Latest / NFL Now / Commanders Hire Eric Bieniemy, Buffalo Bills Free Agents, Vic Fangio Hired as Dolphins' Defensive Coach

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Commanders Hire Eric Bieniemy, Buffalo Bills Free Agents, Vic Fangio Hired as Dolphins' Defensive Coach · NFL Now

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. One week from today, we're gonna
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: be at the Combine in Indianapolis. Friendly reminder there is
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: no off season on a holiday Monday. Welcome to NFL
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Now on NFL Network from our newsroom in Los Angeles.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: My name is Andrews. Ciciliano. Derek Carr is a free agent.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Everybody I know free agency begins in a month, but
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: if he wanted to, he could actually sign a contract today.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: He visited another team this past weekend. That team the
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: New York Jets. Car turns thirty two next month, and
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: because the Raiders released him just this past week, he
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: could do a deal at any time. Will he do
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: a deal anytime soon? What do we know about that
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: visit the Flora Park over the weekend. Let's welcome in
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: our NFL Network inside of Tom Peliser of Tom Hope.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: You had a great weekend. What's the latest with Derek Carr? Andrew,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: you said a Derek Carr visited the New York Jets
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: over the weekend. That is his second visit. The previous
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: one was to the Saints while he was still under
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: contract with the Raiders. Carr was able to scuttle a
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: trade to New Orleans or any place else thanks to
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: his no clause no trade clause in his contract. That contract,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: of course, now does not exist, so you're starting from
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  Speaker 1: scratching with negotiations with other teams. I would certainly anticipate
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: you could have at least one more visit before Derek
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  Speaker 1: Carr makes a decision about where to sign. And you
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: also have to remember the teams that are interested in
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: Derek Carr may also have interested in some other quarterbacks,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: these guys like Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, whose futures are
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: uncertain at this point. Daniel Jones right now has not
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: yet signed a contract. There's a lot of interconnected parts here, Andrew,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: as we saw one year ago, Once that first deal,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: whatever it ends up being, ends up happening, whether it's
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: a trade or in this case of Derek Carr signing,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: then things can start to move relatively quickly after that.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: And Carr has the benefit of getting that jump over
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: everybody else the way that contract with structured. The Raiders
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: had to pull the trigger last week, so he is free,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: he is out there and he could be that first
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: quarterback Domino to fall into place if and when he
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: so chooses being time. There's a lot of moving chairs
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  Speaker 1: here with the coordinators. Tom let's focus first on Eric
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: b Enemy. Andy Reid had suggested during the Super Bowl
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: that maybe it would be better if Eric the Enemy,
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: if he doesn't get a head coaching job and needed
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: in this cycle again, just go somewhere else and run
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: his own offense. Why was Washington the right fit? And
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: there were really two teams that had a high level
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  Speaker 1: of interest after the Super Bowl and Eric the Enemy.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: One was the Baltimore Ravens, but they were in a
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: time crunch because if they were going to hire Todd Monk,
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: in which they did, he needed an answer in the
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: University of Georgia needed an answer, and so they ended
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: up going in that direction. But Washington was the team
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: that was the most aggressive from the start with Eric
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: b Enemy. Yes, there's gonna be questions about the quarterback position.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Ron Rivera has said Sam Howell, who is a rookie
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: fifth round pick this past season, made his first NFL
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: start in Week eighteen, is going to be QB one
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: as they head into the off season. But Washington was
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: able to offer something that other teams including Kansas City,
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: really had not, which was a multi year contract, an
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: elevated title because he will be assistant head coach and
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: offensive coordinator there, and also the opportunity to build his
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: entire staff the way that he wants it. So the
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Enemy actually spent a couple of days in Washington talking
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: with the coaches on staff making plans before they ended
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: up agreeing to that deal. It is a multi year
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: commitment and a significant one from the commanders, who now
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: get a unique opportunity. Here had a guy in Eric
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: b Enemy who Kansas City did want back. Now he'll
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: be running the show there and again taking on more
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: of those duties that potentially could prepare him whenever a
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: head coaching opportunity arise. I liked the pieces in Washington,
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Brian Robin, san Antonio Gibson, Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel. They
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: have weapons here, Johan Dotson. The big question, however, as
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: you say, is the quarterback. On the topic of coordinators,
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Jonathan Gannon is the new head coach in Arizona. Will
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: dive into that in a couple of minutes here with
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: Jim Trotter. He went really young Tom with his coordinators.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: He's not too old himself. Granted, this is a really
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: young brain trust on the coaching side so far. Remember
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: there's gonna be other hires here, and I'm sure you'll
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: add some veteran coaches along the way. But in terms
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: of his coordinators, he ended up getting the two guys
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: who are at the top of his list, and two
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: guys that he's worked with in the past. The first
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: his offensive coordinator, Drew Petsy, who is thirty five years old.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: He a lot like Kevin Stefanski, had worked a variety
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: of different jobs in Minnesota, crossed over with Gannon. There
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  Speaker 1: followed Stefanski to Cleveland, most recently was the Brown's quarterbacks coach.
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  Speaker 1: A really bright guy, but this will be his first
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: time in the NFL being a play caller and of
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: course a really important role as they tried to build
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: around a guy that Jonathan Gannon calls elite in Kyler Murray.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: When ever, Murray is ready to come back from his
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: knee injury. On the defensive side, they go with Nick
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Rallis as their defensive coordinator. Rallis is twenty nine years old.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: That makes him the youngest coordinator in the NFL. One
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: of the youngest coordinators in NFL history. He was a
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  Speaker 1: star defensive player at prestigious I Dina High School in Minnesota,
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: as well as at the University of Minnesota. There's a
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  Speaker 1: linebackers coach in Philadelphia, a guy the Gannon really valued,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: so did the Eagles. They tried to talk Rallis into
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: staying there. Other teams also, we're calling, but he decided
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: to follow his guy Gin into Arizona. Just to put
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: that age into perspective for you, Andrew. Max Williams, the
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: Cardinals tight end, played with Nick Rallis at the University
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: of Minnesota, and there are currently fifteen players on the
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: Cardinals roster who are older than Nick Rallis. I am
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: looking at your very sparse Wikipedia page, Tom, It says
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: you're a native of a Dina, Minnesota. Did you go
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: to a Dina High school. It's probably the first and
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: only time that I will ever get to include the
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: name of a coaches high school in a tweet. So yes,
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: H O R N E T S C. Dina Hornets,
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Fight Fight Fight, Andrew, you really emphasized prestigious there, so
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: I just try to put the tune two together. There
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: you go, Tom, Pelaso repping his high school. Mine by
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: the way, South Lakes High School, rest of Virginia will
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: do more of that a little bit later. Thank you
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Tom at anytime. Here is the new Cardinals head coach,
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Jonathan Gannon um in some video posted by the Cardinals.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: In another video, he was making some weird Michael Scott
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: like noises when greeting another player. But regardless, Jonathan gannon
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: is the new head coach Jim Trotter the Arizona Cardinals,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: and he said today to Peter King in his column
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: that he basically would not have taken this job if
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: not for Kyler Murray. They have the the franchise quarterback
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  Speaker 1: in place, as he says, yeah, this is gonna be
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: a process to kind of rework this offense because Kyler
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: is not going to be there for a couple of
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  Speaker 1: months week to sue yeah, Andrew. Before we even talk
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: about players, let's talk about this staff a little bit
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  Speaker 1: and what owner Michael Bidwell has put together here. We
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: have a general manager who has no GM experience, we
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: have a head coach who has no head coach experience,
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  Speaker 1: we have an offensive coordinator who has no OC experience,
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: and we have a defensive coordinator who has no DC experience.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: So it's an interesting mix right now. As Tom talked
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: about earlier, very young staff. Um, they're gonna be able
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: to build this out. But what I would say to
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: you is this what I had heard late in the
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: season and even after the coaching change, is that, more
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: than anything, what the Cardinals need at this point is
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: a culture change. That there was a lack of accountability
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  Speaker 1: both from the GM position as well as the head
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  Speaker 1: coach position prior to these changes. And so from that standpoint,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: before the Cardinals ever even getting talking about players, what
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  Speaker 1: should be important is whether or not this general manager
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  Speaker 1: and this head coach are going to hold players as
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: well as coaches accountable for what takes place. And that's
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: going to be critical in terms of whether or not
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: they succeed Andrew. And one of the things that Jonathan
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  Speaker 1: Gannon also said this morning in regards to the offense
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  Speaker 1: and in keeping players accountable, here's they don't want to
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: have Kyler in the shotgun, as much said, they have
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: to get them up under center. That will change the
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: look of the offense. The last couple of years, Kyler
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: has been in the shotgun ninety percent of the time,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: which is just absurd. Granted, quarterback is only one question here, Jim.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Here's the list of the Cardinals notable free agents. Have
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: three big pieces on that offensive line, not to mention
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: a couple of key pieces on defense. J J. Watt
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: is retiring, we know that as well. Um there are
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: some holes to fill for Monty Austin Forth, the new
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: general manager. There are a lot of holes to fill.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: Let's start with the offensive line. As you talked about,
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: there were three players who started a minimum of eleven
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: games for them last year who were free agents. And
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: then there's also the issue whether Rodney Huts in their
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: center will return this year. There has been talking that
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: he might retire. You go to the defensive line. Then
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: there is no one on this roster at this moment
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: who had more than four sacks a year ago. J J.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Watt retired Zach Allen as a free agent. And then
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: let's look at their secondary Outside of Buddha Baker, their
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: best secondary player is um is Byron Murphy. He is
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: a free agent. They do not have a lockdown corner.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: So when you start putting all this together, there are
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: a lot of holes on this roster that need to
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: be filled and this is an inexperienced staff. So the
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: Arizona Cardinals are going to be a very interesting team
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: to watch next year for a team that was seemingly
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: chasing it when it comes to the roster of the
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: secondary to begin last year getting guys off the waiver
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: wire and final cutdowns, and they never truly got that
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: secondary set. Jim Trotter, thank you, wearing a Cardinals colored
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: coat as we open up a Oneday editiution of NFL Dowl.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: We won't just talk Cardinals, will do Bills next. Josh
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: Allen was in l A over the weekend. What were
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: the Bills doing to fix that team back in Buffalo?
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: When he was here? Straight ahead? Nothing can stop me?
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: How do they get better? How they take the next step?
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: How do they make into an f C championship game? Again,
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: if you're here the Buffalo Bills, you're the free agents
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: that they are looking at. Brandon Bean and Sean McDermott
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: of the offseason, A couple of linebackers, a veteran piece
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: in the offensive line, the whole Jordan's Ployer question, That
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: one looms large as well. We had him on from
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: the Super Bowl two weeks ago said that the Wednesday
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: after they lost, he went into the building, Mike already
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: looked around and just took it in one last time,
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: knowing this might be the end of his run there
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: after six years offseason priorities, big picture from where you sit, well,
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: for stars, let's just begin here. And that's the narrative
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: that maybe the Bills have already missed their championship window.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: And maybe it's because I'm in New England and I
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: hear the Patriots fans talk about it quite a bit,
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: But I think that's ludicrous. They have Josh Allen. He's
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: one of the three or four best quarterbacks in the league.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: And as long as they have that healthy Josh Allen,
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: even Josh Allen with one elbow for half the season, essentially,
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: they still won thirteen games. They still made the second
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: round of the postseason. They're always going to be a
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: part of this conversation. But when you look at that
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: free agent list, to me, for years now, four or
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: five years, when we talk about their defense, it's been
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: about Poyer and Hide, Michael Hide, Jordan Poyer, and it
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: feels like we're sort of shifting away from that now
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: with Poyer headed for free agency. Clearly gonna hit free agency,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: and while look, I think he would like to come back.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: I think they would like to have him back, but
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: I think the business part of this is gonna make
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: it difficult. Um and he's gonna end up in free
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: agency and see what he can get out there, and
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: I'm assuming he's gotta get a lot, because he's still
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: a very good football player, even despite the injuries last year,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: maybe their best defensive player. So that part of the
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: equation you have to look at. But the other part
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: is Tremaine Edmonds, because he's just twenty five years old,
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: is his fifth year, and I feel like he's really
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: blossing me as a player. This was by far and
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: away his best year. And now you're looking in a
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: situation where instead of player and hide, maybe it's Edmunds
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: and Milana, Matt Milana, the linebackers. Maybe that's the center
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: of this defense now. And Edmonds ability to make plays
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: down the field to his range. He's got that great length.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: I think I saw him during the playoff game twenty
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: five yards down the field carrying a tight end and
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: then making a play on the football. That's the kind
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: of thing that they wanted more from him early on
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: in his career, but now if he appears as though
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: he's developed into that guy. But again, here's the problem.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: The problem being that if you franchise tag him, it's
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: twenty million dollars because of course they include outside linebackers
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: in that franchise tag for linebackers, and that seems a
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: little bit rich for him. So I'm curious that they
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: can find a number that works better for both sides
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: and allows Edmunds to be the centerpiece of that defense
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: for the next four or five years at a six
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: million dollar range as opposed to plus. Look, it's a
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: good problem when you have former first round picks that
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: you are trying to figure out how to pay. It
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: means you made a good first round pick. And they
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: did it as well obviously in twenty eighteen with Josh
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Allen is the seventh overall pick. The problem, like now,
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: is trying to figure out a way this isn't just
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: on the offensive side of the ball, but collectively to
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: get over the top. How do they do that on
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: the offensive side. Well, for me, it's reevaluating your offensive line.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: I think two positions, in particular left guard, where Roger
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: Staffold is a free agent and Spencer Brown has been
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: your right tackle. Um, a developmental guy who's had moments
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: of brilliance, but by and large has been an average
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: too slightly below average player, and they need more from
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: that position. They need to protect the franchise quarterback and
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: maybe get him in a situation where when he steps
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: back there in the pocket, he's able to plan his
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: feet and scan the field, as opposed to, Oh, here
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: comes the pressure and he goes into superhero mode, which,
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: by the way, he's spun on all that right, you
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: don't necessarily want to take that away from him, but
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: you'd like him to be able to sit back in
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: the pocket a little bit more and use that mind
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: of his, which I think is an underrated aspect of
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: who Josh Allen is. So I think those are two
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: positions that they need to consider to upgrade here. Going forward. Again,
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: they're there. I'm not a huge believer in the salary cap,
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: but they're already over the salary cap. So they're gonna
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: have to get the computer, the calculator. They're gonna have
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: to make some modifications, which is very doable. Andrew, you
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: can do this, you and do whatever you want with
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: that salary cap, but they're gonna have to do some
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: things to make everything work. We are three weeks away,
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: in essence, from the start of the new league gear
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: and that calculator or abacus or whatever it is you
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: may use to get under the cap needs to be
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: put into good work, and a lot of that will
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: be done next week at the combine. Thank you, Mike
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: Giardi with the latest on the Buffalo Bills. Their quarterback
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: Josh Allen, was here in l A watching at Riviera
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: over the weekend. He'll be watching the Combine no doubt.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: Hopefully you will as well. We're taking NFL Now on
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: the road next week, starting on Tuesday, and then the
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: on field drills begin on March second. The d line
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: and the linebackers up first, the d ds up second,
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: and then the offensive skill players and the old line
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: take the field starting on Saturday. It is Combine Week
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: all week next week right here on NFL Now, throughout
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: the day on NFL Network, on NFL Plus on NFL
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: dot Com. This week today, specifically, it's the HBCU combin.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: They are in New Orleans, Matory and the Saints Building.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: We will tell you what's going on there straight ahead.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: Next Now, I told you a week from now we're
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: gonna be in Indianapolis for the Scouting Combine NFL. Now
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: they're all throughout the week. This week it is the
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: second annual HBCU Combine that is the Saints Indoor practice
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: Facility Mataie, Louisiana. You watched it this morning with Bucky
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: Brooks and Rhett lewis there with us now as drills continue,
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: second annual event. What's going on with that? Hi there,
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: whet Hey Andrew. Yeah, what a great opportunity for us
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: as this is the second HBCU HBCU Combine, but the
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: first time we've actually had the opportunity to cover it live,
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: which is really cool. We've gotten to see, you know,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: so much of what we love about the Indianapolis Combine
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: right which we're gonna have as you mentioned here coming
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: up next week. But this is all the same drills
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: we saw it with forty seven of the very best
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: HBCU prospects Bucky, Uh, you know, vast number of which
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: I mean really showcased some skills that NFL teams are
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: gonna love. Yeah, teams love this format. They love to
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: have the opportunity to put everybody in one building and
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: CMO work out, and so for so long a spc
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: U s did not have the opportunity to get all
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: the scals to come down. When there you take forty
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: seven of the best of the best, put them in
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: one build and put them on the same level playing field,
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: and then you get to see how everyone stacks up.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: And so this is a tremendous opportunity for your young
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: guys for a SPCU prospects to show up, show out,
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: putting their best on display, and have the evaluated to
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: take that in to gather some notes and then take
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: it back to the facility, have meetings and then begin
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: to advocate for some of these guys as they begin
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: to stack the board for the draft. Number of guys
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: already did that with four terrific quarterbacks out there throwing
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: the wide receivers and running backs like Darius Hagan's from
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: Virginia State put up a four four oh on official
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: forty r dash. We had Xavier Smith out there running
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: routes and showcasing his skills as a wide receiver. So
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: what Steve Whitch and Scott Pioli got a chance to
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: see live on the field inside the same training facility
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: in Matory, Louisiana. Steve, you know, just start with you
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: and Scott there and what kind of impressed you guys
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: the most from what you saw from the offensive drills
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: as the defensive guys are getting set to go here
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: in a few minutes. Well, first off, Ron, I want
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: to get to why there is an HBCU Combine because
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: you mentioned next week kicks off the regular draft scouting combine,
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: but only two players from historically black colleges have been
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: invited to that combine out of more than three hundred,
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: and that has been the case for years. So the
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: NFL and the Black Cogs Football Hall of Fame and
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: others have put together this HBCU Combine and the HBCU
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: Legacy Bowl, which will air on NFL Network on Saturday,
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: a week's worth of events to showcase to skilled players
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: and Scott, you know, we saw players like Deshan Diction
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: who played in the Legacy Bowl make the Jacksonville jack
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: Ours roster and contribute. Guys like uh Houston, the rookie
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: um out of Jackson State, go to Detroit and play
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: well this year. Talent can be found still at these
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: historically black college Absolutely one of the guys we saw
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: earlier today Xavier Smith, wide receiver who we knew had
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: good speed. We knew he was quick, but then we
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: saw and got the time on him, ran a four
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: four And this is one of those players. You look
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: at a guy who had two one career receptions. I
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: don't care what league you're playing in. I don't care
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: if it's Pop Warner. You have that much production. You
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: need to look at the players. So he had a
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: chance to come in here to they had a terrific day.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: Not only did he run well, he caught the ball well.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: Spend some time with him. Clearly a smart young man.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: He's gonna have a chance to develop a thing. Yeah,
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: pit in Florida and him in the swack, right, this
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: whack is loaded with talent, especially in the in the
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: next upcoming years. We also saw Darius Hagan's the running
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: back out of Virginia State. Again, that's a player a
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: lot of teams told you they had their eye on,
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: and he did not disappoint. Absolutely. I got a chance
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: to spend some time with him personally and privately yesterday,
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: and restive young man that really he wanted this so bad.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: He was you know last night and Has Williams of
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: Pro Football Hall of Famer, great player, talked about opportunities
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: to all these young players. Darius took that to heart.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: Talk to him after and Thenius Williams talking, because this
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: is my opportunity is going to be a great opportunity.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: He showed it today. He was ready and right as
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: we sent it back to you. We had twenty three
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: offensive players in the morning. We'll have that many defensive players.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Uh this afternoon. The majority of those players will be
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: joined by fifty plus players later in the week. Like
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: I said, to play in the HBCU Legacy Bowl. What's
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: got just very very quickly ten seconds. Besides Jon Field stuff,
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: the importance of the interviews these players are going through
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: with teams absolutely because a lot of the scouts and
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: direct personnel directors haven't had a chance to get to
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: these small schools and see these players. So the time
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: spent is so critical for these young men to get
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: to know people, and the scouts and directors to get
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: to know them as well. Thirty one of thirty two
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: teams are here looking at these players. It's that important
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: they're worthy of this consideration of thisvaluation, of this spotlight
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: guys like uh that we that we saw dj gold
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: at the quarterback from Bhoie State, his buddy Joshua Prior
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: from Booie State of defensive tackle seventy six tackles for
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: loss in his career. Uh, they're thirty one and a
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: half sacks too. So that's the kind of stuff that
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: pops out on the stat sheet. Now you want to
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: see why you see if those skills can translate? Right? Yeah,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: because you hadn't had opportunity to go in to the
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: school call. You haven't had a chance to size him
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: up physically, up close and personal. So this week will
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: give them an opportunity not only seem physically in practice,
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: but the kind I certainly gets, gets an opportunity for
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: those guys to show off their athleticism and explosives. Joshua Prior,
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: the Booie State Bulldog defensive tackle six ft four two
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: it and eighty pounds. We're gonna see him run through
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: some of these drills as the defensive guys get rolling
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: there from memory here in just a little bit for now, though,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: Andrew will get it back to you all right, we'll
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: check back in. Thank you, Rhett, Bucky and Manory with
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: Scott and Steve coming up momentarily, gentlemen, we appreciate it.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: The meantime, there's Vic Fangio, sixty four years old for
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: a head coach of the Denver Broncos, back as a coordinator,
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: and in Miami today where he said the NFL is
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: a better league when the Dolphins are relevant. Well, I
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: think the Dolphins um have a good thing going here,
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: like the Mike and his staff that he already has
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: in place here. I think there's good components to the
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: coaching staff led by Mike that made it intrigued, intriguing
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: to join that. I think there's a good nucleus of
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: players here and the lore of South Florida. Here's what
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: he's taken over a defense that I went too good
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: last year. I mean, certainly had its moments for some turnovers,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: got the end zone, but overall numbers not good offensive numbers. However,
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: camp Wolf quite good went to a tongue of Iloa
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: was actually there. So now Vic Fangio has gotta fix
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: the defense. The reaction so far to his hiring is
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: very much cited Andrew. This is a guy the Dolphins
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: wanted badly. He had a lot of competition to get
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: vic Fangio. They made the best in the overall best
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: offer for Vic Fangio, and he decided to come here,
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: and they hope that he can turn around this defense,
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: be the head coach of the defense, so to speak,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: for a group that has a lot of young talent,
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: as he cited as one of the reasons to come here,
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: like Jalen Phillips and Javan Holland, but needs that scheme
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: to take them over the top. And I've talked to
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: players really over the last couple of weeks who were
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: very much anticipating Vic Fangio bringing them to be a
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: top ten defense, and talking with him today, a couple
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: of things stood out. One the blitz element. This is
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: the Dolphins defense that blitz a ton the last few
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: years under Brian Flores and Josh Boyer. He said, my
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: philosophy on the blitz only one of blitz when I
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: want to, not because I need to, and so anticipate
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: them not blitzing as much, playing more zone coverage. And
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: he highlighted a couple of young players, one in particular,
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: safety Javon Hollantt. He said he has he's hopeful and
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: confident that he could be one of the best young
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: safeties in the league, one of the best safeties in
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: the league. And Javon Holland's excited to play with him too.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: I talked to him earlier this offseason and he said, look,
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: I'm very excited on what Vic can do and what
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: he can teach me in this defense. And so a
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: lot of potential here in Miami. And they're hopeful with
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: that high powered offense with Tyreek Kill, Jalen Wattle and Toua.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: Now they have the coach to lead the defense where
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: they want to go. Javon Hollands put together two very
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: good seasons. There's a second round pick out of Oregon.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about these free agency pieces here
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: in the off season. Holland is certainly not one of them,
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: at least not yet on the defensive side. Of Land
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: And Roberts and Melvin Ingram especially stand out. On the
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: offensive side, the backfields in flux, Teddy Bridgewater is a
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: backup quarterback is out there is all. The whole Mike
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: Gisicky thing is interesting. Can remember his name was kicked
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: around a lot right before the trade deadline. Obviously he
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: didn't move. He still there. He finished the season, give
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: me your thirty five thousand foot view picture of those
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: priorities in the off season, Andrew the first decision will
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: be to a tongue of la. He's gonna be the
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: quarterback in twenty three, but they have a decision to
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: make on his fifth year option worth low over twenty
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: three million dollars guaranteed, and Chris Greer, their general manager,
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: said earlier this offseason everything is on the table there.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: So we know two is their starting quarterback in three,
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: but they certainly are going to have much interest in
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: getting a backup quarterback and free agency to bring back
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: in that lineup. They had Teddy Bridgewater in that role
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: this past year, but he wasn't available sometimes when they
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: needed him to be, and so they'll evaluate him and
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: other options in free agency. And to a talk in
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: radio row about how the Dolphins handled his concussion protocol,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: said they he was happy with how they protected him
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: from himself. They believe he's gonna be back to where
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: he needs to be health wise. That's the big question
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: for them. But as they go into free agency, they
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: gotta get that running back room right to protect him,
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: to keep him not having him throw the ball a
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: lot of time, So keep an eye o Rahee Moster
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: and Jeff Wilson. They want to bring back at least
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: one of those guys. And briefly on Mike Asiki, who
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: you just mentioned, I'm told that he's expected to test
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: free agency and not return to Miami. Just wasn't a
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: fit there for scheme, so he'll likely be elsewhere. One
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: of my favorite Mike McDaniel moments on the podium this year,
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: and there were many of them, is when he said, well, hey,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Mike Kissicki's name. He was asked, my Cassicki's name is
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: out there when it comes to trade reports, and he
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: said that every other player should be offended that their
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: name isn't out there as well. With Mike Kissicki. It
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: was circular logic, but it made me laugh at the time.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Cam Wolfe. Alright, let's move on there from
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: the Dolphins and let's move on here to the Patriots.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: Matthew Slater over the weekend, this one was a bit surprising,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: announced he is coming back for a sixteenth season. Thirty
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: seven years old. Matthew Slater perennial pro bowler, a man
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: who when he does retire, Mike Giardi. Some people think
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: the name will be in the conversation one day for Canton, Ohio.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: So he is coming back. Big picture here, Bill O'Brien
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: is coming back as well for the Patriots. What does
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: that mean for mac Jones and the offense that seemingly
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't even know how to judge
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: for that offense. I would say that you throw it
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: out and we talked and or how many times? How
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: many times do we talk about it? It It was a
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: slog the whole year and and a lot of what
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: they were doing didn't make sense. It didn't make sense
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: to those of us who watched the game for a living,
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: but more importantly, it didn't make sense to the guys
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: that were doing it for the Patriots on offense. They
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: didn't quite understand the plan sometimes whether they had a
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: plan or had answers. So you get Bill O'Brien, who
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: is called plays at a bunch of different levels and
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: done it successfully, so right away you have a better
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: concept of what your offense is gonna be and how
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: you're gonna be able to run it. And I would
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: say the thing that keeps coming across and talking to
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: people is that it's a quarterback friendly offense. And one
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: of the things that mac Jones does really well is
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: operate out of empty well guests who likes to run
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: things out of empty that's Bill O'Brien. So right away
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: you're getting a messing of what the quarterback does well
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: with what the offensive coordinator likes to do well. He's
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: also been very good at implementing their tight ends. Patriots
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: have the highest paid tight end room and national football.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: They will Hunter Henry and John hu Smith, and you
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: can say Hunter Henry has been fine for the contract.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: John Smith has been a disappointment. So there's a possibility
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: there to get more out of that position than they have.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: And I think by and large, we talked about this
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: so much last year about not having answers for the Patriots,
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: not having the easy button that they could push, and
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: you talked to defenders on other teps that they just said, look,
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: we could get them bogged down, and when we had
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: a counter for what they were doing, they didn't have
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: the answer back. Bill o'brown will make sure they have answers,
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: and now I think we'll be able to judge mac
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: Jones and maybe he's closer to the guy we saw
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: as a rookie as opposed to what we saw last year.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: I mean, it is truly unfair, if not impossible to
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: judge Mac Jones. Granted it was his football. He went
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: out there, he played. We all get evaluated every time
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: we get out there in the field. We mean in
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: collectively here, um, But it's really hard to figure out
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: what happened. Maybe Bill O'Brien can change things. Obviously the
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: pieces will change. Let's put up a free agents Mike,
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: Jacobe Myers, Nelson Aghaloora, Damian Harris. He contributors their at
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: the skill position, Isaiah Win on the offensive line. And
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: then you know, maybe if Matthew Slater's coming back to
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: Vin McCord, he comes back, who knows? Mike looking at
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: this list, what do you think? Well, first thing, we'll
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: start with that wide receiver room, right, and I think
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: there is a feeling inside the building, at least amongst
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: some of the coaches and players that they need to
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: get better in that room. And I think you saw
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: how teams operated this offseason, this past offseason and the
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: trades made for elite wide receivers, and then what those
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: teams did. A J. Brown, of course ends up in
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. Tyreek Hill puts up a career year
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: with Miami, so I think they would like to be
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: more explosive in that room. I think they'd also like
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: to have Jacoby Myers come back. He's been their best
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: receiver the last couple of years. But we'll see if
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: the number that he might get in free agency. When
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: you look at that wide receiver class, he might be
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: the best of the group versus what they're willing to
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: pay him in house. And then lastly, I would look
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: at the offensive line, the tackle positions. You know, last
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: year before the season started, they flipped their tackles. Isaiah
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: Win went from left tackle to tackle, Trent Brown went
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: from right to left. Uh. Trent Brown was fine last year, Okay,
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: it was just an okay season. A lot of penalties
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: for him. Isaiah Win season went like this pretty much
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: from the start. They need to get better at that position.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: They need to improve. And I would just say look
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: at what Kansas City did right a couple of years ago.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: When things fell apart in the Super Bowl, Brett Veach said,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: we can't play this way with our quarterback. The Patriots
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: don't have a dynamic as a quarterback. As the chiefs do,
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: but they need to protect him is just as important. Yep.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: They went big. They got Orlando Brown, they got Joe Tunity,
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: they drafted Trey Smith, they got the parts, and they
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: rebuilt that line that was wearing zero sacks as a
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: T shirt this past Wednesday parading the Lombardi through Kansas City.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: You can turn the old line around quickly to put
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: some resources to it. Thank you, Mike yardy win Win.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: with my Heart Radio. For more podcast from my Heart Radio,
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple pod Casts, or
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts.