Latest / NFL Now / The Latest Trades, Jalen Carter, & Top 10 Free Agents
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
- 0:08Speaker 1: with iHeartRadio. Were on the free agency so well, let's
- 0:13Speaker 1: just say the off season begins today. The Panthers now
- 0:17Speaker 1: control the draft. Sources say they have traded up from
- 0:20Speaker 1: the number nine overall pick all the way to number one,
- 0:25Speaker 1: Derek Carr agreeing to a contract with the New Orleans Saints.
- 0:29Speaker 1: The Chicago Bears are signing Tremaine Edmonds, the star linebacker
- 0:33Speaker 1: formerly of the Buffalo Bills. Jimmy g headed to the
- 0:37Speaker 1: Raiders after six years with the San Francisco forty nine ers.
- 0:40Speaker 1: See it is a blockbuster trade. The New York Giants
- 0:44Speaker 1: acquiring star tight end Darren Waller. Or Orlando Brown is
- 0:49Speaker 1: on his way to the Bengals. The Lions are signing
- 0:53Speaker 1: former Bears running back David Montgomery. Javon Hargrave was going
- 0:57Speaker 1: to the San Francisco forty nine Ers for four years
- 1:01Speaker 1: eighty four million dollars. Breaking news here. Cowboys are releasing
- 1:06Speaker 1: Ezekiel Elliott. It's official now. In Miami, the Dolphins have
- 1:10Speaker 1: an outs their trade with the Rams for safety Jalen Ramsey.
- 1:14Speaker 1: I'll be back on the air tomorrow. Waiting on Aaron.
- 1:19Speaker 1: So there's the stuff that you could say. There's nothing
- 1:21Speaker 1: you could say that can make it better. You're right.
- 1:22Speaker 1: Other than that, it's overy happy Saint Patrick's Day. Welcome
- 1:35Speaker 1: into NFL now. We are live in the NFL Network
- 1:38Speaker 1: news room alongside Jim Trotter, Greg Rosenthal, Steve White. I
- 1:41Speaker 1: am omar ree. I swear I'm wearing green pants. Smore
- 1:44Speaker 1: has a nice olive one. But Jim, Greg maybe a
- 1:48Speaker 1: little pinch later. I mean, in my outfit that came
- 1:51Speaker 1: in with, I was wearing green, but then they make
- 1:53Speaker 1: me look like a little boy, like dressed nice professional.
- 1:57Speaker 1: We're still waiting to see if Aaron Rodgers is going
- 1:59Speaker 1: to trade that dark green for Gotham green. We know
- 2:02Speaker 1: Alan Lazar did. It's new right now to NFL Network.
- 2:06Speaker 1: Alan Lazard officially a member of the New York Jets.
- 2:09Speaker 1: He was introduced a little earlier today after signing his
- 2:12Speaker 1: four year, forty four million dollar contract. That's according to
- 2:16Speaker 1: Mike Carroll Folo. Of course, this we think is one
- 2:18Speaker 1: of the centerpiece moves that will help attract Aaron Rodgers
- 2:22Speaker 1: to New York. Here's Alan Lazard at his introductory press
- 2:25Speaker 1: conference a little earlier today. Born and raised in the Midwest,
- 2:32Speaker 1: the monte Iowa now played in Green Bay these past
- 2:34Speaker 1: few years. For personally, for me, I just wanted to
- 2:36Speaker 1: get to a big city. I wanted to get to
- 2:38Speaker 1: a spot that especially has just a melting pot of
- 2:42Speaker 1: culture and just be able to get that experience, you know,
- 2:45Speaker 1: the bright lights New York City is something. You know.
- 2:48Speaker 1: I came out here for the first time a few
- 2:50Speaker 1: months ago to get the experience of the city and everything.
- 2:53Speaker 1: So that was something that really attracted me to come
- 2:56Speaker 1: to New York during my time was Aaron and Green Bay.
- 3:00Speaker 1: You know, he really put his arm around me, and
- 3:02Speaker 1: he's a big reason why I'm here today. I can't
- 3:05Speaker 1: deny that. You know, he stood up on a table
- 3:08Speaker 1: for me during training camp when I probably didn't deserve
- 3:11Speaker 1: to make the roster, at least in the front office's eyes,
- 3:16Speaker 1: and he called for me to be in the game.
- 3:19Speaker 1: He's relied on me and a lot of heavy pressure
- 3:22Speaker 1: situations and has always believed in me. And so as
- 3:25Speaker 1: a wide receiver, the best relationship you can have is
- 3:27Speaker 1: with the quarterback, and the relationship I have with him
- 3:30Speaker 1: has been phenomenal. So Rogers building a lot of confidence
- 3:34Speaker 1: in Alan Lazard, Mike Garofolo, Mike. We started the show
- 3:38Speaker 1: with Rich Eisen expressing his frustration on Monday that this
- 3:42Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers situation wasn't yet done. It is now Friday, Mike,
- 3:46Speaker 1: and it's still not done. What's the latest here on
- 3:49Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers potential landing in New York? Ohmar. Everybody seems
- 3:54Speaker 1: to understand that this is going to get done at
- 3:56Speaker 1: some point. The question now is just when does it
- 3:58Speaker 1: have to get done? Like, what's the next pressure point?
- 4:01Speaker 1: Who's got the leverage? I was just walking around here
- 4:04Speaker 1: and North. He was stopped by a Jets fan who said,
- 4:06Speaker 1: isn't the pressure more on the Jets? Don't the Packers
- 4:10Speaker 1: have more leverage? And I said, look, everybody has got
- 4:13Speaker 1: a little bit of leverage either way on this one,
- 4:15Speaker 1: depending on how you look at it. Yes, the Packers
- 4:17Speaker 1: don't have any don't have to do anything with Rogers
- 4:19Speaker 1: contract until September. But to me, the next pressure point
- 4:23Speaker 1: is the draft because draft picks are going to be
- 4:26Speaker 1: involved in this trade, and if you're the Packers, don't
- 4:30Speaker 1: you want the draft picks in twenty twenty three rather
- 4:33Speaker 1: than the draft picks in twenty twenty four for a
- 4:35Speaker 1: few reasons. Number one, these are going to be higher
- 4:38Speaker 1: picks than next year's most likely because Aaron Rodgers is
- 4:42Speaker 1: being added to a talented team, they should be better.
- 4:45Speaker 1: So this year it's thirteenth in the first round, the
- 4:48Speaker 1: forty third overall in the second round. You would think
- 4:51Speaker 1: that if you're trading for next year's picks, they're going
- 4:53Speaker 1: to be lower. Plus, if you're the Packers and you
- 4:55Speaker 1: get this year's picks, those guys can start contributing for
- 4:58Speaker 1: you in twenty twenty three versus twenty twenty four. Now,
- 5:01Speaker 1: some might say, don't the Jets want to get this done,
- 5:04Speaker 1: Just get this over with, get Rogers in the building. Well, look,
- 5:07Speaker 1: he really doesn't have to start throwing in OTA's and
- 5:10Speaker 1: minicamp until we get into what may. So that's after
- 5:13Speaker 1: the draft. Anyway, if he wants to throw with his targets,
- 5:16Speaker 1: he can do that. He can fly into California, he
- 5:18Speaker 1: can come here, he can work with them wherever. Right
- 5:21Speaker 1: and as far as knowing the offense, he already knows it.
- 5:24Speaker 1: Nathaniel Hackett and he go way back, the new offensive
- 5:27Speaker 1: coordinator with the Jets. So I listen to me, I
- 5:30Speaker 1: think you're looking at that pressure point of next month's draft.
- 5:34Speaker 1: Lord help us if it takes that long. Hopefully sometime
- 5:36Speaker 1: before then. But to me, that's the next pressure point
- 5:39Speaker 1: in this and it puts the leverage with the Jets.
- 5:41Speaker 1: In my opinion, that would be another forty one days
- 5:44Speaker 1: until the draft. It's April twenties. Say that right here
- 5:48Speaker 1: on NFL Network. We'll see if that gets figured out.
- 5:50Speaker 1: Looks like the Raiders and Jimmy Garoppolo figured out the contract.
- 5:55Speaker 1: He was supposed to be introduced yesterday. It's going to
- 5:57Speaker 1: happen a little later today. We'll carry it for you
- 5:59Speaker 1: live right here on NFL Network. What's the story there,
- 6:02Speaker 1: Mike Omar, the Jimmy Garoppolo contract and press conference, the
- 6:08Speaker 1: signing in the press conference, pushback because the side has
- 6:10Speaker 1: to just work out a few minor details related to
- 6:14Speaker 1: the contract, is what we're being told. And it was
- 6:18Speaker 1: never at any point communicated to us that this was
- 6:21Speaker 1: in danger of blowing up the whole agreement. It was
- 6:24Speaker 1: just don't worry, just gonna take a little bit longer,
- 6:26Speaker 1: but it'll get done. And sure enough, this morning I
- 6:28Speaker 1: was told by a source the deal was completed at
- 6:31Speaker 1: least verbally. Garoppolo now headed to the facility to sign
- 6:35Speaker 1: the contract and the press conference shortly thereafter, So the
- 6:38Speaker 1: Raiders officially have Jimmy Garoppolo on that three year, sixty
- 6:42Speaker 1: seven and a half million dollar deal. He heads to
- 6:45Speaker 1: Vegas to reunite with Josh McDaniels. That is done. I
- 6:50Speaker 1: don't think, I say officially until he actually signs that.
- 6:52Speaker 1: I'm waiting for the Raiders to tweet out. They love
- 6:53Speaker 1: to tweet out the picture of the guys signing it
- 6:55Speaker 1: at the end of the table. We don't have that yet.
- 6:57Speaker 1: Once we do, then it'll be official. Yeah. Scheduled for
- 7:00Speaker 1: three o'clock eastern noon Pacific. His introductory press conference again
- 7:04Speaker 1: will bring to life right here on NFL network. Well,
- 7:06Speaker 1: he's a former Patriot. How about the newest Patriot? What
- 7:09Speaker 1: more can you tell us about? Another weapon for Mac Jones? Right,
- 7:13Speaker 1: Mike GISICKI signing a one year deal that I am
- 7:15Speaker 1: told is worth a maximum of nine million dollars the
- 7:18Speaker 1: base value of it somewhere in between. So Ghisicky can
- 7:21Speaker 1: really almost double the value of this deal based on
- 7:24Speaker 1: his performance with the Patriots. And listen, I think it's
- 7:26Speaker 1: a he's got a shot to do that. You know,
- 7:28Speaker 1: the numbers were down last year in Miami, but there
- 7:31Speaker 1: was a question of his bit within that offense. I
- 7:33Speaker 1: think this is going to be a better fit for him.
- 7:35Speaker 1: We've seen the Patriots over the years be able to
- 7:37Speaker 1: use tight ends and non traditional roles. In GHISICKI is
- 7:40Speaker 1: a non traditional tight end, the guy that can line
- 7:42Speaker 1: up all over the place for you. So this feels
- 7:45Speaker 1: like a good fit. And the one year deal gives
- 7:47Speaker 1: him a chance to reset his value. So perhaps at
- 7:50Speaker 1: this point next year we're talking about a much bigger,
- 7:53Speaker 1: multi year deal for Ghisicky. We'll see. We've been seeing
- 7:55Speaker 1: musical chairs with the tackle position. Orlando Brown landing in Cincinnati,
- 7:59Speaker 1: Juan Taylor taking his spot in Kansas City. But what
- 8:02Speaker 1: does that mean now for Bengals tackle Jonah Williams. Well,
- 8:07Speaker 1: life is a flat circle. You know. You see that
- 8:10Speaker 1: meme that's tweeted out with Matthew McConaughey talking about how
- 8:14Speaker 1: things has kind of come around. Well, you've got Orlando Brown,
- 8:16Speaker 1: who's adamant that he's a left tackle, and the Bengal saying, yeah,
- 8:19Speaker 1: we believe that you can come play here. Well, we
- 8:21Speaker 1: had Jonah Williams a couple of years ago in the draft,
- 8:23Speaker 1: telling teams no, I'm not a guard. No I'm not
- 8:26Speaker 1: a right tackle, that's where some teams were projecting him.
- 8:29Speaker 1: I'm a left tackle. So now Brown comes in, takes Jonah's,
- 8:32Speaker 1: takes williams spot, and Williams is now saying, well, if
- 8:35Speaker 1: I'm not gonna play left tackle, I want to go
- 8:37Speaker 1: somewhere where I can. So, according to or Ian Rappaport,
- 8:39Speaker 1: Williams has requested a trade from the Bengals following the
- 8:43Speaker 1: signing of Brown. He's coming off that knee injury. We'll
- 8:45Speaker 1: see where this one goes. But the Bengals using their
- 8:49Speaker 1: resources to pay Brown, you would think that they would
- 8:51Speaker 1: want to save money going forward and get some capital
- 8:53Speaker 1: in return for Williams and would honor his request. But
- 8:57Speaker 1: we'll see nothing imminent right now. We'll keep the track
- 9:00Speaker 1: of it for you. Omar, Yeah, I like the McConaughey
- 9:02Speaker 1: Wolf of Wall Street. I like that. Oh that's a
- 9:06Speaker 1: good dude. Yeah. As far as Gardner literally talks about
- 9:09Speaker 1: the you know the numbers, it's all fake, right, We
- 9:11Speaker 1: kind of use that for the salary cap sometimes. Yeah,
- 9:13Speaker 1: cap is right. Yeah, just made up stuff sometimes. Gardner
- 9:17Speaker 1: Minshew nothing made up about his game. He's been productive
- 9:20Speaker 1: at times, He's had an opportunity to hit the field,
- 9:21Speaker 1: and he has a new team. Now what more can
- 9:23Speaker 1: he tell us about that? That's right. Much like Shane
- 9:26Speaker 1: Steikin went from Philadelphia to Indianapolis as the new head coach,
- 9:31Speaker 1: now comes Gardner Minshew, following the offensive coordinator for him
- 9:34Speaker 1: last year with the Eagles, a one year deal that
- 9:37Speaker 1: Tom Pellicero is told is worth three and a half
- 9:40Speaker 1: million dollars. You know, he's a guy that can help
- 9:43Speaker 1: the next quarterback. Whoever the quarterback winds up being, could
- 9:46Speaker 1: wind up be in Minshe at least to start the season.
- 9:48Speaker 1: We'll see what happens with the Indianapolis Colts. Minshew's a
- 9:51Speaker 1: competitive son of a gun, so don't expect him to
- 9:53Speaker 1: come in and say, hey, I'm just gonna wind up
- 9:55Speaker 1: being the backup here. Now. He feels like he's got
- 9:57Speaker 1: a shot to play there in Indianapolis, so let's see
- 10:00Speaker 1: how that one goes. And then in Philadelphia there's still
- 10:03Speaker 1: need a backup now for Jalen Hurts. Who might that be?
- 10:07Speaker 1: Marcus Mariota agreeing to a one year, five million dollars
- 10:11Speaker 1: deal with the Eagles, who we thought might trade for
- 10:13Speaker 1: him back in I think you said it was twenty fifteen.
- 10:15Speaker 1: I keep forgetting exactly it was twenty fifteen, if I'm
- 10:17Speaker 1: not mistaken. Well, Mariota finally an Eagle, this time under
- 10:22Speaker 1: Nick Sirianni, not Chip Kelly, as we thought was gonna
- 10:24Speaker 1: be the case years ago. Look, it's a good scheme
- 10:27Speaker 1: fit for him. The thought is if Jalen Hurts goes
- 10:30Speaker 1: down for a game or two, we saw that last
- 10:32Speaker 1: year with that shoulder injury, Mariota can slide in nicely
- 10:35Speaker 1: and you won't have to disrupt thing. So that's how
- 10:38Speaker 1: this one came together for Marcus Mariota and the Eagles.
- 10:41Speaker 1: Mariota finally in Philly. All right, there he goes now
- 10:44Speaker 1: gonna play there for Nick Sirianni and the rest of
- 10:47Speaker 1: that Eagles crew. Mike Garifolo, thank you very much as always,
- 10:51Speaker 1: And we were just talking about Marcus Mariota leaving Atlanta.
- 10:54Speaker 1: They have Taylor Heineken, of course, Desmond Ritter from last season.
- 10:57Speaker 1: So as we look forward here Steve to the Falcons,
- 11:00Speaker 1: they're holding the number eight pick. Maybe we thought quarterback
- 11:03Speaker 1: might have been in play for them earlier this off season.
- 11:06Speaker 1: I don't know if that's the case anymore. What do
- 11:07Speaker 1: you think about that quarterback? Offensive tackle? You know, because
- 11:10Speaker 1: Caleb McGarry, their right tackle, was a free agent, they
- 11:12Speaker 1: let him test the market. Then they end up resigning
- 11:15Speaker 1: McGarry to pair next to Chris Lynstrom, the right guard
- 11:18Speaker 1: the right side that was so effective last year. They
- 11:21Speaker 1: paid Lynstrom a long extension. But as we know, this
- 11:24Speaker 1: is a team now by resigning those guys, going out
- 11:27Speaker 1: of getting Jesse Bates at safety and then adding some
- 11:30Speaker 1: linebacker help with Ellis coming over from the Saints and
- 11:33Speaker 1: David on Meiada defensive tackle from the Saints. I hate
- 11:37Speaker 1: saying this about a top ten team because I always
- 11:38Speaker 1: believe that it's a myth. But now with a team
- 11:40Speaker 1: of the eighth pick, they can take the best player available,
- 11:43Speaker 1: whether it's an edge player, whether it's a corner. Do
- 11:46Speaker 1: they go back to the wide receiver? Well, but what
- 11:48Speaker 1: they did in free agency has allowed them that free
- 11:51Speaker 1: that that option to even possibly trade back and address
- 11:55Speaker 1: those same positions. So you saw that they did in
- 11:58Speaker 1: a free agency at how it impacts the draft and
- 12:00Speaker 1: how they've tried to shape this team over the past
- 12:03Speaker 1: couple of years to build around their quarter back, whether
- 12:05Speaker 1: it be Ritter or whether it be somebody else as
- 12:08Speaker 1: they move forward. You know, I've been surprised because they
- 12:10Speaker 1: haven't spent at quarterback. They're a team that hasn't been
- 12:13Speaker 1: mentioned enough as a candidate for some of these receivers
- 12:15Speaker 1: we talked about. So when you're looking at the potential
- 12:17Speaker 1: trade market for some of the bigger names, or maybe
- 12:20Speaker 1: even an OBJ landing spot, to me, Atlanta would make
- 12:23Speaker 1: sense because they've saved that cap space by not spending
- 12:26Speaker 1: at quarterback. I'm just curious, Steve, you know this team
- 12:29Speaker 1: as well as anyone. You really think they would pass
- 12:31Speaker 1: on a quarterback at eight if one of these four,
- 12:34Speaker 1: If one of those four drops, they're going to think
- 12:35Speaker 1: about it. I will say that, especially a guy like Richardson,
- 12:38Speaker 1: whose skill set fits what they like to do with
- 12:40Speaker 1: that mobile pocket could run the ball. It's got to
- 12:43Speaker 1: be something that they think about. But I think that's
- 12:45Speaker 1: also where they dangle that carrot to see if some
- 12:47Speaker 1: team wants to come up. Terry Fontineau Arthur Smith seemed
- 12:49Speaker 1: to be building things in the right direction for Atlanta.
- 12:52Speaker 1: Let's stay in the state of Georgia. Jalen Carter. At
- 12:56Speaker 1: one time, Jim thought to be maybe the number one
- 12:58Speaker 1: overall pick, the big defensive tackle from Georgia's gotten into
- 13:02Speaker 1: some off field trouble here of late. Whatever you hear
- 13:05Speaker 1: about his future, Yeah, you know. I talked to some
- 13:08Speaker 1: personnel people at the draft about him when the story
- 13:10Speaker 1: initially broke about this drag racing incident, and they said
- 13:13Speaker 1: they didn't see a way unless he were arrested and
- 13:16Speaker 1: to serve time that he would fall out of the
- 13:18Speaker 1: top ten after his pro day. I reached out to
- 13:21Speaker 1: some of these same people and the response was not
- 13:24Speaker 1: the same. The response now is we have some concerns,
- 13:28Speaker 1: and you can use whatever words you want to use,
- 13:30Speaker 1: whether it's character, whatever. But the one word I heard
- 13:32Speaker 1: from one executive yesterday was professionalism. Pro day is a
- 13:37Speaker 1: job interview for him not to be able to finish
- 13:40Speaker 1: the drills, says to them, how professional are you? So, look,
- 13:44Speaker 1: he's a guy that initially was talked about as possibly
- 13:47Speaker 1: being a number one pick overall, and now there as
- 13:49Speaker 1: an opportunity he may fall out of the top ten.
- 13:51Speaker 1: So is there a team out there that may say
- 13:53Speaker 1: we think we can get through to him because of
- 13:55Speaker 1: his talent, and the word that was used by personnel
- 13:58Speaker 1: people was special in terms of talking about his ability.
- 14:02Speaker 1: Do these other things now push him down and the
- 14:05Speaker 1: opinion of these personnel people has changed. So it's going
- 14:09Speaker 1: to be interesting what happens with him. I agree, Jim. Look,
- 14:11Speaker 1: he added nine pounds from the combine to his pro day.
- 14:14Speaker 1: That's usual where guys really coming more fit, especially when
- 14:18Speaker 1: they don't perform at the combine, which we know he
- 14:20Speaker 1: didn't do all the drills there. I think one thing
- 14:23Speaker 1: that's also going to be very important to him in
- 14:24Speaker 1: the interviews and besides some of the all field stuff
- 14:28Speaker 1: is where is he mentally? I mean, he's a young
- 14:31Speaker 1: man who was drag racing where a teammate and another
- 14:34Speaker 1: staff or from University of Georgia died. I mean that's
- 14:37Speaker 1: a tough thing to have to cope with at any age,
- 14:40Speaker 1: at any maturity level. You know, where is he? You know?
- 14:43Speaker 1: Does he need to help with that? I mean, I
- 14:45Speaker 1: just think of myself at that age. I mean that's
- 14:47Speaker 1: going to weigh on me a little bit. So I
- 14:49Speaker 1: just I would hope these teams are really kind of
- 14:51Speaker 1: checking on his mental health. Right. I'm glad he brought
- 14:54Speaker 1: that up, because Jalen Carter is going through so much
- 14:58Speaker 1: off the field, and how can he handle that while
- 15:01Speaker 1: also being in the spotlight of the potential number one
- 15:04Speaker 1: over I'll pick. You would think it's difficult to ascertain
- 15:08Speaker 1: what this young man's future is going to be. But
- 15:10Speaker 1: this isn't just a decision about bringing him right now
- 15:12Speaker 1: and where he is right now, where can he be
- 15:14Speaker 1: in the next four years? And so many evaluators say
- 15:17Speaker 1: it's about the tape, and we see NFL teams talk
- 15:20Speaker 1: about character and then they trade and give a guaranteed
- 15:23Speaker 1: contract to Deshaun Watson. So I have a hard time
- 15:26Speaker 1: believing that a man this talented, who's making mistakes and
- 15:30Speaker 1: maybe not acting mature at this age, that they aren't
- 15:33Speaker 1: going to see a way to bring him into their
- 15:35Speaker 1: building and still give him the opportunity that he wants,
- 15:39Speaker 1: probably towards the top of the draft, because he's the
- 15:41Speaker 1: number one talent in the draft. I'm just telling you,
- 15:44Speaker 1: the people I talk to loved him at the combine,
- 15:47Speaker 1: and so to hear them flip now and say we
- 15:50Speaker 1: have some concerns, I'm not in any way saying he
- 15:53Speaker 1: falls out of the top ten. I'm not in any
- 15:55Speaker 1: way saying he falls out of the first round. I'm
- 15:57Speaker 1: just saying to you, these same people have concerns, and
- 16:00Speaker 1: I'm saying I think to Greg's point, they now have
- 16:02Speaker 1: forty one days to tuck themselves back into it with
- 16:05Speaker 1: that kind of talent. We heard you mentioned Odell Beckham
- 16:08Speaker 1: Junior with the Falcons talk. We saw Odell tweeting with
- 16:11Speaker 1: se Quon Barkley yesterday. Hey go tell Joe Joe Shane,
- 16:15Speaker 1: the Giants general manager. Give my agent a call, man.
- 16:18Speaker 1: What do you make of the Giants need at receiver here? Great?
- 16:20Speaker 1: You know they're putting it out that they're not going
- 16:22Speaker 1: to be spending big at wide receiver. They've made their
- 16:24Speaker 1: wide receiver moves in free agency, and that's Paris Campbell
- 16:27Speaker 1: one year, three million dollar contract, and then they brought
- 16:29Speaker 1: back Darius Slayton, who I think that was a really
- 16:31Speaker 1: good bargain for the Giants. So they're a team that
- 16:34Speaker 1: I think is gonna take a wide receiver in the draft. Look,
- 16:37Speaker 1: you can't solve everything in free agency, but we learned
- 16:39Speaker 1: about what teams are going to do in the draft
- 16:41Speaker 1: sometimes through how they act in free agency. So they
- 16:45Speaker 1: brought in those veterans, they brought back Slayton, they got Campbell,
- 16:48Speaker 1: they bring in Darren Waller, who's now kind of their
- 16:50Speaker 1: number one pass catcher in terms of talent, and I
- 16:53Speaker 1: think that's a position they just gotta take in the draft.
- 16:56Speaker 1: I think there'll be some good receivers available late in
- 16:58Speaker 1: the first round. Yeah, and there may be some receivers
- 17:00Speaker 1: and federal receivers available post draft. I mean, look, they
- 17:03Speaker 1: signed Danny Joeltons to this extension. Yeah, do everything they
- 17:05Speaker 1: can to help him out. The one thing you heard
- 17:08Speaker 1: when you talk to people with that team last year
- 17:10Speaker 1: is they've got to increase their speed on both sides
- 17:13Speaker 1: of the ball. So I wouldn't be surprised if Harris
- 17:14Speaker 1: Campbell do that. But who's your number one receiver right now?
- 17:17Speaker 1: It's Slate In, it's Isaiah Hodgins, who knows. Yeah, still
- 17:20Speaker 1: some holes to field for the Giants roster. But I'm
- 17:22Speaker 1: excited to see what Brian Dable Joe Shane do in
- 17:25Speaker 1: year number two. After all the success they had getting
- 17:27Speaker 1: them to the playoffs, they're in year one. Much more
- 17:30Speaker 1: to come here on NFL now, including a look at
- 17:33Speaker 1: Bryce Young, another potential number one overall pick. The star
- 17:38Speaker 1: at Alabama is in focus next here on NFL Now.
- 17:47Speaker 1: You can see Bryce Young live on NFL Plus March
- 17:52Speaker 1: twenty third, part of a back to back day of
- 17:54Speaker 1: Quarterback Pro Day, starting with C. J. Stroud at Ohio State.
- 17:58Speaker 1: Than Alabama Bryce Young take center stage March twenty third.
- 18:02Speaker 1: Then it's Will Levis March twenty fourth, from today, than
- 18:05Speaker 1: Anthony Richard Send the following Thursday on March thirtieth, when
- 18:10Speaker 1: the University of Florida takes center stage. Meanwhile, we're still
- 18:14Speaker 1: getting through free agency. Here is an updated list of
- 18:17Speaker 1: Greg Rosenthal's top one hundred some of the more notable
- 18:20Speaker 1: names that are still available, and these are the rankings
- 18:23Speaker 1: before free agency started. There you see C. J. Gardner, Johnson,
- 18:27Speaker 1: Odell Beckham Junior, and number eighteen on that list linebacker
- 18:31Speaker 1: Bobby Wagner. And that is where we begin with Greg
- 18:35Speaker 1: Rosenthal and Jim Schrotter. Greg, when you see Bobby Wagner's
- 18:38Speaker 1: and even if they're where might you think would be
- 18:40Speaker 1: a fit for him? Well, Seattle is reportedly speaking with
- 18:43Speaker 1: bringing him back. That would be amazing. Dallas is another
- 18:45Speaker 1: team that has talked to him. I just think these
- 18:47Speaker 1: veterans like a Wagner are some of the best values,
- 18:49Speaker 1: maybe the only great values left in free agency. I mean,
- 18:53Speaker 1: look at what he did for the Rams last year.
- 18:55Speaker 1: He was a second team All Pro. I think about
- 18:58Speaker 1: what Minnesota got out of Patrick Peterson the last couple
- 19:01Speaker 1: of years, when Damkin sue every year would just resign
- 19:04Speaker 1: for another five million dollars. Look at the contract Jordan
- 19:08Speaker 1: Poyer signed in free agency this year. Like a lot
- 19:11Speaker 1: of these guys like Lavonte David actually end up getting underpaid. Weirdly,
- 19:15Speaker 1: teams are so eager to get young guys on multi
- 19:18Speaker 1: year deals that players like Bobby Wagner Jim who you know,
- 19:21Speaker 1: changes the locker room. But it's still great on the
- 19:23Speaker 1: field too. Come in and improve your team immediately. And
- 19:27Speaker 1: it's great that it's a one year deal for the
- 19:29Speaker 1: team because there's not a lot of long term negotiations there. Yeah,
- 19:32Speaker 1: the thing with Bobby Wagner is he's not I don't
- 19:34Speaker 1: believe he's going to do anything quickly here from this standpoint.
- 19:37Speaker 1: If you look at last year, he went to the
- 19:38Speaker 1: Rams because he wanted to win a title, and he
- 19:41Speaker 1: thought that was his best chance, so I think he
- 19:43Speaker 1: signed in later in the free agency period. I think
- 19:47Speaker 1: the same thing will happen now. I think he will
- 19:48Speaker 1: look for the best fit in terms of winning a championship,
- 19:51Speaker 1: And what you get with a guy like Bobby's Wagner,
- 19:53Speaker 1: without question, is not only production on the field, but
- 19:56Speaker 1: a guy who sets the tone in the locker room
- 19:59Speaker 1: in terms of professionalism, in terms of how to go
- 20:01Speaker 1: about your business, how to be most effective. And he
- 20:04Speaker 1: can bring along a club from that standpoint. So, yeah,
- 20:07Speaker 1: you're gonna get great value in Bobby Wagner wherever he signed.
- 20:10Speaker 1: One of the best men in the NFL. He can
- 20:12Speaker 1: still produce more than a hundred tackles every year of
- 20:16Speaker 1: his eleven year career, including last year great season with
- 20:19Speaker 1: the Rams. C J. Gardner Johnson one of the key
- 20:22Speaker 1: figures of the Philadelphia Eagles NFC championship. He's still available.
- 20:27Speaker 1: What do you think about his future? Well, I think
- 20:28Speaker 1: it's a great sign for him that both the Broncos,
- 20:31Speaker 1: where Sean Payton is who he used to play for,
- 20:33Speaker 1: and the Eagles are interest in resigning him. That shows
- 20:35Speaker 1: you what kind of value. I start feeling a little
- 20:37Speaker 1: self conscious when guys like Gardner Johnson that I rank
- 20:40Speaker 1: so high are sitting out there like did I do
- 20:42Speaker 1: something wrong? I don't think so. The NFL is undervaluing
- 20:46Speaker 1: the safety position on some level. Jesse Bates got that
- 20:49Speaker 1: big deal, and I have a sense Gardner Johnson wants
- 20:51Speaker 1: to get something close to that, and maybe that's what's
- 20:53Speaker 1: holding up negotiations. But every defense needs a guy like
- 20:57Speaker 1: Gardner Johnson who can play near the line of scrimmage
- 20:59Speaker 1: and tackle great in space, but also make plays in coverage.
- 21:04Speaker 1: He can do whatever. Union He's a perfect sort of
- 21:06Speaker 1: modern safety spot corner hybrid. Yeah, and you come in
- 21:09Speaker 1: and you look at what he did in Philadelphia last year,
- 21:11Speaker 1: arriving late and yet was able to have such an
- 21:14Speaker 1: impact there. To me, I agree with you. I think
- 21:16Speaker 1: he's one of the values at this point of free
- 21:19Speaker 1: agency that I'm surprised he hasn't signed. Maybe he wants
- 21:22Speaker 1: more than what teams are willing to pay. I don't know.
- 21:24Speaker 1: All I know is that he is a tremendous playmaker
- 21:27Speaker 1: and that he is a guy if he comes into
- 21:28Speaker 1: your secondary is only going to make it better. So
- 21:32Speaker 1: if I'm one of those teams that feels I'm close,
- 21:34Speaker 1: and I just need another body back in the secondary
- 21:38Speaker 1: to make it go. That's a guy I'm going out
- 21:40Speaker 1: trying to get. Yeah. CG. Gardner. Johnson certainly can add
- 21:45Speaker 1: to any secondary in the NFL make the impact like
- 21:47Speaker 1: he did in Philadelphia. Much more to come here on
- 21:50Speaker 1: NFL now where we are taking a look at the
- 21:53Speaker 1: Carolina Panthers, the home of Miles Sanders, another former Eagle
- 21:59Speaker 1: who has a new home. Much more breakdown on that
- 22:02Speaker 1: one when we return right here in the NFL Network,
- 22:05Speaker 1: User Sanders brats away at the thirty fock thirty twenty
- 22:13Speaker 1: pint Tully Tipten ten times clown Sanders touchdown, Wow are
- 22:17Speaker 1: you kidding? Means second seven authors with protection l tender.
- 22:21Speaker 1: It's inter sected by Chesse Cunis bat stick to pick
- 22:25Speaker 1: back to pack wasting way tenny end zone class to
- 22:29Speaker 1: fine down touch down the town. What a perfect half
- 22:33Speaker 1: by Derek Carr that time inside Miles Sanders touch down.
- 22:38Speaker 1: All he has to do is out run the linebacker
- 22:41Speaker 1: and he does. Fire down Bill Hitters top ten hits
- 22:45Speaker 1: pick top by Jesse back into the pocket. A lot
- 22:48Speaker 1: of one down field for Adams at the go line
- 22:51Speaker 1: over his shoulder tock down Derek car beautiful ball for
- 22:56Speaker 1: forty yards. A lot of notable names with new teams
- 23:01Speaker 1: in the NFC South, And you look at all the
- 23:03Speaker 1: teams in the division, they've all added a quarterback who
- 23:07Speaker 1: has started at least a playoff game. You see in
- 23:10Speaker 1: Carolina Andy Dalton the quarterback that they've added there. Of
- 23:14Speaker 1: course Von Miller Von Bell there as well. For much
- 23:17Speaker 1: more on the Panthers, let's say hello to Cameron Wolf
- 23:20Speaker 1: and Cam of course, the Panthers stealing the headlines of
- 23:23Speaker 1: the offseason, trading for the number one pick and that blockbuster,
- 23:26Speaker 1: presumably to draft a quarterback. What about the rest of
- 23:30Speaker 1: their moves suggests that they're putting that quarterback, whether it's
- 23:32Speaker 1: Andy Dalton or the number one pick, in good position
- 23:35Speaker 1: to succeed. Yeah, Omar, I really like what the Carolina
- 23:39Speaker 1: Panthers have done this all season. Actually was that Clemson's
- 23:41Speaker 1: pro day earlier this week, and I saw the Panthers
- 23:44Speaker 1: GM Scott Fitterer. He's taken all these phone calls, and
- 23:47Speaker 1: so as a reporter, I'm inquiring, what are you doing.
- 23:49Speaker 1: It's like I'm trying to find a backup quarterback and
- 23:52Speaker 1: Eventually he found Andy Dalton, and it's a great fit
- 23:54Speaker 1: for Carolina because it's a guy and Dalton, like you mentioned,
- 23:58Speaker 1: started a lot of his career but also knows at
- 24:01Speaker 1: this stage of his career that he can be a
- 24:02Speaker 1: mentor a bridge to who that number one pick is.
- 24:05Speaker 1: And so you got the veteran backup quarterback. And then
- 24:07Speaker 1: they went and got Miles Sanders in the running back room,
- 24:10Speaker 1: a guy coming off a career season, a guy who
- 24:13Speaker 1: finally stayed healthy. That was a Panther's team that had
- 24:16Speaker 1: a top ten rushing offense last year. Now they add
- 24:19Speaker 1: a proven running for Miles Sanders and that's all help
- 24:22Speaker 1: for that number one pick. And so I was talking
- 24:24Speaker 1: to fit her a little bit more, trying to get
- 24:25Speaker 1: who that quarterback is. He was elusive. He wouldn't tell
- 24:28Speaker 1: me Omar who he's gonna draft. But it does seem
- 24:30Speaker 1: to me at this point there's three man race between
- 24:33Speaker 1: Bryce Young, CJ. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson and whoever they
- 24:37Speaker 1: end up drafting. I do think they already know who
- 24:39Speaker 1: they're gonna draft, but whoever that ends up being, they
- 24:41Speaker 1: had the right support system with the quarterback room that
- 24:44Speaker 1: has a Frank Reich, Thomas Brown, a gym callwell a
- 24:47Speaker 1: Josh mccowenden, and so they're doing the right things to
- 24:50Speaker 1: set him up for sess. They already have a top
- 24:52Speaker 1: ten defense, and the final step for the Panthers, I
- 24:55Speaker 1: believe this offseason to prep for that young quarterback is
- 24:57Speaker 1: to figure out who to throw the ball too. They
- 24:59Speaker 1: are bringing in DJ Chark for a visit today and
- 25:02Speaker 1: maybe they signed him. Mcole Harman is also name they
- 25:05Speaker 1: keep an eye on as they circled this offseason around
- 25:08Speaker 1: their number one overall pit in the future franchise quarterback.
- 25:11Speaker 1: You mentioned the names there in the offensive meeting rooms
- 25:14Speaker 1: for the Carolina Panthers. Quite the brain trust. Meanwhile in
- 25:17Speaker 1: Atlanta have Taylor Heinike, you have Desmond Ritter. They ought
- 25:20Speaker 1: to have quite the battle they're at quarterback. But what
- 25:23Speaker 1: about the defense for the Falcons that catches your eye? Oh, Mark,
- 25:27Speaker 1: this has been money, money, money for the Falcons all
- 25:30Speaker 1: off season. They spent more money between extensions, resignings, and
- 25:34Speaker 1: free agency than any team in the NFL, and it's
- 25:36Speaker 1: been a long time coming. The last two off seasons,
- 25:39Speaker 1: the Falcons were quiet cleaning up their cap, but They
- 25:42Speaker 1: made their big splash moves this offseason. They resigned Chris
- 25:45Speaker 1: Lynch from to a big deal, And my favorite move
- 25:48Speaker 1: of the off season from any team is the Falcons
- 25:50Speaker 1: signing Jesse Bates, who I think will really turn around
- 25:53Speaker 1: their defense tremendously. I spent a lot of time in
- 25:55Speaker 1: Cincinnati this year. Every time I went up there, defensive
- 25:58Speaker 1: players raved about how Bates controlled their defense, the communication,
- 26:03Speaker 1: lining people up, making sure they're in function. Now that
- 26:06Speaker 1: comes to Atlanta, a ball hawk, a communicator, a guy
- 26:09Speaker 1: who can really turn around this Falcon's defense, and so
- 26:11Speaker 1: they brought him. They brought in a couple of other
- 26:13Speaker 1: players from the Saints to build that front and now
- 26:15Speaker 1: they can go into the draft and maybe take another
- 26:18Speaker 1: front seven player to keep that pass rush going. But
- 26:21Speaker 1: they believe they're pushing towards a team that's ready to
- 26:23Speaker 1: win now, and Arthur Smith and Terry Fano are finally
- 26:25Speaker 1: getting to put their own spin on this roster going
- 26:28Speaker 1: into their year three together. Ye Jesse Bates been a
- 26:30Speaker 1: great player in the league for a long time. If
- 26:32Speaker 1: he's one of the keys to a Falcons resurgence, could
- 26:35Speaker 1: become a full blown superstar on the back end of
- 26:38Speaker 1: that defense. Cameron Wolf a superstar in his owner right,
- 26:41Speaker 1: Thank you very much. Meanwhile in Cincinnati, Orlando Brown, next
- 26:45Speaker 1: time he sees Zeus fifty seven on the field, it'll
- 26:47Speaker 1: be in our stripes officially signing his contract the newest
- 26:52Speaker 1: member of the Cincinnati Bengals, and he was introduced to
- 26:54Speaker 1: the media a little while ago. He all kind of
- 26:58Speaker 1: as a young man and young kids, you know, we
- 27:00Speaker 1: said dreams and goals in this sport. And for me,
- 27:04Speaker 1: you know, I just want to be a franchise left taggle,
- 27:06Speaker 1: and I want to win football games. I want to
- 27:08Speaker 1: win Super Bowls and to be able to have an
- 27:11Speaker 1: opportunity to play them. Where were like, like, you know
- 27:13Speaker 1: here in Cincinnati. You know, I've been on the other
- 27:15Speaker 1: side of things, you know for some years, and I
- 27:18Speaker 1: mean just just planning and competing against his group a
- 27:21Speaker 1: year in, a year out. I mean it's you kind
- 27:23Speaker 1: of know what you're getting and I knew when an
- 27:26Speaker 1: offer came through it was something I couldn't pass up
- 27:29Speaker 1: for much more in the Bengals. Now, Mike Giardi back
- 27:31Speaker 1: with us. What are the great combined rebounds of all time? Mike,
- 27:35Speaker 1: you talk about Orlando Brown and the showing that he
- 27:37Speaker 1: had in Indianapolis, and then for him to bounce back
- 27:40Speaker 1: and have the career that he's had thus far. A
- 27:42Speaker 1: great story in his own right. What more can he
- 27:44Speaker 1: tell us about how the Bengals have rebuilt this offensive line. Well,
- 27:48Speaker 1: it's been a two year project. Right after Joe Burrow
- 27:51Speaker 1: was beat to the Bejesus a couple of years ago,
- 27:53Speaker 1: they said, look, we're gonna redo the whole thing, and
- 27:55Speaker 1: they pretty much did last year, and now they're looking
- 27:58Speaker 1: at it this year saying we can still get better
- 28:00Speaker 1: and signy Orlando Brown certainly a big part of that.
- 28:02Speaker 1: Someone who is not a premier path blocker is still
- 28:06Speaker 1: damn good, top ten left tackle in the league, getting
- 28:08Speaker 1: paid much better than the top ten in the National
- 28:11Speaker 1: Football League at that position. But what it's done here
- 28:13Speaker 1: has created an interesting trickle down effect because Jonah Williams
- 28:16Speaker 1: has been their left tackle pretty much since he's walked
- 28:19Speaker 1: in the door for Cincinnati, and now Williams is asking
- 28:22Speaker 1: for a trade, and you understand it. In fact, they
- 28:24Speaker 1: were talking at the combine about the idea that maybe
- 28:27Speaker 1: Williams would move to right tackle and Frank Vack the
- 28:30Speaker 1: offensive line coach said, I don't think he's really gonna
- 28:32Speaker 1: want to do that. He's been a left tackle. It's
- 28:34Speaker 1: hard to ask someone to do. And now, of course
- 28:36Speaker 1: he asked for the trade. So now they have a
- 28:38Speaker 1: trade chip because as we well know, Williams is a
- 28:40Speaker 1: pretty good player at that position as well. So someone
- 28:42Speaker 1: who is in need of a left tackle might come
- 28:44Speaker 1: sniffing around the Bengals and create a situation where they
- 28:48Speaker 1: get an asset for an important player. They also signed
- 28:51Speaker 1: Cody Ford, and they told Cody Ford, who came out
- 28:53Speaker 1: as a right tackle, that you're gonna go back to
- 28:55Speaker 1: your normal position. He sort of bounced around the last
- 28:57Speaker 1: couple of years. He's played in the interior, but they're
- 28:59Speaker 1: gonna give him a chance to compete at right tackle
- 29:01Speaker 1: as well. I'm gonna write that one down. Mike beat
- 29:03Speaker 1: to be Jesus, and we know Joe Burrow and south
- 29:06Speaker 1: West Ohio. He walks on water. Nobody messes with Bejesus.
- 29:10Speaker 1: They're in Cincinnati. Meanwhile, in New England, we've talked a
- 29:13Speaker 1: lot about the incoming the outcoming of what Mac Jones
- 29:17Speaker 1: has on offense, But what are you making the move
- 29:18Speaker 1: so far on defense? What Bill Belichick is telling you
- 29:22Speaker 1: is that he really likes his defense from a year ago,
- 29:24Speaker 1: and essentially he's bringing everyone back. They're signing Rakawa McMillan
- 29:28Speaker 1: and Mac Wilson at linebacker, and those guys are bit players,
- 29:31Speaker 1: but he brought them back. And the interior Carl Davis
- 29:34Speaker 1: and Daniel Kawalley both coming back, and it's the same thing.
- 29:37Speaker 1: The only real changes here defensively thus far have been
- 29:40Speaker 1: Devin mccordy's retirement, and then they just released Jalen Millson
- 29:43Speaker 1: at least informed him that they're going to release him.
- 29:46Speaker 1: Mills a pretty good player for them for about a
- 29:48Speaker 1: year and a half and had an injury last year,
- 29:50Speaker 1: tried to come back, couldn't make it back, and you know,
- 29:53Speaker 1: I know there's some discussions internally about maybe he would
- 29:55Speaker 1: be mccordy's replacement, but obviously they feel like there are
- 29:58Speaker 1: better options, whether it's in house or via free agency,
- 30:01Speaker 1: so they make that move. But by and large, they've
- 30:03Speaker 1: done everything they can to keep that group together. And
- 30:06Speaker 1: while their numbers are outstanding, if you look at where
- 30:09Speaker 1: they rank and points against and rushing defense past even
- 30:12Speaker 1: all things things are great, but when they played really
- 30:15Speaker 1: good offenses last year, they weren't the same kind of defense.
- 30:18Speaker 1: And I know you say, well, look, if you're going
- 30:20Speaker 1: to pay these guys, they got to be able to
- 30:21Speaker 1: play against that level of offense. So maybe they feel
- 30:24Speaker 1: like another year together will allow them to do that. Yeah,
- 30:27Speaker 1: good reason. Bill Belichick likes that defense top five in
- 30:30Speaker 1: sacks and takeaways last season, So, like you mentioned, hoping
- 30:34Speaker 1: to build on that here in twenty twenty three, mijurity
- 30:37Speaker 1: great as always appreciate it. NFL Now is a production
- 30:46Speaker 1: of the NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
- 30:50Speaker 1: from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
- 30:54Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.