3.5.24 - JR SportBrief Hour 2

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It is! The JR Sportbreeze Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. I come to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Much love to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America. Welcome to Hour Number 2 of the show.

I get started every single weeknight at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. Thank you to everybody listening on the roads, people listening at work, people listening at home, getting to the money, leaving the money, whatever you're doing. I hope you're well, I hope you're safe, I hope you're cool, and I hope you're smooth. It's good to be back here. I've been gone for a couple of days, had no voice, had to put it together. But it's also good to be back here with super producer and host, Ryan Hickey, and you. There is no show without you.

Every single listener. If you want to participate in the show, it's real simple. It's 855-212-4CBS.

It's 855-212-4CBS. We've already had a great first hour. If you missed it, hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. Thank you so much to Trey Wingo, former SportsCenter host, media host, podcast, host, television, everything! Thank you to Trey Wingo for coming through and joining us. And then thank you to you.

I told you there is no show without each and every single one of you. We've had an opportunity to talk about some of the players who've been tagged today in the NFL with a franchise tag. Folks like T. Higgins and Brian Burns and Josh Allen, Antoine Winfield.

And then we have individuals who are not tagged. The Saquon Barkleys of the world, the Christian Wilkins of the world, Josh Jacobs, Calvin Ridley. Those are just a few of the guys who will be free agents. They're eligible to pretty much go anywhere.

They still might return to their prior teams, but we just have to wait and see. We talked about the greatness of Kaitlyn Clark. We talked about Arch Manning. He is the one college, I guess he is the major college athlete on the football side who does not want to be an EA Sports new video game. And let's be real, his last name is Manning.

I don't think he's hurting for the $600 that he would have received. As we continue on in the show, we're going to talk more quarterbacks. We're going to talk more franchise tender. A matter of fact, Ryan Harris from CBS Sports HQ used to play for the Denver Broncos. He's going to join us in about 20 minutes to talk about Russell Wilson and a lot of these other quarterbacks. I mean, right before we went to break, we had a couple of callers who had some thoughts on the Falcons and what they should do at the quarterback position.

So we're going to talk about that in a moment. Ryan Harris is going to join us in about 20 minutes. And I also want to talk about Kirk Cousins because his name has been bandied about a lot as well over the past few days. 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. But before we talk about Kirk Cousins, let's go ahead and hit the phone lines and take a listen to Greg from Michigan. Hey, Greg, you're on CBS Sports Radio. Hey, JR, Mr. Positive, welcome back. I'm glad you're feeling better, my friend. Thank you, what's up?

Not much. Russell Wilson, I think he still has the goods. But when it comes to Kaitlyn Clark, and please don't, the world, don't take this the wrong way. Never been a big fan of women team sports, but I think Kaitlyn Clark is putting an injection of positivity in women's team sports. I love the individual sports, my Simone Biles, Vanessa Williams, Serena. Okay, yeah, Venus Serena.

I like that. And it's just the idea that I think Kaitlyn Clark, with her athleticism and her greatness, is going to elevate women's sports. Hopefully I didn't offend anybody, it's just never been the biggest fan. Well, help me out here. What would have been offensive, the fact that you're not a big fan of women's sports? Like, how is that offensive?

Well, JR, I don't know how to really answer that. It's just the idea that it just doesn't jump at me. Well, you're not the only person. I mean, look, man, I don't got no problem with women's sports. I'm not going to sit here and lie and tell you I'm a biggest fan. I would probably say over the course of my life, when it comes to women's sports here in North America, I've probably watched more tennis, and then I've probably watched basketball and soccer maybe at the same amount. And let's also just be honest. There's not as much women's sports to watch. You know, it's not as widely distributed. So I don't think it's offensive in any stretch to say, hey, I haven't been or I'm not the biggest fan of women's sports, whether it's fair or not fair.

The reality is that women's sports is less developed here in the United States of America, and I would say certainly most over the world, really. JR, thank you for handling that very delicately. You're inspiring. Love you, brother. Have a great night. You as well, Greg.

Thank you for calling from Michigan. Yeah, there ain't nothing wrong with saying that. Hickey, is there something wrong with saying that you're not a fan of women's sports? There ain't nothing wrong with that. No, people have no preferences.

Yeah. How many women's sporting events are on? Like there is, well, now I'm going to get in trouble, right? But there is no equivalent. I don't care how many splintered or smaller leagues. There is no no women's equivalent to the NFL, OK? On par with hockey, there is no equivalent, even though they have plenty of women's hockey leagues. There's nothing on par there. You know, baseball, it seems like, yeah, you can get into softball in college and move on. There's no one hundred and six. There are more games for the men.

OK, it makes more money. These are products that have been around for the better part of, I don't know, one hundred and fifty years in some cases. And let's think about some of these these women's leagues. And I'm not trying to get all historical, but let's be real.

Women, women weren't allowed to vote. OK. You know, if I want to go back 100 years while people playing baseball. And so, look, Kaitlyn Clark, if she can help go break stigmas and open doors to women's sports and athletics, then God bless her. Just like we've seen with with plenty of other athletes throughout time and throughout decades. You know, whether you happen to be Serena Williams or I don't know, you go on down the line. Serena is probably the most recent of folks.

But hey, I don't think there's a damn thing wrong with saying, hey, I haven't been the biggest fan of women's sports. It makes all the sense in the world. Eight, five, five, two, one, two, four. CBS. John is here from Pennsylvania. You're on the J.R. sport. We show us up, John.

Hey, J.R., thank you for taking my call. I talk about Russell Wilson, but more about the Steelers and Russell Wilson. I don't understand the mentality. They seem like they won't even look at this guy. They've punted Trubisky.

They got an unknown in Mason Rudolph. And I know they're they're doubling down on Pickett. But why not take a chance? It's not going to cost anything on Russell Wilson. Well, I think that's a it's a belief in trying to get as much.

What do you what do you say you want to get as much juice out of the orange or juice out of the squeeze as you possibly can? They want to see what happens with Kenny Pickett. And I don't know if they want to do that with someone who's a little bit older. Or if they want to go with someone who's a little bit younger.

I can certainly understand your sentiment. Also, if I'm thinking about this from Russell Wilson's perspective, you know, not knowing what full options he's going to have in front of him. Are the Steelers going to be the best option? I would think if I'm a quarterback and I want to play on a team where I can win, I'm going to look at Atlanta.

That's just just flat period. I can look at the weapons that Atlanta has. I can look at the weapons that Steelers have. And I'm going to feel a little bit more confident with Atlanta. I don't know, J.R., you got a dominant defense in the Steelers and they have the weapons, but Pickett's already proven he can't be proven. So I feel like a Russell Wilson who has that track record might think I can win with this team.

What, to be a babysitter? You talking about George? Well, not John. I think most people would look at Atlanta and say that, hey, they have a whole hell of a lot more weapons. They play inside. Russell Wilson's wife is from Atlanta.

A little bit nicer in regards to the weather and playing inside. Is there the history? No, it's not. Is there the cachet that's there?

No, no, it's not. But there seems to be a few more things that make sense. But let me tell you, I think it's going to boil a little bit more down to what you're saying. You know, are the Steelers going to pursue him? And, you know, what is his future going to be? You know, we're going to find out sooner than later what the market looks like for Russell. Do I think from a Steelers perspective that they should go ahead and give him a look? I think so.

But I don't know if they want to go ahead and do that. We're going to find out, John. OK? All right. Thank you, Jim.

Thank you, John, for calling from PA. Yeah, I mean, for all things. Yeah. If you're the Steelers, you want to bring him in?

Sure. Now, also, having said that, and I don't know if people are talking about this element or aspect. Russell Wilson can rub people the wrong way. Like, we've experienced this. We've seen it.

We all get it. What is a dynamic between Russell Wilson and Mike Tomlin going to look like? You know, I mean, look, Sean Payton thought the guy was cooked. Pete Carroll looked at this man and said, I want you to throw the football less. And now here he is, Russell Wilson, about to be a free agent, going to have the option to join the team that wants him.

Let me repeat that. Russell Wilson will have to join a team that wants him. And then that team is going to have to pray that he's not cooked, that he's not washed, that Denver's offensive line was crap, that the wide receiver weapons around him were all hurt. And you better hope that it's not because he's aged or that he's hard headed or that he's trying to prove that he's a gunslinger when that ain't it. And so I don't care who the quarterback is, whether it is Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins.

I just find Atlanta to be an excellent place and an excellent option. And it's been said over the past 24 to 48 hours that Kirk Cousins is getting ready to, quote unquote, cut the cord, that Kirk Cousins is ready to move on. This is the same Kirk Cousins who is coming off of a blown Achilles in October. This is the same Kirk Cousins that's going to be 36 years old in August. But this is the same Kirk Cousins who, when he left the NFL with his injury last year, this man led the NFL, led the league.

Excuse me, NFL, the league with 16 touchdowns in 2000 yards passing. It's not a coincidence that Justin Jefferson wants to keep this guy around because Justin Jefferson knows Kirk Cousins is going to get me the rock. And he's one of the reasons why I have gotten paid or that I will get paid. And speaking of getting paid, this is something that Kirk Cousins has specialized in. You know, over the past couple of seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, he has made about $33 million per year. He initially signed with the squad and made about $30 million a year. With Washington, he was caking money out of the Washington commanders, now the commanders. He was off franchise after franchise. He's making $23 and $20 mil. Kirk Cousins has made bank. A matter of fact, it was only a couple of weeks ago where Kirk Cousins said, Yeah, I love Minnesota.

I love being here. And you know what? Maybe, just maybe, I'll give him a little bit of a hometown discount. Listen to this. I think that God has blessed me financially beyond my wildest dreams. So at this stage in my career, the dollars are really not what it's about. I had a coach who I was with who was a younger coach at the time. This was back eight, nine years ago.

And I was before my first franchise tag. And we were talking about the situation and he made a great comment. And he said, Kirk, it's not about the dollars, but it is about what the dollars represent.

And I thought that was an interesting comment that he made. So there will always be some of that. But to Dave's point, structure is probably more important.

How do you define structure? Everything that isn't the dollars. Oh, he wants the dollars to help signify, I guess, the appreciation. But look, Kirk Cousins has gotten and squeezed money out of every place he's been. Kirk Cousins, throughout the course of his career already, has already brought in about $230 million in career earnings. Look, it makes all the sense in the world that if Kirk Cousins wants to win and make money, that, yeah, coming here to Atlanta might make the most sense. Throwing the ball to a Kyle Pitts, a Drake London, handing it off to a Bijan Robinson, a Tyler Algier, thinking that, oh, my God, we have a Swiss Army knife in Cordell Patterson who probably doesn't get used the right way.

And, oh, yeah, I get to play inside. What do they call this stupid thing? Mercedes Benz Stadium is absolutely beautiful, and now it's been bandied about that his wife is from Alpharetta, which is a suburb here in Atlanta, and that, of course, wouldn't it be nice to come on home? Someone who might understand this a little bit is Kevin O'Connell. It was just last week that the Vikings head coach said this at the combine.

He's like, man, I get it. I want Kirk Cousins back, but I understand he might be elsewhere. I know Kirk, you know, where he's at in this whole process. He's earned the right to be a free agent, and, you know, he's played really good football.

I think he's, you know, 18 and 7, whatever his record is, since I arrived in Minnesota coaching him, and I've had a blast coaching him, his fit in our offense, where we've kind of taken our version of the offense to with guys like Jordan and Justin and TJ. I know Kirk's going to go through a full process. He's a process guy, and, you know, hopefully we continue to be a strong part in that process, and we figure out a way to keep him a Minnesota Viking, but my expectation is we're not going to be the only ones that would like Kirk Cousins to be the quarterback of our team in 2024. Oh, we're going to find out what Kirk Cousins means now about that money, huh? We're going to find out if money matters, if it doesn't matter, if he's going to give a discount, if the money is the respect.

We're going to find out soon. Is he going to take less money, and is he going to join Minnesota? Is he going to stay in Minnesota? Is he going to take less money and come down here to Atlanta? Is he going to allow them to spend more money? We are going to find out sooner than later. But we all know what they say about money.

Money, it talks. And we're going to find out whether or not Kirk Cousins is going to go out there and decide to follow it. I don't care if you are Russell Wilson. I don't care if you're Kirk Cousins. I don't care if you're Justin Fields, who happens to be from here in Atlanta. Happy birthday today, by the way, to Justin Fields.

Atlanta is the best destination out of all of these teams who are looking for a QB. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio. 855-2124 CBS is the number to talk all things QB, to talk about Kirk Cousins, to talk about Russell Wilson. On the other side of the break, we are going to be joined by Ryan Harris. This man played for the Denver Broncos, and he's now an analyst, covering all things NFL. For CBS Sports HQ, Ryan Harris joining us on the other side.

You are locked in. You are tuned in to the JR Sport Reshow here on CBS Sports Radio. This is Tony Kornheiser's show. I'm Tony. Have you expected someone else? So what exactly is the show about?

Hmm, I don't know. It's a sports show nominally. Football is over, but we're finally at a point where things matter in college basketball. And baseball season is on deck.

Greatest three words in the English language, pitchers and catchers. We have some of the best voices come on and explain what matters and what makes an upset, like Ryan does. Nine over eight. No, that's not an upset.

No, yeah, it is, Bob. And if you're lucky, I might just tell you about my search for discounted sleep pants or my worries about what my dog just ate. Listen 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. We know about the NFL franchise tag deadline, and we know about the quarterbacks who will be moving. We know about the quarterbacks and the draft.

We know about the ones who can sign and who are free agents. So to talk about it all, joining us right now with someone who played in the NFL, someone who was on a championship squad with the Broncos, someone who now also is an analyst for the NFL on radio, also on CBS Sports HQ. Joining us right now on CBS Sports Radio is Ryan Harris. Ryan, thank you for taking the time to hop on. JR, the people's broadcaster. Great to join you, my friend.

Thank you so much. There's so much going on. I wanted to get your perspective, being in the league and now covering the league. Anything that shocked you today, first of all, when it came down to the franchise tag? We know Saquon, no tag.

LeChariasne, tag. Any surprises? Honestly, I'm surprised that the Titans are given up by not franchising Derrick Henry. They don't want to pay, but man, you look at it and you think maybe they're full of plays a couple of games away. To me, I understand why there was no sort of, how can you say, long-term deal for Saquon Barkley. Look, you hold out until training camp's over, I get that, but the way he went about it, basically he came from Penn State.

He was a big-time guy there and then he was a big guy at the Big Apple. I just worry about what he offers. Especially, this is a crowded, running back, free agency. Strange, not unexpected to see Barkley leave. I completely agree with tagging LeChariasne by the Chiefs. You've got to give Chris Jones the deal he has earned.

If not, you've got Christian Wilkins. This is going to cost you more, but it gives you a lot of availability if you're the Chiefs. No surprises and very logical what teams have done.

Absolutely. Ryan Harris is joining us here from CBS Sports HQ. We've had a lot of calls so far in this show and there have been a lot of rumors over the past couple of weeks about Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins and Justin Fields. Where do you think, for each guy individually, where would be an ideal landing spot and what is the best spot to be in if you are a quarterback? If you're Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins, you want to go play in Las Vegas. That's a team ready to win now.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the draft, but you've got Devante Adams, Michael Mayer from Notre Dame. That's the spot. Think about this. If you're Russ, you're getting paid $80 million anyway. Why not get another $20 million and beat the team that did you wrong twice a year? I think that's a really intriguing spot. If I'm Kirk Cousins or Russell Wilson, that's where I want to be. You also have a great opportunity in Atlanta. A ton of young skill positions on rookie deals and a very winnable division.

Then you've got to look at the commanders too. Clearly they're going to get a quarterback in the draft and rarely can a rookie quarterback take a team to the playoffs, especially in that division. So there's a couple of open spots, but that's the great thing about the NFL. I mean, JR, there are no open jobs.

You have to go take one and veterans know how to do that. So there's going to be plenty of opportunity for veteran quarterbacks. Ryan, before I ask you about your former team, you spent the most time with the Denver Broncos. The man that they're going to be moving on from in Russell Wilson, you talk about competing for a job. Their contrasting opinions about how much he has left in the tank, was it so much about the team and less about him. What are your thoughts, just specifically as it relates to Russell?

Well, one, a lot of people are taking the lazy route and clearly did not watch the film. Russell Wilson threw for over 3,000 yards and was in the top ten. I believe it was number nine in touchdowns for the season. And he did more with less. No one did more with less than he did. I mean, Courtland Sutton does not have speed. Yes, he had a career high touchdown and still wasn't able to get 1,000 yards.

Jerry Judy is going to drop more yards than he's going to catch for you. He didn't even have a tight end. And then you got an offensive line that gave up a sack 10% of dropbacks. 10% of the time he dropped back, he got sacked, let alone hurried or hit.

So that's the picture that those of us who actually watched the film see. And yeah, there were some issues with learning the offense at first. And offense, which by the way, hadn't been played for two years.

So there was a lot to learn. And I think the decision by the Broncos was great because both pieces are happy. Right? Russell's happy. He gets $80 million to leave somewhere. Please, JR, pay me $80 million to leave this call when we're done. I would love it. It's not going to happen, by the way.

Not going to happen. And then you've got, you know, on the other side, the Broncos now, Sean Payton has a clean slate. He gets to go after a quarterback in the draft, maybe bring somebody from New Orleans who might be in free agency.

There's plenty of options and it's on him. And I really respect what Sean Payton has done. He's never developed a rookie quarterback and he wants that challenge. So a lot to be seen yet for the Broncos.

But if I'm Russ, I'm thrilled and I'm confident in the fact that I did more than anybody else could have with the team that I had. Well, a big old, big old challenge for Sean Payton. Well, when you talk about what the Broncos did and we're being joined by Ryan Harris from CBS Sports HQ. When you think about what they had to give up to bring him in and then sign him to. If you're a Broncos fan, how optimistic can you be moving forward that, hey, we're going to get a young guy and turn this around?

It seems like a longer term project, no? It is a longer term project and the frustration's high for Broncos country out here in Denver and the Colorado area. I mean, look, Denver truly is where quarterbacks come to die. I mean, this is where you end your career as a quarterback. Joe Flacco had a little thrill after he left here. But, I mean, for the most part, when quarterbacks come here, there has not been the production that leads to a playoffs, let alone a championship. I mean, JR, they beat the Chiefs for the first time since I was playing and you'd have thought they won the Super Bowl. I mean, come on, you know?

So you have to be able to play at a high level. And unfortunately for Broncos fans, the biggest piece that's been missing since we won the Super Bowl in 2015 is quarterback. And there has not been much to hope for.

It's not looking good. Ryan Harris is here with us. We certainly know about the NFL combine which was held last week. We have some of the top prospects when it comes down to quarterbacks.

Someone like Caleb Williams not participating. You're certainly familiar with the system. What are your thoughts on the combine moving forward?

We know it's a media property for the NFL. It's not just a, hey, show up and take your medicals. But when we have less of the stars participating, is this going to kind of wane in future years?

What are you thinking? It will never wane because the main point of the combine is for teams to see if you can follow directions. That's the number one thing they want you to do. They know you can run 40 yards, but can you do it with directions? Because guess what you're going to get in the NFL?

You're going to be able to run, but you're going to have some directions on what to do. It's amazing how you see players not participate or actually get it wrong. Inevitably, there will be one or multiple players that fail the drug test coming in here. That's good to know before you invest a draft pick on a guy if that's something that bothers you in your front office. Regarding Caleb Williams, look, this has been a continuation of what I see as his biggest issue. I got the call three of his games, one last year and two this past season, especially at Oregon against Bo Nix and that tribe. What really troubles me, JR, is when there was adversity, Caleb Williams lost his composure.

He was screaming at players, screaming at coaches. By the way, his play wasn't great because he can't see over his linemen half the time, which is only going to happen more in the NFL. His playmaking ability that we all love to see doesn't happen in the NFL. You're not rolling out of the back of a pocket 13 yards deep against an Aiden Hutchinson or a Joey Bosa or Nick Bosa and throwing the football.

That's not going to happen. So he has a tremendous amount of growth still ahead of him, and I would be very cautious of drafting him if I was a member of a front office. Ryan Harris is here with us on CBS Sports Radio. In that case, Ryan, who would you take? If you had your pick of the litter when it comes down to QB, who do you think is going to have the best chance of success?

Well, I love Michael Penix. I think he's done a fantastic job with his college career, learning multiple playbooks, played in big games. But my favorite quarterback in this draft is J.J. McCarthy. I mean, JR, he lost the national championship, did the work to get better, and came back and won it. Took coaching from a staff that is now in the NFL and really managed the game in the way that you need quarterbacks to do it.

And more importantly, when you win a championship, you realize what to focus on, what's not important. He knows how to handle tickets before big games. He knows that he's going to have to make plays that are, I don't know, but he's not going to hesitate.

He's going to take that shot. That's the player that if I'm in the draft and I need a quarterback, I'm doing everything I can to get J.J. McCarthy an impressive, incredible collegiate career as a national champion and really building towards more. Former NFL lineman Ryan Harris is here with us on CBS Sports Radio. Well, you certainly know about protection out there, especially for quarterbacks.

And we know that Michigan's approach is down in the trenches. What would we see or what haven't we seen on a more consistent basis from J.J. that we might see in the NFL now that he might have to throw the ball a whole hell of a lot more? Well, he has that ability, let's be clear. And he has the ability to throw, one, read a defense, which not many quarterbacks can actually do in this draft. Any time a quarterback's looking at the sidelines in college, he doesn't know what he's looking at.

And number two, how about the unselfishness that comes with a quarterback that ran the football the entire second half against Penn State? Oh, by the way, he can run the ball too. So I think you're going to see a tremendous amount of growth in him be able to expand his passing ability. And one of the little things that you look at are the nuances of that quarterback position. He holds the ball out on play-action passes to draw the defense. He sets up at seven yards instead of 10 or 11, like many of the quarterbacks who are being drafted this year do. He's going to give his offensive line time to create a pocket, his receivers time to get downfield, and he knows how to change the snap count to create those matchups in the run game. And I know people say, oh, they ran the ball a lot at Michigan. And you have to know as a quarterback what the count is on either side to be able to run the ball effectively. J.J. McCarthy did that time and time again throughout his career. Without a shadow of a doubt.

Ryan, last question for you. A little bit on the college side. We know about the changes that are going on in the NFL and potential kickoff rule changes, et cetera. Man, you went to Notre Dame and there's so many changes, whether it be an expansion of March Madness or an expansion of the college football playoff. Where do you think all of this ends on the college football side? It just seems like like madness. There's almost zero structure and it seems like, I don't know, every five years the game is going to get chopped up more and more and more.

What is your perspective? It's more of the same from the NCAA. And look, I really enjoyed my time as a collegiate athlete. And it's not me, it's Forbes that said that my time as a collegiate athlete was worth four hundred and thirty five thousand dollars per year in terms of the revenue it made the university. The NCAA as an organization has been used by schools as a scapegoat for things like this, for chopping things up and adding things.

But this is the right thing to do. I mean, I don't know about you, J.R., but you're missing football. And in a 14 playoff in football and what earth can that possibly bring out the best champions? So I love that they're expanding it. It's crazy, though, how much money they're going to make. Players deserve half of the money. They do it in the NFL. It can be done. Who's getting the money, J.R.?

Where are they? Because this is something where continually you're going to see changes in college football. I believe you're going to see conferences move to less conference games, right, maybe five instead of nine.

And that's really going to open up some national matchups that everybody wants to see. But in terms of the competition, it's moving in the right direction. And as far as the NCAA goes and having it be chaos, that's how they operate. They're making so much money they don't care to change it and they still must be.

Wow stuff. Ryan, I want to ask you this in finality. Yesterday, we all know that we got the final word that Jason Kelce is calling it a wrap.

I mean, you can sit down and watch the game casually. But for someone who understands the line like you, what does someone like Kelce mean to a line and what does he mean? And what does this mean for the Eagles moving forward and their quarterback hurts? Jason Kelce means everything, not just to the offensive line, but to that offense. Jalen Hurts was told who the mic was multiple times in a game by Jason Kelce. Jason Kelce is also the guy who can not only set the huddle, but he understands how to win a championship. So he also understands in those moments when a guy makes a mistake, you don't scream at that guy.

You crack a joke, you encourage them, and you let them know you're there for their help. I mean, he could be single-handedly the most important person in Jalen Hurts' development to where Jalen Hurts is now and not the coaching staff. That's how talented he is. And I was fortunate enough, you know, we were in training camp together in Philadelphia his rookie year, and I remember JR, he was so nervous about making the team.

He was kind of doing the Tommy Boy, pulling out his hair thing, trying to remember the calls and all that. And it got to catch up with him a couple times throughout our careers and then lately. And I'm just so happy for him. And I really think it's a classy move by him to wait until after the Super Bowl that his brother was playing in with all the attention on his brother and Taylor Swift.

That says a lot about the man that Jason Kelce is, that he waited for that to be finished to take his time to say goodbye to the game. And I wish him the best of luck. And no doubt about it. Well, Ryan, man, thank you so much for what you do. Always a pleasure to watch and listen to you as well.

And for everybody listening, where can they follow you and your work? Hey, check me out on Instagram, RyanHarris underscore 68. You know I'm a great corporate speaker, JR. So if you need somebody to rile up your troops, visit the website, RyanHarris68.com. Hey, thank you so much, Ron. I look forward to chatting with you sooner than later, OK? Thanks, JR. Peace.

No doubt about it. Thank you so much, that Ryan Harris. Catch him on the airwaves, catch him on television, catch him streaming, CPS Sports HQ. Ryan Harris, former NFL offensive lineman. He is everywhere and certainly just shared some great insight as it relates to a retiring Jason Kelce, where some of these quarterbacks might end up. He talked about the Raiders also being a great destination. And then he said, listen, man, when it comes down to college athletics, they need to split this money with the athletes. I agree, I agree.

They basically run this like a business. We already talked about Arch Manning. And you know what, there's even some news that March Madness might be changing as well.

Let's get to March Madness at the top of the hour. The phone lines are open if you want to give a holler. That's 855-212-4CBS, that's 855-212-4CBS. And speaking of Jason Kelce, yeah, he retired yesterday.

I wasn't here. We're going to play some clips from his retirement. We're going to keep things on a rolling. Dak Prescott also has some interesting words. He's not retiring. Congratulations to him. I heard or read that he is a first-time father.

Good for him. It's the J.R. Sportbrief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. It is the J.R. Sportbrief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Thank you so much to Ryan Harris, former Denver Bronco, current football analyst, radio, CBS Sports HQ.

And thank you to Ryan for coming through and sharing his perspective. You know, I said that I find Atlanta to be the best destination if you are a free agent quarterback right now. He also mentioned the Raiders. I just found the Raiders to be a little bit more dysfunctional. Now how things change with Antonio Pierce at the helm, that is to be seen. We will find out sooner than later. But yeah, I don't know how stable things would be out in Vegas knowing that Mark Davis can wake up and he seemingly at times can change his mind like normal people.

I say normal people change their underwear. So thank you again to Ryan Harris for joining us in the last break. If you missed a conversation you can go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. Now Ryan also made an excellent point about some of the changes in college athletics. I had brought up his alma mater in Notre Dame and he talked about how there's so much expansion and so much change and the athletes need to go out there and get their share.

Well there's so much going on. Earlier today we learned that Dartmouth, their players have pretty much voted to unionize. And then also we got some word that March Madness might be expanding again. And I'm not talking about none of this first four extra nonsense. I call it nonsense that they started a couple of years ago. But they might be expanding the field for March Madness. We're going to get into that at the top of the hour.

So we'll do that in a few minutes. And then also Ryan Harris made some excellent points. He said, hey, when Jason Kelce made it to the NFL and was a rookie, I had to work with him on the offensive line. So Ryan Harris brought up some good points as to how great he was. He is basically the captain and the man who helped run the offense. Yeah, the ball has to get snapped to, I don't know, maybe it's Nick Foles or maybe it's in this case Jalen Hurts.

But Jason Kelce is the man in the middle making the decisions and setting up the offense. And of course yesterday I wasn't here to witness it or discuss it with you. But he certainly had some major quotes. He had a lot of tears.

He commended everybody from his father, his family. You have to appreciate these things. Yeah, listen, this is Kelce from yesterday announcing his retirement. So this all brings us here to today where I announce that I am retiring.

Where I announce I'm retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. And today, I must admit, I am officially overrated, vastly overrated. But it took a lot of hard work and determination getting here. I have been the underdog my entire career and I mean this when I say it.

I wish I still was. Few things gave me more joy than proving someone wrong. My mother used to tell people and still says to this day, if you want Jason to do something, all you have to do is tell him he can't.

And that was true in more ways than I care to admit. Well, we certainly know where he found his motivation. Tell the guy that he can't do something, he will certainly go out there and do it. Hell of a family. You got two dudes, two brothers who are going to go into the Hall of Fame.

Without a shadow of a doubt, whenever his brother retires, he's going to be done as well, going right into Canton. No matter of fact, Jason Kelce, he continued on and he talked about growing up with his brother, Travis. We did almost everything together. Competed, fought, laughed, cried and learned from each other. We invented games, imagined ourselves as star players of that time. We'd envisioned making the winning plays day after day on Coleridge Road. We won countless Super Bowls in our minds before ever leaving the house.

Well, not bad, right? Like this, the dreams can't work for everybody. Like there's some athletes, it just seems like it just, it worked out. I mean, first of all, you got to have the genetics, right?

It has to work out somehow. And I guess when you grow up with your brother, you both love football, one is on the line, one is a receiver slash tight end. Mom got to be proud.

Dad got to be proud. He talked about loving this game of football. Whenever I smell the clippings of a freshly mowed grass, I am brought back to this day.

I am brought back to this day, 12 years old, Roxboro Middle School, first day in pads. I've been asked many times, why did I choose football? What drew me to the game? And I never have an answer that gets it right. The best way I can explain it is what draws you to your favorite song, your favorite book.

It's what it makes you feel, the seriousness of it, the intensity of it. Stepping on the field was the most alive and free I had ever felt. Oh, that's sweet. That's sweet. Now, God bless him, happy, you know, he gets to retire and live his life. He's made money, his brothers made money. They're going into the Hall of Fame.

Not too bad. And I guess the the icing on the cake and Hickey, you tell me if I'm wrong here. They're being honored because if they're from Ohio, they're from Cleveland. They're being honored tonight by the Cleveland Cavaliers. OK, they have bobbleheads in their honor tonight. Now, is that a good thing or bad? I mean, it's the Cavs, but I mean, it's a nice thing, right? Oh, a great thing as having your own bobblehead.

It's pretty cool. You want I have one. You want one. You have one. Oh, geez. I gave one Gatorade made me a bobblehead. Yeah, that's legit. Look at you.

So you and the Kelsey's same class in that sense, something like that. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they're taking on the Celtics tonight. And as of right now, this man is still early. But the Boston Celtics are beating the Cavs 20 to 15. And we know the Boston Celtics expected to just hopefully go to the NBA finals. Anything less than that would be a massive disappointment in the Cleveland Cavaliers trying to make up for the disappointment of last year. Losing to the New York Knicks and then pretty much admitting after the series that they were a little, just a little, a tad too soft. So congratulations to the Kelsey brothers. If anything, Jason can say, hey, not only did I win a Super Bowl with the Eagles, but the Cleveland Cavaliers also created a bobblehead of myself and my brother.

That might be the only thing or the closest the Cavs get to a championship this year. My apologies. I assume I'm going to get all the angry calls in from people in Cleveland.

It's perfectly fine by me. It's the J.R. Sport Reshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Man, we have covered so much ground already. We've talked Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson and Kaitlyn Clark and the Kelsey's. Tre Wingo called us.

We just spoke to Ryan Harris. And you know what? On the other side of the break, we're going to talk about March Madness.

We know Kaitlyn Clark. There's so much interest in everything that that she's doing on the women's college basketball side, just the college basketball side in general. But how about this? March Madness might be expanding. What? Like, don't we have enough of this with the college football playoff? Now we got to make March Madness even bigger? I'm going to explain. This is like it's like dumping water into the ocean.

Does it need more? No. It's the J.R. Sport Reshow, CBS Sports Radio. This is Richard Deitch, the host of the sports media podcast with Richard Deitch multiple times a week. Our podcast will get you interviews with the most notable names in sports media, from broadcasters to dealmakers to people doing great work behind the scenes. Here's Hubie Brown. Any time that you win an award, it's not just because of the announcer and the analyst. It's always because of the production team. That's the sports media podcast with Richard Deitch. Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.