Hour 1: ‘4-Downs’ Dallas Cowboys Preview, plus The MMQB’s Albert Breer In-Studio

22:22Albert Breer:yeah yeah they're all they're they all all high character guys and that's the one thing i got from being around because that organization's obviously rolled the dice plenty oh sure and and that department over the years and that was the one thing that really stuck out like every conversation i had with any of the people um working there was like just how good a place the locker room seems to be right now and um you know it's it's going to be interesting because i think a lot of it for them is going to be based on health because i don't know i don't i don't know that they've got the depth across the board that say a seattle does but if they can stay healthy i think they have a chance when you were in seattle what'd you glean there it's obvious why they won the super bowl why um it's just the depth and you can see the size you can you ever been to a training camp where you can kind of feel them you know what i mean like you can kind of feel the size and the physicality and the violence of the team and i um you know it it really it's it feels like the best teams that john harbaugh had in baltimore big tough physical rugged smart all of it you know and you know you just kind of like look at the depth and what stuck out to me was i was standing next to um you know one of their warm-ups and their defensive ends right They're edge players.

23:40Albert Breer:And they just lost Boya Mafia, who got$20 million a year in Cincinnati. And even though they lost a really good player at that position, they still have Derek Hall. They still have Inchenu Owosu. They still have Demarcus Lawrence. They have Dante Fowler. And it's sort of indicative of the entire roster is that there's just talent on talent on talent. And, you know, like being able to keep Rashid Shahid and you still have Jackson Smith and Jigba and Cooper Kopp. there just aren't a ton of questions they're gonna have to figure out corner a little bit they lose kobe bryant at safety they drafted a couple guys um and bud clark out of tcu and julian neal out of arkansas to deal with those problems but um it it just looks like a really well-conceived team and john schneider mike mcdonald have done a heck of a job putting that group together i don't think last year was any fluke any change in ownership be an issue at any point so i think we always have to keep our radar up in this day and age for ownership changes the The reason why is because I think these teams have become such great investments that has attracted a different element.

24:43Albert Breer:Like I think 25 years ago, most of the guys who bought teams were fans and wanted to get in it for the sport, whether it's football, baseball, whatever, right? I think now teams have become such great investments that you always have to have your radar up if you're a fan. Why are they buying my team, right? And how much are they going to invest in the product in the field? And what's their priority? and so like I think it's fair in any one of these sales to judge that I will say the one thing about the coast laws is it does feel like they're in on football I believe Neil is going to be the day-to-day guy he's the son he's Vinod's son and I know the wife has been kind of positioned as the controlling owner but I think Neil is going to be the day-to-day guy he actually interned in football operations with the Niners years ago.

25:32Albert Breer:And then over the last year, since they bought 3 % of the Niners was the day-to-day contact. And the fact that like a billionaire's kid wasn't interested enough in football to intern in the football operations department with a team and had that kind of, I don't know, curiosity about the sport, I think is a good sign. Now, again, they're an interesting one because most often when teams get sold you see them go from one rich guy to an even richer guy you know what i mean and this is that's not really the case this well i mean the allen family's gonna be a step down for most from anybody almost yeah sure unless you're bezos or or musk like but you know like there there is that element of seattle sort of had a blank check you know if you're football ops you had a blank check before so obviously that's something too

26:22Rich Eisen:Albert Breer here on the Rich Eisen Show. Listen, I'm wondering how much in your travels has the question been put out there about the Rams and what they've done? With all due respect to Seattle, and I know that Seattle fans feel it is disrespectful. And we had Cooper Cup on the show the day after Miles Garrett showed up for the Rams. And he's just like, yeah, we heard about it. but you could see that there's a lot of chips on shoulders that everybody thinks, this is a wrap, you know, especially if Aaron Donald comes back, right? Which is the perfect time. You being here for us to unveil our newest segments.

27:04Rich Eisen:Usually we, we come up with ideas live on the show, just spit ball. And this happened yesterday. It's a new segment. Albert Breer is the first to be part of it called. Is he back yet? Is he back yet? Where is a A-Rod right now? Okay. so there you go sam darnold looks kind of scared there yeah yeah that's the idea well that was or concerned Sean Mitchell Rams fan is the one who who created this uh this graphic Christian McCaffrey looks a little indifferent but Sam looks scared I don't know why I'm why I'm there I'm just looking happy well I'm happy because it's it's it's just a great story it's just hanging out back yet well you're fired up because you've got you got something to talk about I got something

27:44Albert Breer:talk about yeah all right so is he back yet um no i i you know my understanding the situation um it's actually like pretty interesting i think he does want to come back um and we've seen the video of him in pads i think tmc got some of it from some sort of eye in the sky or whatever right across the street right um so like what he's doing and what he's been doing is trying to figure out can I be myself? Can I go out? Because I don't think he wants to do it if he can't feel like himself. The trouble with that is the bar for that is higher than it is for just about any other player at his position in NFL history.

28:25Albert Breer:And so I think that becomes a little bit of a complicated thing. And so you're going through that. You're trying to figure that out. And then the next piece of it is what's the best plan? And I had an interesting conversation with Eric Weddle about this because it was like the closest thing I could come up with. um and eric was like a little it was there was a lot less runway it was a lot shorter time that he was preparing for he wasn't preparing to play a full season he was kind of get through a month um he barely was able to yeah and and eric could tell you now like he the torn peck he still feels that there was a hamstring issue he still has that like there was a he said he 100 it was 100 worth it but there's a price he paid you know that that he's still feeling now five years later um and so that's part of it too for aaron you know like this isn't um aaron's not a guy who from what i understand isn't a guy who was like lamenting over being retired like he's enjoying his retirement and so this isn't like i need one last bite of the apple i think this is more if you want to get into the psychology of it it's a little bit more the wow this is an unbelievable incredible opportunity like unbelievable opportunity and like wouldn't this be a great cherry on top but i don't think he's going to be devastated i don't think he'd be devastated if he couldn't do it if that makes sense so i think this really kind of boils down to can i feel like myself and is it the right thing for me to do and you know we'll see what he decides and the plan's going to be interesting too because i i've always thought like maybe the best idea would be put him on ice for a while maybe bring him back to practice in october you know and then ramp him up in November and December and then you get Aaron Donald in the playoffs um you know talking to some people there they're not so sure that he wouldn't want to just play the whole season so

30:14Rich Eisen:to do it now right and then so the process is what um just keep showing up yeah he's at training camp right is he there or he's not out there in the practice field obviously because he's not yeah he's not an active player yeah so then at some point they'd have to like what's the mechanism here sign him yeah i mean well i mean somebody last last night at my uh weekly poker game uh asked you know like can they afford him yeah and i'm like that you know less needle figure out a way right like there's no cap question or do you have to be like lebron he'd have to sign for some sort of yeah sub sub aaron salary there's always like cap machinations okay

30:55Albert Breer:you can you can that's not a consideration you can you can make that work i don't know what he would be asking for money-wise? I mean, that's another question altogether. I've talked to players over the years where they were considering a comeback or even like, do I play one more year? And for a lot of those guys, it'll be like, well, it would be worth it for me at this number, but maybe not so much at that number, but he's made so much money. I don't know where that would

31:23Rich Eisen:play into his decision-making process. Okay. So then at some point, we just have to look at the transaction wire or your social account. And it's just like, so they'd have to sign him that after you'd have to, or does he come off a list first? And then you have to come off the reserve.

31:39Albert Breer:There's like the reserve retired list. So then, you know, it's not that complicated. Like he would be, it would, it would be a matter of working out how much he's going to get paid and you know, how you're going to dress that up, you know, just for cap purposes. Like, do you sign him to a one year deal that looks like a five-year deal but has four phony years on it to spread out the cap damage like you can make that work any way you want all right so last question for you on this

32:04Rich Eisen:and this is completely uh selfish how long do you think our new segment of is he back yet gonna last

32:10Albert Breer:i mean that's a roundabout way of asking the real question um yes but but include incorporating me in this show if i if i had to guess i mean when do they break camp and go back to their facility probably in like three weeks yeah i mean i like it sort of makes sense to me that like why push him through training camp right like i i don't know like i think he needs to get in football shape like any guy would and he needs to get used to hitting and that sort of stuff i don't know that you necessarily need to callous him the way you need to callous a 25 or 26 year old guy you know and so and that's part of what they what they do now you know so you know if if they are going to bring him back and he does decide he wants to come back you know i think generally when these teams go back to their facilities and there aren't very many of them that go away anyway um anymore and you start to go from like this is the training camp schedule now we're going to get to kind of what looks like the shell of our regular season schedule um if he is gonna try to play week one it would make sense to me if he were to jump in right around that okay so is he back yet has maybe a two to three week shelf life at least yeah yeah yeah so we got the drop we got

33:23Rich Eisen:i'm sure sam donald will be happy about it it's great look at that yeah that's again uh rich eisen show resident los angeles sports fan um sean mitchell made just everybody making just making sure that the sam knows that wasn't you that did that i'm happy because we talk about it and then the two you know you know competitors in his division look frightened um all right let's take a break here come back to talk contracts and things like that about what to expect over the next few weeks here uh and quarterback competitions and the like albert breer here is on the rich eisen show everybody 844-204-rich is also a number to dial for the rest of our show that's just begun o'reilly auto parts gets you back to savings buy five quarts of syntec full synthetic motor oil and get a free micro guard select oil filter.

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35:27Rich Eisen:That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash rich. One more time, gusto.com slash rich. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. By the way, our radio audience just returned to Albert Breer talking about seeing Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and a stop by there.

35:45Albert Breer:I've always felt this way about Kyle Shanahan. He's a very, he's a good regular guy if you know him. He doesn't let everybody in. You know what I mean? And like, but if you get around him and you've been around him enough, he is a a regular 46 year old guy or as regular 46 year old guy as a um as an nfl head coach can be and a lot of people don't see that because he doesn't care to show everybody that um and i think if there's one upshot here maybe more people are getting to see that now and how well liked he is in that building with the reaction that he's gotten since the accident well debo's back in

36:24Rich Eisen:the building now huh like so and that that just shows you ricky pierce all is in seriously bad

36:30Albert Breer:shape yeah receiver's going to be interesting for them because they have mike evans who you know isn't what he was but can maybe be a steady presence for him christian kirk has already banged up another older receiver they bring in um ricky's like so he had the pcl issue he was managing last year and that's an injury that's slow to heal and so as it was described to me you know he has the you know whatever seven eight months to heal it after the season and the fact that it's swelling up so quickly after getting back out there is not a great sign um so i think it's totally fair to tie the signing of debo to their concerns on on ricky pierce and and quite honestly like i think so much of where they go at that position is actually going to depend on the development of the young guys design straightballing has looked really good 33rd pick in the draft you remember they got killed a little bit for that one did yeah but like that but but he's looked like a strong sure-handed guy you know and then a couple of the other young guys jacob cowing and um and and jordan walkins they're gonna be relying on when it comes to you

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38:11Albert Breer:I would say there were conflicting timelines to some degree. I think Baker wanted this done earlier rather than later. My feeling on it is that he knew that the Bucs over the last couple of years had sort of habitually done these deals in training camp or right before the season. And you can look at the examples. Tristan Wirfs is the biggest one. Luke Gadecki was another, the right tackle um their you know number one corner is i am a column was the same and i think his decision to come out and say something like in june was designed to accelerate talks like look like i don't want to do this after the start of training camp he sets that artificial deadline i don't know that the talks moved as fast as he had hoped they would then why not why not what's what's the what's the because i because i think that there is a I wonder if the bucks have come to the full recognition that this is just the price of doing business is like 55 is not what it used to be you know and so you know and I don't know that they wouldn't have eventually gotten there and I don't know that they won't get there over the course of the next few weeks as a million yeah 55 million per is that what Baker was at and and like I don't know specifically what he was asking for but it was in that range and and and and look like you can say what you want i i believe the number is there are 14 quarterbacks this year making over 50 million dollars per year right um it's it's not a huge ask to go to 55 and if you look at it the franchise tag after this year will be 50 million and then if you put two franchise tags together if he was tagged the next two years is 110 110 divided by two of course even an ohio state guy can do the math thank you um 55 per i appreciate the cell phone ladies and gentlemen it it makes it makes sense you know what i mean like so i i i think this one is i still wouldn't completely close the book on them trying to revisit it with baker because i don't think i don't think that the bucks have closed the book on it i think baker is i'm done but but if the

40:24Rich Eisen:bucks haven't closed the door on it why not just make sure that it's done before baker closes because sometimes these things take time was it owners that they got to twist an arm and just say this

40:34Albert Breer:is how much it is no i mean i don't think it's that i think it's more i think it's more just how do you value a quarterback like this and that becomes hard i mean like i think golf is a a good comp don't you i mean the lions got him at a cut rate he had to play on that cut rate for a few years and then they gave him 55 right like i i think baker's well within his rights to ask for

40:54Rich Eisen:what something like what golf got you also have to wonder if the bucks might just maybe want to just leave it alone and and tag him and well not just tag him but just like let let you know let his being pissed off actually help the column because he had this to say go for it roll it like i told you guys it's all ball and that's i don't want to talk about it and if you've waited

41:15Albert Breer:this long to take care of your franchise quarterback that's too bad because it's only going to get worse from here i'm gonna have a really good year i love that guy man he needs

41:26Rich Eisen:You've seen flag planting like that before? You know what I mean? Yeah, I have. He needs an adversary, doesn't he? But this is not the adversary he's looking for. I don't think he's looking for the Bucs to be the adversary. But I will cape for him anytime. We have just only a few minutes left here. Contracts that need to get done. Bijan and Jameer Gibbs, two of them?

41:51Albert Breer:I think there's an interesting couple of situations. What do you got for me? The positions are, you have two guys playing off each other. One is the one you mentioned. Yes. B. John Robinson and Jameer Gibbs at running back. The other one is a corner, and that's Christian Gonzalez and Devin Witherspoon, who actually have the same agent.

42:08Rich Eisen:Okay.

42:08Albert Breer:So I think in both those cases, there's a little bit of a game of contractual chicken who's going to go first. Those two positions are also positions that are due for a reset. And that running back has sort of been stuck in this. I mean, Barkley's contract is hard to value. The other contracts, I mean, they haven't gotten much above 16, and it's been stuck there for a long time. And so how do you value a Robinson or a Gibbs who are so important to their teams?

42:34Rich Eisen:And they're so young and they're so important to their teams. Again, all due respect, this is not in any way, shape, or form an Ohio State thing. Chris Olave has been great. Yeah. Okay? But in terms of, you know. Value. I know. Right. Because also wide receivers depend on the quarterback to get them the ball. And obviously you need somebody like Olave in New Orleans in order to win. But the same thing with B. John and Jameer Gibbs in Atlanta and in Detroit. And you saw what James Cook was able to do for Buffalo. I could go on and on and on and on. Why are wide receivers valued and double the rate of a running back?

43:07Albert Breer:It's fascinating that you say that because two years ago in 2024, you remember there were three big-time veteran running backs that hit the market. Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs. I remember thinking when those three guys signed, those three guys signed with the Eagles, the Ravens, the Packers. My first thought, I may have even said it to you at the time, those are not dumb teams, right? So those teams saw something, which is, I think, basically, the running back position has been devalued to the point where running back contracts are now a value, right? Like now, I think a running back contract is a great asset, and you look at it, I mean, Saquon, when he signed with the Eagles, he got essentially the same deal that Darnell Mooney got in Atlanta.

43:55Albert Breer:Isn't that insane?

43:56Rich Eisen:It's nuts, man. That's why I don't understand it. I don't understand it. You do need, again, I am not saying that Chris Olave is not highly valuable to his offense and his team. I'm saying that the running backs are equally as valuable to their franchise. if not more so. Because they're standing right next to the quarterback. They protect the quarterback. They touch the ball more. They could take time off the clock. They can end a football game at any point in time. I just never understand it. And those guys are going to the chessboard, too.

44:31Albert Breer:Both those guys, Gibbs and Robinson, because you can line them up as receivers. When they break the huddle, you don't know where they're going.

44:35Rich Eisen:Damn straight. So I don't understand it. Quarterbacks that are going to get contracts. Is Stroud one of them? What do we got here? So Stroud, I think, is tricky.

44:45Albert Breer:and we'll see um i i'd be a little surprised if they completely broke the bank for him based on how last season ended and i don't know that stroud is going to take something less than the top of the market i think one thing that insulates him a little bit is that he was the second pick in the draft and so he's on a relatively big contract the other one that i think is out there other than baker of course that um is fascinating is lamar jackson and i think the ravens are totally willing to do a deal does lamar want to do a deal and what i don't think enough people are talking about is the fact that he's got a no tag provision in 2028 and so if he wants to take it he's got an open freeway to free agency and this is a guy who's thought differently over the course of his career um to be clear i think jesse minter is in on lamar jackson i think declan doyle is in on lamar jackson i think eric da costa is in on lamar jackson they love him you know lamar jackson they love him they want to build around him um but what if lamar had in the back of his head i want to go home miami and malik willis just signed a two-year deal and like you just start to think about those things i again i don't know and it's possible the ravens put something in front of Lamar by the end of August that he cannot refuse.

46:11Albert Breer:And I would not be surprised that the Ravens really try and they should. But having that no tag clause at the end of his contract, and now we're only two years away from getting there and he'll only be 31 when you get to March of 2028, I think is at least interesting. Not bad for a guy at the combine if some people

46:34Rich Eisen:wanted to see work out at receiver.

46:40Rich Eisen:You know what I mean? So dumb. Hey. He's not a receiver. Good to see you. We've established that. Good to see you, sir. Where are you going? Rams today. Rams, Chargers, Raiders, Broncos, Chiefs, and then into the Midwest. Albert Breer, everybody. If you're anywhere nearby, invite him to your house. He needs to do laundry. The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast. You know when you're locked in, Focused and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist. Every stop. Every logo three. From beyond the logo. Every did you see that moment. You bet. What records are going to be broken this season?

47:22Rich Eisen:All of it right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN. All season long.