JR SportBrief Hour 2

It's that time of year. Cash the Ticket.

Jim Costa with Mike Valenny. We shift the focus from football to college hoops. Playing that system that's not a system but sure plays like a system leading up to the tournament. We're looking for that value with the daily dimes. We look for the gross lines. Getting us ready for the tournament where we're going to break down all the matchups and have an eye on some future plays too.

This time of year, baby. Search Cash the Ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. It is the JR Sport Brief Show here on CBS Sports Radio. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America. I hope you have had a terrific Wednesday. I'm helping you to get over the hump. I'll be hanging out for the next three hours.

This is a four hour show. I get started every single weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. So whether you happen to be on the East Coast, the West Coast, the South, the North, the Midwest, everything in between, Canada, Mexico. Shout out to the guy who hit me up the other day listening in Munich, Germany. What's up, Germany? I appreciate you and everybody over every ocean. How about that?

Pick a direction. I'm just having a good time. NFL Combine is underway in Indianapolis. NFL Players Association is putting out report cards and grades on the owners that are liars. The teams that don't feed you three meals a day.

The teams that charge you extra for daycare. Oh, this is the juicy stuff that I care about. I'm here for it. Anyway, I'm here for so much more.

It is Wednesday and an hour from now. I'm going to share with you a new top six list in honor of these terrible, terrible ratings and report cards. I'm going to give you a top six list of some of the best owners in sports in about 40 minutes from now, because the New York Jets were in the news for a variety of reasons today. Zach Wilson has been given permission to seek a trade. McColl-Hardman has talked about how terrible his time with the New York Jets, how terrible it was. Said the offense was not put together. It was whatever Aaron Rodgers wanted to do.

Yeah, duh. So we got Rich Cimini, who covers the New York Jets. He's going to come through and join us in about 40 minutes. So far in the show already, we talked about Clark Hunt. Yes, Clark Hunt, the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, being named the worst owner in the NFL, reportedly because he didn't live up to his promise to upgrade their facilities. We talked about how the Jets and the Jets, McColl-Hardman don't like them. And then right before we went to break, we discussed Caleb Williams, who pretty much said that, yeah, I love deep dish pizza. I love Michael Jordan. I love Chicago. I love any team that would go ahead and select me. Nice, nice politics here by Caleb Williams.

Not a shock. Now, to continue on here, by the way, thank you to super producer and host Ryan Hickey. If you want to be a part of the show, it's simple. 855-212-4CBS.

It's 855-212-4CBS. Now I got to talk about a team that is heavily involved in politics. Now I have to talk about a team that can't get out of its own way. Now I have to talk about a team that is considered America's team. It's the Dallas Cowboys.

Because they continue to just say and do wild things, and I believe they have no choice. But the way that the Dallas Cowboys operate, it's almost as if they have to do and say wild and crazy things. And so we know how the Dallas Cowboys season ended.

Let's just say not good again. Dallas Cowboys go through the year. They have 12 wins. They go to the postseason and then they get smacked by a hot rookie quarterback. And during love, they lose in the wild card round.

48-32. An embarrassment. This was supposed to be the year that the Dallas Cowboys maybe potentially, I don't know, went to an NFC championship game. You know, maybe stared the Super Bowl in the face again. But no, they failed.

Again. I mean, they failed so bad that Mike McCarthy was basically twisting in the wind for what felt like an eternity. As Jared Jones had to consider whether or not he wanted to keep Mike McCarthy around. Ultimately, Mike McCarthy stuck around. And I love playing this clip because it's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard from a head coach. This is Mike McCarthy when the season was done, when he knew he was returning. He tells everybody just just how close the Cowboys are to a championship.

This had me in stitches. We have established, you know, a championship program. It's just not the world championship yet. We know how to win. We know how to train to win. We have the right people. But we have not crossed the threshold winning playoff games.

And it's extremely disappointing to be sitting here talking about it. But I know how to win. And we will get over that threshold. I have total confidence in it. And that's why I'm standing here today. He has total confidence in them. That's why he's standing here today.

OK. All right. You're standing there because Jerry Jones is just rolling with continuity. We also know Jerry Jones will give you the boot the minute that you breathe the wrong way.

Jerry Jones is waiting on it. He believes in you. Yeah. But he also doesn't have full confidence in you. He just doesn't want to start over. He wants to be forced to start over.

Both he and his son Steven. They want to kind of maintain things the status quo because every time you bring somebody else in. Yeah. You're basically sapping away another potential year. And we know the Dallas Cowboys. If you've got to think about Jerry Jones. God knows how many more years he has, especially for a guy who wakes up and has Egg McMuffins with extra salt.

His arteries are begging to be closed or maybe they're begging to be opened back up. So the Dallas Cowboys here in this off season, Stephen Jones is in Indianapolis, just like everybody else. He's talking to the media and he wants to keep the core of the team together. This man said, I want to sign back to an extension.

I want to give C.D. Lamb his money and I want to make sure Michael Parsons gets paid as well. Listen to Stephen Jones address the media. We are, you know, obviously between Dak and between Micah and C.D. It's you know, the salary caps real for us. You know, with those three guys, you know, in a situation where we want to, you know, do deals with all three up. So, you know, do you get to do everything you want to do with the salary cap?

I don't think any team does. But, you know, we're certainly going to be able to, you know, go out and go to work and get the things done that we feel like we need to get done to be successful. This is where things really get tricky, OK? C.D. Lamb?

Yeah, sure. The guy becomes an All-Pro. He leads the NFL in receptions this past year. One hundred and thirty five of them, almost eighteen hundred yards receiving in 12. Count them. Twelve touchdowns.

Why the hell would you let that guy go? This is the Dallas Cowboys. They don't they don't go into a full rebuild. They don't shut down shop and go all shucks. We can't keep them.

No, it's about stars. They got a star at midfield, OK? Michael Parsons. They don't have to pay this dude now. They can pick up his fifth year option for next year. But I can understand you wanting to pay for a pass rusher. Those guys get paid the second highest behind the quarterbacks because they are the guys chasing down the quarterbacks.

So if you want to think about a benchmark for C.D. Lamb, sure, he wants to get paid more than Tyree Kill. Tyree Kill is getting 30 million per year.

You want to think about Michael Parsons right now? Well, what is he making a pittance? Five, six, seven million a year right now.

Nick Bosa, you want to think about edge rushers? He's making thirty four million dollars a year. Is Michael Parsons going to jump that 17 sacks last year or 14 sacks?

I think Michael Parsons can do better. He said that he wants to be in exclusive territory in the Hall of Fame. He doesn't just want to be a Hall of Famer.

He wants to be in exclusive territory. And then that brings us to Dak. I guess if you're the Dallas Cowboys, these are your new triplets. Dak Prescott signed a contract in the covid year.

About four years. 40 million per. People were screaming, how the hell do you give Dak Prescott 40 million dollars a year, making him one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the entire game. At that time, he was kind of right there with and behind Patrick Mahomes at about 40, 45. And we know since he signed his contract, the numbers have skyrocketed past that. Joe Burrows making fifty five and Herbert is making in the same space and Lamar Jackson at the best of the best of the best. They're making about 50 to 55 million dollars per year.

So where the market is going. Does Dak Prescott deserve that type of money? Does a man with a two and five playoff record deserve that type of cash?

I don't think so. But the Dallas Cowboys, they probably don't have another chance or choice. And Stephen Jones, he says, I cannot imagine the Dallas Cowboys without Dak Prescott.

Our whole thing with Dak is him being a cowboy. That's all that's on our mind. And I certainly don't get into those type of thoughts. Not timeline wise, but you do want to extend that. Oh, yes. Absolutely. Oh, yes.

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I think they got no choice. They don't want to blow things up.

They're going to just try to string things along as best as they can. Dak Prescott can put up impressive numbers. He can throw the ball around. It seems to just be empty, though, because when the games really matter, Dak Dak does not win. And the Dallas Cowboys are like a broken record. And I guess eventually that saying will be a broken record, because, hell, I don't know too many people that literally use records or record players. Hickey, you have one? I do not. Yeah. OK. It makes sense.

I got a record player. Really? Yeah.

Why not? I got albums. I got mine. Wow. Look at you. Pretty cool.

Forever. Anyway. Dallas Cowboys are old. I'm not going to call them vinyl. You know what? Let me correct myself. They're not old. This story is old. The Dallas Cowboys have moved into the space of.

I don't care what you do. I will just be paying attention to see if you do it because we can only go so many seasons where the Dallas Cowboys win 12 games, 10 games, 11 games, go to the postseason and lay an egg. In this year, they were pretty much eliminated by a not for all intents and purposes or rookie QB and Jordan Love. Every year, the Dallas Cowboys are punching back.

You know, last night we had a caller. He pretty much said, I'm trying to remember in what context he looked at the Chicago Bears and said. Wouldn't be a good idea, for the most part, for the Bears to have someone like Caleb Williams.

Because the Bears have never produced or developed a quarterback. And he was using that as a baseline to basically say that it will never happen because it hasn't happened in the past. And I had to say, well, what happens in the future? You can't necessarily pin it all on the past.

Eventually, they're going to break through. And he agreed. Speaking in an absolute is not the smartest thing. OK. And he said he was a Lions fan.

Well, I'll tell you this. I'm not going to sit on the radio or sit down here or stand up and broadcast over the radio and tell you that the Dallas Cowboys will never win a championship. I think that's ridiculous.

One day they will. OK. Is Jerry Jones going to be here to witness it? That I am not so sure of because Jerry Jones might be the problem with the Dallas Cowboys. And if you are the Cowboys, you got no choice, especially with a salary cap and a budget that's increasing for every team. What's stopping you from handing out some of this money?

But it has to be painful to know you got a hand over. Fifty million dollars potentially. The Dak Prescott. For him to go to the postseason and maybe choke again. I can stomach Michael Parsons.

C.D. Lamb can only work with what's been thrown to him. But Dak, I'm not going to believe that Dak is a winner. Until he actually wins and not a playoff game. Not a divisional round or wild card round division around a championship round. It'd be impressive. But actually go compete for a Super Bowl that I don't see in Dak Prescott's future.

And if he wins it one day and he hoists the Vince Lombardi, then more power to him. I just don't see it happening. I see him as a very, very good quarterback. Not a great one.

I haven't seen this in the past for me to believe any different. 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS. 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS. I'm getting Hickey's thoughts on signing all the important Cowboys on the other side of the break. And then why does Seattle have a quarterback controversy? I don't know if it even qualifies as a controversy yet, but we're going to talk about it.

As Geno Smith is already potentially competing for his job. We're going to get into that. We got Rich Cimini coming up in about 30 minutes.

There's a lot to do. It's the JR Sport Brief show on CBS Sports Radio. Cash the ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. It's the JR Sport Brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS.

It's 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS. And about 20 minutes from now, we're going to have a conversation with Rich Cimini covers all things New York Jets. They were in the news quite a bit today with Zach Wilson receiving permission to seek a trade. His agents able to talk to other teams and see who might want him. I can't imagine anybody would want him.

And if they do, they want him on the cheap. And also, Mecole Hartman had some comments about the New York Jets that didn't paint them in the greatest of light when it comes down to coaching that Aaron. Aaron Rodgers pretty much runs the team or ran the team. And what a shock.

I think we all knew that as well. But right before we went to break, we talked about another dysfunctional team. The Dallas Cowboys. Year after year after year, there's belief and confidence put into the team or put out into the atmosphere from the franchise that this year will be the year that they get over the hump. In this year, they got put down by Jordan Love in the Green Bay Packers. The Dallas Cowboys are in a situation right now. They bring back Mike McCarthy. They want to extend the contracts. Big numbers are going to have to pay these dudes. CeeDee Lamb, Michael Parsons. And then also Dak Prescott. And I just say to myself, I guess they got no choice, right? They have no choice.

But I feel like we're going to be looking at the same thing over and over and over again. Dak Prescott being good. Good enough to win 12 plus games. Good enough to get you to the postseason. Maybe good enough to win you around. But damn it, it seems when the going gets tough, they don't get the job done.

Hickey, what say you, man? I feel like they got no choice but to pay him because they'll never blow things up. Couldn't agree more. Like the Cowboys, it's funny to say, but they truly are in one of the worst spots in the NFL. Like they're kind of stuck in the middle. They'll win you 10, 11, 12 games a year. They'll win the division. They'll get to the playoffs. But like you said, I mean, unless they're playing a sub 500 Buccaneers team, they can't even win the first round of the playoffs and even be competitive some of the time. And so like you don't think that like next year, let me tell you this, the Cowboys will pick them to win 11 games, 12 games. But I'll pick them to lose the first round again.

It's very predictable. But like you said, there's like I don't know what else they're going to do. Obviously, Dak Prescott, they need to upgrade.

The tricky part is like, how do you do that? Well, where do you go? There's no place to go. They are in the worst spot in the NFL. Yeah, the Dallas Cowboys remind me in a certain way of like and it's ironic they had a partnership at one point, I think, and it had to deal with the hospitality industry of all things. The New York Yankees. It's like there is such a standard in the organization from the fan base that we compete for championships.

And so there's never a space, never a time, never an opportunity where you say to yourselves, we just want to rip things down to the studs and start over. And so it's like the Dallas Cowboys are almost forced into just handing out these contracts. A, because the owner, he basically feels that he's on borrowed time. And then B, I think the fan base, the team has been hyped up so much that they got no choice but to just, well, we might need to change and switch strategy. They can only go forward and hope for the best. It's like, well, good luck.

You know, let's keep it moving. I actually I don't want to say I feel bad for Cowboys fans, but it sounds like, as you said, Hickey, football purgatory. And Dallas Cowboys will win again next year. They'll go to the postseason and then they'll run into, I don't know, at least this year, the 49ers didn't smack them out. So I guess that has to be something positive. It's just bad.

It's like running on a treadmill. They're not going anywhere. And so what happens next year? They'll probably go to the postseason. It probably won't be good enough to save Mike McCarthy's job. They'll bring in a new head coach and then they're going to wash, rinse and repeat with the same players with a new coach.

And we're probably going to get the same results. How long before Jerry Jones blows a gasket? I mean, I feel like you should have.

I mean, I feel like it should have already happened, like. Like with this team, I don't know what he's waiting for. That's honestly, Jerry, part of the reason why I'm shocked, Mike McCarthy's back. Like you're going to lock up these guys and, you know, put a lot of money into your core group of players. So the team's not going to change. That's why I'm shocked they are still running it completely back. At least they didn't try to change the head coach to see if that, you know, different voice influence of players could could get anything going here. Yeah, it's same old, same old in a different capacity. This team is not same old, same old.

They pretty much are still well, they're owned by a trust. Paul Allen no longer here with us. This is the Seattle Seahawks.

We know they made a change. Pete Carroll is gone. Mike McDonald is in former defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. They have a new offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, who they plucked from the University of Washington coming out of the college ranks. They got a Geno Smith.

I don't want to call problem or issue. You also have Drew Locke, who's on the team who came over for Denver when they swapped things out with Russell Wilson. And with so many so many different possibilities at the quarterback position, Mike McDonald. He's still trying to figure out who the hell everybody is. And he was asked about the quarterback situation.

And Mike McDonald, he's just like, hey, I don't know who the QB is going to be. Take a listen to this courtesy of Fox Sports and listen to the question as well. Are Geno Smith and Drew Locke both involved in the future of this organization going forward?

Yeah, that's a tough question. And it's one that I probably can't answer right now. But, you know, we're doing a lot of work on those guys and I've had conversations just to get to know them and understand who they are as people and their background and goals and what their family's like and where they're from. I didn't know anything about them coming into this whole thing. So right now we're in the phase of figuring out who they are. And obviously, you know, one or two or both would fit into our plans moving forward. But, you know, right now, we probably don't have that answer for you. Well, Drew Locke is going to be a free agent.

That's first of all. So there ain't no guarantee that he comes back. And then Geno Smith, when he got his contract last season after he looked like one of the best guys and come back this and come back that and, oh, late bloomer Geno Smith that, like he all of a sudden hopped into a time machine and was back at West Virginia. No, man, I don't want to say that was fool's gold, but Geno Smith wasn't all of a sudden going to wake up and become an upper echelon quarterback. And so, I mean, Geno, his money is guaranteed for this year. The Seahawks restructured his contract as well. And so they have an opportunity to move on.

Now, that doesn't mean that they will, but kind of like the Dallas Cowboys, I take a look at Seattle and I look at their quarterback situation. I say, what's exciting about Geno Smith? That's like going to a restaurant and they say we have, I don't know, like a cheeseburger. It's like, man, I had a this is supposed to be a fancy place. I've been eating cheeseburgers my whole damn life.

What's so exciting about this? I just compared Geno Smith to a cheeseburger. It's more like a bologna, bologna sandwich.

Hey, Hickey, where does he fall in? I like bologna sandwich. Yeah, I mean, I just had a good cheeseburger at a restaurant on Saturday, so I'm not going to say it's a cheeseburger. Oh, you can you can have the cheeseburger from the cafeteria at lunch or you can have like a gourmet cheeseburger, man. There's levels to a cheeseburger, you know?

There is. And you know what? Andy Reid, I'm sure, could absolutely give you a detailed breakdown about that. I'm sure they gifted this man a cheeseburger and a shoebox. That's true. Yeah, I'm sure he is very, very up to speed on all of the cheeseburgers. Bottom line is, you know, last night and trying to explain how quarterbacks work in the NFL, almost three quarters of the league, they probably swap out or would look to improve with their signal caller.

Seattle is no different. And so even to having to have to answer a question about a potential free agent in Drew Locke or a Geno Smith being your future QB. That's that's it's not a it's not a great question to have to answer.

You might as well ask him, hey, man, do you want to get shot or do you want to get stabbed? Both are not going to be positive results. And until Seattle has somebody else not named Geno, they ain't going nowhere.

They're wasting time. Geno Smith is a glorified placeholder. My apologies to Geno Smith's family and people who actually care about the Seahawks. I want you to think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all of your car care needs.

Get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. It's the JR sport we show here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four. CBS is the number when we come back on the other side. Some to have a conversation with someone very familiar with Geno Smith, someone familiar with his former team, the New York Jets. Rich Samini is going to come through and join us. We're going to ask him about what the hell is going on with the Jets and Rogers and and Douglas and Salah. McCall Hartman thinks that the organization stinks.

And then also. Who wants Zach Wilson? You thought a bologna sandwich was bad. Zach Wilson is like offering someone a three day old bologna sandwich. Like nobody wants this guy.

Nobody. It's the JR sport we show here on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the JR sport brief on CBS Sports Radio.

It's the JR sport we show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. NFL combine is going down out in Indianapolis. Coaches are speaking. The ones that are their general managers are speaking. Owners are having to defend themselves about how much they spend and don't spend on locker rooms. And then the New York Jets.

Yeah, they exist as well. Getting crapped on by a I guess we can call them a champion. The quarterback who they selected a number two overall. They're saying I good riddance.

Go find somebody that wants you. And so to talk about the New York Jets specifically, what's going on with Aaron Rodgers, what's happening with Zach Wilson, what Jill Douglas will do with these potential tampering charges. Right now we're being joined by Rich Cimini, who covers all things New York Jets for ESPN. Rich, thank you for taking the time to hop on.

My pleasure. Never a dull moment with the Jets. Well, that's unfortunate for the vast majority of their fan base, but fill us in on the latest.

Well, which one do you want to talk about first? They made some news today. I guess probably the biggest news is Zach Wilson.

I think this is more or less a formality. They gave his agent permission to speak to other teams about a potential trade. I think it was heading in this direction for, to be quite honest, several months even during the season when he got benched.

I think that was essentially the end of this marriage. And so the days are numbered now and it's just a matter of them finding a landing spot for him. The Jets are not going to get a lot in this trade. We're talking about a day three draft pick probably. But essentially it was over a few weeks ago after the Super Bowl when Woody Johnson came out and told reporters that we didn't have a backup quarterback last year. We got to get a backup quarterback. So that was the end of Zach Wilson right there. Rich, he's likely to most definitely be a backup quarterback for another team.

He's going to be traded, as you said, for likely a bologna sandwich. Now, Joe Douglas ultimately is going to have to answer for this. How much rope does he have or is it all contingent on the existing quarterback Aaron Rodgers?

Correct. It hinges on Aaron Rodgers. Joe Douglas and Robert Sala, everybody over there got a mulligan on last season because Rodgers went down, as we all know, fourth play of the year. And so I think Woody Johnson obviously very disappointed by the outcome of the season, 7-10.

They had so much higher expectations than that. But Woody Johnson, when he took a second to think about it, said, I'll give these guys another chance to figure it out with Rodgers. And so this is as win now as you can get for an NFL team. I mean, Woody Johnson basically, in so many words, saying it's a playoff mandate for Douglas and Sala. So there's no there's no more mulligans. This is this is it.

If they don't make the playoffs this year, they're probably all gone. Rich Zemini is here with us. The J.R. Sportbree show on CBS Sports Radio. He covers the New York Jets for ESPN. We haven't heard and I know this sounds odd. We haven't heard from Aaron Rodgers since he was going back and forth with a late night television host. What's the latest on Aaron Rodgers and his recovery? Well, we spoke to him the day after the season ended, and I honestly think he was almost ready to play at that point. I think if the Jets had been in the playoffs, he would have played a playoff game. You know, he made a really quicker than expected recovery. I know Jets fans are upset because he didn't get back on the field. He kind of teased everyone for a few months there with his McAfee appearances, you know, trying to get back as fast as he could. And in the end, the Jets were so far out of it that it really didn't make sense for him to come back and meet for meaningless games. But he's doing really well, from what I understand.

Back in California, I think he'll be back in New Jersey for their offseason program, which doesn't get underway until the middle of April. So from all indications, he's ready to go, and I think he'll be fine for the start of the season. One of the biggest criticisms for Joe Douglas last season, Rich, is that there was not a veteran option. They had to give the reins over to Zach Wilson. As they move into the offseason, what are some of the potential options that the New York Jets could add as Aaron Rodgers' backup? This might be the most important move they make this offseason, is getting a backup, because, you know, Rodgers is 40 years old. He's coming off a major injury, and you need a good insurance policy, especially when you consider yourself a win-now team.

So there's a couple of interesting guys out there. I think Jacoby Brissett from Washington would be a good fit for them, especially locker room-wise, because I think Brissett understands that probably his days as a starter in the league are over. So it's a very interesting fit with Rodgers. You don't want to bring in a big personality that might, I don't want to say compete with Rodgers, but could create some waves in the locker room. That's why Ryan Tannehill is probably the best available free agent, but I don't know if Ryan Tannehill wants to come in and be a backup to an Aaron Rodgers.

He's probably looking for a starting job somewhere. So, you know, Gardner Minshew I think will be on the Jets list. They've had their eye on him for a couple of years. I would look out for him.

Jimmy Garoppolo, Sala knows him from their San Francisco days. I think he'd be a guy to keep an eye on. So I think it's a pretty wide open situation right now.

It's just about finding the right fit and a scheme fit, a locker room fit, and also a financial fit. Rich Cimini is here with us from ESPN. You talk about the backup for Aaron Rodgers, and we know this is the Aaron Rodgers show. And he's talked about, you know, giving the Jets, I don't want to say a discount, but giving them what they expected, a year or two.

Are we still in that space? It's kind of year-to-year with him regardless, no? Yeah. You know, he said he wants to play two more years, but he also acknowledged that he, like Sala and Douglas, are on the hot seat. So it is a year-to-year proposition. Now, he's got guaranteed money through this year, Rodgers, and then after that, for 2025, it's not guaranteed as of right now. So yeah, it's absolutely year-to-year. If the Jets go in the tank again this year and the whole coaching staff gets fired in front office, a new staff comes in, they're probably not going to want to start with a 41-year-old quarterback, I would not think. So that's why it's all in for everybody this year. The New York Jets, his hands are in the palm of Aaron Rodgers, or the franchise is in the palm of his hand.

It is. And we've heard from a Cole Hardman, he sat down with a pivot, he put in his two cents about his time. He didn't share anything that we weren't familiar with, it was just said publicly, but I'm sure the New York Jets are going to have a beef. What do you think is going to be the outcome if they say, hey, they were over here tampering the Chiefs' work? Well, I definitely know from checking in with some people in the organization, they were not happy with McCole Hardman's comments, specifically the ones where he basically admitted he was talking to the Chiefs and said to their GM and Patrick Mahomes, come get me.

In other words, come save me, get me out of here from the Jets. And as Joe Douglas said rather bluntly today at the Combine, those comments definitely resonated with us. Now, it's unclear at this point if the Jets will pursue tampering charges. The league, I checked in with them, they're not commenting right now. I think the Jets are mulling what to do, but they have certainly let the Chiefs know through those comments that they were none too pleased with a possible tampering situation. So the Hardman stuff, I know the Jets are ticked off about it. I know some of the players are ticked off about it. You saw a bunch of guys go on social media today and fire back at Hardman, a guy who admitted he quit on the Jets. He said in the podcast that he was checked out after four games because he was so disgruntled with his playing time that he was checked out. And so I think that's a pretty self-damning statement to make. And the Jets were not happy at all with Hardman and they traded him.

And I think they saw it as addition by subtraction. Well, Rich, I would imagine that the Chiefs and Brett Beech aren't happy with this coming out as well. What might this mean for him? Well, he spoke yesterday at the Combine, so he was unavailable for comment today. Now, Hardman also posted last night, following up on my story, he said he did not talk to the Chiefs. He wanted to clear that up. He didn't talk to the Chiefs.

Even though he said on the podcast that he talked to the Chiefs, he was basically saying that he misquoted himself, I guess is what he was saying. In the video. In the video we could all see him speak, right? That video. Okay, sure.

Yeah, yeah. I guess someone possessed his body and was speaking stuff that he didn't want to say. So he was backtracking and clearly someone got to him and said, you better come out on Twitter and set this record straight here. Maybe it was the Chiefs. Now, we don't know what kind of conversation he had with Brett. He might have texted Brett Beech and said, hey, man, you know, try to trade for me. You know, you don't know. Maybe the Chiefs didn't engage him. Maybe he said, I'm sorry, we're not allowed to talk, you know, and hung up on him. We don't know. But all I know is two weeks after that alleged conversation took place, the Jets traded him back to Kansas City.

Rich Cimini here with us as we start to wrap up. We know the New York Jets, they need a backup quarterback. They need a wide receiver.

They need some defensive help. We also know they have the 10th pick in the draft and you need to protect Aaron Rodgers with the holes that they do need to fill. What is the likeliest outcome with this 10th pick? I think the likeliest outcome is an offensive tackle. This is a tackle rich draft. You could see six or seven tackles go in the first round. I think the Jets are in position to get the second or third best tackle at number 10.

Maybe it's Olu Fershanu from Penn State, or maybe it's Taliesh Fuaga from Oregon State. You know, those are the two most likely candidates there. There is also some thought that if they don't see the tackle they like, maybe they go with a Brock Bowers, the tight end from Georgia, to add another weapon for Aaron Rodgers.

I think it's impossible to say for sure at this time. It depends what they do in free agency. If they go out and sign two tackles in free agency, then yeah, I would say Bowers becomes a much better possibility at 10. But for now, my money is on offensive tackle at number 10.

Last question for you, Rich. You talk about free agency. Are there any ideal players that would help the New York Jets out in free agency that they should really go out and pursue? Well, I mean, it's going to be offensive line centric for the Jets.

Now the question is, do they go for a tackle? There aren't a lot of great tackles in free agency, which is not surprising. Teams usually don't let good offensive tackles get to the open market.

You want to keep those guys. So the Jets could end up signing two guards and then moving Elijah Veritucker. They're a very multiple, very versatile guard out to tackle. He can play tackle. He has played tackle. So I think they could sign two guards. And then certainly Dotson from the Rams is a guard worth considering. If they want to go for a tackle, who can step in and play right away. Tyrone Smith from Dallas, who's still a really good player. He's had injury issues, which is a concern, but he's still a good player when he's out there. He'd be like a one-year stopgap. I think he'd be a possibility to look out for.

But he'll definitely sign two starting caliber offensive line, but it just depends on which two. Well, Rich, thank you so much for taking the time to hop on. The Jets are always in the news, typically not for good reasons, as we both mentioned. Where can people follow you and your work with ESPN?

Yeah, at ESPN.com and also Twitter or X, whatever we're calling it these days, that Rich Cimini, C-I-M-I-N-I. Well, thank you, Rich, for taking the time. And let's talk soon. Let's see what these Jets do. I'm sure they will have plenty of content real, real soon.

They will, for sure. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Rich Cimini. Be well. That Rich Cimini of ESPN. The Jets, I try to think of something positive.

I try. I guess the positive thing is that Aaron Rodgers is not running around on podcasts right now. Aaron Rodgers is not sitting down with Pat McAfee. And then by the time the season rolls around, oh my God. Got a year from Aaron Rodgers once a week. Hey, Hickey, you think he'll be back on that McAfee show once a week?

You think they put the kibosh on that? Better chance he retires before next year than not being on the McAfee show. He needs that. He's going to show up and get that money.

And just the platform. He loves talking. He does. For a guy who at the end of the year said, we need to eliminate distractions in the building. Just completely clueless.

It's amazing that his ego could fit in the building. Anyway, it's the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. It's Wednesday. When we come back on the other side of the break, it's going to be time for a new top six list. I had mentioned earlier in the show that the NFL Players Association, they have decided to rank the owners. They have ranked the teams. When we come back, I'm going to look at the whole world of sports.

I'm going to tell you who I believe or who I find to be the top six owners. I'll tell you who they are on the other side. It's the J.R. sport re-show on CBS Sports Radio. Thank you, Rich Cimini. It's that time of year. Cash the Ticket.

Jim Costa with Mike Valenny. We shift the focus from football to college hoops. Playing that system that's not a system but sure plays like a system leading up to the tournament. We're looking for that value with the daily dimes. We look for the gross lines. Getting us ready for the tournament where we're going to break down all the matchups and have an eye on some future plays too. This time of year, baby. Search Cash the Ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.