The Only Combine Quotes We Care About

1h 6m
Dan Hanzus and Marc Sessler are joined by James Palmer to identify the only press conference quotes that matter from the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. We start with all the chatter about the Tush Push, hearing from Nick Sirianni and Raheem Morris (9:44), and then hit Brett Veach's comments about Travis Kelce's retirement status (18:45). Next, we cover what Duke Tobin said about making Ja'Marr Chase the highest paid non-quarterback in football (24:43), Chris Ballard's quote about Anthony Richardson (30:33), new Jaguars GM James Gladstone (37:23), the latest on Myles Garrett trade reports (44:37), and some other quick news items (51:25).
0:00 Welcome
2:08 James Palmer Joins
6:16 NFL Combine Press Conference Reactions
9:44 Tush Push Comments
18:45 Travis Kelce Retirement Update
24:43 Ja’Marr Chase Contract
30:33 Anthony Richardson
37:23 James Gladstone
44:37 Myles Garrett
51:25 Other News
1:03:08 Wrap Up
---------
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Transcript

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The Heed the Call Pod Chest

wants you to tell the truth.

Tell the truth.

Wow, we're really going for it, huh?

We're bringing back tell the truth.

All right, here we are.

Welcome to Heed the Call

with Dan Hansis and Mark Sessler.

On a Tuesday night, here we are in Los Angeles watching very closely everything that's going down over in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine, where the press conferences for coaches and GMs kicked off.

Ceci, we just got back from a nice dinner with our representation.

And I know you're very excited for tonight's show.

I'm excited.

I mean, you know,

when you and I started at NFL.com and like a newsroom that had been a previous, I think it was like some sort of

factory for data collection or something before it became a newsroom.

Like, had I, when I, and I, and I remember the first day that I like taught you how to use the computer, had I known that, like, a decade and a half later, we would be out with our agents, like our, with people that we, that have helped us and we help them and we love them, like with our ladies and having drinks.

Like, I would never have thought that would have been a reality.

That seems out of control.

And I think I've also found, I've spun into a scenario where like most listeners are like, f ⁇ you.

So I get that too.

Like that, they're like, we don't, you, you now are no longer part of our community.

We don't like you anymore.

But like

where I'm going with this is just to say like it was really nice.

Yeah, we were out to dinner.

Maybe Cecily had a glass of white wine and that's the monologue how we opened the show.

You know, I'm very happy, Mark, though, that as we spin through these

press conferences that

we're going to glean so much information about the league.

We need someone else's guiding hand.

So let's welcome

from a different time zone, the great James Palmer.

Gentlemen, gentlemen, I have not had a few Chardonnays.

What have you?

You didn't think you'd get a big daddy reference right away, did you?

Right out big daddy.

We got concussion, the Will Smith concussion movie that nobody saw.

We got that box checked, and now we have a 24-year-old Adam Sandler feature.

Got that as well.

What's that kid doing these days?

Tell the truth.

Tell the truth.

Will really was pushing hard for the statue that year.

Yeah.

He was.

Elusive.

Until he slipped.

What's up, James?

Ah, guys.

Ah, it's great to see you.

It's not the same, though.

When we were all...

living together, bunking up.

It felt good.

It felt real good.

And I'm not going to lie, I've already liked all of of you guys.

I got to hang out with Jason.

Super stoked about that.

But the real winner of the entire time was my wife.

Man, does she love the Heed the Callboys?

Woo!

We love Meg.

We love Meg.

She's great.

What a great fit.

You know,

we did a live show that Thursday night

before we got on the plane and got back to LA, Super Bowl week.

You know, we had a nice time in the kitchen afterwards, eating old pizza, drinking booze, listening to tunes.

A lot of oasis.

Yeah, a lot of oasis.

You know who else was there, actually?

Party J

and

Connor Engraver.

Connor

Engraver.

Party J and your mom's name again, Justin?

Elise.

Elise, Party Elise.

You know, it does strike me because Justin moved to Texas, and I, you know, I apologize.

This was kind of audible to knock out the show a little bit later.

Justin getting dinged a little bit on the time zone right now with the the taping, and I think he's wearing a bathrobe right now.

No, no, I can explain.

So what's happening is I have a very clingy, needy wiener dog who is sitting underneath my shirt.

Oh.

Oh, wow.

What else he got under there?

Wait, you're putting the dog.

Hold on.

The dog is going underneath your garments.

He likes to be warm and on skin.

Fur on skin.

Yeah, I don't mind.

I love my dog.

That is a wild revelation just now that you have an actual canine

pressed up against your skin under your clothing as you're producing heed the call.

Mark, this is Texas Justin just hits a little different.

I do acknowledge that,

you know, I think Justin saw this out of the gate as a day off where he could,

he just moved and like, no, no, I'm not, this is Justin, hear me out.

Like, this was a day where he could compartmentalize.

Like, you're moving into a house.

You got it.

Like, he showed us via phone, like, a lot of unpacked boxes.

And I would imagine that, you know, Jessica, the lovely Jessica, and the dog that's underneath his garment, thought that this would be a time where you go and work on the household.

But instead, we've wrangled you at 11.23 p.m.

into this, back into this world.

And so wherever you're at, Justin, I accept you.

I accept.

Yeah, go ahead.

Do you have certain shirts that are in a different pile for dog wearing?

Great question.

Good question.

That's a reporter's question.

Yeah, they have to be sized different.

No, he likes it tight, actually.

So this shirt's a little looser.

This is sort of my night shirt because, again, yeah, 1124 now.

But no, he just, if he's sitting near me and he's cold, he will just start digging into my stomach until I put the shirt over him.

So that's sort of you are, you are.

I also want to say you are psychotic on some level.

Like, none of this makes makes sense to other people, but good luck to you.

Climate inside.

Well, you're multitasking, and we respect the hell out of you, Justin.

And thank you for your hard work here on this Tuesday night.

We're going to, you know, quick and dirty, we're going to roll through the press conferences and

share what.

you know, what mattered, what not, what didn't matter.

I think, Mark, it's safe to say that, you know, a lot of the stuff here maybe isn't at the highest level of news, but this is how the sausage gets made ultimately.

And so many of the off-season storylines,

and we know it because, well, James covering the game on the ground floor, and Mark and I, all the years we spent emanated out of the NFL media newsroom, you know, blogging and just following the story.

So many storylines start with what the GM or coach said at Indianapolis when you talk about the various, you know,

soap opera plot lines about the 32 teams.

So here we are at the beginning of that yellow brick road.

And what they don't say, right?

Right, James?

Like

it's, we've all been to these, and you have to start to learn to parse through what the syntax is, what they're saying.

And

I have gotten to the point where a lot of these, I'm like, I don't chalk them up as data or news on any level.

But there's little kernels, there's little nuggets, and we start to learn things.

And I think like being there and being out at this time at night in Indianapolis, which would be late, like that's where you learn some

real stuff, James.

Like you've been there in the scrums with the hardcore people.

Yeah, it wouldn't be late.

We'd be out several more hours in Indy.

And that's when the stuff happens.

Happens late.

Yeah, I do think in the press conferences, though, I know all of these players are coached heavily.

These GMs and head coaches are coached prior to taking the podium on what to say, what not to say.

But there are, you mentioned, the little nuggets.

It's the, have you started having conversations with free agent to be player X or for an extension with player B?

Or, you know, there were some things that came out.

Like, you know, Jason Peters is now retired and now part of the front office.

Like that just comes out from John Schneider and the Seahawks.

So like, there are some things, if you ask enough, and then there's the on the podium, and then the head coach and GM do the beat, and they do just the beat exclusive after for just the guys in that city, and then they do the car wash from spot to spot.

They're asked like a thousand questions,

and they're all the same, they're none of them are any different.

But there are little things you can you can dig up, and that's usually uh over at Prime or Little

Colonels, Colonels, Colonels that we'll come back to

as we get into the news.

A little acapella version of one of Mark's favorite songs that I've ever written for him:

Come back, Colonels, with Mark Sessler,

come back, Colonels, with Mark Sessler.

Come back, Colonels, with Mark Sessler.

Come back, Colonels, with Mark Sessler,

come back, Colonels, with Mark Sessler,

come back, Colonels with Mark Sessler.

Come back, Colonels, with Mark Sessler.

Come back, Colonels, with Mark Sessler.

Come back, it just goes like that.

So it's me who had the glass of wine.

That was, we are on a show that is occurring at this moment, by the way.

Let's get into it.

The news begins with,

let's talk with a little

bit of,

yeah, we mentioned the soap opera.

Listen,

everybody's got a take about the tush push.

Oh,

the tush push.

The world champion

Philadelphia Eagles who have mastered that third and short, fourth and short goal line play where they get low with leverage, and there goes Jalen Hurts sneaking for one, two, three yards, always seemingly getting where they need to be.

This rankles a lot of people.

And

I'll say, for instance, from my perspective, I respect what the Eagles have been able to pull off of the tush push.

And it's not just them.

Other teams do it as well now, but the Eagles, of course, are the ones that are famous for it.

I don't enjoy it as a football play watching it.

And I know I'm not alone with that also.

So I'm kind of on the fence with it.

I'm the old Sessler sitting on the fence on this one.

But people have takes.

And it came out the report that there was a team that, when it comes to the rules committee making changes, that actually went up and had had the bravery slash gall to propose eliminating the tush push.

And then quickly it leaked out that it was the Green Bay Packers who were the team that proposed banning the Tush push.

Let's start with, well, let's start with Nick Siriani.

Let's start with the head coach of the Champion Eagles, his thoughts on this story, which seemingly is unkillable.

We work really,

you know, I almost feel a little insulted because we work so hard at that play.

I can't tell you how many times we practice the snap, we practice the play because it's not a play that it's easy to practice.

There's different ways we figured out how to practice it.

Like the fact that it's an automatic thing, that like we work really, really hard, and our guys are talented at this play.

And so

it's a little insulting to say it's just because

we're good at it, so it's automatic.

We work really hard at it.

He loves this shit.

And let's let's look at a dissenting opinion opinion from Raheem Morris, who

spoke out

on his thoughts that the tush push needs to go away.

I thought it should have been illegal three years ago.

No.

The tush push play, I was never been a big fan.

There's just no other play in our game where you can absolutely get behind somebody and push them, pull them off, do anything to be able to use it.

I never really understood it and why that was legal.

So I'm definitely going to be one of those guys voting against that.

All right, well, the Falcons coach with a smile and a laugh.

And yes, Brian Kudikuntz, the GM of the Packers, did confirm it was indeed the Packers that are trying to make it happen.

Your thoughts, boys?

I got notes.

I brought receipts.

I think this is blasphemy.

This is like when Lou L.

Where'd you grow up, by the way, James?

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This is like when Lou L.

Sender was just dunking on everybody and they were like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Stop dunking on everybody.

We're going to ban the dunk.

I have some stats here for you guys, which I find it funny, by the way.

Brian Gunaku is saying we weren't very good against it.

And it's a, you know, I'm going to put something out there.

They were one of three teams that stopped it more than once this season.

The Packers.

So they actually were pretty decent about it.

They stopped it twice.

The Eagles went one for three on it against the Packers.

Look that up.

How about this?

Success rate, getting a first down or a touchdown.

2023, when everybody said this was Jason Kelsey and he was the big reason why this was happening, they were at 83.7%.

They went 36 of 43 on the Tush push, either getting a first down or a touchdown.

This past year, they dropped to 76.5%.

They went 39 of 51.

Okay.

So now let's take a look at where that racks up against everybody else on QB Sneaks per next-gen stats.

It is

84.4% success rate for Philadelphia

on QB Sneaks.

The rest of the NFL, the other 31 teams, 79.3%.

Guys, that's like a 5% difference.

I don't understand the massive advantage here that Philadelphia is gaining.

I do think the nine that they were stopped, they still scored on those drives.

So I think that's some of the frustration that some teams have had, where it's still, even when you stop them, they had the ability to still score on all of those drives.

But the AFC title game, Josh Allen's enormous.

I've stood on the field next to him in pads.

He gets stopped.

They lose the game.

They don't go to the Super Bowl.

Actually, I don't think he gets very stopped, but that's neither here nor there.

Here, they're there, yes.

Put the chips in the football.

And so, like,

I don't think a play should be banned when one team is utilizing it to their advantage.

It's not universally successful across the board.

The other portion of it is somebody brought up safety with the play.

The safety for this, to my understanding, has been evaluated by the league for the last three seasons.

And Jeff Miller believes that there's no data that says this is an unsafe play.

So you can throw that out the window as well because the league for the last three years has been evaluating whether it's a safe play.

That's a bit kind of dirty pool, too, JP.

It's like, all right, what's something that we can maybe use to rush this new legislation?

Say it could hurt somebody, say it affects marine health, and things like that.

It's like,

100%.

I think that's true.

I find this

is laughable to me.

This is,

I cannot believe if I were a Green Bay Packers fan and my team and my management and my organization went after this in public and said,

we're so weak that we want to take away a play that another team does well, and we're putting our team's name on that,

total disgrace.

Go find a way to stop it.

Go do it better.

This is a joke to me.

Teams have been doing certain things better than other teams.

slightly ridiculous,

a pantomime.

A joke on many levels.

We got you, Mark.

We got you.

Justin, it is 11.30 at night, so I'll accept that.

But I find this disgraceful.

Like, go stop it or go be better at it.

Like, the idea that we need to take away something that, and to James's point, statistically, it's not like there's something happening here that's from another earth or another universe.

Like, stop it.

Find a way to be better at it.

Don't be the team that complained about it and try to change the rule.

You look weak.

But nobody looks weak.

And football is about strength.

And this is the opposite.

And I know we're talking, I'm talking to two Eagles fans here, so I know

here, but well, one's got a Dom like hoodie and teddy bear and the other guy's from Philly.

So I understand that this is tough, but do you guys will you at least allow that it is not It's not aesthetically pleasing as a football play and seeing it used repeatedly is, you know, we don't have to get bogged down here.

I'm just saying, will we at least allow that it's not a thing of beauty for a game that some of the most beautiful things about football is the strategy of how to beat your opponent.

I'm just saying that.

That's all.

I don't know.

Looks like a very prominent play in some other sports,

identical to rugby.

I don't think that at all.

I don't know.

My last thing on it is just like, if the Eagles' stats on this were overwhelmingly

to their advantage, which they're not, Brady's quarterback sneak was virtually unstoppable.

Absolutely.

Great callback.

One of the things that nobody ever really talks about.

He couldn't be stopped on a QB sneak.

I don't think, yeah, obviously,

it's breaking the will of other teams, I think.

But I do know Jeff Stoutland is an unbelievable coach on the offensive line.

And there's some things here that Philadelphia is doing, apparently, that nobody else can do and nobody else can figure out.

May bother some people, but I don't put him in third and short.

Like, the whole thing is

in third and short.

But isn't it strange that no other team can do this?

That's the part that bothers me.

Like, if everybody

could do it, we see other teams do it.

It's not like only the Eagles do the tush push at this point.

Like, legit, we just mentioned that Bills play, they got

screwed by a bad call, but like, they used it.

You see, you see, regularly, you see the Bills use something similar to that, like, and their other teams also.

I feel like

only the Eagles, like, Dan, might like, you're right, but it's like

the Eagles, who continually find a way to get plays that they run, get nicknames

more than other teams.

But

when they line up to do it, it just feels like they're going to get it done.

And other teams have tried and they've not been.

There should be 22 other teams that do it just as well.

And that's not happening.

In other news, the Chiefs

who were defeated by the Eagles in the Super Bowl, they you know, a lot of questions about Travis Kelsey and where he fits in, if at all, with the Chiefs in 2025 2025 and beyond, Chiefs GM Brett Veach said he is, quote, anticipating the future Hall of Famer being on the roster.

Hmm, let's hear what this sounded like.

How we left at the end of the season is that he was fired up.

He has one more year under contract, and

still think he has that fire and desire to play.

And

as far as I'm concerned, there is no deadline.

I think we left it as he'd be back, and we're excited to get him back and

get him going.

This might seem like

blasphemy, but is it in the Chiefs' best interest for Travis Kelsey to have a big role on the team going forward?

I mean, I know he had a big playoff game, but there were a lot of games where he just looked like a player past his expiration date, and maybe it would be time for younger players on that roster to have a central role in this offense.

It does feel like a time of transition for the Chiefs as they try to continue this incredible run they've been on, coming off a very humbling humbling loss and going back to the Kelsey well again, it's fair to wonder if that's even the right move with him, you know, almost 35 years old at this point.

Oh, he's 35.

Yeah.

He's every bit 35.

Grant's 35.

He's been retired for three years.

Guys, he's not coming back.

Listen,

I would say this.

He's not the same player.

I've had a number of coaches on that staff tell me he's not the same player.

He's lost a step.

I had one coach tell me this year before a game, James, if you race Travis Kelsey, you'd probably beat him.

Like that, that literally was said to me.

That doesn't mean he still can't play football, honestly, because he's so good in space.

He's so good with his football IQ.

Does he come back on a comeback route like plant and come back?

No, it takes him like three steps and then he comes back.

These are all things that are knocks to where he's at right now, but you still, I think the Chiefs value the intangibles that Travis Kelsey brings, which is he practices at 100 miles an hour every single day.

He brings an attitude that is a big reason why they've been successful for so long because of what him and Patrick do within the building and what happens in meetings and what happens in practice.

I think you still would get that next year.

I think one thing you did say, Dan, that I would push back on a little bit is say, I don't think he'll have the same role.

I think it would be a different role in 2026.

I think we knew at the start of this season, this was Rashi Rice

as the lead option in the passing game.

And that's going to be the case in 2026 or 2025.

And so it's going to be Worthy and it's going to be Rashi Rice.

And probably Rice, then Worthy.

And can Travis eat off of that in the middle of the field when these two other guys?

And they'd like to bring Hollywood Brown to Brown back, to my understanding.

So I think his role would be different, but I think they still want him in the building.

And I think they kind of want some sort of Swan song.

Like he knows about a tour.

Guys.

He knows about a tour.

He does.

He's been touring the RFL in 2025, as is so long.

And I I think that might be the way this thing plays out.

He had his lowest, you know, fewest yards since his rookie year, fewest yards per reception, but you said it in the building.

I think part of it is the Travis Kelsey human experience inside that locker room.

And I'd bring him back in a second.

Like, I think the thing about they got waxed in the Super Bowl, but the one thing we're forgetting about Kansas City is that their wide receiver room by the end after adding all these parts, and especially when you get Rice back, like

you've got other weapons.

Like, they don't have to be the same offense.

They were plotting down the stretch.

And so he doesn't have to be the savior, and he wasn't this season.

So, Adam, keep him?

Sure, I would keep him because I think he means a lot to the heart and beating soul of the Chiefs.

Yeah.

He didn't look like he was overly invested in the Super Bowl, but that was a tough game for everybody involved.

Well, there's some

Twitter clips out there about him.

Yeah,

but I'm not going to put too much into that because

he was very sick the week of the Super Bowl.

Feach said he was battling something very naughty.

Okay, well, that's good to know.

But I think it would be a mistake.

There's the old Parcelsism progress stopper.

He shouldn't be getting 133 targets next year

because he's not going to get faster next year.

That's just the way it goes.

That's the way it goes.

I will say, Dan, we really, I wouldn't be surprised with everything going on.

I've had people in that building tell me he really loved being inside the building because it was a way to get away from everything that is going on on with him.

And I don't know if he wants that part to end.

It was kind of like

his getaway spot.

He's like, Taylor, I just need to take a little drive.

I need to take a little drive.

Hey, Taylor's not touring internationally this offseason, so he will be in the States.

That will help him, I guess.

Okay, we can move on.

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audience only in other

news.

The Cincinnati Bengals, we talked about them last week.

They got a lot of work to do,

and they have to keep the quarterback happy.

They got to actually get better as a team.

They need to fix both sides of the ball.

Certainly, the defensive side needs help beyond just the DC change.

Anyway, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said Cincinnati is preparing to make Jamar Chase the highest paid non-QB in the NFL.

Whoa, here's what Duke had to say in Indy.

Jamar is always going to be our priority.

He's a fantastic football player.

He's going to end up being the number one paid non-quarterback in the league.

We're there.

Let's get it done.

The earlier we can do some of this stuff, the freer it gives us to build the rest of the team.

We have other needs that we want to build, and so we want to get these kind of things done early enough to where we can really focus on building out the rest of the football team.

But they're all priorities to us, but the ones that aren't signed are the ones that are on the table first.

Okay.

This one, Mark, seems to be the one they just got to get done.

Like the other ones, you could figure out if you want to do it all

or, you know, when I say do it all,

do you want to do Chase T.

Higgins, Trey Hendrickson, this guy, that guy.

But it starts with locking in the guy that just won the triple crown and then you move on from there.

Or you're a fatalized franchise.

Like you have no choice.

You must do it.

And I also think that

today's front office figures and general managers, you look at the cap and it's like, we can do anything.

We can make anything work with the way the cap is.

And the best front offices are pushing money down the road in ways that trust that the cap will just keep growing.

And so

if you don't get this done, you are a franchise that doesn't understand how modern day football works.

And I don't believe that's what the Bengals want to be here.

And you've got a quarterback saying, if this doesn't happen, you are going to have big issues.

And so, yes, you get it done.

He sounded like Dwight D.

Eisenhower's exit speech from the White House there.

Not that I was alive during that time, but it was like very pedantic.

We get it like, it's just case by case, little point by point.

Like, this is not unpredictable.

This will happen.

The Bengals will do this.

Who was your president when you came into the earth?

I was born in 73, so that would have been...

Nixon?

Yeah, Nixon.

No, you got Ford, I think.

I think Nixon was that by 73.

No, Ford came.

No, Nixon.

No, because I actually was born on the day that the Nixon's vice president, Agnew, I believe, was

shotgunned out of the White House, like as a scapegoat.

So literally on my event day, I believe.

1473, when you became a vampire or

we have a producer whose nut like nipple is being suckled by a dog right now and so i'm not taking tips from you right at the moment how about that that is an extreme way to put it that is pretty crazy mark that you

i agree with our producer

james i i had my hands in my face i

i do think we heard some different things from duke tobin in this press conference than we've heard from the sanctuary bengals in the past But how dare he go up there and say, we got to get these things done early.

We got to have these things.

You had the chance to do it last year.

Stop it.

And you couldn't get it done.

They've waited with these deals.

That's been their problem.

What we're waiting to see, and I do think there was some other comments from Duke Tobin that I think sounded different than what we've seen coming out of Cincinnati, right?

Like we are going to spend.

We are going to make these guys a part of our priority and moving forward when we've seen so many guys leave that building because they couldn't get contracts done with them.

What we're waiting to see, Joe Burrow, flowy, beautiful ox and all, is waiting like this going, are you going to change the way you do business?

And that's why they couldn't get it done

with Jamar Chase at the 11th hour last year.

They were already going to make him the highest paid player outside of the quarterback position last year.

They just couldn't come to an agreement on the guarantees and the length of the guarantees because they don't they have certain rules as an organization that other teams don't follow.

They don't want to give guarantees past the first year.

They don't want to guarantee this or that.

Joe Burrow's looking to see if they're going to change the way they do business because they have to if they want to compete.

What Mark said is exactly right.

And the reason other teams are pushing money down the line, you look at Jeffrey Lurie and what the Eagles are doing.

What does Jeffree Lurie specialize in?

What did he do before he bought a team?

Did he know television?

Right?

Did he know movies?

Did he know the entertainment business?

There's another rights deal coming up that they can get out of in 2029.

They're pushing the Eagles' money past 29 and 30 because it's going to skyrocket again when the next media rights come up and Netflix gets involved and all of these things.

The Bengals are archaic in the way they do these contracts, and Joe Burrow and all of us are waiting to see if they change the way they structure this stuff.

And I think we got some hints from

Duke Tobin that they might because they can get all these deals done.

We'll see if they do, but they

financially can get them done.

I am not a crook.

What, you were born in 80?

Is that correct?

Like in April of 80, I believe.

Correct.

So

you were a Ronald Reagan baby.

I identify with Ron Reagan.

It might have been Jimmy.

It might have seen it.

No, it was Jimmy Carter, I believe.

No, yeah,

Reagan was 84.

No, Reagan was, he was inaugurated in 81, January 81.

So

you were the final days of Jimmy Carter's.

The great peanut farmer.

Jimmy Carter.

Rest in peace.

All right.

Anyway, I don't know how this is going to go over.

I haven't checked in with the echo chamber over there in the football cognizant.

I do know that people are very in their feelings about Anthony Richardson getting benched midway through last season as he struggled through his second season as a professional quarterback with the Colts.

Well, enter general manager Chris Balor, the unkillable executive of the Indianapolis Colts, who made it very clear that the days of Anthony Richardson being the unquestioned QB1

with the team are at an end.

Like when we drafted Anthony High knowing it was going to take some time, all right?

And we knew there's going to be some hiccups along the way.

And

it's it's you know, I know we all want to finish product right now.

I do.

You do.

Fans do.

We all do.

But I think as he continues to progress in his young career, us adding competition, I think, will help up everybody's game.

It'll be open.

That's correct.

I think, if I'm reading this one right, that they absolutely intend for Anthony Richardson to be their week one quarterback.

That's how I gauge it.

That's that I think they probably still believe deep down he could be the dude for them.

but they've now reached the point where there's enough doubt creeping into the room, both because of some of the struggles as a passer and also the struggles to stay healthy, that they have to have a plan B in a meaningful way.

Do you see it that way, James?

Yeah, I just

find it very interesting.

Like what you just said is like he's no longer the unquestioned starter.

He wasn't the unquestioned starter last year.

Like he hasn't had snaps and the cults, for some reason, refuse to continuously give him snaps.

We look at all the guys that are being successful and

NFL.

Oh, you're a Richardson truther too, Palmer, huh?

No, no, no, no.

I'm going to say, listen, I've talked to enough people in the league.

They think he just can't throw the football, like literally cannot throw it.

But if you're going to pick a guy that high,

you got to at least go all in to see if he's the guy.

I agree.

And going back and forth on it.

And a lot of this is Anthony Richardson's fault.

Like what he said and had to go around that locker room and kind of, you know, pulled himself out of a game last year.

Like you look at like Jane Daniels and Michael Pennix and Bo Nicks and all of these guys, they've played a ton of football coming into the league.

Anthony Richardson has barely played football.

So I don't get why you keep

working in a manner where you don't have him play football.

If you want to work that way, then just move on.

I think that's what I would do.

And the good teams in this league, they move on quicker than the teams that linger and try to decide.

But James, I don't see it as quite that black and white where it's if you put him on the bench in year two because he's really struggling, he's not even completing 50% of his passes.

That doesn't mean that you're like not committed to developing him.

It means you're saying, man, right now he's in a tough spot.

So we're going to go get this veteran that we picked up in the offseason and we're going to try to reset him.

It worked in Charlotte with Bryce Young, right?

And now everybody's feeling great about him.

But for some reason with richardson it was seen it was seen by many people as some type of uh abandonment of him as a prospect i just think they're kind of a team sese in a tough spot where they they did invest all this in him they believe so much in him but then there's a mounting evidence that he might not be the guy so they're they're kind of caught in this in-between, which is probably a very uncomfortable place for a GM and a head coach that knows they have to start winning soon or it's over.

Yeah, I think uncomfortable is the right word because I mean,

Anthony Richardson could use like the offseason should be the time to really grow this quarterback.

And like this is someone that is an atypical draft pick because I think the athleticism piqued everyone's interest, but so few college starts, such little college experience, and you come into suddenly having to deal with the NFL and

This is not a dress rehearsal.

If you're Shane Steichen, like you don't have seven years to figure this out, and like you start to put, and if you're Shane Stike and you're thinking about the rest of your coaching staff, like you can't get this wrong.

Like if he's not going to win you games, if he's going to falter and fumble and not figure out the NFL game, like you've got to find out, you've got to show who you are as a coach.

So if this is an uncoachable player who can't develop, you've got to move on.

I'm not saying that's where we're at with him, but it's like we don't just run an experiment here.

This isn't seventh grade science class.

Like you've got to figure out a winning quarterback situation and also the durability.

Years in a row, the Colts have had to under Shane Steichen move on to different quarterbacks.

And it's like, do you think Shane Steichen would like someone he could rely on for 17 games in a row?

Yes.

Let me ask you this.

Is this the guy?

I don't think so.

Let me just ask you a question, James.

Let me just ask you a question.

Do you think if the Colts, and I'm not saying I haven't heard this, but in a year where there's not a great draft class with quarterbacks and not a lot of great veteran options, what do you think the Colts could potentially fetch if they were to put Richardson on the block ahead of the draft?

Do you think he would get a second round pick, a third round pick?

Like, where do you think his value is across the league after two years?

There's enough people I've talked to in the league that just think he can't play.

So then those teams are just out immediately.

You're right, because of the landscape, could he fetch a little bit more?

You're still getting the rookie contract.

You're still getting enough people in this league that go, wait till I get my hands on them, because that's the way every head coach in the NFL thinks is, well, they're just not doing it right.

Wait till I coach them.

So there's going to be somebody, I think, that would take a flyer.

I don't think you're, I don't know if you're getting a second round pick.

I don't know.

I don't know if you are.

I could see Russell Wilson landing there, by the way.

I could see that being a spot.

But I would say, real quick,

and I understand the similarities between Carolina, but there's plenty of differences as well.

Like Dave Canalis did not draft Rice Young.

Shane Steichen handpicked Anthony Richardson.

Big difference.

And just, and I think you guys would agree with me, the feel and the vibe of the way both situations were handled.

Very different by the organizations in which

what we saw and what ended up happening.

So

it's been kind of a mess there.

But I don't know what he, I don't think he'd fetch a lot because there's enough people I've talked to that just

do not think he can play.

Let's check in.

Let's stay in the AFC South.

Let's check in with

the Jacksonville Jaguars.

They hired a general manager,

a young man, a very impressive young man, I call him.

In fact, he is 34 years old, James Gladstone, which means

he is

a Bill Clinton baby.

Is he a Bubba baby?

Well, he's got me by one year.

I did not have relations with that woman.

Is that 91?

That's 91.

All of them.

That's about it.

That's George Bush Sr.

Oh, and then you see that, and then we get over to him.

You got a steeple.

You got a steeple.

You got a steeple.

What is that?

Who is that?

That was my Dana Carvey doing like...

Yeah.

I thought his story.

Yeah, that's not

going to be prudent.

Well, Russell's like, oh, you sit.

Can you let me finish?

Mark, you've very rarely done character work on the show, and I'm enjoying it.

There's a good reason.

It's usually the same

kind of voice to them.

There's a good reason I don't do character work because I'm not skilled at it.

But

they squared off against each other in some of the better.

We've enjoyed it.

We're enjoying it.

All right, let's check in on, I don't know what's going on in Jacksonville right now, but let's check in with the boy who would be GM, James Gladstone.

Yeah, I don't think we've seen the best of Trevor.

I'm really excited for Liam to get a chance to work with him, support him, and really bring the tools that he has in his arsenal to life.

And I think it starts by the protection

by making sure that he feels like

he's got as much time to work with as possible, and also that he's comfortable with the pass catchers.

And so I think through that lens, he's going to feel that change in both the operation schematically and then the personnel that we invite into the building.

I'd probably put on like a suit or something.

I mean, I think he looks stylish.

I think like like James Palmer, for instance, is sartorial in every way.

That's a rugged suit.

I would probably put on, I would put on the old monkey suit just to

age up a little bit.

He honestly looks like he's 14 years old.

Can I counter that?

I think if he put a suit and like a tie on, he would look younger.

You think he'd look like you?

He'd look like he was getting his first communion.

So I kind of like where he's going.

He attempted, I think, to look kind of like countryside rugged here.

Play the agenda.

This is like his Justin Timberlake man of the woods era.

Yeah.

I just, it's striking to me that that's the general manager of the NFL team.

But go ahead.

I liked what Mark said because I kept picturing when Tom Hanks becomes small again at the end of big, and if he wore a suit, he would have looked like a young Josh Baskins

out there just.

You can't do the oversized suit.

Remember Ben McAdoo?

Yeah, that'd be a bad look.

It's got to be a fitted, it's got to be well-fitted.

We We just got to age him up a little bit, maybe in posts.

It's on the Jaguars.

Post.

Post.

Jaguars.com suddenly.

Much bigger job.

Yeah.

All right, Mark.

Anyway, so keep an eye on that Gladstone.

I'm kind of into him.

Ow.

Bush would be like, we got that guy down there.

We got that guy down there.

Looks like we got another Reagan baby over there with his Dave Coolier reference.

Dave Coolier, that's right, baby.

Ow.

By the way, that would be, Gladstone would actually be a George H.W.

Bush baby because it was 91, I believe.

He was probably born.

Well, that's what we're saying.

It was 91.

So

he's like, we got that guy down there.

We got this guy over here.

Like, that's the first Bush.

You know, we had.

We covered that, Dan, and I guess you missed that.

We talked about that before.

And then you started doing a Bill Clinton bit during the Gladstone clip.

We had a guy, I'll just say his first name, his name is Paul, in the old days at NFL.com in the newsroom.

And

I'll never forget it because it was a Monday night game.

It could have been a Thursday night game.

It was a prime time game.

No, it was a Steelers

Niners game where the electricity went out or some weird thing.

Power goes out in the middle of the game, which led to a stoppage.

But anyway, it happened to be also the

company holiday party.

And this is when NFL Media was a much smaller operation.

Um,

an irresponsible operation.

And uh, we, we were at this, we rented out this little Mexican place.

We, the company rented out this little Mexican place in Playa del Rey, about 15 minutes from the office.

And uh, Mark, you and I were there, and I don't know if James might have been, this might have pre-dated

holiday parties.

They wouldn't fly people in.

Oh, yeah.

Um, and uh, but anyway, point being,

there was a man, there was a man back then, it was be one guy, and I was that guy many nights as well because you worked a lot of early shifts, Mark.

I would work the late shift a lot.

You would be the last man standing in the newsroom in case shit went down before like 11 p.m.

Anyway, the guy named Paul,

one night we're at this holiday party, and we knew it was Paul's night in the newsroom, and we knew that there was a major issue with the power outage, and that's a news story during the game.

And we turn around, we're at the bar, and we turn around, and there's Paul.

And Paul's just piling up his plate.

He's got this, he's at the buffet and he's piling the plate up.

And they're like, Paul, what are you doing here?

And the reason I thought of this is because, Mark, every impression Mark has done tonight is also the Paul impression.

So what did Paul say when we asked him, hey, buddy, aren't you supposed to be at the newsroom right now?

He'd be like, well, my Mozilla wasn't working, so I had to leave.

But like,

he was a little older, so he was tech challenged.

But what are the things, what are the things like the shells,

the shells that you'd put like a massive Mexican amount of stuff in?

Oh, yeah, like the tortilla, like the

tortilla, but it's like you'd, it's almost like a thing.

Well, no, like a not a tortilla.

Do you know what I mean?

Like the huge, like hard shells that you put a salad in, like

whatever these things.

And by the way, like, here's the thing, like, it's like, well, what he was hoping for, because you said 15 minutes, Playa Del Rey from NFL.com in traffic in LA traffic at night was probably 27 to 28 minutes.

And like,

he had left the office to go eat the food at the free party.

But like, we're talking about a Monday night game, a Steelers-Niners game where electricity actually had gone out or something.

There was a stoppage.

It was a true news story.

And he felt that was a good time to get it.

I'm not missing my chance at the buffet with these tortilla bowls.

He's like, my Mozilla don't work.

Like, I got to call Ati.

He literally called the browser, Mozilla.

All right, anyway.

Okay.

Focus up.

Justin is staring at us with a certain look, but he's got an animal under his shirt.

So I don't, there's no.

There's an animal on his nipple right now, so that's why he can't move.

He can't move suddenly.

All right, we're going to talk a little Browns, Mark.

So trigger warning.

Miles Garrett asked out of town a couple weeks back.

Here's Andrew Berry, the general manager of the Browns, on Miles Garrett and whether they will honor his request for a trade.

So far, Cleveland has been pretty steadfast that they're not looking to do that.

Before I open up for questions, let me just touch on Miles.

So Miles,

as you guys have all heard me say, he's a huge part of our organization, a really good person.

He's an awesome player.

Understand the trade request and everything, but our stance really has not changed.

You know, we can't imagine a situation where not having Miles as a part of the organization is best for the Browns.

So I just want to hit that off the top, and with that, I'll open up for questions.

Yeah, because then there will be no follow-ups about arguably the best player, defensive player in football.

James, I am going to sniff this one out.

This is all posturing.

The Browns know that Miles Garrett is done

with Cleveland, and they're just trying to get a nice, juicy trade package.

I don't know, just the vibe I got.

Based on that answer, what do you think?

First, Andrew Berry looked great.

Unbelievable.

Outstanding.

Our fathers worked together back in the day, which is a little side note.

But

I have been told so far that people that have called and they've called are not getting calls back.

That's not happening right now.

Now, what is happening in Indianapolis this week is Andrew Berry is getting a very good sense of what teams would want to give up in terms of compensation because the teams are not afraid to tell him if they see him

that discussion with him.

But

from my understanding, is they don't want to give up Miles Garrett.

They don't think they're that far off.

Like if you look at the last two teams that had the number two overall pick, how did they quickly did they turn things around?

Houston turned it around pretty quickly two years ago.

Washington turned it around pretty quickly this past year.

Now the Browns have the number two pick.

Possibly does that happen again with them?

I don't think Andrew Berry wants to be known as the guy that did the worst trade in the history of the NFL and then also traded Miles Garrett in his prime out of Cleveland.

Now, could this change?

Could what they do in free agency change Miles Garrett's opinion?

Could this change by the time the first round starts up and it heats up that they realize that they're at a standstill?

It financially doesn't help them to

trade him afterwards, which is kind of funny, but like the picks would be worse if they traded him after the draft, right?

Because he's going to make that team they trade him to better, which means the picks will probably be lower.

And so I would think we're really going to get our final answer during the hour leading into the draft and the way the first day goes,

the first night, and then we'll know for sure.

But for right now, I do think they do not want to trade Miles Garrett.

I find

Miles Garrett either.

No.

I find what Washington is doing financially on their D-line right now kind of interesting.

Do you?

Oh, that's in.

You're right about that.

Miles Garrett is the archetype of the modern player that is not going to have his career dictated by the team.

I think he wants to understand that the Cleveland Browns have a plan, and he's completely right about that.

And I really,

I would enforce the Cleveland Browns to trade him if they don't have a plan.

I do wonder,

James, you said it all, so I'm not going to be redundant, but like if they told Miles Garrett, like, we're going to draft one of the two quarterbacks, I think there's a chance to get a quarterback at two.

Right.

Like, we've got the, and also, and if you don't, what are you doing?

You don't take an edge rusher there.

It's like, if you're going to do that, can you get Miles Garrett to buy in?

If he's not going to buy in, you have a chance, even though you are, you're right.

It's the GM that would be moving on for Miles Garrett and traded for Deshaun or sold the farm for Deshaun Watson.

You could get so much back from Miles Garrett that maybe you repair some of that and rebuild the team.

Like, it's attractive if you're a Browns fan, I think, to consider the concept, if this player doesn't want to be here, that you could get such a bounty for him that you could rebuild a different type of Browns team.

That's all I'd say.

It's a bit of a defeat, but there's something could come from it.

I don't want to keep a player who doesn't want to be there.

That does not feel good.

The Browns are ready to pay him, though.

I will say that.

They're ready to give him a new contract.

They load them.

They're so top heavy.

They're ready to pay everyone.

If you go at the way their player salaries are structured, it is one of the most insane teams in the league.

And they keep pushing money down the line, like we talked about, because they don't believe the cap will ever not allow them to do that.

Nobody wants to trade a player that good in the middle of his career, but if he wants out, you can't be stubborn.

Right.

Well, what you have to do is gauge that if this thing's going to continue into training camp, then you're really screwed.

Then you missed your window to benefit fund

the best possible way.

So it's kind of a game of chicken they're playing right now.

And I think there's some teams that are kind of trying to show the Browns that they're willing to make this move.

It'll be multiple ones.

Yeah, it'll be.

Yeah.

Multiple ones for what is he?

He's

entering his late 20s.

Like, if you got to, you got to figure out where you're at as an organization.

It might be the right move as much as it hurts.

Also, might be the right move as much as it hurts.

The way the Browns are planning to handle Nick Chubb's free agency, Barrier said he also expects Chubb to, quote, hit the market, which means, yeah,

that Chubb doesn't seem to be a priority right now.

The running back coming off two lower body injuries, including a devastating knee injury in the 2023 season.

So

it could be the Browns could begin the 2025 season without Miles Garrett or Nick Chubb, which is pretty hard to believe, but That could be where it's heading.

All right.

All right.

All right.

All right.

Hey, by the way, did you guys know Underdog isn't just higher, lower pick'em entries?

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audience only.

Real quick, a a couple of other things here.

Ravens general manager Eric DaCosta

said that the allegations of sexual misconduct around Justin

Tucker is, quote, serious and concerning, but indicated that the team will be

waiting before determining his future in Baltimore.

That's pretty par for the course, how the Ravens seem to handle these type of situations.

The Bills and wide receiver Khalil Shakir agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension worth up to $60.2 million, including $32 million guaranteed at signing.

And yes, as James Palmer alluded to, slyly and professionally, Commander's defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who has one year left on his deal,

was informed by the franchise that he has permission to seek a trade per sources.

So we already know, and they talked about it last week on...

You know, who to keep an eye on, the most important figures this offseason,

the Commanders and all that cat money and all that optimism with the young quarterback, them setting up the old Independence Day move where the spaceship is aligning over the Empire State Building.

They are going to make a big offer, you would think, for Miles Garrett.

And then once again, Andrew Berry would have to have the guts to walk away from a huge bounty potentially.

That seems like where it's heading, James, if it's not already there.

I think we've seen what Adam Peters is doing.

I think he's one of the better GMs in football.

He's one of the better evaluators at the GM spot in football.

You've seen him already jettison multiple first-round picks from the previous regime out of there.

Just not, you're not part of what we're doing moving forward.

And I don't know if that's exactly the way it is with Jonathan Allen, honestly, because he's been a big voice in that locker room, a positive voice in that locker room,

and a big part of what they've gone through.

But if you look at what they save, which I think is like $16.4 million

from the cap of moving on from him, this is also a draft just chalk full of defensive linemen and defensive tackles specifically that you can go and get, but at the same time, free up some cap.

You got a ton to spend on.

Do you go and make a play for Miles Garrett to help that defensive line that was not good

this past year, the 30th against the run as well?

I know that's not Miles' specialty, but he actually still is very good against the run,

as well as getting after the quarterback.

I'm keeping my eye on Washington about everything and what they're doing.

And I see see them building in the trenches right now.

And then

Adam Peters is very good at picking receivers in the draft.

I could see them going in the free agency world in the trenches much more so than the skill guys.

Well said.

Wow.

Thanks.

Oh, Mark,

I have Andrew Berry when someone calls about Miles Garrett.

Here we go.

Not going to do it.

Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture.

We got this guy over here, over here, and the steeple.

I gotta fix my Mozilla.

All right, anything else?

Did we catch everything?

Justin,

you got any got any domesticated animals underneath your garments right now that we need to know about?

Domesticated bean.

Bean?

That's his name.

Yes.

Bean

still.

Let's see, Bean.

Let's see if he looks nervous.

must he be under why must he be touching my scooters without showing my body?

What a weird show we got going on.

Here's Bean.

He is adorable.

That is a cute dog.

That is a cute dog.

I do question his morals, but beyond that.

Who the dog or the owner?

Why must the dog be connected to someone's?

Well, yes, but both.

Like, why must he be skin touching

unceasingly?

That's what he is.

Who do you think, Justin?

Who likes it more?

Well, that's a question.

Bean?

Probably him, but it's close.

You paused.

I like it.

It's tight.

Tight race.

Pause, because he's a dog.

Nice little girl.

Oh, one more thing.

Mike McDaniel tells reporters that wide receiver Tyreek Hill had surgery on his wrist to fix a ligament issue.

He'll be out most of the offseason.

So I had mentioned last week, and I still believe that the Dolphins should really consider trading Hill and trying to recoup some assets.

Well, having a bum ligament, that if they were interested in that, that makes it a little more tricky.

But yeah, that's what's going on there.

All right.

Anything else that John?

Were there any dumb rumors or anything, Justin, that you saw pop up on the old social media?

Rumors.

Yeah, I saw one pretty dumb rumor about Mr.

Aaron Rodgers and

that guy.

Apparently, source, this is Pat Leonard.

Sources tell the Daily News that Aaron Rodgers prefers to play for the Rams and that the outgoing Jets quarterback would bring Devontae Adams with him once the Jets receiver becomes a free agent.

That can only happen if Matthew Stafford gets traded.

Enter Giants general manager Joe Shane.

Okay, lots going on in that tweet.

Do you think it's weird?

Like, Devontae Adams is one of the great wide receivers of his generation, just a brilliant football player.

I think he could be a Hall of Famer potentially.

And now he's just like, I don't know.

It feels like he's like Aaron Rodgers' lapdog.

He's like, where are we going next?

Yeah, he's like, he's like, under the shirt.

He's under the shirt.

He's on the chin.

He's under the shirt.

He's like, Devontae, why are we doing this?

Like, why are we in the, why are we in the Aaron Rodgers sidecar?

Like, when did we, when did we lose our agency?

Like, you're a superstar, bro.

That's what happened.

How about this?

How about this?

Devontae Adams, you go where you want to go, and then you tell the old man,

if you want to join me, join me.

I choose this time.

When you picked, it was the Jets.

He's got that Jets, let Jets stink on him, I think.

Well, he's scarred from playing with Derek Carr.

Now he's like, shit.

So, does the Jets?

Does the Raiders stink on him?

Like, can we, how about we stop following quarterbacks

to cities and teams that maybe it's not the best setup.

Why don't we go?

Why don't we go to Kansas City, Devontae?

And if Aaron wants to be the backup with the Chiefs, that's great.

That's great.

Carson will be out of there probably.

Yeah.

Take back agency, Devontae Adams.

That is some unsolicited advice from the old Zuzzer.

I like it.

Anything else, guys?

I do think the Stafford thing is like maybe the biggest thing in terms of late night conversations in Indianapolis this week.

I think the Stafford discussions, that's going to happen sooner than later.

That coming to a conclusion in the next couple of weeks.

And I think those conversations, obviously, they even started before the Super Bowl with his representatives and other teams.

This is a wild situation.

I think it's going to happen over the next couple of weeks.

If you were to pick a landing spot, James, what would you wait?

What's going to happen?

You think he's going to move?

The decision.

Whether he's staying and they get a deal ready and going,

or he, or they're not gonna, they're just not gonna do it.

Cue the stupid phone, um, not gonna do it, and they're gonna, you know, he's gonna play elsewhere.

Um, because everything in terms of a framework is already getting worked out.

Teams know what they're gonna need to offer, um, they've known that for a little bit, they've started to put that in place.

The Rams know what teams are gonna offer, Stafford knows what teams are gonna offer,

and so yeah.

And if I was gonna pick a team, I'll go crazy here.

I think the Steelers are a really, really interesting play.

Wow.

I think for the first time, we're seeing Pittsburgh kind of have some pressure.

I think Mike Tomlin's an outstanding coach, but I do think the pressure there has changed for the first time in forever.

For the first time.

And

very musical episode.

It really is.

They know the band-aid that they keep putting on the quarterback position since Rothersburg retired just hasn't worked.

It has the feel with the rumor about Trevor Lawrence and

like that maybe they'll swing bigger this offseason to fill that spot.

And that would be a much bigger swing.

And don't you think that puts them in that group in the AFC or at least closer to it?

I do.

I think that would help the Steelers.

The only thing I would say is like, you know, I'm a degenerate.

Like Matthew Stafford might want to, unless there's more going on behind the scenes in Los Angeles than we realize, and maybe he's just unhappy there now.

Like, you got a good setup, dude.

I know you're trying to get that extra 10 million or whatever, but like, you are playing in a pretty chill market in a beautiful stadium in a gorgeous city

for a gifted play caller.

Like, it feels like a pretty, with you have an elite number one receiver.

Do you want to go to the bottom?

That's a better situation than Pittsburgh.

Or do you want to go totally is, but if you're interested in a million million or $45 million or $50, I think Stafford wants that.

I think he deserves that, honestly.

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, but if it comes down to getting 50 to play in Pittsburgh and everything that comes with that at this stage in your career, after playing your first 10 years in a dome in Detroit and then going to L.A.

and now you're going to be playing in freezing temperatures and like a run-first offense.

I don't know.

It's just like,

and along those same lines, my only other thought is

I'm on the record that I still think Aaron Rodgers can play quarterback.

Everything else that made him a pain in the ass is why I'm not pissed about what the Jets did, even if it's weird that they don't really have a plan B.

Aaron Rodgers could absolutely succeed in that position if Stafford were to vacate it.

And the Rams would be a very, as much as I know a lot of people don't like Rodgers for different reasons, I still think he's good theater.

And Rodgers here in LA for the Rams, we'd be watching him on primetime, in primetime, a lot again, like whether he would want it or not.

And he'd be much cheaper than Stafford.

I don't care.

Yeah.

I mean, you may not care, but he's still, like, how many other quarterbacks on the market right now are better than Aaron Rodgers?

Name him.

I'll wait.

If you call Stafford on the market,

I'll give you Stafford, I guess.

Stafford.

Would you say Sam Darnold is better than Aaron Rodgers right now?

No.

Probably not.

Well, just because

sample size.

I think Darnold, well, it's close, but I think Darnold needs, still needs to prove.

He needs to prove himself outside the bubble of Minnesota.

I think a lot of people tend to agree on that.

I totally agree with that.

I think he does need to prove a little bit more, but I also think, like, I think Aaron's got something to prove that the last two years weren't just.

How am I going to get my sack back?

You put him with Sean McVay in L.A.

I think he cooks a little bit if he can stay healthy, which is a big if at this stage.

Yeah.

If you put him in Minnesota, I think he would cook.

I believe that as well.

So maybe we do care, Justin.

While you two are speaking, Justin is just playing sound clips to make me laugh and I'm laughing and he's laughing as I'm laughing.

Who Noah's Ark over there?

Yeah.

The weather sucked, but so did some of my throes.

All right, that's enough.

In all seriousness, Justin, thank you.

As I wrote in text earlier today, thank you for managing my mania and doing the late night show, getting it to the people.

That's what it's about.

And we came together and got it done.

James, thank you for joining us.

And thank you for being the senior NFL reporter for Underdog.

Wow.

When do you thank me?

How does that work?

Thank you for being a tie to the Richard Nixon administration.

Dan is right.

That's apt.

Thank you.

You just mesmerize me, Mark.

You just mesmerize me like nobody's business.

All right, we'll be back.

All facts.

We'll be back before you know it with wrapping up the Combine coaches and GMs, anything else, loose ends, or reports that come out, or deals that go down, or whatever.

And the great Lance Zierline from Indy talking about the draft and the Combine coming up in our next show.

Till then, do what you must.

Heed the call,

Ellen Moore.

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