After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

It's March, and that can mean only one thing. The Madness is here. Not in front of a TV on game day? Listen to every round of NCAA March Madness live from Westwood One, free in the Odyssey app. Catch all the biggest moments of the tournament.

No matter where you are. From Cinderella's. A 15 seed will head to the Elite 8. To buzzer beaters. Atkinson scores. 1.4 seconds left. To champions. For the fourth time.

A dynamic search for NCAA March Madness right here in the Odyssey app to get started. It is always one of my favorite headlines, one of my favorite themes in this business. I tell people all the time, there's never a show, a week of shows, that is the same as the one before it or the one after it. It's a living being, this radio show. It takes on a mind and a life of its own.

And I love that. That no two nights are the same. That there are constantly new storylines. There's constantly history. There are stories and victories, but also stunning defeats.

It's an ever-changing landscape in the world of sports. And so there are some themes that I tend to focus on if you listen to the show on a regular basis, you know this. I'm big into redemption. Certainly big into turning points. Big into moments where it's all on the line. And I absolutely love the theme of fresh blood, meaning a team or an athlete that either has never been there before or hasn't been there in forever.

And we've got one of those incredible themes tonight. Really quickly, with me, where were you? I'm thinking about this too, actually. Oh my gosh, this is a tough question.

Where were you in early spring 2006? Everybody just stop. Wherever you are right now, think about it. You're driving, you're working, you're studying, you're trying to fall asleep too late, you're hanging out with us because that's what you do. We're happy to be a part of your regular nightly routine, thank you.

Maybe you're just finding the show for the first time. I don't care who you are, what you're doing. Where were you in early spring of 2006? That is crazy. Do you know in early spring of 2006, I had barely started working in my previous network. It wasn't my full-time job. I was still living in Providence, Rhode Island, East Providence, Rhode Island as a matter of fact. I had an accounting gig on the side because I'd gotten fired by a radio station locally. And I was just starting to make the commute back and forth to Bristol, Connecticut a couple times a week to work for my previous network.

I had just started in network radio, in national radio. That, my friends, was the last time that the Sacramento Kings made the NBA postseason. But the long drought is over. We have only 12.8 seconds remaining and Kings fans, we can see them in all areas of the arena. A lot of purple on their feet chanting, light the beam. Well, in a matter of five seconds, it will be lit in Sacramento. The horn sounds and for the first time in 17 years, 16 seasons of frustration, 16 years of wandering in the desert looking for that oasis. The Kings have finally found the sparkling waters, the palm trees.

It's not a barrage. It's the real deal. Sacramento has clinched first round home court advantage in the playoffs that will be starting in a couple of weeks.

So much to unpack right there. First of all, congratulations to the Sacramento Kings. First time in 17 years. It's been nearly two decades since they've won a playoff series. And remember, they went almost this entire time without another winning record. It's been that long for the Sacramento Kings.

Hashtag light the beam is trending right now on social. And as Gary Gerald, Gary Gerald said, sorry, this is the this is the theme. And it's a group of fans that does travel really well. Mike Brown, what a turnaround for this franchise. Credibility, equity, certainly discipline. A reputation that precedes him as a coach that. Brings professionalism and knows how to get the best out of his athletes. But it certainly takes the team buying in right. It takes.

These young athletes, in some cases, like, say, rookie Keegan Murray. It takes them believing that what he says. That if they are going along with his style, with his philosophies, with his instruction.

Well, then it's going to work. So congratulations to Mike Brown. A bit of redemption there as well. And here are these long suffering Kings fans who've seen it coming now.

They got close before, but they've seen it coming now for a while. In the first year under Mike Brown, who, of course, coached for years with Steve Kerr. In fact, in some cases, he took over for Coach Kerr.

Remember when Kerr had either back problems or had to be away from the team because of illness? Former Lakers coach, former Cavaliers coach. It's not always that a coach has an indelible impact in the NBA. Sometimes I liken coaches in the NBA to managers more than actual coaches.

Meaning they're not teaching as much. They're managing egos, playing time. They're managing ball movement and distribution. They're managing rotations.

They're managing highly paid employees. But in the case of Mike Brown, the team needed what he brought to the table. Which was, again, the credibility, the equity of being a coach with an awesome track record. Remember he led the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Championship. And then under Steve Kerr. With the Warriors. Through several of their championship runs. So he was the piece that I think really gave them the springboard. And I'm so happy for him because he's gone through a bit of a journey himself after those years in Cleveland and then Los Angeles. The fans have been phenomenal.

The electricity that they bring. Not just the Golden 1 Center. But even when we're walking around out in the streets or out in public. The fans have been great. They sure are deserving of this. I know not only myself but we want to give them a lot more than we've given them so far already. Because they're more than deserving of it.

And when you have a fan base that's as intelligent, rabid, passionate about not only their team but their city too. You can feel it's a prideful thing. You just want the world for them.

And you're excited about it. We want them to celebrate. But we also know that they expect more from us and we expect to hopefully give them more. Mike Brown, he's a championship coach. He's won multiple rings and he knows how to get it done. And he knew that inside our locker room we were much more than a playoff team. And we all knew that from the start. So any expectations that anyone had on us, we had more expectations. So that's just the kind of mindset that we had going through this year.

And we're just trying to keep this rolling. You hear then, is that Keegan Murray? Yes, you hear Keegan Murray who is on NBC Sports California. This rookie actually leads the NBA rookies with three pointers.

188 of them if you include it. He had three of them tonight. And so to be part of really what is a brand new era in Sacramento Kings basketball is pretty awesome. Mike Brown, by the way, inside the locker room where you can imagine even in Portland this is quite the celebration.

And he's got a game ball to pass out. The ball movement was great. The spacing was great.

But what I liked was the consistency that we brought on the defense end of the floor. There were a lot of good things like I said tonight. So hell of a win. Congratulations to everybody for clinching. Feel good about it. Celebrate it. But at the end of the day we also know what we want to do and what we want to accomplish. Keegan, hell of a job young man.

That's a fantastic one. Shout out to everyone in this locker room. Everyone had a big part in doing this so I appreciate all you guys.

So really cool. And this is how you build family, right? You recognize the accomplishments, the achievements, the steps that individuals and the team took to get to this point. You fight through the adversity together. You definitely want to stop and acknowledge the milestones. You want to stop and celebrate every now and then. But at the same time you know there is more work to be done. So congratulations to the Sacramento Kings. Hashtag light the beam. We've reached out to a couple of different Kings analysts and Kings broadcasters and hadn't heard back yet.

However, hoping that we can get that done either tonight or tomorrow night. And also for those of you who don't know who Gary Gerald is, they call him the G-man. He has been doing Kings games on the radio since 1985. Not quite the Vin Scully of the NBA, but he is Kings basketball.

His voice, his personality is synonymous with Kings basketball. And so he celebrated his 3,000th Kings game earlier this year. And they were honoring him in the locker room. He had a game ball. They put the chain on him.

You know the bling. And so what a neat moment for him as well. I'm sure there were times when he wondered if he'd ever get the chance to call a playoff game again. But with the Kings as their radio voice since 1985. Have not had a playoff appearance since the 05-06 season.

Have not won a playoff series going back nearly two decades. So it's a new era in Sacramento. Really cool. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio. It's fun. I tweet about the Kings and how much I love it that a team is ending a playoff drought.

Which, by the way, you may not know this, but I'm going to make sure you're informed. It wasn't just the longest playoff drought in the NBA. That 16-year playoff drought was the longest in the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, and Major League Baseball. Remember, the Mariners ended their playoff drought last year. They had the longest. And then it fell to the Sacramento Kings.

And the effing drought. So this is neat, right? From the northwest corner of the United States, and in this case from the Bay Area.

And I know we have not only a station in Sacramento, but we also have our station in San Francisco, San Francisco proper, where we cover this entire area, this Northern California area. And so it's really cool that we have so many fans who are now listening or finding me on Twitter. I see a bunch of you responding with your purple excitement, your hashtag light the beams. It's amazing how many of you are thanking me for doing my job. You don't need to thank me for doing my job.

This is what I do, and I love it. And even if there were no one listening, thankfully there is, this is still one of my favorite themes in sports, is the end of long playoff droughts. And I can imagine they will be a sentimental favorite. Now the cool thing is they're likely to end up with home court advantage as well, though we're not quite there yet. But right now they're sitting in the three spot in the West. The Suns have faded back while waiting for Kevin Durant to return.

They hit the skids a little bit. The other teams in the West that scrum in the West has kind of pulled the Suns back in. They've reeled the Suns back to the pack. And so in doing that, the Nuggets, the Grizzlies, the Kings have all been able to create some separation there as the top three. So the Kings, a little bit of work to do still to be able to clinch that home court advantage.

But for now, it's highly unlikely that they're going to lose it. So congratulations to the Kings who will get the chance to pack their arena with their own fans and the purple and the chance of light the beam. Pretty amazing. But yes, I do love that so many of you Kings fans are now coming out of the woodwork on my Twitter account.

Awesome. So we'll get back to the Kings, maybe get some more post-game reaction hoping for that. But also in the Western Conference, Kevin Durant, just talking about the Suns, returning from another 10 game hiatus, playing just his fourth game in a Suns uniform and making his home debut in Phoenix. Gets it out to Devin Booker. Booker goes down inside. Here's Durant for a shot.

Good. Count it. He's fouled. Foul will be on Gobert. And Devin Durant hitting the hoop will go to the free throw line. Payne setting up the Suns offense. Drives right side. Gets in underneath the basket. Can't shoot it. Dishes out on top to Durant for three. Just keeping behind the line.

Mid-range game is working. Suns lead it. Durant with 16 points for the Suns. Bounce pass comes out between the circles to Chris Paul.

Stops goes inside. DA for a wham-o. Dan Green from Paul. Suns up by eight, equaling the biggest lead they've had in the ballgame tonight. I don't remember how long it's been since Kevin Durant.

I saw it on TV and then I kind of, it went in one eyeball and out the other. How long has Kevin Durant started a game 0 for 6? But he did. The fans were fired up when he got out there on the court. Every time he touched the ball initially. And then it took a bit for KD to find that groove.

Couple of bricks early on. Though he was working hard at it. And the Suns, there's something to be said for this. The Suns are 4-0 when he's in the lineup.

There's a lot of potential there. The question is no longer can he fit in with the Suns. Because they're going to do whatever they can to make sure he's comfortable. But will he be in the lineup? Now he's on a minute's restriction. What I'd heard or what they were reporting on ESPN, which is where the game aired. Is that the coaching staff, specifically Monty Williams, was going to be watching for that moment when Tired turned to Exhausted for KD. Because he's missed so much time over the past, I guess it was early February. No.

Hmm. Early February was the trade. He was injured at that point. And then ended up playing three games only to get injured in warm-ups right before he was supposed to play in Phoenix for the first time. So the Suns are 4-0 with him in the lineup.

But the question of course is how reliable will he be? So that's Al McCoy with the calls on the Suns radio network. Monty Williams sure happy to see KD on the court. If you look at the shooting numbers, you're like that's not Kevin.

It's his first time, fourth time playing in who knows how long. I mean you guys would probably know. But I think the way he stayed with it when he hit the three in the third quarter, like that's Kevin. He's not going to run from those types of shots. I was just saying that to the guys in the locker room that it's hard for me to get sleep today.

It was hard for me to stop thinking about the game. Sometimes you can want it too bad and you come out there and play like, you know, you start rushing and start being uncharacteristic. Kevin Durant loves to hoop, whatever we may think of him. And I include me in that because I don't love the way that he handles his business all the time. However, when he's on the court, he is dynamic still.

It's about durability now. And certainly this is what he wants more than anything is to be able to play basketball. It's been a lot of drama surrounding him.

Not all entirely his fault, though some of it generated himself. But to see him on the court is always better for the NBA. It's always better for the competition level that he's out there because he is one of those guys that's like a unicorn. And there's no one like him in the league and he poses all types of matchup problems. And not just matchup problems, but wrinkles because of his versatility. And because of the other options that the Suns have now, specifically speaking about Phoenix.

He creates just major issues for a defense and for a team that's trying to come up with a defensive game plan. Felt good. You know, miss playing, miss being with the guys.

So, good win for us and we needed this one. But yeah, I felt good being out there again. Try to settle in as much as I can. My teammates look for me. Cam got me two open threes, which, you know, was good for me.

I left him. So, just getting comfortable, get more comfortable and, you know, hopefully I'll knock him down next game. You know, every day just try to be the best that I can in the rehab and focus on that. And when I'm ready to play, I'll be ready to play.

So, I'm looking forward to keep building. I just did see the stat pop up again on NBA TV. It was his worst shooting start to any game this season. So, he was 0 for 6 before he hit kind of a turnaround mid-range jumper.

I've seen it kind of clang through the rim. And he finished 5 of 18. So, not a great shooting night for him.

But still, the fact that he's out there and got through the game is the most important thing. Yeah, it's frustrating, but I've been in this position before. I've had slow starts before. So, I just try to figure it out. I think a couple of those shots, though, I definitely were rushing trying to get it all back at once.

Sometimes I can get in my own way sometimes, thinking too much and trying to get those shots back. So, welcome back to Kevin Durant. And once again, congratulations to the Sacramento Kings. Those are two of the big storylines coming out of the Western Conference in the NBA tonight.

Not the only ones. We'll get to the others. How about a career high for Drew Holliday?

And wait until you hear what the opposing coach had to say about where Drew belongs among the best of the best. On Twitter, ALawRadio. Also on our Facebook page. We're glad to have you with us. We've got a good show question we'll toss out before the end of the hour. So, thank you for your support. Thank you for all of your questions for Ask Amy Anything. I went back and answered as many as I could.

Certainly can do more of that. It's hard to believe that we are literally on the eve of the start of the Major League Baseball season. Inside of 12 hours before the first games begin. We will talk baseball, too. It's all happening as we cruise toward the end of March. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Milwaukee going the other way. Holliday's into the front court. He wants that shot. Spins into a defender.

Tried to feed it inside. Came right back to him. It has been that kind of night for Holliday as he gets it to drop. He's got a career high 42.

Here's Holliday. He's going to cast up a three. And he cans another. He is a flamethrower.

Drew Holliday a flamethrower and a battle ram all mixed together. Giannis takes the feed now from Allen. Throws the defense of Neesmith.

Spins around him. This is going to be easy. Two hand dunk. Unishing dunk from the Greek freak right over Jalen Smith. Take that. Giannis the outlet being ahead to Holliday. There it is.

Off the window and good. That hook up says it all. Those two stars have shined brightest tonight. Giannis with the triple double. 38 points. A career high 49 now for Holliday.

Can he do it against Jordan? Backs his way in. Fades.

Fires. Yes sir. How about a 50 piece for the veteran Drew Holliday. The sixth in Bucks history to do it.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Drew Holliday is one of my favorite players in the NBA for so many reasons. First of all he is dedicated to the game on both ends of the court. He cares about defense as much as he cares about offense. He can facilitate. He can also score. He makes everyone around him better.

So think top quarterbacks in the NFL. That's Drew Holliday. He is a quarterback for his basketball team. He's got great leadership. He comes from. He comes from a long history of challenges. Adversity.

Both personal and professional lives. And he brings that with him. That maturity onto the basketball court. He has the trust of Giannis. Which is obviously critical. But he's a star in his own right. As much as he does seek to make his teammates better.

And that's so important. You don't pay attention to Drew. He'll flex on ya. Oh and tonight a career high 51 points. Though as I hear him on Valley Sports Wisconsin after the game.

I rolled my eyes a little bit. Listen to what he said about the game against the Pacers tonight. Honestly I felt like it was a must win game.

And I was just taking the opportunity to give in. A lot of driving to the basket. Getting to the paint. Trying to get fouled.

But really just being aggressive because I know how much we needed this game. When did you know you had it tonight? When I woke up. That's good stuff. On Valley Sports Wisconsin and the call with Dave Cain on Bucks radio.

Now he wasn't alone. Even as Drew had 18 points in the third quarter. And I don't know if you all have heard some of our shows recently. Where I've been highlighting the fact that scoring in the league is skyrocketing. So it's partly about the rules. Where space and motion and scoring offense are emphasized. But it's also about the fact that there aren't that many teams and individual athletes who care much about defense.

Okay so it's both things. The Milwaukee Bucks had a 46 point third quarter. That's their most in. Well it's definitely their most this season. In any type of a quarter. 46 points.

But they're not the only ones. We recently had a team with a 50 point quarter. If I remember correctly. It's. Yes.

Oh my gosh. Wasn't it. Shoot was it the Timberwolves? It was a team that scored 51 points in the first quarter and was like on pace for 200 or something like that.

I can't remember exactly which team it was. You guys think I'm being tongue in cheek. Or that I. It's impossible when I tell you that a team is going to score 200 points in a game. Just mark my words. I don't know how long it's going to happen. Until it happens.

But it will happen. That a team scores 200 points in a game. And I do not think 100 points for one player in a game is too much to ask.

It really doesn't require suspending your animation. Suspending belief that much. So the Bucks put 149 on the board. Drew has a career high 51. Plus 8 assists. 8 rebounds. Giannis has a triple double. 38 points. 17 rebounds. A dozen assists. And man if you're Mike Budenholzer you are thinking. I'm so glad these guys are on my team.

They were phenomenal. Giannis I thought set the tone. With his aggressive attacking. You know got to the free throw line a lot early. And then Drew just you know for the whole game.

You know to have 51. That's hard to do in an NBA game. Rick Carlisle looking at it from the opposite perspective. Which is both Drew and Giannis just torched us. The Pacers allowed the Bucks to shoot 62 percent from the floor. 62 percent.

Now I get it. Indiana is not a playoff team. But 62 percent. You might as well be standing there like mannequins in an NBA All-Star game.

That's almost zero resistance. And so Rick Carlisle not pleased. But effusive in his praise of Holliday. I'd like somebody to name five other basketball players. That are better than Drew Holliday. At the entire game.

Guys. An amazing player. Both sides of the ball. I mean. You know his scoring tonight was.

It was at another level obviously. But defensively I mean he's. I said it before the game. He guards. He can guard anybody. And so. Just a nod of respect to him.

I. He's a guy that too often is just overlooked. As like a truly truly great player. Rick Carlisle wants you to name five players in the NBA who are better in every facet of the game. And again that is one of the things to love about Drew is that. He treats all parts of the game equally. He is skilled. In the various aspects of basketball.

That for some people are now a lost art. Like for instance Kyrie Irving. Incredible offensive player.

When he wants to be. We know that. But defense. Eh. Eh.

Meh. Take it or leave it. That seems to be his approach to it.

Drew's intense. But he's in control. And as I say he can score. He can facilitate. He's got the trust of his teammates. He's fit right in there. Has helped to form that core.

And is a champion. And the Bucks as much as he might want you to believe that it was a must win in Indiana. And I understand you don't want to stumble on the road against a team that's not as good as you. You don't want to give up a game. But. A must win. Not so much.

With. Hold on let me check and see how many they have yet to play. They are now sitting at 76 games. Which means they have six to go. And they lead the Celtics by three in the Eastern Conference standings. So of home court throughout. That top seed matters. Right now they are in the driver's seat. So congratulations to Drew.

He knew when he woke up. Still a little more to get to inside the NBA. We'll sprinkle it in. The Knicks may have lost their All-Star. We'll see how long. The Lakers continue to creep up the standings in the West.

Which is. You better watch out because you win a couple games in a row in the West. And all of a sudden you can. You can climb a few rungs in the ladder and knock other teams down. So the rest of the West better beware. Russell Westbrook appears as though he's found a new comfy spot in the NBA as well. So a lot more there. We're talking about Major League Baseball.

In fact I'm still seeing your posts and your responses pop up. What one day on the sports calendar. Creates more anticipation and buzz than opening day in Major League Baseball. And the games begin inside of 12 hours.

The first games. Which I love the NL East being on tap first. The first games come from the nation's capital DC with the Atlanta Braves. So we get to see Max Freed and Patrick Corbin as the starting pitchers. And then the Giants begin on the East Coast. So San Francisco against the New York Yankees.

Logan Webb, Garret Cole. That's my favorite thing about opening day. In addition to the traditions and the excitement. Is that we get in many cases the best pitchers. Some of them are coming off of spring training injured. So we won't see Adam Wainwright for example. But I do love that we've got some of these doozy matchups right off the top. And watch us get a game that's 24 to 3 or something like that. Alright so you can continue to answer that question on Twitter, After Hours, CBS.

Or on our Facebook page. We're going to pivot a little bit at the back half of the hour and talk about Lamar Jackson. Because Jay and I got into a bit of a discussion earlier on the phone. And I thought it would be good show material. Our advice to Lamar Jackson.

Because there aren't many options out there. It's After Hours, CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. We've been with Lamar. I've been with Lamar as a coach.

And players and coaches. And all of us in the organization have been together for what five years now. You know. We've been through some crazy things. Some amazing moments. Some tough moments.

Challenges. We've been through a lot of other things. I've been with Lamar.

You know. And I've been with Lamar. And we've had a lot of fun. And all of us in the organization have been together for what five years now, you know We've been through some crazy things some some amazing moments and tough moments challenges ups and downs together You know, we've hugged in the locker room after after wins.

We've hugged in the locker room after losses You know, those are things that last forever those relationships never change. So this is part of it You know, this is it's part of the story that's being written and everybody's writing the story But I just appreciate that it's been handled with class Lamar's handling it with class Lamar's under contract and that's the guy I am of course. Um, that's the guy I want to see be our quarterback. You know, that's that's my guy This is after-hours with Amy Lawrence That's John Harbaugh from Phoenix, Arizona two days of NFL League meetings it was quick it was powerful It was a thunderstorm.

It was loud. Lots of lightning strikes as well in there and then it's over It sweeps through the city every coach or most of them from the AFC in the NFC on back-to-back days most of the general managers the commissioner himself a lot of pomp and circumstance and then It's quiet again Because this is what the NFL does they had to create some buzz They had to grab the headlines a month before the NFL draft coaches are now going through various pro days so that's the next thing on the calendar is that Your coaches and general managers are attending the various pro days of the prospects that they're interested in So we focus and by we collectively I mean the sports media We focus on the pro days at the top of the heap. So Alabama, Ohio State Of course the four quarterbacks that could end up going one, two, three four in the NFL draft but there are pro days happening for every prospect out there and following the pro days, which is a It's more of a showcase not just for a single player, but it's a showcase for others Who maybe you're hoping to hook on with a team if it's a free agent draft free agent signing or maybe there are other potential NFL draft prospects and then from that point what starts to unfold are the Private meetings between the prospects and the teams themselves and the teams will reach out and they will set up appointments visits usually With the prospects in whom they're interested. And so that's what's happening over this next couple of weeks Even as prospects continue to work out. So most of them have very high-priced trainers at this point I know all of this because I have a friend who is an NFL agent and She the agents have to fund all of this this pre-draft process until hopefully theoretically Their clients get drafted and they're able to be paid back at some point But initially it's one of the challenges of being an agent is they have to fund this process Trainers, gyms, sometimes it means putting them up in an apartment and paying their expenses While they're preparing for the NFL draft not to mention their travel And so there's a lot that takes place in the run-up to the draft on the free agent front Even on the trade front.

So we're talking veterans established players. Now a lot of it is quieted down It doesn't mean we won't see more trades and more movement as we get closer to the draft But we're finding that the sense of urgency right this second not so much After The initial flurry Teams can take a breath and now focus on the draft and maybe maybe if they have other needs to address Well, they pick them up once they get post draft but a lot of the attention now turns to the scouting and turns to What's to come? for these young players in the case of Lamar Jackson Is he prepared to wait until after the draft? How long is he prepared to wait? You hear John Harbaugh from the meetings in Arizona, and I'm always really impressed with the fact that Harbaugh is classy He's complimentary of Lamar He even praises how Lamar has handled his business sans agent I Disagree with some of the decisions that Lamar has made recently and So we're calling this Our advice for Lamar Jackson, and I'd love to hear from you if you were advising Lamar Let's just say his family called you up and said hey, what should we do?

What do you think we value your opinion peeps? So on Twitter a law radio on our Facebook page to after hours with Amy Lawrence Ian Rappaport has some of the latest surrounding Lamar's revelations on social media Lamar for the first time I think explains really what happened at the end of last season and there was a lot of questions about Was he going to be able to play is he healthy enough to play is he kind of healthy? But just can't go out there and be the Lamar Jackson that we've all seen who is a great player And it seems like it's the latter for the first time Lamar Jackson speaking out as he has done this week probably more than at any other point in his career Saying that he did not feel like he could a hundred percent be the Lamar Jackson that we know if he didn't think it was Fair to be that it is also worth noting Mike that we were all in Arizona this week many of the owners and head coaches spoke many who did not have the Patrick Mahomes or Justin Herbert's or Joe burrow they weighed in on Lamar and not one person to our knowledge said yes We want to sign him to an offer sheet. Perhaps he's reacting to that as well So Ian Rappaport from NFL Network I'm sure that this is personally a bit humiliating for Lamar But here's my first request here's my first piece of advice to Lamar Maybe someone around him tell him to stop acting like Baker Mayfield, but stop it Don't use your social media to bid goodbye to the Baltimore fans before anything has happened Hello, why put all of your stuff out there? You don't need to you are a former NFL MVP quarterback the Ravens want you They've said so publicly over and over and over again They've offered you what they believe is a contract commensurate with Your abilities as well as your tenure and I know that you may not think that it's Reflective or respectful of your talents Lamar himself admits. He turned down a three-year 133 million dollar guaranteed deal three years 133 million That amounts to More than 44 million dollars per season and It's only three years if that's what you turn down if the reports are correct, and that's what you turn down You're talking about essentially two years to prove yourself and then you would be eligible for another contract Stop stating your case on social media.

It's a no-win situation Public figures do not get the benefit of the doubt on social Do they have a lot of likes a lot of retweets a big platform? Yes But you do not owe the world or the public any explanation and I get That you want your side of the story out there Except you're coming across Desperate and I would say you're coming across like an emotional girl the way that Baker Mayfield did Now you don't need to defend yourself If you decide that this is not a contract that you want Fine own it You don't need to explain to everyone But beyond that though beyond my advice of Lamar Jackson to stop taking to social media to plead his case I Would say consider the deal If you don't want to play into the franchise tag consider the deal. It's a lot of freaking money 133 million dollars fully guaranteed at signing That's more than Russell Wilson more than Kyler Murray now. It's not Deshaun Watson, but that is the aberration.

It's not the rule That is the outlier. It's not good business and the Browns will figure that out soon enough if they haven't already Lamar Jackson you are wanted in Baltimore Maybe take a shorter deal if that's what you want Forty four million dollars a year is incredible. It puts you in the top ten among quarterbacks Is it Patrick Mahomes? No, but you're not Patrick Mahomes Take the deal play your ass off for two years earn a new deal. That's more along the lines of what you want It's after hours with Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Radio