It is the J R Sport Brief Show here on the Infiniti Sports Network. What a busy day in the NFL What a busy couple of days. It's always busy in the league, especially now that training camps. Underway. We got players looking for money, got players who haven't showed up to work, players who are at work looking for money.
We got guys who are getting cut and released, looking for their money back. There's a lot going on. in the NFL. To talk about some of the biggest stories and what we can expect moving forward. Joining us right now is someone who covers the league for the NFL.
for NFL media. It's Eric at home. Eric, thank you for the time. I appreciate you. Pleasure's mind, what's going on?
Well, I mean, there's a lot going on. We just talked about Christian Wilkins, the fact that the Raiders have given him the boot. And uh not paying him any more of his guarantees. He's trying to get the money back through the NFL Players Association. What's the latest?
Is is his foot really that damaged? Do we know anything? And I like the pun too. Boot, foot. That was a good little tie in there.
I like that. You laced it in nicely. How about that? Oh, hey, Ada, you're going to lace it up. Lace it up.
Yeah. Uh very interesting situation, obviously. I mean this was a Prime free agent for them a year ago. You know, they brought him in four years, $110 million, more than half of it guaranteed. You know, paid him $20 plus million dollars for.
Five games, two sacks, whatever it was that he had before suffering that Jones fracture in his foot. And the disagreement or the reason why they're terminating this deal early. And you can kind of see there were some signs that there were some complications. You know, Pete Carroll kept deflecting and saying he's got a long rehab. You know, we don't know when we'll see him, that sort of thing.
And all summer just didn't know what the deal was. And you could sort of feel there was something brewing there. You know, he was in a walking boot recently and I think showed up to camp one day. And I think they just felt like he didn't attack the rehab the way the plan was scheduled, the way the team thought he was.
Now, again, we don't who, you know, who's to say, and what this grievance that he's filed, I'm sure that that information will. uh sort of be made public but Yeah, this is a big blow for a Raiders team that I think had generated a lot of buzz this offseason. You know, I mean, with Carol and Ash and Genti and. you know, Tom Brady's increased, you know, sort of activity with the club. And, you know, maybe some thought maybe they were a team that could, with a healthy Max Crosby and Wilkins, maybe compete.
Now that's that plan's changed a little bit. When you take a look at the the Raiders, even with the plans changing, knowing that Geno Smith is is probably not around for the long haul, same thing for an older Pete Carroll. What are the Raiders doing? Are they just trying to steady the ship right now for the future or whoever comes after? Yeah, I mean, I think there's there's something to that, right?
In terms of let's let's make sure we can we we're not going to skip a step here in the process. We have to regain some some credibility a little bit. And obviously, Pete's won a lot of games. Gino, I think, has been in some ways one of the more underrated quarterbacks since You know, his rise in Seattle. He took over a real tough situation after Russell Wilson and we had to win the job with Drew Locke and has made the most of it.
You know, I mean, he, I thought he played really well last year, even when. Um, you know, the wind was in his face a little bit. Offensive line struggled in Seattle, and you just sort of felt like. You know, even though that reunion wasn't, it was poo-pooed a little bit at first, but I think both sides warmed up to the idea. You know, Pete said, I know what Gito can do.
You don't know what knows what Pete expects of him. You know, we'll see. I mean, this doesn't obviously derail the entire process. I think the draft was a very good process for them. I think they have.
At least rounded out the roster a little bit. And we'll see if they can still compete in a pretty thorny AFC West, I would say. Eric Ed Holm is here with us on behalf of NFL Media. You talk about that AFC West. We saw what happened to the team always at the top of it, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Went to the Super Bowl, lost, redid that offensive line. Travis Kelsey lost some weight, had the worst season of his career since he was a rookie, really. Second year, I should say. And then Rashid Rice missing time. He'd probably be suspended.
Are we expecting the Chiefs to take a step back, or should we just expect them to be the same damn Chiefs? That's a fair question, right? I mean, given the way they won games last year by the skin of their teeth in some cases, the block field goal at the end against Denver. I mean, how many close wins were there? Every week it seemed like that Panthers game, they barely got out of Charlotte alive.
And You know, so many instances of that. Everybody thought, okay, their luck, their time is coming, right? The Super Bowl certainly proved that they were in a lower weight class than the Eagles, at least on that day. But Even if they win fewer games this year, I'm still not giving up on this team. The left tackle thing is really interesting because they tried to play Kingsley Sumataya last year at left tackle.
Now moving him inside to guard, it looks like. You know, everybody thought Jalen Moore, the kid they signed to a pretty hefty deal, 15 million a year from San Francisco, Trent Williams backup.
Okay, that's the guy you plug in, but.
Sounds like they're possibly open to the idea of Josh Simmons from Ohio State stepping in there, the rookie. You know, they benched the rookie after two games last year, pretty much admitting it wasn't the right call. And I wonder if they'd do that again, but the receivers are still strong. Brett McDuffie is going to move outside and I think be a better impact on that defense. They still can play well on that side of the ball.
So I don't think they're going away anytime soon. Yeah, it doesn't seem like it, especially with Mahomes back there. One of the teams that we always expect to knock him off, if any. Happens to be the Buffalo Bills. Before you joined us, we talked about the comments from James Cook.
As he is at work, doesn't want to be fine, but is still looking for a new contract. And Saquon set the market at the top with 20. We know he's not getting that. We got a bunch of other guys that are sitting around in that 15 range. Is it realistic that he gets a new deal, or the Buffalo Bills are going to go, hey, man, screw you, you're a running back?
Well, as you pointed out, I mean, last year was sort of a resurgent year for the running back in general. I mean, even with Christian McCaffrey missing a big chunk of the season, you had Barkley, you had Derrick Henry, you had Josh Jacobs and other backs having really successful seasons and really, in some ways, being kind of the anchor man in a lot of ways for those respective offenses. And, you know, James Cook had his best season in Buffalo and was scoring touchdowns last year and a big part of what they did.
So, you know, I did feel like he leveled up. Did he level up to the level he wants financially? We'll see. As you pointed out, I mean That $20 million ceiling is pretty big, especially for a team that has Josh Allen, right? I mean, You know, Saquon and Hertz, they've made it work, especially with those two receivers.
They've found a way, but they've had to cut salary elsewhere. Caffrey certainly looked doable when Purdy didn't have his extension. You know, now it's tougher. They had to get rid of Debo this offseason. They had to let other free agents walk.
You know, the Ravens are kind of riding that tight wire a little bit too, even though they extended Henry. But. Yeah, I mean, that's the problem. It's a lot easier for a team like Indianapolis to pay Jonathan Taylor, given their quarterback situation, than it is for a team like Buffalo with Josh Allen making top of the market money. But yeah, I mean, in Cook's quote, he said, look, a deal's getting done, whether it's here or elsewhere.
So. You know, his agents have primed him for the possibility that You know, if you want to stick to your guns and get every dollar that you're asking for, it may not happen in Buffalo. I still think he's going to end up signing there for maybe less than he asks, but it's something they're still dealing with. Yeah, he said he loves the fans, he loves the city, but I guess he loves that money. A little bit more.
Ed Ed Holmes is here with us from NFL Media. Ed, I want to throw you a question that was asked of me earlier in the show by one of our listeners. It was about the NFC North. We know Detroit is. I don't know if they're losing a little bit of juice.
We certainly know they lost Ben Johnson, who's now with Chicago, trying to help out. Their new quarterback or second year quarterback, Caleb Williams. We know J.J. McCarthy going to get a start. Be surprising if Minnesota has another fourteen wins.
And then you have you got Green Bay, who seems that they're just trying to get things together by adding new wide receivers. What are your thoughts on this competitive NFC North? Fascinating. I think if you're measuring one through four, it's the best division. I mean, like, you could make a case for others, but AFC North, strong, obviously, AFC West, but.
You know, I think the Bears were better than their record indicated, but there was just so much chaos, right, with the Mad Eberflew stuff and What Ben Johnson was hired was to do two things: to get Caleb Williams right, maximize, squeeze the most talent you possibly can out of him, build an offense around him, and then also. To be a stickler for details and be a hard ass, somebody who's going to hold these guys accountable. I think there was just too little of that last year. And, you know, it became a situation where nobody was really taking account for anything. And that's how you lose the game.
Like, you know, the meltdown in DC and the Thanksgiving game against the Lions. It was awful.
So. Again, there were signs that they have some talent there and Green Bay is probably better than their record indicated last year, too. But which one of those teams, if any of them, And maybe take advantage of the fact that the Viking or the Vikings aren't going to win. 14 again, or if they're gonna it's gonna take a lot to do that. Maybe it's the Bears.
Maybe it's the Packers, though. Jordan Love's still got another level, I think. You're right with the Lions. And and Vikings at least on paper facing some real challenges. With Detroit's injuries, the coordinators leaving, a brutal schedule, all the things you mentioned with Minnesota, as good as they might be.
I mean, you could see a really tightly packed division in the NFC North. Oh, that's going to come down to the final weekend. Is there a team across the NFL that you see potentially making a big jump, Eric? You know, define big jump because I can see obviously Tampa is one of those teams that is kind of, you know, obviously they've won recent Super Bowls, but different era now with Baker, right? A little different situation.
I think they're a team capable of making a Super Bowl run. If Tristan Worf's injury is not. This this Major concern if he doesn't miss a big chunk of time. I think he's the best or one of the top three left tackles in the league. That offense can really, really go.
Defensively, I think they're going to have more depth in the secondary with the draft picks.
Some guys coming back from injury. Maybe they have some juice in that pass rush. I just sort of feel like they're one of those teams that. You know, might slip below the radar a little. You still have the Eagles.
You still have the Commanders and Jaden Daniels, and the 49ers might bounce back. There are plenty of candidates. We mentioned all the North teams, but. AMP is one that I think might just gear up a little extra this year and And win a couple playoff games or something, but improvement-wise, like from the bottom to possibly the edge of the playoffs, maybe New England. I mean, Drake May, Mike Rabels.
Traybion Henderson. Kyle Williams, they've added some help on the defensive line. It's been a pretty good offseason, I think, for them, and putting last year to bed, even with all the May excitement. They might have something decent there this year, especially if the Jets and Dolphins are still trying to figure out who they are.
Well final question for you, Eric. Those are all teams that are trying to get to the mountaintop. We saw the Eagles go back. They're going to be favored again. And people are still talking about Jalen Hurts.
Cam Newton is in the news every other day, and people are arguing over: is he a great quarterback? Is he a good quarterback? Does he have too much talent around him? Can he catch a break? Like, why does he, is it just because of the talent people don't respect what he does?
Yeah, he's a little unorthodox, right? His style is a little different than other guys, but he plays with such. Such coolness and such equanimity, and he's sort of the perfect leader for that offense. And, you know, all the drama that happened with Nick Siriani and how are these guys going to work together? Nobody talks about that anymore.
And I think he deserves a lot of credit for that. Siriani, too. Both guys figured out a way to. Whatever differences there might have been, or whatever disconnect football-wise, or personality-wise. They just said, let's make this work.
And they did. to me kind of adds to his superpowers and and He's already a a You know, top five running quarterback. I would argue he's on the edge of being a top five. Passing quarterback somewhere in that. Five to eight range, you know, so we're still talking about all an all-around top 10 talent at the position.
I don't think he's one, I don't think he's two, but. I wouldn't go too many more names before getting to him. And I don't know. That's just my personal thought. And he's obviously capable of leading him to the game.
He's done it twice and played well enough to win both times. Yeah, and listen, all things considered, his football talent, his skill set, and then his manner, his mannerism, how he carries himself. Absolutely. He's a winner. And I think that that counts for a whole hell of a lot more.
Than people want to give him credit for. Eric, thank you so much for the time. Please tell everybody how they can follow you and keep up with your work. Yeah, NFL.com. I'll be cranking out.
I've got a lot of stuff setting up the preseason or setting up a training camp, I should say. And got a few more pieces I'm still working on. And yeah, this weekend, we've got some camp action on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it. Hey, Eric, thank you so much.
Great conversation. Look forward to having another one down the line. You be well. All right, you too, man. Thank you.
