After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

Let's face it, most people aren't making massive turkey feasts on the regular, and after 364 days of not thinking about it, it can be hard to get that bird just right. That's where Instacart, the holiday rescue app, comes in. From getting all the ingredients to prep a full seasonal spread to getting last minute swaps in a turkey emergency, Instacart has everything a holiday host needs to save face and save dinner. And right now, if you download Instacart, you'll get free delivery on your first three orders, and delivery in as fast as one hour.

Offer valid for a limited time, $10 minimum per order, additional term supply. I'm Kate Abdo, the host of Kickin' It, a new weekly show from the CBS Sports Galasso Network, where Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies, Mo Adoo and I connect with the biggest personalities from global soccer and beyond to learn about their journeys and what makes them tick. This is the place for football fans to hear unfiltered conversations with the game's most familiar faces.

So what are you waiting for? Follow and listen to Kickin' It on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Call Amy at 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4227.

855-212-4227. Let no one ever tell you that in the dead of night or overnight, late night slash early morning hours, depending upon your time zone, that people are not listening to the radio and not participating because that is untrue. When there is a lightning rod of a topic, when there is a topic or a storyline like the one we've got that we spent the majority of this show breaking down, oh yeah, people are enticed, especially when it's a divisive topic and you've got people on both sides of it or really every side of it. Russell Wilson benched by the Denver Broncos eerily similar to a move the Raiders made last season at the same exact time with two weeks to go in the regular season. And crazy enough, Jared Stidham is the quarterback who stepped in for Derek Carr last year in Vegas and now is stepping in for Russell Wilson in Denver.

And you know what? The moves were made for pretty similar reasons. Not entirely the same, but always, always when it's a drastic move like this and it makes no sense, there's a reason. Do you know what people say about the eye test when it comes to a catch? This has been a debate in the NFL for at least the last decade. As the NFL has tried to define what a catch is because of the advanced technology that can slow down the replays frame by frame by frame, nanosecond by nanosecond, and we see more than what we could ever see before, the NFL has struggled to define a catch or did struggle for a few years. Now I think it's a little less complicated, but it got so convoluted and so complicated when what we really wanted is for a catch to look like a catch. If it looks like a catch and it smells like a catch and it walks like a catch and it talks like a catch, then it's probably a catch. If it makes sense, if it's logical, well then it's a catch. And you know what I'm saying. Essentially the eye test.

Right? There's got to be some logic behind it. If your rules for defining a catch are so convoluted and complicated that nobody can follow them anyway, we can all see whether or not it's a catch. When it comes to these moves made last year by the Raiders and this year by the Broncos, if it doesn't make football sense, if even the head coach cannot explain why a change at quarterback is the best thing for the team moving forward, this gives us the best chance to win.

Well that's BS. And this is not a knock on Stidham. But it's about the fact that Russell Wilson's been your QB 1 all season. If for no other reason that he's got all these reps with the starting wide receivers like Courtland Sutton for instance.

Like Jerry Jeudy. It's hard for them to adjust too with a quarterback change in season, especially when they've not caught a lot of passes from Stidham. No, Russ has been healthy. He's started 15 games so far.

I know we've seen some real inconsistent play, but he's been a lot better this year than last year. Okay so Russell Wilson's not going to change at this point in his career. He still holds onto the ball too long.

That was a complaint in Seattle as well. He still does better in a run first offense. Gosh, a lot of quarterbacks do. He can still make the deep ball with great touch and great accuracy. He can still extend plays better this year than last year. I mean this is who Russell Wilson is. But he's also top 7 in touchdown passes right now. He's got far fewer interceptions, a higher completion rate.

He's over 3,000 yards. And until these last two weeks, and really the loss against the Patriots was the most damaging. But until these last two weeks, the Broncos were right there in the AFC wildcard conversation.

Maybe one of the surprise stories of 2023. This is really not about football. Even though they're hanging on to playoff hopes by a thread, the Broncos know Jarrett Stidham doesn't give them a better chance to win. Again, for no other reason than familiarity and reps. He's only been with the team this one year.

So he's in no better position than Russ in terms of familiarity with the offense. Now, if you know the full story, you know this is ultimately about the bottom line. It's ultimately about the future, which only undermines the present, especially the way they handled it.

And the Broncos have no one to blame but themselves for this mess. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Good morning to you. Hard to believe it is December 28.

Thursday morning, December 28. Also, the kickoff to week 17 in the NFL. On Twitter, A Law Radio, we're asking you, where would Russell Wilson be an upgrade in the NFL right now? And this brings me back to my point to begin the hour, which is that you're blowing up social media. So either you've had enough time being off, you've had enough family time, you're ready for some good old fashioned sports debate. Or you're bored, which I can remember the last time I was bored, or man you just love this show.

And it's not true that no one listens, quote unquote, no one listens in the wee hours of the morning. I will take that as a compliment. We do have fun on this show.

Our phone number 855-212-4227, that's 855-212-4CBS. You're blowing up Twitter and Facebook. Your response is, where would Russell Wilson be an upgrade at QB in the NFL right now? This is on the heels of you blowing up our social media about the worst teams in sports history on the last show. Here's the thing about the Broncos. As much as people like to say, oh this player signed a contract, this athlete signed a contract, he should have to abide by it, she should have to live with it, she signed it, he signed it. Didn't the Broncos do the same thing? I didn't like it last year. I didn't like it when his first season in Denver was done, and I don't like it now. I have no idea why the Broncos thought it was smart business, maybe because they had money to burn, the new owners, billions and billions of dollars they spend to buy the franchise. We're gonna call it the honeymoon phase, where the excitement, the anticipation about Russell Wilson as the next franchise QB was still real and spectacular.

That goes back to last year, last summer, last training camp. They were sure that they'd finally found their next franchise guy in the line of Peyton Manning, John Elway before that. They were sure that they were one Russell Wilson away, although to be fair they tried to get Aaron Rodgers first. So they give up the sun, the moon, the stars to bring in Russ, and then they double down with an enormous contract extension which hasn't even kicked in yet.

They didn't have to give him a deal. He was gonna play for them regardless, but before he takes a snap in a regular season game, the new ownership gets him. They offer him, he signs, an extension that is eyebrow raising and jaw dropping and scary.

And it couldn't have blown up in their faces anymore spectacularly. All the guaranteed money, the money that's committed to Russ, the dead cap hits, meaning hits against their salary cap, money they can't spend on improving the team at any other position, or really at quarterback should they part ways with him. According to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report, and he was the first to come out with the details, but they've now been confirmed by others, including our friend Troy Rank at Channel 4 in Denver, going back to late October. So Halloween, the Broncos threatened to bench Russell Wilson if he didn't change his contract, meaning the extension, not the one he's playing under now, but his extension that's about to kick in, specifically wanting him to amend the amount of money, or maybe the timing of when his injury guarantees kick in. So here's the deal with Russ. If he passes a physical after the season is done, well then the Broncos are not on the hook, at least at that point, for an extra $37 million. Okay, so he passes the physical, that injury guarantee money, it doesn't kick in. If he fails a physical, meaning if he got hurt in these last two weeks, or really at any point this season, to the point where he could not pass a physical when the season is done, there's an automatic $37 million guarantee that kicks in. It's called an injury guarantee. Now, if he's still on their roster after the new league year begins in March, well there's more guaranteed money that kicks in. The salary cap hits are astronomical. The contract was designed to make it very difficult for them to move on from Russell Wilson, except now that's exactly what they want to do.

And Russ, according to reports, already knows, or already expects I should say, that he's going to be cut, released by the team in March. Again, so similar to what happened with the Raiders last year. That stupid line they tried to feed us about how Derek Carr and the team had agreed that it was best for him to be away the last two weeks because he was a distraction.

It's not even believable. I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe that this move from the Broncos is about winning now. What they're trying to do is avoid paying out these injury guarantees.

Lucrative money guaranteed to Russell Wilson should he not be healthy at the end of this year. And even though it's going to cost them, even though it's going to make it really difficult for them to win next year, and maybe even the year after that, they would rather cut bait now, cut their ties, and eat the penalties in the contract. All of that is not so strange in the NFL because we see teams do this all the time. Buyers are mores, it happens all the time. And so they cut their losses, and they try to salvage what they can, and try a new strategy, a new approach, and very often it happens when it's a new general manager and or a new head coach.

Or the other way around, right? If the quarterback is already there, but the coach is new, well then you sometimes have a disconnect in that situation, which is what we now know about Peyton and Russell Wilson, except that there's more to the story. How in the world do you not undermine your quarterback? How in the world is it not detrimental to your team when in October you threatened to bench your starting quarterback if he doesn't change his contract? He's just thrown three touchdown passes in a game in which the Broncos got this huge victory over the Chiefs, something they've been unable to do. They finally win a game at home in front of their fans, tons of excitement, euphoria. Then they've got these two primetime wins after that over Vikings and I forgot the other team. They string together five wins in a row, six out of seven, and ultimately because of that they can't actually bench him because they would look even more ridiculous than they do right now. But then going back to late October, they tried to threaten him and tried to strong arm and bully Russ into changing his contract.

Already thinking about 2024. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. According to Jordan Shultz of Bleacher Report, Wilson was stunned. He was shocked. He and the team then got into a major dispute. The NFLPA gets involved. Wilson's agents and representation get involved. And ultimately there's been no change in his contract. And honestly, I'm not surprised by that. If I'm Russell Wilson, I probably don't say sure.

I'll give you back a bunch of money. Not unless he's desperate to stay in Denver, which if you know Russ and his confidence, that doesn't seem like him. And if you look around the NFL and the number of backups or guys who you didn't even know were on rosters at the beginning of the season who are now starting at quarterback. I mean, there's more than likely another place for him, or at least that's what his camp thinks. And so they threaten him in October with a benching. They try to force him into amending his contract.

He won't do it. And all the while it becomes a more untenable situation. So tell me again, Sean Payton, how this is all about winning, right? Because you tell your quarterback you're going to bench him right after a huge victory.

And all along every week since then, this threat is hanging over his head until now it's finally happened. I can just assure you one thing. And honestly, and I've said this to Greg and George a number of times, I'm just interested in winning. And it doesn't matter how you do this, you know, for this long period of time. It's all you're interested in because there's nothing like it. And then the other side of it, you know, there's nothing like that either. I mean, I agree with him that winning can be this this powerful elixir certainly understand he's a Super Bowl winning coach.

But he also wants it done his way. It seemed like he and Ross had a great report the beginning. They found some rhythm. The defense started playing better in the second month of the season.

They wanted a nice run. But all the while, behind closed doors, this is what's happening. I mean, you want to talk about undermining an employee and creating poor work conditions around him. And ultimately, that's counterproductive to what they want. If you really want to win, then don't threaten to bench your starting quarterback after a huge victory over the Super Bowl champions.

What from the category of you can't make this crap up. It typically is that way in the NFL. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. Now, when it comes to Sean Payton, of course, he was asked about Russell Wilson being a scapegoat, right? So taking the blame, which is typical of QBs. I get that. And yet I can't replace the entire offensive line. I can't bring in five new receivers.

And if it continues over a period of time, then there'll be another guy here talking to you as well. This is something that, you know, these are difficult decisions. And obviously there's more attention when it's the quarterback who's under contract, but different than maybe, you know, earlier decisions we've made with maybe last year's prior starters. One of the things we saw when we signed Stidham in the offseason was not only film from preseason games, but regular season games. And, you know, he's a guy that, you know, I'm anxious to see play. And if I didn't feel like he gave us the chance to win, we wouldn't be making that move.

You notice the very careful selection of words. They're not the best chance to win, but the chance to win because at least Sean Payton isn't going to lie to us straight out. You know, he did say, of course, the economics factor in, but that this was his decision. Jared Stidham is not a better chance to win unless it's become so acrimonious between the two sides. So the coaching staff, the front office and Russell Wilson and his camp that they're either not communicating or that it's, it's a loss cause.

So we don't know that we just know it's, it's gotten worse and worse. But honestly, the Broncos made this bed and now they're trying to squirm out of it. This is their choice to give Russell Wilson this extension without ever seeing him play. And it couldn't have blown up more royally in their faces, but I don't know why Russ should have to give back money. So either way, it's clear that he's playing his last days in Denver.

Now, just really quickly before we take our break and we'll get to some of your responses after that. If you remember with the Raiders, they tried to trade Derek Carr. They tried, but why would any team in the NFL trade for Carr when they knew the team was going to have to release him? And that's likely what we're looking at here with Denver. They'll try to trade him, but why would any team, first of all, want to take on that contract?

Especially with what we've seen from the Broncos offense the last two seasons. So even though there are going to be teams that need quarterbacks, very few teams are going to have the type of freedom and flexibility under their salary cap to take on that contract. Or if they do, it limits what else they can do in free agency. So they wouldn't want to anyway, but even if they did want Russell Wilson, they're likely to be able to get him without the contract if they just wait out the Broncos. Because the salary cap hits, the financial implications of Denver keeping Russ beyond whatever the point is in March after the new league year starts, they need to cut him to save just a few bucks. So yeah, the rest of the NFL, unless there's some team that's so eager to get him that they just won't wait, I think we're talking about the same exact thing as what happened with the Raiders last year. Derek didn't want to waive his no trade clause anyway. And so they had to cut him.

Sounds like Russ's camp expects that to happen. He did. I think it was on Twitter.

He did take to Twitter and said he's looking forward to what's next. Gosh, what a wild twist. A law radio on Twitter or after hours, CBS also our Facebook page, phone number 855-212-4227. You're blowing it up. Where would Russ be an upgrade in the NFL? My gosh, the NFL's nuts.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Let's face it, most people aren't making massive turkey feasts on the regular. And after 364 days of not thinking about it, it can be hard to get that bird just right. That's where Instacart, the holiday rescue app comes in. From getting all the ingredients to prep a full seasonal spread to getting last minute swaps in a turkey emergency, Instacart has everything a holiday host needs to save face and save dinner. And right now, if you download Instacart, you'll get free delivery on your first three orders and delivery in as fast as one hour.

Offer valid for a limited time, $10 minimum per order, additional term supply. I'm Kate Abdo, the host of Kicking It, a new weekly show from the CBS Sports Galasso Network where Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies, Mo Adoo and I connect with the biggest personalities from global soccer and beyond to learn about their journeys and what makes them tick. This is the place for football fans to hear unfiltered conversations with the game's most familiar faces.

So what are you waiting for? Follow and listen to Kicking It on the Audyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Trevor Simeon is a guy that I know. We'll see how that plays out over the course of this week. Trevor is a guy that has played and won in this league. Zach Wilson is extremely athletic and can make all those throws.

So we'll see how that plays out. Really good players. I think Garrett Wilson is as good as there is in the NFL.

Really, he's a special player. We'll have our hands full when we're facing their offense. Defensively, again, Coach Salah, Coach Ulbricht, they do a great job.

It's a scheme that is similar to ours. There's enough difference in some of the things that they do versus what we do on defense. But really good players, great players in the back end, great players up front, linebackers that can run. And then special teams, they're ranked very high.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Kevin Stefanski make the Jets sound like they're Super Bowl champions. I mean, this kind of underscores the point about quarterbacks. I know Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be their plan this year, but how many teams at quarterback?

It's not worked out according to plan. And with Zach Wilson still in concussion protocol, that's why he mentions Trevor Simeon because Simeon is in line to make the start if Zach does not get cleared. And it doesn't appear that's likely in time for Thursday Night Football. The Browns have a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a victory over the Jets coming up later on tonight as we kick off Week 17 in the NFL.

That is nuts. And also this is some of my favorite action, favorite drama, favorite couple weeks of the year as we finally see the playoff picture come together and all the excitement and the anticipation for January and then February in football. And I don't just mean the NFL, but also the college football playoff. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. So yes, Jets at the Browns coming up in mere hours. I will be driving, theoretically, on my way as part of the first leg of a move back to New Jersey with hubs and dogs and cars and belongings and a trailer and everything else.

Oh dear. As long as there's snacks and drinks, I'm good to go. And I'll have football to keep me company. And so yeah, that game kicks off later on this evening. And it's the start of Week 17 coming up on Saturday night, theoretically should be home by then, Lions and Cowboys under the lights in Arlington.

And we know Dallas is a much different team at home than it is on the road. The part that I always am blown away by is the number of teams, I'm sorry, number of fans out there who are willing to exchange their above average, even elite level quarterbacks for any old person who's available. We've even had people say that the Dallas Cowboys could upgrade from Dak to Russell Wilson. Are you kidding me? I've also seen a variety of answers about those teams that are kind of mid-level.

Right? So ones that are still part of the playoff race and yet likely aren't to challenge for a Super Bowl because of their limitations, right? They have a ceiling or a wall, if you will. Pittsburgh, a lot of Pittsburgh fans or fans of other teams that believe Pittsburgh could upgrade with Russell Wilson at quarterback. I've seen the Raiders, which would be uber ironic, seen the Seattle Seahawks, which would be hysterical. I've also seen Minnesota, heard Minnesota, both New York teams, though Rogers is the plan for next season with the Jets. But the Giants, do they also have buyers or mores about Brian Deball? I've even seen the Buccaneers. You know, they love Baker Mayfield, right?

Have you seen his numbers this season? The New Orleans Saints, they got Derek Carr to start this season, but they're below 500. Carolina, I mean, they already traded away the farm to get the overall number one pick in Bryce Young and have since fired their coaching staff. Life comes at you fast in the NFL. Tennessee was another intriguing answer.

So where would Russell Wilson be an upgrade at quarterback? Couple of stories that are off the beaten path. And honestly, I wish I had more time because we had the introduction of Yamamoto in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Didn't get to that. Micah Parsons truly believes that he is getting the shaft from the NFL when it comes to the officiating and the holding calls that he's not getting. Always entertaining to hear him talk. Travis Kelsey, if you missed it, he goes on a tirade on his pie, his podcast with his brother about how crappy the Chiefs offense is playing right now.

Who the **** is that guy? Well, I did tease this one exchange between Jair Alexander, who's now been suspended for a week because of the mess with the coin flip last week for the Packers in overtime. So it's Jair Alexander and reporters. If you missed this, he was not supposed to be out there on the field. Jair was not a designated captain and the way the Packers do captains is they pick them every week, right?

So it's not the same guys every single week. So Jair Alexander, for whatever reason, decides that he's going to be an honorary captain. He walks out onto the field for the coin flip and says the wrong words. The wrong phrase nearly cost them at the coin flip. And now he's been suspended a game because of these kind of bizarre actions.

But this is this is postgame Jair and reporters and the oblivious nature of his responses cracks me up. So were you supposed to be a captain? Because the team announces the three game captains and you were the fourth and you called a toss.

What happened there? Oh, yeah, I mean, you know, it's only suit and you know, I don't think coach knew I was from Charlotte, you know. So you just did that on your own. I mean, I mean, you know, I mean, it was like a, you know, the guys backed me up, you know. Did you realize you almost made a big mistake on the call, though?

What did I do? You said we want to go on defense, which in theory, they could have said. Then you're electing to kick to to kick off what you would have lost the opportunity to receive in the second half. Yeah, no, I told them that I said I want I want our defense to be out there.

And they all looked at me like I was crazy. I'm like, I mean, it's pretty simple. I said, I want the defense to be out there. Like, you mean defer? I'm like, yeah, I guess. Did he say that to you? Yeah, I heard you. Oh, really? No, he was just like defer. I was like, yeah, everybody's like, yeah, everybody's laughing like we are laughing.

It's pretty obvious what I'm asking for. So did anyone say anything to you when you got back to the sideline? Why would they talk about Bizarro World? J.R. Alexander walks out. There's not supposed to be a midfield. It's like, hey, I guess the coach didn't know that I'm from here, so I just decided to join the party at midfield. And he says the wrong words. And only because Matt Leflore had clarified with the officials beforehand, like if they won the toss, here's what we want to do. So the head official after he hears the wrong words and essentially like the misleading response from Alexander clarifies with him.

And J.R. is like, oh, yeah, that he's like, what I do, what I say. Oh, my gosh. I guess the coach didn't know I'm from Charlotte. Anyway, Leflore did not find that amusing and has suspended him for week 17.

Oh, heavens. He crashed the captain's meeting at midfield. It's like crashing a wedding. Thankfully, nobody did that to mine. So as we head into week 17, all kinds of fun storylines.

It's yeah, it's the best reality show on TV. What I do, what I do, what I say. What do you mean?

Coach didn't know I'm from Charlotte. I was supposed to be out there. What I do. Never a dull moment. Well, well, well, shopping for a car. Yep. Carvana made financing a car as smooth as can be.

Oh, yeah. I got prequalified instantly and had real terms personalized just for me. Doesn't get much smoother than that. Well, I got to browse thousands of car options on Carvana, all within my budget. Doesn't get much smoother than that. It does.

I actually wanted a car that seemed out of my range, but I was able to add a cosigner and found my dream car. It doesn't get much. Oh, it gets smoother. It's getting delivered tomorrow.

Visit Carvana dot com or download the app to get prequalified today. I don't think I need to overthink it. Just do what I'm coached to do. You know, we have a great staff and a great group of guys around around me. So I'm just going to do my job to the best of my ability, do the certain things that I need to do on each and every play.

And, you know, move the ball down the field and hopefully score a lot of points and get a win. You're listening to After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Call Amy at 855-212-4CBS. It's been so much fun hanging out with you over the last three and a half plus hours now and really over the last three nights getting back into the groove. I will not be working tonight Thursday following the game into Friday morning because I'll be through leg one of a move back to New Jersey, with the new fam. But we'll be working New Year's Eve as well as New Year's night. So looking forward to talking about week 17 in the NFL, as well as the college football playoff. Those games that are taking place on New Year's Day.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. This portion of the show brought to you by Southern Recipe Small Batch Pork Rinds, one of my favorite partners, one of my favorite corporate sponsors I've ever worked with. Try one of their favorite tailgate recipes of the week with, you guessed it, pork rinds.

And you can grab all of them at Southern Recipe dot com. Also, we'll be highlighting some through the month of January on into Super Bowl week, because we want to get you ready for those festive holiday parties that you still have to come. But also Super Bowl parties haven't been to one of those in years because it would be no fun for the people I'm hanging out with to watch me take notes. And I'm trying to watch the game. Nope, not what you want at your Super Bowl party on Twitter.

A law radio also on our Facebook page after hours with Amy Lawrence. Where would Russell Wilson be an upgrade right now? And I just have to say again, the Broncos have no one to blame with themselves.

I shouldn't say I'm stunned, but this is bold even for. This particular ownership group who gave him a monster extension before he ever took a snap in a regular season game. Yeah, they have buyer's remorse, of course. But to threaten to bench your quarterback in October.

When you've come off the biggest win in years, regular season win in years. And to threaten to bench him over a contract stipulation that doesn't even kick in till next season. That does not play well with the locker room.

Certainly doesn't play well with him, nor does it make him better at his job. Seriously. To not understand that.

And then to give us some line about how we really want to win. Spare me. I'm not telling you that Russ is an elite quarterback anymore. He is what he is. But he's got pretty darn good numbers this year compared to last year, especially. Twenty six touchdown passes, only eight interceptions. His completion rate is up. Now, the issues, of course, are the red zone and third down and goal to go situations. So the pressure pack situations, they're not great. They're not going to have a thousand yard receiver, though.

Courtland Sutton and Russ have developed quite a rapport. The offensive line is rough. He's under pressure all the time. He still holds the ball too long.

There are obvious glaring weaknesses. But to try to act like benching him at this point is about winning. I'm not sure who would believe that we had a seventh grader again who called us tonight from Portland. I guess his mom was sleeping across the hall and he was kind of in a corner in his room.

And somehow they still haven't discovered that on his school break, he's listening to after hours and calling the show when he's supposed to be in bed. Anyway, not even Jordan in Portland believed it. Now, your answers about where Russ would be an upgrade in the NFL.

Those are fascinating. Of course, we've got the commanders. Even the Titans. Certainly the Falcons. Some say the Raiders, which cracks me up. The Saints, which would be ironic, considering that this happened to Derek Carr last year and he ended up in New Orleans. Some even going with Carolina. I mean, Bryce Young is he's the overall number one pick. But under a rookie contract, many people pointing to Pittsburgh, a lot of New England responses. There definitely is potential for him elsewhere. I mean, the commanders, considering their revolving door quarterback and their new ownership.

Yeah, absolutely could see it. Is Russ better than Sam Howell or Jacoby Brissett? Uh huh. Now, what about the Giants right now? They're going back to Tyrod Taylor over Tommy DeVito.

And. They inquired about him even before the Seahawks traded him to Denver. Now, it's it's different, of course. Now, Brian Deball, the head coach, blah, blah, blah.

Things change. The Falcons obviously haven't found the right formula quarterback yet. I think it's interesting that some people are pointing to the Buccaneers, not many, but man, they love Baker Mayfield. And right now they're on top of that NFC south. The issue then for Denver is what do you do at quarterback?

Right. So Russell Wilson likely to be cut. And because the salary cap implications are so.

Punitive, they're so heavy, they're not going to have a lot of money to spend on another QB. And that just kind of perpetuates the cycle. But in addition to that.

Who wants to go there? Meteor, you know, it has to be a certain type of personality that won't clash with Sean Payton. But also. Considering this is what they did to their. Current QB. After giving him the contract, now they want to take it back, so to speak.

This kind of stuff gets around. They threatened to bench him in October if he didn't change his contract. Screw winning, screw ending a playoff drought. Now we're going to try to strong arm you into into. Changing a contract that we signed. If you don't agree.

To change the language, right? If you don't agree to essentially give us back some money. So we'll see what happens. But this marriage between Russell Wilson and Denver. It never was a match made in heaven. And now it seems Pete Carroll and John Schneider. Really knew a lot more.

Then what they let on. I mean, I have no doubt they were dancing a jig after they got Denver to take him off their hands. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here at CBS Sports Radio. We're kicking off week 17 in the NFL, so Browns can clinch a playoff spot, which is awesome. They'll be a sentimental favorite coming up as they make the playoffs and. Considering the Joe Flacco piece. As we're talking about elder statesman at the quarterback position, considering the Joe Flacco piece, Joe Flacco rides again. I love that. So they've got an opportunity here to kind of capitalize on this defense.

Right. But also just the the nature of what's been the quarterback position in the NFL this year. You know, they're going to be teams there that.

Have had to go to extraordinary measures. Desperate teams do. Desperate moves make desperate moves. And that was what characterized Denver when they traded for Russell Wilson.

And it didn't work out. But in this case with Cleveland, feeling like they had a team. That was good enough and just needed a veteran QB to kind of manage things. They bring in Joe Flacco and it's like they struck it rich. And in some cases we've seen these different quarterback moves work out like the Colts and Gardner Minshew in the wake of Anthony Richardson getting hurt. Baker Mayfield for the Buccaneers probably supposed to be a stopgap.

Turns out now they may sign him to a long term deal. Lots of good stuff taking place as we head into the final few days of December. Oh, my gosh.

It's crazy to think about. Thank you so much for all of your support. You've blown up our social media really over the last four nights.

So on Twitter, a law radio also on our Facebook page. I will be back on New Year's Eve. Happy New Year to you. Also, please don't get bit on the face and hand like Aaron Gordon. Oh, my gosh. Twenty one stitches. He got bit by the family dog on Christmas.

Glad he's in good condition. Don't do that before we talk again. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. I'm Kate Abdo, the host of Kicking It, a new weekly show from the CBS Sports Galasso Network, where Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies, Mo Adoo and I connect with the biggest personalities from global soccer and beyond to learn about their journeys and what makes them tick. This is the place for football fans to hear unfiltered conversations with the game's most familiar faces. So what are you waiting for? Follow and listen to Kicking It on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.