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All the news that is news · The Mostly Football Show

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Mostly Football Show, a uniquely Australian take on the NFL and all things in the world of sport.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Over to you, Pete.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to you wherever you are in this wonderful wide world today.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Mostly Football Show.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's the OGs again today.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here with Matt.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: How are you, Matt?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: Very good, mate.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: I'm in Sydney, but my heart's a Wrigley, as you can see, with my Cubbies MVP shirt on, the grey road uniform.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: So uh yeah, after a monstrous win this morning against the Brewers, aka the sewers, um, I am a very happy camper this evening.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you you should be.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh uh, I mean, ultimately the the Cubbies are having a good year.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't see them winning uh the the World Series this year, but they're having a good year.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um just a shame they're unlikable bunch of shit, really.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um but there you go.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm saying that on the day where uh technically Chicar uh San Francisco got their first sweep of the year of the season.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: So um after after winning at Atlanta.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: So so go figure.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: One of the worst teams in baseball.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: We've played Atlanta six times this year, one of the best teams in baseball, and our record against them is five and one.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: So there would you go?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: How would you go with that?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, enough about baseball.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh preseason's over.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: So uh if you've not had a chance to see your team preseason, you've missed it now.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure last weekend's games told us an awful lot, uh, other than resulting in a trade of a quarterback from Green Bay to Miami.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: But uh we'll see.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: But as ever, uh, we're gonna start with the news.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's time for the latest in NFL news.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Matt, what's been happening?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, indeed we are.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um the news rounder, August the 25th to September the 1st, 2026.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um blockbuster piece of news, Peter.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I'll give you this and maybe we'll pause and digest it a little bit.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: But um Aaron Donald has unretired and uh rejoined the Rams.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um he's a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, last played in 2023, and he's signed a one-year deal with um 20 million guaranteed, and he can earn up to$30 million with playoff incentives.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um he'll line up alongside Reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Miles Garrett, who was acquired from Cleveland in a blockbuster June trade, which now gives the Rams a defensive front with a combined five defensive player of the year awards and 236 career sacks between just the two of them.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um pretty scary stuff.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: Hey coach Sean McVeigh at this stage isn't committing to Donald playing in week one.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um as we all know, the Rams play the 49ers in Melbourne.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um McVeigh said it'll be a day at a time, um, but it caps an off-season that CBS has called potentially the best any NFL team has ever had.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um so Rams fans um must be frothing at the mouth and very much looking forward to um the season ahead.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: What are your thoughts, Pete?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: Oh well, look, a couple of things.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh uh it could be in danger of being this year's Frank Rangick if they're not too careful.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: He has missed all of preseason.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and that doesn't mean he's not the monstrous defense person we're we've become used to.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: I just, you know, part of me feels a little bit sorry for the guy who's missing out.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: Because ultimately you've got a 53-man roster, you think you you've got a place in it, and all of a sudden Aaron Donald puts his hand up and goes, Oh yeah, that that retirement thing now.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: No, I'm not gonna do that.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm gonna come back, and you're gonna give me twenty million bucks, and uh I'm gonna I'm gonna play again this year.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Which means there's somebody out there who's gonna be on a practice squad, not getting the game time they need.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it hampers progression for somebody in doing this.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: So um I feel for those guys, I think it's a great move for Los Angeles, but uh where do they go if they don't win the Super Bowl this year?
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um look, I think those are valid points, but I think this is a pretty low risk gamble.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_02: Donald is a veteran, he'll know what he needs to do to get ready and match fit.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: I think McBay's been quite sensible, saying they'll take it a day or a week at a time.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I would be very surprised um if he's not close to being ready.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I can't imagine a professional of his position and standing.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, someone who is just comfortably the best defensive tackle in the game.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: I can't imagine him um setting himself up for a potential fall if he's not confident that he can still go, and he's not confident that he can go reasonably quickly.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: So um, look again, I you know, I firmly put my um support in terms of predictions for the season in the Rams camp.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_02: And I I just think good on them, you know, they're really pushing their chips in the middle.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: This is such a strong move um by their head office, and I'd be very, very surprised if um, you know, to use the comparable you've just put out there, I would be very, very surprised if this was a a Ragno 2.0.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_02: I think the Rams and and Alan um Aaron Donald are much too professional for that.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I think in in Rank's case it they reached out to him rather than he reached into there.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you might see him trotting out 400 pound Aaron Donald rolling out onto the the D line at at some point, and you'll think, oh, he should have stayed at home.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: But we'll see.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I I agree with the athletics assessment uh when you look at what they've done preseason, gaining Walls Garrick, having Aaron Donald coming back, they're drafting Ty Simpson, that seems to be in a genius move at the moment.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, they're pre not they're not just preparing themselves for this year, I mean they're preparing themselves almost for for Aaron Donald and Matthew Staff to be off next year as well.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: So um fascinating moves.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: And uh given you'll come on to one of Green Bay's players not being able to play, um, probably for most of this season, uh, I might be regretting my uh overenthusiasm about my team in last week's prediction show.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: But uh but we'll see.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe we'll have a half-year view of where we're all at and and re-predict from there.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: But let uh uh that's only if I'm losing.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: So let's go from there.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: What else have you got for us?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: All right, moving on from Aaron Donald and the Rams.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh roster cut down day was August the 30th.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: So a couple of standout headlines.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um our old friend Odell Beckham Jr.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yes uh made the Giants 53-man roster.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: So it's a full circle moment for um Beckham Jr.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: He's a uh 2014 first round pick, and he's earned his spot back in um the blue of the Giants with a strong summer.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um he caught seven catches for 76 yards in the preseason, and he's just returning after a year out of the league.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: The Titans waive quarterback Will Levis, ending the former second-round picks run in Tennessee.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Levis was buried in the depth chart behind Cam Ward and Mitch Trubisky, ex-Bayer and Buffalo Bill, and Pittsburgh Steeler, I think.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: And he didn't play at all in 2025 after a shoulder surgery.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but all in all, over 1,100 players were released league-wide, as all 32 teams trimmed their rosters down to 53.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, cut down day was moved for those of you um following along as historians to Sunday for the first time in 22 years.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: And that's driven by the 49ers needing extra time to travel to Melbourne.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, cutdown day trades.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, my Bears traded defensive tackle Go Von Dexter Sr.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: to the Falcons for cornerback Clark Phillips the third and a 20 to 27 fifth rounder.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: Now, to me, this is a little bit surprising because we have been talking endlessly about how weak Chicago's uh defense is particularly their defensive front.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so Dexter did have a career high six sacks in 2025, but he was entering a contract year.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: It does appear that Ryan Poles was unwilling to extend him.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_02: So um, interesting one for the Bears.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um we're now relying on undrafted rookie Jaden Loving and Jordan Vandenberg, who is uh somebody we spoke about in our draft preview show.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: He was a rugby-playing convert out of South Africa, but by all accounts has had an astonishingly good uh preseason.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: But um yeah, it's a surprising move from the Bears.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I read that this morning as well, and and similar thoughts, right?
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: Which is offense, the Bears are are pretty strong.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but defence wise, they've lost quite a lot of their experience coming into the start of the new season.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh preseason is preseason, right?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: You can love it or you hate it.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um but it just felt like an odd move, especially in the experience the guy has.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: You need some veteran heads around when when the pressure gets on, and it feels like you know you can't stop a team from just doing anything.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: And and then we've all seen watch those games where you know you're playing the Rams or something, it doesn't matter how many times you you you you get the ball, they're scoring every time they get it, and and it becomes a lot harder to to manage.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I found it strange they wanted to get rid of him, but you know, don't know what the guy's asking for, don't know what the poles is thinking about.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's an interesting process.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_02: I I did I did get a sense that the Bears he had that big season in uh 2025, but had I got a sense the Bears felt that he'd not developed fully, you know, it was a a second round pick.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: In terms of experience, we've got Brady Jarrett as a defensive tackle, he's a big free agent signing the year before last.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um but he I think why it was widely accepted that he underperformed.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: So my you know, my sense is here that the the driving factor is that he's entering a contract year and roll uh Ryan Poles just didn't really want to extend him, or they were so far apart in terms of the valuation the Bears front office were putting on him and what the player and his agent might have indicatively been seeking.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: But um anyway, that one's in the books.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um Kerry's Cowboys have traded for Steelers offensive tackle, Broderick Jones.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: They sent a 2027 third and sixth-round pick to Pittsburgh.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Jones was a 14th overall pick in 2023, never really lived up to the hype in Pittsburgh, but Jerry and the Dallas Cowboys are betting that they can unlock him.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um the Dolphins um got quarterback Kyle McCord from the Packers.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: They did a 2028 sixth rounder, um, which reunites him with offensive former offensive coordinator um and newly appointed head coach of the Dolphins, Jeff Hafley.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Tyrod Taylor won Green Bay's backup job over McCord, which made him expendable.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: So um uh Hafley's taken two Green Bay quarterbacks with him to Florida.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: He has there, and I think McCord played the whole game on Sunday against uh the Cardinals, and interestingly interesting most interesting thing about that game, apart from its LeFleur versus LaFleur, uh uh was that uh Jordan Love called all the plays in the second half of the game.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: So um and if if you're a Packers fan, you'll not be overly happy that uh yet again they surrendered a lot of points in the second half, even in a preseason game.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um I don't know if you're gonna talk about it, but that uh sixth round draft pick from the Dolphins was actually uh uh um um something we we gave away as well once we got it from the Dolphins.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: We quickly gave it up to Pittsburgh for uh Caleb Johnson.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: So um I'm sure we're gonna come on to Josh Jacobs being an Augdy boy very soon.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but not a bad piece of business there for for the Packers with uh Caleb Johnson.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's probably a running back more suited to the style of game that LaFleur wants to play.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm kind of surprised we got him for a sixth round pick, but you know, it's uh it's good to see they've not put all their eggs in one basket and are looking at two or three uh running back options with uh what's happened with Josh Jacobs.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_02: So moving firmly into Naughty Boys Corner.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_02: We'll come on to Josh in a minute, but um James Pierce Jr.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: has officially now been suspended for eight games.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um so the Falcon outside linebackers' discipline is now finalized.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: And this stems from his domestic violence arrest confirming um a suspension that we discussed and flagged as pending last week.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_02: Josh Jacobs is has also formally been charged with misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal damage to property.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, this is down from an original five potential charges, including felony, um, all stemming from his arrest in May.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um Packers General Manager Brian Guttenkunst confirmed that Green Bay has been preparing contingency plans for this eventuality or for the eventuality of the NFL suspending him um during the season.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I believe he has been um suspended by the Commissioner, uh Peter.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh uh look, I'm glad this all happened now.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um and it's quite clear in the preseason that the Packers were preparing uh for him not being there.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh uh again, I don't really want to comment because you know, found guilty he will he was a very silly boy.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um and yes, I I know charge have been reduced from domestic violence down to misdemeanour and stuff like that doesn't mean there's no smoke without the fire.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: So um I hope that Josh is getting the help he needs to sort himself out, and I'd love to see him back in a in a green being uniform, suffice to things running their course and him being um found not guilty.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: I guess it it's it's a tough one.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to see anything like this, especially when it's your team.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but I'm glad that there is some uh morality within the the NFL community that stops players playing while they're under suspicion for any kind of domestic violence or violence of any nature, I guess.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: So um you might not like it because you know you want your team to win, but it's absolutely the right thing to do.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I fully support what Green Bay have done and what the the NFL Commissioner has done.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I think he's on the exemption list, which means he's exempt from being chosen until things run their course.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's probably worth explaining that, and unless um Pete, there's been an update since um I made these notes, but the NFL have placed him on the Commissioner exempt list, um, which means he can't practice all play whilst he's on the list, and only Commissioner Roger Goodell can remove him from it.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_02: The NFL hasn't yet determined a suspension for Jacobs, um, but um he's not even allowed to attend games um um whilst he's on the list.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: So um yeah, Packers head coach Matliflower was asked on Friday night um last week whether the team would keep Jacobs regardless of how his case played out, and he said he fully expected Jacobs to remain within the franchise.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: He will not count against the initial 53-man roster, um, but um his lawyers are hard at work looking to try to resolve this matter by uh by the sound of things.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: So one to keep an eye on.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: So, unless I uh through everything I've read, I'm I'm horribly mistaken, he still gets paid.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: He's just not allowed to play.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: He still picks up.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: I know and I know uh NFL contracts are based on you know win bonuses, game bonuses, yard bonuses, touchdown bonuses, all of this good stuff.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: But ultimately he still gets his basic salary, which is way more than you and I will probably earn in a lifetime.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not the end of the world for Josh Jacobs.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh it's just frustrating that uh Yeah.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it's not a good thing.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I I we have to sit here and comment on stuff that we probably shouldn't be commenting about, but you you you're judging someone without knowing true facts and until everything comes out.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_02: Well, the fact of the matter is, Pete, he's one of your best players on the offensive side of the ball, and he's he's now suspended.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: So um moving on, um Broncos linebacker Jonathan Cooper was also placed on the commissioner's exempt list um following domestic violence charges from two June arrests.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: Now, an update on that.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: He has pled not guilty to all charges related to his domestic violence case in a Colorado courtroom yesterday.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: Consequently, a jury is now scheduled to begin um November 10th with a pre-trial hearing set for October the 30th.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um initially, he was arrested following an altercation with his then girlfriend, subsequently charged with domestic violence and misdemeanor criminal mischief.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: So, gosh, didn't realise I'd be using these words so frequently in a NFL podcast.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: But um, it's uh it's uh it's another one to keep an eye on.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um moving on to probably, I mean, all of these people should likely know better, but um, we talked about um Jed York uh last week, the 49ers um uh owner.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um so as previously reported, um Jed York was arrested in Ohio on August the 23rd on suspicion of engaging in prostitution.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_02: So more facts have emerged.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, according to the court documents, he responded to an undercover law enforcement ad and arranged to meet a woman for$140.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: He was arrested on yeah, he was arrested on arrival at a mobile home park near East Palestine, Ohio, which is close to his hometown of Youngstown.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_02: He pled no contest Monday, August the 24th, which we reported upon last week, um, to two lesser misdemeanours, disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_02: Still not quite sure what that means, so we'll keep an eye on that.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: And he was sentenced to time serve, two days with one day credited, plus an$1,150 uh fine.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: So few relevant threads around this.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um the NFL confirmed it's reviewing the matter under the personal conduct policy.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: However, there's no word yet on attached disciplinary action.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we did mention that York had filed for divorce from his wife Danielle in May.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and the 49ers have issued a brief statement which said, as this is a legal matter which has been resolved, we will not be providing any further comment at this time.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and this is not their usual.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: We won't comment on pending legal matters.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um the speculation there is that they've taken that stance since this one's already been resolved.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, there's real discussion going on in the media um around, and the San Francisco Standard ran a piece asking what happens if Jed York turns into an absentee owner.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: So this narrative is all about whether York steps back from day-to-day visibility, particularly bearing in mind the 49ers are travelling to Australia for their September the 10th opener against the Rams in 17 days.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: Now, there's a wrinkle here.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: Presumably he's not allowed in the country now.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's exactly what I was going to say.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, obviously this isn't um this isn't being discussed in the North American press, but we as citizens of this great nation know the implications there.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: So one theory is the league could move to suspend him before week one, um, which might get him out of you know such a bind of not being able to enter the come country.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um in terms of context on ownership, the Yorks hold 9.2% of the franchise.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um they are they are the biggest owners, right?
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: He is he his name is on the letterhead of uh of ownership, yeah.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um and also um several prominent Bay Area families have a can um have a large percentage of owner trip ownership and Fortress's Pete Bryger.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um Vinard Cosler, um, we mentioned that gentleman's name in passing, Pete.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_02: Can you remember in what context?
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: I cannot know.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_02: He's the guy who just bought the Seattle Seahawks.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, is he?
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: Oh wow Cosler is um also an owner of the 49ers, but the league will require him to divest his model loads, right?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: So once once the snail on the Seahawks closes, Cosler will need to divest his shareholding.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um it is worth noting that Al Guido remains the CEO, um and York's title is principal owner.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um so materially this doesn't change who's running day-to-day football or business operations for all you 49ers fans, but it's very much an active story given the timing right before the season opener and the laws um pertaining to entering uh Australia.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's fascinating that and uh without trying to get myself in any trouble, 140 bucks.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: 140 bucks.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: Man a lie.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: What what was he thinking?
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I've just asked Claude what the potential consequences could be, um from an NFL perspective.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: So um top of the list is probably a fine and a temporary suspension, which probably goes along with what you're saying, which is the swiftest thing they can do is ban him from uh first five games or something.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: And that gets him out of having an awkward conversation and appearing on uh Border Patrol season sixty three next year on uh 630 at channel seven at uh sunday nights or w whatever it is.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um that then uh next next is probably just a fine it's very unlikely they will force him to sell up or do anything though there is precedent for that in nineteen ninety eight or something like that.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um an owner was uh in in had huge gambling problems and he was asked to divest his ownership in the NFL team which I think was the 49ers as well.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: So um yeah it's it's interesting.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: We'll keep uh we'll keep an eye on that.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: Let's finish the news roundup with on a brighter note um so now all thirty two teams shift fully into week one prep with the regular season kicking off on Wednesday September the ninth North American time with the Patriots and the Seahawks a repeat of the last Super Bowl and of course uh the 49ers play the Rams at the MCG uh on Thursday night football Friday morning in Australia.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: This is the news roundup excellent well thanks very much is there's a lot to chew through uh uh and we've had some some good chat there about some of the impending problems and we hopefully we'll get some more positive news coming out um over the course of the next week because I'm pretty sure once we hit season on it will be uh injury after injury impact after impact uh let's hope so um I'd much rather be talking about that than uh domestic violence and prostitution so who'd have thought it right six months in or nearly a year into doing this podcast uh we'd be talking about those two things.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: So uh let's let's talk about well one pre season uh how do you think the Bears have got preseason?
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um I did watch a little bit of the um game against the Titans at the weekend um Tyson Bajan was outstanding he threw a 97 yard pass to Xavier Thomas I think that was his first catch because he's been injured in preseason um but um yeah it was mostly of all uh reserves playing um case Keenum came in and finished the game off look you would expect the Bears to be the Titans I would hope um but look I think Caleb probably played half a dozen downs all preseason and um hopefully is ready to rock and roll in week one against the Panthers I think we've got so um I think you know for me it's it's it's more about managing the departures and the injuries Kobe Bryant is a huge loss for us.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: Drew Dolman is a huge loss for us to retirement DJ Moore traded to the Bills you know it's really time for Luther Burden Rome Adunze and the rest of the wide receiving core to step up I did notice that in our final 53 man roster um Ben Johnson had named four tight ends.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: I think we were expecting uh three Loveland Comet and Sam Raus who they invested some draft capital in I think it was a round three or round four pick in in the 2026 draft but they retained another tight end so I think we'll see us in those 12 and 13 set formations um much more often than we did even last year and I believe it was a record for us in those tight end heavy sets last year in Johnson's first year.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_02: So um I'm not getting too worried about it.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: Haven't really taken an enormous amount of notice about many of the results in actual fact I've just been keeping an eye on who's got through camp and the preseason games fit um unscathed and uh non-injured.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yes and and that's uh probably the the the best you could hope for right uh it doesn't surprise me you've gone four tight ends.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think he loves a tight end um uh no pun intended uh uh it's it's been a lot of the makeup of the game at clutch moments it was uh a lot back end of last season it was Castle Loveland standing up for you right it was uh it it wasn't him it was DJ Moore so I expect a lot more tight endery from uh from the Bears this year.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um from a Packers perspective very obvious that Parsons is not going to play in the first four games of the season uh which is probably the sensible thing.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we've got a fairly decent schedule.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: If we if we overcome the Vikings you should expect the Packers to be three and one um if not four and oh through the first four games um which we'll see uh uh preseason uh look w the game against Denver was great when Jordan Love was was running the first drive we looked solid he found his man um I think it's it's a year for for someone like Luke Van Ness now to s to step up and from a defensive perspective.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: The veterans there, Edjury Cooper and Zaiya Franklin have got to get on and do their jobs.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of moaning about Kishon Nixon and he can shut people up if he just gets on and shuts his mouth and and does stuff.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: We scored a punt return so it's a long time since we've seen it so a lot of good noise and positive noise about special teams.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: Going on Devontae Wyatt's back um we've got uh you know we've got Marshawn Lloyd and O'Caleb Johnson who'll be running from the back and our our six wide receivers Kishon Johnson uh uh Jay Michael's turde Sky Moore Jaden Reed Christian Watson and Matthew Golden I uh you know I think last year was a very quiet year for Golden in in his rookie year.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think that was by design.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it'll be interesting to see how they utilize his speed uh over the course of this season because if there's one thing that he has over many uh cornerbacks and everything else he is lightning quick so uh we'll just have to see how things plan out.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um so other notable things came out of preseason is Fernando Mendoza seemed to be okay.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the the collective world lost its shit when he threw an interception in his second game like like like no quarterbacks in the world throw interceptions.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: So it'll be interesting to see how he goes.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Ty Simpson from the Rams probably showed that if Stafford gets injured he can step up and and guide a Rams team even though he's inexperienced.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: So it's good to watch some of that.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: But other than that you it's not too much you can take away.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: I I can't I don't think there's many people who played for Green Bay on Sunday who even made the 53 man roster.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll see some of them will be in the practice squad but uh yeah it's uh it's an interesting time now now's now's when we start guessing about what how we're gonna play what we're gonna do how we're gonna set up you know is Jonathan Gannon gonna make the defence as good as like Jeff Avely did?
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: Are we going to stop leaking points in the fourth quarter?
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: All that stuff's gonna be picked up on uh game one at some ridiculous hour of the morning on the thirteenth of September and 14th of September.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: Very good okay well speaking of 53 man rosters uh there's been a few surprise releases uh Matt I'm gonna start with mine I'm gonna start with my most surprising one and only because he's uh he's a favourite uh ex-player of mine or at least not an ex-player he's still a player an ex-green bay ex-packer um MVS uh Dallas released it uh and I know they've got CeeDee Lamb and and um uh Pickens was there and they were catching things all over the shot but when those two aren't on fire there's not that much there I would have thought MVS would have been a very good fit for them Super Bowl winner with the Chiefs um one of Aaron Rodgers' go-to guys at at some point so I'm very surprised they let him go.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yes and for those of you who don't know who MBS is it is Marquise Valdez Scantling wide receiver.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_02: Well said well said yes that one's that one stuck out to me as well Pete so you're off to a off to a blinding start.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: Very good very good what names do you want to throw at me?
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: Is he he's just your number one is he um another um another former packer Colby Wooden a defensive tackle with the Colts um the Colts acquired him from Green Bay in March in exchange for 2024 Pro Bowl linebacker Zaire Franklin and they've then gone and cut Colby Wooden five months later um this is being called the worst trade of the offseason for Indianapolis um since the Packers got a starting calibre linebacker and the Colts have really now got nothing to show for it.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_02: So um I thought I'd tug that Green Bay thread a little bit more for you.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_02: In terms of the Bears we cut Jedrick Wills Jr.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_02: an offensive tackle we've had some fun and games with our left tackle position over the last couple of years.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_02: Jedrick Wills was a 2020 top 10 pick and was cut alongside Kieran Amagadji who I believe was our third round draft pick in 2024.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_02: He played one outstanding game I think against the commanders but has been injured the entire rest of the time so um these two cuts indicate very heavily that left tackle um Braxton Jones will win the starters job.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_02: My concern there is Braxton Jones has been the incumbent for the last two or three years and really um the underlying reason for all of this controversy and um competition is he's not been performing.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_02: He does have all of the tools but he's inconsistent but um we've gotten rid of two of his challengers um it would appear in the 53 man roster cuts.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_02: We did mention um uh Will Levis um um leaving Titans um sticking with our um hosting team Jaden Blue a running back with the Cowboys who is a 2025 fifth round pick and he rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown as a rookie um was one of the more surprising outright cuts given there have been signs there that he'd got real ability but um maybe that's Jerry just being Jerry.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_02: The Jillians cut uh could be Evan Neal the 2022 number seven overall pick um so um you know them cutting him um sort of four years, three years four years after they drafted him at number seven um is really you know quite a damning um conclusion to um that decision um yeah uh and the Jets got rid of Maisie Smith as well which uh okay um yeah his former first round defensive tackle that who was acquired by Dallas in uh uh in 2023 so jets have actually got rid of a couple of uh surprising ones yes uh oh I know my Maisie Smith being the s the the big surprise the other one that stood out for me uh was Miami um who got rid of Donovan Edwards yeah okay yeah yeah yeah there's just a decent running back yes yeah and you've got to think that some of these guys are gonna land elsewhere right I think it's gonna be um going to be an interesting couple of days to see if any of these guys get picked up by other teams or whether they land back on the practice squads of the teams that have cut them just a couple more in in my list Pete um continuing that theme of of busted first round picks Isaiah Simmons who was a linebacker at the Panthers was the number eight overall pick in 2020 he just played five games for Carolina last year and he's been let go and um one for the record books Johnny Hecker who was the Viking is the active career punting yardage yardage leader that's a really tough one to say um he's lost his job to a rookie in uh in training camp yeah um this year and and given the kind of trend towards um the accuracy of punting and rather than the length of it um and the accuracy of kicking as well uh I I think that's uh that's that's probably the right business for for Minnesota to be doing.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: But Johnny Hecker's been around for a long time.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: So um and and a and a very decent punter.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I know you don't hold too many punters or probably one on your 53 man squad but only one yeah you've got to have some backup somewhere.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_02: So um I mean they'd have they'd have somebody on the practice squad wouldn't they I mean I think you make good point Pete put punting's become an art form hasn't it and you know something for us to celebrate is that you know that's come about with the advent of Australians you know winning and holding down jobs there.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_02: So you know the Bears and the Seahawks both have Australian punters and those boys can boom it but they also punt with an exceptional amount of skill they put spin and you know somehow managed to find a way to get balls to land and bounce backwards which means their inside 20s are um you know extraordinarily um uh increased in terms of punters in the years gone by so um yeah I think that's a sign of the modern game Pete that punting has really become a weapon in in actual fact.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: If you've got a punter who can really move you down the field and pin teams inside their own five and ten yard lines um that's an i i you know an i extraordinary extraordinarily valuable asset to have yeah uh and and um and and kickers as well so you know there's quite a few rookie kickers in the league now none none more so than uh than the boy smack who's come to to Green Bay Packers so uh I I can see some headlines about you've been smacked coming out if we win by a field goal in the last minute.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: He's perfect through preseason um yeah and slotting them over for 58, 60 odd yards without even thinking about it.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: So uh the value in those three points um if I could take you back to a year ago when there were four of us talking on this uh this podcast our erstwhile colleague Rowie at the time suggested we should be revisiting whether you get three points for a field goal or not because people were kicking them from too far away.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_02: So it's uh it's an interesting development that's probably happened over the last few few months about getting kick kickers who can kick 60 70 yard feed without yeah it's un almost unthinkable from the days when you and I started watching the game and Mick Luckhurst and Morton Anderson were I remember the uh oh the the uh Washington Redskins had a kicker called I think Mark Mosley who was a straight on kicker.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yes who um he wasn't even uh yeah yeah he was a toe pun kicker so um who would have thought we've come from those days to you know 60 yard as being um a you know very requisite part of a a new kicker's army just to finish off on these um these uh cuts um you know and before we wrap up there have been a couple of notable injury reserve physically unable to perform moves that effectively teams are using as like a soft cut yeah um so um Harold Landry an edge rusher at the Patriots was placed on pup after knee surgery he'll be out at least four games so um obviously doesn't count against the 53 man roster and um poles and Johnson are up to it with the Bears and Kyler Gordon um he's been left on the physically unable to perform list um he's out for the first four games so I wonder if um haven't checked Peter you'll probably know better than I wonder if the Packers did that with um Parsons exactly what they did yeah and and one other notable player who's who's made the pup list they're eligible to return quarterback Dylan Gabriel for the Cleveland Browns because presumably he'll wait his time around uh game eight when they've had enough of uh Deshaun and Shadur and Tylan Green as well so he's he'll probably return as uh and and maybe they'll uh in baseball terms DFA Tylan Green or stick him on the reserve list but uh yeah Dylan Gabriel's on the on the IR at the minute so yeah just breaking news today um on the quarterback um scene the Vikings waived max brosma yes um um and I think um JJ McCarthy JJ McCarthy's been retained I'm not sure if he's also on the pub list or whether he's part of the 53 man ah he's he is on the 53 man roster.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah so that's one to keep an eye on.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: McCart McCarthy um Caso Vence and um yeah Kyla Murray Kyler Murray that's that's the one I'm thinking of uh so so yeah interesting move by the Vikings as well so so Vikings and the Browns just they really need to sort their act out I I can't imagine that that Green Bay will steamroller the Vikings.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: So let's imagine they did um and let's say it's 283 or or or or six or nine or any multiple that's not a touchdown.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_01: Are they gonna flip the switch and go straight to JJ you know is Carson Benz going to get a look in I mean last year they hang him out the drive so yeah it's it there's so many stories this year.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_02: And the last one um that I wanted to mention was the Cowboys waive in quarterback Joe Milton to clear um room for Sam Howell to be the backup to um Dak Prescott.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yes ever forget his yeah we're yeah mate we're we're we're losing our quarterback names yes too long we are right on that huge news roundup uh we'll be looking forward to well in the first game in Australia but the start of the season next week so we'll be doing a preview show next Tuesday hopefully in your ears on Thursday morning and hopefully uh with some good luck and a following wind and uh not so busy schedule we will do a reaction show to the game here in Australia between the Rams and the 49ers um subject to the 49ers owner being allowed in the country I guess so so look out for that that will come out over the weekend uh the the 12th or 13th of September or maybe the Monday depends how things go anyway Matt as ever thanks for your time enjoy the rest of your week pleasure and we'll catch you on YouTube mate next week cheerio ta's wrap on another episode of the Mostly Football show don't forget to subscribe and review or get in touch at mostly football twenty five at gmail dot com.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: See you next week