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The Heed the Call Podcast

still hasn't seen a Star Wars.

Hello and welcome.

It is episode eight of Heed the Call with Dan Hansis and Mark Sessler.

And we are closing in on the start of the regular season.

T-minus eight days, sese.

It's feeling real now.

It's getting real.

It's got that.

And you know what?

We had the summer off.

So we jumped in, you know, obviously later than we usually do.

Really did creep up on me personally.

I don't know how you're feeling right now.

Yeah, I think was we were, I wouldn't say we were distracted.

We were hyper-focused on

obtaining new employment.

And so, you know,

it was not the normal summer where you're kind of like bathing in the osmosis of football news kind of creeping along.

And to call it a summer vacation is incorrect.

And in the mental state that I was dealing with during large portions of it, Dan.

Yeah, absolutely.

But now here we are.

We're going to get to a little bit later, by the way.

Speaking of our new employer, we're going to get to our dinner that we had on Monday.

That was, you know, it lived up to the hype, put it that way.

I was getting a ton, Mark, of tweets

this week through the weekend, and then

on Tuesday after the announcement that Oasis,

the British rock band, is getting back together for this massive tour next summer in the UK and Ireland.

Got my fingers crossed that it makes its way across the pond.

So the big reunion tour is finally happening.

That is a band mark.

So everybody out there, thank you for reaching out.

You know, like I'm the American Oasis fan in your life, even if it's in a parasocial way.

So yes, I'm thrilled.

Might try to get over there to see the show.

And if I can't, I'm just praying they do come to the States.

But that band, Mark, meant so much to me as a high school kid straight through my college years and into my 20s.

So yes, I am super pumped.

And I was curious, like

they posted

Camp Happiness, but was Oasis a band that mattered to you?

You know, not to the, yes, but not to your level of fandom, just because I think in general, music has always been a little bit more at a distance to me compared to like books or movies.

But I will never forget the summer when I fell completely in love with What's the Story, Morning Glory.

And like, you know, there was all these comparisons to them being the Beatles, but that is an album, you know, and at that point it was a CD that I listened to in this apartment that I had in Washington, D.C.

I lived with two older women who I barely knew, but I just had a room, and I was working at baseball weekly.

But I listened to that album alone in my room because I had no friends in that city probably like 600 times or something.

And I mean, from there, I was a huge fan, and they were, they made a big difference in my life.

And they were also just like unlike anything else because those two brothers and the stories behind them and stuff.

So, yeah, a huge album.

Yeah, they were the first band that I felt like was mine,

a 90s band.

They scratched that itch for 17-year-old Dan, and they were rock stars in an era, like if you live through that post-grunge, post-Nirvana era, where it wasn't cool to be a rock star or to like enjoy being a rock star.

And they were the opposite of that.

And there was something really refreshing

about, you know, how they made this big anthemic music that was designed to turn football stadiums

into pubs and sing-along taverns.

And I always love that

their first song on their first album is called Rock and Roll Star.

And

it was a self-fulfilling prophecy for guys that were total nobodies when they wrote and recorded that album.

And now they're back and not a moment too soon.

And

so the reunion is happening.

It did make me think, as we pivot to a little football talk here, like, what is a reunion that I would like to see

concerning professional football.

And I'm going to just throw this one out there.

I like the idea after a couple years in the wilderness of Sese and the Cleveland Browns reuniting because

if the Gallagher brothers can get it together, then Mark Sessler and the Browns is

possible.

I'll throw it to you now.

It is possible.

I mean, I've thought about this for so many hours, and I think anyone who's who's listened to the last version of our show knows why it happened.

They signed a quarterback, Deshaun Watson, that I, it just felt like they had broken some sort of karmic spiritual code by going down that road.

And, you know, not only tangibly annoying the rest of the league with what they did with that contract and paying the price for it, and it's not worked.

But on top of it, you know, the thing that was always special about

our show and Dan, like, you know, it involved everyone on our show, but you and I did not go down the route of, like, I am a journalist, and I will not root for a team the minute I start to have

a byline on the Associated Press's website.

Like, no, like, we were always just openly shedding blood and tears with, for you, the Jets, and for me, the Browns.

And the Browns at one point go 1-31.

And it's like, yeah, they always had this quarterback vacancy, and it was distressing.

But the way they tried to solve this,

it made it tough.

But also because we had to talk about, like, Deshaun Watson, we had to talk about the Browns, we had to talk about like what had happened every day.

And it was kind of like I just wanted to get out of the way.

Like I cared about the issue and I spoke about it with my heart.

But I also am someone that like, you know,

I like, I was actually telling this to Cole McCoy at the dinner.

We can get into that later.

But, you know, he obviously went through.

Humble prayer.

Well, because

he went through hell in high water with the Browns.

And I mean, he kind of was detailing some of that stuff.

And,

you know, but

my one thing is, I'm like aimed towards forgiveness.

Like, no matter what, all these players are young and there's stuff happening and some terrible stuff.

And it's like, but part of me is like, I want, I've done bad things.

I've not made all the right decisions.

So it's like, I'd rather forgive.

And I think what made it has always made it tough with Watson is there's never been that moment where the lights gone on publicly, verbally, where he's taken any accountability.

So I'm still stuck in the same place with him,

to be honest.

But I do look at a team filled with so many other human beings and people that I care about, that I think you can root for Nick Chubb.

I do root for Kevin Stefanski.

And

I'll never forget at the Super Bowl.

And it was kind of this weird, bittersweet moment because the chance that you guys gave me the chance to interview Miles Garrett and Denzel Ward.

Me one-on-one.

And I was allowed to ask a lot of strange questions.

Now, I'm pretty sure I had COVID.

You talked about the Marks Man cave?

Yeah, Marks Man Cave segment.

I mean, i literally had no voice um my nose was running like i looked like i hadn't um slept in about four weeks i just it was like the i i don't even know how i have no memory of the interview but i do remember sitting there and like you know among they were they were giving me mystified looks on some level but like at the same point i was like i'm sitting here with these two cleveland brown pro bowl all nfl defensive player of the year stars and like i it was like why can't i just how do i get back to that place where i'm like the younger me, like the boy me would have been like stunned that that was happening.

And I wasn't able to like

enjoy it and feel it beyond the physical health part of it, just on so many other levels.

And I'm kind of just like, what happened last year with Flacco allowed me to fully embrace that team because of the way that whole thing went down, very surreal.

And I'm kind of just like, now, look, I'm going to, this is a new, we're on a new show.

We're in a new place.

We're not with the NFL.

It can be conflicting, but I want to open my heart again because I still, you know, in the middle of the night sometimes will watch like those old 86, 87 Browns teams.

And it's like, I don't really want someone to take that away from me.

I don't want to let one player or one person take that away from me.

And so I am more open to just.

Going back in and living and dying on these Sundays with one team.

I think it makes this whole job and this journey more authentic when you're kind of, you have to go into a show.

And Dan, you've done it so many times.

like when the Jets get waxed on like Thursday night football and you've got to go or last year with Aaron Rodgers you have to go to a show 20 minutes later and it's like your raw feelings your heart are out there like I am willing to do that again it's what I'm I'm gonna try and it's also like I'm not you know I'm not going to battle here I'm not a roofer like this is not the most impossible human task but I just want to like maybe remove the force field around feeling anything around the team

I love it and if people listen to the show they know that I was sniffing around this even in the last two years.

Yes.

It never really went away.

But at the same time, I understood why it was

such a, frankly, shitty situation for you when there was a time where if you were admitting to being a Browns fan, it was like there was this

unfair correlation that you were somehow maybe okay with what was going on with Deshaun Watson.

Or if you rooted for the quarterback of the Browns, that meant you rooted for the horrible things that he did or him being able to get away with it as Watson seemed to do in so many ways.

So I'm glad that you could kind of set that aside.

Watson won't be around too much longer.

Let's be real about it.

And then even that part of it will be gone.

And yeah, I was just, you know, our show is built on the foundation of fandom.

And as a Jets fan, it's different now than it was when we started the show.

I mean, it does take the losing takes a toll, by the way.

The Jets have gone 13 years without making the playoffs.

And I don't think you should be allowed as a team to suck forever and poorly run an organization without there being some level of loss in terms of support.

And also working the way we have for years and years now, it's been a while since I've been at a Jets tailgate or been able to watch a game with my dad and my brother.

And like that, that does take a toll in terms of my passion on some level, but at the same time, that's always in me.

And I just hope that that team,

my team and the Browns are in the same bucket.

You know, like I see as I've gotten older,

um, I look at like friendships.

And when you're a teenager and you're going to Oasis concerts or you're in your 20s and, you know, doing the single life, like friendships are everything.

And then you get married and then you have kids and then your career gets a little more serious.

And your friendships, the dynamic changes in ways you never could have imagined.

And I always saw like friendship as

you get older, like a it's like an ATM or a bank account.

Like you got to keep making deposits.

It can't be just all withdrawals and like just talking about the good old days because eventually there's nothing really left to draw on other than, as Tony Soprano once said, remember when is the lowest form of conversation.

So you got to put some deposits.

So I'm saying, New York Jets, it's been a while.

Put some goddamn deposits in that bank account

or yeah, fans like me are going to start to lose interest.

And the Browns and the Jets fans have been waiting for half a century for a Super Bowl trip.

Maybe that will happen.

But that's part of what the show has always been about, Mark.

So I love that

we can

go into a new season

feeling like, you know, we're rooting for our teams, but also covering the league as a whole.

And speaking of the league as a whole, let's get into football talk.

It was cut down day across the NFL.

Preseason's over.

We had to cut down.

And by the way,

this is a rough game.

And it's a rough world being a player because Gravedigger put it on our radar shortly before the show.

The Panthers put in a waiver claim on five different guys and got them all.

That means five dudes who.

Actually, it's not five anymore.

Since I sent that text an hour ago, they're up to six waiver claims.

Six.

Wow.

So, six dudes, and we learned about this world and how gut-wrenching it could be over the years through hard knocks,

which has always been a bread and butter in terms of the human side of storytelling with that particular program.

Six guys thought they made the team on Tuesday, and then Wednesday learned nevermore.

So it's a tough business,

and we're going to go through some of the names that have now sprung free after Cutdown Day.

Let's get to it.

Let's do the news.

I'm about to go on the board at Manchester City.

I'm part of the greatest band in the world.

Am I happy with that?

No, I'm not.

I want more.

Let us get into it.

So, I think the best way to do the SESDOG is just let's churn through it.

Let's go through the divisions.

And I'll,

Gravy did a good job putting together a big list here, and we'll talk about the guys that stand out.

Let's start with the NFC East.

The Cowboys, they

wave or part waves with Carl Lawson, the defensive end veteran.

We talked about him, I I think, last week, that maybe he could be a guy for them, but he didn't do much in the action he got.

So he's gone.

Running back Royce Freeman, they made a trade.

Tight end Peyton Hendershot went to the Chiefs.

And then this came across this morning, Mark.

Dalvin Cook, veteran running back, once upon a time, was a mortal lock for 1,000-yard seasons with the Vikings, and things have gone sideways.

He is now assigned to the practice squad of the Cowboys, which really, again, gives you a look into their depth chart there.

They are, and we mentioned this about Dallas a couple shows ago, just so thin and so weird at certain positions.

And this is one of them because, you know, it was a summer ago when the Jets were building what looked like an all-star team.

And Dalvin Cook was sort of like this cherry on top.

And really, you know, I think he had, what, 215 yards or something for them?

He was terrible.

Terrible.

And he just never looked.

He never looked apart.

And they paid him a lot of money, too, because you go look at that.

That was the time I remember.

It was like the entire Eagles running back room cost less than Dalvin Cook cost the Jets.

But so now you've got, this is one of the, if you knew a year ago and you knew what you were going to know about Dalvin Cook, that Jerry Jones has assembled a running back room in Dallas with, you know, assuming Cook gets actively Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott, who we don't trust at this point, Deuce Vaughn, Rico Dowdle, and a fullback, Hunter Lupke.

And I just feel like the Cowboys in general,

you know, even if these guys were to stay entirely healthy, this does not scare you, this group of players.

And there are just areas on that offense, especially where one or two injuries could really leave them in a state of free fall.

And I just find this to be,

you know, I don't think they think that Dalvin Cook is the player of old either.

But they did think that Ezekiel Elliott can come in and help them.

It's like, there's not a guy here, gravedigger, that I'm really like hanging my hat on to be a productive guy, unless you're looking for like late-round gems and fantasy.

I still like Deuce Vaughan.

I think he's just fun to watch.

I just don't know if his size is going to limit the workload or his effectiveness, I guess, or if he's going to get injured with that size.

But we've seen guys, small guys, like Maurice Jones Drew and Darren Sprolls, like have successful careers.

And Maurice Jones Drew was a bell cow.

Granted, he probably weighs 100 more pounds than

Deuce Vaughn.

I think this whole Cowboys...

Yeah, massively.

But Dalvin Cook is just like, he was clearly cooked last year.

No pun intended.

And I don't know.

Is that another team slogan with Justin Graver right there?

That's right on my ⁇ that's the vein I usually go down.

Yeah, with all due respect to Jarrah's GM genius that he reminded us of in a recent interview, it's a goddamn, it's malpractice that Zeke Elliott is at the top of any running back depth chart in the NFL in 2024.

And

it's almost like an optics thing a little bit with Cook, too.

It's like you see these other teams out there that are unearthing guys late in the draft

or

undrafted free agents that they fell in love with over the course of mini camp and training camp and preseason.

And the Cowboys are going out and getting, oh, that's Davin Cook.

He once had four 1,000-yard seasons.

And it kind of just jibes with the general vibe.

And I know they have a good personnel department because they've been a really good team for most of the last decade.

But at the same time, there's something about this position group specifically strikes me as deeply unoriginal in their thought and how they're attacking it.

And we'll see if it ends up being a major Achilles heel for them.

Like if you, if fantasy heads out there, like if you got Dak Prescott or you got CeeDee Lamb, they're going to throw the ball a lot, I think.

And I'm with you.

Like we watched Deuce Vaughan

in training camp last year.

We went over there and he's electric, but I think Deuce is like how many feet he is.

Like,

I don't know if that guy is going to be able to take the pounding in the league.

And I think he's going to get a chance.

Let's keep going.

The New York Giants,

speaking of guys that went from

star-level players to almost disappearing overnight, Allen Robinson waved by the team.

Also, Isaiah Hodgins, wide receiver, waived.

Cornerback Darne Holmes cut as well.

And

I'll tie in the Eagles and Commanders here, too.

The Eagles cut ties with Paris Campbell and John Ross, two more veteran wide receivers.

The Commanders say goodbye to Martavis Bryant, the wide receiver.

QB Sam Hartman also cut, as is defensive end KJ Henry.

Some of these guys can resurface, obviously, even on the practice squad of these teams.

But these are just the roster to get down to 53.

Let's move to the NFC North.

Here's the name, gravedigger.

Austin Reed, always

certain, as I mentioned, a tried and true formula for that program is getting to know the guys that are at the bottom of the roster, trying to make it.

Austin Reed was a guy who really jumped out, I believe, in episode three

as a guy that you could root for, but he does not make the team, does land on the practice squad.

Yeah, good for him to get back on the practice squad.

I don't think there was a lot of expectation that he would actually make the team.

I do think there was sort of a competition for QB3 between him and Brett Rippen, and they both got cut.

So that's that's just I'm sorry.

Who is that?

Brett who?

Brett Rippon.

Mark, what?

What is it?

What do you call him?

I always thought I called him Brett Rippian, and it's, isn't it Ripon?

Yes.

Yeah.

And I, I, you know, it's funny.

Is Brett Mark's son?

Yes.

No, I'm serious.

I believe he is.

Or it may be nephew.

It may be his nephew.

But he's.

Because sometimes we'll bring up old Redskin stuff, and then SestDog will just drop a, oh, and what a game Mark Ripian had in that Super Bowl against the Bills.

Like, it ain't Rippian, brah.

Well, but

my analysis is correct, though.

That was one of the, that team, that 91 Washington team is forgotten.

Awesome team.

They're just forgotten.

But it's like

they were dominant in stomping people from A to Z.

And Rippon had one of the more unheralded, excellent seasons for a quarterback.

I believe that team went 17-2, if I'm not mistaken.

They just

there was no weakness.

Because you know what?

Yeah, those early 90s, that landscape of the NFL, you remember it for the Bills and the four losses.

You remember it for the Cowboys, obviously, in the dynasty when Jerry was actually an elite GM.

And you remember the 49ers also being in that mix, obviously, in those all-time great NFC playoff clashes between San Francisco and Dallas.

Washington kind of gets forgotten a little bit, but you're right, Mark.

And Mark Rippin was a key player for them one year.

The Detroit Lions.

I mean, that almost started to feel like it had like an edge to it.

I, I just, it's something about Rippian that makes me laugh.

That's all, Mark.

Okay.

We can move forward.

All right.

The Lions cut ties with Nate Sudfeld, the quarterback.

Also Donovan Peoples-Jones,

a former Cleveland Brown wide receiver.

Tim Patrick, by the way, we were going to get to Denver in the AFC, but he was a surprise cut by the Broncos.

He lands with the Lions, and we'll see if he gets a little run there, Gravedigger.

Yeah, I think Tim Patrick was a guy who flashed a lot in the preseason.

I mean, he's obviously coming back from like devastating season-ending injury injury after devastating season-ending injury.

And that's just a real bummer for him.

But I think in Detroit, he's got a chance to really latch on.

I mean, you're not dealing with a ton of target competition in that wide receiver room behind Amon Ross St.

Brown.

Obviously, Jamison Williams, former first-round pick, and Khalif Raymond, former undrafted free agent who was once a Tennessee Titan, is like, that's the receivers you're competing against.

I feel like if Jamison Williams doesn't click, if it doesn't click for him at some point, Tim Patrick could be the wide receiver two here by like week three.

Hmm.

That would be wild.

All right.

The Green Bay Packers, kicker Anders Carlton.

Carlson doesn't get that job.

Sean Clifford, the QB, and Michael Pratt both left go.

And Sestog, you got A.J.

Dillon.

Now, Dylan is a guy that I got to be real with you, I almost kind of forgot that he was still there because obviously this is a running back room that's under

in transition.

They choose to let Aaron Jones walk and bring in former rushing champion Josh Jacobs, formerly of the Raiders.

But A.J.

Dillon seemed to be the guy that was going to be the

yang to the ying of Aaron Jones, but instead he is headed to the IR.

And it's unclear, I think, with his designation right now if he's even going to return.

I don't think so.

And I think that's you got another running back room where...

What is the injury?

I think he had a...

We can check that out while we're doing this, but that was a big deal.

He has out for the year for the first time.

Yeah, he's out to the end.

That's the first time out for the year.

That leaves them real thin because, you know,

with Josh Jacobs, it's almost like cliché, but you're like wondering which year or version of Josh Jacobs you get.

But behind him with no A.J.

Dillon, you've got a rookie in Marshawn Lloyd who didn't play much at all.

And like, he, he, it was questionable if he was going to start the year.

Emmanuel Wilson and Jarvian Howard.

And like, that's just,

if you lose Jacobs, you are, that's real thin.

So I could see them potentially picking someone up.

I mean, they're going to be names out there.

But the other big move that they made because they went and cut both quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt was they traded for Malik Willis Gravedigger.

And it's like, you know, Malik Willis really, really faded hard in Tennessee, but I kind of love the idea of any quarterback who's had a rough start going to Green Bay with that coaching staff.

And just in general, you kind of trust what can happen there with LaFleur.

But there is, you know, Jordan Love out for any minute at a time at this point, and Malik Willis is your quarterback.

And I, that to me, like, I don't know.

It's like that, that's, I don't love teams that have.

How about this?

See in 2025.

If that's the thing, right?

Because you're like, here, you are a Super Bowl, potentially a Super Bowl-type team.

And there were a couple years speaking of the Cowboys that would drive us nuts when, like, you'd lose Romo, and the guy behind him would be completely untested, and the team falls off a cliff.

So another team that maybe they're going to look for a third quarterback if there's another surprise cut here, I'd think.

I wonder if Matt LaFleur gave Mike Vrabel a call before this trade and said, hey, you know, Matt LaFlore was Vrabel's office of coordinator his first year in Tennessee.

Vrabel drafts Malik Willis and was like, hey, is there anything to work with here?

Because the thing about Malik Willis is he actually showed a lot of improvement.

And there was, you know, a lot of talk amongst Titans fans that they're probably maybe keep three QBs, at least want to stash Malik on the practice squad and continue to develop him.

The fact they trade him for a seventh round pick indicates he was not going to be, they did not want to keep him around, obviously.

I mean, seventh round pick, give me a break.

So he showed a lot of improvement.

Can he keep developing?

He's athletic, obviously, but you know, the decision-making has been suspect so far.

So Justin I know you you tend to shine positively upon your favorite team the Titans and that's fine we just talked about fandom on the top of the show but like if Malik Willis was actually showing real signs of growth are you are you dumping him for a seventh round pick No, I agree.

And I think that, I mean, we just thought as Titans fans, like, oh, they'll want to keep him as the emergency quarterback because he's been in the system over some random Bailey Zappie or somebody who gets caught by another team.

So, I mean, that was the main thought process there.

I do think it's a funny trope, though.

Speaking of like, he did he have a good preseason?

Was he showing improvement?

Like, every single tweet that was announcing somebody being cut or waived was like, so-and-so had a really promising training camp and a really strong preseason, and they should get, they should be able to latch on somewhere.

It's like, if they had a really strong training camp and a really good preseason, probably wouldn't have gotten waived in the first place.

I have a prediction here with this quarterback room because

sometimes we've talked about this in the past.

It's like, how does so-and-so Team X with QB franchise star Y not have a good backup?

Well, it's like if the franchise star goes out for the year, you're done anyway.

So it's like, from one perspective, it's like you could have a great backup there, but it's not like you're going to find a Kurt Warner growing on the tree.

But at the same time, you need to be more prepared than like the Jets were with the Zach Wilson fiasco last year behind Aaron Rodgers.

Or in this case, I think this would be an equal fiasco if all of a sudden Malik Willis was starting week three.

three.

Maybe this is the Ryan Tannehill home gravedigger.

Maybe he's holding out, waiting for someone to have a serious knee injury or something.

Not that he's hoping for it, but just knowing an opportunity will come to start.

But maybe, and obviously Willis and Tannehill played together.

Not that that necessarily means anything.

Like Tannehill backing up Jordan Love.

Now, that would make sense to me.

So I would not be surprised if the Packers end up with a name brand as a backup in the coming days or even hours.

Who knows?

Yeah, or Tannehill might have a few options depending on what happens in Minnesota, Las Vegas, but I think that would make sense.

One funny note I saw on Twitter about this whole Malik Willis situation.

Will Levis, when he was at Penn State, was benched for Sean Clifford before Levis transferred to Kentucky.

Malik Willis

lost the QB job, obviously, to Will Levis, so they drafted one year later.

And then Malik Willis goes and replaces Sean Clifford in Green Bay.

It's just like this cycle of I'm better, no, I'm better, no, I'm better.

And now here we are, Sean Clifford.

Clifford.

Sort of like six degrees of revenge that really has nothing to do with the Clifford-Willis relationship because they probably barely know each other.

Correct.

The Minnesota Vikings, let's move on here.

Louis Scene's safety.

He gets cut unclaimed on waivers.

He signs to the Jets practice squad.

Also, quarterback Matt Carell, running back Miles Gaston, wide receiver

Kenil Harry,

tight end Bobby Tanyan.

Man, I like Bobby Tanya.

That just, you know, another guy, injuries mess with him.

Cornerback Nashon Wright and cut, and also TJ Hawkinson, who suffered a really bad injury at the end of last season.

He'll begin the season on pup, or he's remaining on pup.

The Lewis scene one is really interesting because he was a first-round pick two years ago when he was drafted, or I guess three years ago, 2022 first-round pick.

When he was drafted, it was a different defensive coordinator there in Minnesota.

It was Ed Donatell before Brian Flores was hired, hired.

And he just never got on the field.

He really tore up his leg as a rookie, ended his season pretty early.

And then last year, he was just a special teams player.

But he was just a special teams player as a rookie, too.

But this is a guy who was the defensive MVP of the college national championship with Georgia in 2021.

First round pick of the Vikings cut before his third season.

Still has a lot of potential.

It'll be interesting to see if the Jets.

develop him at all, but I think the rookie injury really derailed his career.

Hawkinson, by the way, will miss the first month of the regular season, reportedly, with that knee issue.

So I think that Mark, the Vikings, are hoping that he's a guy that they can round into shape for the second half and hopefully a playoff push.

And that would be a good thing because there's talent, obviously, behind Justin Jefferson.

But Hawkinson, when healthy, was really balling out with Cousins, and he would be a major lift to that offense.

It's just one of those things, really gnarly knee injuries like that.

Sometimes it's kind of a lost year after as the guy's just getting right.

Or they're the guys that they hit the ground running and they're impact players immediately.

I think it's kind of a sneaky big storyline around that offense.

I think so too.

And especially

if you're Sam Darnold, that's absolutely a key position.

And it kind of adds a little bit of mystery to Robert Tanyan getting out of there.

I think Darnold is he's got a good chance to thrive.

Sam Darnold.

They've got a bit of a nasty schedule, and it's like you'd like to have all those parts in it right away.

That said, some of these PUP things,

it can cause some dread, but you forget how long the season is.

Like, they'll be back if they're back by, if he's in good shape and he's back by week five.

Like, that is the vast majority of the season lies ahead of him.

All right, the Atlanta Falcons, cornerback Kevin King, also lineman Julian Davenport.

Here's another potential Green Bay Packers landing spot for backup quarterback.

Taylor Heineke mark, he remains on the roster.

There's a thought, obviously, you have the first-round pick rookie.

You have Kirk Cousins there.

Kirk Cousins is coming off the Achilles, so maybe they do want to carry three and play it safe here, or maybe it's still a matter of time and Heineke's going to end up somewhere else via trade.

We shall see.

That could happen.

They've got to like him.

I think with Heineke, he's obviously sort of a hot and cold quarterback, and you don't want him as your starter necessarily at all.

But more teams are going to keep...

if they want to, keep these quarterbacks just because of the emergency QB situation and just the way that

you want to keep a player that's been in that system on the roster for a number of years now.

And it's like, I've liked Heineke more than other people.

To me, it's more like, where are we with Michael Pennex and where are we with Kirk Cousins once the bullets start flying here?

That is one of the more intriguing quarterback situations in the league.

You are a fan, Mark, of the kind of middling talent level, but a bit of a swashbuckling,

devil may care attitude, backups who, you know, the Gardner Mean Choose of the world.

On some level, the the highest level of this type of quarterback is baker mayfield do you like those you like the moxie i did on when i did the qb index

yeah i like i enjoyed writing um you'd write a little blurb about each of the quarterbacks and heineke had a starting run in there and like he was more fun to write about than like oh it's 16 weeks in a row of describing Derek Carr's exploits.

And it's not just a car thing, but it's like you run out of snow.

Well, no, he really stood out to me as someone where it was tough to say anything new about him because you kind of want to just be like, we all get it.

We all get it.

Even with Ryan Tannehill, be like, I like Ryan Tannehill more than others because he's gritty and his teammates love him.

And

cool.

But then you're writing that

18th version of it.

It's like, come on.

So Heineke added a little bit of adventure to the whole thing.

That's good.

I'm glad that he added that dash of spice that the cess dog needed to get through the QB index.

It's a long autumn.

Let's move

to the Saints, former first-round pick, I believe, of the Raiders back in the day.

Jonathan Abram, safety, cut loose.

Wide receiver Samson Nakua.

That's Puka's younger brother.

He's also cut.

Running back James Robinson, who's been bouncing around a little bit now.

Cut.

Wide receiver

Equanimeus.

St.

Brown.

Cut.

Also, Monty Rice, the Tampa Bay Bucks.

They part ways with John Wolford from a 53-man roster.

And also wide receiver Sterling Shepard, a guy who I feel like a guy I always liked with the Giants and injuries really have, you know, played havoc and wreaked havoc with his career.

The Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter, that one surprised me a little bit.

I thought he gave them a little juice behind James Conner last season, but the former Jet running back does not make the Cardinals final 53.

Also falling short is QB Desmond Ritter, and that is honestly an indictment of the ass backwards Falcons operation that they went, they were trying to sell him Ritter as a starter, and he can't even catch on as a backup with the Arizona Cardinals.

That tells me a little something.

We'll see if he pops up somewhere else.

They also made a trade of defensive end Cameron Thomas to the Chiefs.

Let's move to the Rams.

There's a story with the Rams here.

So they trade linebacker Ernest Jones IV to the Titans, Gravy.

Yeah, we're going to, I want to get your perspective on this, but let's start with the perspective of our friend Jordan Rodrigue of the Athletic, who does brilliant work covering the Rams and she's a regular on our show she's going to be on every Thursday preview show starting next week Jordan this is Jones who's the he had the heads he was the play caller of that defense on the field good player he's not there a week before the start of the regular season what gives Jordan give us something good morning Dan Mark Graver all the guys three things are true at the same time all at the same time of this Ernest Jones situation the Rams were not going to pay him they made this really public in March they do not financially invest in the inside linebacker position, so it was clear he was a bit of an odd man out playing the final season on his rookie contract.

The second thing is, he missed the entirety of OTAs in the spring with a knee issue and had to work his way back, not just onto the field from that issue, but also

getting back into shape and into playing shape the way that they needed him to be for these joint practices.

The third thing is, while he was out, three or four younger linebackers who are on cheaper rookie contracts, one of them, undrafted free agent Omar Spates, they played their butts off.

They really showed the coaches that while they might not be super reliable or experienced in the short term, they do have big plans, particularly for Omar Spates in the back half of this season.

There you go.

I feel like, Justin, if you're a Titans fan, you're feeling good about this.

This is a good guy to pick up in a trade a week and a half before the season starts.

I feel like this was the single best player that was cut or acquired by any team this cutdown day cycle thing.

I'm a little biased, but Ernest Jones was like, he was team captain.

Like you said, he wore the green dot.

He led the team in tackles last year.

He led all inside linebackers in pressures last year.

He had like four and a half sacks, something like that, six pass breakups.

Like he's a good player.

And there was a whole weird saga about this.

We talked about it briefly on the news last time we talked, but that he had been granted permission to seek out a trade, but he never actually requested a trade.

And Sean McVay confirmed that in a press conference that we never said he requested a trade.

We talked to his representation that we're allowing them to seek a trade, which was sort of a hint hint of saying, like, we're not going to pay him.

He's going to lose his starting job because we don't want to pay him.

So you're welcome to go find a new home for him because it's not going to be here in LA.

So it's kind of a whole weird thing that they would just willingly part ways with a guy who was such a defensive team leader.

But their losses, the Titans gain in a major way because the Titans have had major depth issues at linebacker.

Two backup linebackers dealing with injuries.

One of them out for the year and Chance Campbell.

The starters were not super exciting as a pair.

Now Kenneth Murray and Ernest Jones are two of the best blitzing linebackers in the league, and that's what Denard Wilson wants to do with the Titans season.

Justin, just from just to hear it as you say it, what are we seeing for the Titans this year?

15 wins, 16 wins?

Where do you come down on that one?

I think

so their win total on the Vegas Sportsbook side of things is 6.5.

I'm hammering the over on that, but I'm not going to confidently say they win double-digit games or anything.

I mean, I told you in our in our uh team slogans um segment, I said plot twist, seven and ten, and that is the over.

So I'm actually being, but that is the over.

You are right, though, because I know like your all your Titans coverage is going to have a dash of optimism to it.

But for all these people that are coming and going, it is, and for all these guys that are like exiting team A and going to team B, this one makes a difference.

And it does tell me that the Rams are not scared to not pay someone that they don't believe should have that big second contract and just go young because there's so many examples over the past two seasons where they've fallen in love with a young player through a draft picked or undrafted in this case, and they're not cowed to move on from the name.

I think

that's unusual for teams.

I'll also add, Jordan said that Ernest Jones was probably one of my favorite players to have covered.

And the other names she throw out throughout, Omar Spates, the undrafted rookie, name to watch for the Rams this year.

Absolutely.

There you go.

And thank you, of course, to Jordan for filing that report.

I mean, what a pro.

She's a pros pro.

In other Rams news,

it was announced by Sean McVay, head coach of the Rams, that running back Kyron Williams will return punts this season.

A little bit of a surprise.

The guy has such an important role in that offense.

He was a breakout star

last year.

Let us hear from McVay himself on this.

You know, Kyron Williams is going to be our punt returner, and it's another opportunity for him to get touches and impact the game.

And you feel comfortable with that because of the confidence in Blake Coram and Ronnie Rivers, you know, being able to spell him if need be.

Is he starting to sound like John Gruden a little bit to anybody?

That voice is starting to get a little bit more gravel in it.

Yeah, he is.

So

there is this underlying intensity and sort of pumping of the blood

every time he appears in public, and it just gets more and more and more McVeigh-ish to me.

It is, that's a great call.

There is a,

with these guys that become kind of the

icon coaches in the league, they start to just become almost not because it doesn't sound nice to say it this way, but not caricatures of themselves, but more and more like what you see them as.

Like where it became Bill Belchick at a certain point almost felt like a statue, like and less a person and more and more just this towering figure.

Like McVay might be getting to that point and starting to inhabit the full McVay.

I'd like to talk to Jordan about this.

Does he still feel like you're talking to a real human or does it start to feel like you're talking to, I don't know, like a movie character when you're just in conversation?

It's like in every sitcom, when a character has like a

very distinct trait in season one, by season eight, they are that entire, that's their entire identity as a character.

I believe that's called the Flanderization of a character, named after Ned Flanders of The Simpsons, who went from like a nuanced character on that show to all his traits kind of completely overwhelming that character as a whole.

Flanderization of Sean.

Yeah, someone like Kramer, too.

Yes.

Kramer is another great example.

Some say when they started giving Mark Kramer a round of applause when he came into Jerry's apartment, that's when maybe it jumped the shark moment.

Well, also, Alice Greg for just entering.

Yeah, Connor's been on this beat, too, but I got stuck watching an episode of Seinfeld.

Oh, I won't.

No, no, no.

It's just this.

Save it for a Connor conversation.

But

it is very trapped in the 90s in every possible way.

Oh, really?

The show that was the biggest sitcom of the 90s is trapped in the 90s?

I don't feel that way when I watch Cheers.

I don't feel that way when I watch

even something like Family Ties.

And that's very dated, but something about it cracks through.

There is an element to Seinfeld.

I mean,

we don't need to go down this road, but Seinfeld to me depresses me when I watch it, and I don't quite know why, but it depresses me, and it's a comedy, so that's not a great feeling.

Okay.

I will counterpoint, this is like our old column that became the Debate Club podcast on Damashek.

Speaking of Damashek, he's going to be coming by very soon.

Love it.

I feel the exact opposite of you.

I feel when I watch Seinfeld, it makes me,

fills me with nostalgia, but also a warmth for that version, even though it was shot out here in LA of New York City, pre-9/11, New York City, like the energy and excitement of city life.

When I was a kid growing up in the suburbs outside New York, watching friends in Seinfeld was like made filled me with this, like this excitement and ambition to one day live in New York City, which I did.

So, how about

nostalgia?

Yeah, strong counterpoint, Dan.

I will take that.

I'll take note of that and think about that after the show.

I'm sure you will.

All right.

Let's,

real quick, San Francisco, Robbie Chosen, wide receiver,

once Robbie Anderson.

You also, this one always struck me.

Yes,

people do things for reasons that are personal.

So not taking shots that Robbie Anderson became Robbie Chosen.

I can take shots with R-O-B-B-Y turning into R-O-B-B-I-E.

That I have a problem with.

Weird career, Robbie Anderson slash Robbie Chosen had.

I always thought he was a good player with the Jets, and then he kind of just faded and bounced around, and now he's out of football potentially.

Cornerback Rocky Sins Gravy also cut loose by the Niners, as was

Danny Gray, wide receiver, Chase Lucas, cornerback, and Elijah Mitchell, running back always liked.

He's headed to season ending IR.

Yep, Rocky Sin is a good player.

I expect him to get scooped up by somebody.

I mean, he's not a good player.

He would have made this roster, but he's like a guy you can slot in as cornerback five or six and feel okay about your depth.

So hasn't been picked up yet.

I think he's a vested veteran, so not subject to waivers.

So maybe by the time you're listening to this podcast, he's on a team.

But as of this recording, he's not.

They're pretty thin at running back because, you know, behind Christian McCaffrey, you've got Jordan Mason

and a rookie, Isaac Garendo.

McCaffrey, you're just wondering what the situation will be with him if he's 100% because he's been banged up through camp.

The one guy that they moved on from, and I totally get it.

But Danny Gray, I kind of like little flashes from Danny Gray a year ago.

And

some of these guys will just wind up back on the practice squad by the time we finish talking.

Finally, wrapping up the NFC, P.J.

Walker is back on the street.

He does not make the Seahawks Final 53.

Wide receiver.

Dee Eskeridge also cut.

Artie Burns, cornerback, cut loose.

And then Abraham Lucas, their tackle, is going to be on the pup list.

Let's take a break here, and we will check in with with the AFC and lead with some developing news.

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And now back to the show.

Developing news just came down on the wire.

Announced by Mike Tomlin, Steelers head coach Russell Wilson.

Will start a quarterback in the Steelers season opener in Atlanta.

Wilson, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in March.

This has been kind of foretold by the Steelers themselves that they saw Wilson as their QB1, even after he suffered a calf injury that took him out for most of training camp.

Justin Fields, who the Steelers obviously also got in a March trade with the Bears, he opens the season as the backup.

I don't think we need to dig in too hard on this, Sese, because I think everyone has a similar opinion that, like, yes, Wilson is going to be the starter, but there's a very, very strong chance you're going to see both of these guys starting.

But it is notable that

almost notable to me that despite the injury and then not wowing people and all the reports that we heard, that Justin Fields wasn't able to kind of make a run at this and steal the job.

So they stick with the original plan.

It just feels very Mike Tomlin-esque to stick with Russell Wilson to start the season, the veteran, the nod to the veteran.

We've all sort of expected you're going to see both.

I mean, both of these quarterbacks came into this situation with issues.

The offensive line has issues.

It sounds like Jalen Warren will be ready for week one, and

that is helpful.

I think he's one of their most explosive players.

But this wide out room is, there are concerns about this wideout room.

If they ever lost George Pickens, there is very little happening around him.

And it's just not a great situation for two quarterbacks that two years ago, I believe, were tied for the most sacks taken in the league.

Russell Wilson systematically gets battered.

So does Justin Fields.

And so

for me, it's like the problems that they present are sort of similar.

And I think flip-flopping between the two,

I don't know, you're not going to suddenly get Justin Fields.

That's going to save the day when he's got a lot of problems as a passer, too.

And so last year, I had the Steelers at a 12-win total.

I remember I was pounding that table all year long.

I'm not going there this time around.

Mike Tomlinson streak of winning seasons could be in jeopardy.

The Steelers are also really good in one-score games last year.

It's like that's a regression candidate.

And now, who knows what they're getting at the quarterback?

No, they're still going to win nine games, though.

No, I love Connor Smith.

You'll be happy

when we bench Russell Wilson by week two.

Yeah, right.

They'll be six and eight.

They'll be left or dead.

They'll win the last three games and might get them in the playoffs, knocking out a team that you'd rather watch in the postseason, or they'll be eliminated when another team wins in week 18.

And that, and then everyone will say, Mike Tomlin, wow,

he does so much with so little.

Well, how about we start being a real contender again?

I feel like it's been a while.

Okay.

You know,

at some point.

Well, since we started with the Steelers, let's stick with the AFC North.

The Ravens cut Russell Gage, wide receiver, also Anthony Miller,

Cese, Keaton Mitchell to the pup list.

Keaton Mitchell, great, great

moments last season and then just a real bummer of an injury.

So we'll see if we get anything or much out of him this year.

What a perfect compliment to Derrick Henry.

I mean, he came out of nowhere last season, ran for 8.4 yards per carry before the injury, added a completely different dimension to their attack.

And so I have no problem with a couple of these PUP guys, but that would apply here.

Get him as healthy as possible, bring them back, and you start to, because I think we kind of get a sense that Derrick Henry, if you're the Ravens and you don't want to fizzle out for the 14th year in a row with Lamar Jackson, the quarterback when it matters most,

you keep them healthy, you keep them as fresh as you possibly can, and you bring in someone like Keaton Mitchell, who, in the middle of that season, the belly of that season, can add a real difference in that

explosive playmaking to a Ravens offense that, you know, I like them.

I don't love them in some of these positions, maybe the wide-out position.

But if Lamar is last year's Lamar and you get Derrick Henry, last year's Derrick Henry, the year before, yo, he yikes.

Yikes for the rest of Dave C.

Norris.

The Cincinnati Bengals, QB Logan Woodside cut.

Also defensive end Miles Murphy, who was last year's first-round pick, he heads to IR.

The Cleveland Brownies,

running back Deontay Foreman,

he does not make the final 53.

Also, Nick Chubb, this is not a surprise after his gasoline knee injury last September.

He will begin the season on the pup list and probably will be parked there potentially for half the season.

Mark?

Yes, I think Jerome Ford is a capable starter, and I think he's going to get them through this.

Pierre Pierre Strong is there as well.

Had a couple injuries in the, well, it was taken away by ambulance during a practice not too long ago.

I could see Foreman as one of these guys that they bring back.

They need someone, and so I could see that happening.

I thought it was interesting that they kept all four quarterbacks, and that's nothing that could change at some point.

I think they're going to obviously move.

I just like the fact that whispers rose up that Jameis Winston was potentially available by trade.

And for me, and

this is what we saw with Joe Flacco, too.

It was really bizarre to watch in the Browns like social media account going crazy tweeting out these Jameis Winston pregame huddle fire-up sessions.

It's like you didn't even see.

I have

you want to hear that?

Sure, because it's like, where's your starter?

Remember the time after that victory you went to CC Pizza and celebrated with the boys.

All right, so put everything you got on the line today.

Let's have a game of memory, man.

I remember.

Let's go.

Fabulous three.

One, two, three.

I have such a brain disconnect from professional football in the preseason.

Like, I didn't even know.

They do these hype speeches before preseason games.

Like, I didn't even know.

And then, as far as like, like, Winston, like, talking about, like, let's win, like the old days of the pizza shop.

This, of course, is the same Jameis Winston who famously

ate his own fingers.

He's almost like,

and I don't know if this gets to your point, but I want to hear your thoughts where Watson fits in with this team in terms of leadership, Mark.

But I think that's where you're going with it.

Winston just showing up in all the social media and everybody being so seeing him as a hero for

calling Audible into the running place.

So Jamal Williams get a touchdown at the end of last season and how awesome that was.

And then this is like, look at Jameis Winston.

It's almost like this summer

I have an affinity for kind of cringe humor.

So, you know, when you see those, it was all over like TikTok and Instagram.

Corey Feldman has a band, the 80s actor, that's really bad and he's a terrible musician, but he's been going at it for like 30 years now, trying to be a musician, kind of like a Michael Jackson rip-off vibe.

It's a very strange thing,

but he's like opening for Limp Biscuit or something this summer on tour.

And so he was all over TikTok and Instagram, like check out this guitar solo from Corey Feldman.

And it was all kind of like winking like,

this is kind of embarrassing.

This guy's a clown.

I think that's what Jameis Winston is in the NFL, like social media world.

Like nobody really takes him seriously, but he's kind of entertainment and in a way that's probably unintentional or not.

He doesn't quite know that.

The self-awareness is probably at a Feldman level.

Well, yeah, I mean, he's also like ushering these speeches to teammates that are younger than him, him is, his age, and like are maybe not connecting with Mark and Dan the same way, potentially, some of these

soliloquies.

But I mean, like, his Saints teammates loved him.

And I see that with Cleveland.

That's just sort of my thinking.

Because everyone loves him.

He's clearly a fun guy.

So

I'm just saying,

do I want to go into battle with that guy?

With Corey Feldman?

No.

No, not with Corey.

I don't want to go into battle with Corey Feldman unless they did a sequel to Lost Boys or something like that.

Well, this is football Corey Feldman.

Football Feldman.

I don't know.

The thing is,

they've got to, they can't outsmart themselves a backup quarterback because you are looking at a starter that has not been durable and was benchable at times.

And so

moving on from Jameis Winston and getting too cute, don't like that at all.

And I mean, they came back and said, like, no, those whispers.

Joe Flacco, you said.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, there was a lot of like conspiracy rumors that they had to do that because it made Deshaun Watson feel insecure.

And now there are a lot of Browns fan and team reporter conspiracy rumblings that Deshaun Watson's camp put these Winston trade rumors out there because Watson feels insecure having a guy like Winston behind him.

But Jordan Schultz actually reported this morning the Browns never discussed trading or moving on from Jameis Winston.

Cleveland is expected to make a quarterback move today, but it won't involve Winston.

And then a beat writer, Kevin Collard, tweeted out, he's with NBC Sports Edge, tweeted out this morning the Browns have had discussions for quarterback Tyler Huntley with the Vikings, the Dolphins, the Bears, the Saints, and the Cardinals, and that the Deontay Foreman contract that was terminated is expected.

Like, he's going to be brought back once Cleveland.

moves one of these quarterbacks out of the room.

And they've announced their practice squad, by the way, and Foreman not on it.

So he's probably going to be back on the active roster once one of these QBs gets traded.

Okay, let's move to the AFC East.

Hey, Bennett D'Anucci, not on the Final 53 for the Buffalo Bills.

Frank Gore Jr.,

son of the great

Inconvenient Truth.

The Inconvenient Truth, a great nickname, coined by, I believe, Rich Eisen, actually.

He has caught on, though, with their practice squad.

Gore Jr.

Wide receiver, Andy Isabella also does not make the Final 53, nor does KJ Hamler.

Defensive tackle, Gable Stevenson.

Who is he again, a grave digger?

He was the Olympic gold medalist wrestler that was turned out

with the Buffalo Bills.

He didn't make it.

A lot of people expect he'll be back on the practice squad.

Safety Kareem Jackson also did not make the squad.

The Bills did trade for defensive back Brandon Codrington from the Jets.

I believe the first trade between those teams, AFC East rivals, since 1988.

How about that?

Speaking of the Jets, former Jets backup quarterback and,

you know, about a four-week folk hero, Mike White.

He loses out on the backup QB job behind Tua.

Skylar Thompson wins that.

I've never been overly impressed by Skylar Thompson, to be real, while Mike White has shown flashes, but Mike White was also kind of an expensive backup who didn't do much when given an opportunity last year.

He's signing with the Bills practice squad.

Right.

Okay.

See, I like that move.

I actually would have liked him out of the AFC.

So a smart move by the Bills defensive lineman Neville Gallimore.

He's cut.

He's signing with the Rams.

And Odell Beckham Jr.,

a bit of a weird mark summer with some whispers around Beckham and his health.

He's going to start the season on pup.

What do we know about that?

Well, I think it's a, you know, he did nothing

at practice.

Like, he's not been part of the team on any level.

And so I guess it's not a huge surprise that he's suddenly not ready to rumble in week one.

But there wasn't a lot of lead up to this for him to go on the PUP.

It's disappointing.

You know, River Craigcraft is banged up.

Jalen Waddell's been hurt during camp here and there.

Braxton Berrios is going to get a role there.

They've got Malik Washington as well.

But it's not the deepest.

If you get beyond their real star power, and this was the case last year, too, where it's like, you don't love an injury to this unit.

And I think, you know, you brought an OBJ thinking you're going to get a version of him.

We know he's not the player of old.

That's been true for a while.

But he is someone that in each of these programs has found a way to warm up as the season goes on.

So it's just delaying all of that in a new system.

And I kind of start to wonder: like, what are we getting from Beckham even when he returns at this point?

Well,

to like

my question, when I teed you up, but what is going on with him?

What is even the injury?

Like, I know it's been something.

He had a procedure

labeled as undisclosed.

Right.

It was a procedure of some nature that I think has.

According to Pellraiser, Beckham has been sidelined with a, quote, off-season procedure he had.

It just seems, and maybe it's a, maybe it's a non-football type injury and it's something that is a little bit of a more personal, private situation.

But usually you don't see that.

You at least have a general idea of what the player is dealing with.

So it's been kind of a strange little storyline around Beckham.

And I think you had it right.

Like, maybe he gives them something.

Mike McDaniel also said he's not going to put him on the field until he feels that there is a chemistry between him and Tua.

So maybe this time on the PUP list will partially be to ramp him back up and get him on the field so they can have some reps together.

Because

he goes out there and runs the wrong route.

Interception, pick six can derail the whole game.

Makes sense.

We might not ever see Odell Beckham play for the Dolphins.

I think that's where his career is at this point.

The Patriots.

They cut ties with Bailey Zappi.

So Zappi,

who

kind of one of my, after years and years and years of being a tortured Jets fan and everyone else that roots for an AFC East team, that's not the Pats,

just torture playing in the same division as the great Patriots in their dynasty.

There was something, Zappy to me represents

the hangover of the post-Tom Brady Belichick era that when Mac Jones started to go sideways and Zappi got in and had some moments, all of a sudden there was, and look it up.

This will not, Patriots fans won't admit this now, but there was a moment where all of a sudden there were Bailey Zappy jerseys in the stands and there was calls to bench the first round pick for Zappy and this idea that, oh, maybe we have yet another Tom Brady on our hands.

No.

When you got Tom Brady, listen up, Patriots fans.

When you got Tom Brady, that's hitting the $3 billion powerball, okay?

It ain't happening ever again.

And you might go to your grave never going back to another Super Bowl.

So I hope you enjoyed it.

And I hope you loved rubbing it in everybody's faces.

And I hope you remember what I'm saying right now when you go to bed tonight and you think about, oh, we might be turning around.

We got another new quarterback.

Or you won't turn it around.

And it's another 50 years in the wilderness.

Because Tom Brady, what did Patino say?

Tom Brady, he's not walking through that door.

Larry Bird, not walking through that door.

Tom Brady is not walking through that door.

And let Bailey Zappi be a forever reminder of that.

There are like 12 and 13 year old Patriots fans out there who, as like their earliest conscious memory, was them winning like that last Super Bowl.

And they thought, well, this is just how football works when you root for your home team.

And I think

you've filled them with fear because if you're young and you're listening to that, you could be getting what happened before the Belichick Brady dynasty, which was like 25 years of total bone-black darkness outside of getting your butt kicked by the Bears in the Super Bowl.

Look at me as a cautionary tale.

I am now 44 years old.

I have a 10-year-old and an eight-year-old son.

I am in middle age.

I have never seen a Super Bowl.

That could be you.

In fact, there's a good chance it will be.

All right, anyways.

Also, cut kicker Chad Ryland, who they traded up in the fourth round for last year.

What do you?

I didn't tell you to jump in with that, Grace.

Sorry, I thought it was finished.

You know, move.

I could have had more.

I could have had more uncomfortable Patriots musings to share.

Sorry, sorry.

We're over an hour.

I was just moving us along.

That was Dan's fireside shot.

I didn't need that either.

I know what I'm doing here.

Okay, my bad.

My bad.

Can't you tell I'm emotional right now?

I fell back down the Patriots' wormhole and the torture of 20 plus years of agony.

And just let me climb out, okay?

Okay.

I was trying to offer you a hand up, but you're right.

I understand.

And if that's what it was,

then I apologize.

Yes, Chad Ryland.

Man, whenever you draft that field goal kicker in the middle rounds, does it ever work out?

It didn't work out for them.

Jets, we mentioned Cotterington traded to the Bills.

Let's move to the AFC South.

The Houston Texans, Noah Brown, wide receiver, and cornerback C.J.

Henderson.

They both missed the 53.

The Colts, former first-round pick LaQuan Treadwell, his journey continues in the NFL, a nomadic journey.

He gets cut.

Also, Justin, cornerback Jalen Simpson, he is a mid-round pick this season.

And cornerback Micah Abraham, also drafted in this most recent draft class,

as well as defensive tackle Jonah Lalua, a seventh-round pick.

All three of those guys missed the cut.

That is unusual for three people from that draft class,

the most recent draft class, to not even make the final 53.

You'd wonder if the Colts were maybe just hammered on that final Sunday of the draft there.

Were they just simply hammered?

I mean, I don't know much about these three guys.

I mean, late-round picks, but I noted them because, yes, it's very unusual.

Chris Ballard seems like he always gets a little bit of a pass in the media for moves he makes or doesn't make.

And

cutting three guys that you just drafted, like that's just not a good look.

The Jacksonville Jaguars cut Denzel Mims, the former Baylor star.

My father-in-law, Bob Bates, DDS, came on the show draft night, I remember, during COVID and said Mims was going to be the dude.

Not the dude, but Bob Bates is still the dude,

whether or not he got the Mims rejection right.

I love that man.

Cornerback Trey Flowers, safe, and happy birthday to Bob Bates.

He celebrated a birthday yesterday.

We had a nice conversation.

I might be heading.

I'm going to go to a Baylor football game this fall.

I think I'm going to try to get there.

That'll be fun.

Look at this.

We had a lot of college football talk last week, and now I'm going to be going to a game, Sestog.

Maybe the whole show is opening up into a new lane for us.

I like that.

I think that we've, you know, during the era of having very small children, Saturdays would have been a trouble spot to watch another eight hours of football, but now you're going to a game live.

This is just another example, Dan, of your evolution.

Well said.

I totally agree with you.

The Tennessee Titans, cornerback Caleb Farley, wide receiver Kyle Phillips.

We mentioned the Malik Willis trade and the Ernest Jones acquisition.

The Denver Broncos,

we mentioned Tim Patrick.

He's signing with the Lions.

Samajay Pirine, running back.

He doesn't make the Broncos, but he signs on with the Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs.

Speaking of which, Kadarius Toney.

So he goes from Super Bowl legend, that unbelievable punt return that set up that victory for the Chiefs two years ago.

Last year was an absolute disaster, and he was blamed for so many of their ills.

And it wasn't totally unfair.

A lot of the criticism

faded out of the picture for them, and now he doesn't even make the team, a team that needs wide receivers.

They also, as I mentioned, trade for Peyton Hendershot, the tight end, end, and Mark.

Cameron Thomas, the defensive end, also misses the 53.

They acquired Cam Thomas from the Cardinals, actually, which is an interesting move.

They put Charles O'Menihue on the PUP, so that's related there.

It's interesting to me, like they also cut Irv Smith.

They kept Carson Steele, who has to be seen as sort of the hero of the preseason and absolutely won over Andy Reed.

He is a hard-nosed runner, a punisher.

I think he's an interesting fit for that offense.

They also waived Louis Rees Zamet, the rugby player, who was sort of seen as someone who could come in there and maybe be a special teams factor in the year of the new kickoff that we're not going to describe a certain way, Gravedigger.

But maybe a practice squad guy.

But

they made a lot of moves here.

And it's kind of like, I trust everything they do, but I really, I'm telling you right now, I cannot wait to see Carson Steele in the regular season.

This is my kind of player.

There you go.

I mean, is he your guy?

I'd like to make him my guy.

You know, I really would.

I didn't know if we were still, you know, if the paperwork on that is as seamless as it was for me last time.

It took only about nine to ten weeks to get to the next one.

Do you have any concerns after

what's remembered as the Zenner fiasco?

Do you still feel like this is something that you could say based on preseason action?

There are concerns.

Yes.

Yes, I would say that.

One little tiny note that track gravedigger let's track the career arc of this player effective immediately thank you noted go check him out he's fun to watch um i the texans and that was fun to watch damian pierce like i thought that he was a potential cut candidate um like really fell from grace but they kept him uh i don't know gravedigger didn't you feel like he was sort of hanging out there on the bubble for houston they got a lot of good players there was a lot of Yeah, there was a lot of chatter from the Houston beat that, you know, because Cam Akers was playing really well and Damian Pierce, like maybe scheme doesn't fit his running style necessarily well, but he didn't have a bad preseason either.

And I, I, there was chatter that he might get cut, but they kept them both.

And so they have three.

And a reminder that they they acquired Joe Mixon, who's going to be the dog in that backfield in Houston.

Uh, let's see, Nathan Peterman cut by the Raiders, and finally, the Chargers, Donald Parnum Jr., tight end, Alex Leatherwood, former first-round pick, uh, horrendous first-round pick by uh Mike Mayock during

one particularly egregiously awful Raiders draft.

He gets cut.

Isaiah Spiller, the running back cut, and they do hold on to Brendan Rice.

Give me something on Brendan Rice, Mark, before we say goodbye.

He is the son of Jerry Rice.

He was a late-round pick.

There was some consternation and annoyment that he didn't go higher

by him.

For me, this is the thing.

Whenever you have a legacy player like this from a family line,

I don't want to let him go to another team.

I want to see as long as it takes until you find out this guy cannot play.

He was a USC.

Right?

I mean, it's like the son of Jerry Rice.

Even remember when the son of Joe Montana floated through for a while?

It's like, yes, I'm going to find out what this person can do

with some nurturing.

So

especially for that team, with where they are at wide receiver, like, yeah, this is interesting.

Jim Harbaugh and the son of Jerry Rice.

Yeah, like one day, Colt,

Luke, Jack, and Harrison could start an NFL podcast.

But it doesn't mean it's going to be just iconically great just because who their old men were, just legends of the field.

Like, you got to go and you got to make your own legend, you know?

Yeah.

Well, what if like three of them were good and one of them was a real problem character?

That would be disappointing.

That could be that could be used for fuel.

That could be used.

That could be someone that's a conflict character is not the worst thing.

And Gravedigger.

I'm not saying they just would be terrible.

One of our sons would just be really bad and would lead to an awkward decision.

I also think that it might be the thing where it's like, hey, come take over my hardware store when your heart and soul are not for you to be a hardware man.

And so the assumption that all four of them would want to do it as a career is a leap in itself.

So maybe you have to hire Gravedigger's secret child that we don't yet know about.

Are you saying basically a version of like

being a podcast host in professional football might have been your idea of a great life, but I don't want your life.

Like that type of thing?

Yeah, because at that point, one of our four sons, which is not true today, adopted like a very southern twang to the way that they speak to their father.

James Vanderbeek attempting a southern Texan drawl for 90 minutes of a film.

One of my great, the great moments of 90s cinema.

Like Michael Sean Dugar was talking about Bad Boys 2.

Vanderbeek, just QB1

in Texas,

speaking with a southern accent.

Dawson Leary himself.

That was, I mean, you want to talk about stretching the legs as an actor.

What a film, that varsity blues.

Like

John Voigt playing a monster,

Bud Kilmer, not much of a stretch.

Feels like that's something he didn't have to tap in too deep on.

Didn't have to go method to be potentially a monster.

Vanderbeek as a star, like five-star quarterback in the middle of Texas.

James Vanderbeek, yeah.

That one surprised me a little bit.

That was a reach.

Stretch, yeah.

Okay.

We have.

You want to be second string all your life, boy.

Bud Kilmer.

All right, let's wrap things up.

I did not forget about our big dinner with Underdog,

but it did occur to me that one of the people at that dinner was the great James Palmer, who, by the way, officially was announced as the latest member of the team

here at Underdog.

And that is a great get.

Another big acquisition.

Belichick, Sessler, Palmer.

I mean,

you want to talk about the big three.

Include yourself there?

Gravedigger.

Zuzzer.

I mean, we are doing things here.

We got Colt McCoy.

I mean,

we got stars here at Underdog, and we're killing it.

We'll talk about the dinner with James Palmer, who is at said dinner, and he's joining us on Thursday when we do a little conversation about head coaches whose hineys might be feeling a little warm as a new season kicks off.

So we'll talk dinner with Palmer.

We'll talk head coach hot seats.

And speaking of underdog, I just want to mention again, if you're in the U.S.

here,

check out the fantasy app, the underdog fantasy side of things, because there's a lot of fun stuff on there.

Launching next week, there's a new feature called Vulture Protection.

Let's say you go high.

Here's a little mark digging on this.

Oh, let me listen.

Let's see here we go.

Let's say you go higher on a running back's touchdown number, like Saquon Barkley as an example.

And then Jalen Hurts scores on the tush push from the one-yard line.

They still doing the tush push post-Jason Kelsey.

We shall see.

As long as no other entry in your selection is graded as a loss, your entry will be refunded and you'll receive a free pick.

This is wild.

This vulture protection.

Underdog just knows what they're doing, but obviously there's an element of compassion for the participant

on this front.

There's usually in these types of games an SO, like an SOL type vibe to it all.

Right.

Not in the case of Underdog, and that just tells you.

So check that out on the Underdog Fantasy app.

We will be back, like I said, on Friday, and

just a lot coming up, a lot of stuff to be excited about as the season approaches.

We've got the shows coming up are going to be a lot of fun, and we hope you've enjoyed them to this point.

Mark, we are now eight episodes in on this endeavor and feeling good.

How do you feel?

I feel it's, you get to the point where you kind of stop counting because we're just going to be, you know, we rifle these things out, high-quality episodes on an almost daily basis.

And it is tough for Gravedigger and I to withhold for yet another day plus our comments about meeting Colt McCoy in general, but it only builds the anticipation for

what we will say when we do discuss and some photos and some off-the-cuff experiences with each of the people there.

I've got almost a power, like a list, a power ranking list, but I couldn't share that.

But I found a few people during that dinner that delighted me to no end.

I thought about it all day since.

All right, we'll get into that.

And welcome back officially.

I think this is a historic show in its own right.

Mark officially back on the Browns wagon, joy wagon, as it were.

And while we're here, yes, just to tie things up.

How about the Browns, the Jets?

Hey, the Titans too.

Let's make some deposits in that fan bank account in 2024.

Until Friday, do what you must.

Heed the call.

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