word. Listen to Math & Magic, Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y 'all? It's your girl, Sam Jay. And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I Heart Women's Sports. Because let's be real, women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days. So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii.
41:39My first thought is just like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating? The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire timeline. And the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports. Naomi Osaka showing out. She beat Sabalenka. Shout out to you, Naomi. You get the palm, Naomi. You get the palm for that. Because we're not just interested in what happened. We're interested in why everyone's talking about it. Because everyone watches women's sports.
42:09Listen to everyone watches women's sports. on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea. Every week, the news gets worse, the world gets crazier, and Yamanika is here to tell whoever's responsible you're the problem. If you come over here to play games, I'ma check you. Okay? If you do some shit in the news that don't sound good, I'ma play you. Join Yamanika Saunders as she breaks down the week's most problematic stories on our new podcast, You're the Problem with Yamanika. Do you know I just found out who Sydney Sweeney was?
42:47New episodes weekly every Wednesday as part of my new network, the Dear Chelsea Network. If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of men. Do better or do less so I don't have to do so much. So join Yamanika each episode as she answers one question. Who's the problem? I'm Yamanika and I'm out. Listen to You're the Problem with Yamanika on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
43:18Stillers, like, we got Aaron Rodgers over there. How far you think we're going to get with Rodgers?
43:23James Harrison:I lied to you not, man. If he can stay healthy, Aaron Rodgers is one of the best throwers of the ball that I've seen. Spiral, always on point. I think him being there with Coach T, like you said, the Steelers defense has always been amazing. And when we've had several different quarterbacks, offense has been able to get there. Just don't mess it up. Aaron Rodgers isn't the quarterback that throws a lot of interceptions. He's not going to be putting the ball, turning it over, putting the defense in bad positions. So I think if he could just stay upright, stay healthy, and his ball placement is amazing, just him and Coach T working together on a plan.
43:56James Harrison:Like, you don't got to throw for 5 ,000, but you could throw for 25 tutties and, like, two interceptions, and we could be balling. Like, long as the defense isn't set back in a terrible position, I think they'd be good to go. So, him with Coach T, I think it's going to be solid. I just hope he stands up. What if they start losing? How do you think it go if they start losing? Man, if they start losing, it's going to go the same way, man. You know how it is. It's one week at a time. I think they're going to be able to – they're going to just try to figure it out, figure out what's going on on the offensive side.
44:24James Harrison:I just hope that – Do you think that relationship stays the same? Do you think, or does it dissipate like we're talking about here? I think that Coach T may have a different relationship with the quarterbacks. You know what I'm saying? Because that's like him and Big Ben. I think that their relationship was pretty solid. You know what I'm saying? And with the quarterback position, with Aaron's knowledge, I think him maybe. Debo, stop making your face like that. Stop making your face like that. You assume what you assume, baby. Go ahead. I'm just saying, from my eyes, they might not have got along too well.
44:58James Harrison:They got along, right? They got along. From my eyes, it looked like they got along. And I think that with a smart quarterback like that, with Aaron and his knowledge, I think they're going to be able to try to figure something out. Just in my eyes. What do you think, Debo? You was there longer than me. Like I said, I'll say again, I think if things go well, they go well. That's why it's a one-year deal. If they go well, it's a possibility for being something else. But if they don't, our ties is cut and we go the way we go. I think it gets super ugly if they get to a point to where it's looking like it's going to be Thomas' first losing season.
45:43Because now that puts him in a position he's never been in. and it opens up the gate to a lot of other decisions that could be made, you know, by the Steelers organization. No, for sure. I think Rodgers, to be honest with you, I don't think he's the player that he used to be. I think now it's to the point where those balls that he would zip out there and it's just a fingertip away and you couldn't get to it now guys are getting a hand on that ball some guys are picking that ball the placement is not exactly perfect like it was you know it's it's three inches off three inches off there's somebody touching the ball picking the ball and the ball getting it to the receiver's hands they lie I don't know if you know he's come to the realization that you know it's a little something a little different maybe he has to adjust and he just hasn't adjust to it yet but you know that's the the big difference that i see you know especially like when you know we played him in the super bowl it's like you know you got you got rc he's right there and it's you know fingertip yeah yeah he just misses it and you know it's a tutty so those those plays and those throws that you know he had his whole career i think over the last year or two, he doesn't, you know, he just doesn't have those perfect, you know, throws anymore and, you know, I think that's the difference that, you know, we're seeing now in the last couple of years.
47:22No, for sure.
47:23James Harrison:I'm rooting for him because Aaron Rodgers has been one of my favorite quarterbacks for a long time and I hope he's doing good for us. I'm always rooting for him. Throw out some discount double checks, man. I think if you bring that back, it might get back. Sweet, start doing the discount. Oh, hold on, hold on. We got breaking news, brother. Still is running back Jalen Warren, headed into the last year of his deal, just signed a two-year deal extension that keeps him contractually tied to the Pittsburgh Steelers through 2027. Do you like this move? I love this move. I was going to say the same thing.
48:00James Harrison:Because Jalen Warren, he hits that hole like he cares. He hits it. He's going to get north and south. He's going to catch the ball out of the backfield. He's going to block. And he looks like he just he just cares to me when I see him run. I see his passion. I see him being a being a very, very good asset to the team. So that's why I think they didn't care as much. Not never knocking Najee, love Najee. But it wasn't as expensive. And he was hitting that hole very hard. So then being able to keep him, I think that's a great move for the Steelers. I don't think they probably had to pay my man too much, but he's worth every penny or whatever they signed him for.
48:38James Harrison:because he deserves back pay. He's getting a little back pay in this contract and then this joint right now because he's a solid player. I think he's a good dude, and I think he's going to be solid for the Steelers for sure. Yeah, I agree with you 100%. I think having him there gives you a better opportunity to have a running game, which will hopefully help take some of that pressure off of Rodgers and stop allowing the D-line to just pin their ears back in certain situations, keep the game close. When you have a two-headed monster, so to speak, and I wouldn't even call it a monster, you have a two-headed attack and you have a running game that can complement your passing game, it's a lot harder to zero in.
49:25He is a good running back, like you said, north and south. He's going to put his head down, and if it's nothing but three, four yards in a cloud of dust, that's all you need to keep the change moving. So I definitely like the move. I'm all in for it.
49:42James Harrison:I like that you're a Jalen Warren fan. We feel the same way. That dude, he just gets after it, bro. Yo, man. Why this dude on live talking about he go beat my ass, bro? No, he not. Ocho, Ocho, that's my good man, too. I mean, Ocho, that's my good man. I don't know. Y 'all ain't going to nobody. You see I sent you the word, man? I'm trying to be, I'm trying to be a, I'm trying to live my life right, be peaceful. But what he doing is he making me go back into that other side. No. I'm going to bust his ass, bro. I'm going to take it to where he can't see out both eyes. Oh, no. One of his eyes, damn near.
50:18He ain't going to be able to see out of neither one of them. Come on, D-Bo.
50:22James Harrison:See, relax, D-Bo. We got to chill. I'm going to get on the, I'm going to talk to Ocho. I'm going to talk to Ocho. We going to talk. We all going, we all going to just chill. Listen, Ocho, I'm going to talk to him with these hands and these feet. And the feet. And the feet. It's MMA style, man. It ain't nothing. Stop. You know what? Let me stop that. Oh, yeah. That's what I'm saying. I ain't going to hurt him too bad. No, man. That's my great man. Come on. That's a good dude right there. I ain't hurting too bad. I'm just going to do enough. I'll just put him to sleep. I'll just choke him out. How about that?
50:55All right. Just let him tap. Quick tap. Pop, pop, pop. I don't even know if I can let him Okay, if he tap then Quick tap Nah, nah I gotta make like I ain't feel the tap though He gotta at least Fall out for a little bit, you know what I'm saying I'm gonna tap you full Who you taking, me or Chad We gotta get this, we getting this set up So we're going to do this MMA
51:21James Harrison:Listen, if we're talking MMA Brother, if we're taking MMA, I'm taking you Debo, because I'm telling you I mean, how you going? I'm just done with you. You grab hold of Chad. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't know how he's going to get out. He ain't. He ain't. And see, that's what I'm going to do because I'm a nice person. You go ahead and just grab a hold of him. And just squeeze. Matter of fact, I'm just going to bear hug him until he taps. That's what I'm saying. Just break a rib. You know what I'm saying? Just squeeze him so tight until his rib. Chill, man. Chill, Debo. You know? Chill, Debo.
51:54That's better than damaging his vision permanently.
51:58James Harrison:Man, let's see. Look. You can heal from that. Let's get off my good man, Chad, and get to some more takes. You out here trying to fight. Listen, man, I ain't trying to fight. He on live talking about what he going to do to me. What you want me to do, man? Yeah, you got to respond. I got to respond. What else am I supposed to do? Not respond? Yeah, that's my bad. Listen, man. So the Giants got some issues over there, right? Not even really an issue. They've got some quarterback possibility things going on. The Giants have a demanding open season schedule, it looks like, playing the Commanders, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Chargers over the first four weeks of 2025, buddy.
52:44Athletic reports that Russ must engineer wins against those contenders to prevent head coach from benching him for the rookie, Dart. It sounds awfully familiar to 2019 when the plan was for Eli Manning to start with Jones on the bench, and then Jones took over at their 0-2 start. Do you like how Jackson Dart played this preseason? I do. Do you like enough to just be like Go in here and don't give Russ a shot at all.
53:24James Harrison:No, they're doing the same thing that the Browns are doing with Joe Flacco to Russell Wilson. They're literally putting them out there. If you start losing, darts on your ass. If you win, you can hold them all for a little bit longer. Them dudes, bro, Russell Wilson contract one year,$11.3 million. Joe Flacco's contract, one year for$4 million up to$13 if he plays. So both of them dudes got team-friendly contracts. The coaches is like this. We got these vets out there year 14, year 18, with these rookies behind them. They're going to look and see what's going on. They might not get their head beat enough at the beginning of the season.
54:04James Harrison:Watch and learn. See. Because it's about to be you out there. Take notes. You know what I'm saying? So as long as the vets can hold it off, they're going to be out there to play. Russell, same thing. He got a schedule on his head. He might go. They might give him full shots. Okay, so what happens if Russ get out there, Russ do his thing, somehow, miraculously, he falls back into the form he had in Seattle, and he's doing the thing, and he done went pro-bow, all pro. What happens then next year? Next year, they might give him another one-year jump, maybe two. But which round did they get darted in, right?
54:46James Harrison:They got darted in the first round. Yeah. Like Patrick Mahomes. You don't get a first rounder to sit him around for two. Like Patrick Mahomes. Like Patrick Mahomes. Patrick Mahomes didn't play. Patrick Mahomes didn't play. Aaron Rodgers didn't play. These dudes chill. And as soon as they got in, they took off. You know what I'm saying? I think if Patrick Mahomes would have got in before Alex Smith was ready to move, then he might have been looking crazy. You know what I'm saying? It's a possibility. It's a learning curve. It's a little curve. A little curve. So, like, I think the longer the – It's a big learning curve.
55:15I think for quarterbacks, it's even bigger, you know. I mean, you go back to – I mean, well, Ben ended up starting, I believe, his first year after – I think it might have been an injury or whatnot. But you know what Ben had? Ben had a running game. Running game in the defense.
55:32James Harrison:Y 'all was knocking people's heads off, and they had a big line, and y 'all was toting that joint. Yeah, Ben got the opportunity, I believe, to have that learning curve. but actually be in there and do it through the process of the first, you know, couple years, you know, where they'd run the ball, run the ball, hit you with a, you know, hit you with a deep pass or run, run, pass here, run, run, pass here, however it was, which took, you know, a lot of, a lot of pressure off him, especially as being a young quarterback sitting out there trying to read, you know, defenses, you know, complicated defenses at that.
56:08and you know that opportunity I think helped him you know grow even faster um I think you know even to the point of you know where he would you know especially when he was real young he'd scramble around and I think like some of that may have been you know just trying to get to the read in time just maybe couldn't get to the read in time and now you know the pressure is coming so now he scrambles and what's the first thing that happens when the quarterback starts scrambling your defense breaks down you know you start trying to get to whoever's near you and that's great you know when you're a quarterback because now it's just spot and throw you know spot the guy you want to hit and throw it to him so I think that you know that was something that was beneficial to him you know being a young quarterback having that running game having that offensive line having that defense that you know was going to make sure that you got opportunities to be able to go out there and just take it, take your time, you know, getting into the NFL system and then having a defense that if you did make a mistake, you know, they were there to back you up and put out the fire.
57:18James Harrison:Yep. He didn't feel like they putting the whole, everything on him. It's not all depending on you. We're going to be good regardless. Just don't go out here and mess it all up. You know what I'm saying? Like just be consistent, do your part, do your 111th, and we're going to be good. But I think that's really good for rookies not having to have too much on their head to come in there and like, oh, no, I got to change the franchise. No, you need to come out here, make sure you know the reads, know what you're doing, know where everybody's job is. And then we're going to be able to get into it. Hand the ball off to this great running back you got, you know what I'm saying, behind this big line.
57:48So at what point do you think they put in Dart?
57:54James Harrison:And where is that? I think it's the same thing. just depending on how he starts off the season. And I think after the first – Russell Wilson's going to play at least four. 0-2, like Jones. He go 0-2, what happens? He go 0-2, they're talking. He goes 0-2, he might start the third game, he may get pulled. So you say he go 0-2, that it's a possibility he gets a chance in the third game, having the rook ready to go ahead and step on in. He might get pulled in the third game. Won't make it to the, I don't know if he make it to the fourth if they go on three. Because the way Dart was looking in the preseason, he looked, he looked like, all right, man, this is going to be keep losing.
58:39James Harrison:Like, he was playing. You know the thing I hate about the preseason, man, is that you don't really get to see the players that you're going to get to see in the regular season. So it may make some guys look better than what they are. Because you're not actually going against the talent that you would be going against. because, you know, like you said, like I said, rather, 50 of those guys that just got put in there aren't going to make it. Nope. So, you know, that's, again, another six in one hand, half a dozen in the other. No, a thousand percent. Yeah. But do you think that if this doesn't work here and Russ gets benched, do you think this is the last stop for him?
59:25Do you think that's?
59:27James Harrison:Man, no. quarterbacks have 13 ,000 lives. And I know for sure somebody have him as a backup somewhere. Like, yeah, I think he's a good dude. I don't know. The circus, they might think Russell has a little bit of stuff going on with him. But in my opinion, I think he'd be able to stay in the league a couple more years for sure. If not trying to fight for a star. When you say the circus, you got to elaborate on that. When I say the circus, just the way Russell would go, whatever team it is, go. Like, just his little, that stuff. And then just from Seattle, I don't, he's a good dude. I like Russell Wilson.
1:00:09James Harrison:People try to say he's a little, like, corny and then bringing in Ciara. Like, there's more than just being a quarterback. It's a little bit of an entourage to him, too. And I don't mean to say circus. I don't think it's a circus. I love Ciara. I love Russell. Nothing but nice to me. But the way that people always try to make other people's situations seem like, oh, we got so much going on. NFL owners, they may not want to have time for if your quarterback is not balling like a$50 million quarterback, they might think that that's a lot that comes with him. So I'm not trying to say that that's me personally.
1:00:41James Harrison:I'm just trying to say how to way, you know, I'm saying leave. I think, I mean, just from what I've seen and what I heard, I think I think to any organization, you know, depending on not any organization, depending on where you at. I don't think New York, it would it would be such a thing. I think in a handle it smaller. Yeah, I think it's smaller, less smaller cities. it would be smaller markets more of a distraction you know um especially you know with the with the entourage uh that you know comes along with it and uh the players you know you know we in Pittsburgh you know don't nobody go around with you know bodyguards or anything like that Everybody goes where they need to go by themselves.
1:01:32But for me, I think it would be his last stop. It's New York. It's the Giants, bro. I mean, where else you going to go from there?
1:01:46James Harrison:It's probably not to like just if he wants to stay in the league, you know what I'm saying? You know how you got those guys, man. At the end of the day, backup quarterbacks is probably one of the easiest positions to have in the league. But do he want to be a backup quarterback making, you know, mid-league minimum? And, you know, it's a lot that goes on with you having all that stuff around you. Is that even, you know, worth it at that point? You know what I'm saying? No, no, no, for sure. I don't think it would be worth it to Russ, but you never know, like, if he wants to still be involved in the game.
1:02:19James Harrison:Like, this is what he's doing. But at the same time, like you said, he got a lot of stuff going on off the field. So he may not like 11, 11 million a year right now to him is he's, he, he got dough. So he's not really worried. Man, I'd be worried about the bread as much, but I'm like, for the love of the game, if you want to go give yourself a shot to try to continue, you're right. I don't know who many teams would maybe give him that starting opportunity. If he's okay with the backup role, then that'd be a situation. He might just got to be like, you know what? Like my time is up. Or like you got gracefully bowed out the league.
1:02:50James Harrison:Don't let you know when your time is up, when you start getting them calls, you know like oh ain't nobody hitting okay so I guess it's my time to go ahead and go yeah I'll agree with you on that that I think it's going to come down to him going somewhere and them saying okay you're going to be the starter I don't I don't think that's going to happen him going somewhere and being okay with saying okay I'm going to be the backup to blah blah blah you know it gives you a you know a person that has played in this game for a while understands things and can come in and give you that fill-in when you would need it.
1:03:28But is he willing to do that? That's going to be the big thing that is going to be yet to be seen, I would say. As far as him being corny, man, he ain't corny, dude. I don't think he's corny either, bro. I think he's a very
1:03:50he's him dude and it's not it's not see corny is being fake to me that's him he's not yes yes okay no it's just totally him i met the dude sat down with him you know uh eight and i'm sitting there and i'm looking and i'm talking to him and and we're you know we're there for a few hours and I'm like, this is really him. This is really the guy he is. It's the dude you see on TV. That's him. That's authentically him. Some people may call it corny, but it's only corny if you're doing it and it ain't you. That's him, man. I didn't go live. It kind of surprised me to see. And I'm like, I'm about to see the real him.
1:04:41You know what I'm saying? I didn't know. I had never met him. I'm like, all right, I'm about to see him behind closed doors. What ain't really in front of the cameras. And I'm sitting there and I'm like, yo, that's really him, man.
1:04:55James Harrison:He's genuine, bro. He's genuine, genuine. He's super, super chill, too. And that's like you said, too. You said corny is somebody pretending to be something they not. That's not Russ. No. That ain't Russ. Yeah, that's authentically him, man, for sure. Hell yeah. Hold on, man. So who else we got going? The Cowboys? The Cowboys. We got my guy right here, Blaine. That boy got four-year,$92 million extension, including$50 million guaranteed. He will average$23 million. Makes him the sixth highest-paid corner in the league. How you think? Never mind. I ain't going to get messed. I was going to ask you how you think Michael feel about that Nah man Nah what do you think What do you think of the deal though Oh man I think that's a great deal He went and got 23 a year Six highest paid Cornerback I think from that year when he went All pro pro bowl he had like Nine picks a couple pick six In a row I think he had like Five that season or something I think it was five That season bro So, yeah, he stepped on it, and then last year he got injured, so he missed 10 games.
1:06:07James Harrison:But like you said, back pay, he wasn't a high pick, and now he's able to get that bag. And now him opposite of Diggs, I think they should be able to kind of lock down that secondary a little bit more, man. Be consistent, get some picks, man. Keep the big plays in front of them. I'm going to go ahead and explain to the people back pay. So when we say back pay, back pay means I played my first, say, three or four years. Three or four years. Okay. And I'm on a rookie deal. That rookie deal, if I'm good, or that rookie deal, if you play above it, means that those years that you played, you played at the level of, say, top five guy in the league.
1:06:55those top five guys in the league make a certain amount of money. That certain amount of money over those three years average out to something. So when it comes time for the deal, they won't back pay, which you should get your back pay because you play for$2 million a year or$3 million a year when you play it at a level for a guy that should be making$20 million a year. So as soon as I get to that deal, I'm going to need$40,$60 million of back pay, which should be guaranteed plus what you see my future being another 20 or so and that's where we at with a nice little four-year 92 million dollar contract extension that's what we talked
1:07:38James Harrison:about when we say back pay so i could break down the contract for you for the back pay debo and that is the uh micah parsons contract and that's exactly why we get to this back pay Micah Parsons signed four years,$17 million fully guaranteed in his rookie contract. That good man was making$4.4 million a year while he was sacking the quarterback 10 to 15 times a year. 12 plus each season. 12 plus each season. By the same time, we got T.J. White, Myles Garrett making$25 million a year. And then they read up. This is their second contract that they hit there for. So Miles hit him again, hit him for five years, 125, then hit him again for four years, 160.
1:08:20James Harrison:Micah Parsons is coming off of making$4.4 million in his first rookie deal. $4.4 million a year. So 10.4, rookie deal, got a nice little sign in mind,$9 million. Then 1.4 the next year, after taxes, my man touched,$700 ,000. Year three, 2.2, after taxes, my man touched,$1.3 million. dollars. Year full, 2.9. He's touching 1.6, 1.7 million. So he's sitting here looking around at Miles making 25. Then he reads up for 40. He needs his pay. This first contract is your back pay and it's your biggest contract. The one where no matter what happens, I'm going to be able to provide, be good. This is when you start making generational.
1:09:02James Harrison:That first contract, that 17 million, I understand everybody's like, oh, the generational wealth. But you understand when you looking at another man making the same plan the same position doing the same thing as you that's making 25 million dollars a year to 40 million dollars a year and you making four it just baffles you so you have to get to your bag initially first for back pay and front pay and then i think what a lot of people don't understand is the uh the lack of financial financial education that we as players didn't have. I was one of them. My first year, I saved up a lot because I was practice squad.
1:09:42That was that. But when I got my first deal, that was like$5 million, like three or four years,$5 million. At the end of that deal, dude, I had about$300 ,000 in the bank. I had a house and a car. I was spending it as fast as I was getting it because I wasn't even counting it. And I didn't, you know, I didn't have that, that understanding that like, yo, this could be over with and it could all end out of nowhere. You're like, oh, my next check is going to be this. I'm going to be good. You're not, you're not looking, you know, further into the future. That's why when, you know, I got my big deal, all I did was, you know, I gave money, I invested, I gave money, I invested, you know, they say you get in spending no i was i was investing it because i had then got old enough to understand and see that you know what i gotta be able to save and the biggest thing for me to happen for me dude to be honest with you when i got my second deal is i had my son james and i was like oh shit i got to take care of somebody else i gotta make sure that you know he's taking care that he has something when the time comes that i'm no longer here and you know then i back that up with henry and i'm like whoa like i i can't you know god forbid i leave this world early i at least got to leave them something i mean no matter when you leave they're gonna be hurt but you know it's gonna help a little more if they have something to lean on you know a thousand Yeah.
1:11:19So that was what really, you know, got me to where I was like, yo, I can't I can't keep doing what you know what I'm doing.
1:11:27James Harrison:No, for sure. Because at the end of the day, they didn't teach that in school, in high school. They didn't teach you about money in middle school, high school, when you went to college. So you go from making really nothing to now you really getting checks. And at the end of the day, the taxes, all that stuff is a real thing. People see your$5 million. You didn't touch$5 million, and it was in five years. So you busting that down, you touch two and a half, and then you have to live your damn self, and people think you got five. Yeah, and you're helping this. You're helping this. You're doing all that because you're not counting it, dude.
1:12:02You're not counting it. I'm trying to get people to understand. Guys aren't counting this. They're not, especially when you first get in there. Boy, when you first get in there, you think you're going to play.
1:12:11James Harrison:You think you're going to play forever. You're never going to be in the league. So the next check, the next check. I spent$3 ,000 for my signing bonus and you couldn't tell me shit. Bro, you thought that was$300 million. Bro, you couldn't tell me nothing, man. So, yeah, that's the part, too. Us being able to stay in the league, so that first contract. And then some people, they get cut. So that's the part where, how did they go broke? I could show you easily. Like, it's not that difficult. And you know, it could last forever. Let me tell you something. If you can't manage your little 200, 300, 400 dollars, you're not going to be able to manage a lot more money.
1:12:52James Harrison:300 million, period. You're going to be able to start doing things that you think that is cool and sweet and all that. So just being able to get financially literate and then being able to do that. If you did spend that at the beginning. Natural literacy is something that they need to teach to all young athletes. That should be a requirement. And the part is, too, you can't knock kids also because if you never had it, you can't tell them they can't do nothing. You're going to be able to have a budget. You're going to be able to spend some stuff. I know you threw away plenty of money on cars and everything else.
1:13:29James Harrison:You know it. And some jewelry and things. But at the same time, you got to give yourself a budget. Have a little bit of fun. But knowing at the end of the day, we're planning for if this contract was to end today. You know what I'm saying? Not you're dependent on next contracts, next deals. You know how many guys when I first got in the league, it was like, yo, man, I got to get to this next contract. I ain't got nothing. I got to get to this next contract. And 70 % of them never got to it. Yeah. They planning on spending money that you don't even have yet. That's the crazy part. You're like, oh, yeah, this whole joint right here.
1:14:01James Harrison:Wait, but I get the next one. That's when I'm going to start saving. it's too late for that boss man look like we done ran over a little bit so what we gonna do here is we gonna let y 'all know I hope y 'all enjoyed the first ever Deebo and Joe show again we need y 'all to like and subscribe you don't wanna miss it you wanna see more Joe Tell them what's gonna happen if they don't like and subscribe, Joe If you don't like and subscribe To Deebo and Joe I'ma have Deebo Whoop yo ass That's for you, Chad Oh, Chad Like and subscribe I'm Nick Turturro You probably know me from NYPD Blue The Longest Yard Or Spike Lee's Black Klansman And on my new podcast, Delivering Happiness with Nick Turturro I deliver pizza to a new guest.
1:15:02I've shared a slice with everyone, from Seth Rollins... What are you doing with my belt? ...to Bill Burr. I don't think I've ever met somebody so exactly out of their mind as I am. And now, we even have more great guests coming up, including the great John Turturro. It's called happiness. Delivering happiness. And many, many more. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Delivering Happiness with Nick Turturro, and listen now. On Raiders of the Lost podcast, we explore cinema like no one else, including huge interviews with stars like Ryan Gosling on Project Hail Mary. It was like the Jaws shark.
1:15:37Didn't always work, came with its own problems. That's what made it great. The cast of Obsession. On set, there was so much magic happening with each scene we were putting together. Deep dives into classics like 2001 A Space Odyssey or Fight Club, plus weekly episodes on all industry news. Listen to Raiders of the Lost podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And for more, follow at Raiders of the Lost podcast and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, Portlandia fans. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here. The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form.
1:16:15We're launching Podlandia AO Rewatch, our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together. breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters, and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life, guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised not just words, but a song. Well, I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that.
1:16:47Listen to Podlandia, AAO Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
From the publisher
Join NFL Legends James "Deebo" Harrison and Joe Haden as they react to Cowboys LB Micah Parsons being traded to the Green Bay Packers, Browns legend Joe Thomas claiming there is no conspiracy surrounding Shedeur Sanders, whether this will be the season Mike Tomlin is fired by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and much more!
1:53 - Micah Parsons considered self-centered by Cowboys teammates?
6:00 - Next NFL CBA deal to target player hold-ins
16:05 - Joe Thomas calls out Shedeur Sanders conspiracies
21:52 - Travis Kelce wants Shedeur to start
25:50 - Steelers tanking for a Top QB?!?!
36:25 - Thoughts on Aaron Rodgers as Steelers QB1
40:43 - Steelers RB jaylen Warren signs extension
45:29 - Russell Wilson on short leash in NY?
58:20 - Cowboys CB DaRon Bland signs extension
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)
#Club #Nightcap
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
