Hour 1: Ty Simpson/Tom Brady discussion, NFL Insider Tom Pelissero, Joe Flacco believes he can start

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23:30Tom Pelissero:Just with that other person being someone who is not an on-field official, but if you suddenly have, even if it's just New York being able to weigh in on ejections, even if a flag is not thrown, or the more nuclear one involving a potential work stoppage with the NFL Referees Association that would allow New York to correct any clear and obvious issue, that is going way down the line. You know, time will tell, Rich, whether or not that even comes into play. It's March. Football games aren't played in March. But there's clearly a very contentious negotiation going on with the Referees Association.

24:05Tom Pelissero:And so the NFL, whether you take this as a warning shot or you take this as them reacting in advance to some of the fail Mary style mistakes that happened last time, they didn't have the regular officials on the field. They are sounding that warning shot at this week's meetings, you know, in a vote that I have to imagine is at minimum going to be tabled and quite possibly will be passed.

24:27Rich Eisen:Tom Pelissero here on the Rich Eisen Show. Our radio audience rejoined in the middle of your commentary on what's going on with replay at next week's owners meeting on an up or down vote or maybe to table it to future ones.

24:46Rich Eisen:That rule that was proposed by the competition committee to say the NFL Officially Department can correct clear and obvious misses made by on-field officials that impact the game in the event there's a work stoppage involving the game officials represented by the NFL Referees Association at the risk of going down labor conversation, which makes fans of shows like this one have their eyes glaze over and their ears start bleeding. What can you tell us anything, Tom?

25:13Tom Pelissero:Well, I think this is not, you know, it's not super like nuanced or technical or jargony. It's very obvious stuff that I think a lot of fans have been clamoring for that the NFL is currently pushing. They want things like more access to training, including during the dead period that extends for a significant amount of time after the end of the season. They want to, for instance, reduce or eliminate the impact of seniority on postseason assignments. They want it to be the best, the highest-rated officials get postseason assignments. They want to have only the highest-performing officials have access to the bonus pool at the end of the season.

25:55Tom Pelissero:Basically, you want increased training and increased accountability, which, of course, we all sit there and go, yeah, absolutely. But what do unions fight for? They fight for hours and wages and working conditions, and these would be significant changes to all three of those. And so that's where the union has dug in on a number of different points. There was a scheduled two-day meeting down in Florida that the union showed up to. They presented according to scott green their executive director a new proposal um the nfl essentially according to scott green did not move on any of the deal points uh and again according to green they were not authorized to move on any of those deal points and so the whole thing got the plug pulled after like three hours it's not in a great place but again we still got five or six months you're not playing games in march this may well extend rich we may be talking about this in july and August, even into September.

26:48Tom Pelissero:I find it hard to believe when you are exporting the NFL around the globe and you're going to have the biggest kickoff week ever with the Seahawks kicking off on Wednesday night, that you're running the risk in the end of having some level of incompetency or lack of training. You don't have the best of the best on the field, but never say never. And the fact that there is a proposal on the table from the competition committee, and usually competition committee proposals have a good chance of passing, not 100%, but they have a pretty good chance of passing, to at least give the league office the opportunity to go, hey, fail, Mary, one guy saying incomplete, one guy saying touchdown.

27:25Tom Pelissero:We got to look at this right now. Giving them those opportunities, that's a fairly significant thing that also, based on the language of the rule, could extend to anything, clear and obvious issues. You're talking about a very wide swath of plays where the other proposal, which is strictly for injections, is much more narrow. That one not tethered to a replacement official scenario. But this really is stuff, yes, labor can be boring, but it's really stuff that can impact the game on the field. And again, what the NFL is pushing for, and not to take the league's side, but what the NFL is pushing for is the same stuff that we all hear when people call into your show.

28:01Tom Pelissero:We see it on social media, everyone going, why aren't they more accountable? Why aren't they better trained? The NFL is saying we want to do that. The union, as unions do, is fighting to preserve the status quo on some things. are not going to impact the hours, the wages, the working conditions.

28:15Rich Eisen:Tom Pellissero here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's your sense of the Cleveland rule proposal that allows draft selections to be traded up to five seasons in the future? Is that going to pass?

28:26Tom Pelissero:I know that Seahawks GM John Schneider spoke up against it recently and talked about a lot of the things that I would say just watching it, which is just the NFL thrives on parity. The NFL, yes, it's a great media thing. when trades happen. It drives interest in the game. I saw Kevin Demoff, the Rams president, made those comments recently, and that is true. But also, you never have these long-term tanks like you do in the NBA. You don't have to go 16 and 62 or whatever. I'm doing the math wrong there. But you don't have to have terrible seasons repeatedly for a long period of time in order to get back to competency in the NFL because you never dig that type of hole.

29:07Tom Pelissero:There are teams pushing that further than we've seen. You see Miami doing it, really biting the bullet in a massive way right now with all the dead cap, trading away Jalen Waddell to get more draft picks, free up more cash and cap. You've seen the Jets do it, trading away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams last year. They got five first-round picks over two years. But when you start getting into trading out your first-round pick five years from now, I mean, think about that, Rich. You'd be talking about the team potentially trading a 2030 first-round pick as part of a deal. It just, it would change the fabric of how the NFL is operated.

29:41Tom Pelissero:It would make the haves and the have-nots separate. It's not a surprise that the Browns are a team pushing that. Why? Because they've always, they've always pushed the limits of what is permissible under the rules. They were the team that traded$17 million for a draft pick and the corpse of Brock Osweiler once upon a time. $17 million for a second round pick. That upended a lot of norms. They have ended the norms on the Deshaun Watson trade, trading multiple first round picks and giving them a$230 million fully guaranteed contract. They've always pushed the bounds of those things. They've always thought very creatively, right, wrong or indifferent.

30:16Tom Pelissero:And so what they're saying is that this would allow you to better match and be more creative with your trade packages relative to the player valuation. I just find it hard to believe that it's in the best interest of the NFL for teams. Listen, it's hard enough for teams to go, you know, if you're a Dolphins fan right now, to go, okay, 2028, we're really going to be back to competitive. That's about as far out as you can push it. Now, all of a sudden, it's like, all right, in five years, this team is going to be competent again. That just, you know, yes, it would. I mean, it would open up the possibility if there's a team trade, you know, they're starting all pro quarterback for five firsts.

30:50Tom Pelissero:I guess maybe you could do that. The Jets have five ones right now. I'm not sure that the Bills are trading them Josh Allen. I'm not sure the Chiefs are trading them Patrick Mahomes. They've got the five first. What can you realistically do with it? I just think that it opens up, to paraphrase what Schneider said, which is you might have GMs who think that they can save their job and they're going to be more aggressive to use assets way in the future, that then when they lose their job and the next group comes in, it's even more complicated than what a John Eric Sullivan or a Derek Mugi have been dealing with trying to get those franchises back on track.

31:23Rich Eisen:Tom Pellicero here on the Rich Eisen Show. So, Chris, will you look up The Corpse of Osweiler? Was that a Spinal Tap album? Yeah. Is that what he's referring to right there? Okay, look that up, please. All right. So, we're all looking to see if Max Crosby is just chilling so the Raiders can get the draft value up again and try again because Crosby would still prefer that. We're still in that mode. The A.J. Brown mode, you and I, we've talked about it. We've also talked about it with some of our colleagues as well, Tom, with you doing other things. And it seems June 1st, it's got to happen after that for potential cap reasons and things like that.

32:05Rich Eisen:Understood. Now, one particular item that really didn't jump out at many people hit my screen and feed on threads that I sent to you and I'd want to ask you about it.

32:18Tom Pelissero:First thread I've ever been sent. Dude, I'm on threads.

32:21Rich Eisen:I'm off X, man. And that is just, yeah, it's much nicer. Trust me. And you still get the information. You still get the information. Threads could do a little bit better in terms of having more timely, everything in a more chronological order. I'm with you on that. But be that as it may, why did the Browns move Miles Garrett's option bonus to September? Did they do that? And if so, why? Why?

32:46Tom Pelissero:They did alter the language of the contract. It does give them the flexibility, not just this year, but in years to come, to have more options available to them with Miles Garrett. It's not a sea change type of thing. Miles also gets some money moved up in other years of his deals. But basically, it means that rather than triggering option bonuses in March, you're triggering them in September. A lot of teams use option bonuses. It's largely a cap mechanism. Miles Garrett had an earlier vesting than a lot of other Browns players have had in the past. So they altered this language. It does not mean anything is imminent.

33:23Tom Pelissero:It does not sound like anything is imminent in terms of Miles Garrett being traded. But it uncomplicates some things if, whether it's this year, next year, three years down the line, they decide to trade Miles Garrett. It erases a deadline that otherwise would have been in March and opens up the possibility you could have done it any time in the offseason. And we've seen it. You know, we saw Max Crosby be traded until he wasn't a week before the start of free agency. We've seen Micah Parsons be traded at the end of August. trades happen now essentially year-round other than during the dark period you know from the first week of November on and so this does give them those options now Miles also has a no trade clause Miles is the one who has not wanted to be in Cleveland Miles made abundantly clear of the Browns last year he did not want to be in Cleveland he tried to get himself traded they flat out refused he ultimately because there was not a whole lot of other options for him signed a massive contract and went out and had one of the greatest players we've had seen a defensive great season we've had seen a defensive player have on another terrible Browns team that got a bunch of people fired so now if Jim Schwartz is out you have a new defensive coordinator in you have tons of questions about this I don't know that Myles Garrett is any happier now in Cleveland than he was a year ago and so if you reach that point whether it's this year in future years that hey we're going to max out the value and trade Myles Garrett right now this takes us makes a small step toward making that simpler and erasing the timeline it does not again it's not as if it was impossible to trade him before and now it's imminent it's not like that but it does give them more optionality which is something that certainly the browns front office values okay

35:01Rich Eisen:let's talk quarterbacks um would you agree two jobs open arizona and pittsburgh or or not

35:09Tom Pelissero:anything else that i'm missing here i don't believe arizona is open right now depending what happens in the draft uh it's pretty clear from my understanding it's jacoby brissette's the starter gardner mince is coming in as the two that's how they're going to play it through the offseason again they may draft someone that may change up the reps or the depth chart but that's how they're going into the offseason i would say it's two it is pittsburgh they continue to wait for aaron rogers at some point if aaron rogers doesn't explicitly say i am going to play and i going to play for the Steelers. If that doesn't happen, at some point, you have to pivot and figure out what your other options are.

35:48Tom Pelissero:And it's a pretty short list of actual guys you would consider even potential starters that are still on the market. I don't see them running it back with Russell Wilson. They've been down that road. I don't see Jimmy Garoppolo really being a fit. Then you're into the Tyrod Taylors of the world. Kirk Cousins is the one, and I know that they called on him last year, and the Falcons at that time didn't want to trade him, didn't want to engage in trade talks. He ended up playing because Michael Penix got hurt. But now Kirk Cousins is free. Cousins potentially could be an option. Again, if they pivot away from Aaron Rodgers, which hasn't happened yet.

36:24Tom Pelissero:And Cousins also could be an option for the second spot, which I would say, Rich, is the Las Vegas Raiders. We don't know who the Raiders' week one quarterback is going to be. Yes, we all anticipate Fernando Mendoza is the number one overall pick. But I think what gets lost in some of the analysis and the hot takery that is inevitable at this time of year is the simple reality that regardless of how you feel about Fernando Mendoza, the player, as great as he was on the biggest stages, and he'd be hard-pressed to find a player in recent college football history, put a team on his back like Fernando Mendoza did at times in the national championship game, he's still coming from an offense or he's going to have a ton to learn.

37:07Tom Pelissero:Clint Kubiak is, you know, from the broader, you know, the Kubiak, Shanahan, McVay, that tree. It is precision-based. It is a timing offense. A lot of it comes off of the run game. It's under center. It's turning your back to the line of scrimmage. Fernando Mendoza hasn't done a lot of that. And so he may well be the starter in week one, but the Raiders also look at him as the starter if he's going to be their guy at number one for the next 10 years. That's what you're getting him ready for. You may want somebody else to start in the short term. And right now, if I'm not mistaken, the only other quarterback on the Raiders roster is Aiden O 'Connell.

37:43Tom Pelissero:They may go into OTAs or into the first stage of the offseason program with him as the only quarterback. So I would not overlook that one if we're talking about starting jobs. You also got competitions, obviously, around the NFL. None of them more interesting than in Minnesota. But Pittsburgh clearly is going to make some type of move. They're still waiting on Aaron Rodgers. The indications I've gotten continue to be that it seems like Rodgers is going to play, but he's not said if or when that's going to happen. If he doesn't commit, at some point, they're going to have to pivot to something else.

38:13Tom Pelissero:And then the Raiders, at some point, they have to add a veteran to that room. I'd be stunned if they don't. So don't overlook that as we're putting those final quarterback pieces into place.

38:24Rich Eisen:Where do you fit Ty Simpson into all of this? Tom, just to finish up, he had his pro day yesterday. yesterday said he should be a first round draft choice we are hearing our colleagues um from the spot that's paying for your last room uh at at the owner's meeting uh that he's the best quarterback in in the draft what are you hearing about ty simpson before i let you go

38:50Tom Pelissero:tom if you want to buy into ty simpson if you're the coaches and scouts that want to buy into him what you're doing is first of all you're taking a leap because of the limited number of starts and because last year after he had gastritis and lost weight it was kind of beat up it didn't look as good down the stretch but you're buying into is unlike what i just described with fernando mendoza and the style of offense that he's coming from in that transition from being in shotgun and you know the some of the reed based offense that they do you've seen ty simpson under center a bunch you've seen him turn his back to the line of scrimmage on play action you've seen him make a lot of NFL type of throws and the processing and the rhythm and timing.

39:28Tom Pelissero:There's a lot of familiarity. Coaches, when they watch the tape, you know, scouts look at the traits, right? What are the traits that are going to translate? Coaches like guys where they look at it and they go, oh, this is a lot like what we're going to be doing. He's trained and had some of that stuff that he's been able to do through the course of his college career. You see him taking a snap of sorts from under center right there. That's what you're going to like with Ty Simpson. We're going to see, and I'll do my deep dive like I do every year in the next couple of weeks here. No idea where that's going to publish at this point, but I'll get it out there somewhere.

40:00Tom Pelissero:ESPN.com, pal.

40:01Rich Eisen:Well, don't you worry. Come on now.

40:03Tom Pelissero:Let's go. What do we got? Garrett Nussmeier, Carson Beck, those two are going to be really interesting ones to see that some people start to come around on them. Nussmeier in the Senior Bowl game was really good. We had him on the Insiders last night. Just a really impressive young man. Dad's obviously the offensive coordinator for the Saints. He's grown up that way. you can see he's going to be a coach somewhere down the line. I'm not saying he gets into, you know, the first round discussion or QB two, but those teams are going to like different traits with these guys. I still, and I've said this rich on this show since back around Superbowl week, I still believe in the end, based on what I know, Ty Simpson goes in the first round.

40:42Tom Pelissero:And that is because there's just not a lot of depth at that position. There's a fairly significant drop off for a lot of people between him and that next group of guys he's going to impress people in the interview process his workout was good all those things are going to be positive and you've seen him do enough of those things you're going to think he can do at the NFL level that you might be looking even if you're a team that has an established starter even if you're a team like the Rams for instance has Matthew Stafford coming off an MVP season and they're going to work on a new contract with him you're still going we're going to need that guy down the line they already traded one of their first round picks for Trent mcduffie could they use the other one on ty simpson that might be a stretch but those are the types of teams in addition to you know the pittsburgh's of the world and the jets the teams with the obvious quarterback needs that i think that you can't overlook if you feel like we can get a guy and develop him for the next year or two and have him ready once we need a starting

41:39Rich Eisen:quarterback tom i look forward to our next conversation with both of us as full-on espn disney employees look forward to that um and the information will be just as fresh and the same Otherwise, why would they be just the same with you without a mullet? It's awesome. You're just really. Fresh is that haircut, man. Doesn't matter. Look at it down. Look at that. You look great. The cut's fresh and so is the information.

42:01Tom Pelissero:You're crushing it. And the boys in studio will still be here. All right, we'll chat next week. We'll chat next week after the owner's meeting.

42:07Rich Eisen:Ladies and gentlemen, that's Tom Pelissero here on the program. I don't know why you take video of it, TJ. It's absurd. Because he puts it on his Instagram and he likes it. He loves it. Let's take a break here on the Rich Eisen Show. don't go anywhere one more item from the owner's meeting to vote on look at that guy right there same guy same guy spring starts at the home depot and we are bringing the heat to your backyard this season fire up the flavor with our wide variety of grills for under 300 like the next grill four burner gas grill that's perfect for hosting your spring cookout then set the scene and turn your outdoor space into the go-to spot the patio sets for every budget bring it this season with grills that deliver flavor and patios that set the vibe from the Home Depot.

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43:14The Rich Eisen Show. The podcast.

43:20Rich Eisen:Back here on The Rich Eisen Show is one big happy simulcast. Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, and this Rich Eisen Show radio affiliate, Sirius XM Channel 80. We played this soundbite yesterday. I want to give it a little better setup because I really wasn't terribly familiar with what Joe Flacco was saying. I honestly thought he was joking around based on what I was reading just for the first line of his soundbite, but he's clearly not joking around. He is not happy being a backup in this league, which I kind of dig. I kind of dig that you've got a sense of self and a sense of confidence and a sense of what you can do.

43:54Rich Eisen:And when you're not given an opportunity to do it, it pisses you off. But he still wants to play football. I think this guy could have a job in TV right now if he wanted it. But he still wants to play because I think the Bengals are paying him perhaps more than an NFL partner would for the gig. But this is what he had to say when he took the backup job for the Bengals again for Joe Burrow. Let's hit it. I feel like I have unfinished business. That's part of why I'm still here and playing and doing all those things and not being one of those guys to go sign somewhere. Yeah, it pisses me off a little bit.

44:31But at the same time, I'm very happy to be here. And that's also why I don't see this as the end. That's just not how I'm viewing it in my mind. And, like, I feel like I can help a team win. And, yeah, it may be in a different role here, but I do still think I can help this team win in that role. I had a lot of fun with Joe, and Joe's the guy. And believe me, I wish I was a guy somewhere. And I think teams are dumb for not having me be that guy. But it is what it is, and I'm not going to let them or it get me down. I'm going to be the person I am and just approach football the way I always have.

45:11he's talking like you chris huh they're stupid for not yeah i i just uh i don't know if i agree

45:19Rich Eisen:with him well obviously you know he's got a sense of confidence in a sense and i get that you need that i'm wondering if he said you know if i had a peg one spot it'd be like okay kevin stefanski did you not see what i did coming off the couch were you not coach of the year was I not comeback player of the year? Interesting. You know, you'd rather have Flacco or Tua. Now Tua's got, he's younger with a bigger upside and also he's left-handed just like your other kid. Yeah. So if one's got to play in the other, that's an interesting one. Like really, you're going to go with Tua. Hmm. Who's already shown what he can do elsewhere.

45:59Rich Eisen:And I've shown you what I could do with you for you. Give me Drake London. maybe Kevin's like you you know he doesn't want a left handed backup again I those things can be overcome I mean you made a valid point though I mean it makes sense but it's rare to have two left handed guys throw a pass for the same team in a season it hasn't happened since Brunel did it with Jacksonville in his left handed backup it's been a long time but anyway I'm wondering if I had a peg one like interesting okay Arizona you're going with Jacoby Brissett played pretty well. I know he did with the guys. So I understand.

46:38Rich Eisen:Listen, but I also understand why he's just like, yeah, he kind of had like a Josh Rosen. Like there's nine mistakes and I'm going to show them all. Yeah. Now, obviously for Cincinnati, you'd love to use that. The problem is using that to your benefit means Joe Burrow is not playing. And that's a whole different story entirely. But I, I, I dig Joe Flacco saying that. and I dig him believing it and I do hope he gets a chance to show it. That wraps up hour number one. Hour number two is just for us. 844-204-RICH. Number to dial before Carlos Boozer joins. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Monster Energy.

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