Buy or sell their offseasons: The Middle Class

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2:23Robert Mays: Welcome to The Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. Keeping it going with our buying or selling off-seasons series today. Last week, we did the rebuilding teams. Today, it is the middle class. Panthers, Saints, Commanders, Colts, Vikings, Bucks, Steelers, and Goals. Today on our show, we're just running through like we did last week. All eight of their off-seasons, the moves that they made, Are we buying or selling the approach that these teams took in 2026? That's me and Dave Hellman breaking it down right now.

3:05Robert Mays: It is the second installment today of our buying or selling offseason show. We're going to hit all 32 teams over the course of these four shows. Last week, it was the Rebuilders, right? The teams that are in transition, to say the very least. Teams that are probably near the bottom when it comes to Super Bowl odds. Today, we move to the group that we are calling the middle class. This is going to be the first one where there might be some arguments about which team should be in this group. But I think we do have a decent amount of plausible deniability as to why we landed on these eight.

3:37Derrik Klassen: I would guess we're going to hear some things. I mean, by my count, there's two 2025 playoff teams in this group. and at least another handful of teams that had high expectations at one point during the season, whether it was the beginning or the middle. So, yeah.

3:53Robert Mays: One of those playoff teams was below 500.

3:55Derrik Klassen: I didn't say they were great playoff teams.

3:58Robert Mays: I feel okay about that one. And then the second playoff team got absolutely dog-walked in that playoff game. So I feel okay about both of those.

4:05Derrik Klassen: Robert, what you're not understanding is that everybody's team is just going to get better year over year. There's no variance. There's no unpredictability. Things are going to be better than they were last year.

4:15Robert Mays: The last team, we can talk about this now. The team that I think was most on the bubble for this group, when you look at Super Bowl odds, playoff odds, things like that, was probably the Bengals. They ended up here. And I think partially in my mind, I'm tempted to just be like, oh, the Bengals are a playoff hopeful team. We'll do them in the playoff hopeful bucket. And then you realize that the Bengals haven't made the playoffs in three years. The Bengals probably belong in this tier right now until they prove us otherwise.

4:38Derrik Klassen: I'm happy we're putting the Bengals here, because as somebody who defends the Bengals and wants the best for the Bengals, like the results don't match the way that they're often talked about, at least over the last two or three years. And it's a what have you done for me lately league? So this is nice. Like I have hopes that the Bengals can be a better team than this, but based on the last couple of years, I think this is probably where they belong.

5:00Robert Mays: The odds I was looking at, the Bengals, Bears, and Jags all were 25 to one to win the Super Bowl. And I think I felt most comfortable being like the Bears and the Jags deserve the benefit of the doubt here. The Bears won a playoff game last year. The Jaguars won 13 games.

5:13Derrik Klassen: Yeah, I mean, the Jags won 13 games and there was there was debate about them being in this category. And we were all like, no, that that doesn't make sense based on where it looks like they are.

5:22Robert Mays: So let's start with these eight teams. Let's begin with the team we mentioned at the top. The team made the playoffs last year, but did it with a losing record. And that is the Carolina Panthers. Biggest moves for the Panthers this offseason signed Jalen Phillips for years, 120 million. Devin Lloyd, 342. Brought in Rasheed Walker as left tackle depth. Luke Fortner as interior offensive line depth. In the draft, Monroe Freeling, Lee Hunter, the nose tackle from Texas Tech, Chris Brazel from Tennessee, the wide receiver. Are you buying or selling the Carolina Panthers 2026 offseason?

5:55Derrik Klassen: It's early in the show to say this, but we're going to go over a lot of teams today. I think this is the offseason that I buy the most in this entire category. I really, really like what the Carolina Panthers did in this offseason. You take your biggest swing, one of the biggest swings of the free agency period on one of the most important positions in the game. A guy that I really love. I mean, the only question with Jalen Phillips is just if he can stay healthy. But the last two times he's been healthy, he's been top 10 in the league in total pressures. Like if there's a guy worth taking a swing on and investing$120 million in, I think it's Jalen Phillips.

6:31Derrik Klassen: Devin Lloyd, we said it heading into free agency. He's the exact type of free agent that scares the crap out of me, but they got him at a cost that is not scary at all. Like if I had known going into free agency that Devin Lloyd would get three years, 42 million, I would have been advocating for a lot of people to go after him. I just, I thought the price tag would get a little more out of whack. And on top of that, it's, it's not like the Panthers had a good linebacker situation, you know, there's only, there's only, you can only go up from where Carolina was. So for a variety of reasons, I like the Lloyd signing a lot more than I thought I did.

7:07Derrik Klassen: Luke Fortner. Actually, the Panthers offensive line, consider this. You lose Ikiakuanu in the playoffs, which is just a terrible, terrible time to sustain an injury. Like, think about how the Micah Parsons injury affects the way that we're going to talk about the Packers when we get to them in this series and how much that sucks. You deal with the Ikiakuanu injury and you replace losing Cade Mays with two capable starters, I would say. Maybe not amazing starters, but getting Rasheed Walker and Luke Fortner at a base cost of like$6 million is fantastic team building. And then they just added a bunch of guys who can help the overall depth of their roster in the draft.

7:48Derrik Klassen: I thought it sounds weird to say sensible about a team that gave out$120 million contract, but just a very sensible offseason that addressed a lot of their biggest problems.

7:59Robert Mays: We talked a lot about the Jalen Phillips contract and the Devin Lloyd contract in the moment. And I was on board with both of them for reasons that, again, we hit a lot during the free agency period. The Jalen Phillips contract is massive. It's$30 million a year for a guy that, like you said, has struggled to stay healthy for his career. And even when he's been healthy, he's not like an elite, elite, elite player. And I still think it's an okay thing to do because, again, like we talked about, they missed on Milton Williams last year. and I think consciously or not that informed the way that they approached this free agency period with Jalen Phillips because I think and I said this a lot in the moment I think it's worse to pay solid players very good money than very good players elite money in a free agency because I think the most important thing you can do is make sure that you have needle moving difference making players and even if they had to pay a premium to get Jalen Phillips he is one of those guys in a way that Tershawn Wharton is not right.

8:57Robert Mays: And so I think they had to shop in that category last year because they missed on Milton Williams. And I think this is them kind of over correcting or correcting that a little bit in a way that I understand and I'm okay with.

9:08Derrik Klassen: And the injury situation is undoubtedly a risk. I'm not trying to say that it isn't, but, and I remember saying this when it all happened in March, I'm so much more comfortable knowing he has produced like this sort of player and it's just a matter if he can stay healthy as opposed to he's never produced like this and we're paying him to make a leap once he gets to our team the leap's been made like he is that guy and on top of that the panthers have talent around him that can take some of the pressure off him and hopefully help him look as good as possible i mean derrick brown sitting in the middle of your defensive line you would think is going to make anybody look great so if it's just a matter of him staying on the field I feel really comfortable with that and yeah there is injury risk but it's a 100 % chance of injury game we talked about Devin Lloyd and the reason he made

9:59Robert Mays: 14 million dollars this year I think two things one he's an older player it's giving me his age 28 season and two it's really one year of that level of production both of those things the prices it's that's baked into the price that you're paying and I think that I'm okay with both of those when you land at$14 million a year. He got less than Jamie and Sherwood and Nick Bolton got last offseason. And I think Devin Lloyd was a better player in 2025 than either of those guys were in their contract years, even if they're a little bit younger. So both of those moves I can easily get on board with.

10:28Robert Mays: You talked about them kind of protecting themselves a little bit with the offensive line depth. I think the Rasheed Walker thing is a perfect, okay, if we don't get the tackle in the first round, we can live with this. They did get Morrow Freeling in the first round. And now if you want to slow play it, he doesn't have to play till week five or six. You bring him along at the right pace. If he's better, he'll play. If he's not, you have an answer in the short term with the quantum hurt. I think that's a great way to set yourself up. The only part of the draft, I think there are two, the freedom thing makes total sense every single time.

10:56Robert Mays: The two moves that they made where I was like, huh, Lee Hunter in the second round, after everything they had done on the defensive line in 2025, they signed Bobby Brown, they signed Tershawn Wharton. We know Derek Brown is already there. I think that's a sign that now that they're paying Jalen Phillips and Devin Lloyd the money that they are. When that contract really kicks in for Phillips next year, he has a nine ish million dollar cap at this year. They'll be ready to move on from some of those 2025 contracts. And I think Hunter kind of allows you to do that in a way that they wouldn't have been able to do before they added him because they wouldn't have had that level of flexibility.

11:29Robert Mays: And then Brazel, I was reading just some of the quotes that Dave Canales had. And Canales is a former wide receivers coach. I'm sure he obviously thinks about the position, you know, pretty in depth and has a history of having to think about how that room comes together. And it really does seem like Like they're talking about Brazel as like a space creator, which makes a lot of sense because they don't really have that within this group. If you're really down on what Leggett is and can be. And so both of those moves, just when you compare, like when you combine that with everything else they've done over the last couple of years, it's kind of like, it's an interesting place for them to invest.

12:01Robert Mays: But I actually do think it makes sense when you consider kind of the multi-year outlook and some of the players they might be ready to move on from when the time comes.

12:09Derrik Klassen: It's funny because as a prospect, I'm not the biggest fan of Brazel. And we talked about that on the receiver preview. He could be anything. Sure. But A, at pick 83, it's hard to get worked up about third round picks. And on top of that, I agree with you. I think of him as a space creator. He's a guy that at the very least, Bryce Young can throw it up for him and he can potentially go downfield and get it. It's the stuff that you hope Xavier Leggett could be. And he just isn't that guy at this point in his career. and I hope, I don't know this, but I hope Ted Arroa McMillan only played in the slot 15 % of the time last year and I would hope adding a 6 '5 downfield guy who's probably going to be out there the vast majority of the time, I hope Ted Arroa McMillan is playing in the slot more often as a result of this and that makes this more appealing even if Brazel's not even getting that many targets.

13:00Robert Mays: And it just allows you to be more flexible with Coker too. You can move both of those guys around in the way that you want to if you can just kind of stick Brazel out there. So I'm into it. I'm into a lot of the things that they did. I think it makes sense. I still don't know how I feel about this team overall, just because it's always going to come down to what the quarterback is going to be. They picked up his fifth-year option. We're going to talk about fifth-year options later this week. I am totally fine with them doing that. It's$25 million for a quarterback in 2026. I think it makes sense to do that if you're the Panthers.

13:29Robert Mays: Obviously, it goes without saying, this is a pretty massive year for Bryce Young and for what the future of this franchise looks like as it relates to Bryce Young.

13:36Derrik Klassen: My goal for this section was to not debate whether Bryce Young is a good quarterback. We don't have to do that. We do it every single time, but also independent of that, I just, I think the Panthers made themselves a deeper, better overall team this offseason, and that can only help your quarterback if he needs the extra help.

13:54Robert Mays: The quarterback is, he is what he's going to be, right? Like there's not, that's not going to change. It's how, what are you doing to put everything you can around the quarterback and the rest of the roster. And I think that they have done a pretty good job of that, right? Like they had to spend bigger on some contracts last year that they probably there's a little bit of buyer's remorse, but I just don't think there's a lot of opportunity costs lost. Like because you gave Tershawn Wharton that contract, because you gave Bobby Brown that contract, that didn't prevent you from paying Jalen Phillips and Devin Lloyd in the way that you wanted to this offseason.

14:23Robert Mays: And so even though they've thrown a lot of money around in the last couple offseasons, I think I get how they've arrived at this point in the moves that they've made. And this is another year where I can support a lot of them. So I'm with you. I'm buying it. And it was a pretty easy decision. But sticking the NFC South, the New Orleans Saints. A theme for this show is NFC South teams. The New Orleans Saints, who we talked about at length last week when we were talking about the messages they sent, I think will echo a lot of those thoughts in this conversation. But biggest additions for the Saints this offseason, David Edwards, four for 61.

14:54Robert Mays: Travis HN, four for 48. I don't think we've really, maybe we have, I think that one kind of happened and we were all just kind of like, okay, I don't really think we've sat with that signing as much as we probably should have. And we could talk about it more at length here, but that just feels like one that I hadn't thought and sat with much this off season, despite the fact that it was a pretty rich contract for HM.

15:16Derrik Klassen: I was thinking about it getting ready for this show and I was debating what else could you have spent that money on? Maybe it didn't need to be a running back. We can get we can dig into that because I do think that's a worthwhile question. My looking over it, though, I came to the conclusion where I was like, OK, yeah, it is a rich contract for a running back. But if you're trying to help your quarterback, where where's that money going? I mean, you signed the guard. The receiver market is absolutely insane. Like we've been over this 100 times. I don't think the Saints necessarily needed to be shopping for Alec Pierce or even Romeo Dobbs.

15:49Derrik Klassen: And especially when you compare that. And remember, when they signed Travis A. Chan, it was like the Saints and the Chiefs, based on their running back decisions in free agency, probably had a good idea that Jeremiah Love was not going to be a possibility. Well, how correct did that wind up being? And so if you knew you weren't going to have a shot at him, but you really wanted to help your young quarterback, it is a lot of money, but it was probably the best thing they could have done. And then when you wind up with Jordan Tyson in the draft, I think it's fine.

16:15Robert Mays: The only thing I'd say, looking at the rest of the roster and where they still have a pretty significant hole, is would you have rather spent a little bit more money for like a Boye Mafe rather than A-Chan?

16:26Derrik Klassen: We're going to get to this with some other teams. My answer, no. I want to help the quarterback. I want to know if I should be excited about Tyler Shuck and if he is going to need a long-term deal. He doesn't have a fifth-year option. So we got to figure this out even faster. I want as many resources as possible going toward helping Tyler Shuck and helping me figure out if he's my guy. And so I don't have any issue with that. And I don't think I officially said it, but I'm very much buying the Saints offseason because, like we said, they've been acting normally, which is a nice change of pace.

17:00Derrik Klassen: And they've done as much as you could realistically ask them to to help their quarterback.

17:04Robert Mays: I think I land in the same spot with the HN or whatever else you could have done with that money. for a couple different reasons. One, I think helping out the quarterback and doing everything you can on offense is a good way to be thinking about this. Two, we've talked about the running back class beyond Jeremiah Love and just the fact that there were no other options out there. And so this was not the year to be like, oh, you really want to spend$12 million a year on Travis H.N. when you can find a guy in the second or third round? Well, you couldn't really find a guy in the second or third round this year.

17:31Robert Mays: I will still say, with the Kenneth Walker thing, him getting$14 million from the Chiefs, that's I at least understand the strongest argument for that is we need explosiveness we that is what we need in the backfield and that is exactly what Kenneth Walker brings to me this may this may be unfair or harsh to Travis HN my biggest thing about why Travis HN for the Saints is he's not 2026 Alvin Kamara that's like the biggest selling point for HN Like if you look at a lot of the underlying metrics, what he's been, he's been fine. But I think their biggest thing right now is we can't go through another season with the running back room that we had in 2025.

18:12Robert Mays: And if that's your justification for giving him 12 million bucks a year, I still think that's a little bit rich. But when you think about all the alternatives and where else they were going to find that, I get how they arrived here.

18:22Derrik Klassen: That's the big thing for me. It's not necessarily an endorsement of A-chan. And I think he's a good player. I don't think he's a crazy good player. But where else was this money going to go? And was it going to efficiently and effectively help the quarterback? You combine it with the David Edwards signing. I mean, the resources on the Saints offensive line are ridiculous. Even if you don't love Cesar Ruiz, you have three first round picks, a wonderful center in Eric McCoy when he can stay healthy, and now a$60 million guard. I mean, Travis A. Chan is good enough that he should benefit greatly from that kind of firepower in front of them.

19:01Robert Mays: Just amazing what timing and circumstance does for players. If I had told you at this time last year, when we were all trying to figure out if Tank Bigsby would be the number one running back in the Jags offense, if Travis H.M. was going to make$12 million a year and be the seventh highest paid running back in the league, I would not have had that on my bingo card. But because of what the market was at the position this year And because of the fact that he played in much better circumstances in last year's Jags offense, you get a guy who we weren't sure if he would win that job last year to now he's making$12 million a year.

19:37Robert Mays: I'd love to know.

19:38Derrik Klassen: I'd love to know, too. You mentioned the draft class, but how much does that draft class really affect things where if six teams have a dire running back need and there's 18 guys with a top 100 sort of grade on the board? How does that affect your willingness to spend that money? whereas this year it was two and a half guys with that sort of grade teams maybe are a little more willing to up their offer if they're not confident about finding that guy on draft weekend well you

20:08Robert Mays: I mean look at I have to go back and look at the numbers but I mean last year's last year's free agent running back crop the there was no one got no one got paid yeah I mean the only Najee Harris got five million dollars and part of that is because of the available talent with that group but I think part of it is because everybody looked at the draft class last year and was like why am I going to spend eight million bucks a year on a running back when I could find that guy on day two and this year that just wasn't the case and so even if if you're looking at it in a vacuum it's a pretty rich number for HN again I can understand how the Saints got there and bring you back around I'm with you I buy it I mean I buy it for all the reasons we talked about last week it's just nice to see them operating like a normal NFL team we like I liked the draft Jordan Tyson, Kristen Miller, Oscar Delp in the first three rounds.

20:55Robert Mays: It all makes sense to me. I just think that maybe you can quibble with some of the details, like the money for HN, all of that. But I really like the path they're on. They have$60 million in space for next year. That's an Alave extension is on the table. Like that's probably going to need to happen. So that eats into some of it, but they'll have financial flexibility. And then the one position that they didn't really address that I still feel like, all right, they need somebody else here is going out and getting an edge rusher, but I've been looking at multiple, like 20, 27 mocks. Dane put one out, a couple other people, and everybody has players available at that position for the Saints in like the back half of the top 10.

21:32Robert Mays: There's no way to know, but just as like a theoretical exercise of, all right, if you're on a multi-year timeline, you drop in a high quality first round edge rusher next year. You think about that in totality with the rest of the roster, I can feel pretty good about that as like a multi-year plan.

21:47Derrik Klassen: And again, that all sounds great when you are convinced of the vision and okay, now we're good enough to win the division. What can we do next? That's not my goal or my expectation for the Saints. Like, I think they're good enough to win the division. Don't get me wrong, but we're trying to figure out if Tyler's the guy. And if this is all a mirage or if we're actually building on something here. And if, if Tyler Shuck is the man and what he I mean he's older for a young player but he's still only what like 26 like

22:17Robert Mays: he's not yeah he's 26 years old this will be his age 27 so he's a little bit older than you would

22:22Derrik Klassen: prefer but on the other side of this if Tyler Shuck is 27 and the Saints look like they're capable of making a real leap next year if they get an edge rusher that's a wonderful spot to be like right now and I would guess you know the defense Derek brings it up all the time the defense was top 10 in success rate and EPA per play last year. I would guess that probably takes a little bit of a step back when you lose DeMario Davis in the middle of that coordinating everything. Alante Taylor is a loss worth bringing up as well. But I think the defense can be more than decent. And at the end of the day, I don't really care that much if Tyler Shuck takes this chance with the offense and runs with it.

23:01Derrik Klassen: I mean, I get like, I guess Devon Vele, I don't love just being the presumed third receiver but they even threw darts at receiver in the draft as well I mean I drafted Bryce Lance and Barry and Brown I feel I feel great about the receiver depth chart as a whole I mean this offense looks like a phenomenal spot for a young quarterback to be and that's at the end of the day all I care about they've set themselves up well and this is one of those

23:24Robert Mays: teams we talked about it a lot there's a bunch of different examples of this you don't have to figure it out in one offseason right you don't have to have every hole plugged you don't have to have every question answered I think the overall trajectory and direction of where the saints are i think it's pretty easy to feel good about it especially when you compare what this team is right now to how we felt and talked about the saints a year ago 18 months ago and it's just a reminder that the quagmire is always easier to escape than you think it is in the nfl like the idea of cap hell if you take your vegetables for a year a year and a half then it was it was kind of a year and a half right they didn't have a ton of financial flexibility this year because they're still dealing with some of the fallout from some of the contracts that they had to move around but you're talking about like one wasted year when it comes to resources maybe another year where you're a little bit kneecapped and then after that you're probably ready to go and that is just the case for almost every team in the league right now like cap stuff you can get out of pulling yourself out of draft capital shortages over a long period of time that's harder to escape and so the saints are a very good example of even if the cap looks messy it's probably a shorter term issue than we

24:38Derrik Klassen: make it out to be most of the time and on some off chance that when this season is done we're all sitting there saying ah it was a fun six weeks of tyler shuck in 2025 though like that's not the end of the world either he was the 40th pick in the draft the 40th pick in the draft and you can pivot if you need to not to say i think that's what's going to happen but yeah like the saints look like they're building towards something nice and they're they're also not screwed if they have

25:04Robert Mays: to pivot away from that either let's call it two full years of having to take your cap medicine that's still not that long of a time they have 112 million dollars in dead money right now so

25:13Derrik Klassen: let's let's call it two full years that's a safe way to even if that's fair let's just remember that at this time last year they were the prohibitive like if you were trying to talk about team drafting number one the saints were the team that most people penciled into that spot and And here we are talking about them as a team that could contend for the division.

25:32Robert Mays: All right, let's take our first quick break and then come back and chat a little bit about the commanders offseason. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Life is a journey. Some days feel good and others can feel overwhelming. Whatever's keeping you up at night, it's easy to feel like you have to figure it all out on your own. But the truth is no one has all the answers and no journey should be taken alone. Having someone with you to listen, to understand and to support you can make all the difference. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it's as good an opportunity as ever to check in with yourself and understand where you are right now.

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28:51Robert Mays: all right washington commanders brought in david blau as the oc moved on from cliff kingsbury hired dorante jones as their defensive coordinator they were very busy in free agency adafe oway chigakonkwo leo chanel tim settle meek robertson nick cross calavin chason small deals for chris paul and rashad white in the draft that's a shorter list sunny styles in the top 10 Antonio Williams in the third round are you buying or selling the Washington Commanders

29:19Derrik Klassen: offseason this is the flip side of what I was just talking about with the New Orleans Saints and I'm selling it I don't really love what the Washington Commanders have done here and I'm going to take it back to something that you said a couple weeks ago I don't remember what show it was but a couple of weeks ago you said to me I think Dan Quinn realized coming out of last season fires cliff kingsbury and joe witt jr total change at the coordinator position and the commander's offense was second worst in the nfl by any metric like thank god for the cowboys making them look one spot better because it was that bad everywhere else and you said to me if the defense doesn't drastically improve heading into year three like if it's if it's bottom of the barrel again no matter what happens on offense, everybody's out and like they're making a total change of coaching staff and we're starting over again.

30:12Derrik Klassen: And I get why that would motivate Dan Quinn to want to fix the defense. I don't view that as my problem. And I look at where the commanders are right now, year three of a very, very talented quarterback who took them on this seismic run in his rookie year and clearly seems to possess a very rare skill set. And I resent the commanders for investing so much of their capital on the side of the ball that's not helping him. And I get it. I know that they were second worst in the NFL, and I know that they had a lot of shit that they needed to fix. But the commanders cut their center before free agency.

30:50Derrik Klassen: They're replacing him in-house. It looks like it's either going to be Nick Allegretti or a day three draft pick. They signed of tight end and a couple of nice running backs, but the expenditures just are not very, it's a very generous framing. I like Rashad White. Rashad White's fine. I said nice and say great. I like Rashad White. I also, I just love the way that Jaden Daniels, Arizona State teammates just really want to play with him. Like between Brandon Ayuk and Rashad White, it's just the Sun Devil reunion over here. But my point, like, okay, you're helping me make my point. This offense is just, it's not up to snuff with where you should be if you have a guy that's shown you what Jaden Daniels has shown us.

31:30Robert Mays: Devil's advocate. They tried. They tried Alec Pierce. They tried Romeo Dobbs. Let's say - Try harder. Let's say they land one of those guys. Let's say they, all right, we're going to go without Chase Sun for 11 million. We're going to go bottom of the barrel with that contract. That's going to be a$3 million player. And then we can go where we want to on the Romeo Dobbs contract. How much better would you feel about Washington if that had happened.

31:53Derrik Klassen: I will say, and you always say this, like, what are the alternatives? What are the realistic alternatives? I mean, yeah, Romeo Dobbs couldn't be on this team. I would feel better if Romeo Dobbs was on this team. I would feel better if they had splurged on Cade Mays and taken him away from the Lions in free agency.

32:10Robert Mays: Or, this is a crazy one, what if they just don't cut Tyler Biotich?

32:14Derrik Klassen: I mean, that's a fantastic point. Still not really sure why that happened. Yeah, I'd feel better if Tyler Biotich was still here. I'd feel better if Cade Mays was here. I'd feel better if they'd gone after Romeo Dobbs. I mean, even having spent a top 100 pick at receiver, the receiver core right now is Terry McLaurin. Love him. That's fine. Rookie Antonio Williams. Luke McCaffrey, who I think has caught like 18 balls last year. Yeah, I'm not. No, I'm not banking on Luke McCaffrey. Luke McCaffrey has 29 career catches. He only caught 11 balls last year. You got, they brought Deami Brown back. I know that makes you happy.

32:53Derrik Klassen: Traylon Burks is still kicking around. Jalen Lane showed some promising stuff as a rookie last year. But again, I mean, we're we're coping here. This is what we're doing. We're coping. I don't I don't like it. And I know like the defense looks like it should be a lot better. That's fine. But I remember saying much better, though. Who knows? That's where I sit with it. Is that I better than 31st, which is that enough to make you feel like something meaningful was attained here?

33:18Robert Mays: I have a hard time figuring out where I land with this team because I'm with you in that I think the offensive depth chart right now and the lack of help at some of these spots is a little bit underwhelming and even a little bit scary I still feel like they needed so much help on defense that I understand why they want the direction they did with their resources this offseason that where I land with it is I don't know if I have any huge problems with any specific move or even the strategy overall from them this spring. But when I look at it in totality, I just don't think I'm buying the state of affairs.

33:54Robert Mays: Like that's where I land with Washington. Each individual thing, it's like, all right, I get that. I get that. I get that. There's some interesting pieces here. And then I look at the roster and I'm just like, eh. And I think a huge portion of that is that you can only get so much better when you're throwing money around on the sort of free agents that are available in any given free agent class right now. and part of my problem and this is why like i don't i hate landing in this place and having this answer because this has nothing to really do with this offseason specifically and that's what we're supposed to be talking about but i think my issue is this team just has no reinforcements coming like there's no young exciting players there are there are too few

34:34Derrik Klassen: young exciting players on this team i was gonna say there are at least a couple because i'm pumped

34:39Robert Mays: about sunny styles i mean of course but i'm that's yeah sunny styles like goes without saying but i'm talking about like the last three or four drafts from this team i want to read you from two from 2021 through right now and that's just the because those are guys that theoretically one two three four five so let's do 2022 so even because your first round pick of 2022 it's still theoretically be on the roster here are the top 100 picks from the washington commanders over the last five since 2022. Jahan Dotson, Fadarian Mathis, Brian Robinson Jr., Emmanuel Forbes, Quan Martin, Ricky Stromberg, Jaden Daniels, Johnny Newton, Mike Sainrestal, Ben Sinnott, Brandon Coleman, Luke McCaffrey, Josh Connerly, Trey Amos, before we get to 2025.

35:25Robert Mays: I think that's part of my problem is that you just see how much those draft classes are really hurting them. Like that 2024 class, when they had seven top 100 picks. How many of those guys can you truly count on to be like difference-making players for them this year?

35:41Derrik Klassen: Two? I remember, this was before I joined the show, we did a show about like teams with the most at stake in the draft. And we talked about the commanders and how many big picks they had and how they needed those to hit. Jaden Daniels, even with the injuries last year, you gotta feel great about that. But across the rest of the last few years, it's just not good enough. I mean, I guess I would say if you're a Commanders fan looking for optimism, I mean, maybe Johnny Newton takes another step forward. Maybe you get, maybe Trey Amos can be that guy. Like, several of these guys are not to the point where they're not off the roster and we're not giving up on them.

36:18Derrik Klassen: Not at all. But these are, you're hoping for unseen improvement to this point. Or, you know, you're hoping for linear improvement where you just can't count on that. I mean, Johnny Newton had five sacks last year. I don't blame people if they don't know that because the commanders were an afterthought by late October. But, you know, if a couple of those types of things happen, maybe I would feel differently. But based on what I know, yeah, I agree with you. And 2025 in particular, obviously, they haven't been working with a full deck of cards in the draft either because of the Laramie Tunsil trade.

36:48Derrik Klassen: So that stuff compounds upon itself.

36:50Robert Mays: Yeah, I think there's absolutely a path where the defense is just so much better this year. We don't know what Durante Jones is going to be. I'm excited to watch what that defense is going to look like. It's possible that all of those pieces that they added in the front seven, Owe, Chanel, Sonny Styles, Settle, all that stuff comes together, Chase on where it really does feel like a dynamic group that's unleashed in this very cool way. That's totally possible. I just think it's a tough, it's a tall order, and I think they're really threading a needle that I'm just not sure they can thread. Like, it just feels like we're shuffling around some deck chairs here, and I'm just not sure they're going to get where they need to by the end of this season for this regime to salvage itself.

37:34Derrik Klassen: OK, but even if that's true, I mean, they're not going to jump into the league's elite in one year, I would guess. Probably not. Like a realistic jump to me would be as if they're like in the top half of the league, which would be incredible after where they were last year.

37:47Robert Mays: But that's that's the problem. I think even if they get there, is that enough? Is that enough?

37:51Derrik Klassen: And that is my point. And the reason I find it so frustrating is I think if he's healthy, Jaden Daniels could be good enough where you don't have to invest this crazy amount of capital for them to be a really, really good offense. If you had Romeo Dobbs to go with Scary Terry and you still draft Antonio Williams and maybe you spend more at running back in free agency and Josh Connerly takes another couple of steps, I could sell myself on that being a pretty damn good offense. If this defense is 14th in the league and Jaden's just fighting for his life every week, what have we accomplished here?

38:28Derrik Klassen: I don't know. It doesn't seem like it's going to be good to me. It's not good enough.

38:33Robert Mays: So much is riding on how much of a multiplier your two coordinators are. And I just don't know the answer to that. Like we just have not seen either of these guys do it. And so I don't know. I think that there is a lot that has to come together where, again, I'm not sure looking at the moves individually and even collectively. that I have a huge problem with how they approach this. I just realized that after all of that money has been spent and looking at where the roster is right now, I just find it a tiny bit underwhelming.

39:00Derrik Klassen: Funny note that I wanted to make. I think it's very interesting that two different undrafted quarterbacks who spent time with the Detroit Lions and who got started coaching in the NFC East got fast-tracked to offensive coordinator at the age of 30. And I don't know if it's a coincidence that Dan Quinn worked with Kellen Moore because David Blau's career arc is shockingly similar. Kellen Moore was a better college quarterback than David Blau, but everything else is, it's a pretty eerie similarity.

39:27Robert Mays: I'm sure he's open to the idea because of what he saw Kellen Moore do. I'm sure it's not an accident. Let's get to our next one here. The Indianapolis Colts. The section I have for veteran moves is labeled additions when in reality for the Colts, they're not additions. They're retainments are the big moves that they made. Kept Daniel Jones, two for 88. Alec Pierce, four for 114, traded Michael Pittman in the draft, CJ Allen in the second round, AJ Hulsey in the third round, interior offensive line depth and Jalen Farmer in the fourth round, and then Bryce Boettcher also in the fourth round. I think that's worth mentioning because they needed more linebacker depth, and so them getting that additional fourth round pick ends up mattering here.

40:07Robert Mays: Are you buying or selling the Indianapolis Colts offseason? Okay, let me preface this by saying I'm not afraid of heights

40:16Derrik Klassen: in the sense that like flying doesn't bother me going up in tall buildings doesn't bother me looking over the edge doesn't bother me you'll never you will never see me skydive or like bungee jump it's not for me that's never gonna happen so i was i say all that to say i buy the colts off season in the way that i buy like if you spend the money and you watch all the safety videos and you put all the harnessing on and you get up in that airplane and they throw the door open. I buy it and it's like jumping is the easiest way to get down. It's not something that I want to do, but I don't blame you for jumping out of the airplane, like for where the Indianapolis Colts are and everything that's come before it and all the context that we have about the Ballard era in Indianapolis.

41:08Derrik Klassen: I buy why they're doing this. That doesn't necessarily mean that I would want to.

41:12Robert Mays: I'm not sure I'm buying it, although I'm not sure they had much of a choice. Yeah. It's exactly where I landed with this.

41:18Derrik Klassen: Like they painted themselves into a corner. And so they are proceeding with the only logical path. That doesn't mean I think it's a good path, but I don't know what the realistic alternative was.

41:31Robert Mays: The Jones thing, obviously two years,$88 million for Daniel Jones is too much money in a vacuum. Like Daniel Jones is not worth$44 million a year. And that'd be if he was healthy, he wouldn't be worth$44 million a year. But if you're the Colts, and it's so easy for us to do this, and I did it in the moment where their transition tagging Daniel Jones, it's$37 million or whatever it is. And I'm looking at the potential alternatives at quarterback. And I'm like, there is no way that Daniel Jones at$37 million, again, in a vacuum, is a better investment than Kyler Murray at a million dollars a year.

42:07Robert Mays: He's just not. But if you're the Colts and you're this regime and you're this far down the road and you know this is a make or break year, you've seen it happen with Daniel Jones. And so you are compelled to run it back with Daniel Jones. I don't think you're getting value running it back this way, and I would be terrified if I was doing it. But I also just don't know what the reasonable alternative was for a team that needs to do everything it can to maximize their offense this year.

42:34Derrik Klassen: doesn't i know the answer i know it scares the bejesus out of you but shouldn't that scare the colts that they're just chasing such a fleeting eye of eight games what's the alternative is like that's the problem you had the best night of your life at this one specific bar and you keep going back hoping for that to recreate itself and it's just never going to be the same just chasing the

42:53Robert Mays: night for the rest of your life yeah you're just chasing that forever we're going to have a similar conversation with another quarterback later on this show what i have said this many times this offseason where people ask, well, what's the alternative? What's the alternative? Anything. That's how I feel about Rodgers. With the Colts, at least the Colts were the best offense in the league for half the season last year. At least that is something that's worth chasing, even if it is a fleeting moment, you're never going to hit again. And so the prices, yeah, they sound insane, especially for the quarterback.

43:21Robert Mays: But at a certain point, what else were you going to do? Like, what was going to be the alternative at that position this offseason? You're going to start over again after doing what you did for the first half of last year, that was never going to happen.

43:33Derrik Klassen: I just want to make sure we say, because I agree with you, but another part of this too is the Colts are in a hell of their own making. Of course, they have done all of these things. They drafted Anthony Richardson. They had to pivot. They decided to trade away two years worth of draft capital for Sauce Gardner off of eight games, which even before Daniel Jones got hurt, we were like, holy shit, that's a hell of a price. Are you sure you're as close as you think you are? We said that on deadline day, and that was before things even went south for the Colts. And so, I don't know. I don't think I'd feel better about this team if they, well, they wouldn't have even been able to draft Ty Simpson.

44:14Derrik Klassen: I guess they would have had to trade up. But I don't think there is a quarterback realistically available that would make me feel better about the Colts. I just know that I don't really feel good about how hard they're trying to recreate something that was so fleeting. And for that matter, I think they probably did it right, prioritizing Alec Pierce, but you're still talking about a guy who doesn't have a 50-catch season. And I do feel a little less good. Put the DJ injury aside because we just don't know what the timeline looks like there. But even if he's healthy, I feel a little less good about taking Michael Pittman Jr.

44:52Derrik Klassen: out of this. And without a real replacement. Yes, the replacement is that they're just asking Alec Pierce to be a more well-rounded, high-volume receiver, I would assume. I think the other thing is they're going to ask Josh Downs to play a bigger role within the offense. And I think he is capable of doing that. And they gave us a little bit of money to Nick Westbrook-Akine. I mean, he can be like a field stretcher type of guy. That's the only reason I bring it up.

45:12Robert Mays: Yeah, that plan, like the receiving core is undeniably worse than it was last year. Like undeniably without, like, I think a real replacement for Pittman. I think it'll be fine because I'm a huge fan of both Alec Pierce and Josh Downs. but there's no denying it that it's degraded from last year. And even on the offensive line, we're betting on Jalen Travis. You've never seen him do it before. At a certain point, they deserve the benefit of the doubt.

45:34Derrik Klassen: I will say I was worried about their O-line last year, and they didn't miss a beat.

45:38Robert Mays: They absolutely deserve the benefit of the doubt, but it's hard to keep doing this. This would be an offensive line. I think the only comp that I can make when it comes to the investments at certain positions where you've had this level of success consistently are like a certain version of the Packers. When Bakhtiari was a fourth round pick, Sitton was a fourth round pick, TJ Lang was a fourth round pick, Corey Lindsley was a fifth round pick, and then Balaga was like the one guy. And that's exactly what this is. Quentin Nelson's the one guy that you've invested in and everyone else are these mid-round picks that you've gotten the most out of.

46:11Robert Mays: That obviously is working for them, but it's still a tall order for it to work every single time.

46:17Derrik Klassen: I just can't get over the idea that they're doing the best they can in the circumstances that face them, I think. But the circumstances are all of their own design. Like their choices led them to these circumstances. So I don't feel that sorry for them. And I don't completely buy that they're going to recreate last year, mainly because of the injury. If Daniel Jones was fully healthy, I'd probably feel differently. But it's an Achilles. He is a guy that depends on his mobility more than some. And that scares me. And the alternative is going back to Anthony Richardson, who showed up to OTAs this week because his trade request hasn't gone through.

47:00Derrik Klassen: So that's great. That's all fun. I don't know. I just, I don't love it. I don't love it, Robert. And it sucks because I did love the Colts so much for eight weeks in 2025. And I'm just dubious that, that I will again.

47:14Robert Mays: I'll say this. kind of my parting thought here. If they had actually signed Trey Hendrickson like they were trying to, I think I would be like, all right, this is the best they could have done. And I honestly do think like with the guys they drafted, with CJ Allen and Halsey likely having to play pretty early and them getting guys at those positions at linebacker and safety specifically, they kind of, they really, really needed. If they had managed to sign Trey Hendrickson before the Ravens did, I think I'd be like, all right, this box that they've built for themselves, this prison that they've constructed of their own making, they've maximized whatever life is inside that box but missing out on Hendrickson that's that's one of my biggest issues here is that I just wonder is the defense going to have enough juice for this to all come together in the very difficult way you need it to for 2026 and I'm just I don't know the answer to that without a presence like that on the edge for them that's totally fair and

48:09Derrik Klassen: maybe I'm giving Lou Anarumo a little too much credit, but I do, especially with CJ Allen and Halsey in the mix, throw in Bryce Boettcher. I like the back of the defense a lot, and Anarumo is a tinkerer. He can do some wild shit and bring pressure in creative ways. I love that he brought Cam Taylor Britt to Indianapolis, just classic coach reuniting with his guy.

48:34Robert Mays: They also loved Justin Wally last year. They were so excited about Justin Wally last year during training camp. And so hopefully they have more cornerback depth than they had a year ago when they were dealing with. I mean, we all remember what the Xavier Howard experience looked like in the first half of last year. And so hopefully now we're three or four deep at corner for the Colts. That was not the case a year ago.

48:54Derrik Klassen: I think the defense would be enough for me to feel confident that this could be a pretty darn good team if I felt more confident about the quarterback. And maybe Daniel Jones will prove me wrong. I don't know. Injuries or especially soft tissue ligament injuries are tricky to project, but I just don't have a lot of confidence right now.

49:12Robert Mays: The Minnesota Vikings, next one here, Vikings offseason additions, Kyler Murray, James Pierre, or really their two biggest things they did in free agency. It was not an active free agent period for the Vikings. They also traded Jonathan Grenard during the draft. In the draft, Caleb Banks in the first round, Jay Golday in the second round, Dominique Orange and Caleb Tiernan in the third round with one of those Jonathan Grenard picks. And then maybe Jacoby Thomas, who they drafted at safety is with one of them. They had three third round picks. So are you buying or selling the Minnesota Vikings offseason?

49:44Derrik Klassen: The Vikings are a testament to just how much can change over the busy two month stretch of the offseason, because with everything that's happened, deals they've done, bringing in Kyler Murray, the draft. I was getting ready for this show. And I was a little annoyed with the Vikings, where I was like, we feel so good about going nine and eight with bad quarterback play that all we really did was sign Kyler Murray guys like I don't I don't know like does that and and James Pierre like is that enough and then getting my notes in order and just remembering the way the offseason has gone I was like oh right they didn't have any money they were 43 million dollars over the cap that's all the money yeah so in in light of that in light of the Vikings being very hamstrung by their finances I do buy what they've done this offseason.

50:33Derrik Klassen: I mean, they still have a really good roster. It's not as if they had to do a ton. I would like it if they could do a little bit more on offense. And we did hear that Juwan Jennings visited Minneapolis after the draft. So that would be really fun. But just improving the quarterback situation unequivocally for$1.6 million is great. Flew under the radar, but they did re-sign Eric Wilson, which I really liked. Eric Wilson was really good for them last Eric Wilson was awesome last year. And so considering, considering the financial restraints, I buy what they've done. I said it right after the draft.

51:10Derrik Klassen: I'm very curious about, and maybe this isn't what happened, but with no GM there, Brzezinski was running it during draft weekend, and now they're going to hire a GM. Maybe it'll be him, but their draft looks to be a situation where Brian Flores broke in and pressed all the buttons. Brian Flores was like, there's no power structure. It's all nine. So you get Caleb Banks, Jake Golday, Dominique Orange. I mean, they redid the D tackle room in 24 hours. And Golday looks like a Van Ginkle protege, if I've ever seen one in my life. And Jacoby Thomas as well. So with the, I mean, with the exception of Caleb Tiernan, Brian Flores got all his guys.

51:50Derrik Klassen: And so maybe that's not what happened, but that's what it looks like. I'm curious. Are you okay with that?

51:55Robert Mays: I think I'm okay with it based on like the, if you look at the guys they needed on defense, It's interesting because I do think even with some of the questions about corner and safety as it currently is constructed at corner, this team signing James Pierre, I think you could make a very serious argument that they're better off at corner and deeper at corner with just the James Pierre signing than they even were last year. That was a thin group last season. Safety is going to be the question, right? I got 800 snaps from Harrison Smith last year. What does that group look like with him gone? Like that's, those are the two areas on defense where I thought they might do something.

52:33Robert Mays: I mean, every single person had them drafting Dylan Thienemann with the 18th overall pick. They didn't end up doing that. But at the same time, they, I think they deserve the benefit of the doubt. Some of the way we talked about the Colts offensive line, the Vikings secondary and what they've done with Flores, they've done a really good job of getting by with modest additions at those spots. Even last year, when their big move was signing Isaiah Rogers, they were still a top five defense when guys were healthy along the defensive line, when they had Van Ginkle and Gernard at certain points last year after both of them were banged up.

53:05Robert Mays: And so them, after having to move on from those expensive defensive tackles they signed last year, remaking that room as a priority, I understand that it's like if our front works we'll be able to get by on the back end and so even if there are some highly volatile picks there some picks that do feel like Brian Flores kind of wrestling away the keys and doing what he wanted I still think you can kind of justify all of them as a whole when you look at like the state of the roster and where they needed help it doesn't bother

53:32Derrik Klassen: me in the sense that I don't trust Brian Flores to know what he's doing it does make me a little bit nervous and this is just a this is a highly fallible rule of thumb but like the Vikings offense is the same it's I mean it's worse technically because you lose a guy like Jalen Naylor to Vegas but and Ryan Kelly's gone to even though Ryan Kelly was hurt for half last year you've brought no new blood into an offense that maybe I mean it's easy to argue they don't necessarily need it if you've got those receivers argument is that is that accurate though like I I think it might not really add any meaningful help to that side of the ball.

54:13Robert Mays: I think that's I think that might be accurate for two reasons. I think the biggest issues that the Vikings had last year offensively were quarterback play and offensive line health. So if the offensive line is healthier and now it's beyond even being healthier, you've protected yourself in the short term and then have plans for the long term with the offensive line. Like Tiernan. Well, even signing Ryan Vandermark to that, to the offer sheet where the Bills had a chance to match, them making sure their swing tackle was solidified this year after dealing with what they did last year, I think makes sense.

54:45Robert Mays: And then Tiernan is a, all right, if he can be the swing guy this year, he can be deaf for us this year. And then after Brian O 'Neal moves on after the season, is he somebody we can slot in? He's our long-term right tackle. So them protecting themselves up front, potentially getting better health from that group, and adding Kyler Murray, I think you could make a very serious argument that is enough for the Vikings offense to feel considerably different than it did a year ago.

55:08Derrik Klassen: My pushback would just be, it's rarely that easy in this very physical injury riddled sport. And the receiver core looks great. If Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are available, what if one of them's not? Receiver depth is definitely a concern. That type of thing, you know?

55:24Robert Mays: If they sign Juwan Jennings,

55:25Derrik Klassen: how much better do you feel? A plus across the board. Okay. Like I'm the teacher in a Christmas story, just writing plus all the way down.

55:33Robert Mays: And I think even the goal day thing, you know, that's a year in advance because Ben Inkels can be a free agent after the year. But I do think that they've had to like reset a little bit. I mean, they spent last year with the idea that they would be in this rookie quarterback contract window and they'd be able to operate that way. That window is closed. Like they are out of that window. Now that they have Kyler Murray, Kyler Murray is going to be the goal next year. If you're the Colts or excuse me, if you're the Vikings, I can see why you would do that. Well, it's because the goal for the Vikings is to give Kyler Murray the Daniel Jones contract.

56:06Robert Mays: If the best thing that could happen to the Vikings this offseason is that Kyler Murray is worth$45 million a year based on the way that he played.

56:13Derrik Klassen: And that's and that is why at the end of the day, with all my quibbling, I unequivocally buy this because I like him more than a lot of people do. But in terms of short-term answers at quarterback, gambles at quarterback, upside signings, Kyler Murray's far and away the guy that gives his team the best chance to find an answer for the long term. He was free. That's my point. He was free. So the offseason is a win for no other reason than that they pivoted off of a quarterback implosion and appeared to be in a really, really good situation. Pivoted off a quarterback implosion

56:50Robert Mays: in the best way that you possibly could. Possibly can. The other teams that have done this, right? Like I look at the Steelers and the free guys that they've signed. That's Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers deep into their mid-30s. Kyler Murray right now, how old is Kyler Murray right now? Is he even, like, he's like 28. I was going to say 28, yeah. So this is Kyler Murray's age 29 season, and you got him for free. In terms of dismounts from disastrous first-round quarterback picks, Kyler Murray for a million dollars is about as well as you can do.

57:20Derrik Klassen: which it's thank you for reminding me of the full picture because I buy it for no other reason than that. And yeah, I could quibble about the receiver depth or, you know, how well the Caleb banks pick pans out or how much they love or regret that pick in the future. But definitely a win and easy, an easy buy for Minnesota. All right,

57:43Robert Mays: let's take one more quick break and then come back and chat a little about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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59:20Robert Mays: The Bucks offseason. Signed Zach Robinson. Or hired. Signed Zach Robinson. Hired Zach Robinson to be their offensive coordinator after moving on from Josh Gazzard. Brought back Kate Otten. Signed Alex Anzalone. Two years,$17 million. Kenny Gainwell. Two years,$14 million. One-year deals for A'shaun Robinson and Al-Kadeen Muhammad. They lost Mike Evans in free agency. Something that's worth remembering. In the draft. Reuben Bain in the first round. Linebacker Josiah Trotter in the second round. round wide receiver Ted Hurst in the third round Keontae Scott's the nickel from Miami in the fourth round are you buying or selling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offseason we talked about this on the

59:59Derrik Klassen: rebuilding show that we did for this series and we put the Titans in our shopping cart and we just kind of left them there that's how I feel about the Bucs but there's one very obvious thing that they could do to make this a buy for me. And it could happen before they ever play a game. I think they should extend Baker Mayfield. And if they were to extend Baker Mayfield, then I would be in on the vision and I would say this is a firm buy for me. Why would that make you feel so much better? Because it would give me clarity of vision of what the Bucs are thinking and where they're trying to go. And I think...

1:00:34Derrik Klassen: Interesting. Assuming he's not going to set the top of the market, which I don't think that he would, I think Baker is probably the Buccaneers best chance at a quarterback answer over the next three years like I'd rather have Baker under contract for three more seasons than try to venture out into the wilderness and so re-signing Baker just gives me a blueprint that I can follow like even if Todd Bowles isn't the long-term coach in Tampa Bay if Baker's there then you can use Baker to attract whichever coach wants to work with him. I would, I mean, if you do change coaches at any point, I would try to get an offensive one, but it just, it starts with the quarterback and it's so much easier that way.

1:01:16And if the Buccaneers are building a blueprint with that

1:01:20Derrik Klassen: in mind, instead of like, well, he's in a contract year. I don't know. How good are we going to be? That's going to determine so much about this. It's, it's put it this way. I don't think the Bucs are going to win the Superbowl this year. And if that's the case and Baker Mayfield's not under contract, then where's this all leading? But if you're extending Baker Mayfield and trying to set the runway, I mean, I love their draft class. I feel so much better about the Buccaneers now than I did three weeks ago. If we're laying out groundwork for a three or four year vision, where you replenish this thing with some draft picks and Baker's the quarterback that's going to make it all go, and you're saving a little bit of money because he's the 10th highest paid quarterback instead of the second highest paid quarterback.

1:02:03Derrik Klassen: I'm getting there. I can get on board with that vision of the Bucs. But right now, I just kind of feel like they're in limbo. And I can't wait to hear your response to this.

1:02:11Robert Mays: I kind of feel like they're in limbo. And I think that's maybe why they're not committing to one of these paths. Because if I'm Jason Light, I can understand the thought process of being open to, all right if we get to the end of this season and we're an eight and nine nine and eight team and we move on from bowls should any possible path forward beyond the table including going a new direction of quarterback and i think in a way also just kind of hit and reset a little bit with certain elements of the roster like if you look at what they are in 2027 financially chris godwin is making 30 million dollars a year in his age 31 season they can move on from godwin after this season.

1:02:51Robert Mays: Vitave is a free agent after this year. And there just aren't that many contracts. Like Zion McCollum is really the only non-offensive line, like, and Antoine Winfield are really the only non-offensive line, like big contracts that this team is committed to. And so I really do think like, if they get to the end of this season there, it's possible where it's like, we're going to take a slight step back. We're going to get a little bit younger. are they a team that suddenly is in like the quarterback market in next year's draft because that's the direction they want to go they're going to be in the quarterback market picking

1:03:29Derrik Klassen: somewhere between 14th and 23rd or you could easily move up if you wanted to or you do you

1:03:35Robert Mays: feel you i just wonder if they're open to potentially hitting reset after this year in a way that includes more than the coaching staff. And that's maybe why they're not overly excited to commit to Baker long term. See, I don't even know if I agree with that thought, but I can understand them approaching it that way because I think so much beyond this season specifically is uncertain for this franchise.

1:03:59Derrik Klassen: See, I, and I guess that's my point is if we're just looking at it in a vacuum, let's say the Bucks really aren't married to Baker and they're willing to let him walk and this is the team that's supposed to get them over the hump then I'm I'm selling that I don't see the Bucs as ready to compete on that level I think that's kind of why I'm selling it but if again if you were to get Baker under contract and we're sort of refreshing this thing and we can work toward being that team in a year or two that's easier for me to understand than thinking that this team is going to be the one that gets it done or else we're blowing it up.

1:04:39Derrik Klassen: Maybe not even blowing it up. Obviously, they got a lot of good pieces in place, but changing quarterback at the very least.

1:04:46Robert Mays: I don't know what to make of this team. I'll be honest about that. I really don't. I can see a path where the offense is considerably better this year just because it's healthier. I mean, this is one of the most injured teams in the league on offense last year. Even something as simple as, oh, they don't have Mike Evans anymore. They barely had him last year. He played for half the season. The offensive line was decimated.

1:05:06Derrik Klassen: That's if the offensive line in Tampa could stay really healthy, like better than average health, it could be a big equalizer for this team. That is the one thing I would say. I don't know if that's enough to change your opinion of them, but it could make a difference.

1:05:23Robert Mays: Even if they're healthier, I think part of it is that this idea that we have of what the Bucs were in 2024 offensively, I just don't think that's walking back through the door. And I don't even know if even like a slightly diminished version of that is walking through the door. Like, what do you think is the best-case scenario, even if they're healthier, for a Bucs offense coordinated like Zach Robinson in terms of like where they finish this year?

1:05:47Derrik Klassen: Best-case scenario, fringe top 10, like 9, 10, 11, 12. I probably agree with that. And then what's the defense? Average? I don't know. I, like I said, I, I love the draft class. Like I really think.

1:06:05Robert Mays: You really think Josiah Trotter, even if you're excited about him,

1:06:09Derrik Klassen: you really think in year one. Don't undersell the first part of this thing.

1:06:12Robert Mays: Of course. I like the Bain thing is if they hadn't drafted Ruben Bain in the first round, by the way, I'd be selling this as hard as I possibly could. But I'm also wondering.

1:06:21Derrik Klassen: I was out on the bucks pretty firmly before the draft.

1:06:25Robert Mays: Are we reading too much into one pick in the middle of the first round being what is going to save the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season. I think we might be just because we never imagined a scenario where Reuben Bain would be on the roster.

1:06:38Derrik Klassen: It's not so much Reuben Bain saving the Buccaneers, but Reuben Bain, and this would hinge on him being the guy that a lot of people think he can be. Again, he's a historical outlier, so believe in that as much as you want to. But Reuben Bain joining a front with Yaya Diaby, Vida Vea, and hopefully a healthy Kalijah Kansi, I can get pretty on board with that. Like, I feel very strongly about that. And we brought it up after the draft. The Bucs secondary, a lot of fun secondaries in the NFC South, for whatever that's worth. We talked about the Falcons as well. But the Bucs secondary is just loaded with goblins, in my opinion.

1:07:19Derrik Klassen: And Keontae Scott is the latest one, to the point where I don't even know what they do with the guy because Jacob Parrish was such a good nickel for them last year. But they have seven DBs that I either know I like or I at least feel good about.

1:07:35Robert Mays: I think they're, as an idea, they're more exciting than what they actually are in practice right now. For sure. Because they're so young. The idea that is exciting. I think the actual reality is maybe a little bit less exciting than you're making it out.

1:07:48Derrik Klassen: Young, but several of them, I think, have at least shown it with some degree of consistency. I mean, Jacob Parrish was freaking awesome last year. He was so good. Tykee Smith, I like a lot. Obviously, Antoine Winfield Jr. is the man. Maybe I'm assigning too much optimism to a guy who wound up being a fourth-round pick in Keontae Scott. I mean...

1:08:12Robert Mays: And Benjamin Morrison, too. I think Benjamin Morrison is still like a what's Benjamin Morrison going to be.

1:08:15Derrik Klassen: Benjamin Morrison, I'm a little less willing to go to bat for because he was just in and out of the lineup. But some of these other guys, I just think, need more opportunity. I guess we'll see. I think the totality of this, because remember, like the Bucs defense last year, especially at the end of the year, was just outright bad. Like they were just not good.

1:08:33Robert Mays: And the front was decimated, right? That's part of it, right? And so how much better are they going to be on offense when they're healthier and on defense if they just have more bodies up front? I'm open to them being considerably better than they were at the end of last year, but I think two things are lingering with me. how bad the end of last year felt. And it felt really bad on both sides of the ball. And then two, I think I just, and this is not the exercise and I don't want it to be coloring it as much as it is. I kind of think that the Bulls thing has just run its course. And like, that's where I sit with it.

1:09:05Robert Mays: And so it's just hard for me to be excited about buying the rest of it when that's just how I feel about where this regime is right now overall.

1:09:15Derrik Klassen: Even if that's true, and I don't blame you for feeling that way. I go back to my point where if you sign Baker and when the season ends, you're interviewing candidates. Let's say the season just doesn't go well and Todd Bowles is out. You're interviewing candidates and it's like, we have Baker for X amount of time. This is what our finances look like. This is what we've got. Emeka Buka had another nice season. That's a really strong selling point. The offensive line is all under contract. They're going to be here. I think you can entice viable candidates to Tampa with that sort of vision. Whereas if Baker's gone after the year and you're changing head coaches and the head coach you like is not a Baker guy.

1:09:56Derrik Klassen: Well, now we're blowing the whole thing up. And maybe that maybe in a long enough timeline, that's a good thing. But it's just not this team. And it's a hard thing to buy. Whereas I could at least sell myself on a long term vision of the Baker Mayfield Buccaneers as being a pretty good team. To go back to the question you were just asking me, like, if the Bucs offense hovers between 12th and 15th and the defense is similar, in the NFC South, that'll probably be pretty damn good. Like, if they're on the good side of average on both sides of the ball, which I think they could be, that's going to be pretty good in this division, I would guess.

1:10:36Robert Mays: This is probably unfair to Baker. Here's what I'll say. I think committing to, and let's just throw a random number on it. let's say Baker is the 15th best quarterback in the league. I think overpaying for the 15th best quarterback in the league is easier to justify when you're doing everything you can to squeeze the last drop out of something than it is if you feel like you're turning the page a little bit. Like for the Colts, it's like, what the f*** else were they going to do? Like they had to do this with Daniel Jones. I don't think the Bucs necessarily have to commit to that tier of quarterback play.

1:11:10Robert Mays: I think Baker's been better than Daniel Jones, but you know what I'm saying. Outside of the top 10, like you're paying the sticker price for these guys in a way that you weren't when you first signed Baker. Sure. Do you have to commit to that life if you know you're turning the page a little bit anyway? I don't think you do. And I think that's probably at least in the back of Jason Light's mind as to why they haven't pulled the trigger on this quite yet. I know so much shit that we could never predict is going to happen,

1:11:35Derrik Klassen: and a quarterback that's not on our radar right now will probably be worth a starting contract when this season is over. Maybe not, though. Maybe not. So what I was going to say is, like, let's just say the Bucs undershoot everything. Let's say the Bucs go, like, 7-10 for one reason or another. But no, 7-10 is probably bad enough that you really are in range for a quarterback. But like if they go, if they go eight and nine, nine and eight and miss the playoffs, do you, do you really have a path to that quarterback? Like are the bucks bad enough to where they're going to have an easy path to the next guy?

1:12:14Derrik Klassen: Or would you rather just try to get Baker under contract? And I will, I'll cash this again by saying like if Baker wants to be near the top of the market, then that changes my opinion where I'm like, okay, we're not on the same page about this. But if I can get Baker signed to a reasonable increase on his current deal to where he's still a discount of a starting quarterback. But I think that's harder to do with the Daniel Jones thing existing. Like the price point is set. What's DJ comes out to what, like 45, 45 a year. But the top what's and but where's 45 rank you? Do you have it in front of you?

1:12:51Derrik Klassen: Like where's 45 as a salary? It's not even that high anymore. That's the crazy thing.

1:12:57Robert Mays: 45 is would be quarterback one two three four five six seven eight nine ten would be quarterback

1:13:05Derrik Klassen: 11 i could live with baker signing on probably as is like quarterback eight

1:13:13Robert Mays: because i just don't know if i i just don't know if i feel comfortable with that if you are willing

1:13:17Derrik Klassen: to sign that far below market value the law of averages to me just says like you're going to get pushed down quickly and baker will be qb 15 like 15 not 15 months but like a year and a half after he signs that deal that's typically the way this stuff works and so i just think that i could make

1:13:35Robert Mays: my piece with it my problem is like the the benefits of having a quarterback in that range like you start to lose them i know if you start paying them to that level it's a difficult needle

1:13:44Derrik Klassen: to thread where you're like all right i'll i'll pay you up to a certain point but yes we are losing the benefit of the savings once we go too far. I don't know what that number is, but I still think, like I said, assuming Baker's not gunning for top five money, I still think Baker's probably the best realistic option in front of the Bucs. I don't know. Do you want to, Mac Jones will be available in 2026. Is that fun? Is that, is that a drastic improvement on Baker Mayfield? I don't want to sit with the options. I just understand why they haven't necessarily committed to this path moving forward.

1:14:18Derrik Klassen: I'm like I said, the bucks are in limbo for me. They're just sitting in my cart. And yeah, I think clarity of vision with Baker is probably their best chance at getting where they want to go over the next three years. But maybe I'm wrong.

1:14:33Robert Mays: Speaking of teams that have clarity of vision at quarterback, let's talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Koji moves this offseason brought in Mike McCarthy, Patrick Graham is the defensive coordinator. Trade for Michael Pittman signed Jamel Dean brought in Brock Hoffman as offensive lineup. I don't know why I put that in there. Rico Dowdle, Jaquan Brisker on one-year deals. In the draft, Max Ahanichor in the first round, Jeremy Bernard in the second round, Jennings Dunker in the third round, along with Drew Aller and Daylon Everett. Are you buying or selling the 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers offseason?

1:15:08Derrik Klassen: I'm selling. I want to like this team so much more than I do. So what's holding you back? I don't want to do the Aaron Rodgers thing again. Why? That's it, though. Why? That's the only thing holding you back. Honestly, yeah, because so many other things, like almost anyone else, unless they just signed a quarterback that we all knew isn't good enough, almost any other option would be more intriguing to me. And I'll admit, it's a little bit of the mystery box thing. Like, oh, a new quarterback. There's no telling what that could be, but at least it would be new and different with the potential for something more than what we've gotten used to with Pittsburgh.

1:15:46Robert Mays: If Rodgers was the 15th best quarterback in the league last year, that argument of, well, the mystery box is like, there's a chance he's not even as good as Aaron Rodgers. Why would you do this? He wasn't the 15th best quarterback in the league last year. That's the problem to me is that the idea of, well, if you sign Malik Willis, like what if he's just outright bad? You mean like Aaron Rodgers was last year? like that that's why it's hard for me to get on board with the the lack of the the lack of openness to alternatives and it's because I just think he was outright not good last year and so getting running that back again I feel like the downside potential of some of the other things you could have sought out are no worse than running it back with Aaron Rodgers again and the upside is there is like a theoretical upside there that just doesn't exist with him right now

1:16:36Derrik Klassen: I will take some 2025 Aaron Rodgers memories with me, and I will cherish them. I said this during the course of the season. Those three throws in the Ravens game were really fun. Three throws in the Ravens game? Great. The Thursday night shootout with Flacco was cinema. It was so fun. That doesn't count. I had a blast. Cole's defense was involved in that. That does not count. The Detroit game was amazing. Doing everything in his power to not give up the sack record to Miles Garrett was very funny. um even and then when he would when he stands behind the pile when connor hayward's doing the qb sneak and just points at the line it's hilarious every single time i had i had a legitimately pretty good time watching aaron rogers last year i just don't need to do it again it was it wasn't good enough that we need to sign up for 17 more weeks of it it was one of us buddy we did not have a good time look i i understand i know it wasn't actually statistically good it was not viable on a weekend and week out basis.

1:17:33Derrik Klassen: But like for me, as somebody who admired his play for a lot of my life, I had, I had some good moments and I just like to leave it that way. I, why are we signing back up for this? It's either not going to go as well, or it's going to go exactly as well. And the Steelers will be boring to watch half the time and sneak into the playoffs and look like they don't belong there. Why are we doing this again? For that matter, why are we doing Mike McCarthy? Why? When you part ways with Mike Tomlin, why are we just signing up for a very similar sort of situation? It's a great question. The funny thing is, Mike McCarthy, actually, I always make sure to give him the credit.

1:18:15Derrik Klassen: He really raised the floor for those Cowboys teams. The Cowboys could not be counted on to make the playoffs reliably before Mike McCarthy got there, and he took them there three straight times. But what did they do when they got to the playoffs? Two out of the three years, they embarrassed themselves and so like that would like this was what the the ceiling the Steelers are already trying to break through and they're doing it with a guy who struggled at that at his last stop and a guy who's been around the NFL block so many times at this point it's just not it's not new it's not overly interesting that applies to multiple aspects of the Steelers organization right now and the annoying thing is I like the roster I like a lot of stuff they got going on there but arguably the two most important jobs in the building are just so uninteresting

1:19:05Robert Mays: it's almost exactly where i went my my note like in the buying or selling buying the roster selling the vision that's how i feel about the stealers right now i buy the roster i actually think it's i really like a lot of the stuff that they did i think the pieces fit together in a very cool way like i can get on board with almost every single move they made i think the pitman and dean moves are built for a shorter timeline than the Steelers probably should be on, given how young some of the important pockets of the roster are. But if you're trying to build the best football team you can in 2026, I can understand both of those moves.

1:19:43Derrik Klassen: Well, also, the message we're getting from the Steelers loud and clear is they're not willing to go through growing pains or grow as a team and a roster anyway.

1:19:54Robert Mays: And I think some people, when you criticize a move like that, their response is like, well, the Steelers are never going to tear it down. You don't have to tear it down. You have a lot of young talent on the roster. You just don't have to sign kind of players in the twilight of their careers or in the autumn of their careers when you could give those opportunities to younger people. Like it, that I I'm fine with it though. That's not like neither of those moves are like diminished or take away or ruin all the other things that they did. My thing is just that I just don't know what, how this is all supposed to come together.

1:20:25Robert Mays: Like, because I just don't know what the quarterback plan is supposed to be. So like the vision in terms of like what the Steelers want to accomplish on a multi-year basis that I just don't understand. And I'm selling, I think the quality of the roster right now for 24 of the 25 spots that are really important. I can get behind. But when you can't get behind the quarterback and you can't get behind the ceiling outcomes for the coaching staff, it's just harder to support. Mike McCarthy is a very competent head coach. He's won a lot of football games. It's very hard to do that. I just don't know if he's the guy I would have hired if I had the opportunity to take the franchise in a new, exciting direction.

1:21:04Derrik Klassen: Stop me if you've heard this before. The Steelers could absolutely make the playoffs. So what? It's just, I mean, it's a shitty place to be because, I mean, that is an accomplishment. It's not an easy thing to do, but I just, I feel like we're signing up for the same ride all over again. I mean, if Kyler Murray or Malik Willis was the quarterback of this team, I'd be pretty excited to watch them. And the Steelers will probably be a pretty good team. It's just, it's not very interesting to me.

1:21:33Robert Mays: I'm at least open to the possibility. I think Steelers fans would make this argument that the shortcomings on offense last year were more about the play caller and the help and the skill position spots that Aaron Rodgers had outside of DK Metcalf. I'm open to that being true. I just don't think it is. I think the way he's playing the position right now ultimately is going to hold them back enough where even with some impressive additions and some thoughtful additions and how the pieces are all supposed to fit together with both the line and the skilled position talent it's just not going to be enough and if it's not going to be enough in 2026 what's the plan going to be in 2027 like they're going to be in a spot I just have to imagine they're going to be in a spot where they're drafting 20th overall again and in the best case scenario if they make the playoffs and stumble in they have the 20th overall pick rogers cannot be a viable option for them next year and you sit there and think all right who's the quarterback maybe it's baker mayfield yeah i mean

1:22:33Derrik Klassen: one nice thing about where the steelers are and where they insist on being is you open yourself up to being the team that goes after that guy in any given year and right now their wagon is hitched to aaron rogers but maybe next year the options will be more attractive and younger and with a higher ceiling i guess that's a that's a nice way to look at it like if this is how you're going to insist on operating and and the quality of your roster keeps you from being a team that can really go after a top tier quarterback in the draft maybe eventually we'll get to a year or we'll get to a situation with the sealers where they land on that guy at quarterback and it could be their they need darnell their sam darnell that's what they need or their daniel jones whatever i mean they don't have to win the Super Bowl.

1:23:21Derrik Klassen: They just have to find a guy with a higher ceiling than what we've seen over the last few years.

1:23:26Robert Mays: And again, I think because that's still a possibility, I can buy enough of what they've done because I do like the roster. But in terms of the short term, like vision for what this team is supposed to be, it's just hard for me to buy with the quarterback. Last one here, Cincinnati Bengals, signed Boyamafe, Brian Cook, and Jonathan Allen in free agency, traded for Dexter Lawrence. In the draft, Cassius Howell in the second round. Connor Liu seems like a long-term plan for them on the interior offensive line in the fourth round. And then Takario Davis, right, was the third-round pick at cornerback.

1:23:55Robert Mays: I didn't write that down, but I just wanted to get it in there. Are you buying or selling the Cincinnati Bengals offseason?

1:24:03Derrik Klassen: It would be disingenuous not to buy the Bengals stepping outside of their comfort zone. And I kind of ranted about it a couple weeks ago, but it matters that Cincinnati, of all teams, swung a trade like the Dexter Lawrence trade. It's just such a departure from everything that we've seen from them. And on top of that, they didn't splash insane amounts of cash, but they gave out$35 million in guarantees on the first couple days of free agencies to Boye Mafe and Brian Cook. And I remember they got criticized for that because they wound up adding Jonathan Allen. But after the two big signings, everybody was like, that's it.

1:24:39Derrik Klassen: Those are the saviors of Cincinnati. And then you add Dexter Lawrence to it and you're like, all of a sudden this looks a hell of a lot better i will say just to be consistent it's always it's always interesting when a team does no work on the offensive side of the ball and that's what happened here uh but if any team can get away with it i think it's the cincinnati bingles like it bothers me less for them than for other teams and i actually very under the radar i love connor lu as a day three draft pick in cincinnati very highly rated center a lot of people thought of him as the best center in the class he tore his acl in october and wound up in round four they draft him he doesn't need to start right now he can be your center of the future it's the type of thing philly would do and we would applaud the shit out of them for doing it and so for cincinnati to do that i love i don't know if he's going to help them in 2026 but i think that's a fantastic use of day three draft capital um so yeah the offense is the same but if anybody's going to run it back i think it can be cincinnati and making the biggest move is that the that's the biggest move of the 2026 offseason at least in terms of during a top 10 pick yeah yeah yeah probably so yeah i i buy it completely and the the bingles cowboys similarities are so funny we don't we don't need this to be a top tier defense for cincinnati to get where they want to go they just need to be average and i can convince myself that the bingles have done that enough to where if Joe Burrow can stay on the field, this team can do what they want.

1:26:13Robert Mays: I hope they've done enough to get there. I still don't know the answer, but I think what they've done. At the very least, it's hard to criticize. I don't criticize.

1:26:22Derrik Klassen: It might not be enough. I was the fact that the linebackers are completely the same. Oh, that's the other Cowboys parallel where I'm like, oh, I feel good about a lot of this. I'm just going to ignore the linebacker situation that.

1:26:34Robert Mays: Yeah, it's it's worth mentioning whether it's good enough to get them over the top I don't know, but I buy the plan for 2026. Still surprised they did nothing at linebacker. I love when we're simpatico. That's really kind of where I sit with this. Everything else, they remade the front seven, right? They like almost completely remade it with dropping Dexter Lawrence in the middle, Moffay and Cassius Howell on the edge. Like true, like, and that's the problem is they have these bigger body. I know Miles Murphy came along a little bit last year, but they had these bigger bodied edge rushers that you just like, where is the juice?

1:27:05Robert Mays: and them getting Moffay and Cassius Howell to kind of hopefully provide that for them while adding Dexter Lawrence in the middle. They have some pieces in the secondary that I think you could feel pretty good about. Like DJ Turner was really good last year. I think that Brian Cook is exactly the skill set that they needed on the back end. Their tackling in the back seven last year was heinous. And that is hopefully what he's going to provide. The only thing I thought they would do is add some competition at linebacker and they didn't. But that's really the only thing I'm going to quibble with.

1:27:36Robert Mays: For the most part, I am pretty on board with how they approach the offseason. Is it enough? No idea.

1:27:41Derrik Klassen: I did have a funny thought where, like for most teams, you would be like, oh, they haven't done anything at linebacker, but the offseason is not over. Maybe they can still add somebody. I don't see the Cincinnati Bengals doing another trade after trading for Dexter Lawrence. I see the Bengals being like, this isn't enough. You want us to do something else?

1:27:58Robert Mays: And I stand by this. I don't think he's right for everybody. I'd be curious what Bobby Wagner wanted and whether Bobby Wagner was an option because I think that somebody that could make tackles from tackle to tackle in the box it would be enough for this

1:28:17Derrik Klassen: team compared to what they had last year it's fair to say Bobby Wagner is a far cry from who he used to be the Bengals are one of those teams where this version of Bobby Wagner is still better than

1:28:27Robert Mays: what they had out there last year exactly Bobby Wagner isn't making plays sideline to sideline just having somebody that was an adult in that room in the middle of that defense this year I

1:28:37Derrik Klassen: think that there is that you can justify that the other point I wanted to make obviously the goal is to win the Super Bowl but I don't necessarily think that needs to be the Bengals focus right now or it should be their focus but my point is yes it should be okay but my point is just get back to being the team that we talked about you like for three years. Get back to the playoffs. They haven't been in the playoffs in a long time. It's been a long time since we did the whole thing where it was like the Bengals are the only team that makes the Chiefs lose any sleep. Like that, it was a lifetime ago.

1:29:12Derrik Klassen: They were, I mean, and they've been a 500 team for two years and then the bottom dropped out last year. So yeah, the goal is to win the Super Bowl. They don't necessarily need to do that for me to think that what they've done here is a success. Just be that team that we were talking about in 2021 and really more so 2022 when they took that next step. But this hasn't looked like a team that was going to flirt with like 12 plus wins in quite some time. And so getting back to even that level, even if you don't win the ultimate game, like I'm not going to say it's OK because you're right. Like Joe's not getting any younger.

1:29:48Derrik Klassen: I understand. but like there's levels to this and the Bengals have been several levels below the way we've talked about them for a while. You're right.

1:29:55Robert Mays: I think, I think it's for me, it's more so just that when you have that quarterback and when you have what you have around that quarterback, your goal should be to be like a solidified playoff team and contender every single year, even if that is a far cry from what they've been over the last couple of seasons.

1:30:08Derrik Klassen: It's funny. My brain does this thing where I'm like, well, it's not realistic to expect them to just jump right to the Superbowl after what they've been through. The two teams that were in the game this past year didn't seem to care. So maybe I should be less forgiving in my preseason judgments.

1:30:23Robert Mays: All right. I think both of us are pretty firmly buying what the Bengals did. So that is the point to put on the end of this. All right. That is all we've got for today. We will be back with three more shows this week. I mentioned this on social media today, but just a quick heads up. We are now, because we're in the off season, on a four-show-a-week schedule. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is going to be the plan moving forward. There'll be a couple of weeks that'll be a little bit wonky just because we'll be on vacation later this month into June. But your expectations should be Monday through Thursday, four days a week, all throughout the offseason.

1:30:56Robert Mays: Very excited to get into the offseason cadence. For now, that's all we got. Appreciate you guys listening. We'll talk to you very soon. Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to hit that subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed what you heard, please like, comment, and leave a rating. We'll see you next time. The youth mental health crisis is growing, and social media is a major driver. Kids are spending up to nine hours a day on screens, often unsupervised, and studies show a direct link to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. That's where Gab comes in. Gab offers safer phones and watches for kids with no social media, tailored to every age, offering the right tech at the right time, or tech in steps.

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