NFL Live Today | 49ers Pursue Cousins, Browns May Trade Shedeur, Wirfs Sidelined

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🚨 On NFL Live Today, the team dives into three major NFL stories making headlines:

The 49ers are reportedly exploring a blockbuster trade for veteran Kirk Cousins, involving a four-team scenario that would land him in San Francisco in exchange for picks and other QBs.

The Cleveland Browns may consider trading rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders—with Colts being potential suitors—as the QB battle intensifies during training camp.

All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs is expected to miss at least the first four games of 2025 due to knee surgery and a placement on the PUP list, weakening the Buccaneers’ offensive line heading into Week 1.

Tune in for expert analysis on trade scenarios, quarterback depth charts, and what Wirfs' absence means for Tampa Bay’s season opener.

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#NFLLiveToday #KirkCousins #ShedeurSanders #TristanWirfs #49ers #Browns #Buccaneers #NFLTrades #NFL2025 #NFLNews

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Kirk Cousins 49ers trade rumors, Browns trade Shedeur Sanders, Colts QB interest, Tristan Wirfs knee surgery, Buccaneers offensive line injury, NFL Week 1 PUP list, NFL quarterback trade talk, NFL training camp updates

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Kirk Cousins 49ers trade, Shedeur Sanders trading, Tristan Wirfs out Week 1, NFL quarterback rumors, NFL Live Today news, Buccaneers injury updates, Browns QB depth chart, NFL offseason moves, Kirk Cousins trade scenario, NFL 2025 training camp

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00:00Coming out of Tampa today, Dan Graziano, what should we know?

00:05Left tackle Tristan Wirfs likely to miss the start of the season from the sounds of things.

00:10Had arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this week.

00:14He's been dealing with a knee issue since last season, was able to play through it,

00:17but this offseason it didn't really respond to rest the way that they hoped it would,

00:21so he's going to get it fixed.

00:22Likely to have to start the season on the physically unable to perform list,

00:26which would mean he would have to miss at least the first four games of the season.

00:30No small thing.

00:31Buccaneers open at Atlanta.

00:32The Falcons beat them twice last year.

00:34At Houston on Monday night, home to the Jets and home to the Super Bowl champion Eagles

00:38could be a rough time to be without their starting left tackle.

00:41Yeah, Graz, just the other day I was saying maybe we're not talking enough about the Bucs

00:44and how great they could be.

00:45This may change that just a little bit.

00:47And now here we are.

00:48I know, right?

00:48Tristan Wirfs had a pass block win rate of 95.9% last season,

00:54the highest among all tackles.

00:56With the help of Wirfs, Baker Mayfield was pressured on just 23% of dropbacks last season,

01:02the second lowest rate among qualified quarterbacks last season.

01:04Wirfs, one of four offensive linemen to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of the last four seasons,

01:09along with guards Joel Antonio, Deion Dawkins, and Quentin Nelson.

01:13Good company there.

01:14We welcome you to NFL Live.

01:15You just saw Graz, Damian Woody, Booger McFarland here as well.

01:18Lots to get to with you guys.

01:20D-Wood, let's start with you.

01:21How big a deal is this for the Bucs in your mind?

01:26Laura's a pretty big deal.

01:27I mean, you're talking about arguably the best left tackle in the game.

01:30This was a guy in Tristan Wirfs last year who didn't give up a sack.

01:34He only gave up one pressure all of last season.

01:36So, you know, if you're Baker Mayfield, that's the type of, you know,

01:40protection that you're going to be without for the first four games.

01:43And that's not even including, like, time to get acclimated and get in the game shape.

01:47So, this is a big blow for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

01:51Now, they signed, you know, Charlie Heck as a swing tackle from the San Francisco 49ers.

01:56But make no mistake about it, he's no Tristan Wirfs.

01:59So, this is a big, big blow for the Bucs.

02:04You know, as a coach, you try to minimize the question marks that you go into the season with.

02:08And I think the Bucs have a top five offensive line with Tristan Wirfs.

02:11So, there was no question mark at the offensive line position.

02:14Now, Tristan Wirfs most likely going to miss the first four games of the season.

02:18There is a question mark.

02:19And so, it's just another hurdle that the Bucs have to jump over.

02:23Liam Cohn, the offensive coordinator, he's now the head coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

02:27So, they're going to have a new play caller.

02:29Now, you've got a new left tackle.

02:31The consistency that you want to have around Baker Mayfield is just not there right now.

02:35I know Todd Bowles and Jason Light both signed contract extensions, both very well earned.

02:40They got their work cut out for them now as they try to mesh these new pieces, new play caller, new left tackle.

02:46But they've got to keep their quarterback comfortable.

02:49And missing Tristan Wirfs is not going to make that an easy job, Laura.

02:53Yeah, Booger, absolutely right.

02:55I mean, the consistency around Baker Mayfield the last couple of years has been critical.

02:58Now, they did change offensive coordinators last year, and that didn't seem to bother him.

03:02But when you talk about personnel, the wide receiver group, they have Chris Godwin coming back from injury to an already strong group.

03:09So, I think they would tell you that it's better that it happened now than right before the season because they can get him a little more time to recover.

03:16And they can figure out what to do, whether that means Charlie Heck, whether that means someone else, whether that means they have to scheme around it to improve the protection a little bit.

03:24They can work all of that out in training camp, which is a little bit of a silver lining.

03:28Obviously, nothing good about losing your starting left tackle at any point in the year.

03:32And just to take the fans kind of behind the scenes a little bit, usually when the season is over, you go meet with the head trainer and you guys make a decision.

03:41Hey, are we going to rest it or are we going to go ahead and go into the knife and get this thing done?

03:47It sounds like they tried to rest it and see if it will respond, and he kind of aggravated it during the offseason.

03:52And now, here we are, training camp's open next week for some teams, and now maybe the best left tackle in football is out.

03:58It just goes to show you that there is a process that you have to go through during the offseason,

04:03and the Bucs sounds like they may have made a mistake as far as when and if to do this surgery on Tristan Wirth.

04:09Yeah, it's a good point, Bug.

04:10I mean, had they done it at the end of the season, we'd be in a totally different situation here.

04:14So, glad you brought that up.

04:15All right, more news surrounding the big fellas on the other side of the ball.

04:18Graz, what's the latest on some past Russia contract disputes?

04:21Let's start with Trey Hendrickson.

04:24Yeah, Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals still at an impasse regarding a contract extension.

04:29He has publicly said he does not intend to play on his current contract.

04:33The Bengals have offered him a short-term extension.

04:36He would like a longer-term extension with more guaranteed money in future years.

04:40He's 30 years old.

04:41The Bengals are hesitant to do that.

04:43We'll see if this picks up again as we get closer to camp.

04:46Obviously, the Bengals would like to have him there and working.

04:49Same with the Steelers and T.J. Watt, another 30-year-old edge rusher who wants a contract extension and doesn't have one.

04:55He has not been public about any displeasure, but he did skip mandatory minicamp.

04:59And that's obviously a sign that things aren't all okay.

05:03When he signed his last contract extension four years ago, it took all the way up until September 9th.

05:08So, if you're expecting a quick resolution here, you may be disappointed.

05:12And then Micah Parsons with the Cowboys, likely to come in ahead of everybody and probably be the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league when his extension finally gets done.

05:21Things seem to be in a pretty good place there.

05:23He was at their mandatory minicamp and had participated in parts of their voluntary offseason program.

05:30So, no reason to think that this won't get done and no reason to think that he would hold out of any part of training camp,

05:35considering he's already been to stuff he didn't even have to go to and he doesn't have the deal done yet.

05:40But watch for Parsons to come in ahead of everybody in the league who isn't a quarterback.

05:45Yeah, no doubt that's resetting the market.

05:46That training camp for the Cowboys and Oxnard starts in 12 days.

05:49Now, a new article out on ESPN.com this morning.

05:52Jeremy Fowler polled NFL executive scouts and coaches in order to rank the top ten players at each position.

05:58So, today we're going to look at the league's top edge rushers.

06:01Pertinent, based on some of the guys we were just talking about, the AFC North has the top two on the list,

06:06with Miles Garrett ranking first for the second straight year, followed by T.J. Watt.

06:10The Texans, the only team to have two players in the top ten, Will Anderson Jr. and Neal Hunter.

06:16And then Micah Parsons, Max Crosby, and Nick Bosa find themselves in the top five.

06:20Again, Patrick Mahomes had some high praise regarding division rival Crosby earlier this week.

06:25He's the best.

06:27I mean, I think he sacked me the most out of anyone I've ever played against.

06:30Oh, really?

06:30To me, he's the best pass rusher that I've played against.

06:33And so, no offense to any other pass rusher, just putting it out there.

06:36But he is the best one that I've went up against because he goes out there and he gives you the effort,

06:41he has the moves, and he has the skill.

06:43And I think that's hard to have all three of those and do that year in and year out.

06:47The other thing Mahomes has said sometimes when we've met with him before games

06:51is that Crosby is one of the biggest trash talkers.

06:54That may have been a little reason why he picked him there.

06:57Okay, Bug, it sounds like Mahomes disagreed a little bit with that list that you just saw.

07:01How about you?

07:02What do you think about it?

07:05Yeah, I disagree with it.

07:06And let me preface by saying this.

07:08When you're choosing from the top four or five pass rushers in football,

07:12it's kind of like choosing how do you want your fillet.

07:14Some people like theirs rare.

07:15Some people like it medium well.

07:17I need mine well done.

07:19Judge me if you want to.

07:20That's on you, not on me.

07:21As far as the pass rush is concerned, to me it's got to be Max Crosby.

07:25I think when you look at the skill, you look at the effort, you look at the technique,

07:30you look at the moves, nobody does it better.

07:33Yes, T.J. Watt looks differently.

07:35Yes, Miles Garrett is more of a power guy.

07:37Micah Parsons may have a little bit more athleticism,

07:40but when you combine everything together, for me,

07:43Max Crosby is the best pure pass rusher in football, and there's no way.

07:47I mean no other way to eat a fillet than well done.

07:50Hey, really fast.

07:51Bug, bug, I'm going to have you come over.

07:54All right, I'm going to sear your fillet really nice,

07:56a nice little pepper crust on it.

07:58I'll do it medium well for you, even though that's like a little bit off what I would normally do

08:03because it should be medium rare, but you're going to change your mind, okay?

08:06You must just have had some bad steaks in the past.

08:08You're wrong about well done.

08:10Not changing my mind, Laura.

08:12I promise you, I'm not changing my mind.

08:14D. Wood, go ahead.

08:15Boog, you might as well be burning a steak at this point.

08:21I mean, well done.

08:22Come on, bro.

08:23We got to work on that.

08:25But here's what I'm going to say, man.

08:27I think the reason that Mahomes has so much admiration for Max Crosby

08:32is where he's rushing from.

08:34Think about it.

08:35Boog knows this.

08:36He's rushing up on the defensive left.

08:38He's going up against the right tackle, meaning he's rushing right in Mahomes' face,

08:42and he still is able to cause havoc on a guy like Patrick Mahomes.

08:46But Boog is right.

08:47He's so versatile.

08:49He's a guy that he's a movable chess piece.

08:51He has a variety of moves, and he's absolutely relentless as a rusher.

08:56And so, listen, any way you want to put the top four, top five, you can do it.

09:01It's all about your flavor.

09:02But Max Crosby definitely be giving Patrick Mahomes hell every time he plays against him.

09:08Right, which is twice a year, which is one of the reasons I'm sure he's in the front of Patrick's mind

09:13when he gets a question like that.

09:15So, yeah, look, you look at Max Crosby.

09:17You're looking at Mr. Rader at this point.

09:19He's done contract extensions that have been kind of somewhat helpful to the team

09:24in terms of their structure.

09:26He has survived multiple overhauls of the front office, of the coaching staff.

09:30No one who's come in during Max Crosby's career has said,

09:34well, we need to get rid of this guy, or he doesn't fit our scheme.

09:37He does everything they want him to do.

09:39He's universally admired around the league for his work ethic

09:42and the manner in which he's improved his game consistently since he got into the league.

09:46Nothing not to like about Max Crosby as a top four edge rusher.

09:50Yeah, thank goodness they were able to hold on to him.

09:52We'll throw the list back up there again.

09:54Dee Wood, anyone not on the list you think could make it next year?

09:57Yeah, I'm going with that bad man Nick Benito out in Denver.

10:04Like, you look at that Denver team.

10:07You know, last year he had 13 and a half sacks,

10:09and Denver had one of the best defenses in the National Football League.

10:13And look at how the Denver Broncos have improved in the offseason

10:16with a couple of acquisitions on that side of the ball.

10:19So, I expect Nick Benito to have an even better year

10:22with an even better cast around him.

10:26So, I would expect him to be on this list next year.

10:31And I'm going to stay here and be a homer down in Tampa.

10:34There's a guy named Yaya Diaby,

10:36and I think he's going to really benefit down here.

10:39Hasan Reddick comes in.

10:40Hasan is the proven veteran.

10:42He's going to take some of the attention away.

10:44I think Yaya is going to have a good year.

10:45And when you talk about the versatility,

10:48be able to rush with speed and power,

10:50look for Yaya Diaby, a young guy that has a lot of upside down here in Tampa.

10:54Yeah, I like it.

10:55By the way, Nick Benito, Brian Burns, Jonathan Grenard, and George Karloftis

10:59were given honorable mentions on the list of top edge rushers.

11:01So, you're going to have to wait a whole year and see what the list is next year.

11:04But we'll tell you what it is, certainly sometime around this time in July.

11:07In case you missed it, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow

11:10on the recently released new season of Quarterback on Netflix

11:12expressed his passion for, as you can see there, fossils.

11:17Wow.

11:23Fossil that proved Darwin's theory of evolution.

11:27It's called the Archaeopteryx.

11:29And we got to see, there's like 12 of them in the world.

11:31We got to see one of those.

11:33Why were fossils on my mind?

11:36I don't know, because they're cool?

11:37When aren't fossils on your mind?

11:39They go back millions of years.

11:42That's sick.

11:42I actually agree.

11:46I think fossils are cool.

11:47I wanted to be an archaeologist back in the day, but I also wanted to be a meteorologist,

11:51and then I realized I wasn't smart enough for either.

11:53Boog, you like fossils?

11:54Actually, wait a second.

11:56Boog's steak is a fossil.

11:58I'm mad it took me that long to think of that joke.

12:00Wow.

12:01Fossils are on Boog's mind when they eat steak.

12:03First of all, hey, listen, y'all can judge me about my steak all you want to.

12:09I didn't grow up thinking about no fossils.

12:12I grew up thinking about hamburgers and chicken wings and playing football, and so far, it's worked out pretty good.

12:16Things to get to.

12:17Let's start in Miami.

12:18Former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel had some strong thoughts on the Jalen Ramsey trade.

12:23The Dolphins had no reason to trade Jalen Ramsey other than they're sensitive.

12:29There's no leadership in the Dolphins organization.

12:32Mike McDaniels is a pushover.

12:37Chris Greer, the general manager, he has no backbone.

12:40These guys over here, the Miami Dolphins, they are running this team like a little league team.

12:47No one can stand up to the players.

12:49They're terrified of their own players, and they have no control over their players.

12:57Well, goodness.

12:58Boog, what do you think?

13:00Spicy.

13:01You talk about spicy.

13:03Man, listen, somebody need to tell Asante to calm down and relax and enjoy life, man.

13:07He's retired and rich, but as far as this trade, understand this.

13:11I think if you're Miami, and you look at what you've accomplished with Jalen Ramsey,

13:15and you say, okay, we can get Mika Fitzpatrick back, and now we can get a playmaking safety

13:20instead of a corner who's probably best suited to play inside at the slot position.

13:24Pittsburgh can use Jalen Ramsey a little bit better, and they can use Mika Fitzpatrick,

13:28so it's the rare trade where I think you get rid of $20 million, and you also get a player

13:33of very similar value back in Mika Fitzpatrick, so I think it's a win-win

13:37for both teams.

13:38Hey, his podcast is called Say What Needs to Be Said, I think, so he was saying it,

13:43Boog.

13:43He had a lot to say.

13:45All right.

13:46Spicy.

13:46We're moving on.

13:47Real spicy.

13:48To Houston, where new O-line edition Laken Tomlinson is feeling good about the rebuilt Texans

13:54offensive line.

13:55I mean, extremely important.

13:59I mean, I believe, you know, the offensive line could be, like, the strength of a team.

14:03You know, those guys are the grinders, man.

14:07Come out and grind.

14:08They want to be the backbone, the foundation of the team, the alignment for the team.

14:12Yeah.

14:12So when you can have that for a team, you can go very far, man.

14:15So, and I've seen in the past, I've been a part of it, and, you know, I'm excited to

14:18be able to exercise that here.

14:21Well, that's music potentially to C.J.

14:23Stroud's ears.

14:24D. Wood, we heard him call the O-line the backbone of the offense.

14:27Vince, what's the status of that Texan spine, though, heading into the season?

14:33Well, if that's the backbone, my back is hurting right now because I need to see it

14:37first before I can give any type of accolades to this line.

14:41This is a line that was horrendous last year.

14:44C.J.

14:44Stroud was under siege.

14:46Obviously, they made some wholesale changes, starting with the new offensive coordinator,

14:50Nick Kaley.

14:51They're going to have a whole new left side of the offense line, and they have to get this

14:54figured out because if this continues on, you know, you could do irreparable damage

15:00to your franchise quarterback.

15:02Yeah, I mean, C.J.

15:03Stroud was sacked at least four times in eight games last season.

15:07If you're wondering, that was the most in the NFL.

15:09Let's go to Atlanta next, where Kirk Cousins revealed some insight about his decision to

15:12leave Minnesota last offseason on the new season of Netflix's quarterback.

15:17He said, quote, certainly if I had that information around free agencies talking about them drafting

15:21Michael Penix Jr., it would have affected my decision.

15:24I had no reason to leave Minnesota with how much we loved it there.

15:27If both teams were going to be drafting a quarterback, hi.

15:30But I've also learned in 12 years in this league that you're not entitled to anything.

15:34It's all about earning your spot and proving yourself.

15:37Graz, you followed this story really closely as it all went down.

15:40What do you think of these comments from Kirk Cousins?

15:44Well, I mean, no offense to Kirk, but he says he had no reason to leave Minnesota.

15:48He actually had 100 million guaranteed reasons to leave Minnesota, and he took that with Atlanta.

15:54Now, look, he didn't play well enough to keep the job.

15:56I know he wanted them to move on and release or trade him this offseason.

16:01He still would like that to happen at some point.

16:04But as of right now, he seems to be stuck being Michael Penix's backup unless somebody

16:09has an injury or a situation changes somewhere else and another team becomes desperate enough

16:15to offer Atlanta what they were asking for.

16:17The Falcons are very comfortable having a veteran backup behind Michael Penix as he opens his first

16:22season as the starter.

16:23Yeah, great situation for them, as you've told us.

16:25But also, somebody could get hurt.

16:27So you never know where they're made in the NFC East this offseason.

16:30As a reminder, of course, Dallas, as Adam mentioned, adding George Pickens and Javante

16:34Williams to their offense, while Washington added Devo Samuel and Laramie Tunsil to theirs.

16:39The Giants address both sides of the ball.

16:41Russell Wilson, Javon Holland additions there.

16:44The Eagles took the biggest hit this offseason, losing Milton Williams, Josh Sweat,

16:48Mekhi Becton, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

16:51Whole lot of roster changes in Philly, right, after winning the Super Bowl.

16:55But if not them, then who is winning this division this year, Boog, if you had to pick

17:00somebody else in the NFC East?

17:05Wow.

17:06Listen, the Eagles, I think, by far, are clearly the best team in the division.

17:11But if you're not going to get them, I think you would have to probably go lean with Washington.

17:15I think they're the hot team on the block right now.

17:19Jaden Daniels took a tremendous step as a rookie last year.

17:23I love what they're doing defensively.

17:25I just like their culture, how they built the culture there, what they're doing.

17:29I think what Dan Quinn has done is created a culture of competitiveness.

17:33Bobby Wagner, who I thought was going to retire and go fishing, he decided to come back because

17:37he likes that young team.

17:39And that can tell you a lot about a locker room.

17:42When a veteran that's made as much money as Bobby Wagner, he's a first ballot Hall of

17:46Famer, in my opinion, when he decides to play another year with these young guys, it just

17:51tells you the culture that's been created and, more importantly, the confidence, D-Wood,

17:55that they have in Jaden Daniels.

17:59Yeah, Boog, I agree with you.

18:01And I think the biggest thing that the Washington Commanders were able to do was to have continuity,

18:06especially with being able to retain Cliff Kingsbury, which was such a huge, huge integral part of helping

18:14Jaden Daniels having the season that he had last year.

18:17So now, you know, your star quarterback is in the second season of the same system with the improved

18:23offensive line, you know, with the same cast of weapons added with Debo Samuel added to the mix.

18:30So now you've got another playmaker that you can add that you that will get the yak yardage and can use

18:36you can use in all different types of ways.

18:38And we know Dan Quinn is the defensive specialist as the head coach.

18:42And so for me, it's the Washington Commanders.

18:45Listen, I know Philadelphia.

18:46They had to have some change on both sides of the ball, especially with their play caller moving on to

18:51the New Orleans Saints.

18:51But I still feel like the Philadelphia Eagles are the class of the NFC East.

18:55They are.

18:58There's no doubt about it.

18:59But, you know, Adam pointed out this is a 20 year streak, like really weird stuff has happened.

19:04Two years ago, the Eagles were defending champions and they were 10 and one.

19:07And then they just fell apart.

19:09Like there's no good reason that they lost to Arizona in week 17 or whatever.

19:13And the Cowboys caught him from behind.

19:15But it happened.

19:16So we have to we have to at least, you know, acknowledge the sort of the evil spirits that

19:21mess around with the NFC East and make weird things happen.

19:24In Washington, Dee Wood, you say Dan Quinn's a defensive specialist.

19:28He may be a head coach specialist.

19:29He had the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl in his second year as their head coach.

19:35And this is his second year in Washington with how far they got last year, one game short

19:39of it.

19:40And all they did to add to that roster this offseason.

19:43I don't think you're going to get anybody in Washington to tell you they'd be happy right

19:47now with with anything less.

19:49Yeah, I mean, no doubt the NFC East has gotten a lot more competitive due to a lot of the things

19:52you guys are talking about.

19:53The one thing about the Eagles that I would say maybe could go against history here is

19:57that Howie Roseman has drafted so well.

19:59So even though they lost a lot of these key players in the Super Bowl run, they've got

20:03so much depth.

20:04Now, another team looking to make sure the Eagles don't repeat as NFC East champions are

20:08the Cowboys.

20:09And quarterback Dak Prescott spoke yesterday about the addition of George Pickens.

20:12Great dude, loves his teammates.

20:16I'm excited as hell for this season.

20:19I know he is.

20:19I know he's happy to be in a fresh new spot.

20:22And I'm excited for what he's going to do.

20:23How long do you think it'll take UQ to get on the same team?

20:25Not long.

20:26Not long.

20:27But as I said, having dealt with trades before that have been Amari Cooper, a brand new

20:31coach, I mean, you'll turn on that guy's tape.

20:34He's good in separation.

20:35He's got separation.

20:37Even if he's not getting the ball at times.

20:39And hell, when he doesn't have separation, he's still making the catch.

20:41It's not what he's going to do all of that.

20:43I mean, it's about getting that ball near that guy.

20:45I'm not going to do George Pickens.

20:47You'll turn on the tape.

20:48He's a way to do it.

20:49Shout out to our staff for the subtitles there, because I couldn't hear what on earth he was

20:54saying.

20:54But you can read it.

20:56So Dak's excited about the new weapon on the team.

20:58Grosz, what are you hearing about how it's going there in Dallas?

21:03Things sound good in Dallas.

21:05They're excited, obviously, about Pickens.

21:06They're excited about Dak Prescott coming back healthy.

21:09It's a team that managed to win seven games last year after a very slow start and losing

21:13their quarterback midseason.

21:15So they have reason to believe they'll be better.

21:17Getting a lot of key guys back from injury on the defensive side of the ball as well.

21:22And the Brian Schottenheimer hire as head coach, you know, it was a head scratcher around

21:27the league and among the general public.

21:29But inside the building, he's very well liked.

21:32And I think the players are kind of fired up to help him make good on his chance.

21:36So the vibes sound high in Dallas at this point.

21:39Obviously, nobody's lost any games yet.

21:42So.

21:44Yeah, I can tell you that the vibes are high.

21:46Now, offensively, with Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, they should be able to score some points

21:50offensively.

21:51Dak can stay healthy.

21:52Can they run the football?

21:53What's the offensive line going to look like?

21:55Zach Martin has now retired.

21:56But the biggest question, guys, Grosz, Dee Wood, you guys know this.

21:59The biggest question in Dallas, when you're in that division and the teams you got to go

22:03against are Washington and Philadelphia.

22:05Can you stop the run?

22:06Mozzie Smith, what are you going to be like this year in the interior of that defense?

22:10The Cowboys got a toughness problem.

22:12They got to get a lot more physical.

22:13They got to get a lot tougher, and if they can do that, that's going to determine where

22:17they go.

22:18Offensively, I know everybody likes to talk about the weapons, and they can sell tickets

22:22and how it looks.

22:23But if they can't stop anybody defensively, it won't matter what George Pickens and CeeDee

22:27Lamb look like on the outside.

22:29Spoken like a true defensive guy, and you're right, Boog.

22:33By the way, in case you guys missed this, I don't want you to miss it because it's really

22:36funny.

22:37Patriots second-year quarterback Drake May had some fun this week training with his teammates.

22:41Check out, we're going to show you a pass in the water completed to Ramondre Stevenson

22:46on a jet ski.

22:48That's legit stuff right there.

22:50I don't know if any of us could do that.

22:54Everyone's correct, so I'm going to say no.

22:55I promise you, I couldn't do it because Boog can't swim.

22:59Boog is not getting in the water that deep, I promise you.

23:01Boog?

23:03You know what?

23:03I can't really swim either, so there we go.

23:06All right, we've got a lot more coming your way on New England, and that's not all of it

23:10out of New England.

23:11We want to hear a little bit more from wide-out Stefan Diggs.

23:15He gave us some insight as to how he's been learning the Josh McDaniels offense even while

23:19traveling around Europe.

23:21Listen to this.

23:21I'm studying, but it's really the route concepts.

23:25Basically, if you hear a word, you need to be able to know the word immediately, know

23:30the concept.

23:31Really, I'm just working on my organization.

23:33I got the formation, but once I need to know the concept, I don't need to know exactly

23:37just what I got.

23:38I need to know what's in mind to the right or to the left of me, guys.

23:40What everybody got around me, how I'm going to get open or how I'm going to get somebody

23:43else open, you know what I'm saying?

23:44In between two to three seconds when you break the huddle, I'm starting looking at the contour

23:49of defense.

23:49I call the contour the coverage.

23:51It's like this is the coverage, but I start figuring it out.

23:53But you know that by knowing what you got.

23:56You know what I'm saying?

23:56I can't even think about what I got in trying to figure it out.

23:59I can win.

23:59I can win at any given time, but it needs to just become, you know, second nature.

24:05Oh, he looks ready to go on that private jet.

24:08Graz, what are the expectations in New England for Diggs?

24:12He is coming off an injury.

24:13How healthy is he?

24:16Yeah, he's healthy.

24:18He feels like he's on track.

24:19Now, the Patriots have to figure out sort of what they can give him throughout training

24:23camp so there aren't any setbacks and how ready he can be to start the season.

24:28They want him to be a veteran presence in an otherwise fairly young wide receiver room

24:33and ideally be the number one receiver that they tried very, very hard to get all offseason.

24:37Remember, they made a big play for Chris Godwin before he decided to stay in Tampa.

24:42So, you know, Diggs, I think that we'll find out here over the next month or two what he

24:47can do, and so will the Patriots, and they'll have some sense of how to deploy him in that

24:52Josh McDaniels offense that we're seeing a video of him reciting.

24:57A lot more to do with learning the Josh McDaniels offense than the last offseason video that we

25:02saw from Stephon Diggs.

25:04I knew somebody was going to go there.

25:06I'm glad it was you, Graz, to be totally honest.

25:08It's a flex, though.

25:08Listen, when did we start doing interviews on private jets?

25:11Like, when did we start doing that?

25:14If I'm reading correctly, that was on his own YouTube channel.

25:17So he was like, I'm going to just want to put this out here, and it is.

25:22It's a flex.

25:22Listen, if you got it, flaunt it.

25:24D-Wood, the one thing about the Patriots, it feels like there's a lot of excitement around

25:28them.

25:28Maybe I'm just imagining this, but they have gotten better in a lot of ways.

25:31You've got Vrabel coming in.

25:32The schedule looks maybe a little bit easier than some schedules, right?

25:36How good are they going to be?

25:38Is this a turnaround year for the Patriots with the addition of Diggs to help Drake May?

25:45Yeah, guys, I'm bullish on the Patriots.

25:47I think the Patriots are going to vow for the playoffs this year.

25:50I mean, listen, when you talk about how well they've rebuilt their offensive line, Will

25:54Campbell, Morgan Moses, the new tackles that they have there, which was a sore spot.

25:58Obviously, we talked about Stephon Diggs, a premier wide receiver on the outside.

26:02Mack Hollins, another guy, you know, blue chip grinder type of guy to compliment Stephon

26:08Diggs.

26:09And that defense, in my opinion, is going to be elite in New England.

26:11So when you combine it all together and Josh McDaniels running the show offensively, I think

26:17this is a great situation for Drake May, their young quarterback, to really make that jump

26:24in his second year.

26:25I don't mean to go all Jim Morrow on you, but playoffs?

26:30We talking playoffs in New England?

26:35Yeah.

26:36We are spicy.

26:37Understand this.

26:37Listen.

26:38Hey, D-Wood, I love what you're selling when it comes to Drake May.

26:41I think when you look at his physical stature, 6'4", 230 pounds, you bring in a proven receiver

26:48in Stephon Diggs if he's healthy.

26:50You got a proven coordinator in Josh McDaniels.

26:52I like the steps they're taking.

26:54A couple of question marks.

26:55One, can they block for him up front?

26:57The offensive line, can they give him the time that way that they don't impede his development?

27:01That's number one.

27:01Number two, can they rush the passer on the defensive side of the ball?

27:04Those are question marks.

27:06When you get leads and try to close out games defensively, they got to rush the passer.

27:11Can you protect your young quarterback to allow him to develop?

27:14That's the second thing.

27:15We saw what happened with CJ Shroud in Houston this year.

27:19His development took a step back because they couldn't protect him.

27:22I don't want to see the same thing happen to Drake May in New England.

27:25All right.

27:25The Patriots do have the third easiest schedule, according to Debo Samuel there, of course,

27:30as part of the commander's offense now because he was traded there in March.

27:33Will no longer be a part of that 49ers offense.

27:36So, Brock Purdy recently talked about the loss of Debo with the Bussin' with the Boys podcast

27:41a couple days ago.

27:43I mean, it sucks, dude.

27:45He's my boy.

27:46You know, I love Debo.

27:47Day one, he's always had my back and believed in me when I got in.

27:51I didn't really know how the guys were going to take it when I did get thrown in.

27:55Jimmy went down.

27:56I was like the last quarterback, and Debo, man, was nothing but just great to me, dude.

28:02Building me up and just giving me confidence, man.

28:05In games, you know, we fed off each other's energy and building each other up.

28:09Like, it was awesome.

28:10And over the last couple years, same thing.

28:12So, you know, again, that's just how this business goes.

28:15And I hope he goes to Washington and kills it and does great.

28:19I mean, anytime you get Debo the ball, man, you never know what can happen.

28:22Yeah, Debo certainly made things easier for Purdy with his ability to get more out of his receptions.

28:28Over the last three seasons, Debo Samuel averaged eight and a half yards after the catch per reception,

28:33and by far the most among wide receivers with at least 150 catches in that span.

28:38Luckily for Purdy, he still has George Kittle, who ranks first among tight ends in that category over that span.

28:43But certainly when you think about Yak, you think about Debo, right?

28:46Look, is the loss of Debo Samuel bigger for this offense than we think?

28:50Yeah, I think it's going to be a little bit bigger just because we're used to Brock Purdy being able to get the ball out of his hands

28:58on those little screen passes.

29:00Debo can line up in the backfield.

29:01He's a jack of all trades.

29:02He's a playmaker.

29:03And he usually, when he was healthy, he accounted for 10 to 15 touches a ball game.

29:08Now, where are those touches going to go?

29:09Are you going to put more on Christian McCaffrey?

29:11Because we know at some point, typically, the more he touches the ball, the more likely he is to get injured or wear down.

29:17Those touches have to go somewhere else.

29:19So I think it's going to be imperative that Kyle Shanahan comes up with a creative way to spread those touches around

29:25and get the ball out of Brock Purdy's hands because he was that guy that worked the underneath area of the field.

29:31We know what IU can do and Kittle can do downfield.

29:34But the guy who kind of moved the chains was Debo Samuel.

29:37Who's going to be that guy now?

29:40Yeah, it's interesting because the Niners have obviously prepared for the loss of one of their big wide receivers.

29:45Juwan Jennings has emerged as a star-caliber player.

29:48And they drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round, believing he obviously could be an impact guy as well.

29:53So roster-wise, they seem good at receiver.

29:56But listening to Purdy and then listening to Boog, you do wonder if there are other effects.

30:00And I'm talking to San Francisco 49ers players.

30:03They look at Debo and McCaffrey as two Swiss Army knives, and they're better when they're both on the field.

30:08Obviously can't do that anymore.

30:10And then I wonder about this, right?

30:12He was one of the boombox guys.

30:14He's out in front with Trent Williams leading them onto the field.

30:17It seems silly, but listening to Brock Purdy talk, maybe there was something about Debo Samuel that had more of an internal impact than just what we saw on the field.

30:30So I guess it is worth watching, even though it's something the Niners front office has certainly planned for.

30:35Yeah, Graz, I want to make a joke, but I was kind of thinking the same thing.

30:38It felt like it hit Purdy a little harder than maybe we realize, and who the heck's going to carry the boombox now?

30:43D-Wood, are there any other issues on that offense outside of Debo's departure?

30:51Yeah, I mean, listen, I'll wait.

30:52You know what, Laura, you know I'm going to go.

30:53I'm going to go with the offensive line for the 49ers.

30:56Obviously, you know, this is a group that, you know, took a little bit of a step backwards.

31:01We know that Trent Williams is going, you know, 37 years old.

31:05How much longer can he play at an elite level?

31:07And then outside of that, you know, you're talking about a group that's, you know, that's average across the board.

31:12So, you know, when I look at this group, you know, they're the real tone setters for the San Francisco offense because we know with a Kyle Shanahan style offense,

31:20everything is predicated off of the Russian attack.

31:23So, this group needs to continue to set the bar and set the table.

31:28But, Laura, let me also throw this out there about the San Francisco 49ers as well.

31:32Not just on offense, but defensively.

31:35They got to get back to being the physical type of team on the defensive line.

31:40That's why Robert Sala is back as a defensive coordinator over there because they've, you know,

31:46over the years they've lost players and they've lost that edge that's made them one of the best defensive teams

31:53in the National Football League.

31:55Yeah, they slipped a little bit, right?

31:56But you got to think Sala coming back, it's back to that identity.

31:59I'm glad you brought that up.

32:00Key for that team.