It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. NFL mandatory minicamps underway across the country. Some teams, some players are showing up, some players are staying away, we have some players have signed new contracts, we have players who are looking for money, looking to get paid, new faces in new places to talk about what we have seen, what we can expect to see, and to break it all down is someone who covers the NFL and on many places, whether it be for Westwood or the score in Chicago.
He's the executive editor for Pro Football Weekly. It is Hub Arkish. Hub, how are you, man? I'm good, Jay. How are you done? I'm excellent.
Thank you for taking the time and joining us. I guess one of the bigger or larger stories today is the fact that Aaron Rodgers did show up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On one hand, Aaron Rodgers is there, TJ Watt is not. What do you expect with TJ Watt's situation as they're trying to build the rapport here? Well, you know, TJ is one of the best players in the NFL. He has been unsettled with his team for a little while now. And, you know, I think that adding somebody who can be as much of a concern as Aaron Rodgers is interesting, you know, and I don't think he has a problem with that.
I think his problem is more just with the Steelers and with his status in the league, having some input into what's going on. But at the end of the day, the other interesting part of the story is we didn't know until a couple of hours ago, apparently Aaron Rodgers waited three months because he was busy getting married, of all things. So, you know, and good for him.
And I hope they're happy. You know, I have not had the best things to say about Aaron Rodgers in recent years, but he is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game. He did play fairly well last year, you know, when he was healthy. And even at 41, it is an interesting fit with the Steelers, if Mike Tomlin can handle all this, you know, and that's really the next big question for that ball club. Yeah, well, we know I'm still trying to figure out if he's going to pop up and do weekly interviews. I had him on Pat McAfee besides anything Mike Tomlin says. So we know the Steelers will certainly be a story all year long.
Hub, there's another pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson with the Cincinnati Bengals. We know that they have loaded up on offense. They're trying to figure things out on defense right now. Do you think he's going to stay, stick around with the team? Are the Bengals trying to figure out, you know, what the T.J. Watt is going to receive?
What's the holdup? Well, you know, we've got a couple of these superstars that have been looking for contracts this offseason and they're all taking or have taken longer than we thought they would. And it's because they're waiting for the next guy at their position or the next guy on top of there at the position gets and can make sure that they get something that is competitive. The Bengals cannot afford to lose him. I think they know that because they're a contender with him.
You know, they could be a solid contender with him. Without him, they've got a lot of, you know, rebuilding that has to be done if he leaves. And, you know, he is, he's been interesting because at times he has said, no, he wants to stay with Cincinnati. And other times he has made it sound like he doesn't want to leave.
So that's one that we still need to get a little more information on. But my guess is that there'll be some type of contract adjustment. He'll get the money he wants and he'll understand that there probably isn't a better place for him to go than where he is right now. NFL analyst Tub Arkish is here with us on the JR Sport Brief show. When you continue on down the line, you come down here to Atlanta and you look at Kirk Cousins.
He spoke today and of course he said all of the right things. What do you think is the most likeliest of outcomes when it comes down to his situation? Well, they have to trade him eventually. I mean, how many number two quarterbacks in the NFL have $180 million contracts? It is, it's, you know, I think they've been careful until now because they still don't know if the young man is the answer at quarterback. I think they're pleased with the little bit they saw last year and they definitely want to find out now. And I think they're probably just holding on to him at this point in part because I'm not sure they've had a good trade offer for him yet.
Um, and they're not just going to release him and pay him all the guaranteed money. Um, but I think they want to be a little more certain with their young quarterback, uh, you know, before they, uh, do move him, uh, somewhere else. And so I would guess that that may resolve itself during training camps sometime.
Um, that still won't really tell them enough about what they've got, but at least they'll know more. And, and because once the season starts, then moving him becomes, he's not going to get exactly what he wants and the team's not going to get exactly what they want. So I still suspect that he will be moved sometime in a little training camp, but, uh, we have to wait and get more information on that one too. Well, hub, you mentioned a young quarterback, a young quarterback and Michael Pennix Jr. The NFL is, is littered with young quarterbacks.
Now you don't get a chance to develop, you get thrown right out into the wolves. And we've seen Anthony Richardson, he's kind of sunk now dealing with the shoulder issue. Uh, Jayden McDaniels probably had the best rookie season that we've seen, uh, from a quarterback. What are your thoughts on, on how the NFL has shifted over the past, I feel like decades towards just putting the guys right out there. Is it financially driven?
Why is that? Well, I think part of it changed dramatically with last year, not this year's, but last year's draft with those six quarterbacks going in the top 12 picks because many people thought that all six, or at least somebody thought that at least three or four of the six were franchise quarterbacks. And so that kind of changed the market. I think it gave some of the other teams still looking, you're still not certain with their veterans, you know, what could be coming. And they're not talking about the 26th draft being a quarterback draft, much like 24.
I don't know if that's true or not. We don't see another college football season yet, but I think that's why so many of these youngsters are being started sooner and they're trying to find out more quickly about them to know what they have. And, uh, at the same time, I think that's why other teams, you know, the Vikings, uh, ended up in a situation when McCarthy got hurt when they had no choice and they had to wait a year. But there are other teams with these younger quarterbacks that are still waiting a little longer to develop them because the position hasn't changed at all.
It still takes time for a young quarterback to become a franchise quarterback in the NFL, and that's not going to change. So it's, and the other thing we have going on now is that we have owners getting involved more with their GMs and their head coaches on these big moves, these $100 million, $200 million, $300 million contract moves. And they're making decisions that possibly even their top football people don't agree with. And so that's why it's also complicated right now. Hub Arkish is here with us, NFL analysts.
Well, Hub, you're based out of Chicago. I know you certainly are keeping up with everything going on with Caleb Williams. What is the anticipation level for this upcoming season season with the new weapons and Ben Johnson and everybody's expecting the bears to make a big leap? Yeah, I think certainly amongst the fans and even in the media, there is an expectation that there's going to be a big leap this year. I think there has been some poor reporting on Caleb Williams rookie year. He did not have a bad rookie year by any other standards, but the number one overall pick in the draft, it would have been considered a fairly decent rookie year. The problem is that the roster was still kind of a mess. The coaching staff, as it turned out, I did not think they should have fired Matty whistles prior to last season.
I had seen enough interesting things going into the season to say, you know, you got to find out what you've got with this guy, but by the time that you got to the midway point, and then you had that game, you know, in Washington with the command, you know, talking about, um, and, uh, uh, you know, everything went south that day and he was fired the next day. They hired the best young coach available this year in Ben Johnson. Um, they've, they've had a very productive year in free agency, particularly by rebuilding their offensive line and some work on their defensive line. They had another interesting looking draft last year's draft is already looking like a very good one. And so I hear a lot of people picking the bears to win that division this year. Now you've got two, well, you've got with both the Vikings and the lions. They had major changes to their coaching staffs.
They, they probably, I think Minnesota may have gained as much as they lost in free agency, but the lions lost more than they gained in free agency. And then you've got the Packers who nobody can figure out because they're a playoff team too, but they're just not as good a roster or as highly respected as, you know, you've got the Vikings and the lions. And so now you've got the bears coming on with all this new talent and new coaching staff and possibly a franchise quarterback.
He showed enough last year to show me he may be, he hasn't proven it yet. And so there's a lot of excitement in Chicago right now. And a lot of people believe that the bears could be one of the surprise teams this year, very much like, you know, the Houston team has been the last couple of years. Oh, we see Houston even dealing with shoulder issues right now with Stroud.
Hub Arkish is joining us here on the JR sport brief show. Those are some teams that we've seen make some jumps and leaps over the past year or two. Is there a team that you expect to probably do the same thing this upcoming season? Well, there's not a bad team that I expect to, you know, make a six, seven game win jump. But I know I hear a lot of people and I'm sure I understand why, but I hear a lot of people talking about Arizona, you know, and that there's enough on that roster that they could make a big leap this year. I know other people are certainly interested in the Raiders, you know, and I don't see that either, although they definitely have an upgrade in the coaching staff.
And, you know, I love their first round draft pick. And so those are the two teams I'm hearing talked about the most. I personally don't see the kind of leap from any team this year, unless it may be the bears. I kind of forget the bears were 5-11 team last year or 5-12 team. And they're the one team that I guess most people are talking about possibly being a bad team that makes a big leap this year.
Possibly. Oh, Hub, the final question for you, I guess, and on this note, speaking of a bad team, are the Saints just kind of waiting for Arch? Is that what they're doing, Hub?
Well, I don't think that's what they're doing, but I think that may be the way it ends up and they may not be upset if it does. That team has been a mess for the last four or five years, you know, just in the way that they've been managing to run, you know, and how streaky they've been. They've looked like they were going to be a winning team and all of a sudden became a losing team. And now, you know, with, again, new head coach, you know, and changes coming, I think that they could be headed in the right direction, but I definitely don't see any big leap this year.
And they could, they were bad enough the second half of last year that they could be bad enough this year that they could have a shot at Archie Manning. I don't know, you know, and it were assuming he comes out. He probably will.
But that, that I don't think that's the plan, but that could turn out to be the reality, depending on how the season goes for him this year. Yeah, I think all those fans partying in the Superdome, they may, they may not want to look at the football field. Let's put it that way.
Hey, Hub, thank you so much for the time and lending your expertise. Where can people follow you and your work? Oh, well, you know, pretty much just on text these days, like anybody else on text on the internet.
We still have our TV show Pro Football Weekly TV, which is on nationally, and we're back again at the start of this season. And I'm working with a couple people about doing some more writing this year, too. Absolutely.
It sounds like a great thing. Hub, thank you so much. Catch you down the line. All right, buddy. Take care.
