- 5/28/2025
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00:00A big week in the National Football League. OTAs happening all around the NFL.
00:05Voluntary off-season programs, but you expect a lot of those guys to show up.
00:10We'll talk about who was there and maybe who was absent being a bigger story.
00:15A guy not at OTAs for any team just yet, that's free agent Aaron Rodgers.
00:20We expect at some point this off-season DRS, he makes his way to the Steel City
00:25to be the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
00:27We'll see if slash when that happens.
00:30Of course, long-time Steelers and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Terry Bradshaw
00:35made his opinion very clear on his former team going after Aaron Rodgers this off-season,
00:42calling the Steelers' interest in Rodgers, quote, a joke, end quote,
00:47speaking on a radio station in Arkansas.
00:51DRS, what do you make of Terry Bradshaw's reaction to his former team's interest
00:55in Aaron Rodgers?
00:57I mean, he's right at this point.
00:59I understand this, the way the off-season works, right?
01:01For all intents and purposes, the Jets were dead and buried late in the season.
01:04So his season, let's just say, ended January the 1st, which means January, February, March,
01:11April, and May.
01:12And he's still not on a football team right now.
01:14But we don't know if he wants to play or not play.
01:16So this has me going from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
01:18Like, man, you know what's intriguing?
01:21Aaron Rodgers goes to Pittsburgh.
01:22He's working out with them.
01:23I'm like, what can they actually do this season?
01:25Because Pittsburgh's MO is, we're going to win more football games than we lose,
01:28which means you're probably going to make the playoffs.
01:30And Aaron Rodgers on a veteran team, what can he do?
01:33It didn't work in New York.
01:34We obviously saw that.
01:35He got injured.
01:36But that's in the past.
01:37But now we're understanding this belief that we know Pittsburgh did not set up their off-season
01:42to say, here's what we want to do.
01:44Mason Rudolph, welcome back.
01:46You're our starting quarterback.
01:47We've always wanted you here.
01:49That's not what the case is.
01:50We've all anticipated that Aaron Rodgers is going to be the quarterback.
01:54But you still need somebody that's going to be in camp and OTAs and throughout the season
01:58in case Aaron Rodgers does get injured.
01:59Who knows the system and has played in the playoffs and had playoff runs and has been
02:03with the organization.
02:04I get that.
02:05But there's no way that, like, this is going to turn so interesting.
02:07Like, the Steelers go into the season and tell their fans, like, yeah, it was always
02:10Mason Rudolph.
02:11I don't know if anybody, like, season ticket holders were probably revolt.
02:14So you're waiting on Rodgers, which does make some sense.
02:17But then again, you're saying, well, I have a quarterback.
02:19If he's really not sure if he wants to play and we're heading into June, like, what has
02:25he been doing and where is his mental focus?
02:27That's one thing.
02:28Number two is, ha, hey, Pittsburgh, you're not going anywhere without me.
02:33I'll show up a day before training camp and still be the best quarterback you have.
02:36That is going to be a disaster if they open the season, let's just say, one in three or
02:41two in two in the month of September.
02:43So I'm having two issues with this.
02:44Number one is, can Aaron Rodgers be the quarterback the Steelers need to make a playoff run?
02:49But also, is Aaron Rodgers going like, you're stuck.
02:52I'm not.
02:53I'll make the decision when I'm ready.
02:55I want to go on vacation.
02:56I want to spend time with my family.
02:58I want to golf.
02:59I want to do everything but build camaraderie and chemistry with my teammates.
03:04This just sounds terrible.
03:05Like, Terry Bradshaw, the way he said it was kind of funny.
03:08But in my way, I sort of agree with it.
03:10It's like, we're holding out for this quarterback that's holding us hostage when it's not a guarantee
03:15that we're even going to be good with this guy?
03:17What are we doing, Steelers?
03:18It is an absolute joke.
03:20And I'm not necessarily blaming Aaron Rodgers.
03:23And I don't even know if I'm really – no, I am blaming the Pittsburgh Steelers because
03:27they have gone with this Band-Aid idea at the quarterback spot the last few years.
03:31They bring back Mason Rudolph, who was at OTAs yesterday for Pittsburgh and said it's
03:36nice to be back and it's nice to be wanted.
03:38Are you exactly wanted?
03:40What everybody around the league knows, it's not a matter or it's just a matter of time
03:44until Aaron Rodgers is there?
03:46And frankly, if you are Rodgers, why would you not when you have all of the leverage at
03:51this moment?
03:52You can disagree with his philosophy.
03:54But if Aaron Rodgers, who is often regarded as a selfish individual and has shown those
03:59true colors over the past few seasons, if he can hang out, not have to play football
04:04at the moment, he can golf, he can hang out and have fun, do whatever the heck Aaron Rodgers
04:09likes to do off the field, go to a music event and have a press conference for whatever weird
04:13reason he can.
04:15Why wouldn't he selfishly?
04:16That's who he has always been.
04:18What the joke is, DRS, is the idea that Aaron Rodgers is a savior, that Aaron Rodgers moves
04:25the needle even an inch or a win for Pittsburgh.
04:29He doesn't.
04:30The Steelers are having eight and a half win total this year.
04:32Could they win 10 games?
04:34Sure.
04:34They've done that with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph in years past.
04:38They've done that with Big Ben at the end of his NFL career.
04:41They have made the postseason.
04:42Will they go deeper in the AFC playoffs than they have previous just because Aaron Rodgers
04:47at the age of 42 at that potential time is there?
04:51Absolutely not.
04:52And that's why I will not and do not understand the Pittsburgh Steelers putting all of their
04:57eggs in one basket because Aaron Rodgers does not move the needle.
05:02Does he, DRS?
05:04No.
05:05And also, maybe this is good for Pittsburgh.
05:06Maybe Aaron Rodgers, you know, leaves them at the altar.
05:09They go under 500.
05:10Mike Tomlin gets fired.
05:11He can start the next regime in town.
05:13Maybe it works out in their favor.
05:14Who knows?
05:15We'll talk about it more as we continue our NFL conversations.
05:18Up next.
05:18Welcome to hour number two bright and early live right here on this Wednesday morning
05:23on the early line on SportsGrid.
05:25He is Donnie Wright's side.
05:27I am Ben Stevens.
05:28Two more hours to go up until 11 a.m.
05:31Eastern time.
05:32A second hour with a ton to discuss around the National Football League.
05:36Some other football headlines, including in the collegiate ranks.
05:39A lot being said this week in Destin, Florida at those SEC spring meetings.
05:46OTAs happening around the NFL.
05:48And, of course, we will get you set for game number five tonight in Oklahoma City.
05:53The Thunder needing just one more win to get back to the NBA Finals for the first time
05:58since 2012.
06:00Will the Thunder pull off the gentlemen's sweep against the Minnesota Timberwolves and make
06:04the Western Conference Finals a rather quick one?
06:06We shall discuss here in this second hour and plenty of football hot topics as well.
06:12Ah, you know what I like to hear?
06:14Early in the morning before football season really gets cranked up, we're going to be
06:17adding more playoff teams to the roster here with more opportunities for expansion.
06:23Absolutely tremendous.
06:25We're finally getting where we need to be.
06:27And the SEC is going to lead the way to make sure we get more SEC teams in because it is
06:32the best conference in college football.
06:34We want to see better teams playing more meaningful games late in the season, and we're going to
06:38get that.
06:39So, we'll get to 12s.
06:41We'll get to 16s.
06:42Soon we'll be at 24.
06:43And hopefully, just like, exactly.
06:45Well, I'm saying, like, we're on our way.
06:46We're marching up for it.
06:47Like, Division III football, close to 32.
06:49What, 32 teams get in?
06:51We're almost there, people.
06:52You hold on.
06:53Your boy predicted this just a couple years ago.
06:55We are getting there.
06:56Just hold tight.
06:57We'll get there.
06:57I'm not going to yell, really, because I don't need to raise my heart rate.
07:01But let me just throw out a blanket statement.
07:03Anything my co-host, Donnie Rightside, says about the future expansion of the college
07:08football playoff, I will vehemently disagree with.
07:11Let's talk more around the National Football League DRS.
07:13And, of course, after Terry Bradshaw calls the Steelers' interest in Aaron Rodgers a joke,
07:19Mason Rudolph was at OTAs yesterday saying it is nice to be wanted.
07:24Is he really?
07:25I made my point that it's a joke that anybody believes that Aaron Rodgers could be a savior
07:30for the Steelers, although I'm not really sure that is the consensus belief.
07:3541 years old, 20 years in the National Football League, rather mediocre quarterback play as we
07:41have seen his last even fully out these seasons in the NFL.
07:45Donnie, we know what the standard is for Mike Tomlin and the Steelers in his 18 seasons as
07:51the head man in Pittsburgh.
07:5318 years, never fewer than eight wins, never a losing record, even qualifying for the AFC
08:00postseason with a rotating cast and crew at the quarterback spot four of the previous five
08:06years.
08:07The Steelers will enter 2025 with a win total of eight and a half.
08:10The under has the hefty juice.
08:12If slash when Pittsburgh adds Aaron Rodgers as its quarterback, I said, it doesn't move
08:18the needle for me.
08:19Does it change your outlook on the Steelers at all?
08:22Oh yeah.
08:23There'll be a better team than with what they have in Mason Rudolph, but also like, is there
08:27a way like FanDuel candidate?
08:28Like, can you actually bet this?
08:29Cause here's what I'm weighing here at this point right now, because you know, we don't
08:32have great embedded reporters on the Aaron Rodgers situation because he's not even embedded
08:36like with his family.
08:37Like nobody talks to Aaron Rodgers.
08:38Nobody knows what the guy's actually even thinking at this point.
08:41So we don't get that insight.
08:42Oh, he's eventually going to join him.
08:44We know he's joining him because two things would happen.
08:46If Aaron Rodgers came out to him and said, you know what?
08:47My heart's just not in it.
08:49So know what you can do is, you know, the Rooney family, you fire Omar Khan immediately
08:52and you move on from Mike Tomlin and say, you guys just wasted our time saying we had
08:55a quarterback on the line.
08:57Now we're going to actually play a season with Mason Rudolph.
08:59Yeah.
08:59This isn't working anymore at this point because that's how big this decision is.
09:03And there's no reason to believe he's not coming because they didn't prepare for
09:06it.
09:06Like the Steelers off season, they can tell you whatever they want.
09:09Hey, behind closed doors, we know what's going on.
09:10Love me.
09:11If Mason starts to be such a great season, everybody knows that as a fallacy.
09:15So you're putting all your hands and all your eggs, I should say, in the basket here of
09:19Aaron Rodgers.
09:20And if he does the sign, because he's a quirky guy, I'm just not in it.
09:23It just doesn't work out.
09:24But here's what I want to see, though.
09:26Like we're talking about like, oh, well, he's eventually going to join him.
09:29Is he going to be around the draft?
09:30Ah, we don't know.
09:31Maybe he needs a little more time here.
09:33Is he going to join us?
09:33Like you have to be there for OT.
09:35You're a new quarterback in a new system with a new team.
09:37And you're just going to show up around training camp.
09:40Like even if he shows up, what?
09:41I don't know what the next OTA is going to be late June at this point.
09:44Like you're going to give him all that time of, hey, meet your teammates.
09:47And away we go into the season.
09:48Nothing makes sense here.
09:49And as I continue to point out, if Aaron Rodgers at the end of last football season, the minute free agency started, he goes, I want to probably be with Minnesota.
09:56They told him no.
09:58Flirt with the Giants a little bit.
09:59That's probably not going to work.
10:00And the Steelers are my last resort.
10:02If I want to play meaningful football on a quality football team that I at least think I can be above 500 and you slow play this out, it makes no sense.
10:10If he joined the Steelers two months ago, like, you know what?
10:13Maybe I could be talked into buying into the Steelers making a playoff run here.
10:17But the fact that he's just delaying it is what's the holdup.
10:20And I can't wait for this Ben to please show me the details when he signs with the Pittsburgh Steelers or what the financials are.
10:26I want to see how crazy the Steelers are or how much more money they actually had to talk him into over the past month and a half to actually get him to play.
10:34That's what I want to see.
10:35Because if he shows up in the Steelers, he goes, you know what?
10:37It's a one-year deal.
10:38Maybe it's going to be a year or two, $11 million.
10:41Oh, that's really interesting.
10:42But if he gets one of those two-year, $75 million contracts with 40 to 45 guaranteed, that's when we're going to start to laugh at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
10:52The Russell Wilson deal, DRS, one year with a guaranteed $10.5 million.
10:57But based on incentives and salary pay, Russell Wilson can receive an worth of $20 million for the New York Giants.
11:04And he might not even be the starting quarterback by the end of the year for the G-Men.
11:09And that will be really interesting for a guy in Aaron Rodgers who says he doesn't need to play for a ton of money anymore.
11:16But we'll see exactly how that looks.
11:19And, Donnie, Aaron Rodgers can continue what the standard has been for the Steelers.
11:24They can go over eight and a half wins and avoid a losing record.
11:29They can, heck, even reach the postseason if they go 10-7 in a wild-card spot around the AFC.
11:36But the idea that Aaron Rodgers is going to be the guy to change the narrative around the Steelers now who have not won a playoff game since 2016, more than likely not going to happen.
11:47So even if Aaron Rodgers is there and the Steelers are successful, Pittsburgh fans will not be happy because they have seen this one too many times and now need to get back to a franchise that used to be known for Lombardi trophies, not just 500 records or better.
12:03All right, DRS, elsewhere around the National Football League OTAs, Kirk Cousins did not show up yesterday for the Atlanta Falcons at OTAs.
12:12Again, that's not overly shocking by any means as Kirk Cousins was demoted at the end of last season.
12:18It is now officially listed as the backup quarterback in Atlanta.
12:22But because of the name, the fact that Cousins was not there allows us to ask a lot of questions like, are the Falcons looking to trade him?
12:30What might the moves be this offseason?
12:32Does it matter in your mind, DRS, that Kirk Cousins was not at OTAs for the Dirty Birds yesterday?
12:37No, it's odd to put the circumstances around it.
12:41But let's understand one thing.
12:42Kirk Cousins has used the salary cap and salary cap conditions to his advantage, maybe better than any player in NFL history.
12:47But you watch Kirk Cousins as a human being, it's like, does he even spend his money?
12:50Like, drive an old van, he shops at Coles, like the everyman casual.
12:54They even show, like, his house, just a normal house when you could have an absolute mansion on top of 50 acres wherever you want.
13:00The reason I bring this up is the one thing that gets athletes demoralized is, look, I was brought in to be a starter.
13:06I'm a high-paid athlete.
13:07I've always been a starter.
13:08Hey, Kirk, we don't necessarily want you, but you make a lot of money.
13:11We're going to try to move you here.
13:12But understand this, if you're on this football team, you have absolutely no chance to play.
13:17Like, Michael Penix is our guy.
13:18Like, that's tough to sell.
13:19Like, yes, you want to be a professional.
13:21You want to work every day.
13:22You want to be like, you know what?
13:23Let the best man win.
13:24When even if Kirk Cousins is the best man, he's not going to play above Michael Penix.
13:28So you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
13:30And also, you don't want to cause distractions.
13:32Remember when the Green Bay Packers had Aaron Rodgers and also Brett Favre?
13:35When they're like, hey, Aaron is our starter.
13:37And Favre goes, coming up from Mississippi right now, I'm going to be your starting quarterback.
13:40And they shipped him within hours to the New York Jets because that was going to cause a commotion.
13:45Maybe he has to come into camp and take the microphone back and be like, you know what?
13:48I am the starter here in Atlanta.
13:50Maybe that will move them to cut him immediately.
13:52He's just playing the nice guy right now.
13:54We'll talk a little bit more about Kirk Cousins in his contract situation,
13:57if he could even be on a different NFL team by the start of next season.
14:02Plenty more NFL headlines up next.
14:04Kirk Cousins did not show up for Falcons OTAs yesterday.
14:08Will Kirk Cousins be playing his football even as a backup for the Dirty Birds in 2025?
14:15It has been a question, DRS, since he was demoted at the end of last season.
14:19There is no doubt the starting quarterback in Atlanta, that is Michael Penix Jr., about to enter his second year.
14:25The conversation, though, around Cousins, because of the large contract that he signed with Atlanta last offseason,
14:31four years, $180 million with 100 mil guaranteed.
14:35Is he even a movable commodity right now for Atlanta?
14:39If he were to be cut with a post-June 1st designation, probably would have already happened.
14:44That would be a $50 million cap hit for the Falcons in 2025.
14:49If he were to be traded with a post-June 1st designation, DRS, still a cap hit, though, that is hefty for Atlanta, $12.5 million.
14:57It is the contract, I think, holding up any movement for Kirk Cousins this offseason.
15:03It is.
15:04And again, it's one of those contracts you're not supposed to be cutting this early in the contract.
15:08The future was supposed to be Kirk Cousins for a few years, not for a few games.
15:12And the fact that they compounded it and said, OK, we're going to get Penix, but now we have, you know, Kirk Cousins.
15:17We don't even know if Kirk Cousins is healthy.
15:18It turns out he wasn't healthy, but not the original injury.
15:20It was a new injury.
15:21It's been a complete mess, which is why you're just supposed to break ties with it.
15:25Understand as an organization, we messed up, we shouldn't have signed him, but we do have a quarterback on a rookie deal that's cheap,
15:30so it sort of makes up for it if we cut him loose here and get him out of town.
15:34Because the one thing other teams understand is, you will cut this guy.
15:37We are not trading and picking up any bits of Kirk Cousins' contract.
15:40If you cut him, then we can sign him to a Russell Wilson-type deal, one year, $8 million,
15:45instead of taking on $50 or $60 million in contracts here.
15:49And that's what Atlanta doesn't seem to figure out.
15:50And don't even remember, like, the song and dance when, I forget whenever the new league year started,
15:54like, hey, they're going to keep him.
15:55It's going to cost him a lot of money.
15:56That shows their willingness that they will keep him on the roster.
15:59And everybody around the NFL still laughed at that notion.
16:01They're like, no, you are not.
16:02It doesn't make sense to have him on the roster at any cost at this point.
16:06Because two things happen.
16:08You have to eat the money.
16:09You're going to understand that.
16:10But also, Michael Penix is your future.
16:12If he goes through a rough patch, we don't need the cat calls.
16:15Well, we got to put Kirk Cousins back in there.
16:16No.
16:17This is Michael Penix's team to either sink or swim at this point.
16:21And Kirk Cousins plays no bearing into it.
16:22Now, with other teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers, if Aaron Rodgers doesn't come calling here
16:26and say, we want to play, but we need a veteran guy, that's more down the line.
16:30We always knew one thing.
16:31The Falcons messed up that draft.
16:33They messed up the contract with Kirk Cousins.
16:35And then they're trying to act like they did everything exactly the way it was planned.
16:38And this is working perfectly.
16:40And we're happy to have a $50 to $60 million backup quarterback.
16:44Nonsense.
16:44We're not buying it.
16:45Completely agree, DRS.
16:46And that is the story.
16:48That is why those two decisions in harmony never exactly made sense.
16:52And, of course, not living in harmony right now.
16:55If you sign Kirk Cousins and he is bad and he looks old, you wasted a ton of money,
17:00even though you have drafted his replacement in Michael Penix, Jr.
17:03If Kirk Cousins was great, you would never know what you had in Penix, Jr.
17:08by the time you needed to make your decision on his future in your franchise.
17:12That future, of course, for Michael Penix, Jr. is now.
17:16And I think the only good thing for Atlanta DRS is some talent on the roster
17:20around the quarterback position for Michael Penix, Jr.
17:23A good draft this time around in 2025.
17:26And maybe most importantly, how bad the NFC South is expected to be once again in 2025.
17:33The win total for Atlanta is 7.5.
17:36But to make the playoffs plus 146 and a win to the division plus 230.
17:41How high are you on Atlanta entering this season?
17:45No, I'm not high on them.
17:46And, again, they're telling you the tale right there at 7.5.
17:49Now, granted, some of these teams are going to play competitiveness, you know,
17:52like the Philadelphia Eagles and the rest of the NFC East.
17:54I mean, they have a tough schedule going through it.
17:56But also, you're only looking at your division itself.
17:59Is Tampa the best team in the division?
18:00Probably so.
18:01But you have, you know, a New Orleans team that's going through a tough time here
18:04with the salary cap, new head coach, don't really know who the quarterback is going to be.
18:07And then the Carolina Panthers.
18:08You're hoping to take the next leap.
18:10But that's certainly a big hope.
18:11I still put the Atlanta Falcons above the Carolina Panthers entering into the season,
18:15which gives you a legitimate chance because you are looking at the playoffs at a plus 146 price.
18:20Seven teams do make it.
18:21And maybe they can win eight or nine games and be in the mix.
18:23But then you see the NFC South title.
18:25It's only a plus 230, which shows they'll be in that divisional race the entire season,
18:29probably going toe-to-toe with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
18:32So it does make some sense.
18:33I'm not high on them.
18:34Even if they make the playoffs, I don't think they're going to do much damage.
18:37Your only goal this year for Atlanta is, again, lose Kirk Cousins, find out about Michael Penix,
18:42and then move forward into the future.
18:43Yeah, completely agree, DRS.
18:45The over has the juice of that win total at seven and a hook at minus 135.
18:50We have talked about the difficult slates for all teams in the highly competitive NFC North.
18:54Very much a similar picture in the NFC East.
18:57In the NFC South, DRS, all four teams in this division for the 10 easiest schedules based on projected win totals for 2025's NFL campaign.
19:08Another guy not at OTAs yesterday in Buffalo, or at least Western New York, that was James Cook.
19:16He did not show up for the Buffalo Bills entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract following a career season in 2024
19:24with the Bills, in which he led all of the National Football League with 16 regular season rushing touchdowns.
19:32James Cook had a career year last year in Western New York looking for a new deal entering the final year of his rookie contract.
19:39Did not show up at OTAs yesterday.
19:43Yeah, it's kind of interesting, too, because the Buffalo Bills are one of those teams that should be able to take a step this year.
19:47A very favorable schedule.
19:49Maybe you can get home field advantage and try it again with one of the more electric quarterbacks in the National Football League.
19:54You always look at this, and it is a negotiation.
19:56We get that, because we don't know what each side is saying.
19:59Because the one thing I do know is the Buffalo Bills are saying,
20:01Hey, James Cook, you're going to be part of our future, but it can't be part of our future at the expense of our future,
20:06if that makes sense, with how much money we might have to give you.
20:09Let's meet halfway, because you might be looking at James Cook saying,
20:12Did you see the contracts that have just been sent out here and re-ups here?
20:15Christian McCaffrey in the last couple of years, Saquon Barkley, now Derrick Henry.
20:18I had 16 touchdowns last year.
20:20I'm back-to-back over 1,000 yards.
20:22I'm a key component to the success of this football team.
20:25I want my money.
20:26And also, as we opened up the show, talking about him not showing up, saying,
20:29Well, running backs in the past weren't getting paid.
20:31They are getting paid now.
20:33Nobody, even as, I mean, more importantly as a running back,
20:36wants to go into your final season without financial security moving forward.
20:40They'll get this done.
20:41Because why?
20:41It would be stupid not to get this done when the Bills still have that window open for a hopeful Super Bowl run.
20:47I think it's really well said, DRS, and very well summed up.
20:50A couple of years ago, this might be, ooh, a little bit dicey.
20:53Who did Buffalo draft?
20:55Can they sign anybody to kind of be that stopgap at the running back position?
20:59Different story now, though, when it comes to running back salaries and contracts in the NFL.
21:03Will he see the historic numbers of a Saquon Barkley, a Christian McCaffrey, heck, even Derek Henry North of 30 years old?
21:11Probably not.
21:11Is he going to get a good payday?
21:13Absolutely so.
21:14Could it look like the four-year, $48 million deal Josh Jacobs signed last year with Green Bay?
21:19I think something of the sort.
21:21More football headlines up next on the Early Line.
21:24More NFL headlines here on this Wednesday morning on the Early Line on Sports Grid.
21:29DRS, we are reaching the stage as OTAs rolls around after rookie minicamp.
21:33You're getting a lot of those contracts signed by the first-rounders that were selected at the end of April.
21:40However, one contract that is still outstanding, that would be Shamar Stewart, the Ed Crusher out of Texas A&M,
21:46drafted in the first round by the Cincinnati Bengals, who need all of the defensive help they can get,
21:53but yet they have not signed Stewart just yet.
21:55That's Stewart and his representation still in a disagreement with the Bengals' front office over specific wording in that rookie deal
22:03that would not maybe cover guaranteed future injuries.
22:07So, Shamar Stewart remains unsigned with Cincinnati.
22:11Of course, the Bengals have a lot to still figure out this offseason on the defensive side of the football.
22:16Like, can we get the answers on what the language is in the contract?
22:21Because when we talk about the Bengals, and I bring it up repeatedly, like, they're one of the cheapest franchises out there.
22:25Like, is it just like, hey, you know, you're coming in for OTAs.
22:28We're not going to give you an expense on the cab from, like, the airport.
22:31Or you're going to have to pay for your socks.
22:33And Nike hasn't come through with your cleats yet.
22:35Can you buy them?
22:36And maybe down the line we'll reimburse you to see if that makes a lot of sense.
22:39You're like, what is the actual holdup here?
22:41Because it is hilarious that this team needs all the talent it needs on defense.
22:46But yeah, Trey Hendrickson, who can lead the NFL in sacks, we're like, dude, we're not even going to pick up the phone and return your phone call.
22:51And they say, okay, well, we're going to draft your replacement.
22:53And then tell the replacement, ah, man, you got to buy your own pants, cleats, jerseys, and helmet here to come around.
22:58Like, what are we actually doing for just for what?
23:01Can we just be a professional franchise?
23:03Like, can we not have all in the family in the front office here?
23:06Can we just act with a modicum of respect to the NFL and the players and just say, this contract is printed out of a printer.
23:12Everybody in the first round gets the same language.
23:14The Bengals are like, I don't like that language here.
23:16I don't like that language here.
23:18You'll come in under our terms.
23:19How about some harmony to enter into a season where we're not worried about people getting paid.
23:23All we're worried about is winning a Super Bowl.
23:26We can't have nice things in Cincinnati, apparently.
23:28Via reports DRS from both Pro Football Talk and other NFL sources, Cincinnati reportedly wants to include a phrase in the contract for Shamar Stewart that causes a default in the current year to trigger a default in all remaining years.
23:44Of course, that would have to deal with injuries and things of that like.
23:47PFT also reports that this phrase is not included in the rookie contract signed by offensive tackles, Amarius Mims, who was the Bengals' first-round pick a season ago.
23:59So I think it is protections and guarantees, of course, from a financial perspective, in case of the worst-case scenario, of course, that being a dramatic injury.
24:09It's fantastic, right?
24:10Hey, so I'm going to work out or I'm going to get injured, but you don't want to pay me if I do get injured.
24:14And that's setting the relationship off on an absolutely tremendous foot at this point.
24:18And again, you're fighting over things that aren't – this is supposed to be easy.
24:21It used to be in the past you had to come to an agreement with a first-round pick.
24:24They could ask for the moon and the stars, and maybe there was a holdout.
24:27But the fact that the NFL is like, look, we're going to slot the first round and off throughout the draft where you know where you're getting picked.
24:32You know what the money is.
24:33You know what the language is.
24:34Very easy for the general manager, the ownership group, and the agent to just come to an agreement over dinner.
24:39That's signed, sealed, and delivered.
24:40And the fact that they're harping over something so ridiculous at this point where it's like, hey, well, we drafted you, but maybe there's something to your knee.
24:47And if you hurt that knee, we don't want to pay anymore.
24:49What is this?
24:50Isn't it a family?
24:51Like you're drafted into the Bengals' family.
24:53They're going to take care of you, and it seems like they want to hold you hostage.
24:56Come on now.
24:57Enough.
24:57Yeah, DRS, it is a really good point about slotted rookie contracts and a lot of the verbiage in those rookie deals that is pretty standard across the board based on where you are selected.
25:06First round deals, second through seventh round deals, all of that good stuff, but a difference here for Cincinnati, causing the 17th overall pick this previous April in Shamar Stewart to still be on the sideline and not participating in on-field workouts at this moment as he remains unsigned.
25:25I really want to bet the Bengals at plus 900 to win the AFC championship, but until Trey Hendrickson is signed, and I guess now maybe Shamar Stewart, I can't buy in to Cincinnati.
25:38DRS, should we talk about the EA Sports College Football 2026 cover that was released yesterday with its two cover stars on that generic cover?
25:49The standard edition being Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
25:57I mean, come on now.
25:58Wide receivers run the world.
26:00We understand that.
26:01You don't need quarterbacks.
26:02You don't need running backs.
26:03You don't need DBs.
26:04You don't need coaches on it.
26:05You just need the two best wide receivers in the country showing out for their schools right now.
26:10I can get down with that cover, no doubt about it.
26:12Now, I think if there was an EA Sports College Football 1999 D3 edition, Donnie Wright's side would have been on that bad boy, no doubt about it.
26:22You know that DRS loved NFL Street.
26:25Is that true?
26:26Oh, man.
26:26No, we didn't like NFL Street.
26:28NCAA Game Breakers was the game back in the late 1990s in college football.
26:32You're running the triple option with Nebraska.
26:34Get out of town, people.
26:35Come on now.
26:36What a game that was.
26:36Is Tommy the quarterback?
26:38Tommy Frazier?
26:38Tommy's the quarterback, Thunder, a little Thunder Collins back there, Lawrence Lee, Phillips.
26:43Yeah.
26:43Yeah.
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