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Jeff Legwold on PHD 3-11-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Jeff Langwald is our Broncos insider.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Altitude Sports Radio ninety two five Pro Football the Insider.
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: I've covered the league a little while.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Jef Legwall, his appearances are always must listen radio. We
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: learn a lot. Brought to you by the International Brotherhood
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: of Electrical Workers. Start with the job and with the
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  Speaker 2: career IBW Local sixty eight.
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  Speaker 1: It's leggy wet, Yeah, yeah yeah. On Altitude Sports Radio
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  Speaker 1: ninety two five.
• 0:28
  Speaker 4: Jeff Blegwall was brought to you by the International Brotherhood
• 0:31
  Speaker 4: of Electrical Workers IBW Local sixty eight. Start with the job,
• 0:35
  Speaker 4: end with the career. Michael Malone in seventeen minutes. But
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  Speaker 4: we spend some time talking about NFL free agency, the.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: One that got away. What is the story with Evan Ingram.
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  Speaker 4: Let's start there, Jeff, And we got some of the
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  Speaker 4: other signings, but boy, that's one that is it done?
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  Speaker 1: Is it dead? And why didn't it get done yesterday?
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  Speaker 3: Well, you know, you leave town without a deal, that's
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  Speaker 3: not always a great a great sign. You know, I
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: sat on the afternoon show yesterday and you know, again,
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  Speaker 3: people tell you a million things this week, this time
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  Speaker 3: of year, you know, around the draft and free agency,
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  Speaker 3: you hear every scenario story, but it was conveyed to
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  Speaker 3: me the Broncos were not tops on his list. That
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  Speaker 3: doesn't mean I don't know that to be true, doesn't
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  Speaker 3: mean I know, you know anything else about it, but uh,
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  Speaker 3: you know it. It's always surprising when you have a
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  Speaker 3: guy in for such a long visit, you know, the dinner,
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  Speaker 3: the visit and you know, talk to the coaches, and
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  Speaker 3: you don't end up with the deal, so you know it.
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  Speaker 3: I guess my feeling is always if the number was
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  Speaker 3: good enough, you know, a signature would have would.
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  Speaker 5: Have been you earn on my list.
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  Speaker 6: But boy, that's a lot of catch.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, and you know maybe and I don't
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  Speaker 3: know this either, but it was it was sort of
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  Speaker 3: spitball to me by another GM is. Everyone in the
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: league knows the Broncos have the biggest checkbook, so if
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  Speaker 3: you're looking to stir the pod a little bit, you're
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  Speaker 3: you're always going to get them involved. And I don't
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  Speaker 3: know that they did that. And you know, he may
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  Speaker 3: have just gone home and said, I want to talk
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  Speaker 3: to my family, I want to talk to my agent,
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  Speaker 3: you know, I want to have a conversation. I want
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  Speaker 3: to think about it because it's you know, it's probably
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  Speaker 3: your last big deal if you're having ingram, so you
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  Speaker 3: want to do it right. But you know again, uh,
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  Speaker 3: I think it's telling he no deal is done when
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  Speaker 3: he you know, during the visit, but doesn't mean it's
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  Speaker 3: over or anything like that.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you never know, he might go out and jop
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  Speaker 2: and end up coming back here. But it did feel
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  Speaker 2: to me like, you know, when a guy spends that
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  Speaker 2: long here, they're recruiting the hell out of this guy
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  Speaker 2: to play at a price that he doesn't agree to
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  Speaker 2: play at, you know exactly.
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  Speaker 6: Yeah, all right, so the number, the number is good,
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  Speaker 6: you sign it.
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  Speaker 3: You know, they didn't have a visit with Drake Greenlaw
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  Speaker 3: and you know the numbers the number you know, welcome.
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  Speaker 2: You know the numbers on Drake Greenlaw. First off, I
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  Speaker 2: couldn't be more fired up about it. Dre was always
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  Speaker 2: the guy that I wanted, and they get him locked
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  Speaker 2: up at about twelve per maybe even a little bit
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  Speaker 2: less than that. And when you look at the other
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  Speaker 2: linebacker salaries, there were already five guys making more money
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  Speaker 2: than that. Then you added Nick Bolton, you got Zach Bond.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, he might be the eighth or ninth highest
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  Speaker 2: paid linebacker in the NFL. Is that just purely because
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  Speaker 2: of injury or other things?
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  Speaker 3: Purely injury as far as I've heard. I mean again,
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  Speaker 3: just two games last year, both in December after a
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  Speaker 3: torn achilles in the Super Bowl. So uh, you know
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  Speaker 3: he's only played one full season and that was as
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  Speaker 3: a rookie. So that's you know, that's always gonna cost
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  Speaker 3: you some some.
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  Speaker 6: Money on the bargaining side.
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  Speaker 3: But if the Broncos get this right, you know, pure
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  Speaker 3: football player at his best. You know, both of the
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  Speaker 3: guys they've taken injury risks on. If they get it right,
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  Speaker 3: they've upgraded significantly and already really good defense. So I mean,
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  Speaker 3: you know, Nogolus was heading for an All Pro season
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  Speaker 3: when he tore his ACL a couple of years ago.
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  Speaker 3: And Greenlaw was pure football player, one of the best
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  Speaker 3: pure football players in free agency.
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  Speaker 6: But he's missed what thirty six games? Thirty eight games?
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  Speaker 5: Well, he and I said the exact same thing. That
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  Speaker 5: being said, Now what what as we are standing this point,
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  Speaker 5: there's still another what a week or so? People are
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  Speaker 5: gonna get signed right or.
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  Speaker 1: Oh get signed forever?
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  Speaker 5: Now, okay, does this give you more of an idea
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  Speaker 5: what they're probably gonna look into and head towards the draft.
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  Speaker 3: Well, Scott, I always say that the first two days
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  Speaker 3: of free agency tell you what everybody thinks of the draft.
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  Speaker 3: And you didn't see a lot of movement among running backs.
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  Speaker 3: You didn't see a lot of movement among defensive linemen
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  Speaker 3: other than the upper upper tier guys. And you didn't
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  Speaker 3: see a lot of you know, movement at those two positions,
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  Speaker 3: and those are generally regarded as the best positions in
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  Speaker 3: the draft. So it does tell you a little something.
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  Speaker 3: The quarterbacks available got paid, but they always do. But
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  Speaker 3: I think when you see people sort of hedging and
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  Speaker 3: signing backups, that tells you they're not all that fired
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  Speaker 3: up about this quarterback class overall. And you know, I
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  Speaker 3: think those were my takeaways. And as far as the Broncos,
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  Speaker 3: I think they still have to look linebacker a little.
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  Speaker 6: Bit because of the injury concern.
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  Speaker 3: But you know, tight end they obviously had a visit
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  Speaker 3: with one and there are a couple guys available that
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  Speaker 3: fit them. But I think tight end in the draft
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  Speaker 3: running back in the draft are still positions they would
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  Speaker 3: point at.
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  Speaker 2: So here's my theory. Let me know if you agree
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  Speaker 2: with it or not. You really only had two significant
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  Speaker 2: needs on defense, and that was saying and linebacker. Probably
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  Speaker 2: need to add a corner or maybe another defensive line
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  Speaker 2: help in the draft. But now that really frees you
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  Speaker 2: up on offense to take best player available. And given
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  Speaker 2: the fact that Evan Ingram was in here, whether they
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  Speaker 2: get him done or not, I would assume they signed
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  Speaker 2: another tight end, which leaves me personally, Jeff feeling like
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  Speaker 2: wide receiver might actually be the candidate number one in
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  Speaker 2: the first round. Does that add up to you.
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  Speaker 3: Well, you know, running back or wide receiver. I've felt
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  Speaker 3: Tyler always on that list. And wide receiver just because
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  Speaker 3: this is like a lot of years, if you're a team,
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  Speaker 3: you will have multiple graded wide receivers that you like
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  Speaker 3: all the way through the first two days of the draft, easily,
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  Speaker 3: guys that you think can come in and contribute right away,
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  Speaker 3: you know, like at receiver for the Broncos. You know
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  Speaker 3: Luther Burton, a guy that you know, you don't you
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  Speaker 3: don't hear that name a lot, but he fits the
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  Speaker 3: Broncos and probably could contribute from the first moment he
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  Speaker 3: walks through the door. So wide receivers a quick contributing position.
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  Speaker 3: So you can say, well, if we don't get exactly
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  Speaker 3: what we want in free agency or we don't even look,
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  Speaker 3: we can get somebody in the draft. So yeah, I
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  Speaker 3: think that is certainly a position on the first round radar.
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  Speaker 5: What's the forty nine ers in games?
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  Speaker 6: Eleven starters.
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  Speaker 3: This is a cautionary tale for the Broncos. I mean,
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  Speaker 3: the best teams. If you don't get it done when
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  Speaker 3: your quarterback's on a rookie deal and you don't take
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  Speaker 3: care of the future like you do this, everybody wants
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  Speaker 3: you all in all the time.
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  Speaker 6: Well, this is what it looks like.
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  Speaker 3: So uh, you still have to manage the caps as
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  Speaker 3: you get good. And I think the Chiefs and the
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  Speaker 3: Eagles are the Ravens are examples of TEA teams that
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  Speaker 3: have tried to win very hard with their rookie quarterback
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  Speaker 3: and you know, a quarterback on a rookie deal and
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  Speaker 3: and still been good on the other side of it.
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  Speaker 3: I always think the challenge is you want to compete
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  Speaker 3: like crazy when your franchise type quarterbacks on a rookie deal,
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  Speaker 3: but you also want to be good enough when that
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  Speaker 3: deal's done.
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  Speaker 6: For him to stay.
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  Speaker 1: Got any other names for us to keep our eyes
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  Speaker 1: on in free agency?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I think, you know, I think the
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  Speaker 3: Shopman's been pretty you know, the top guys are almost
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  Speaker 3: all of the off the board. I will say the
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  Speaker 3: one telling thing, and you know I always preface this,
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  Speaker 3: but I think players should get every single dollar you
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  Speaker 3: can get because when they're done with you, they just
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  Speaker 3: cut you. So get every dollar you can. But teams
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  Speaker 3: have made a decision. I think the top thirty deals
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  Speaker 3: only one guy has hit thirty years old, and he
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  Speaker 3: hit thirty by a month, so I think teams have
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  Speaker 3: made uh so far the top thirty deals are going
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  Speaker 3: to the second contract type player.
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  Speaker 1: How would you grade the Broncos of free agency?
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  Speaker 3: If they get the injury question right, They've done very
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  Speaker 3: well and very very good value. Both those guys are
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  Speaker 3: great players when healthy, but when healthy is a big caveat.
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  Speaker 6: But we all know what Sean Payton thinks.
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  Speaker 3: Of their injury recovery and staff and all of that
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  Speaker 3: they did. They do have a new team doctor also
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  Speaker 3: from the Saints, so we'll see how that all go.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you know, there you go, keep going there, Saints doctor.
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  Speaker 6: Feel good? Wow?
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  Speaker 1: Wow, there you have it.
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  Speaker 6: There you have it. Thank you, Jeff.
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  Speaker 1: We'll talk to you later.