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Football at Four: NFL's Guaranteed Contract Issue and Intel on Big Trade · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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  Speaker 1: Football four powered by the Inside of the Birds podcast, brought
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  you by Bet three sixty five. Whatever the sport, whatever
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  the moment, it's never ordinary. At Bet three sixty five.
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  Adam Kaplan's here today, real quick, before we get to Adam.
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  Due to the weather tonight, the Phillies and Padres have
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  been postponed. It will be made up tomorrow as part
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  of a day night doubleheader. It will be Tickets for
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  tonight's game will be valid for the newly scheduled game
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  at six fifteen. Apparently there was supposed to be fireworks tonight.
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  They will now take place after the game. For fans
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  who purchase tickets and parking directly from the Phillies, they
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  will be admitted to the makeup game tomorrow night. So
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  if you had tickets for the original game at one o'clock,
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  you have tickets for that game, And if you have
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  tickets for the game today, they will be for the
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  game tomorrow night. So one oh five six fifteen, that
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  is the day night doubleheader. We will be at Yuri's
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  tomorrow for a Phillies watch bar. We still get day baseball,
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  but now you can hang around and watch both games
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  if you like. Adam Kaplan's here with today's football had
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  four powered by the Inside of the Birds podcast. All Right,
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  Adam Lorraine, I guess up in the Philly area, not
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  down here quite yet, but I'm sure it's coming.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love well, you know, right over the bridge.
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  Speaker 3: Man.
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  Speaker 2: It's uh. I'm glad they did this. Now. One of
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  the worst things. I don't know if you've ever had
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  this happen where. Okay, so you're going to the park,
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  you're going to CBP and they don't cancel and you
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  get there. It's like the worst thing ever. It's kind
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  of like getting in your flight canceled at the worst
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  at the last minute. When you get to the airport,
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  you're like, well, why could you cancel it earlier if
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  the weather is bad? Yep, so there's not gonna be
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  a break in the weather. So yeah, I've done the
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  day night doubleheaders before. When now, this is when I
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  was a diehard, Like this is going back probably when
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  I when I was in high school or in my
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  early twenties. Those are a tough deal, man, because you
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  if you don't live close to the this is back
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  when they of course with the VAT But if you
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  don't live close Mike it's a little bit more of
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  a challenge to come back.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean obviously, and the people from down here too.
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  If you're coming from down here, you don't know you
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  drive up there, you're kind of stuck in the middle.
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  Speaker 3: So no phills today. But we got some football for
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  you today. We got some.
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  Speaker 1: Football news today. The Steelers they make a big trade today.
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  They get yesterday Jalen Ramsey gets traded with Jono Smith,
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  the tight end. They end up getting Mika Fitzpatrick back
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  in this deal. Steelers are making all sorts of moves here.
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  So why do the Steelers make this deal?
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  Speaker 2: All right? So a couple things here. First of all,
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  John O. Smith is from Philadelphia, by the way, so
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  he's an interesting player, Mike. He's what we call two
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  eight ted, and he could block, he could run, kind
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  of like Dallas Goddter. He signed a mega contract back
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  in twenty twenty one with the Patriots because he was
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  with the Titans then and he was like one of
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  the better young tight ends of the league. And unfortunately
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  Smith didn't play well for the Patriots. They got rid
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  of him after two years. He goes to Atlanta revised
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  his career under Arthur Smith, who he played for with
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  the Titans when Smith was their their offense coordinator, and
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  he played for Arthur when Arthur was the play caller
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  and head coach of the Falcons. And then he takes
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  this game to another level. It was really good with Miami,
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  but he wants one more deal. He won one more
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  mega deal and he didn't get it, and Miami was
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  okay with him making over four million, but they were
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  not going to extend his contract, so they traded him
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  to Pittsburgh. Now I know, Mike, it's really odd, Like
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  when you look at some of these movies, you go,
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  wait a minute. They're paying the Steels are paying Pat
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  Fryarmouth over twelve million, and they already signed Darius Slay
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  for ten million and have Joey Porter junior at corners.
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  So what are they doing? Well, a couple of things here, Mike.
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  They're what we call a heavy twelve personnel team. They
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  play a lot of two tight ends and Arthur Smith
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  again does know John Smith because he's coached him with
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  two different spots, and they don't. They're not very deep
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  at receivers, so I could certainly understand this. This makes
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  a lot of sense. Now, how are they gonna make
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  the Jalalen Ramsey thing work. Well, you have to look
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  at something here. Jarry Slade's thirty four. He's the aldest
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  starting corn of the National Football League. Jalen Ramsey signed
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  for four more seasons, so as long as he plays well,
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  he'll be there a long time. And they were they'll
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  make it work. Mike. There's nothing wrong with being very
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  deep a corner. And Jalen Ramsey's going to make you know,
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  just under twenty million from the Steelers this season, so
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  he'll be playing every down if he's if he's healthy,
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  just about or most down. So the bottom line is, Mike,
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  they're gonna make it work. And to make the money
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  work because they took it in a lot of cash.
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  They had to move somebody. They got a clear up
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  some cash, so they cleared up Micka Fitzpatrick. Who, Mike, See,
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  this is the thing. This is like if you just
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  asked a lot of fans who don't follow the Steelers. Oh,
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  Micka Fitzpatrick, he's a great player. Well, he didn't really
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  make a lot of plays on the ball, not just
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  that he only had one interception and low beast defense.
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  He just didn't make any plays. His tape wasn't very good,
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  so it mean it's a fine player, but he's not
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  special anymore. And he goes back, as you said, back
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  to where he was a first round pickts very bizarre.
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  This is just a weird deal. So he goes back.
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  And then the trade that went down today the Titans
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  because excuse me, the Dolphins, because they traded Jonathan Smith.
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  They needed to get a tight end. So Darren Waller
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  came out of retirement, who looked very good for a
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  short period of time with the Giants, and the hamstring
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  problem got him again and he retired. He's coming out
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  of retirement, I'm told. One of the reasons why, not
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  the only reason, but one of the reasons why he
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  is coming out of retirement because he's close with Frank Smith.
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  They know the Smith, he's the offensive coordinator for the Dolphins.
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  That two know each other from previous stops, so that
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  they're very close. So that has something to do with it.
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  But Darren Waller and Mike has overcome a lot in
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  his career with Southern's abuse. He got over that issue.
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  He was a former receiver, if you remember with the Ravens.
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  They moved him to tight end and he really blew
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  it up with the Raiders and it unfortunately hamstring injuries
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  got him. But he's coming out of retirement. The Dolphins
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  are a team. If you're a Dolphins fan, I know,
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  the Dolphins are a pretty good national following. Like, on
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  one hand, you see the Steelers who are going for
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  they clearly Aaron Rodgers DK Metcalf trade. Then you're the
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  Then you're the Dolphins. Mike, people are like, what are
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  they trying to do? They're a team that I've used
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  this term. They're stuck in neutral, They're stuck in the middle.
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  They just don't know who they want to be.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's for sure. The Dolphins perpetually, you know, haven't
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  been really good since Dan Marino left town the Dolphins.
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  Was last time the Dolphins won a playoff game? My gosh,
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  it seems like they have been kind of, as you
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  just said, stuck in neutral.
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  Speaker 3: There.
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  Speaker 1: Real quick, we've been talking Steelers there. Do you and
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  envision that TJ. Watt is playing for somebody else?
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  Speaker 2: Let me dress that. So I did a cool piece
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  for Inside the Birds today on it's on pot or YouTube.
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  So I did it like a thirty minute video on
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  both teams, the Dolphins and a little bit on the Giants,
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  but Dolphins because of the Waller trade. Dolphins and Steeler stuff.
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  But with TJ. Watt, my understanding is they would like
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  to extend his contract, like they definitely want him Nis
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  crew with the Steelers, they want to keep them the
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  Steelers due. But and you have to remember, Mike, the TJ.
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  Watt extension that happened three years ago. People were worried
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  about it. It didn't get done until September tenth, right
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  around when the start of the season happened. So look,
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  they have time now. He ready showed that he's not
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  happy and he missed their mandatory camp. That shows that
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  he's serious. And he had a hold in the last
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  time more or less. So you could see that happening. Now,
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  why would you trade him? Well, he does turn thirty
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  one this fall. He's had some injuries in his career.
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  You have to be careful, Mike, and particularly this sport.
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  He's not a quarterback who could play till his late
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  thirties early forties. He's an that rusher. These guys usually
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  kind of losing around thirty three years old thirty four
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  when they're done. It's highly the Brandon Grave situation thirty
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  six and Brandon had a shriff of injuries. You rarely
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  see guys play that all that long, so you got
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  to be careful. And then you've got the Michael Parsons
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  contract that should average forty million plus a season. Well,
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  if i'm TJ. Watt, I want to see what that
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  deal looks like. Not that he's going to get forty
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  million this season, but you want to see how close
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  you can get. You want to see the structure and
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  the Steelers look they because if you trade TJ. Watt,
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  I mean I don't know. They love Nate Nick Herbgnate's
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  younger brother. But that's not a reason to make this.
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  To make a trade. You you want to keep them.
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  You want Watt, who's probably going to be Hall of
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  Famer close to it like his brother. You want to
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  be careful because you don't want to get worse when
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  you're going for it. Mike. That's why I don't see
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  it happening. I don't rule it out until you got
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  a deal done. You don't have a deal done, and
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  I've used you know, I've told you about this over
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  the years when I talk to the Raiders when they
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  swore to me they were not going to trade Khalil Mack.
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  John Gruden got concerned that Mack wouldn't show up. He
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  was wrong, by the way, Mac she went on the
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  records that he never thought of missing the start of
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  the season with the Raiders. They Gruden got worried and
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  he traded to the Bear. So you never say never
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  with these things. We've sent a lot of the Steelers,
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  by the way, before we move on here, this is
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  an old school team that usually does not get very
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  involved in the trademarket or a free agency that is
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  now change with DK Metcalf, Jonah Smith, Janen Ramsey, Aaron Rodgers,
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  now Andy Widdell. I know he doesn't have personal control.
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  He's the assistant shoeneral manager. Just to remember where he
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  came from from, Philly. Ol Mar Kahn is the general manager.
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  He makes all the decisions. But I mean, you wonder
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  what kind of influenced and he could have on his
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  close friend Omar Con. I'm just bringing that up because
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  just fascinating. They've never been like this before. The Steelers
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  never get involved like this, but now they are.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, Adam Kaplin's with US year Football and
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  for last time the Dolphins won a playoff game, it
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  was the year two thousand.
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  Speaker 3: The head coach, Are you serious? It was dape As
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  J Peely Fiedler.
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  Speaker 2: You're gonna say Jake Peterson, Jay Fiedler. Sorry, oh J Fielder,
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  J Fielder? Yes, yes, from where do you go to Cornell?
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  Maybe that's sound right?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, a couple of coffee? Fieedler.
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  Speaker 2: Well, no, there wasa or need to go to Hopster.
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  I can't remember where Jay Fielder went, but yeah that yeah, yeah, wow,
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  that that's crazy man Dartmouth.
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  Speaker 3: He went to Dartmouth, Dartmouth.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, IVY League, Yes, IVY League, ecty won a playoff game?
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  What's that?
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  Speaker 3: IVY League?
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  Speaker 1: And by the way, he did have a cup of
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  coffee with the Eagles in nineteen years.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I was gonna say, might have been at the
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  end of the rich co Tite era of fact. Maybe
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  that's why you see rich Cochite if you remember. And
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  he was terrible for the Jets. What were they won
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  in fifteen? He brought in a number of former Eagles
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  and unfortunately didn't work out well. But yeah, I just
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  wanted to talk about the Steelers trade because when we
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  see what's going on the NBN. I heard your your
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  segment earlier talking six Ers and obviously NBA Fridge's wild,
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  but it is very rare that we see a trade
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  of this magnitude in June. At the end of June,
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  of course, it's it was cool. I mean, it was
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  good to see that. And I'm just kind of fascinating
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  because the Steelers, this is not what they do, but
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  you know what, you got to shake it up sometimes.
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  Speaker 3: Good for them, all right, I do want to get
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  into this.
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  Speaker 1: I did listen to the Pablo Tore I'm halfway through
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  with Mike Florio, about seventy five percent through.
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  Speaker 3: I was listening to it the other day. And so this.
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  Speaker 1: Whole thing with the collusion and the arbitrators in regard
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  to veteran contracts here do we ever see that happening.
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  We've seen these teams some sort of circumvent it with
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  you know, all sorts of different ways. But that whole
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  podcast is fascinating. Number One, if you haven't heard of
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  at the Pablo Tore Mike Florio conversation on the collusion situation,
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  I'm up right around the point where they're talking about
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  the new player rep when JT. Trader got you know,
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  basically cut and then his So that's about where I'm
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  at here. Do you ever think we'll see these guaranteed
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  contracts in the NFL?
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  Speaker 2: No, No, I don't. Now, all right, I'm gonna go.
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  You said something in passing and let me kind of
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  extrapolate and explain and take it a little farther. So
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  we've seen one, and that's the whole part of this
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  alleged collusion. Were strongly suggested that teams don't do anything
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  like this in the NFL's Management Council, which has to
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  approve every NFL contract, that the terms are sent in
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  the structure, and there's certain way contracts have to be done,
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  and they could they sometimes don't get passed so the
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  language is adjusted. But so what happened was Mike nin
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  Pablo Terrey and Mike talk about it. But Pablo got
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  hold of the Arbitrator's rule, in which is sixty one
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  pages where it says, quote, there was a little question
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  that the NFL Management Council, with a blessing of the Commissioner,
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  couraged thirty two clubs to reduce guarantees that our veteran
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  contracts at the twenty two annual owners mings, Well, guess what.
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  I was there at Palm Beach and I'll never forget this, Mike.
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  So I ran into a bunch of contract negotiators that
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  were there and general managers and so many teams were
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  upset with the Browns. I'm not going to use the
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  language that they used, but they were super mad, like,
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  how could you do a contract like this, specifically for
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  a guy had allegations against them off the field. Pretty serious.
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  Not charge anything with anything with Deshaun Watson, but but
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  when you do a contract like this, you deal with
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  a guy with a which questionable character, and you're also
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  going against the way things are being done, which, honestly, Mike,
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  players deserve it. Now, I'm not saying Deshaun Watson did.
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  He didn't. By the way, the last good season he
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  had was in twenty twenty, so it wasn't like he
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  was coming off a good year. But when you really
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  look at it, Kirk Cousins had the three years fully
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  guaranteed when he went to Minnesota coming over from Washington.
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  But the reason I don't think it'll happen, Mike and
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  the NFLPI did not push even remotely hard enough in
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  twenty twenty, they seem to cave on that stuff. They
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  just they always pick what they want light off season.
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  They don't want to be bothered by coaches when they're
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  in the building before, when they're working out in February
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  and March, they don't want to be told what to
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  do until May or whatever the case may be. For OTAs,
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  they just never really push for fully guaranteed money, and
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  owners are not. I just don't think it'll ever happen.
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  I remember in eleven it was brought up briefly. Wasn't
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  even close. Twenty twenty a little bit stronger. Nope, not
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  even close. Now we've had one deal. Now what you're
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  seeing now is Mike, and I'll give you a little
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  bit before I move on. Here, you're seeing a bunch
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  of three years fully guaranteed signing. If they're called an
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  advanced guarantee. If they're on the roster in year free
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  in March, you're four is guaranteed. But they have to
• 14:57
  be on the roster then to get the next year
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  fully game garantee. Now the other thing is and and
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  Mike talks about this Florio and this has been a
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  pet peeve of mine. It's called the NFL's funding rule
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  almost like ninety percent of full of guaranteed money. It's signing,
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  Mike has to be put in a separate account, an
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  escrow account, because it's based on forty or fifty years
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  going back when clubs weren't very cash rich as they
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  are now, and there was a worry from the NFLPA
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  that some of these clubs can run out of money.
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  Trust me on this mic, that ain't happening anymore, or
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  that will never happen. Look, you saw when Leonard Toast
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  almost moved the Eagles to Phoenix. Yeah, I remember that
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  nteen eighty four, I Mike, I'm telling you, like that
• 15:40
  was pretty real. That was a real story. Leonard Toast,
• 15:44
  as you might remember, lost a lot of money and
• 15:47
  that's not happening anymore. And that's that rule's got to
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  be taken out a place. So that's another part of
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  the side. Just what I'm glad you brought this up,
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  because this is not like the NBA with these fully
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  guaranteed contracts for five six years and you know Baseball's
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  sanity with ten eleven, twelve fully guaranteed. They adn't happen
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  in the NFL. Man and last Physical Sports obviously, and a.
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  Speaker 1: Lot of people wonder if you want to listen to
• 16:07
  the podcast with Florio and Pablo Torre, you go check
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  it out on all podcasting blackboards. But why hasn't this
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  collusion thing been talked about more?
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  Speaker 3: Has been one of those I don't know.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I'm Mike, I I'm talking about with you.
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  I talked about the Fox I work for Fox Sports
• 16:23
  Ready on the weekends. I do a couple of seconds
• 16:26
  with them on Saturday and Sunday. We talked about it.
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  I've talked with Carrie Rhoades. You know, I've known that
• 16:32
  Fox Sports Ready for a number of years. It's a
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  real thing. It's it's terrible that the NFLPA didn't get
• 16:38
  it out there. They should have put a statement out.
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  Now they may be embarrassed by the ruling, but how
• 16:44
  do you not get that out there? What? I can't
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  figure that out. I mean, I know they're not happy
• 16:49
  about it, but so what said you say? They're not
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  happy with the ruling and they're going to fight like
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  hel for that.
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  Speaker 3: Now.
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  Speaker 2: The CBA is not up till March March of twenty
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  thirty one, so you've got five years. But this is
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  just ridiculous, Mike, that they didn't want that out. Mike's right,
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  Florida's right. I'm just I'm stunned by it.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Adam Kaplan a football at four in the Buffs,
• 17:12
  which gets us another day closer to Eagles training camp.
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  Speaker 3: They report three weeks from today.
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  Speaker 2: Ah yeah, man, I'm looking forward to it. And by
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  the way, when the Browns come in for two practices, yeah,
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  which they've done before, they did it two years ago. Here.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, we will be all over that of course. And
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  the guys over at the Inside of the Birds podcast.
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  You can check out all of their coverage over at
• 17:33
  Inside the Birds dot com and wherever you get your podcast. Adam,
• 17:36
  good stuff, man, Thank you,