Hour 1: Aaron Rodgers/Steelers Latest, plus the MMQB's Albert Breer Talks Rams, Browns & More

19:22Albert Breer:You know what, though, Rich? Here's the thing, though. Like, if you look at their actions, to me, like, that's the whole thing. It's like, everybody's very careful. Everybody around Aaron Rodgers is very careful on talking on Aaron Rodgers. It's like Fight Club, man. Yeah. It's like Fight Club. No one wants to be the one that's speaking for Aaron Rodgers. You know what I mean? So everybody's very careful about that. And so the Steelers were, and I think this was last year, it's this year, too. they've been very careful about the way that they've discussed this because the last thing they want to do is like say something the wrong way or be speaking for him and then it pisses him off and he's off into the sunset right so you know i but i think like you can read into a team's actions that speak louder than their words and i think in this case you saw that i look like this very easily could have been a rip the band-aid off off season for them right they've gotten older I think there was some feeling that, you know, they maybe they go younger again with a head coach.

20:22Albert Breer:I certainly thought so at the beginning of all of this, that it'd be someone like Chris Shula. They wind up hiring Mike McCarthy, who's an older head coach that tells you they don't want to sink to the bottom of the league. Then they hang on to their current core. Right. So all those guys, you know, Cam Hayward, you know, the T.J. Watts, the Jalen Ramsey's like those guys are there. And then if you look at their actions, you know, in the offseason, they sign Rico Dattel, who's going into his eighth season at running back. Right. They trade for Michael Pittman, who's almost 30 years old. They bring in Jamel Dean, who's almost 30 years old at corner.

20:58Albert Breer:I mean, it just all lines up where I mean, all due respect, if we're being honest, does that seem like a team that's ready to roll Will Howard or Mason Rudolph out there at quarterback? No. Right. So like, I think every sign was out there that this was happening and they were preparing to have Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback. But, you know, until it's done, it's done. And I think nobody wanted to come out and say anything that would jeopardize that in the time being.

21:23Rich Eisen:Yeah. And it doesn't appear like it appears that everybody is now on the same page and the way it was handled is is pitch perfect, to be honest with you. I mean, and so what is Will Howard's deal, Albert? I mean, like where, what is the future at the position? Because at some point, you know, McCarthy will be asked to shepherd somebody new in and along. Is that guy currently on the roster, do you think, including the kid they just drafted out of Penn State and Drew Aller?

21:57Albert Breer:Drew Aller, right. Like, I think they don't know right now is probably the best way to put it. I mean, they could have a decision to make in another month on whether or not they want to put a bid on a kid who might become available at the beginning of July. Right.

22:10Rich Eisen:Okay. So is that a source? Is that a source? Be a reference you just made. Yeah.

22:14Albert Breer:I know we're going to get to it, but yes, the Brendan source. Be right. I just think, I just think like, look, do I think that they would be comfortable putting Will Howard in a game right now? Yeah, I do. Does that mean that, that, that, that he is going to be their quarterback for the next 10 years? No, it doesn't. You know, so I think too often we make these things, yes or no things where it's like you can be optimistic about a guy. But that doesn't mean I mean, if Will Howard was if they were very sure that Will Howard was their future, they probably wouldn't be spending a third round pick on Drew Aller.

22:48Albert Breer:Right. So you can believe that a guy has promise and be optimistic about his future and still understand, like, we still have to put resources into the position. So I think they feel good about Will Howard, but, you know, I don't think anybody's convinced that, like, he is the successor to Ben Roethlisberger there, you know. And I think there's a good chance the successor to Ben Roethlisberger isn't on the roster yet. Again, with all due respect to Will Howard and what he did in his first year and Drew Allard coming in, who they haven't seen do much of anything yet.

23:18Rich Eisen:Okay. What are we going to get first for Jimmy Haslam? Giannis' situation handled or the quarterback situation handled? for the Browns. How about that? I did see him come out and talk.

23:30Albert Breer:I didn't actually see what he said, but I did see he's kind of speaking for the team now, right?

23:35Rich Eisen:Yeah. Did you all see that? I did. Before the draft. He wants it before the draft, and it's just like, okay, a little bit of Browns being brought to the Bucs now.

23:45Albert Breer:Yeah, I mean, could that be Jalen Brown for Giannis straight up? I don't know.

23:49Rich Eisen:Look at us mixing sports right now. Is this Deshaun Watson's gig? As we're sitting here? soon to be mid-May schedules coming out?

24:00Albert Breer:This is the way that I've looked at it and I've looked at it this way for a couple of months. They have now invested nearly$200 million. By the end of this year, it'll be$230 million into Deshaun Watson. They've invested three first-round picks into him. Obviously, it's gone the way it's gone. The return has not been close to the investment they made over the last four years. You know what would be worse, though, than just striking out on this? What would be worse would be striking out, not giving me a chance this year, and then seeing him go and ball out somewhere else in 2027. So, like, I think for the Browns, part of this is you sort of owe it to yourself to at least give this a run and see and make sure that that top five quarterback that we all watched play in 2017 and 18 and 19 and 20 isn't still in there.

24:59Albert Breer:And do I think that they want to get a look at Shadur Sanders again? Sure. I also think it's much easier to pull the plug on Deshaun Watson four games or eight games into the season and go to Shadur Sanders than it would be the other way around. Generally, you'll start with your veteran quarterback. You'll see what he's got. and then you get to a point in the season where it's like, okay, now we're going to go with the young guy. You give the young guy a little bit more runway to learn your offense, to learn from the older guy. And then if it doesn't go well with the older guy, you go to the younger guy.

25:36Albert Breer:That, of course, is presuming that Shadour doesn't just flat out beat him out, which is possible too. But I think in this case, you know, I just think the Browns would like to see and make sure that Deshaun Watson is not the guy anymore, period, end of story, that he was five years ago. And honestly, if I had invested that much, if I was the owner of the GM, if I had invested that much, I think I would want to get a look, just to make sure that it's not there, especially in what's going to be a transition year, unless, of course, there's a much better answer on the position on your team.

26:19Rich Eisen:No, there's no doubt, right? I mean, you've come all this way. He's come all the way back from an Achilles injury. You have two rookies from last year, you know, one who flashed in Shador and one who really didn't in Dylan Gabriel. But neither of them sit here and give you a week one better chance than a turn back the clock to Sean Watson. You know what I mean? With a new coach who doesn't own the concept of drafting anybody that's there or the signing or the acquisition. All of these quarterbacks, none of them are on the ledger of the new head coach. So all bets are off, to use the phrase, I would think.

27:07Rich Eisen:I mean, clean slate, right?

27:09Albert Breer:The only one that Todd Munkin had anything to do with acquiring is Talon Green, who they just drafted out of Arkansas and went to sixth round. So, you know, I think it's a clean slate for everybody. And again, like I think, like, if we just look at this historically, there at this point are far more recent examples of first round reclamation projects that have worked out. you know baker mayfield sam darnold daniel jones um then there are third rounders or fifth rounders that wind up becoming big stars so you know it just it seems to me like if they're going to get top end quarterback play it's probably still most likely going to come from deshaun watson too based on what we know about the position in recent history albert brayer here on the rich eisen

27:59Rich Eisen:show it's now time to play who gets the most starts in 2026 of the rookie quarterback class rank them what do you got for me um mendoza leads that list yeah carson beck leads the list um who who leads the list albert what do you got from i i think it's mendoza all right

28:23Albert Breer:beck is the one i'm glad you brought him up beck's the one that gives me some pause because it could be a scenario where Arizona, I mean, they know what they've got in Jacoby Brissett. They know what they've got in Gardner Minshew, right? So, I mean, if you get to a point where you've fallen out of contention, do you want to at least evaluate him before making a decision on how you're going to handle the quarterback position in 2027? I'd also say this. Just having talked to a ton of coaches and scouts over the last few months, a couple of them told me Beck was the smartest of the of the quarterbacks that they sat down with now a lot of people be surprised by that but a lot of them told me that Beck was the smartest of the quarterbacks that they sat down with ahead of the 2026 draft so like a guy who played six years in college who has football IQ it would seem to me like he would probably be ready to go too.

29:20Albert Breer:Like that's the advantage of having as much time on task as, as Carson Beck has had. So I still think it's Mendoza cause he's the number one overall pick and history tells us that, you know, there's going to become a point in the season that he's going to be in there. But Beck would be the one that would just give me a little bit of pause where I would look at it and say, you know, there's a possibility that it does wind up. It does wind up being Carson Beck just because I think the Cardinals might want to get a look at what they have there.

29:48Rich Eisen:All right. Um, so Mendoza starts the season. Yeah, I don't think so.

29:55Albert Breer:I think, I think my guess would be Kirk Cousins starts the season. And I think that this boils down to, um, you know, again, like looking at this historically, what history tells us is if the team is in contention and you have a veteran quarterback at the controls, generally that's the only scenario where a first round quarterback sits the entire year. So using that as my guide, like I'd say, if Kirk Cousins is winning, if the Raiders are playing well, which might not be the most likely thing in the world, then Kirk Cousins stays in the job. But I do think there would come a point, whether it's five games in, seven games in, nine games in, if they are struggling, where you would want to get Mendoza the reps.

30:43Albert Breer:And he does have a ways to go. Like there is a little bit of a translation there going from the spread system he played at Cal, the RPO system, RPO heavy system that he played at Indiana. Not that you didn't see NFL things that he was doing, but there is a little bit of like a learning curve there and a translation. And, you know, I think there'll probably come a point for the Raiders where they'll look at it and say, this kid can handle it. He's ready. He's grown up. He's mature. And he's not going to be broken, you know, if he has a few bad plays out there. So we want to start the process of getting him ready for 2027 now.

31:17Rich Eisen:Okay. The portion of the interview where I ask you to make prediction, if it's right, we'll repeat it. If not, never happened. Ty Simpson plays for the Rams for the first time in fill in the blank.

31:33Albert Breer:Oh, see, like I'm a little uncomfortable with this. Okay. Rich, just because like, I feel like I'd be predicting an injury, but Matthew Stafford does have injury history, right? So it's possible he plays in 2026 if Matthew Stafford gets hurt for a game or two. I think my guess would be in 2027, though. My guess would be this is a pure redshirt. And I would not mistake this for just being a, like, drafting him 13th overall. I wouldn't mistake that for this being just a move for the future. I do think part of the equation for the Rams here, now they moved that 29th pick for Trent McDuffie, right?

32:19Albert Breer:And that's very much a win-now move. Well, that 13th pick, right? Using the 13th pick on Ty Simpson now frees them up to use future picks as capital, which I think will allow them flexibility over the next few months if opportunities come available. So I think that they're set up in a really nice way where they got their quarterback of the future and they're sort of liberated to operate like the Rams have traditionally operated in the past because they don't have to worry about Matthew Stafford's replacement anymore.

32:50Rich Eisen:Okay. Now then, you mentioned Brandon Sorsby. Yep. I understand talent over everything. This is a talent over everything league. but I cannot, I'm hoping I'm going to get this right here. I cannot believe that the first supplemental draft choice in seven years will most likely be used in this quarterback needy league on a kid currently involved in a lawsuit when he's been sued by his school about a breach of NIL contract. and he's taken a medical leave of absence over a gambling addiction. Yep. And in the lawsuit that involves antitrust and gambling, he's now being represented by Jeffrey Kessler, who might be, if there is an NFL Christmas card list, he might be the last name on it.

33:51Right?

33:52Albert Breer:It's not me.

33:53Rich Eisen:No, no, no. you're above him despite you and your history um but in all seriousness really like yeah we're falling all over ourselves for that kid because he must be insanely talented albert yeah because that's all i'm hearing is that tires are being kicked uh by a ton of teams he's that good and And they're willing to take him under this cloud if cleared, Albert.

34:24Albert Breer:Well, so I'll give you the landscape, okay? So the landscape starts, like you said, with Jeffrey Kessler. I don't want people to make the mistake here of thinking that Kessler was brought in purely to sue the NFL. No. I don't think that's what it is. No, I know.

34:36Rich Eisen:That's separate. If I'm not mistaken, what I'm reading, he's being brought in to sue Cincinnati.

34:42Albert Breer:Sue the NCAA. Right. Sue the NCAA. I'm sorry. He's not being brought. I don't think that's why he's being brought in. To sue the NCAA. Sorry. Sure. I don't think that's what it is. I think if like and this is just from having talked to people around it. This is Sorsby's side lawyering up. The Texas Tech people have lawyered up. I think what this is and what the presence of Jeffrey Kessler is about is about trying to accelerate a decision from the NCAA on this and trying to see if there's a way to allow for him to play college football in 2026. I think he wants to play college football. Texas Tech obviously wants him there.

35:21Albert Breer:And so this is about, to me, Jeffrey Kessler and an all-star legal team going to the NCAA and seeing if there is any settlement to be had, where it's a three-game suspension, it's a six-game suspension, whatever it is. Is there some path to Brendan Sorge be playing college football in 2026? Now, if the NCAA says no, because this looks really black and white. He admitted to what he did wrong. He gambled on games in Indiana. The rules say that if you gamble on any team at your school, doesn't even matter if it's a sport you play, your eligibility is done and permanently revoked. And so if the NCAA sticks to that and says your eligibility is permanently revoked, that's it.

36:08Albert Breer:Then Swarovski has a decision to make. Do I sue the NCAA and try to get an injunction and maybe go to a Texas Tech friendly judge in Lubbock? And can I get an injunction based on the fact that like like it looks to me like really unlikely he could win that he could he could win the case, which is what you have to prove to get the injunction. So it seems like it'd be a steep hill to climb. Or do you just go to the NFL? And if you go to the NFL now with Kessler in your hip pocket, and now, and now, and this is interesting, right? Do they follow the Terrell Pryor precedent? Oh my word. And if you remember in the Terrell Pryor case, and I think this is a fascinating piece of it.

36:51Albert Breer:It wasn't just a six game suspension, right? That wasn't pulled out of thin air. That was what the NCAA suspension was. So the NFL was matching the NCAA suspension. So if the NFL goes to that precedent, well, the NCAA would essentially be banishing Soresby from college sports. Right. So now how does the NFL handle that? And, you know, and then I think the next piece of it is the eligibility for the supplemental draft. We've seen guys with drug cases get in the supplemental draft. Josh Gordon, we've seen the eligibility cases prior. We've seen a ton of guys become academically ineligible and get into the supplemental draft.

37:28Albert Breer:And the NFL has let them in on the premise. We're a trade association and we have to leave it up to our companies to decide whether or not they're employable. In other words, the trade association itself cannot deny employment to the prospect. So then does the NFL have to allow them into the supplemental draft, which I think they would have to allow them into the supplemental draft. and then it becomes up to the teams whether or not he gets in. It's a fascinating case.

37:57Rich Eisen:So then to wrap it up, who's interested in what level of draft choice do you think would go for Brandon Sorsby?

38:06Albert Breer:I got four teams, right? I have four teams here that I think in the 2026 draft kept their powder dry for 27. The Jets, the Cardinals, the Browns, the Dolphins. I think all four of those teams kicked the can down the road. So, you know, at various levels, obviously the Jets get Geno Smith, the Dolphins go get Malik Willis. They've all kind of patchworked the position together and basically said, like, we don't think there's somebody as there's somebody worthy of taking that high in 26. So we are allowing ourselves the opportunity now to extend this out and get to 27 and take one there. And what happens if one of those teams says, Brendan Sorsby is as good as any of the kids that are coming out next year?

38:52Albert Breer:We'll throw a second round pick at it. And then think about this. What if you're Pittsburgh, right? And what if you're Pittsburgh and you say, Brendan Sorsby is going to be a top five pick next year, which some people look at him that way, right? So if you're the Steelers, do you say, I mean, if Aaron Rodgers is here, we think we're going to win nine or 10 games. Mike McCarthy is our coach. Sure. That's going to be the 20th pick in the draft. That's going to be the 23rd pick in the draft. We'll throw that at him. Would Minnesota do it with the new general manager?

39:24Rich Eisen:A first rounder? They'd use a first. So a team would use a first round pick in next year's draft this summer?

39:28Albert Breer:I don't know if that's likely, but I think if you're one of these teams that believes they'll be drafting at the bottom of the round, right? I would have put the Rams in this category before they took Simpson. This is part of the equation. The Rams would be in that category. We're not going to be drafting high enough to get one. And we have an older quarterback. So is it worth the 28th pick in the draft, the 26th pick in the draft, to get a guy who might be a top five pick if he's in the draft next year? And oh, by the way, we get to have him in our building this year. It's fascinating. I think like, honestly, like I was thinking about this historically, I think Steve Walsh was the last quarterback, like, right.

40:11Albert Breer:Like who would be of this level that was available in the supplemental draft. Obviously the most famous one is Bernie Kosar all the way back in whatever that was, 84, 85, but it's, it's a fascinating case. And I, you know, I talked to one offensive coordinator who said to me from a, he's not consistent enough yet. he's like but from an arm talent perspective i hate to use the names caleb williams and patrick mahomes but i think this kid has some of that wow and like zach wilson was the other name sorry rich zach wilson was the other name but but guys who have like that level of like he has that sort of arm talent and so you know i mean if you're if you're the jets right or you're the cardinals like you can say we'll throw a second round pick at this now we get them in our building for a year And we'll see how the NFL rules on that, because that's going to be part of the equation, too.

41:02Albert Breer:Is he suspended? If he is suspended for the entire year, like, can you have him in your building and can you work with him? Like all of these things are moving parts with this. And again, like to circle back to the beginning of the conversation, I think there's a big piece of this is like like big piece of hiring Kessler is so like they can clarify the landscape on all this. because there is so much to sort out between now and what I think is expected to be a June 30th deadline to declare.

41:30Rich Eisen:I got to beat it on down the line. Albert, thanks for the time, man. We'll get you on back again real soon. Love chatting with you. Thanks, buddy.

41:36Albert Breer:Awesome. Thanks, Rich. Appreciate it. We're still a straight.

41:37Rich Eisen:It's Albert. We've got to take a break. We're back to unpack a lot of that right here on The Rich Eisen Show in a moment. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

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43:47Rich Eisen:Everything that you just heard. Got to figure out, do I get a settlement? Do I sue the NCAA? And if I don't, do I go in the NFL draft? And if I do, the NFL supplemental draft, how do I clear my name with all this gambling stuff? Right. It's going to be tough, man. You think so, huh? I agree with you. it's gonna be hard on all of that man but if he's that good what caleb williams patrick mahomes type ability that was like what and you could flip a two right now and get him in your building and he's in the supplemental draft and you look him in the eye and he's like yeah i'm done with all of this gambling stuff i went to i went to the it's over rehab i'm finished yeah you know seems worth it does it by the way thing to regain is trust man i i have been through the uh again i lost my remaining hair in the lockout uh you remember when um bob craft stepped in with um jeff saturday saturday yeah do you remember all that stuff all those years jeffrey kessler was not welcome in any of these conversations at all but if you want to hire somebody to sue the ncaa or sue you know to get your that's the guy you call yeah and he's not saw not by any stretch of the imagination at all so i just had a very nice chat with ozzy albies in the back and he's up he's up for showing off his um a fish in our oh amazing he collects exotic fish and um he's got many fish tanks and he's he's he's also uh coming on to support his foundation rescue dogs oh do we have that is this what what photograph pop that photograph up of the fish tank i just saw you were you guys were cycling through it what is that uh that is this is garage that is

45:51Albert Breer:the 6 ,000 gallon fish tank in his garage. In his garage. I think there's a video of him swimming in the tank. Oh, really? That you can find online.

46:00Rich Eisen:Swimming with the fish? Oh, gosh. Well, that would be his koi pond. That looks like it's a hot tub. Oh, my God. Oh, it's jumping. Jumping fish. He's got jumping fish. I mean, come on now. That's gangster. Okay. That's coming up next. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to The Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

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