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The Surprising Retirement of Jaylen Polk and Chris Olave's Contract: Saints' Wide Receiver Room Under the Microscope" · The K.B. Radio Network

• 0:02
  Who dat to the who dat nation welcome to the who dat say podcast your podcast for the
• 0:09
  New Orleans Saints here on the KB radio network I am your fellow who dat and host of the who dat say podcast
• 0:19
  Kevin Reed and
• 0:21
  I've decided to jump on here to discuss a couple of things both of which involve around our rod receiver room.
• 0:29
  over there on airline we have two big stories that come out within the last few days over there on airline at the saints training facility first and foremost we had the extension of rod receiver chris olive he just signed a uh big deal over there but
• 0:51
  not to be outdone just a couple of days later over this this past weekend rod receiver jaylen poke Bye.
• 0:59
  decided to step away from the NFL.
• 1:03
  He decided to retire at the ripe young age of 24 years old.
• 1:09
  And this was surprising news.
• 1:11
  Nobody saw this coming,
• 1:13
  especially we heard about him in
• 1:19
  OTAs, you know,
• 1:20
  off-season training.
• 1:22
  He went and worked out with Tyler Shuck over the off-season.
• 1:26
  Seems like he was
• 1:27
  really starting to shine in mini camp he was there at the start of training camp just this past week everything was looking good for jalen polk and voila all of a sudden he decides to step away and
• 1:43
  i don't know what the reason is nobody has given a clear-cut answer as to why he decided to step away but here we are there's a couple of theories we can throw out all the
• 1:57
  theories and rumors if you want uh i think some of the early projections had him at the fourth receiver on the team right now you know behind chris olave jordan tyson who we just picked up in the draft uh
• 2:12
  devon valet who was the star last season uh for the new orleans saints and then jalen polk and that could have played their role i don't know i'm just speculating right now because once again
• 2:26
  we didn't get a clear-cut answer as to why he walked away um i know a lot of you know early on when they first announced this that well i guess that injury was more severe than people
• 2:42
  really thought well no according to everybody in the saints organization he was healthy and he was happy with his role he it wasn't any
• 2:54
  spite or any resentment shown now he could have been mad in silence you know but as far as his attitude around the team and in the facilities he was all good um he is a former second round pick uh
• 3:12
  just from a few years ago picked up by the new england patriots the saints made a questionable trade last season which i often questioned you
• 3:24
  When they made this trade,
• 3:26
  the Saints traded with the New England Patriots that saw the Saints get Polk and a 2028 7th round draft pick in exchange for a 6th round pick in 2027.
• 3:43
  And on paper,
• 3:43
  that seemed like a blockbuster deer for the New Orleans Saints.
• 3:47
  I mean,
• 3:47
  you got a
• 3:48
  2nd round talent for basically nothing,
• 3:51
  you know?
• 3:52
  but
• 3:53
  there's always the stipulation there there's always uh some fine blueprint and the blueprint was poke was injured he was on ir and so he didn't play none of last season because he was recovering from i think an acl or uh mcl
• 4:10
  or could have been both i forgot what it was but he was on our and that's where i was like what we made a trade before for a hurt player it didn't make since
• 4:22
  the only thing that bothered me.
• 4:24
  I remember watching Polk when he got to New England.
• 4:28
  He made a couple of plays here or there.
• 4:31
  I didn't watch New England thoroughly enough to say,
• 4:35
  oh man,
• 4:36
  we got a steal there.
• 4:38
  None of that.
• 4:39
  But
• 4:40
  I felt okay.
• 4:41
  There's a body,
• 4:43
  but what is he going to do?
• 4:45
  And then in the offseason,
• 4:47
  the Saints drafted
• 4:50
  Jordan Tyson.
• 4:51
  They extended Chris Olave because the thought was.
• 4:56
  At least my thoughts were they probably were planning on moving on from Olave because they didn't want to pay
• 5:03
  Olave all that money because of his injury history,
• 5:09
  you know,
• 5:10
  with the concussions and everything.
• 5:12
  And so
• 5:13
  I was like,
• 5:13
  okay,
• 5:14
  I can see them doing that,
• 5:16
  even though I like Olave.
• 5:17
  I don't want to see Olave go,
• 5:20
  but
• 5:20
  I can see why they made the moves they made,
• 5:23
  you know,
• 5:23
  bringing in Polk,
• 5:24
  drafting Tyson.
• 5:26
  And you still have pieces that are currently on the team with a valet and so on and so forth.
• 5:32
  So you had options there.
• 5:35
  So it made sense in the grand scheme of it all.
• 5:38
  And so we fast forward to now.
• 5:41
  And I guess things are playing out a little differently because you gave
• 5:47
  Olave this big extension.
• 5:50
  Four years,
• 5:50
  $132 million and $90 million.
• 5:54
  of that 132 guaranteed and so that that's that's that's a nice chunk that's a nice chunk of change to pay uh chris olave now am i happy he got his money absolutely i'm happy the man got his money but
• 6:12
  do i also at the same exact time feel that we kind of overpaid for a lobby yes and and the reason i feel that way is because
• 6:23
  he hasn't shown me 132 million dollars worth of potential now i believe he can given the right opportunity but i'm still in the back of my mind i'm still skeptical about those concussions because
• 6:41
  it isn't one you know he didn't have one five years ago no he has multiple he's had multiple concussions and it's scary especially if
• 6:52
  physical receiver like he is who's constantly going up and getting those balls and bringing them down leaving himself exposed uh in the middle of the field nonetheless that's a scary thing you know i don't want to see it happen to him it all
• 7:08
  last year all last year every time that ball went up in the air and i saw chris ove in the area i i'm telling my stomach tightened up i was so scared for that man.
• 7:20
  I really was.
• 7:22
  And...
• 7:23
  Thank God nothing happened,
• 7:25
  you know,
• 7:25
  and I pray to God that nothing happens going forward.
• 7:29
  So we'll see.
• 7:30
  We'll see.
• 7:31
  I mean,
• 7:32
  what's the worst that can happen at this point?
• 7:34
  I mean,
• 7:35
  you do have you still have contingency plans.
• 7:38
  I still feel that Jordan Tyson can probably step up in the event.
• 7:44
  You know,
• 7:44
  knock on wood,
• 7:45
  God forbid that nothing happens or something happens to Olave.
• 7:50
  OK,
• 7:51
  we're still in.
• 7:52
  pretty good shape but i i think that uh i think the rob receiver room might might need another piece though uh kelly moore on uh monday stated that he has no plans to bring in another receiver that that rob receiver room is still pretty stacked which it is which it truly is but
• 8:15
  but it doesn't hurt this is camp this is training camp
• 8:21
  I think it doesn't hurt to bring in another body,
• 8:25
  somebody who can probably push these guys,
• 8:28
  especially when you have young guys like
• 8:31
  Tyson, who can use some veteran leadership on the team.
• 8:38
  Even Olave and Bailey.
• 8:39
  I mean,
• 8:40
  they can use some leadership on this team.
• 8:42
  And speaking of trades from last season,
• 8:44
  that was another trade that the Saints made last season,
• 8:46
  getting
• 8:48
  Devont Bailey.
• 8:50
  And so,
• 8:51
  you know,
• 8:52
  the Saints really put a lot of weapons at Tyler Shuck's disposal.
• 8:57
  So we'll see how this all plays out.
• 8:59
  I mean,
• 8:59
  we still got a long way to go before the official start of the NFL season.
• 9:06
  A little over a month now.
• 9:08
  You know,
• 9:08
  it's a long training camp.
• 9:10
  We'll see.
• 9:10
  We'll see.
• 9:11
  Maybe they'll bring somebody in at the end.
• 9:13
  Or maybe they feel confident in what they have.
• 9:17
  If what we have is good enough.
• 9:19
  I'm all for it.
• 9:20
  And to be 100%
• 9:21
  honest with you,
• 9:25
  I'm saying bring in another receiver and give the receiver room a little more veteran leadership,
• 9:32
  a little more cachet.
• 9:35
  I still feel this team needs to lean heavy on their run game.
• 9:39
  It is essential to Tyler Shuck's development and his team's development.
• 9:45
  You need to run the ball.
• 9:46
  You have Travis Etienne.
• 9:48
  You have
• 9:49
  Alvin Kamara.
• 9:50
  You still have
• 9:52
  Devon Neal.
• 9:53
  You still have Kendrick Miller,
• 9:55
  for what that's worth.
• 9:57
  And you have a few more running backs on the team.
• 10:01
  Estimate,
• 10:02
  he's still on the team.
• 10:04
  You still have a nice,
• 10:06
  good running back room as well.
• 10:08
  So...
• 10:09
  lean heavy on the run game you know all the weapons is good i know i know it's like a kid at toys or us you know with free rank he's allowed to play with anything in the store it's it's tempting but
• 10:25
  i i wouldn't i wouldn't be jacking the ball up 60 times a game with this guy uh any quarterback even if drew brees was still on the team i wouldn't want him to jack the ball up as much as he did.
• 10:38
  You know,
• 10:38
  you remember when we didn't have a run game for a few years in the Sean Payton,
• 10:43
  Drew Brees era?
• 10:45
  And Drew Brees was jacking that ball up like crazy.
• 10:48
  That's why his shoulder is done now.
• 10:50
  Drew Brees said,
• 10:51
  and congratulations to Drew Brees once again.
• 10:54
  I'm going to say it every time I can because nobody deserves it more.
• 10:59
  What,
• 10:59
  in a couple of days now,
• 11:01
  he will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• 11:05
  Rightfully so.
• 11:06
  First ballot.
• 11:07
  I mean,
• 11:10
  nobody deserves a gold jacket more than anybody.
• 11:12
  But he said in a recent interview how he can't move his arm.
• 11:16
  He can barely move that arm.
• 11:20
  He had,
• 11:22
  I forgot what he called it.
• 11:23
  Oh,
• 11:23
  man,
• 11:24
  something with his shoulder.
• 11:24
  He can barely move it now.
• 11:26
  He can barely go out and throw the ball with his sons and stuff.
• 11:29
  It's that bad how much he threw that ball.
• 11:33
  He,
• 11:33
  I mean,
• 11:34
  slinging it,
• 11:35
  slinging it like crazy.
• 11:37
  Anyways,
• 11:37
  I'm getting off topic,
• 11:38
  but back to the jail and poke of it all.
• 11:43
  I will say this.
• 11:45
  I hate to speculate.
• 11:47
  I hate to,
• 11:48
  you know,
• 11:50
  throw rumors out there or whatever.
• 11:51
  This is just my opinion.
• 11:53
  This is just my thoughts in my head.
• 11:57
  I honestly don't think he wanted to be here,
• 11:59
  and I don't think it's slight against the Saints.
• 12:02
  I don't think he had anything personal against the Who That Nation.
• 12:07
  He just looked at his position,
• 12:09
  and it felt like,
• 12:10
  man,
• 12:11
  I'm not a number four.
• 12:13
  He was that far down the depth chart.
• 12:16
  He was number four on this team,
• 12:18
  and it happens,
• 12:19
  and it happens.
• 12:20
  And he is a player.
• 12:23
  When he was healthy,
• 12:24
  when he was at his peak,
• 12:26
  he was a number one receiver.
• 12:28
  He was truly a number one type receiver.
• 12:32
  And to be bumped down to four,
• 12:34
  to say he worked so hard to get back,
• 12:36
  and to be the fourth best player on the team.
• 12:40
  Now,
• 12:40
  I'll say this much.
• 12:43
  He should have let it played out.
• 12:44
  He should have went out there and earned it.
• 12:46
  Maybe he could have caused the valet to sit.
• 12:49
  Maybe he could have caused the Tyson,
• 12:52
  Jordan Tyson to sit,
• 12:53
  you know,
• 12:54
  or move to the fourth spot or whatever.
• 12:56
  Go out there and fight for it.
• 12:59
  Or they told him flat out,
• 13:01
  like,
• 13:01
  look,
• 13:02
  no matter what you do,
• 13:03
  because this is a possibility.
• 13:05
  no matter what you do this is what this is your role this is it there's there's nothing you can do to change your position on this team and now that could be frustrating that could be upsetting and to the point where you know what i'll
• 13:22
  just step away because it don't make sense and i don't know man because kelly moore says his personal
• 13:30
  decision now it could be a personal decision it could be something going on in his family something going on with him mentally it could be a vast variety of things who knows nobody knows only he knows and i'm assuming the saints know i'm assuming the organization know they're
• 13:47
  just so tight-lipped and that's what drives me crazy with the saints i'm not saying you should tell every little aspect of every little thing over there on airline
• 13:59
  Everything is in our business.
• 14:01
  But at the same time,
• 14:02
  they keep every little detail there locked under.
• 14:07
  The TSA isn't that secretive.
• 14:10
  Not the TSA.
• 14:12
  The NSA.
• 14:12
  The National Security.
• 14:15
  They don't keep those secrets that tight like they do on airline.
• 14:21
  They are so tight-lipped about everything.
• 14:24
  Even the things that are so trivial.
• 14:27
  That is like.
• 14:29
  why are you keeping this a secret and then half the time to who that nation know the answer we already know we just want confirmation they won't even give you that you know is it drives me insane when they do that especially mickey loomis mickey loomis anyway
• 14:47
  don't get me started with that but nobody is saying anything and that's upsetting because if it's something serious if it's something he's going through maybe somebody can help him maybe somebody out here can
• 14:58
  help him you know obviously he needs help the man walked away from a dream gig for for millions of youngsters and millions of kids who have fought and get to to get to this level you
• 15:14
  know you go through pop one and park ball uh uh high school ball you go through college you go through all these rigorous uh uh training throughout the year you go through the combine you go get
• 15:28
  drafted you finally make it to the nfl you get hurt you get traded and then you say i'm good it just doesn't add up to me you know especially if you're truly healthy now if that injury if he felt a little tweak or something during practice now that can play on your mental that
• 15:50
  can play on your game like man i worked too hard to get back here and to be hurt this early a la uh brian brazee
• 15:58
  who i didn't touch in on because we were talking about receivers throughout the show but brian brazee is out for the year uh in case you don't know that news uh our defensive tackle first day of camp non-contact acl
• 16:16
  went kaput you can't make this up people it is it's it's unbelievable uh i wish him a healthy recovery though i
• 16:27
  It sucks.
• 16:28
  But it's really a question of what are they doing in the offseason?
• 16:32
  And I say they.
• 16:33
  There are a lot of soft tissue damage injuries that have happened throughout the league.
• 16:41
  Go past the NFL.
• 16:42
  You can take a look at the NBA.
• 16:44
  Just soft tissue damage injuries.
• 16:46
  It's like nobody is taking care of their bodies properly.
• 16:52
  It's sad,
• 16:53
  really.
• 16:53
  It's sad.
• 16:54
  that we've gotten to this because back in the day back in my day you know players used to run those two or days three or days and uh be a full pad practices all day long it is it never got hurt like this now
• 17:13
  every little thing it's non-contact i don't know man it's something that needs to be studied it's something that needs to be done to protect these guys you
• 17:24
  from this these type of injuries it's it's it's upsetting but anyway um maybe maybe that played in his mind maybe maybe he got ptsd when he saw brian brazee hit the ground you know stuff like that any little thing like
• 17:40
  i said this is all speculative this is this is me trying to pull something out of nothing but i want the man i want the man to succeed you know i was really really excited.
• 17:53
  I guess that's
• 17:54
  why i'm so disappointed with this news is because i had oh i had some high hopes for jalen poke on this team i really thought he was gonna come out and shock the world this season i thought he was he was geared up because he was all the talk in minicamp and offseason uh
• 18:13
  workouts everybody was talking about how he how good he looked how he was running his routes how he was catching the ball everything was coming together
• 18:23
  And I was looking forward to seeing it on the field.
• 18:26
  And no,
• 18:30
  no,
• 18:31
  man,
• 18:31
  it's very disappointing.
• 18:33
  But I do wish him well.
• 18:34
  I hope that everything is all right.
• 18:36
  I hope
• 18:37
  I hope if it's a mental thing,
• 18:39
  I hope he gets the help he needs and find a way back on the on the on some team.
• 18:44
  If it's not the same somewhere where he can flourish,
• 18:48
  you know,
• 18:49
  if it's something petty like he didn't want to be the the.
• 18:53
  fourth wheel in the rod receiver room i mean come on get over it bro yeah just the nfl opportunity comes fast and furious in the uh nfl unfortunately we were just talking about injuries injuries happen every week every week every day in camp who knows you probably could have got traded again you
• 19:17
  know to another team that needs them bad and says could have got you know more picks for you You know?
• 19:22
  But that brings me to this.
• 19:25
  Was that a worthy trade?
• 19:27
  Did we get our trade value out of this?
• 19:29
  Well,
• 19:30
  you would think to say no,
• 19:31
  because he never touched the field.
• 19:34
  So I don't know if that causes the draft to renege or anything.
• 19:40
  I don't know what the ramifications of this are long-term as far as compensation for the New England Patriots or for the New Orleans Saints.
• 19:49
  How does this work?
• 19:51
  I don't know.
• 19:51
  Like I said,
• 19:52
  they're tight-lipped.
• 19:54
  They're super tight-lipped about the situation.
• 19:58
  Maybe it's an ongoing thing as far as the Saints trying to get down to the bottom of what's...
• 20:03
  really going on maybe they really don't know because he didn't show up to practice on friday he just didn't show up he was there for it like i said every meeting all the off-season stuff all the mini camps and all this other stuff first day of training camp every
• 20:21
  day after until friday and he was just not there and he informed the team over the weekend i'm i'm out so
• 20:33
  i don't know this is a this is an unsolved mystery that i really need solved because i'm more curious or nosy or whatever about it than anything else but hey man i look
• 20:48
  i still have confidence in what we have this isn't a a big blow like oh man the saints gonna suck next year because of it it saying it's going to be the saints the same saints that we were going to get with poke
• 21:00
  We're going to get without them next season.
• 21:03
  And that is,
• 21:05
  I think,
• 21:05
  is going to be a competitive team,
• 21:07
  not a
• 21:09
  Super Bowl team.
• 21:10
  I mean,
• 21:11
  because I've had,
• 21:13
  since the start of training camp,
• 21:14
  I don't know if that awakened something in people,
• 21:17
  in the who that they should.
• 21:19
  But,
• 21:20
  man,
• 21:20
  I've had conversations where people are flying off the handles,
• 21:24
  like,
• 21:24
  man,
• 21:25
  we got it this year,
• 21:26
  man.
• 21:26
  We're going to win.
• 21:28
  12 or 13 games and blah,
• 21:31
  Wait,
• 21:31
  whoa,
• 21:33
  Calm down.
• 21:34
  Let's calm down here.
• 21:37
  Because you're telling me we're only going to lose four games next season?
• 21:41
  I don't see that.
• 21:43
  Have you looked at their schedule?
• 21:44
  No,
• 21:45
  I don't see that.
• 21:47
  Do I see the Saints contending for this division?
• 21:50
  Absolutely.
• 21:50
  I think the Saints have a real good shot of winning this division.
• 21:54
  But as you have seen over the last few seasons,
• 21:58
  it don't take much to win this division you you can win this division with eight games easily eight or nine games should get you to nfc south that's how bad this division is it has actually gotten worse if you look around it's nothing
• 22:13
  has improved only team that has improved in this division is the saints talent wise i i don't see any of the atlanta didn't tampa bay certainly didn't.
• 22:26
  And Carolina
• 22:28
  I don't know.
• 22:28
  They are allergic to getting receivers.
• 22:30
  So they have not,
• 22:31
  nobody else has improved.
• 22:34
  And so we'll see.
• 22:36
  We'll see how it goes.
• 22:37
  Let's just,
• 22:40
  I'm tempering my expectations as for right now.
• 22:44
  I don't know what this team consists of or what they're going to do.
• 22:48
  Even after we get through this preseason,
• 22:52
  I'm still going to be skeptical because it's a preseason.
• 22:56
  You know,
• 22:56
  this isn't going to be a...
• 22:57
  full playbook display of what we what we can expect throughout this regular season it's just gonna be tryouts basically so i don't know man i i'm i'm still excited going forward even though one
• 23:13
  of my biggest storylines going into this season is now done so i i'm still i'm still excited you know the defense
• 23:25
  All accounts show that the defensive line is looking good in camp.
• 23:28
  They're getting a lot of pressure up the middle.
• 23:31
  The secondary is looking good,
• 23:33
  but that can go one of two ways.
• 23:35
  You can look at it one of two ways,
• 23:37
  I should say.
• 23:37
  That is the defensive line improved and getting better,
• 23:42
  or has our offensive line gotten worse?
• 23:45
  And you may ask yourself,
• 23:47
  how can it be any worse than it was last season?
• 23:49
  It can get worse.
• 23:51
  So,
• 23:52
  I don't know.
• 23:55
  Once again,
• 23:56
  we'll have to wait and see.
• 23:58
  But that is the news coming out of Saints camp so far.
• 24:05
  We're not even a weekend,
• 24:06
  and we already got 50 different stories coming out.
• 24:10
  Brian Berzee is out for the season.
• 24:12
  Chris Olave has signed his deal.
• 24:15
  And Rob receiver Jalen Polk has retired from the NFL at the age of 24.
• 24:22
  we'll see if any other news breaks before we get to our first preseason game there's too much going on before we've wrapped up a full week of practice that is way too much and not all good news and so uh let's hope and pray that
• 24:40
  we start trending in a better direction moving forward but i would like to know what do you think of this sudden news of the retirement of jalen polk from the squad
• 24:51
  Do you think it's something...
• 24:53
  nefarious do you think is some uh shenanigans going on or do you think it's truly uh the man's going through some personal issues that he needs to sort out by himself i either way you know i mean either way it's his business until
• 25:10
  you know at the end of the day it was his decision you know he wasn't forced out but it's something that he has to deal with so uh i'd just like to know what What's your thoughts?
• 25:20
  You can contact the show on...
• 25:22
  our website the kbradionetwork.com you can subscribe to the website and get notified of episodes dropping anytime also don't forget about the youtube channel the kbradionetwork channel on youtube where you can like this video and
• 25:41
  subscribe while you dare don't forget about the five stars the reviews and sharing this show if you're listening on apple podcast spotify iHeartRadio,
• 25:49
  wherever you are currently listening.
• 25:51
  to the who that say podcast here on the kb radio network everybody thank you for joining me for this little chit chat about rob receiver jaylen poke retiring from the new orleans saints and the nfl well
• 26:08
  next man up as they say we we're gonna march on let's see how the saints respond going forward until we get to our
• 26:19
  first preseason game next week,
• 26:22
  I'm going to be screaming,
• 26:24
  Who Dat?