Hour 2: Maxx Crosby Trade Breakdown, Tyler Linderbaum to Raiders, and More

0:00Rich Eisen:So good, so good, so good. New markdowns up to 70 % off are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. And that means so many new reasons to rack. Because I always find something amazing. There's so many good brands. Because there's always something new. Join the Nordiclub to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.

0:31Monster Energy. Everybody knows White Monster Zero Ultra. That's the OG. It kicked off this whole Zero Sugar Energy drink thing. But Ultra is a whole lineup now. You've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian, Sunrise, and Vice Guava. And they all bring the Monster Energy punch. So if you've been living in the white can, branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe. And every single one is Zero Sugar. Tap the banner to learn more. 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.

1:13Miss 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. This is the Rich Eisen Show.

1:31Rich Eisen:But bringing in Kyler Murray, what does it mean for J.J. McCarthy? Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Unless they feel he's done. Anybody else who's coming in is going to have to beat out J.J. McCarthy. On today's show, up-to-the-minute NFL free agency updates, overreaction Monday, your phone calls, latest news, and more. And now it's Rich Eisen. Hour number two of the Rich Eisen show is on the air already one hour into NFL free agency. And my goodness gracious, have we already seen a bunch of news tumble down from the rafters of NFL media and the football gods to a Tungo Vailoa cut Malik Willis going to be signed.

2:17Rich Eisen:How about that right off the bat? Travis Kelsey apparently coming back for another year with the Kansas City Chiefs who signed the Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III. to a nice new contract as a running back Alex Pierce. The big time, the Alec Pierce, pardon me, Alec Pierce, the big play specialist in Indianapolis, stays put to the tune of almost$30 million a year, which means Michael Pittman gets traded to the Steelers, and he gets a nice new chunk of change as well, three-year,$59 million deal for him, who'll join DK Metcalf to catch passes from who knows yet. The Steelers in the quarterback market that now again has Malik Willis, the biggest free agent name out there coming off of his last two campaigns in Green Bay, including some really nice performances in the cold weather towards the end of the year while Jordan Love was out.

3:15Rich Eisen:He's now a Miami Dolphin. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Let's take a quick call here at the top of our number two. Anthony in Miami, you're here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's up, Anthony? Hey, Rich. I just want to talk about Tua going to Atlanta. Yep. I'm wondering if Kevin Stefanski is a Michael Jackson fan, because if Tua takes another hit, I don't think anybody wants to see Tua doing the horizontal thriller dance once more. I agree. I hear you, and that's part of the reason why I imagine Miami didn't want Tua around anymore is because he's always one hit away. But, you know, if, you know, any coach who takes on a quarterback, Anthony, feels that they are the right fit for that quarterback.

3:59Rich Eisen:Whatever, you know, whatever ails that quarterback, I alone can fix it, you know? All right. And that's the way a lot of coaches feel. Mike McDaniel did it with Tua. He's now, you know, Justin Herbert's offensive coordinator. to talk about irony because the minute Tua got drafted fifth overall and then the Chargers snapped up Justin Herbert, the two of them have been attached at the hip, and we're all trying to see which one's going to be first to win a playoff game first. And if it's Herbert with McDaniel, who seemingly had Tua all taken care of, kissing him on the head there, what a photograph that is.

4:42Rich Eisen:this is uh now a situation where mcdaniel's our neighbor across the street is the oc for herbert and tua is probably going to back up uh michael penix or even get the start there and i'm sure thanks for the call anthony i am sure kevin stefanski is thinking i've got a quick game here i can get um uh to a going and i we saw what to was able to do with a running back like uh a-chan how does Bijan sound to you right he was able to get going with Tyreek Hill he's got Drake London now he didn't really have a tight end of uh Kyle Pitts's caliber with Pitts doing what he did last year you said Zaccheaus is now back in Atlanta back as well right um yeah Darren Waller who on certain weeks was well I mean last year coming back from well they had Jonas being gone for a year.

5:36That's awesome two years ago. I'll take Pitts overall. Agree. So, after waiting for...

5:45Rich Eisen:After lamenting drafting him in many fantasy leagues, I get it. But again, that's why one more time, just to repeat for you what I said at the top of the hour, Tua had four touchdown passes against the Falcons. So, whichever members of the organization that's still around, they remember him from the last time. He's going to be indoors. He's going to be playing hopefully games playoff games indoors if the Atlanta Falcons make it as a division champ you could do a lot worse but clearly he's got to hand it off he's got to get it get rid of it and then get the hell down don't be running for first downs anymore but I'm sure he's heard that over and over and over again the story of the weekend coming into this here free agency Monday was Max Crosby we talked about it with Tom Pellicero on the Friday program he said the next 24 to 48 to 72 hours were going to be very important we went out the door our last segment of the week was the group chopping it up the it being Lamar Jackson's tweet of the famous training day boom jiff denzel doing his thing boom we went off there wondering suz all of us you tj you lieutenant feller we were all sitting here wondering what could that mean the first name that popped in mind was is max crosby's coming i guess lamar heard first right Well, based by that, yeah.

7:35That's clearly what the boom meant. Unless there's something else. Maybe you had to go to the bathroom. And earlier in the, by the way, look at this. This won't be practice. This won't be practice.

7:46Rich Eisen:This is not the way, although, I don't know. Mike Silver's article in The Athletic said that Max Crosby had to be told by Gruden when he first started, stop hitting the quarterback in practice. I'm going to get rid of you if you keep doing that. Boom! and then remember the last sentence that you said from the story last week it's going to take a lot more than the red jersey to protect Mendoza if Crosby is still in Las Vegas and at the end of the day Vegas was asking for two first round draft choices and the we just told you the way the week last week on this program ended the way it began was a top five list of the top five teams who should overpay the most for Max Crosby.

8:31Rich Eisen:Dallas was at the top. Apparently, Dallas didn't want to flip two firsts. They wanted to flip a one and a two, which makes sense because they already flipped a one in next year's draft for Quinn and Williams to the Jets. And if they were going to flip two ones, they would still have another one for themselves this year, but they'd have zero next year. Yeah, can't have that. Well, at least, unless you get Max Crosby in there. But let's put a pin in that, because the Cowboys have since made some moves, which we'll talk about later. It's not like they came up empty-handed in the first day of free agency.

9:11Rich Eisen:But they didn't overpay for him. Another team on the list was New England. Number two on the list was Chicago. And word is Chicago did hit the two first overall pick demands. But the Ravens, instead of flipping him to another conference where they would only have to see Crosby one out of the next four years at a minimum, they flipped him in conference to the team that was fifth on that list in the Ravens. because the Ravens' two firsts are better than the Bears' two firsts, at least in the first year, where we know the Ravens are drafting in the middle of the first round and the Bears are drafting towards the end of the first round.

10:00Rich Eisen:So the Ravens essentially said, sold. Max Crosby picks in this year's draft and next year's draft, first overall pick. One this year, one next year. Sold. And the Ravens get the Condor. so i'm sorry jason feller and i'm sorry to all the raiders fans out there who are just absolutely gutted that the guy who i mean if you put a patch on him he would look like the raider logo right like he is such an avatar for the team he has got a commitment to excellence somebody who's overcome addiction somebody who's overcome inner demons somebody who's overcome um all of that not getting drafted as high as his talent might have allowed but his off the field issues had him drop to the fourth round and may ox like let's grab the kid out of eastern michigan honestly all due respect here although i am flexing my ann arbor muscles right here uh washington county eastern Michigan is is is not where a kid growing up in in Colleyville Texas is thinking I'm gonna go to Ypsilanti and I'm gonna ball out but he did and he wound up balling out and he was Mr.

11:18Rich Eisen:Raider and this makes sense if he didn't want to be there anymore and he's gonna be all over this kid in practice and I'll show you for keeping me and the Raiders could get two firsts for him go for it the only issue is you need to turn these picks into something and who are you going to get you can get a pretty good pass rusher where where the ravens are picking right now based on everybody that i saw at the combine and you can go ahead and supplement next year with a really good draft choice one would think because there's going to be a lot of quarterbacks taken in next year's draft shoving the good players down further problem is the ravens next year draft choice is going to be vastly improved one would think because of wait for it max crosby's on their team this is what he had to say to raider nation saying goodbye one thing i could say um above all else is that i gave y 'all everything i got and i have no regrets about that.

12:22I put everything into trying to win as a Raider. Damn, I'm not trying to get emotional already, but ever since I've been here, man, I've had one goal and one mission that's become the best version of myself and helped bring a championship back to the Raider organization. I feel like I left everything I had on the table for this team. I've given my heart and soul and I feel like I let y 'all down man I understand you know people have you know their opinions and people are going to be upset and you guys have every right to be upset everything that was involved with with coming to this conclusion um it was a whirlwind man I never thought I'd be in this position I never thought I'd be going anywhere else truly um but God works in mysterious ways and um i didn't plan on on things to be like this but things happen for a reason i truly believe

13:24Rich Eisen:that so let me just address anybody out there in raider nation who's upset with max crosby and i'm i have to choose my words carefully here okay you gotta be kidding me are you kidding me You got to be joking, right? Because all he's done is pour his heart and soul out on that field for an organization that's changed coaches six times. He's had six coaches, so five times. One of which I understand Gruden, we thought he'd be there forever. And the wheels that spun after that over and over and over again. And the quarterbacks that come over and over and over again. And a new regime that's in there that clearly pissed him off by sitting him down for two games.

14:14Rich Eisen:Isn't that amazing? They tanked for a better pick, but it lost to Max Crosby.

14:21Rich Eisen:And they got the pick anyway. In a game in which Crosby didn't play, they won. Right. I'm wondering if they would rather go back and wave a wand, make a different decision. He had surgery. He was injured. I got it. I got it. I got it. It may not matter at the end of the day, right?

14:45But he's as good as they come, and this is why the Ravens go get him. All right? I wrote it down here. Crosby's 10 sacks for this team last year, one of the worst seasons the Raiders have had in recent memory, and that's saying a lot, right, is one-third of the entire Ravens team of 2025. The Ravens had 30 sacks this year. Only the Jets had fewer in the AFC. His 14 and a half sacks season of 2023 would be tied for third best all time for the Ravens with Michael McCrary in 98. Remember that name? Yeah, I do. His 69 and a half career sacks. Nice. a half sack behind Peter Boulware for second on the Ravens all-time list shout to the Seminole okay you know who leads the list is T.

15:42Sizzle with 132 and a half I don't know how hey T. Sizzle you're gonna get in the hall one day but so so the Ravens haven't had a guy like this maybe ever outside of t sizzle this is what he's bringing to baltimore now what baltimore is going to have to do is um along with crosby break a long-standing sort of would you call it a jinx or not because listen to the list of players who have been traded for two firsts at least okay i like your setup here sauce gardener micah parsons still open for business right russell wilson matthew stafford deshaun watson also still open for business good luck laramie tunsel jamal adams khalil mack jalen ramsey jake hutler yeah ricky williams Keyshawn Johnson, Jeff George, Eric Dickerson, and Herschel Walker.

16:46I did a little bit of research over the weekend just because, you know, I had a second. The Rams are two for two on this list. Jalen Ramsey, they flipped two ones. This was when they were effing a lot of picks. Well, they still are. To Jacksonville. And then, you believe that they traded golf and two ones for Stafford? Worked out. And so the Rams are two for two in acquiring somebody and making the Super Bowl and then winning it. And yes, Jet fans, Keyshawn was part of the championship Bucs team after they spent two ones to go get Keyshawn. Then they eventually turned his name into a verb, Keyshawning somebody to tell them we're done here.

17:33Everyone else didn't make the Super Bowl, let alone won one. so the Ravens have their work cut out for them but you have to make a move like this you hire Jesse Minner he's your defensive minded head coach I think it's a great idea what are you going to do? draft a young kid hope he can be your pass rusher what are the Ravens right now 14th overall the Raiders are now 1-14 I believe overall, if I'm not mistaken, taking a look here. Yeah. So every mock draft had them choosing Spencer Fano. I have one right here or an offensive lineman. Sure. Could that, could that be helpful? Get it. I hear you.

18:20I bet. Yeah. A name we haven't heard yet. We're an hour plus into free agency, Tyler Linda bomb. I I'm assuming they they're going to try and lock him up again. If they can still work at all in cap space, Lamar has got to be thrilled out of his mind that he's got Max Crosby coming here to not only get him back out on the field, not only maybe give him good field position, but also is going to be the guy who's trying to track down Joe Burrow.

19:00and Aaron Rodgers, whoever the Steelers are putting out there, or Deshaun Watson, whoever the Browns are going to put out there. But if I'm Joe Burrow, I'm sitting here at home and I'm like, really? Really? We're letting Trey Hendrickson walk. He was in Vegas with Jessica Alba. Understood. That's a great way to spend your time lamenting. Yeah. Okay. um come on now come on now no trey hendrickson and i i i get it what what if they offered the 10th overall pick and a pick next year right i don't know their cap situation i understand it and i bet you nobody um in burrows camp would understand it either or care to

19:53Rich Eisen:but he's watching Crosby come into the division and bolster a defense that was almost in certain metrics almost as bad at times as the Bengals defense I know what I'm saying I know what I'm saying when I say this in terms of the AFC in terms of anything else right so yeah this changes a metric in the AFC North and in the AFC writ large. The Ravens get aggressive. They get Max Crosby. The Raiders get picks. Good luck to them to turn them into players that can help Fernando Mendoza and Clint Kubiak. And this doesn't mean anything about that offensive side of the ball. Ask Brian Schottenheimer. Micah Parsons goes right at the beginning of his first season as head coach.

20:51Rich Eisen:and the offensive side of the ball looked pretty damn good and the Cowboys we'll get to shortly have added. You saved the best for last. My opinion, again, is when you've got a window and you've got Lamar and you've got a new head coach and you've got a problem sacking the quarterback and you've got to eventually get out of your division and face down Josh Allen and face down Patrick Mahomes, Herbert, you name it. Keep going down the list. Do you want Max Crosby on your team or do you not? And you know who you're getting with Max Crosby. Somebody who's going to come out of the smoke and drive those people in the bank on a Sunday out of their gourds.

21:36Rich Eisen:They are going to love him in Baltimore. What a box check. Do it, man. F them picks. up the road shows you what he's done. He has used his first round draft choice, Les Snead, in the last 10 years, his own team's first round draft choice in the last 10 years only once. And he hit on Jared Burse. That graphic is amazing. Treat it, treat it, treat it, treat it, treat it. And then I just read you the list of some stellar players over the last several decades in the NFL who have been acquired for two first round draft choices and only one team chose wisely to do so to get aggressive and figure it out and win a Super Bowl with the two times they did it.

22:26So, yeah, the odds are against the Ravens in doing it.

22:31Rich Eisen:But, man, go down trying. It's a fan base, right? Exactly. Exactly. Certainly, if you're also going in a completely different direction, than you have over the last 18 years changing head coaches and giving this brilliant defensive-minded head coach Max Crosby to go hunt on his behalf. Heck of a weapon, man. They also signed John Simpson, the guard, to a three-year deal. Okay. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Back with an overreaction Monday on a Monday. And your phone calls as we're keeping an eye on all the news.

23:15Rich Eisen:the rich isa show podcast

23:22Rich Eisen:in my line of work i'm fortunate enough to travel quite a bit covering the biggest moments through the football season while i'm on the road i sometimes miss the comforts of home which is why when i travel with my family we always check airbnb for places to stay it's our home away from home, providing the comfort and safety that allows us to wind down and relax. Families like mine are looking for homes that fit their needs to make new memories in, and your home may be exactly what they're looking for. If you're looking to save up for a new addition to your house or a once-in-a - lifetime trip to see your favorite band in another country, for instance, hosting your house on Airbnb could help you reach those goals.

24:03Rich Eisen:It's easy to list your home for short trips or extended periods of time, allowing your house to earn you some extra money. Make your home work for you while you're away and enjoy the benefits of hosting on Airbnb. Your home may be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. If you're ready for an oil change, trust the professional parts people at O 'Reilly Auto Parts to recommend the best products for your vehicle. Right now, get five quarts of Valvoline full synthetic motor oil and a Wix filter for$35.99 and receive a$15 O 'Reilly gift card after rebate. Upgrade to a Wix XP oil filter for just$2 more.

24:43Limits apply. See store for details. Stop by your local O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or shop online at OReillyAuto.com. Get into the Hyundai Getaway sales event and get away with a deal so right it almost feels wrong. Because right now you can get great deals on our most

24:59Rich Eisen:popular models, including our adventure-ready SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Santa Fe Hybrid and the Tucson or Tucson Hybrid. Plus, there's our bold and stylish Elantra loaded with the latest tech or go all electric with the Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 9. So get down to your local Hyundai dealer and get away with a deal you'll love during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details.

25:24Rich Eisen:Back here on The Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-RICH is the number to dial here on the program again this is what alec pierce is going to have to do in indianapolis is overcome if he cares i mean he probably doesn't care he's just going to cash these checks keep on doing what he's doing which is torching people long and deep and and hope um that that um he's got a healthy quarterback to help him do it can we talk about that real quick sure about the average because I'm looking at the stats. I'm looking at it, too. It's like one catch for 36 yards. Two catches for 48 yards. These are all boosting the average of...

26:03Rich Eisen:No, I thought you meant the average dollars. I'm talking about everyone saying that he's averaging 21.3 yards. They only had 40-something catches. Right. So if you double it, he gets 80 catches and he'll have 2 ,000 yards. Isn't that the way it works? I don't think this is... But here's the leaders is it wide receiver and average annual salary according to the folks at Over the Cap, right? Yeah. Number one. There's only one$40 million a year receiver in the NFL. You want to guess? Jamar Chase? Correct. Next at$35 million. Justin Jefferson. Yes. Next $34 million. CD Lamb? Correct. Look at you. Number four at$33 million.

26:47$33 million? Who would that be? This is fun. Is it? It's not T. Higgins. No, no, no, no, no. DK? That's right. Okay. Look at you. That's right. Okay. Number five,$32.5 million. This is great. Ah, this is great. $32.5 million. This is great. Who's the one that you have no idea who's got a quarterback at all? Who just got paid?

27:15Rich Eisen:Garrett Wilson. Oh, jeez. That's right. He did get paid. Man, he is an afterthought. That's because he hardly played. But he did lead the Jets in receiving with about 300 yards receiving. I think it was. But they also said, let's just have you sit this one out, Garrett. But he's getting paid. He's really great. He's a great receiver. He is. He really is. Top five. Number six at$32 million. $32 million. $32 million. Who do you want? Chris, who do you want? Oh, I want A.J. Brown. That's correct. Number seven at$30 million on the spot. someone you spotted this weekend oh oh i saw him walking around i'm on rossst brown aloha means hello said what up he gave me gave us a nod did you really yeah actually i gotta give sarah credit she spotted him i was kind of just hey i was just dazed it out and she's like hey i think that's i'm in raw and we're like hey i'm in raw he goes davis a nod 30 million at 30 million one last one at 30 million uh jaylen waddle no oh no he had his best uh his his uh he his best speed was behind the wheel this year brandon ayuk remember him wow yeah barely 30 million he still plays and then alec pierce right there number nine he's ninth on this list now that is outrageous one of these things is not like the other well hasn't been like the other and hey listen he's good he's should be happy he's playing indianapolis because if this was your place my place his place making that much money it would be like you just had four catches for 13 yards today what are we doing what what what you're you're what's your what do you say what do you say to the fans what do you say to the fans if this was philadelphia oh man which is another reason why they shouldn't get a.j brown you know he can handle it i mean he's got the thick skin he's the one that's also with his uh tweets and posts and book lists you know create some of the the stirring brings the drama you know yeah he kind of likes he's not getting traded by the way doesn't seem like it no chance Well, Chris, you should know.