Maxx Crosby Fallout, Daniel Jones Contract, and Checking In on the Bears, Cowboys, and Commanders!

18:33Sheil Kapadia:It was the better football move. They got two first round picks back. Let's go. Raiders getting Max Crosby recommitted. You hope his trade value goes up. If not, you hope he just dominates and it's revenge maxing all season. What really should impact this is we need to get rid of the legal tampering window. Like that, it makes no, the Raiders and Ravens wanted to get this done with Max Crosby before you could start negotiating free agent contracts, obviously, because the Raiders wanted to spend a ton of money and the Ravens need to figure out if they're going to get Linderbaum back or whatever they're going to do.

18:57Sheil Kapadia:But the fact that you're able to make that decision before those negotiations can start on Monday, but the new league year doesn't happen till Wednesday, it gives you this new window to reevaluate decisions that you're making. And I think ultimately that leads to awkwardness and blunders and weird mistakes like this, that the league shouldn't have with a legal tampering window. Just move free agency. I think everyone hates it.

19:18Austin Gayle:I disagree. This is great for content. Keep the legal legal. We wouldn't have had this story to talk about. This is my favorite story of the offseason. There are some questions about, well, why did it take them a little? Again, they agreed to the trade Friday. Why wasn't he having the physical in their building until Monday? You could ask that question. It was Tuesday. They didn't have it until Tuesday. Why did they wait until Tuesday? If they did this Saturday, then they don't maybe have that opening to say, let's evaluate all our options. Are we going to be able to find another edge rusher? That kind of thing.

19:52Austin Gayle:So again, many, many layers to this story. I don't think it's going anywhere. We got the owners meetings here in 10 days where all the owners, GMs will be having a couple of beverages with reporters surrounding them in some posh hotel. And I mean, it's a gossipy league and this is the most gossipy story of the off season. And so there's going to be a lot more to come of this. All right, let's take a break. I want to come back and I do want to talk a little more about the Raider side of this and what happens with Max Crosby. Then we'll move on to Daniel Jones and some other stuff happening around the end.

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21:54Austin Gayle:So you said it, Max Crosby puts out the tweet, the Undertaker meme, happy to be a Raider. I think it's show. Now, is there a chance he suits up for the Raiders in week one? there is a chance, obviously. If you don't get the deal you're looking for, there's a chance. I still think the most likely scenario is that Max Crosby gets traded probably between now and the draft. I think in terms of compensation, they're going to get a first and something else for him. I mean, I just think there's going to be enough teams that look at it after maybe a week, catch their breath and say, okay, we were really into doing this.

22:36Austin Gayle:A couple of weeks ago, the price has come down. We're not that worried about the medical. Let's go ahead. Let's call the Raiders again here. Now, the Raiders are trying to spin it. There's no doubt about it. You know, even Pro Football Talk had a report that teams that are calling the Raiders are being told Max Crosby's not available here. But I can't shake the reporting around Crosby wanting to leave, that his relationship with the organization was fractured because they told him they didn't want him to play last year. the Alex Guerrero stuff and the athletic that Guerrero's going around annoying everybody in the facility and Crosby that didn't sit well with him that this guy's just walking around making decisions so I think everybody needed a little time to catch their breath to reset and to your point I don't I think it is maybe the smart thing to do for the Raiders don't just make a deal the next day chill a little bit there's no huge rush here now the teams have already signed free agents but I still believe Austin that he's going to get traded so where where are you in terms of buying actually what the Raiders are selling here?

23:37Sheil Kapadia:I would say I'm probably 40 % confident that Max Crosby will be a Raider in 2026. Like I do think that, I don't think the most likely scenarios that he's traded between now and the draft. I think that he's not even going to be healthy by then. Do they want to get into this bed again? Like he's not even going to be healthy.

23:55Austin Gayle:We just said that way. The whole league is telling us that was a farce that he's not healthy.

24:00Sheil Kapadia:So here, two things. One, he's not going to be healthy again. Two, I don't think the price you're going to get between now, which is six weeks away before the draft, like between now and the draft is going to be all that close to what the Ravens were offering because there's this perceived pressure that they're trying to move him, especially if they start answering those calls. And especially if pro football talks start saying they're fielding calls, the new price is a first and a third, they can definitely get something done. I think it's more likely if he is traded to be traded after the 2026 NFL draft, when he's healthy, closer to the season, maybe when teams in their offseason has kind of gone final and they're looking at their roster and someone gets hurt in camp, whatever ends up happening, and they end up needing a pass rusher and all of a sudden Max Crosby's trade value is a little bit closer, he's healthy, that I think is maybe more likely than him being traded.

24:43Sheil Kapadia:And the other thing you get with that is you get all of your draft capital in 2027, which is supposed to be this big draft class. Instead of getting a 2026 first and a 2027 first, you're getting a 2027 first and maybe a 2027 second or third, whatever it is. I also think Max Crosby is not the type of player to hold out. Where like, if the Raiders don't get a deal they like, and I don't think they want egg on their face in this. Can you imagine right before the season, they trade Max Crosby for a first and a fifth? They're going to feel stupid and they're going to hate that day. I think they'd rather go into the season and play him.

25:12Sheil Kapadia:And I think Crosby's the type of player where like, he's not going to sit out games. He's going to play games and play him at the highest level. And I think there's also a chance that he hates the Ravens organization more than he dislikes playing for the Raiders, especially after the moves they made him for A &C, trading for Taron Johnson, re-signing Eric Stoets, re-signing Malcolm Kuntz. They promoted their defensive line coach to defensive coordinator, brought in the two linebackers, Dean and Walker. Like, I don't know. At the end of the day, the Raiders are smart to make this a show, but I also think it's more than likely.

25:40Sheil Kapadia:It's not more than likely, but I also think it's likely that he plays for them this season because they don't want to back down off the price that they got.

25:45Austin Gayle:All right. That was a good argument. You did convince me a little bit. All right. I'm going to go 25 % chance that he plays for the Raiders in 2026. Now I have to ask, this is not a leading question. Again, you are a Raiders fan. This is a, you just said, this is a very tricky situation. The Raiders don't want to have egg on their face. Tom Brady, John Spitek, I won't say Alex Guerrero again. All right, I'll say it one more time. Alex Guerrero, whoever's making decisions, Mark Dives, what is your level of confidence? Because they did do a good job trading him in the first place. They maximized value for Max Crosby.

26:20Austin Gayle:There's no doubt about it. What is your level of confidence that they can navigate this situation? and whenever it gets resolved, you say, all right, they actually made the best of a bad situation.

26:32Sheil Kapadia:My percent confidence in Alex Guerrero is zero and I hope that all the stuff that's been made about him has pushed him into a dark corner where he's not involved as much as he was last year. My confidence in Tom Brady is one out of 10 because he tries to run the team from Zoom meetings and daily calls with John Spitek. My confidence in Spitek is probably maybe six, maybe even like eight out of 10 because I feel like how he handled getting Crosby out, saying that he was confident Crosby would be a Raider in 2026 at the Combine, and then weeks after trading him for two first-round picks, maximum value to a team that never does it, he did a great job there.

27:05Sheil Kapadia:And then I think how they've responded to a once-a-generation, never-happened-before situation to say, we're honoring all of our free agent deals, Max Crosby's a Raider, we're not fielding calls at that time, in the immediate 24 to 48 hours after, I think is the exact playbook you need to run. And we'll see what ends up happening of it. I think he knows and everyone knows that trading Crosby for cents on the dollar in the immediate aftermath of this, or even as we get closer to the season, is not going to feel good in the Raiders organization at all. So I think they're prepared and Max is prepared.

27:32Sheil Kapadia:He was in the building at 6 a.m. the next day to play for this team. And I think, you know, Crosby's frustrations are with all the turnover in Las Vegas, right? All the different coaches and different GMs and all these different leaders. And I think those concerns may still be there with Tom and Guerrero having weird roles no one understands. but his relationship with the team, the organization, Mark Davis specifically, I think is still very good. And this investment they've made in the team with Kubiak feels like, and with Mendoza, the number one overall pick, assumedly, feels like their best chance to reset in what has been like a sea of resets over the last two decades that we've had in quite a long time.

28:05Sheil Kapadia:And I think Crosby can buy himself into that, especially after they tried to do right by him. They traded him to the Ravens for two first round picks. He was celebrating it. And now the Raiders are actually the organization that's done by right by him. And I think he wants to go on that revenge tour with us.

28:19Austin Gayle:The problem is there's almost no scenario where I believe they're going to get two first round picks out of this. So now it becomes, what is the price where we would sit here and go, they made the best of a bad situation? A first and a third? I mean, if they got a first and a third, I would be like, that's like, I can't. In 2027, right?

28:39Sheil Kapadia:I think a big miss would be like, you get a first and a third from 2026. It's like, that doesn't help us at all. Those are known pick values and it keeps us out of getting future capital in this 2027 draft that everyone's going to be looking to trade up for and get into. With the 2027 first as well, the value you get in, maybe trading to a worse team, a team that might not be picking in the 20s, all this stuff can shift. I think a first and a third, a first and a second, both in 2027, feels a lot different than even getting a first in 2026 and 2027. So I think they wait until after the draft. I think that makes the most sense if they are going to trade him.

29:08Sheil Kapadia:That would be savvy.

29:10Austin Gayle:That would be a savvy move or even if they traded him before the draft, but it was for 2027. draft capital because you know how these front offices get the closer they get to the draft they're more confident they're going to nail it oh my god this defensive end we're going to draft in the third round this is going to be the next max crosby why would we trade for max crosby but if you're looking at 2027 even for what you're saying everyone thinks that's going to be a better draft still teams that's they don't have that in their pocket right now they're not deep they don't have a big board you know where everybody's been just staring at it for weeks saying this is who we're going to draft we're going to make our team so much better there's that process of convincing themselves they're going to nail this draft that they're not there yet with 2027.

29:48Austin Gayle:So that would be a pretty savvy move if they did something like a first and a second, a first and a third in 2027. And to your point, that adds, can add some nice uncertainty. If you bet on a team that you think hey, there's a chance like the bottom falls out for Team X this year, now all of a sudden that could be a better pick than what you were getting for the Ravens. So very interesting situation to see how the Raiders handle that. All right, any loose ends, Austin? Any takes you need to get off about this story before we move on to the next one?

30:17Sheil Kapadia:Are you good? I saw some throwaway trades, like a first in Brian Thomas Jr. No, thank you. I don't want Brian Thomas Jr. with Fernando Mendoza out of the gate. And I also saw Max Crosby for AJ Brown straight up. I don't want that at all. I'm turning both those trades down if I'm a Raider. I think you wait for 2027 Capital, and at worst case, you have one of the best pass rushers in the league on an absolute revenge tour playing for your football team. A team that has been newly invested in with a new quarterback, first overall pick at quarterback since Jamarcus. There's reason to like that scenario and say, hey, you know what?

30:45Sheil Kapadia:We got Max Crosby. We have the money to pay him. Let's keep him. Max Crosby for A.J. Brown in a second. Are you interested? I'm starting to pick up the phone. I'm picking up the phone because you start to throw in some other capital. I think it could get there.

30:58Austin Gayle:Okay. We'll see. All right. That is the Max Crosby. It's not the last time we're going to be talking about that. We all know this is a very, very juicy story that we will continue to discuss. But other stuff's happening. around the NFL. One team that might be really mad about this, the Indianapolis Colts, because there were reports that they were in on Trey Hendrickson and maybe a finalist for Trey Hendrickson, but then he gets another suitor at the last minute in the Baltimore Ravens. But the Colts, the big news out of Indy, they agree to terms with Daniel Jones on a two-year, $88 million deal with$50 million guaranteed.

31:37Now, Austin, I feel like I have begun

31:41Austin Gayle:sort of this strange relationship with Colts fans. I feel like they're upset with me, including our friend Anthony DeBundo calling me a hater because I've been kind of critical of some of the moves they made, maybe including this move. So I don't want to give my take off the bat. You give me your take on what you thought when you saw that the Colts signed Daniel Jones to a two-year$88 million deal with$50 million guaranteed?

32:07Sheil Kapadia:I want to first pick apart the contract with you because I'm not fully sure if I understand it. This is essentially a one-year$50 million deal, right? Where like next year, most of the guarantees, I think it's only 10 million in 2027 guarantees are guaranteed at signing or something along those lines. I don't think they even guarantee until March 2027. I think this is essentially like a one-year$50 million deal, which is a huge payday and a lot more than they were going to pay him on the tag. But this isn't like a lock steady two-year commitment in your opinion, right? That's not what it looks like in terms of the details that have been leaked out so far.

32:34Austin Gayle:That's correct, which would, you know, a little bit beg the question. Now, they lowered his cap hit by doing it this way. So if you're wondering, well, why would they do that versus the tag where it was, I think,$38 million, but all of that money gets tacked on to your 2026 salary cap, that would be the reason. But still, you're paying a lot of money if this ends up being a one-year deal.

32:55Sheil Kapadia:Absolutely. I think that for me, and I know you've mentioned this, that there maybe are other options than Daniel Jones, like Kyler Murray for the veteran minimum, even Tua Tungabailoa for the veteran minimum, other players potentially available that would make more sense for the Colts than them investing$50 million in potentially one year of Daniel Jones. I think the problem is Chris Ballard's on his last legs. Like this is all he has left. And he went all in on Daniel Jones, leading this football team, wishing Stankin with Alec Pierce, with all these guys, right before he tore his Achilles, you know, trading two first round picks for Sauce Gardner, going like really pushing the chips in.

33:28Sheil Kapadia:You can't, I think, look ownership in the face and say, well, with this Achilles injury, actually, we need to pull back and we need to bring in a new quarterback and figure out a new offense. And guess what Chris Ballard's doing again, figuring out the quarterback position. I think ownership in India is like, we're done. You wanted Daniel Jones. You're going to have to get back on that plan again. The one that you looked me in the face said we could trade two first round picks for a defensive player. I think this is the team we can go to the Super Bowl with. that even though maybe it should change because Daniel Jones tears his Achilles and he's almost going to be 30 years old.

33:58Sheil Kapadia:I don't think it could change because ultimately I don't think Colts ownership wants any more excuses with Ballard. They don't. This is the team you bet on. This is your last quarterback bet and you're going to bring him back and he's going to be healthy for week one. You're going to bring Pierce back. We're going to let you do all these things and it has to work. And if it doesn't, you're the first out the door.

34:16Austin Gayle:It's a great lesson in how organizations operate differently when their stability and the GM feels good about his job and he's thinking about the next three to five years versus a GM who's potentially trying to save his job and ownership has come out in very clear terms and said, this is it. So you could be right there. Now, that's kind of sad to me that you're trying to save your job and this is the move you're making, but you're explaining. I'm not saying you're explaining.

34:44Sheil Kapadia:But it's the move he convinced ownership of making, right? Like he already told them like Daniel Jones is the guy. Like him backing off of it, I think would look worse. It's like, actually, I don't know. We might need to start over again.

34:54Austin Gayle:But let's say it's, all right, let's say Howie Roseman or pick whatever GM you like. If they're in that situation, they're very easily able to have a conversation with ownership, not very easily, but they would have a conversation with ownership. Listen, we made a bet on Daniel Jones. We traded the two first for Sauce. Circumstances have changed dramatically. Where I thought we were, you know, you could tell, we thought we were going to get him for that Sam Darnold deal. Three years, a hundred million. You know, even if this year isn't great, we got our quarterback for the following two years.

35:23Austin Gayle:He's healthier. He's on a reasonable contract. We have a plan for the next three years. That's what a GM who had a good, who has a good relationship with ownership, who's not trying to save their job. You can very easily have that conversation. And then you say, listen, if his agency wants to really push this, and if they get to this number, we really have to think about a plan B. I know it's not what we planned for, but I think that's, what's best for the organization, but they're not in that situation. I mean, if they just let Daniel Jones walk, what kind of contract is he getting on the open?

35:54Austin Gayle:He is not, no one, no other team in the NFL is paying him this kind of money. I mean, doesn't anyone in the Colts building bring that up? That literally no other team in the NFL would give him two years, $88 million with$50 million guaranteed coming off an Achilles. If anything, he'd be waiting until August, maybe, you know, until they see he's healthy. So why are we doing that? Doesn't anyone in the building bring that up, Austin?

36:20Sheil Kapadia:I think they do. It just feels like this is a human decision. This is a human decision. I remember when Daniel Jones went down with the injury and half the locker room was like, oh my God, this is our leader. This is the guy that leads us into battle, shows us how to work, who's helped our team so much. And I think Ballard is human in this. I think the overall decision makers are looking at it is like, we trust Daniel Jones. We're willing to give him this upgrade in terms of how much money We're willing to pay him even more than we were on the tag. And we're locked into this decision. We're not really wavering on it.

36:52Sheil Kapadia:I think that should they mathematically or like analytically looked at the situation said we're bidding against no one. We're paying$50 million potentially for one year for a quarterback coming off an Achilles injury. And there's arguably comparable quarterbacks potentially on the market for the veteran minimum. I think Daniel Jones is a better bet than Tua Tungabailoa. But I think Kyler Murray, I think deserves a conversation though. The offense you run with Murray is completely different than what you run with Jones, right? Like Steichen's going to have to completely reinvent the wheel. He's not throwing over the middle as much, all that stuff.

37:18Sheil Kapadia:Like for me, I think they were pot committed to Daniel Jones before the injury. They trade the two first round picks. And then when they go into the off season, I think they wanted to sign Jones to a Darnold S deal and then tag Pierce and figure that out down the road. I think what ended up happening was Jones camp wanted more, forced them to tag Jones, forced them to rethink how they're going to handle the Pierce situation. And now they've kind of ended in this spot where they have no leverage, right? Ballard has no leverage. This is his plan. This is what he has to go through with. And when you have no leverage, you end up making these kind of short-term, high-risk decisions.

37:47Sheil Kapadia:And that's what going all-in is, right? It's either a short-term, high-risk decision and you're out, or it's a short-term, high-risk decision and you win. And ultimately, the Colts have pushed their chips in on an interesting crew of players. Part of me, as a friend of Anthony DeBundo, is hoping it works out for them because they've been through such hell since Andrew Luck retired. But you can't look at this and say it's a low-risk move. All of this has baked in a ton of risk. And I would say the most likely scenario is that Ballard is out and the Colts don't meet expectations.

38:14Austin Gayle:Yeah, I'm really not trying to be mean. And I know I sound like a broken record. This is just a move. I will be shocked if this works out for the Colts. I mean, he fractured his fibula. He suffered an Achilles injury in December. It sucks for him. I do feel for him. I understand the human element. He was on the trajectory. They were in a great season. They were one of the biggest stories in the NFL. But you can't sweep under the rug that he tore his Achilles in December. And Austin, you look at last year, he had eight above average games based on EPA per pass play. That's what we're basing this whole thing off of.

38:45Austin Gayle:Eight above average games. He started over 80 games in his career. Now he's coming off the injury. They lost their right tackle in free agency. They lost Michael Pittman Jr. I think that was a good trade for the Colts. But still, Michael Pittman Jr. had 80 catches for them last year. They don't have a first round pick this year. They don't have a first round pick next year. I simply cannot get to a point where the ceiling for the 2026 Colts is going to be anything other than a team that loses in the wildcard round. Like best case scenario. And here's the other thing that I think people aren't making enough of.

39:17Austin Gayle:If you're really sold on Jones being your long-term starter, you're like, that was real, what we saw last year. And it sucks that he got injured. But man, we love this guy. Then guess what? I want him under contract for more than two years. Because now next year, he's coming off the Achilles. it's probably not going to be perfect. If 2027 is better and he's making progress, guess what? You're right back in the same situation. Now you're deciding transition tag, franchise tag. How much money are we paying him? Oh, well, he was good for this many games, but he got injured this many games. I just think you add all of this up and I would have been yelling in the building, this is not the right thing to do.

39:59Austin Gayle:I know people are asking, well, what else could they have done? You mentioned Kyler Murray. Like Kyler Murray has been a better quarterback than Daniel Jones. Like just that, that he's been a better quarterback for their career. He's more talented. Yeah. They have to change the offense. I don't think Shane Seiken would have been like, oh man, I can't work with that. He worked with Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. Even some of that. And I know you're not promised Kyler Murray, but it's an option. Even some of the other guys, if you have a long-term view of the franchise and these other guys, Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins, it's not going to look great in 2026, but they're going to be between 1 million and 3 million per year.

40:37Austin Gayle:You have a great play caller. You feel like you have a good environment. I would have been like, we have to take our medicine. We have to reassess our plan. And this is what we're going with.

40:47Sheil Kapadia:Kyler, where I'll push back is like signing him to longer years. I don't know if that makes sense. You want to be in the best case where you're reevaluating to pay him more because he's playing really well. I think they also want it to be an easy decision if he gets hurt again or if he completely craters, right? And you say like, obviously it was like eight good games last year. It was like the third best offense by EPA we've seen this century. Like the best version of the Colts offense we've seen since Andrew Luck was with Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce. They brought those guys back. They lost their right tackle.

41:15Sheil Kapadia:Defense is going to lose some pieces, but I think Ballard and I think ownership is bought into this idea that like the best we've seen this team play was with these guys and we have a chance to bring them back. Let's get back on track. Let's move on from these injuries and see if we can make it happen. And if it doesn't, they don't want excuses, right? It would be a terrible situation to be in with Ballard, where it's like, Ballard wants Daniel Jones, but this other guy, now they're considering bringing Kyler and switching everything up and changing the offense. Like, you create these more excuses, you run the leash a little bit longer for Ballard.

41:41Sheil Kapadia:I think they want this to be an all-in bet for good or for bad. And I think that's, honestly, like, you're right that are there long-term concerns with the decisions they made? Absolutely. They went all-in. They don't have a first-round pick this year or next year. They spent all this money on Jones. They spent $29 million per year on Alec Pierce. They said, you know what? This is it. We got one, maybe two years to be competitive. Let's try and make it happen with the team that we saw the best version of the Colts in the last 10 plus years.

42:05Austin Gayle:Listen, maybe this will be my version of my Sam Darnold takes last year where I said, this Seahawks offense, it's not going to happen. They don't have it. And then I had egg on my face all year long. So Colts fans, there you go. Austin gave you the other side of it. Maybe it works out for them. And maybe I'm issuing apologies next year. They're over under for wins. Austin, it's eight and a half. They rank 10th out of 16 teams in odds to get out of the AFC. They rank 17th in Super Bowl odds, and they are paying Daniel Jones$50 million guaranteed with the GM, maybe, likely, GMing for his job in 2026.

42:42Austin Gayle:So that is the state of the Indianapolis Colts after this offseason so far. All right, let's take one more break. Then we're going to come back. We're going to talk about a trade in the NFL and then maybe hit on some teams that we haven't discussed so far. All right, we are back here on the Ringer NFL show. Austin, fun little under the radar trade. I feel like if this was another time in the calendar where we didn't have the Max Crosby chaos, this would have gotten a little more attention. But 49ers trade a third round pick, number 92 overall to the Dallas Cowboys for Osa Odigizua. We're going to talk about the Cowboys in a minute, but give me your 49ers take here.

43:18Austin Gayle:They bring in Evans. They make this trade for Odigizua. Do you like this trade for the Niners? And do you have any thoughts on just kind of them overall at this stage of the offseason?

43:28Sheil Kapadia:I like this trade for the 49ers. I think Osa is a good player. I liked him coming out of UCLA. Like a big, his wrestling career is actually insane. I think he never lost as a high school wrestler. He has like a crazy high school wrestling story. But getting him, he was drafted in the third round, what, four years ago, whatever. And you're getting him for a third round pick. I find it kind of puzzling that Dallas is moving on from defensive tackles. They traded Osa Adigizua for top 100 pick. They did a swap to get Solomon Thomas, I think to the commanders who it was. But I think for the 49ers, that defensive line all of a sudden, Michael Williams, Alfred Collins, you bring in Osa, Nick Bosa's still there.

44:03Sheil Kapadia:I think it's a smart upgrade for them. And I think you're adding talent. My bigger questions are on Dallas's side, like saying, hey, defense was weakness for us last year. Is trading away Thomas and Adigizua helping us? I know they brought in Otito Agbenaya, but I don't think that guy is, you know, taking them to the next level. They still have Quinton Williams. They still have Kenny Clark. I think it was kind of an under-the-radar trade. I'm not surprised the 49ers kind of gave up decent capital for him either, though. I think also Diggy Zua is an interesting player. I think he adds something to the Niners defense that they're trying to get with other players, but I think he brings it right away.

44:35Austin Gayle:Yeah, he was one of the big free agent names just last year. The Cowboys bring him back, I think, for$20 million per year. I like this move for the Niners because it was a really weak defensive tackle group in free agency. They're in win-now mode. And Odigizua, last year wasn't his best year, but he was still 11th among defensive tackles and pressures. In 2024, though, he was second behind only Zach Allen. And if you look at the last five seasons per ESPN, he's fourth among defensive tackles in quarterback hits. So he has been a very productive player. I think he's just a rock solid, I wouldn't even say rock solid, above average, in that window between all pro and good player.

45:18Austin Gayle:I think that's the window he's in. And you mentioned it, Michael Williams coming back healthy, you hope. Nick Bosa coming back. And you still have the draft here. I like that move for the 49ers. All right, Cowboys, end of it. You just mentioned it. This is a team we haven't talked about much that I wanted to talk about in this show. So you look at it, their additions here, Rashawn Gary, they traded a fourth round pick for Rashawn Gary. safety Jalen Thompson they signed in free agency. That's on the defensive side of the ball. On the offensive side of the ball, they bring back George Pickens on the franchise tag.

45:52Austin Gayle:They re-sign Javante Williams. And really their only big loss, at least as of this recording, is Osa Odigizua. How do you feel about the state of the Cowboys, the moves they've made, the direction they're going in this offseason?

46:08Sheil Kapadia:I mean, I think offensively, they're kind of just bringing all the guys back and bring it back. Yeah, they got Pickens back. They got Williams back, like you said. The five starting offensive linemen that they had last year are all going to be back. I think they're, in a lot of ways, kind of running it back with the offense. I think defensively, they know they need to make changes along the front seven, especially after losing Micah Parsons last offseason. That's why, you know, trading for Rashawn Gary, I think, helps them, but I still think they need to do work along the defensive line. And I have concerns really about the secondary.

46:38Sheil Kapadia:I like Jalen Thompson, the safety they got over from Arizona, three years,$36 million. but I think the corners, specifically Charon Revell, I have question marks about. I think they need to add upgrades at outside corner. The defense, this feels like I think Craig Horlbeck of the Ringer Fantasy Football Show first said this, but the Dallas Cowboys are kind of like the bangles of the NFC, where the offense, you feel really good about on any given night almost, you know, putting up 35 points, but defensively, it's been a problem, been a problem for a while now, and I think that made matters worse when they lost Micah Parsons, and I still think they're recovering from that.

47:07Sheil Kapadia:They're recovering from that in the front seven and in the secondary as well. I think they know the kind of team they're going to be is when they have to score a lot to win. And I don't think the upgrades they've made so far in free agency, part of that reason being they don't have a ton of money, has actually helped them, especially after you trade Osa Diggie Zou away, like, you know, you're taking pieces away from this defense that needs everybody it can get.

47:26Austin Gayle:With the Gary trade, would you ever roll, like, if you ran an organization that if a guy posts the Instagram message that he's being released, we can't give up more than, like, a sixth-round pick? They give up a fourth-round pick after that Instagram post. So I don't know. He was hacked, Shield. He was hacked, right? Yeah, I know. Listen, I mean, what a hacker. Unbelievable. Yeah.

47:47Sheil Kapadia:No, I think the rule would be that the price drops.

47:49Austin Gayle:Was that the funniest I was hacked in recent memory in the NFL? Definitely.

47:53Sheil Kapadia:Pretty good. Pretty good. I also think like, was the price a third round pick? And then they saw that and they dropped it to a fourth? Or did the trade value like stay the same through the hacking? Like, I wonder how that all went down. Because a fourth round pick does feel a little rich for a player that posted a long felt goodbye message to Green Bay and then deleted it within like a couple minutes after.

48:10Austin Gayle:Yeah. He had a really weird season last year for the first half, very productive. And then he just kind of went quiet the second half of the season here. I'll be honest. I'm kind of bullish on this Cowboys team. Really? Looking at it. Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I totally hear what you're saying. Defensively, I still look at it and I'm like, hmm, it's not the best defensive depth chart. But the fact that you bring back all 11 starters from an offense that finished fourth in EPA per drive and fifth in success rate and you have the same offensive coaches with Brian Schottenheimer and their OC, Clayton Adams.

48:40Austin Gayle:Like, I think that's a really, really, that's going to be a really, really good offense once again. And then defensively, I'm not asking them to be a top 10 defense. You know, they had the worst defense in the NFL last year by EPA per drive. So now you get Quinn and Williams for a full season. And I think the big thing, you know, possibly a hipster favorite this season, Austin, keep an eye on Cowboys defensive coordinator, Christian Parker, who was in Philadelphia under Vic Fangio. So Vic Fangio, protege, players raved about him. I thought he did a fantastic job with the Eagles where I feel like, is there enough here to get them to like the 20th best defense?

49:19Austin Gayle:Because I think with that offense, if you can like the 20th best defense, this is actually a team that can challenge for the NFC East, certainly challenge for a playoff spot. And don't forget, they got picks 12 and 20 here. Now I know rookies don't always like come in and play well right away, But imagine if they spent 12 and 20, maybe one on the secondary, one on the pass rush, whatever the case may be, they have a chance. Christian Parker was the guy coaching those Eagles rookie defensive backs, you know, Quinion Mitchell and Cooper DeGene, who were on a Super Bowl team. So I really like this Cowboys team.

49:53Austin Gayle:I don't know that I see a huge gap between them and the Eagles. They're plus 220 to win the division. And I'm looking at it like the Eagles have all kinds of uncertainty with their offense. And if I believe that offense is kind of what is more consistent year to year, I feel like they have a chance to challenge and win that division, especially let's see what happens after the draft.

50:13Sheil Kapadia:While you're honing in on Christian Parker, I'm going to hone in on Rashawn Gary and Donovan Ezraku and Sharon Revel and Reddy Stewart, like all these players on the defense that I don't have a ton of faith in. Now you bring up 12 and 20. I think that's great. Like, are they a Mansoor-Delaine team? The LSU corner that maybe could fall to 12. At 20, are they looking at Tennessee corner Colton Hood? that's why like you know looking at over unders or even kind of starting to project forward it's hard until you get through free agency we're only a day in technically and then also after the draft kind of feel whether you know adding these you know kind of or i guess like filling these holes um for me i still think the defense is two steps back from even like competing for 20th in e-paper drive and um i think offensively you're right like i think things have to go well but i also think you know there's just a lot of variables i think in the with the offense specifically and where They've invested.

51:00Sheil Kapadia:People have to stay healthy. You're going against a really good division. I think the commander's improved in some ways. So I don't know. I think the Cowboys, I'm always scared to buy the Cowboys because I feel like a lot of people are buying the Cowboys kind of almost every offseason. I still have concerns on the defense. I think the offense is going to be good though. It should be good. It was good last year.

51:16Austin Gayle:I think they're a playoff team. Check back with me in August. Right now, March, I can't believe you said we're a day into free agency. That's the craziest thing I've heard all week. That can't be true. See, that's why you got to have the negotiating period because it feels like it's been about two months of free agency. It has. It has. With all the stuff that has gone on. All right, the next team we wanted to talk about because we haven't mentioned them much, the Chicago Bears, Austin. You know, their center, Drew Dahlman, he retires. They trade for Garrett Bradbury. They trade DJ Moore to the Bills.

51:44Austin Gayle:They release Tremaine Edmonds. They lose a couple members of their secondary, Nishan Wright and Kevin Byard in free agency. Safety Jaquan Brisker is still out there. They add Kobe Bryant, the safety, in free agency. They add Devin Bush, the linebacker. in free agency. They add Khalif Raymond as sort of a wide receiver three special teams type player. This is going to be a team kind of like the Commanders last offseason where everyone said this team's due for regression. Look at X, Y, and Z. The Bears check a lot of those boxes. Yet I kind of still like the Bears. I have to see where I'm at after the draft.

52:17Austin Gayle:But what do you make of the moves they've made here so far coming off of what was a really fun, really successful season for them?

52:24Sheil Kapadia:I think they're a different case than the Commanders because I think a lot of that regression analysis was looking at they were like 87 % of fourth downs, which like the peak of the tush push era, the Eagles weren't converting 87 % of fourth downs. And then also they had like the oldest roster in the league by a country mile. Chicago is not that. And where the analytics will push back on them doing what they did again is all the comebacks, right? All the fourth quarter comebacks are going to be a big reason why people are doubting that. But I do think that the experience they gained last year, kind of understanding that they're not going to win all of those games, but they are in every single game, I think is going to hold through the Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson year two and the moves that they've made in the off season.

53:03Sheil Kapadia:I actually kind of like how they've responded to some of the early stuff. I think moving on from DJ Moore was right. I think Luther Burden is an ascending player. Roma Dunze was hurt. They're counting on him being better this year. I love adding Raymond to the mix. They still have Loveland, the tight end, the rookie from last year, and also Cole Komet. The offensive line, they immediately go and trade for Garrett Bradbury. And I think that was after they kind of got the sniff that Linderbaum was going to reset the center market by about 50%. You saw the Chargers sign Tyler Biotish, the other center, right before free agency started.

53:30Sheil Kapadia:I think teams started to know that the Linderbaum sweepstakes was getting out of control. So I think that was smart there. And getting in Devin Bush to play along TJ Edwards, I really like what they did at linebacker bringing in Bush. I think that's a smart bet. That's a smart bet on Kobe Bryant as well. Now replacing Nayshaun Wright, Kevin Beyer, Trayman Admonds, it's easier said than done. But write that there's probably going to be some aggression in terms of how many fourth quarter comebacks can they pull off. But in terms of the early offseason moves, I didn't even mention them bringing in Jedrick Wills, who completely missed all of last season with this crazy knee injury.

54:02Sheil Kapadia:He also had something where he had to realign his femur with his hip. But that's a nice low-risk flyer for a position that they need help with, right? Ozzy Trapilo, their left tackle, ruptured his patellar tendon in the playoffs last year. One move I'd like for them to make, to be this little cherry on top of what I think has been a solid offseason. Go get Taylor Decker. Lions just released him. Ben Johnson has experience. You have injury concerns at left tackle. Decker has been, largely for most of his career, someone who's playing 800, 900 snaps every year. Bring him in as this short-term option as you're figuring out Trapilo.

54:34Sheil Kapadia:Can Dreddrick will suit up? You add Taylor Decker to the mix. They bring in Bush. They added Kobe Bryant. I think they've added good players. They haven't overspent really anywhere. They offloaded DJ Moore in a good way. I don't know. I think overall, smart offseason moves for the Bears, even if none of them are pushing them over the top or if they broke the bank for anyone.

54:51Austin Gayle:I think that's the big question, is that big move still yet to come. We talked about Crosby earlier. If I had to pick a team that was going to trade for him, I think they would be one on my list right now. I think that would be a very interesting move if they were able to get Max Crosby. And now you have a game wrecker up front for the next whatever, two to three years until his leg falls off, as the Ravens would tell you. and you try to win a Super Bowl with Caleb Williams on his rookie deal. So I think that's certainly one to watch. But I'm with you. They've made quiet moves, but they've made smart moves.

55:25Austin Gayle:They haven't signed these contracts where you're like, oh my gosh, what are they doing? They did a nice job, maxing compensation, I think, for DJ Moore. And then left tackle is still their big question, to your point. Guy goes down in the playoffs, might miss the entire season. Are you going to try to piece that together? or are you going to make a bigger move, whether it's in the draft, whether it's Taylor Decker, whether it's a Trent Williams trade. I don't know if that's actually going to happen or not, but there are some options out there. So yeah, I don't think we're close to being done hearing from the Bears this offseason.

55:56Sheil Kapadia:I think it's interesting you bring up Crosby. They feel like exactly the kind of team that they get to July and they're going through camp and they're looking at De 'Odeyengbo and Montez Sweat and they're saying, man, this still isn't where we need it to be. It's still going to be a weakness. We called immediately after the Ravens backed out and the Raiders were not even interested in picking up the phone. We were offering, say, they were offering like a first and a third or first and a depth player or whatever. But as they get closer to the season, are they a team that reevaluates it and says, hey, would you do a first and a second in 2027?

56:28Sheil Kapadia:Like, is Crosby? And like that, that I think is going back to how we started this conversation. Like, that's exactly why playing the long game a little bit with any team that's interested in Crosby is ultimately kind of the right move. And I think the Bears and some other teams, maybe the Lions, are going to get closer to the season and have a real grasp of what their edge pressure is going to look like and say, wait a second, is Crosby still available? Maybe we do get into the mix at a first and a second or whatever ends up being.

56:51Austin Gayle:You got that second for DJ Moore. You got some draft capital there to use. And that would be interesting if the Raiders were like, we want your 2027 pick because we think you're going to regress in 2026 with these one-score games. But yeah, I'm keeping an eye on them. I like what they've done so far. It hasn't been anything crazy. I think they got defensive players that fit Dennis Allen scheme. I trust them on offense until Ben Johnson gives me a reason to not trust them on offense. I think Caleb Williams is a guy who I want to see where I'm at again in August. But are we talking about him as a sleeper?

57:25Austin Gayle:We're doing a sleeper MVP show. And we say Caleb Williams is taking a monster leap this year. If they surround him with some different pieces. I think that's certainly in play. All right. Last team I wanted to get to that we haven't talked about so far. I haven't done the math on this. it feels like they've added more players than maybe any team in the NFL. Not most dollars that I think that's still the Raiders, but most players, the Washington commanders. I mean, this has sort of flown under the radar that their defensive makeover, I think is a big, big off season story where they brought in this guy, Durante Jones, who is not a, you know, Vic Fangio, a protege who is not some of these other coaching trees.

58:05Austin Gayle:He is a Brian Flores protege. That's the style of defense they're going with. And so they said, all right, who are the players that can fit this defense? Odafe Owe and Caleb on chase on at edge cornerback, Amik Robertson safety, Nick cross linebacker, Leo Chanel. I mean, that's like, what did I just need? One, two, three, four, five potential new starters that they have signed here in free agency. It is massive turnover on their roster. And I don't have any issue with any of those additions. Like, you know, I don't know what you think about the OA one. You could tell me here in a second, that was the one, you know,$25 million per year.

58:42Austin Gayle:The other ones were all reasonable contracts. It kind of comes down to whether new defensive coordinator, who we have no idea if he's going to be good at his job or not, Durante Jones can put these pieces together and they can be a much improved defense because that defense stunk last year.

58:59Sheil Kapadia:Is it even confirmed that the new DC will call plays? because I know Dan Quinn took over a little bit last year, and I wonder if he's going to relinquish those duties to this guy now. Because to me, my reaction to them signing all these guys is there's a little pressure on Dan Quinn to fix this defense. I think last year they were 32nd in yards allowed per drive, 31st in EPA allowed per drive, and this is Dan Quinn's defense. This is Dan Quinn who took over play calling duties last year. So I think they go into free agency and they say, hey, you can upgrade the defense. Go get Amik Robertson for a cheap deal.

59:32Sheil Kapadia:Go get Chason Amenahou. They pay Odafe Owe, that four-year, 100 mil. Go make upgrades to this defense because at the end of the day, they moved on from Cliff Kingsbury, by the way. The OC that kind of everyone was excited about Jaden Daniels' rookie year and you couldn't bring up Jaden Daniels without bringing up also Cliff Kingsbury. They move on from him. They bring in David Blau, who has only been coaching in the NFL since 2024. He's kind of like the Sean Mannion, the Philadelphia Eagles OC, a guy who played quarterback backup for a while and is now calling plays for the first time ever. So you have a first-time OC, a DC that maybe starts the season calling plays, but Dan Quinn could take over.

1:00:04Sheil Kapadia:And then this massive, massive investment, if not money and bodies to upgrade the defense everywhere, which you could argue they needed to because the defense was so bad last year. But I think the fact that they're able to get all these guys and so much of the priority is adding bodies on defense. I think there is pressure on Dan Quinn into this year to maximize what they have with Jaden Daniels on a rookie contract. I think everyone in the organization, if the offense doesn't look good this year, they're blaming Blau and Dan Quinn before they're blaming Jaden Daniels. Because I think overall in D.C., there's this, I think, overall this opinion that Jaden Daniels is not maximized yet versus fans starting to have or organizations starting to have second thoughts on the quarterback and his talent level.

1:00:42Sheil Kapadia:So I think there's a lot of pressure on this coaching staff, and that's been reflected in just how many players they brought in. The only offensive players they've signed, tight end Chigakwankwo, and then Rashad White, the running back over from Tampa Bay, which are two interesting flavors into this offense, but I still have concerns with their receiving core. They have some questions along the offensive line. I think there's a lot of pressure on this coaching staff that's going to have to go through a lot of newness on defense. Ultimately, if you're a Washington fan, you're kind of like hoping this all kind of works out, but I also wouldn't be surprised, and it almost feels more likely that they try to make a bunch of moves.

1:01:12Sheil Kapadia:It ultimately isn't enough, and there are legit questions on, do you bring Dan Quinn back? Do you just reset the dice and try and find someone else who can maximize Jane Daniels?

1:01:20Austin Gayle:Yeah, I have no idea what to make of him, to your point, and we'll see if they sign, if they add Brandon Ayuk, but you're absolutely right about the pressure on the coaching staff. when you change both offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. Like a big part about being a head coach is basically nailing those two spots. And now you're doing it with two guys who have not done it before. I mean, two, both sides of the ball. And it looks like Jones is expected to call plays on defense. So these are big swings where if you nail them, you look really smart. Like I can identify coaching talent where other people can't.

1:01:51Austin Gayle:These were under the radar guys. And now look what we're doing. We're zigging while the rest of the league is zagging. If you don't nail them, you might be out of a job. Now I do wonder about the front office as well with Adam Peters. The Kingsbury thing was just weird to me where it felt like he clashed with somebody. Now was that person Quinn? Was it Daniels? Was it Peters? Was it two of those three? I have no idea. I don't think that we've gotten definitive reporting out of that, but just watching the on-field product every week, you didn't look at the commanders and be like, oh, Cliff Kingsbury is the problem with the commanders last year.

1:02:26Austin Gayle:I don't think anyone looked at it that way. So we'll see what Jaden, I still like Jaden Daniels a lot, but you have to have some uncertainty. You know, I don't, I don't even know how you project this team. I have no idea of the offensive coordinator. They could be the worst offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator in the NFL. Maybe they found the next Ben Johnson. Maybe they found the closest thing to Brian Flores and we're saying, we're saying a different story. So it's just a wide, wide range of outcomes where you feel like if they don't at least make the playoffs, that it feels like there's going to be a lot of change in Washington after next season.

1:02:58Austin Gayle:So I'm with you there.

1:02:59Sheil Kapadia:I wonder what the investment on defense in free agency means for what they're thinking at number seven in the 2026 NFL draft, because I think there is a good chance the best player available is going to be potentially a linebacker in Sonny Stiles or a safety in Caleb Downs where you can kind of continue to throw resources at the defense, Dan Quinn's defense or this new guy's defense. I think they're going to probably split responsibilities by the end of the year. And then, or I think they are a Jeremiah Love team, the running back out of Notre Dame. I think if Jeremiah Love does get to seven, I think they're going to kind of push the card in and say, he's the best player available.

1:03:31Sheil Kapadia:They did. I think they need more at running back than Rashad White and Bill Krosky-Merritt. I think Jeremiah Love is kind of a game-breaking talent. Or are they saying, you know what, we might force the first receiver off the board at seven because we know we need to kind of figure out what we're doing there. because Terry McLaurin, I think, is entering his age 31 season, coming off a pretty injury-plagued 2025 campaign. And I love the McCaffreys as much as anybody. I don't think Luke McCaffrey being your number two receiver going into the season is all that great. They're not going to have Debo back.

1:03:59Sheil Kapadia:So what they do at seven, I think, is going to fascinate me because is it a long-term investment in the defense or do they force a skill player? Because at the end of the day, yes, you added a Conquo. Yes, you added Rashad White. This offense simply doesn't have enough playmakers outside of Jaden Daniels.

1:04:14Austin Gayle:It's a really weird roster. It's like, I like Daniels. I think the offensive line has a chance to be good. Although releasing Biotis, that was sort of a weird move. And then he gets picked up by the Chargers right away. But I think the offensive line is decent. But everywhere else I look and I'm like, are they above average at any other position? I think the answer is probably no. Just doing it in my head. Wide receiver, no. Tight end, no. Running back, no. Defensive line, no. Linebacker, no. Cornerback, no. And secondary and safety, no. I would say none of those spots. you would say they're definitely above average.

1:04:46Austin Gayle:So they got a lot of moves to make still with this roster, but they're putting a lot on these new coordinators to kind of fit it all together with these new pieces. Again, I don't hate any of the moves they made on defense. I think those are pretty interesting players at reasonable prices. I'm just not sure yet whether this DC can piece it all together and the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts. So there you go. Commanders, Cowboys, Bears. We'll continue to do this. We'll get to the other teams that we haven't talked a lot about in free agency, and we'll get to the news as it breaks here over the next several weeks leading up to the NFL draft.

1:05:23Austin Gayle:All right, thank you very much to Austin Gale. Thank you to Christopher Sutton for producing. Stefano Sanchez on video and additional production supervision by Conor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopal. I'm Shil Kapadia. We will talk to you next time on the Ringer NFL Show.

1:05:47Austin Gayle: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 1-800-MY-RESET. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.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.

1:06:24Sheil Kapadia: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.