Hour 2: The MMQB’s Albert Breer Talks NFL Free Agency & Trade Market, plus WBC Excitement

18:01Albert Breer:Yeah, so Miami and Arizona, I think, were the two teams that were primarily involved. I think it was going to land always right around that. I look at his deal as a little bit like Justin Fields' deal, last year with the Jets, you know, plus a few extra million for inflation. You know, and really, I think for everybody involved, Miami's side and Willis's side, there was, you know, it's just a certain comfort level and a familiarity there. This is obviously going to be a critical couple of years for Malik Willis. And there's going to be a lot on him, you know, but I think, you know, having that familiarity level with the people in Green Bay, John Eric Sullivan, of course, the GM came from the Packers, as did the head coach, Jeff Halfley, it gives you the best chance, you know, to make this more than just a two or three year thing.

18:51Albert Breer:If you're Malik Willis, as for the Dolphins, they're undergoing a pretty significant rebuild. And, you know, part of why Stephen Ross, you know, fired Chris Greer and Mike McDaniel and wanted to find guys who are adept in like the draft and develop area, as everybody who comes from the Packers generally is, is because the last four years, they've had fewer draft picks than any team in the league. And they have a couple of those draft classes within that window that were complete wastelands, like just no one coming out of those classes, you know? And so they want to turn that around. And to do that, you got to kind of tear things down to the studs and accumulate picks and do the best you can to try to, you know, try to create an environment for young people where they can grow.

19:38Albert Breer:and you know the obvious thing to do again it's just flood the zone with with with rookies right and get young players in there as much as you can but if you're a first year coach you also need to do some stuff to create credibility and so i think going and getting malik willis for jeff halfley is a credibility play it's this guy's going to give us a chance to compete on a week-to-week basis and we're going to be able to do some unique things with him and just as far as like getting everybody on board with our program. Yes, we're going to be really young. And yes, you know, we're going to dive in on what could be a two or three year process.

20:12Albert Breer:But you have to give, you know, the people in the building, primarily the players, something they can kind of wrap their arms around and something that someone that gives them hope. And I think they feel like Malik Willis, at least in the short term, can do that.

20:25Rich Eisen:A couple more for you, Albert Breer, before I let you go on your Tuesday, I'm sure your phone's buzzing and I appreciate your time that you've given me here on this program, as always. How did Mike Evans, or maybe it's appropriate, why did Mike Evans leave Tampa and wind up in San Francisco?

20:44Albert Breer:Yeah, there were a couple stories like this. I'd mentioned something in my column on Monday that there were a couple of guys that you never thought would leave their teams that it kind of was getting a little different over the weekend with them. And one was Cam Jordan. And we'll see what happens with him, whether or not he goes back to the States. And then, you know, another was another was Mike Evans. You know, I I know, you know, I had said on Twitter that like the that there are the people in his camp had told people they have a one year, twenty seven million dollar offer on the table. I know there were some teams that didn't believe that to be the truth.

21:22Albert Breer:But I think it was sort of indicative of like what the Bucs were hearing, which is like, all right, like, well, do you want to come back here or not? And, you know, I think after the way things went over the last week or so, it just kind of got to the point where, you know, the Bucs are set up now. They've got Chris Godwin on a bigger contract, didn't have a great year last year coming back off the injury. They've got Emeka Abuka, whose production was actually at a much higher level when Evans was out. and they're looking at it and saying, just how far do we want to go? And then you had a Niners team out there that was highly motivated to address the receiver position.

21:59Albert Breer:Like I said, they were in on Pierce, they were in on Dobbs, they wind up with Evans. But after what happened with Brandon Ayuk, Kendrick Bourne is leaving now. Obviously, Debo Samuel was traded a year ago. They've got Ricky Pierce all there, but they wanted to add to the position. And I think just schematically from a culture standpoint to like just how high an effort, high effort a player he is, how he is as a blocker. He fit Kyle Shanahan in a lot of different ways. And so he's like the traditional ex. He'll play the sort of role that Julio Jones played for for Kyle in Atlanta. And he gives him, you know, the sort of guy who I think can draw coverage and who can do some unique things because of his body type.

22:43Albert Breer:So that's how it happened. I don't think the Bucs intended to lose Mike Evans, but I'd say things certainly got a little weird between Evans and the team. Not that there's any love lost there. I think that there obviously is a ring of honor guy and everything else there, and I think everything that they've said publicly about Evans is true. It seemed like it had gotten a little weird and awkward over the weekend.

23:06Rich Eisen:You and I both know someone's going to try and pin it on Baker at the end of the day. that that no i mean that headline and that those rumors yeah at some point in june we're gonna get

23:15Albert Breer:bored somebody's gonna say something like that yeah i'm not going to no i know i mean he's he's

23:22Rich Eisen:probably bracing for it you know what i mean um uh and and i i i do look forward to see what the bucks do um you know abuka abuka clearly could be like the jsn right yeah of this equation i remember

23:36Albert Breer:a long time ago rich like i i remember when i was new i was still relatively new covering the league and the dolphins let jason taylor go right and i think he went to the jets is that right yeah and i was talking to one of their front office guys about it and he had talked about how parcells had this thing that he called progress stoppers right and it's not and it's not a shot at any older player but it was kind of a thing where it was like hey you know if you have an older guy sometimes you become so comfortable with that older guy and his production, everything that he's done, that it winds up stunning the growth of a younger guy behind him because he's not getting the opportunities.

24:15Albert Breer:And I wonder if, and I wonder if that's sort of happened here, by the way, the guy behind Jason Taylor was Cam Wake, who wound up becoming a really good player, you know? So I wonder if maybe there's a little bit of that here too, where it's like, well, you know, we don't want to lose Mike, but if we do lose Mike, maybe this, you know, brings the Mecca, Abuka that we saw in September and October back into the fold. And, and he really blossoms in year two.

24:40Rich Eisen:Last one for you, Albert, the quarterback carousel, as it remains with the jets, I guess, at the leaping off point, Brees Hall, this could have been, you know, partly him saying, I want my money and I've got to play on a franchise tag. You know, watching money fly everywhere. where the Jets also lost Elijah Vera Tucker to the Patriots today, another unkind cut right there for Jets fans to have to, I guess, countenance. But just the idea of wondering what do the Jets do at quarterback? I guess Arizona has settled on Brissette, if I'm not mistaken, now that we're spared.

25:18Albert Breer:And they have, and they signed Gardner Minshew. I mean, Jimmy Garoppolo, I thought he might wind up there. we'll see if maybe there's some sort of end around they could run. But yeah, I think the Cardinals are relatively set.

25:29Rich Eisen:And then, so where does everyone else land? And what teams that are looking for quarterbacks, what are they going to do? I assume the Jets aren't going to go Fields 2.0, Albert.

25:38Albert Breer:So, yeah, I mean, he's still on the roster. He's still on the roster. So, I mean, like, I would say, and we'll see what he would feel about that, the things that he said during the season. Right. I'd say Kyler Murray, obviously, come 4 o 'clock tomorrow, he'll be available. And I think the shot of him ending up in Minnesota is there. I think he'd certainly like to be there. And what he's done, he's in the same spot as Tua. In getting cut, he's got now an opportunity to just make this a football-only decision. Wherever he goes, it's going to be on the minimum. The Cardinals are going to pick up the rest of the freight.

26:22Albert Breer:And if it's a football only decision, you know, Minnesota naturally would be his number one choice. I also know Kevin O 'Connell and his group have looked hard at potential reclamation projects after the success they had a couple of years ago with Sam Darnold. So getting Kyler in there, maybe throwing him into a competition with J.J. McCarthy could make some sense. I think Kirk Cousins is a name that you look at. And I've heard he's actually, even though he's in the same sort of offset situation, you know, like I've heard he would like to do something for more than the offset because of everything he's been through.

26:57Albert Breer:He'd like a team to show a little bit of a commitment. So they're invested in him as he's invested in them. Right. Where does that wind up happening? I'm not quite sure yet. You know, Indianapolis is, you know, again, sort of lurking out there as a potential landing spot for somebody like him if there's not a starting opportunity. because at the very least, if you go to Indy, you can get starter reps, same way as Atlanta in the spring and summer while the injured quarterback heals. And then if you get an opportunity in the fall, you've got built-in chemistry with the players on hand. The Jets are a fascinating one.

27:35Albert Breer:I still think there's the opportunity that Geno goes back there. I think Geno's still got something left in the tank. I think Minnesota's going to look at Geno, too, versus Kyler. And obviously those are both the minimum situations, but the idea of Gino going back and playing with and playing and playing with the Jets is kind of a full circle moment of his career that could be out there. And then Joe Flacco is another one, you know, where he's got the existing relationship with Shane Steichen. Could he go back to the Bengals as a as a as a backup? That's possible, too. I thought Atlanta would have been a potential opportunity for him before Tua wound up there.

28:13Albert Breer:So those are the names that we're looking at.

28:16Rich Eisen:If Gino goes back to the Jets, he should wear the red jersey in the locker room this time, right, Albert?

28:20Albert Breer:I knew. Is it too soon? I remember the name IK and Impali. I wonder what he's up to now.

28:28Rich Eisen:Hashtag too soon.

28:29Albert Breer:We were working together then. That's how long ago that was.

28:33Rich Eisen:You're the man, Albert. Thanks again. You're the best. Truly appreciate you spending all this time.

28:38Albert Breer:All right. Thanks, Rich. Appreciate it.

28:39Rich Eisen:That's Albert Breer. Everyone must read his material. You'll follow him at Albert on Sports Illustrated and all of his platforms. All right, we take a break. 844-204-RICH-NUMBER-A-DELL. All the things Kirk Cousins has been through, like being paid like Garrett Cole.

29:00Rich Eisen:The Rich Isis Show Podcast.

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31:12Rich Eisen:844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Take a phone call in a second. Lions fans have been sitting around getting a little nervous because their team, as we all know, has not done very much. It's difficult to do much when you are up against it cap wise. The Detroit Lions coming into free agency just a mere bag of shells as boy, I'm really going way back. Ralph Cramden. I'm actually making Honeymoon references. Almost$4 million. That's it. $3.994 million. That's it.

31:56Rich Eisen:That's sitcom as old as Jon Hamm. They have just made a move, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, we haven't played the Breaking News drop just yet today, but let's change that. Go ahead and hit it. Here it comes. Breaking News. Alright, Chris, you got something over there? Breaking News on what the Lions have done? Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Lions obviously need some help. They get Isaiah Pacheco. Running back. From the Kansas City Chiefs. So the pieces on the board, if you will, the Lions trade David Montgomery to the Texans way before free agency begins on the heels of the combine where rumors were flying.

32:40Rich Eisen:He didn't want to be there anymore. and he's like, who told you? Like there was somebody tweeted that out and he's like, did you hear that from Demo? Demo. Demo. You know what I mean? Demo ain't told you that. Yeah. And so Demo then wound up in Houston to be teamed up with Woody Marks. The Lions got themselves an offensive lineman for their line and two draft choices. They now have nine going into Pittsburgh. Nine. And the Lions fans who are lamenting the breakup of Sonic and Knuckles that also included Jameer Gibbs, who, if I'm not mistaken, posted something about that. Yeah, the sad Sonic and Knuckles.

33:21Rich Eisen:Sonic him. Sad cartoon gif. I was criticized for saying gif the other day, but maybe it's just peanut butter on the mind. Listen. I thought it was gif. What can you do? Me too. Isaiah Pacheco is a pretty darn good. move, replacement, however you want to put it. Yeah, man. Kind of dig it. Kind of dig it. Because you don't want Gibbs taking those shots running up the middle all the time, man. Well, certainly inside the 10. Save him. Inside the 10, inside the 5. Although he would always get taken out, and Kareem Hunt got put in the game because I would know that because I was the one who picked Kareem Hunt up off the waiver wire the last two years.

34:05Rich Eisen:And he would vulture a lot. Again, I hate to bring fantasy into this thing, but it is in fact the way that we communicate in this world from one fan to another um there's a new sonic movie coming out uh you know in next year oh boy we could do it it was sonic and shadow okay you know what i mean okay we're looking for a nickname for checko and you know i like it we're turning to the father of a six-year-old on the set i'm a little out of that game it's trying i appreciate the knowledge move it forward and the rs consulting you know ideas are always welcome But that's not a, by the way, I don't want to go high register.

34:41Rich Eisen:That is not a bad move. I like the move. It's more than solid. You know what I mean? That's what I'm saying. And plus, if you have a seventh round draft choice running back out of Rutgers, he must play in the NFC North, apparently. So twice a year, we're going to have a, you know, nice little Rutgers reunion. Monongai and Pacheco. Right? Monongai. Kyle, I'm a young guy. There you go. So, I like the move. Lions fans, I understand they're getting a little antsy. They lost Anceloni too. So, I get it that this doesn't give much comfort to the Lions fans who hear and maybe start believing the narrative that the window closed on the bad fourth down decisions two NFC championship, three NFC championship games ago now.

35:44Rich Eisen:That the window began to close there. Despite a one seed, they got one and done the next year and then last year happened. And they're getting a little nervous. But listen, Jameer Gibbs is going to have to get paid. They already paid Jamison Williams to keep him there. They paid Amon Ross St. Brown. They paid Aiden Hutchinson. They paid Jared Goff. This is what happens. and if you believe that that is not the core, I mean, would you not believe that's a core of a championship team? Wouldn't you believe that? Gibbs, Goff, Williams, St. Brown, Aiden Hutchinson. On paper, yeah, I'm putting that up against Moses.

36:25Rich Eisen:You know what I mean? These are the moves. This is where they're going. Laporta, when he comes back healthy. Yeah, for sure. The line, though, that offensive line that was road grading, in the years that everyone did believe the Lions had a window opened. That is concerning. And then, you know why you, if I'm, Brad Holmes, why I amass all these draft choices? Because you're going to have to get some rookie contracts with all of these guys who have been pesayed, including Gibbs coming. Plus, you need depth because the football gods see fit to have you get down to cornerback three and safety four every damn year.

37:06True.

37:07Rich Eisen:You know what I mean? So let's take a quick phone call, then we'll take a commercial break right here on the program. David in Ohio, you're on the program. What's up, David? With the news that Dak Prescott called off the engagement with his fiance, I kind of think the Cowboys are going to win the Super Bowl next year. Oh, my God, David in Ohio. MVP season from Dak. David, we don't usually traffic in these TMZ waters. I like where your head's at. David, why can't a solid husband-wife relationship, or more than solid, a rock-solid husband-wife relationship be the foundation for a championship run?

37:53Rich Eisen:Why must a man be single, David? Why must that happen? I just think he's going to have more time on his hands. And I think TJ's got a lot to cheer about next year.

38:04Albert Breer:He's got a lot more time on his hands. He's going to be able to practice more. And I think they might win it for Jerry over the last 30 years.

38:11Rich Eisen:Win it for Jerry. Now that's a rallying cry I don't think you heard before. Win it for Jerry. Win it for TJ. I deserve it. How much crap I take sitting here because I'm a Cowboys fan, I deserve a little. Well, it's because you talk it. I take crap for being a Michigan fan. You are way more obnoxious about Michigan than I am about Dallas. I don't even think that's a close. Give me a break. We didn't give you a break. But as a Michigan fan, I live in such a glass house, I can't even comment about the Ohio State school president right now. I'm like Billy Joel with a rock staring right at that glass house right now.

38:50Rich Eisen:I can't say anything. You should sit this one out. As a matter of fact, let's go to break. Settle down just a little bit. although Yaxel Lendenborg just got named Big Ten Player of the Year he's great wait till you see him oh man the NBA draft is going to be lit when that kid gets drafted he's really good he's got a great team the reason why he hasn't appeared on this show yet is because I don't want to bother him how about that guys Rich's reason for not booking anyone we haven't had Dusty May on at all Rich is like I don't want to bother him so he'll bother someone else but you don't want to bother the Michigan guy why?

39:26Rich Eisen:Just talk to your coach. Don't be a weirdo. I communicate with Dusty May, just not in front of the camera. Well, that seems selfish. That's like a tree falling in the woods and does anybody hear it? Yeah. Don't be selfish. I saw what happened when we had Dino Babers on. I saw what happened every single... By the way, did you see Jerry McNamara's coaching Sienna? He could be coach of a tournament team if they win. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How about that? He probably needs to be the next Orange coach. Okay. Just saying. Then we'll have him on. Then we'll have them on. Okay. We'll take a break. 844-204-RICH.

40:00Rich Eisen:Number to dial. Marcus Spears of ESPN is around the corner. The Rich Eisen Show. The podcast.

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41:17Rich Eisen:Rich Eisen show. We're just talking about all the cash going out to NFL players and their careers. um you mentioned where's mahomes on the on the list of active players making having made the most in their careers he's not even in the top six but he's going to enter it soon the most cash paid by position in the 2026 season uh mahomes will leads all quarterbacks with 56.8 million in cash coming into his household so he's if you will linked in hey everybody for small businesses every hire counts and so does your time hiring can quickly become overwhelming from sorting applications to figuring out who's truly qualified that's where linkedin hiring pro helps it streamlines the process so you can focus on connecting with the right candidates not managing the noise hire right the first time post your job and get a hundred dollars off your towards your post your job post at linkedin.com slash eyes and that's linkedin.com slash eyes and terms and conditions apply i've said it here multiple times about the nba i've said it about you know all professional sports leagues um the thing we love the most when it comes to being a fan is when we're watching a sporting event and we feel as a fan it means as much to the athlete competing as it does to us the fan sitting at home we feel a connection with the athlete that's why we love the Olympics.

42:47Rich Eisen:I think that's why we love the World Cup, just to name a couple of events. I said this about the NBA, where it's just like when players are load managed and things like that, it just it gives off the impression it doesn't mean as much to you as it does to us, which is why I think part of Wemby's superpowers is that it does appear every regular season game means that life or death to him. And we love that sort of stuff. I said that with the four nations with the nhl right a couple years ago that was awesome right it meant it means as much to them as it does to us i feel the same way watching the world baseball classic gosh do i love this it's so great and i understand some of these teams have americans with all you got to do is just have a 23 and me strand show up that you're from this country and you're playing for which is cool i'm okay with that right you know i mean but but then there are some teams where they're all from the country pretty much and i just the the the shots of you know puerto rico winning on a walk-off and nicaragua and what taipei and watching otani homer in japan the Dominican Republic my goodness gracious who the hell's gonna beat them when you're watching I have no idea and it just means so much to the players and the fans are going nuts in the crowd and it's March this is March Madness as much as the college basketball as we're about to see it is so much fun and you know even the players playing in it like Tarek scoobal pitched once and he's just like you know maybe i should pitch again even though that would totally throw off his pitching schedule with the tigers and he's got a free agency thing coming up and he's going back to the tigers in lakeland but apparently he's going to come back to be with the team for the semifinals and finals if they reach it and that makes sense because you want to be around these stars and this environment why the hell not it's electric awesome and last night man judge and bobby witt from the from the hole twice by the way machado did it twice his typical running towards the third base coaching box and somehow getting it to first and vlad guerrero with the splits it's incredible it's awesome judge hitting a two-run shot to put team usa up on mexico last night to start after he kept mexico off the boards with a seed from right field to peg a third out at third base, all in support of Paul Skeens, and then Roman Anthony damn near hit you in the back of your head where you live here in Southern California.

45:35Rich Eisen:I think Smoltz said he's stupid power was his comment. 21 years old. Stupid power. Paul Skeens wins. Actually got run support. That's what he had to say afterwards. How did you feel being out there with USA across the jersey, hitless outing,

45:51Albert Breer:right yeah i think i gave up one hit but it didn't matter because judge threw him out at third one of the best throws i've seen um it was awesome great atmosphere nice to feel like i'm doing

46:04Rich Eisen:something rather than just you know taking up a hotel room and eating all the free meals so um good to go out there and do my job it's just so great to watch all of it and then you're watching it as a fan so you feel pride for your country you feel pride for your team you love watching the sport and all i could sit there and think watching skeins get the run support from judge and also judge helping keep the bases clear stop it is i'm like hey paul how's that feel for you oh gosh how's it feel to be a teammate of aaron judge and watching judge keep somebody off the base paths for you and then give you run support huh how's that feel probably as good as watching roman anthony not as much and jaron duran doing no no roman got threw out at home at one point.

46:47Rich Eisen:No, no, no. Roman got threw out at home. By his teammate. Otherwise he could have. I get it. Just saying. No, they're playing baseball. I'm just sitting here wondering. We don't need it. You know, just keep this in your mind, Paul. Nobody's thinking that. As you're winning, I'm thinking it. I want to be a pirate. That's right. Get that pirate shirt off. Show up on the Today Show with your pinstripes one day, but that's down the road. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No dodging. By the way, I'm sitting there to make Pittsburgh fans mad, don't they? You know who he, who judged through it to was a guy who should have been a Yankee too.

47:22Rich Eisen:Oh gosh. And Bregman. The Ridge Eyes and Show Podcast. Shot clocks, big shots, upsets, aces, TGL playoffs are here. First, Atlanta Drive starts their repeat run against Los Angeles Golf Club. Then, Rory's Boston Common Golf and Tiger's Jupiter Lynx face off in their playoff debuts. Who will advance? Keep up. It's playoffs. Tune in Tuesday, March 17th at 6.30 p.m. and 9 p.m. only on ESPN and the ESPN app.