Maxx Crosby Fake Trades, A.J. Brown's Future, and Storylines That Will Define the Offseason!

19:33Diante Lee:It matters where you stay. Book now at Hilton.com. Hilton, for this day. The off season. All right, we're back here on the Ringer NFL show. Teased it in the previous segment there, Deontay. Second storyline, who's going to trade for AJ Brown? I believe he's getting traded. I think he's going to see some smart guy. He's going to say the right things that I'm part of the Eagles leadership and I want to be here because he knows Howie Roseman's not going to give him away if he doesn't get a good offer. So he says, let me just be smart. My representation is talk to Howie Roseman and I'm just going to sit back and wait for it because we're not in August.

20:13Diante Lee:We're only in February here. So I think he's going to get traded. He's entering his age 29 season over the last five years, Players with more receiving yards than A.J. Brown, Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, CeeDee Lamb, and Amon Ra St. Brown. That's it. He's fifth in receiving yards. I don't know if that's, I can't remember. That might be over the last four seasons, actually, not the last five seasons. So the compensation I looked for here, Deontay, I was looking at DK Metcalf last offseason, entering his age 28 season. So one year younger than A.J. Brown is. He got the 52nd overall pick from the Steelers.

20:51Diante Lee:So that to me is the floor because I think A.J. Brown's a better player. He's been a more productive player. And maybe most importantly, he doesn't need a new deal. DK Metcalf needed a new deal. So that brought a little uncertainty, a little mystery to trading for him. A.J. Brown signed through 2029. So in my mind, I think the Eagles are going to ask for a first. I think they would love a first. We'll see if they get one. But I kind of think a pick between like 25 and 50 is what we're looking at. What do you think about the likelihood that A.J. Brown gets traded and what type of compensation the Eagles would be looking for?

21:26Sheil Kapadia:I would say it's more likely than not, but I don't think it's like an 80 % likelihood. Okay. Quite yet. I'm at like 75%. Yeah, I would say it's probably, I'm at like the 60-40. I think it's more likely than not. I think that there are still some conditions that need to be met on this, right? I think that we might hear about this over the coming week that, hey, AJ Brown is let the Eagles know that there is a small cluster of teams that he'd be really interested in playing for. You're going to hear one of those teams say, oh man, Philadelphia is asking for too much. I do think that this is one of those things that will ultimately be played out publicly.

22:01Sheil Kapadia:For as quiet as it's been now, I think that we're going to hear a lot about how this is going to play out. We just haven't reached that stage yet. So maybe my thoughts on the likelihood of this will increase as we hear more about this from combine to free agency time. I do think, though, that there is a very narrow set of teams where this makes sense to acquire a player like A.J. Brown. That is not speaking to his quality as a receiver, right? Just as like a raw one-player entity. I think that you could absolutely look at A.J. Brown and say, hey, last two seasons, you're still pretty productive for a guy that didn't see the ball a bunch in the best possible situations.

22:40Sheil Kapadia:and a guy that was kind of hemming and hawing about not seeing the ball a bunch over the last two seasons. But on the other side of that, you're talking again about a guy who's approaching 30. He has had multiple issues with hamstrings and lower body injuries. That's a guy who plays at a heavier weight than your typical wide receiver because he is a very built kind of stocky guy. I do think that there should be some questions for the receiving team on exactly how long you're going to be getting the version of A.J. Brown that could be an all-pro or on the fringes of an all-pro talent. I think ultimately though, a pick between 25 and 50 is about where I land.

23:16Sheil Kapadia:If for no other reason than the fact that he is signed through 2029 and his base salary is artificially low because of the way that Philadelphia has set up his contract. So you're not inheriting, whatever team is inheriting him is not going to be taking on$35 million per year. This is not going to be some Justin Jefferson-level contract where, oh my gosh, we're catching this contract on the upswing. We're going to be paying some of the highest non-quarterback money to this one guy. It's not necessarily going to be that. So I think if Philadelphia wants to hold kind of staunch on, it's got to be within that 25 to 50 range as the baseline.

23:54Sheil Kapadia:I think that that's right. I just think that that means that there's going to be a small group of teams that are going to be really interested in getting that deal done quickly.

24:04Diante Lee:All right, here are the teams I wrote down, Deontay. I've got Patriots, Bills. I know we just talked about them. Listen, I think those teams very well could be making big moves. They'll be active no matter what, yeah. Yeah, listen, I wanted to come up with other teams and I do have a sleeper in here, but I just think those are two teams I look at and I feel like they could make big moves this off season. I wrote down Ravens, Jaguars, Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders, and 49ers. So those are the teams I wrote down. And I pretty much have the same trade for the Patriots and the Bills. And you tell me if either of those make sense, which is just they're giving up their late first round pick this year for AJ Brown.

24:47Diante Lee:And if you're the Patriots, you say it's number 31. He's played for Mike Rabel before. We have a motivated player. He's going to be with a very good quarterback. He's going to just get so many targets in our offense. He's going to be happy. We're going to be happy because you know what? Sometimes you need a wide receiver who can just get you a bucket in the playoffs. And he's that kind of player. So that's the sell for the Patriots. And for the Bills, man, I would really be tempted here. I'm curious to hear what you think. But now I feel like he's a real force multiplier for that offense, which is already very good.

25:19Diante Lee:But now Khalil Shakir, now those tight ends, that offensive line, Josh Allen, and I'm adding A.J. Brown to that mix. Like if I'm Brandon Bean, I'm going to get very tempted to say, this might not be the old school, hey, built through the draft thing. But you know what? We are trying to win right now. We cannot get over the hump. And I am very intrigued by adding this player. It's almost like T.O. to the Eagles with Donovan McNabb back in the day. I can even think he can have that kind of impact. So do you like either of those deals, Deontay, for the Patriots or the Bills?

25:50Sheil Kapadia:I like them both for different reasons, right? I think that the Patriots as a landing spot is the one that serves AJ Brown the best. Because that's a guy who's walking in who is undoubtedly going to lead the team in terms of target share. There's going to be no question about the hierarchy, about usage, about whether or not he's going to be the focal point in the drop back game. I think that AJ will probably be really happy. He also will be playing for an old head coach who seemed to be very passionate about wanting to keep him around at the time that John Robinson traded him when he was with the Titans.

26:22Sheil Kapadia:Right. So I think that there are a lot of ways in which that makes A.J. Brown really happy. And I think the Patriots will be really excited to try to maximize what his body is capable of over the next two to three seasons. With the Bills, I think that that's one that serves the team the best. Not that A.J. Brown will be upset. But when you think about their setup, when you think about Joe Brady and the way that he likes to design that offense, it kind of is built for everybody to eat. Right. It is built for a Dawson Knox game here and there. right it is built for a Khalil Shakir game it is built um you know for James Cook to be a big contributor on the ground they kind of rotate who the main contributors are on a week-by-week basis based on what they think is necessary to win the football game now having AJ Brown to do a supercharged version of what they hope Keon Coleman would be maybe that changes the dynamic a little bit because now you would have a ball winner that they haven't had since prime younger Stefan Diggs in Buffalo, right?

27:18Sheil Kapadia:But I do think ultimately that that is something that if you're the Bills, you say, hey, if we've got to restructure all these deals anyways with the current contracts that we have on our books to try to manufacture some cap space, there's no shot we're ever going to get a player that could be as impactful tomorrow as trading for an A.J. Brown would be. Even after all the financial games, we're going to have to play to manufacture cap space. So I like what Buffalo would offer us in terms of getting back on this podcast after a deal like that happens. and we're resetting the hierarchy in the AFC.

27:48Sheil Kapadia:That one gets me pretty excited. Absolutely. I think that the Patriots deal is more of people in A.J. Brown's camp are going to be texting him saying, hey, this is how you get the raw production to get yourself into the Hall of Fame, right? That's what that conversation would be more of. But I think that for me, I think that the Bills deal probably tickles my fancy just a little bit more because it would add a really dramatic upgrade to one of the best teams in the AFC and the NFL overall.

28:14Diante Lee:All right. I've got two more with A.J. Brown for you because I can hear the listener out there say, Patriots and Bills, give us something. Come on. Talk about some other teams. It's the offseason. I hear you. See? We're podcasters of the people here. So here's what I got for you, Deontay. The Jacksonville Jaguars trade Brian Thomas Jr. for A.J. Brown. Straight up. I don't know. I looked at this and you tell me if I'm wrong. I was like, does either side have to throw in picks there or not? I couldn't really decide because here's the deal. Brian Thomas Jr. is coming off a down year, but I think it would be a nice compliment to Devontae Smith.

28:53Diante Lee:You would get him on a rookie deal for two more seasons, which is really, really valuable for a team like the Eagles that you just talked about. They're trying to decide who are we paying. We got all these defensive players to pay, all that kind of thing. So even if you say, hey, we're downgrading A.J. Brown to Brian Thomas Jr., you're saying, we're getting a younger player, a potentially ascending player, and most importantly, he's on a rookie contract. So you've got that. And then the Jaguars, I was just like, man, AJ Brown, Jacoby Myers, Parker Washington. Brian Thomas Jr. didn't look like he fit that offense last offseason.

29:26Diante Lee:I think AJ Brown would fit that offense well. I would think Liam Cohen would be pretty excited there. So what do you think about that swap? And if you're one of those teams, would you be like, all right, we are kind of in, but we need a pick? Or are you like, ah, this kind of makes sense.

29:40Sheil Kapadia:The funny thing about this trade is like, I think that there are a lot of ways in which these teams make this deal and they're both generally unhappy at the end of it. Both fan bases are like, what? I think that a lot of times in pro sports, that is how these trades wind up is that both fan bases are like, eh, we could have done without this deal and probably would have been just fine. But I'm intrigued by it. Again, when you start stacking up what those receiving rooms, what those playmaker situations would be like for both teams. I think that a guy like A.J. Brown can slot very comfortably into a particular kind of role where you're always just playing outside the numbers because they have a Jacoby Myers in there to kind of work between the numbers on third downs.

30:21Sheil Kapadia:You have Brenton Strange to work underneath that you can do all of the kind of flexible on and off the ball tight end stuff with. You have a Parker Washington who is not the tallest, biggest guy, but is a pretty good ball winner in contested situations. Somebody who's willing to go do some dirty work for your offense as well and can be dependable, but not somebody you necessarily want to be second or third in target share on a weekly basis. You slide in a guy like A.J. Brown, and that makes it really interesting. And then I think if you're Philadelphia, while Brian Thomas Jr. is not a perfect archetype of player, and certainly I would say the inconsistencies we've seen from him in 2025 definitely give me some pause on exactly what he would look like with Jalen Hurts in the offense that's got a bunch of upheaval coming anyhow.

31:05Sheil Kapadia:but from a timeline and from an upshot perspective, you could 100 % sell me on Brian Thomas Jr. wants to just run deep outside the numbers and catch those lofted balls in the air over the shoulder. That is Jalen Hurts' music 100 % in the way. It doesn't infringe upon what you want to do with Devontae Smith if he is more of a move around piece in this new iteration of Philadelphia's offense. And I think a guy like that vertically, if you're able to access him vertically, it means you're probably hurting less for a guy like Dallas Goddard who at his best was doing a lot of work after the catch. It means that things might be loosened up a little bit for Saquon Barkley and the rest of this running game.

31:47Sheil Kapadia:So I do think that you can sell me on what the best version of this can be. I do think ultimately what I envision of A.J. Brown in a Jags uniform and maybe this is unfair because the Jags have not been very competitive over my lifetime is that he's there and he's just been in his 30s kind of catching 70 passes for 980 yards and six touchdowns and kind of pro bowler. And Brian Thomas Jr. gets those two or three weeks where he absolutely blows up the Cowboys and blows up the Commanders and then doesn't do anything in the divisional round when you absolutely need them to. And I think that that will probably be ultimately what the story of a trade like this would be, which is why I think maybe it could happen.

32:27Diante Lee:Maybe it could happen. Listen, if both sides are like, we're kind of unhappy, we're kind of happy, sometimes that means... Your headache, my headache, you know? Yeah. You got a good trade. All right, here's the last one I got for you for A.J. Brown. The Chargers, Deontay.

32:40Sheil Kapadia:Okay, you're talking about language.

32:42Diante Lee:This one I was like, wait, is this the best trade I came up with tonight? You're talking about language. Man, why would this one happen? Chargers send a 20-27 second that turns into a first if A.J. Brown has 1 ,100 yards next season. So Howie Roseman's shopping A.J. Brown. He said, we want a first. Teams are saying, we're not giving you a first. And then finally he says, all right, listen. a second in 2027, but if he balls out next year, you're giving me a first and the Chargers say, hmm, A.J. Brown, Ladd McConkie, we got two good tackles coming back. Wait, we just got Mike McDaniel? This is kind of exciting.

33:20Diante Lee:We can address the interior offensive line in the draft and free agency. Should we do this? We got to at least have a meeting about this. What do you think, Deontay? A.J. Brown with Justin Herbert, Ladd McConkie. that to me would be pretty interesting.

33:36Sheil Kapadia:I don't think that I would have believed it before I started looking at it before we came on the show. But as I was staring at the Chargers, I was like, man, this is a team that could absolutely use a guy like A.J. Brown while it also not necessarily being a do or die situation for them. They don't need A.J. Brown to be the 2022 first team all pro, most unguardable outside receiver in the league for it to be functional because you have Mike McDaniel and Justin Herbert, right? And in theory, you're going to have two healthy tackles if they are able to remain healthy for the stretch of the 2026 season.

34:12Sheil Kapadia:I think that for me, though, if I'm the Chargers, I want to talk that deal down from a conditional second that turns into a first to a second and maybe a fourth that can turn into a third. Maybe I'll hand you two day two picks, right? One in 2027, maybe one in 2028 to kind of just smooth this over because ultimately the Chargers roster does need some help in a lot of places. You mentioned the interior of the offensive line. I do think they're going to continue to have to throw darts with their DBs, right? Because they've been doing a great job at masking some weaknesses out there. But outside of Tarheep still, there really hasn't been many guys who have flashed high, high level upside at the corner position.

34:48Sheil Kapadia:And I think that you're going to want to get, you know, a little bit more help up front as well on the defensive end. So if you can maintain control of all your first round picks as the Chargers and still walk away from a deal like that with the receiver as good as A.J. Brown, I think that I'd be pretty happy with it. There's also another receiver that we might get to a little bit later that I would be really, really interested in. It might even kick up a little bit more draft capital to try to pry him away from a team that might want to keep him that we might be talking about a little bit later on today.

35:18Diante Lee:All right, there you go. Crosby and A.J. Brown, I think two of the biggest stories of the entire offseason. I think they're both going to get traded. We'll see if that's the case or not. You think so too. All right. third storyline here, Deontay. Who will be the second chance team for Kyler Murray? This might be the most confusing question of the offseason as I was going through this. So Adam Schefter has reported that the Cardinals would like to trade Murray. It seems like that's been the case going back to how last season unfolded. But it's a tricky deal to make because he is due $37 million guaranteed in 2026, where depending on what level quarterback you think Murray is, you either say, all right, we can do that.

36:03Diante Lee:Or you say, are you crazy? We're not doing that. And his contract is one of those that's set up where more guarantees kick in when he's on your roster in March 15th. So the team trading for him, presumably before March 15th, they're going to have to guarantee more money for future years. So here's how I see Kyler Murray, Deontay. He's been in the NFL for seven seasons. There are stretches where he looks like a very good quarterback, yet his teams have gone 10 games under.500 and have made the playoffs once in seven seasons. He turns 29 in August, and I was just looking at EPA per pass play. He's basically been between the 10th and the 21st ranked quarterback every season of his career.

36:49Diante Lee:So he guarantees you a high floor. You're not going to be a disaster. He's not going to be the reason you stink or you're not going to have a terrible offense because of Kyler Murray. But he's probably, listen, I'm using probably now after the Sam Darnold experience. I'm using a lot of probably. I'm using a lot of caveats. I'm going to be a little bit gun shy this offseason. He's probably not going to be the guy who lifts your offense to like a top five offense. However, if you're a team that says we like our coaching, we like our supporting cast, The Cardinals are kind of a train wreck franchise.

37:22Diante Lee:Let's learn from what the Seahawks did with Sam Darnold. Let's bring Kyler Murray in. He's still very talented and we can have a winning team. We can win big with him and he can see the best years of his career with us. I don't know where that lands us with trade compensation. You could tell me, I would be surprised if anyone gave up a first and I think teams will definitely give up more than a sixth or a seventh. So that's me. I'm between like a second, third, fourth, or fifth. I know it's a wide range, but I just think it's a real tricky one. What do you think about the market before we get into specific teams and specific trades, Deontay?

38:00Sheil Kapadia:I wrote about this, I think, right ahead of the trade deadline. And I think that my expectation at that time was that a late day two pick might be what gets it done. That feels right. For a player like Kyler Murray. I think a third round pick, again, if you want to negotiate it to make it a conditional third that turns into a second. If he's on the field for 85 % of the snaps and your team makes the playoffs, then okay, fine. I think that you can live with that. I don't think that you're going to get that Sam Bradford type of deal where you're able to trade him away for another high pick, even though he's failed at his prior stop and has some injury concerns for whoever the team is that's going to be receiving him.

38:45Sheil Kapadia:That said, I am really fascinated with what it means for the team that would receive them. And this is me saying this as someone who has been very skeptical of what Kyler Murray gives a team in the pros. Because I do think, you know, and I'm sure we'll get to landing spots. But let's say you're a team like the Falcons. I'll throw just a wild one out there, like Atlanta. You're probably going to designate Kirk Cousins as opposed to June 1st if you're not able to strike a trade with the Vikings. which seems to be the one team where there seems to be some alignment on where Kirk would like to be and a team that might want to bring in a guy like Kirk Cousins.

39:21Sheil Kapadia:Let's say you post June 1st, Kirk Cousins, so it's not going to be very prohibitive for you cap-wise. Kyler Murray is probably not going to be dealt with any kind of urgency. I don't think either. I think that Arizona probably understands that you're not about to get a lot of 2026 draft capital for this guy, so it might make sense to just hang back and really try to work out a deal for a 2027 pick or a player in terms of compensation on the way back as well. And so that's kind of been my thing is like you land them in a place like that where they've got an offensive line, they're going to have a system that I think would fit decently given some of his supporting cast.

39:57Sheil Kapadia:Maybe you're able to get him right back to where he was early in his stint in Arizona where it looks like, hey, he can at least get you to the wildcard round and be competitive. And in the NFC South, there have been a lot of reclamation projects that have come by there, right? Most recently being Baker Mayfield. I would say even Bryce Young, while he wasn't dealt to Carolina, I think that what we've seen over the last year will kind of tell you that they have a level of offensive coaching in that division where a guy like Murray can go down there and maybe turn a team into a 10-7, interesting enough, 11-6 for at least a year.

40:30Sheil Kapadia:And that would be something that would be really intriguing for me. What I'm least interested in is a rebuilder hoping that he can be some kind of like plus bridge guy. I just don't know if that's the right way to be looking at it with a player like Murray.

40:44Diante Lee:Yeah, I think the Falcons are an interesting name, no doubt about it, with Michael Penix coming off the injury there. The other teams I wrote down, just teams that we think could need a quarterback or do need a quarterback, Dolphins, Jets, Steelers, Browns, Colts, Vikings. That's in addition to the Falcons in addition to the Cardinals, who would be trading him. The two teams that kind of seem like the most interesting to me, what are the Colts going to do here, Deontay? I was looking at them too. Okay, yeah, I was looking at them going, are you just bringing Daniel Jones back off an Achilles and that's your plan, him and Riley Leonard?

41:20Diante Lee:Or do you look at it and go, we kind of had a really good offense when Daniel Jones was healthy last year. Kyler Murray is as talented, if not more talented, than Daniel Jones. That's a scheme where it feels like Kyler Murray could come in and fit right away with that scheme. So that one was interesting to me. Is there a scenario where you could trade for Kyler Murray and bring back Daniel Jones? Or you say, hey, you know, it's hard to find a quarterback. Daniel Jones is going to be a one-year deal because he's coming off an Achilles. That was one that interested me. And then the Vikings, you mentioned Cousins.

41:55Diante Lee:Do they take a bigger swing? Does Kevin O 'Connell go, man, I'm sick to my stomach about what happened last year. Watching Sam Darnold on that podium. Kyler Murray's talented enough. I've got Justin Jefferson. I've got good players on offense. We have a really good defense. We don't need a top five offense. We need a good enough offense. I can help him. I've got all the power now. I got rid of the GM. I can fix him. Let's go. Vikings and Colts, Deontay. What do you think for Kyler Murray?

42:27Sheil Kapadia:Colts I'm really fascinated by. And I think that, I guess what your reaction to that is is going to be based on whether or not you think that Daniel Jones has enough leverage to ask for something north of the projected franchise tag number, which should be kind of in the neighborhood of like 46 to$48 million, right? Which I think that he might. I think he could genuinely look at the Colts and say, what else are you going to do? Give me a, you know, I want a$46 million in valuation for at least the 2026 season.

42:56Diante Lee:Just be careful, Colts. That's all I'm saying. Be careful out there. I've warned you before.

43:01Sheil Kapadia:This is where it's tricky. That's where it's tricky, right? Because I'm right there with you. This is one of those danger zone type of situations. But this team has also dealt away future draft capital to try to maximize what would have been a run towards the playoffs at the end of last season before Daniel Jones towards Achilles. And what they were hoping was going to be an even stronger run in the playoffs in 2027. And now you're going to have a lot in flux. So let's say you are going to pay that amount of money. And maybe you're going to bring in Kyler Murray and say, hey, we're going to rework this deal.

43:30Sheil Kapadia:You're going to have to take a little bit less. But you're going to have a shot to start for us early. And if you start and you stay healthy, who's to say the job can't be yours? We're going to have another open conversation. And Anthony Richardson, I guess we'll ship you off to Arizona. And best of luck to you at your new landing spot. I think that that might be one of those wonky scenarios that could play out just because of Daniel Jones' injury situation right now, dealing with his recovery from his Achilles injury. And I think that if you're the Colts, you probably want to walk into a situation, even if you are bringing back Daniel Jones, with better backup options than Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard, because it should not have taken making a call to Phillip Rivers to be able to get yourself across the finish line in a season that started off as well as it did in 2025.

44:17Diante Lee:All right, Kyler. Murray. It's going to be very interesting. You can tell me anything. Anything can happen with Kyler Murray this offseason, and it wouldn't surprise me. I really have no idea how interested teams are going to be and what the market's going to be, but those are some teams in need of a quarterback. All right, let's take one more break. We come back with another storyline to keep an eye out for. All right, we're back here on the Ringer NFL show. We'll finish with this one. Deontay, George Pickens, the Cowboys wide receiver, the number one free agent, Austin Gale has our top 40 free agents up on TheRinger.com.

44:56Diante Lee:He had George Pickens number one. It sounds like the Cowboys are going to use the franchise tag on George Pickens. One of the trickier decisions I feel like in recent memory, normally I'm pretty much on one side or the other of extend him, pay him at the market price or let him go, don't do it. And this one, I'm kind of like, huh, I'm actually not sure. I could be convinced either way because we know what some of the factors are here. It was awesome last year, looked like a great scheme fit, was wildly productive, is only going to be 25 years old going into next season. Very young for a rookie, going into free agency.

45:37Diante Lee:A lot of these guys are going to be 26, 27. Yeah, 28 years old. So you're talking about a guy who was productive in your scheme, but you're also talking about a guy who had some red flags coming out of the draft, wasn't on every team's board. The Steelers said, we're cool with trading him last offseason. Mike Tomlin said, I'm good with getting rid of him here. And so he's one of those guys you wonder, is the next contract, is he going to perform at the same level he performed at this last season? So Deontay, the Cowboys options are use the franchise tag on him. Hope he signs it. Hope he's not a headache while he's on the franchise tag.

46:15Diante Lee:And it's a classic Jerry versus the player type situation that just dominates all the headlines in the summer. That's one option. Option number two, sign him to a long-term contract. That would be north of$30 million. That would pay him as a top 10 wide receiver. And who knows how high he wants to be in that grouping. That would just, again, get him in the top 10. He might say, give me 35, give me 40. I mean, who knows what he actually wants here at this stage. And then option number three would be a tag and trade where you use the franchise tag on him. You say, all right, you want to talk to other teams and see if anyone's going to pay you this big number.

46:53Diante Lee:You find a team and that team says, we want George Pickens so badly that we're going to give the Cowboys a draft pick and we're going to pay him at the level he wants. What do you think is going to happen with George Pickens in the months ahead?

47:08Sheil Kapadia:so it's funny I think that ultimately you have to tag him because you cannot pay top of market money for a guy like Pickens for as optimistic as I may be about like how transformative a season he had and he 100 % did I mean frankly was the best receiver in Dallas last year in my opinion one of the better receivers in the league last year I'm not going to be the one that's going to be holding the wrong end of this bill later on down the line if anything were to go sideways with George Frickens. I'm not going to risk the dead cap charge that might have to come. We've got to deal this guy off of our roster midseason as early as next year because things are just not working out.

47:47Sheil Kapadia:So I think that if you're going to tag him, you have to entertain the idea of trading him. And God, I just cannot imagine a scarier proposition than a GM having to go sit with his coaching staff and say, hey, you guys keep talking to me about wanting the number one receiver. We might be able to go get one for you. but it's going to be George Fickens and it's probably going to cost us some pretty high draft capital to go consummate that deal. I guess the question I would throw back to you is what is the floor for draft compensation if you're Dallas that you're willing to hear out if you do tag him and then allow him to go kind of scan the market?

48:23Diante Lee:It's one of those where I don't, it just seems so unrealistic to me to your point that a team would have a meeting and say, we're going to give up draft compensation and we're going to pay him at this level over$30 million. That's our best option. For like a four or five year deal

48:40Sheil Kapadia:because of how young he is. That is, I just can't grasp that.

48:43Diante Lee:I would not advocate for any team to do that. I mean, if you're the Cowboys and you're getting, I don't know, like a second round pick, that would be interesting to me. At least it's not the ideal situation, but at least you can talk yourself into, all right, we get to take another flyer on a wide receiver who's going to be on a rookie contract. They're not going to be as good as George Pickens, but you know what? We weren't willing to take on that risk. I could totally understand that. And just in terms of roster building, hey, we're paying CeeDee Lamb already. We can't pay George Pickens that same amount of money.

49:14Diante Lee:We need players on defense. So I think a tag and trade would almost shock me with George Pickens. To me, if I'm the Cowboys, if I could get to a point where I felt like he was going to play on that franchise tag. I'm having a conversation with him. George, we love what you did last year. You're getting paid this year on the franchise tag. You're still getting$28 million this year. It's guaranteed. We just want to see it for one more year. Can you prove to us one more year? If you can do it one more year, we love having you here. You proved everyone wrong. Prove everyone wrong one more year, and then we will reward you after the 2026 season.

49:56Diante Lee:And if you call our bluff, guess what? You're a free agent because we're not going to tag you again. Maybe you can get that in writing. You can't tag him again. So it's this year and you say, George, if you play well, we're going to reward you. If you don't, you get to go test the market. Everybody wins. I think that to me, if I'm the Cowboys, that would be my ideal scenario. I just don't know if Pickens and his representation are going to play ball with that. Maybe they would. Like you said, he is still young enough. It's not the worst outcome. Dak Prescott did it. It's not like they don't do that with other players.

50:28Diante Lee:So you could do that. I think that's what I would kind of want to happen if I were the Cowboys.

50:33Sheil Kapadia:Well, that's where the timing of this is going to be so fascinating, right? Because I'm with you. Actually, I think if I'm advising Pickens, I'm telling him that the franchise tag is actually a great thing. It could actually be a great long-term thing for us. Because had we hit the open market before the 2025 season, we were never going to see this kind of money in terms of single-year compensation. just given what your reputation was coming out of Pittsburgh. Let's not overplay our hand. Let's take the$28 million that we're going to get and go prove that we're a$28-plus million player again, and then we can go get ourselves a three-year deal with heavy guarantees, right?

51:08Sheil Kapadia:No team is going to assume a long-term obligation from us, but that actually probably works in our favor as well. Let's try to hit the market as many times as we can to see if we can maximize your earning potential. That's going to be the best thing, I think, for the arc of George Pickens' career, and I think it would be a great move for him to show that he's okay with playing ball this way. I'm with you. If I'm his team, I come in and say, hey, I want it in writing, just like you did with Dak Prescott. You're not going to tag us again after this year. We're going to hit the open market. And if you do that, we'll give you the first right of refusal, basically, on any contract.

51:44Sheil Kapadia:Even if I go out and scour the market, whatever deal I go get from whatever team might be interested, we're going to bring it back to you and ask. if you can match it, right? Or can you beat it by a dollar? Can you beat it with another year? Whatever the case may be. But I think that just playing this out, take 2026 as what it is, and then go hit the open market and see what's out there. It's probably a wiser decision for Pickens because what's most likely for a guy like him is that you're going to be traded for pennies in terms of draft compensation for a team that's going to bring him in and say, we are not married to you.

52:15Sheil Kapadia:We're not tied to you. And if you do anything we don't like, we're going to go ahead unless you hit the open market. And then best of luck to you trying to rehab your reputation, having burned it both in Pittsburgh with Mike Tomlin and then wherever he will be landing next. I think that being in Dallas and trying to go be as productive as possible in a situation that I think is very friendly to George Pickens is probably the best move, I think, for the long term of his career.

52:39Diante Lee:Yeah, I went into this conversation being like, oh man, he's going to be a big, if he has to play on the tag. But as we talked it out, I'm kind of like, not the worst situation. You know, I think you could easily convince him. And I do think that's the best situation for the team. So maybe he gets tagged, he plays on the tag, and they say, let's kick the can down the road a year and figure out where we're at with this relationship next year. If you're the Cowboys, you're really, I mean, I would really not want to lose him because this offense looked fantastic last year with Pickens and CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott and the offensive line in the run game.

53:14Diante Lee:It's like, if you can just use your resources in the draft to build up that defense a little bit. Maybe you do something on the offensive line or whatever. You could be a really good team next year. And so I think that could be a situation that works out for everyone. So George Pickens, we'll see where it lands with the Dallas Cowboys. Sorry, listen, there's so many more, but you know what? That's why we do a bunch of podcasts. We got a lot of time here in the weeks ahead. We'll talk about Malik Willis. We'll talk about some of the other big things happening around the NFL. But I think those are the big, big things that are going to happen or that are going to be discussed around the NFL, really starting next week at the NFL Combine.

53:53Diante Lee:They're going to get a lot of headlines. So Deontay and I will see were we right, were we wrong with some of these or our compensation package is way off? Was the interest way off? Did we forget a team? We'll have more time to talk about all of that. That is Deontay Lee. Again, check out his article, his column on TheRinger.com. All right. Thanks to everyone for listening. Thank you to Christopher Sutton for producing. Stefano Sanchez on video and additional production supervision by Connor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopal. I'm Shil Kapadia. We'll talk to you later this week on the Ringer NFL Show.

54:34Diante Lee:21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in DC, Kentucky, or Wyoming. Gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpd.org slash chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPENY or text HOPENY in New York for Louisiana. Call 1-877-770-7867.

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