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Should The Saints Trade For Las Vegas Raiders TE Michael Mayer? · AFR Saints

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  Speaker 1: AFR on Demand is brought to you by Breck Golf.
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  Speaker 1: full round. Book your tea time today. Golf dot Breck
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  Speaker 1: dot org. Golf dot Breck dot org. There's a report
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  Speaker 1: from the Athletic that the Las Vegas Raiders are shopping
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  Speaker 1: tight end Michael Mayer to other teams around the NFL.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, as I often say, when there's a
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  Speaker 1: free agent or a player that is on the trade
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  Speaker 1: block and you ask the question like should my team
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  Speaker 1: go after that player? I think you should always, like
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  Speaker 1: one hundred percent of the time, have the conversation. Many
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  Speaker 1: times it's not going to make sense financially, roster wise, whatever,
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  Speaker 1: but as a GM someone who is in charge of
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  Speaker 1: organizing the roster, you should always have the conversation because
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  Speaker 1: you never know until you ask. I mean, did anybody
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  Speaker 1: realistically pat Riley was going to land Lebron d Wade
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  Speaker 1: and Bosh got them all. As Dan LeBatard said, everybody.
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  Speaker 2: Wanted one of them. Riley got the ball.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I had to ask you to put it together.
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  Speaker 1: So what kind of deal can you do now? Michael
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  Speaker 1: Mayer and that? But I think you should always have
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  Speaker 1: the question, and the Saints have a very real need
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  Speaker 1: at tight end. Let me rephrase, the Saints have a
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  Speaker 1: very real need at everything. So every player that is
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  Speaker 1: an upgrade over what you currently have that is affordable,
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  Speaker 1: you've got to look at what it would cost to
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  Speaker 1: get that player. So if you're asked me, should the
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  Speaker 1: Saints trade for Michael Mayer up? If you don't draft
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  Speaker 1: a tight end, then absolutely so let's piece together the
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  Speaker 1: options here. Okay, first of all, the Saints could sign
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  Speaker 1: a tight end in free agency. It could, but I
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  Speaker 1: also think this is unlikely unless if you re signed
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  Speaker 1: your guy Juwan Johnson. So, for whatever it's worth, PFF
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  Speaker 1: ranks Juwan Johnson as the number one free agent tight
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  Speaker 1: end in this free agent cycle. That should put some
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  Speaker 1: context on how week of a free agent cycle this
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  Speaker 1: is at tight end. They've got Juwan Johnson number one,
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  Speaker 1: followed by Micah Sicki Tyler, conklin zach Ertz, and then
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  Speaker 1: Austin Hooper. That's the free agent tight end crop the
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  Speaker 1: top five. You could resign Juwan Johnson. He was your
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  Speaker 1: leading pass catcher this past year after the injuries to
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  Speaker 1: a Lave and.
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  Speaker 2: Shaheed and Taysom Kamara.
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  Speaker 1: But he's certainly not a prototype tight end and hasn't
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  Speaker 1: been the dynamic player many he was thought it would be,
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  Speaker 1: especially in the red zone.
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  Speaker 2: So I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: That you have a free agent option the better option.
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  Speaker 1: And by the way, if you look at the roster
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  Speaker 1: currently where the Saints are at tight end, Juwan Johnson
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  Speaker 1: is a free agent. Foster Morow is entering the final
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  Speaker 1: year of his of his contract, the free agent contract
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  Speaker 1: that he signed, and.
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  Speaker 2: This could be.
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  Speaker 1: A situation where Foster is a cap casualty. I don't
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  Speaker 1: know what's gonna happen here with Foster, but it's just
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  Speaker 1: worth noting as you look at numbers, Foster has a
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  Speaker 1: four point six million dollar cap hit. He has no
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  Speaker 1: dead money, so they this year, so they could cut
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  Speaker 1: or lease Foster Moro. You'd save four point six million dollars.
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  Speaker 1: You'd be down a tight end.
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  Speaker 2: But you could like nobody wants to see that happen.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, we're talking about potentially release and tire and
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  Speaker 1: potentially releasing Foster.
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  Speaker 2: I love to see the LSU guys there. We all
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  Speaker 2: know Foster story.
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  Speaker 1: Louisiana guy went to New Orleans guy went to Jesuit
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  Speaker 1: LSU number eighteen. All the stuff had been with Carr
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  Speaker 1: with the Raiders. Saint signed him in free agency when
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  Speaker 1: they had a need at tight end, and Foster's been.
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  Speaker 2: He's been a good.
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  Speaker 1: Player, not a great player for New Orleans. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: we know he went through his cancer battle. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: I would love to see Foster stay, but he's got
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  Speaker 1: a four point six million dollars cap hit, no dead money.
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  Speaker 1: You could release him and say four point six like that,
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  Speaker 1: and when you were where the Saints are with respect
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  Speaker 1: to the cap. These are the types of decisions sometimes
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  Speaker 1: you have to make. So Juwan Johnson's a tight end,
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  Speaker 1: Foster Morrow is entering the final year of his deal.
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  Speaker 1: He could be a cap casually, and then Tasoum's hurt,
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  Speaker 1: and he's not really a tight end to begin with,
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  Speaker 1: Like Taysom Mill is a versatile player, but he is
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  Speaker 1: not a prototype tight end. So you need a tight end.
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  Speaker 1: Not great tight end class in free agency, you don't
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  Speaker 1: really have great options currently on the roster. I would
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  Speaker 1: say drafting a tight end is likely. As a matter
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  Speaker 1: of fact. Ross Jackson, our guy over at Louisiana Sports
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  Speaker 1: on Net today put out a seven round post Combine
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  Speaker 1: Saints mock draft, and with the ninth overall pick, he's
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  Speaker 1: got the and this has been a pretty common pick
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  Speaker 1: as well. With the ninth overall pick, he's got the
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  Speaker 1: Saints taking Tyler Warren, the tight end out of Penn State,
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  Speaker 1: which if that would have happened, I would I would
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  Speaker 1: go head over heels love that. I think Tyler Warren
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  Speaker 1: is a he is a you never want to say
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  Speaker 1: can't miss. You could always miss on guys in the draft.
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  Speaker 1: But size, physicality, athleticism, hands, blocking ability, all of it.
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  Speaker 1: Complete tight end position of need. And I think will
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  Speaker 1: still be a relevant player in his physical prime by
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  Speaker 1: the time, in theory two, three, four years down the line,
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  Speaker 1: when you get this roster back to where you feel
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  Speaker 1: like you can compete, I think he could be very
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  Speaker 1: much a cornerstone part of that. You need everything, and
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  Speaker 1: if he's there at nine, you take him. I'm thrilled
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  Speaker 1: with that. But this is also a very deep tight
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  Speaker 1: end draft class. Not only do you have Warren, but
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  Speaker 1: you got Colston Loveland from Michigan. By the way, PFF
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  Speaker 1: ranking the tight ends in this draft class, just for
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  Speaker 1: some context, they have Tyler Warren as the thirteenth overall
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  Speaker 1: player in the draft, Colston Loveland out of Michigan the
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  Speaker 1: thirty first overall player of the draft. So two guys
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  Speaker 1: there in the top thirty two Gunner Helm from Texas
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  Speaker 1: seventy fifth, Elijah Arroyo eightieth, and Mason Taylor eighty seventh
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  Speaker 1: as the top five titles the draft. So you got
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  Speaker 1: the first two and Warren in Loveland who probably first
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  Speaker 1: round picks. But then you got Helm, Arroyo, and Taylor
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  Speaker 1: all within like twelve spots of each other in these rankings,
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  Speaker 1: that would be like third round picks. So point being,
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  Speaker 1: even if you don't get Warren in round one or
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  Speaker 1: Loveland around round three, there's gonna be a really good
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  Speaker 1: tight end very likely sitting there for you to be
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  Speaker 1: able to draft one of the guys that just mentioned Helm,
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  Speaker 1: Royo or Taylor. Of course, we love to see Taylor,
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  Speaker 1: LSU guy go there. We'll see what they do. But
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  Speaker 1: I think the best option is going to be in
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  Speaker 1: the draft. But if you don't, if if you don't
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  Speaker 1: draft a tight end, Michael Mayer could be great value.
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  Speaker 1: He came out of Notre Dame and was an elite
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  Speaker 1: level prospect. He was the second round pick of the Raiders.
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  Speaker 1: He had a good, not great rookie season. Caught twenty
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  Speaker 1: seven passes for three hundred and four yards and two touchdowns.
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  Speaker 1: That's a good rookie season. It's just it pales in
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  Speaker 1: comparison to what we just saw Brock Powers do, and
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  Speaker 1: so Mayor had really a down second season twenty one
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  Speaker 1: catches for one to fifty six in large part because
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  Speaker 1: Brock Bowers had the greatest receiving season for a rookie
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  Speaker 1: tight end in the history of the NFL, so naturally,
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  Speaker 1: playing the same position, Mayor wasn't gonna get the looks.
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  Speaker 1: So when I look at this, because he was the
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  Speaker 1: second round pick, it was a Day two pick.
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  Speaker 2: Affordable salary.
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  Speaker 1: His twenty twenty five number is one and a half
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  Speaker 1: million dollars, his twenty twenty six numbers two million bucks.
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  Speaker 2: Super affordable.
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  Speaker 1: The question is what would you have to give up
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  Speaker 1: to get him, a former second round pick who really
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  Speaker 1: hasn't performed on in the last two years. You could
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  Speaker 1: probably give a Day three pick. I mean you could
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  Speaker 1: trade a six or a seven in theory. Now the
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  Speaker 1: Raiders may want more than that, but they got a
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  Speaker 1: guy that's sitting there on the roster they used a
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  Speaker 1: second round pick on that they're getting nothing out of
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  Speaker 1: because they drafted Brock Powers. Like anything is better than nothing.
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  Speaker 1: Could you go offer a six, offer a late day
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  Speaker 1: three pick and get Michael Mayer and pay him a
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  Speaker 1: million five and twenty twenty five two million bucks in
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six. Yeah, that feels like a really good
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  Speaker 1: option for a young, very talented guy. It's probably a
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  Speaker 1: better option all around than anyone you currently have on
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  Speaker 1: your roster, would be more cost effective than any free agents,
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  Speaker 1: and probably a better player than the guys in the draft,
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  Speaker 1: unless if you were able to get Tyler Warren ninth. Overall,
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  Speaker 1: I think this is one that Saye's got to pick
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  Speaker 1: up the phone and call.
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  Speaker 2: Now.
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  Speaker 1: I wouldn't do it until after the draft if he's
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  Speaker 1: still hanging around, But that's one that I could really
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  Speaker 1: see making sense for New Orleans.
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  Speaker 2: Is Michael Mayer from the Raiders.
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  Speaker 1: If if the deal makes sense because everything else, need position,
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  Speaker 1: your position to need salary, contract, all this stuff. If
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  Speaker 1: the deal makes sense in what you have to give
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  Speaker 1: up to get him. Yeah, there's a lot of boxes
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  Speaker 1: that would check.