Hour 1: Kirk Cousins to Raiders Reactions, plus Lavonte David Talks Retirement & More

0:00Rich Eisen:Protein is now at Starbucks, and it's never tasted so good. You can add protein cold foam to your favorite drink or try one of our new protein lattes or matcha. Try it today at Starbucks.

0:16Rich Eisen:Every soda's got something to say. Colas brag. Probiotics give TED Talks. Then there's Mr. Pibb. No pitch, no promises, just bold cherry bringing the flavor. Bold kick of cherry. Hey yo, Mr. Pibb. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. How do you think ABS is being taken in?

1:03Rich Eisen:The batter's talent's in the pits. It's entertaining. I think he's getting right again. The Rich Eisen Show. From the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Today's guests. 14-year NFL veteran Levante David. Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Webber. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero. Actor Wilson Bethel. And now, it's Rich Eisen. I can confirm that, because here I am, everybody. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show, sitting here at the desk in Los Angeles, California. 844-204-RICH, number to dial, whether you're streaming us live on Disney +, the ESPN app, or listening to us live on our Rich Eisen Show terrestrial radio affiliate network, stitched together coast-to-coast by our friends at ESPN Radio and Sirius XM Channel 80 listeners.

1:55Rich Eisen:Hello, podcast listeners. I know you're not listening live. It's your right to do that. We appreciate you taking in this show that way or you're watching us on our YouTube channel Chopped Up, youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show. Hello, Chris Brockman. Good to see you. Hello, Rich Eisen. Jason Feller, good to see you. Hello. Good to see you. Good to see you. T.J. Jefferson, candles lit. It is great to be seen, Rich Eisen. I love that. We're going to start today's program with the Pro Day held yesterday. Let me get this correct. I saw that. Let me get this name right. I should have written it down.

2:25Rich Eisen:There it is. John Mellencamp Pavilion. No way, really? Yes, sir. No, it's not. That's awesome. It is, in fact. Little Pink Houses for you. Named after John Mellencamp, the pavilion. Really? Not just any old practice facility. It's a pavilion. Is it the Jack and Diane Field at the pavilion? Good. Look at you. Presented by Uniqlo. There you go. I don't know. Wow. Now you're getting a little too deep in the weeds for me. I was done after that one, to be honest. That's where Fernando Mendoza's pro day went down. These are words I didn't think. It's one big mad lib. Fernando Mendoza Pro Day at the John Mellencamp Pavilion on the campus of the national champion, undefeated national champion, Indiana Hoosier football program.

3:07Rich Eisen:That's like... Did you hear what I just said? No, I mean, yes. Say it again for the people in the back. Just never going to get... Well, by the way, 10 different members of the Raiders organization was there. I don't know if any of them were named Jack or Diane. Tom Brady has a son named Jack. That's true. But here's a little ditty. The Raiders are going to choose this kid first overall. Look at you. And his pro day, I mean. Outside the taste. He threw 56 passes. Only three of them hit the ground. Yada, yada, yada, yada, yada. He looks great. He's going to be first overall. And it's kind of crazy because when we kind of got introduced to him slowly this year nationally.

3:51Rich Eisen:Indiana fans knew exactly who it was from the beginning and saw him and were like, okay. And Indiana starts winning games, not losing at all. And the first time I watched him play pretty much from start to finish was that Penn State game. Yeah, me too. When I tuned in looking at the score, waiting to see it become a blowout because, you know, that was after they blew out James Franklin and the Nittany Lions were clearly not as good as we thought they were going to be. and it was a tight game. And then I just watched this kid throw and watched this kid make the passes necessary to win the game in the final drive.

4:35Rich Eisen:And Omar Cooper, who's going to be a first-round selection with his quarterback, with that incredible grab at the back of the end zone, right? Unbelievable. I mean, what a shot that is. And somebody's going to be very happy with this young man as a new wide receiver for their receiver room. But I digress. We saw what he was doing. made the Big Ten championship game, took a shot in the mouth from the Ohio State to start, gutted it all out, came up with the win, sends Indiana into the college football playoffs as the clear number one seed, right? After he had beaten Oregon in the regular season, and now he beats the Ohio State in the championship game.

5:17Rich Eisen:And then this is how he was essentially introduced to the rest of the world. You know, like Richard Sherman back in the day in a postgame one-on-one on Fox. This one with the All-American girl, Jenny Taft. Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Spoke with him after the game. And this is the way it went down. The Big Ten champs. How does that sound? It sounds so beautiful. I want to give all the glory to God. We were never supposed to be in this position. But by the glory of God, the great coaches, great teammates, everybody we have around us, we were able to pull this off. Whoever thought the Hoosiers would be here, but now the Hoosiers are flipping champs.

5:56Rich Eisen:Let's go! I saw that, and it doesn't do it justice by just covering it, which is what we did on our TV show for our radio fans. Covering it, I mean, with a photograph and a graphic, because we don't have the rights to show the Fox video. But the reason why I bring this up is because he's looking directly at the camera, too. He wasn't looking at Jenny Taft. He was looking directly into the camera and then smiled after he screams, let's go. And it was just delightfully dorky is the only way to put it. I think that's a good way. Delightfully dorky. Or psychotic. No, not psychotic. I thought it was genuine.

6:42Rich Eisen:That's your quarterback. I thought it was genuine. I thought it was fun. I thought it was enthusiastic. And I thought it was awesome. And I also thought, who does he remind me of? Being delightfully dorky and genuine and also throwing a bit of religiosity in there. I said, and I think a lot of other people thought too, Kid sounds like Kirk Cousins. A little bit. And comes across a little bit like Kirk Cousins. As the guy that wouldn't be a bad face of your franchise and isn't going to be on the wrong side of the ledger, on the right, if it was a New York page, back, not the front. And just in case you're wondering, he does sound like Kirk Cousins.

7:34Rich Eisen:Can you roll that back and listen to it one more time, please? Hit it. The Big Ten champs, how does that sound? It sounds so beautiful. I want to give all the glory to God. We were never supposed to be in this position, but by the glory of God, the great coaches, great teammates, everyone we have around us. We were able to pull this off. Whoever thought the Hoosers would be here, but now the Hoosers are flipping champs. Let's go. You like that? You like that? Unbelievable. Sounds just like him. Wow. Went all that way for that audio, guys. Do you have him back? We can just, again, toggle back and forth.

8:09Rich Eisen:Let's go. You like that? You like that? You like that, right? It's pretty close. Let's go. Let's go. Well, I mean, the guy who's going to hire him would put the F in between the lets and the go. Right, of course. A little more profane. And sure enough, who did the Raiders get today for their quarterback room? You like that? Yeah. You like that? That guy. Wow. Kirk Cousins is signing with the Raiders. And this is a genius move. It's great. You get a longtime veteran, a longtime veteran to be in the room with this kid. And if my initial thought is he sounds like Kirk Cousins and he comes across a little bit like Kirk Cousins, they got the genuine article to sit in the quarterback room with him and potentially start.

9:06Rich Eisen:Let's get to that in a second. This was Mendoza after his pro day being asked about his workout performance. Yeah, I think it's great. I think the main goal today was to serve my teammates. And I think that I was able to do that, be able to put them in a position where they're able to make plays, show what they got, and very excited for them in the future. And like I said, I'm just trying to be the best quarterback come September. So today was cool. And yeah, there's a little bit of nerves like right before, but those nerves means I'm ready. and those nerves that turn into energy towards the workout and to be a better quarterback.

9:39So in that essence, like, you know, like there were nerves, but for me it wasn't very high stakes. It was just having fun with the guys.

9:46Rich Eisen:It's like, is he real? Right? But it's genuine. I kind of dig it. Now, I know you're like, okay, you get it. You're serving your teammates. Yeah. But he is. in all honesty, I mean, these Indiana teammates that are out there, we'll find out at the end of the day how many draft choices come from Indiana as opposed to the previous national champion in the Ohio State. Or in the case of my alma mater, after Michigan won it all, they put, you know, right around 14 to 16 draft choices out there for everybody to choose from. certainly sent him at the combine. So he is, in fact, doing a service to his teammates.

10:38Rich Eisen:This is his comment about whether he was auditioning for the first overall pick, even though he will 100 % be that. I wouldn't really say that the mentality of trying to be the top pick. I'm just trying to be the best me possible. And in that aspect, whatever team picks me, you only need one team to believe in you, whether you're the first pick, whether you're the last pick, whatever. And in that, I'm just trying to be the best quarterback I can be in September rather than right now here in April. So I'm putting all my effort towards just trying to be the best quarterback possible for the season.

11:09Rich Eisen:And the best thing for him is he now has a setup where he doesn't have to be the best quarterback in the room in September. That's a fact. Or he's starting even though he isn't the best quarterback in the room in September. Because the Raiders have no other choice and they're just going to go for it with him and start. might as well start him might as well get him his lumps might as well get him his practice might as well get him his live reps they don't have to do that now what a bonus it is to get kirk cousins for that alone and yeah he's going to be the first overall pick in the draft again i understand some people overlook indiana football still even in this room for next year 72 % of his passes, 3 ,500 yards passing, 41 touchdowns, six interceptions.

12:02Rich Eisen:He's 6 '5 and 22 years old. That screams first overall pick. Certainly based on the results we saw team-wise as well. That's a first overall selection in the NFL draft. Certainly, again, when he's the only one that has anything remotely close to that That is a resume amongst the quarterbacks that are draftable. And so Cousins will start the season, I believe. Cousins will start the season. Oh, and I totally disagree. Okay, I'm glad you disagree. I was literally about to ask you this after you. Because this is what makes sense to me. Using the first pick and then have him sit? What makes sense to me, certainly since this is a new line, a new playbook, a new everything, a new league, You don't have to start him.

12:55Rich Eisen:And there's no way this kid is beating out Kirk Cousins if we're going to hear at some point from Clint Kubiak, it's a competition. Not a chance. Oh, I 100 % think he beats out Kirk. I don't. He's a better player. When was the last time a first overall Heisman Trophy national champion didn't start week one? It's been a long time. It's been a long time. Probably never. Because everybody needs to start that guy. It's a new coach, a new situation. I think you get Kirk Cousins to coach him up and throw him out there in week one, week two, week three, week four, see how it goes, see what's working, see what's not, show the kid how to be a professional, show the kid what's going on in the playbook, show the kid everything.

13:39Rich Eisen:Yeah, he can do that and not start week one. The money, interestingly enough, because at the end of the day, this is the way I would want Fernando Mendoza to mimic Kirk Cousins' career. He's making fully guaranteed dollars, 20 million bucks. Now, everyone's going to flip out when they see the numbers. It's a five-year,$172 million deal that he's signing with the Raiders. Wait, is that real? It is. And this is all cap stuff, guys. It's all cap stuff. Like they're lying? Schefter boils it down, a one-year fully guaranteed$20 million deal that includes a club option for two years at$80 million. Now, of the money that's in this kitty right here for this year, the Falcons are going to pay$8.7 million with the Raiders getting, you see the$1.3 million?

14:34Rich Eisen:That's the number you see in relation to Murray and Tua because that's the league minimum. him that has to come from the team that hires him the team that's paying him the rest of it because that team is on the hook for it like the Dolphins and the Cardinals are for Tua and Murray the Falcons pay 8.7 million and then the Raiders decide to just flip him a 10 million dollar roster bonus on the third day of next year that's guaranteed which Schefter then points out they're not paying that mean well it's guaranteed it's fully guaranteed on the next year 10 million dollar roster bonus on the third day of next year that's not fully what parts what words of fully guaranteed do you not get it's guaranteed on the third day of next year it's fully guaranteed that they're going to give it to him oh I don't think and maybe most notably it sets another new mark as he points out 11th straight NFL season in which Cousins' contract is fully guaranteed.

15:41Rich Eisen:11 years in a row, he's being paid like a major league baseball pitcher, which is every dollar on the contract is what you're being paid, except for we are seeing the rest of the funny money that must have been thrown in there for cap purposes that I don't even want to understand. But people are going to be like, well, wait a minute. He signed a five-year$172 million deal. They're not going to draft Fernando Mendoza. Yes, they are. Yes, they are. They're going to throw him in the same quarterback room

16:14Rich Eisen:as Fernando Mendoza in the same quarterback room with Kirk Cousins. And Kirk's going to teach him everything he needs to know about being a professional with Kirk Cousins' way of doing things, which is the kid will be all right. And I feel at the end of the day, they're going to look at their line in OTAs and in training camp. They're going to look at how Mendoza is absorbing the playbook when they throw it in his direction the first second they can. They're going to see how he's taking it all in. They're going to see how the protection is beginning to gel. They're going to see how the running game is potentially going to be potent.

16:52Rich Eisen:And they'll make a decision whether Mendoza starts week one. I don't think they have a choice.

17:00Rich Eisen:but to put Cousins in there at that point in time, unless he shows up like you're supposing, Chris, that he is already a better athlete and a better quarterback professionally than Kirk Cousins, which I think is a very tall task for him. I guess I'm just sitting here looking shocked because I've heard for the last three, four months that Mendoza's getting drafted first. He is. You're going to plug him in. He's your day one starter. Everyone's been saying this. And now it's like, nah, he's going to be on the bench. I'm not saying he's going to be on the bench. I'm saying that he probably will be.

17:39Rich Eisen:Because this is a different league. It's a different sport. Look at my guy, nine, who's not as tall, all right, and potentially not as big-armed, but like Mendoza didn't lose a game and winning a national championship and things were not. And he had Justin Jefferson sitting out there and he had Kevin O 'Connell, who's been a coach of the year in this league. This is a first year coach as his HC, but I understand what you're saying, Chris, throw them out there. That's what you got them for. I understand what you're saying. I think this is an insurance policy, and he's just going to be an expensive assistant coach.

18:23Rich Eisen:There's no way you take the Heisman Trophy winner, the national champ, the number one pick, and you say, actually, it's this guy's gig. No chance. I don't see it. We'll find out. But it's a great choice. It's a great choice to have. It's a great choice to have. Great backup. What if Mendoza gets hurt early like McCarthy did? like great backup plan, but that's what it is in my mind. Backup plan. Yeah. I don't think Raiders fans are sitting here like this. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I don't know. Raiders fans, you can chime in here. I think it's a great choice. I think it's a great choice. And I think last year the culture change didn't work.

19:04Rich Eisen:They've tried for it with Pete. Yeah. Well, you know, I adore clearly it didn't work. They've now gone a completely different direction. Hot shot, new coordinator, head coach. First overall selected quarterback, going crazy in free agency, getting Max Crosby to stay. Okay. Yeah, that's wild. Maybe that's why they got him because they wanted to keep Crosby away from Mendoza. It's like, go mess up. That this is the way. You don't have to put Mendoza out there week one. Prior to today, you're like sitting around going, will they do it? probably have to. And who's going to be the veteran there to take the pressure off?

19:49Rich Eisen:Great choice, because the kid does seem like Cousins already. Right. Great choices, man. I can't wait to hear from Tom later. I'm wondering what Cousins was told. This is kind of an interesting move for him, in my opinion. I bet you Cousins was told he's going to start. And fully knowing, because this is not his first rodeo, that the Raiders have their finger on that chess piece and could say, wow. More ready than we thought. Yeah, the kid's amazing. More ready than we thought. Sorry, Kirk, and we're only paying you, you know, backup money, plus, backup plus money, which is something he might not have gotten somewhere else.

20:34Rich Eisen:844-204-RICH is the number to dial right here. Levante David, this is what you do. You win a Super Bowl, you go to Disney World. You retire, you come to the Rich Eisen Show. Those are the two things. Makes sense. All right. Levante David, let's bring him out here. One of the best bucks of this century. Joining us next. The Rich Eisen Show podcast.

21:03Rich Eisen:David is sitting here in our studio, fresh off of 14 seasons in the NFL. and we were just talking on our TV-only side of things about your thought process behind speaking from the heart at your retirement press conference and announcement. Why did you decide to retire? I decided, you know, just because, you know, I didn't have really no motivation to really, like, continue to play, in a sense. Like, when I play the game, right, I always have, like, I'm a structured guy. I need to know where I'm going and what I'm doing and stuff like that. And then at the end of the season, when everything happened, I did have that same drive that I used to have after every season, at the end of the season.

21:43And I was like, you know, just talking to people, getting certain advice. Gerald was the guy who I got advice from, different guys. And then the good thing about it is nobody kind of like pressured me in making a decision. Everybody gave me time, gave me a little grace to be able to figure out what I really wanted to do. And one day I just sat down and just, you know, look myself in the mirror, like, Vontae, it's your time to make your own decision about your life and ask you what you want to do. And then and there, I thought if I'm second guessing about playing football, maybe I shouldn't be playing football anymore.

22:14So that's what's the ultimate factor because football, I played football since I was six years old. It's been my driving force and 30 straight years I've been playing football. And then at that moment I'm like, yeah, maybe it's time for me to let it go and move on and find a different path in life.

22:31Rich Eisen:So what can you give voice to that was missing? Can you tell, can you put your finger on it? As far as, you know, football? No, just missing, yeah. You said that there was a certain feeling that you had that you had over the previous 14 seasons. Yeah, just because, like, I love the game of football, right? And, you know, it just came to a point where I'm just like, if I'm second-guessing. What were you second-guessing? Your health? Yeah, if I could really play again, if I could really play at a high level. Were you finding, like, you weren't hitting a hole as fast? Or were you getting to an angle you couldn't get to?

23:05It's a couple of plays that I gave up last year that I don't really like. I take really like a lot of pride in and stuff like that. And, you know, people still tell me, man, you still go, you still can play. But I know I can still play. But am I going to play up to my standard? Am I going to play up to my ability that I know I can play? And if I can't do that, you know, I feel like 14 years, you know, I gave enough to the game. So now I just need to, you know, move on. And that's what was one of the main things, man. You know, these young guys are getting faster, you know what I'm saying? So, you know, I don't probably got time to be chasing those guys.

23:34I do is all over the place, especially like with me holding myself to a certain standard and having my expectations for myself and not being able to accomplish that. That's something I just couldn't continue.

23:45Rich Eisen:So who's the first person you called to deliver that news to? The very first person I called was Jason Light. I called Jason. Called Jason. Me and Jason had a, you know, me and Jason got a great relationship already. We have a little heart to heart conversation. And we both obviously were sad. I told him, you know, this is probably one of the toughest conversations I've had. And then after that, got off the phone with him and called Todd Bowles and let Bowles know because me and Bowles' relationship is real tight. We are real cool. And then after that, set everything up. And that Tuesday, we had a press conference.

24:20Rich Eisen:And what have you been thinking about since that press conference? Oh, man, what I've been thinking about. Are you happy? I'm very happy. I'm extremely happy. That's one thing that before I made the decision, I wanted to make sure I was really comfortable and good with making the decision. Yes. You know, obviously. And, you know, people be saying, you're going to be back. You're going to come back. I'm like, no, I don't think I'm going to be back. I don't think I'm good. You know, I feel like the NFL has been good to me, you know, throughout my 14-year career. And I'll be able to, you know, enjoy that now, you know, enjoy the fruits of my labor now and just, you know, maybe travel.

24:49Maybe, you know, I like eating. I like food. I like trying new restaurants. I may go on a little restaurant tour or whatever the case may be.