3.8.24 - JR SportBrief Hour 1

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's time to get you all set for the weekend. Much love to everybody tuned in on the free Odyssey app. Thank you to people locked in on your local CBS Sports Radio affiliates. People listening on Sirius XM 158.

Folks on smart speakers, smart phones, smart everything. You got people listening on CBSSportsRadio.com. And me? I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. I'm being joined by super producer and host Ryan Hickey.

He's holding it down for us on the boards in New York City. And whether or not your Monday sucked, your Tuesday sucked, your Wednesday was awful, your Thursday was bad yesterday. Hey, it's the end of the week.

Maybe it's the beginning of your week. I don't know what the hell you do for the weekend but let's just have some fun. I'm going to be here with you for the next four hours. A lot of fun. That's what I do.

I just do fun, okay? We got a lot to discuss, a lot to get into. Patriots are open to trading. Mac Jones, good for him. Good for them getting rid of that bum. Stinks, they could send him back to Alabama. We got Russell Wilson.

This guy's going all over the damn world. We got the Big Ten and the SEC trying to take over more of the college football world. Potentially starting their own damn playoffs and all this other nonsense. It's crazy out here. We got James Williams who covers UCLA.

He's going to join us later on the show to talk about it all. Bill Belichick was offered a job that wasn't a head coaching position. Saquon Barkley could be moving on potentially to a rival of the New York Giants in the NFC East. Denver Nuggets are still rolling here.

Different version of the team. Same Jokic, we'll talk about that. We have an update as it relates to Karl-Anthony Towns. It appears to be good news. Looks like Karl-Anthony Towns will be back by the postseason.

About a little more than a month. Mike Evans has some high praise for Baker Mayfield. And it looks like, speaking of Friday, that they were going to have some adjustments when it comes down to the college football calendar. I always thought that football belonged to high school teams. You sprinkled in some college football. But it looks like Fox is saying, screw your high school. We need you paying attention to college. We need to make some money out here.

So there's a lot that we need to discuss. If you want to call and participate in the show, it's real simple. The phone number is 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. If you use the internet, I am there as well. I am at JR Sport Brief all over the damn place.

That is X, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all of that stuff. Now, on this wonderful Friday, we're here in Atlanta, Georgia. It is currently cloudy and about to storm outside of the studio.

Ryan Hickey, how the hell are you in New York City? JR, I'm doing great. Not to brag, sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. Got a little vitamin D today. It was a really good Friday so far. Do I brag to you when the weather's beautiful here, which is most of the time? Well, that's the thing though. You have the advantage like 85% of the time. I rarely get days here that are better than Atlanta.

So I feel like in the off chance it happens, I do have to brag about it. I understand. It was 72 degrees here yesterday in sunny. Gorgeous. What was the weather in New York yesterday? Rainy and like 40 or cloudy and 40.

It rained or was cloudy all week basically outside of today. So I hope you're happy. I apologize. My apologies, Ryan. Now, listen, we heard that there's a guy that was in the New York.

See, this is the weird part. I think most people are familiar, right? The New York metropolitan area. There was a guy in the New York City metropolitan area. I saw a photo of him, Hickey. He had a shaved head, a little bit like buzz cut, light cut. He had on black shades. He had on a black jacket.

He had on black pants and he had on some black shoes and he was wearing black shades inside. Do you know what I'm talking about? Yes.

Oh, yes, I do. It's Russell Wilson. Adam Schefter. And where the hell is he getting this? Somebody, just somebody randomly in the airport just sent this to him?

Like, what are we doing? There was a Russell Wilson signing at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, which is basically a hop, skip and a jump away from MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants. Also happens to be like right across the street from their practice facility, which is a hop, skipping away across the damn road from MetLife Stadium. And so, yes, it was reported today that Russell Wilson met with the New York Giants. This is the same Russell Wilson who got permission from the Denver Broncos to go outside and go find some new friends to play with.

Go outside and find somebody else to shack up with because we don't want you anymore. And the start of free agency in the NFL is next Wednesday. It's March 13th. And Russell Wilson is out here like Carmen Sandiego. He's he's moving.

He's shaking. According to Adam Schefter, Russell Wilson already met just a cursory. Get to know your discussion with the New York Giants today and then hopped on a plane to Pittsburgh to obviously meet with the Steelers.

And we talked about this extensively yesterday. Russell Wilson and his options. It's also been reported that, yeah, he'll sit and talk with the Raiders. Look, Russell Wilson has the benefit here of getting out in front. Pretty much of any other free agent quarterback. And we know the other big name free agent quarterback.

If you want to take a look at what they've accomplished and what they've done, it's it's not the Gardner Minshew's of the world. It's not the Mason Rudolph's of the world. Talking about Kirk Cousins. If I'm Russell Wilson, I'm going to go ahead and cement and get myself a job before some of these other jobs, whether it's one, two or three, start to dry up. Russell Wilson has the benefits. So good on him on meeting with the New York Giants.

But here's the deal. The New York Giants have a quarterback. The New York Giants are paying a dude with a busted up neck to go out there and try to play football. And Daniel Jones, the New York Giants, have committed 40 million dollars per year to this man, and he can't play. Daniel Jones this past season for the New York Giants squad that went six and 11. Daniel Jones only played in six games and the team pretty much cratered. Saquon Barkley suffered. Offense was busted up. You got guys like Darren Waller who they brought in nobody to throw him the ball.

But quite frankly, his hamstring was busted. Anyway, Russell Wilson has options. I just don't know if the New York Giants should be option number one, because quite frankly, they're a wreck. If I'm Russell Wilson, I want to play for no New York Giants. They're going to protect me. Do I have healthy options that I can get the football out to? I mean, is Brian Debo going to be sticking around if crap hits the fan?

I told you this yesterday. I think Atlanta has the best roster. But since there's mutual interest between the Steelers and Russell Wilson, that they should just go ahead and try to consummate the marriage as fast as possible. And the New York Giants, well, they select at number six overall. If they feel that strongly about a quarterback in the draft, they should go ahead and draft one.

Because if you cut Daniel Jones, you're cooked. He ain't going anywhere this year. If you're going to get rid of Daniel Jones, you're probably going to give him the boot next year. And so what you may want to do is just add a veteran quarterback that can maybe hold down the fort. Last year, they had Tyrod Taylor. No guarantee that he's going to be back. And that poor guy was injured and busted up last year.

And so the New York Giants. A mess. Russell Wilson doing the right thing.

Sitting down, chatting, having a conversation. But ultimately, good idea to get on a plane and leave. I know Russell Wilson is cool as hell. He's a cool guy, right?

You have to wear his sunglasses inside. Good for him. Good man on going to Pittsburgh and getting the hell out of New Jersey. Because for all the spin that they got. They don't they don't believe in Daniel Jones. They didn't select Daniel Jones. They extended Daniel Jones because in their first year, and I mean, Joe Shane and Brian Deball, the general manager and the coach.

In their first year, they went to the playoffs. Daniel Jones got himself a contract. Saquon Barkley had an amazing year, got franchise tag.

And then they went back to being hurt. Daniel Jones is, I don't want to say crying at the end of the year. But when the season was done or his season ended a long time ago, when the Giants season was done, Daniel Jones stood in front of his locker. And he was asked about the Giants adding another quarterback who would have known it could have potentially been Russell Wilson.

Nobody would have known. But Daniel Jones said, I ain't worried about them drafting one. You know, for me, I'm going to focus on on my rehab and making sure I'm doing everything I need to do there to get back healthy and get back on the field. And then, you know, working on on what I can do to to improve.

And same thing I do every offseason. Be healthy first, man. Be healthy.

OK. I don't think there's anything as a neck transplant. Daniel Jones can't have a neck transplant.

His neck is gonna suffer forever. The poor guy, he continued on, asked about his game and how he feels. He's despite being an injury prone quarterback, he's like, I'm confident I feel OK. Like any offseason, there'll be areas to work to improve and see where you can take a step forward. But I'm still confident in myself, confident in the group, confident in what we're doing here.

OK. All right. Typical quarterback speak. Hey, is Daniel Jones ever said anything exciting? You ever heard him say anything?

No, no. That was honestly probably maybe the the the most opinion he's given. Oh, that he's he feels good about.

Feels good. Oh, you know, he speaks right. He talks, right.

He's not a muppet, right? No, but he he gives you nothing. He's like Derek Jeter. He says absolutely nothing.

Yeah. The difference between him and Derek Jeter is one of the guys is actually a winner. Look, Daniel Jones. I think he could play quarterback in the NFL. As a backup, I don't think this guy is a reliable starter. Daniel Jones is good if he can play, but he can't play. Always getting hurt already has a history of neck injuries. You think that's going to get better as he gets older? We've also seen Daniel Jones run at full speed and get tackled by the turf.

This man's neck, his brain. He's been knocked dizzy enough times that New York Giants don't trust this dude. They're going to get away from Daniel Jones as soon as possible. I would not be shocked if they select the quarterback at number six and maybe they don't. Maybe Washington commanders. Obviously, they're going to take one.

Maybe maybe the apple of the Giants eyes and available. You know what? You just heard Daniel Jones from two months ago. Exactly two months ago.

Joe's Joe Shane, the general manager of the New York Giants. You pretty much said that. Hey, look. One way or another. We're going to take a look at the quarterback position and we're going to try to get things together.

This was also from a few months ago. Ultimately, we have to do something. Like I said, whether it's the draft or free agent, just because, you know, tie rods, contracts up. We have Tommy who's under contract and then Daniel's injury on the return to play in the uncertainty there. So, you know, when free agency starts the draft, you know, whichever avenue we decide to take, we will address the position.

Oh, wait a minute, Hickey. You mean to tell me that the New York Giants are already off of the Tommy DeVito bandwagon? Like that's done already. Shocking, right? No, no more pictures at pizza parlors. No more appearances at NFL honors.

No more agent in fancy suits. Tommy DeVito is not a candidate. I'm shocked. Not good for the brand. They are not good at all. Why?

Because there's a heavy Italian population in the New York City metropolitan area. You can't rally right now if he's not playing. You know, you can't.

Why go to a pizza shop and get his autograph and pay 50 bucks for it if he's the third string guy? Well, what's the point? Oh, wow.

Maybe the market then chopped him in the throat. Time to find a new time, I guess. On the Giants? Yeah.

Oh, yeah. Is there another Italian player? I'm just trying to think about this. Nope. Nobody I can think of, right? No one that fits the stereotype that the Giants fans are looking for. So time to draft someone, I guess.

Giants are going to draft another Italian guy to get Tommy DeVito the hell up on out of there. Bottom line is you just heard it from Joe Shane. They don't have a quarterback and they want to figure it out. I don't know if they believe I know they don't believe in Daniel Jones and they're waiting to get him the hell up on out of there. I mean, just from last week, you tell me if this sounds like confidence.

Look, Joe Shane asked a very simple question. Do you have faith in Daniel Jones as your starting quarterback? Listen to the answer.

I have faith in Daniels, our starting quarterback. That's it. He didn't say anything else. And we know in the world of professional sports. He could have meant it at that moment in the next day or the next hour or 30 minutes afterwards. He could have changed his mind. He doesn't have to have belief in Daniel Jones, especially if he finds a better option. Now, do I believe that option is Russell Wilson? Hell, no. No, I wouldn't I wouldn't tie my future to an aging quarterback who is trying to prove himself. And if I am Russell Wilson, I'm not attaching myself to an organization that has fallen flat over the past several years. And it's been a complete joke. Yeah, they went to the playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings. Yeah, they won a round against the Minnesota Vikings.

But look. That was fool's gold. The New York Giants got work to do so they could sit around trying to figure things out about Russell Wilson coming in on a minimum contract. One, two million dollars.

Russell Wilson is better off in Pittsburgh, not New York City. Eight five five two one two four CBS. That's eight five five two one two four CBS. We're just getting started. We're just getting warmed up.

We got a lot to do. How about this on the other side of the break? I'm going to tell you about somebody who just got a deal done with the Baltimore Ravens. We're going to talk about Saquon Barkley potentially finding a new home in the NFC East. Bill Belichick. We'll talk about this, too, on the other side of the break. Looks like Bill Belichick has some options and it looks like he had an option that would have kept him coaching in the NFL.

I think Chip Kelly might have approved. You're locked into the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Oh, trust me, I'm just getting warmed up on this Friday. Don't move. It's that time of year. Cash the ticket.

Jim Costa with Mike Valenny. We shift the focus from football to college hoops. Play in 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. You're listening to the J.R. Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. It's the J.R. Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio.

Oh, I know this song. This is 50 Cent, straight to the bank. There's an interior defensive lineman in the NFL. He's going straight to the bank.

I need to ask him for money. He plays for the Baltimore Ravens. He was tagged last week, but in less than a week, they've already come to terms with an agreement as per Adam Schefter.

Justin Madubike is going to be sticking around in Baltimore. This man notched 13 sacks last season. A hell of a feat for a dude who's playing on the inside of the defensive line.

I mean, that's what's all about. Chris Jones here. We are talking about Aaron Donald. And no, I'm not putting Madubike in that category. But if he keeps putting up 13 sacks, he just might be. They just tagged him. And now he has been paid. He's not going anywhere. There's no trade. He wasn't going to reach free agency when they tagged him. And they've come to terms on an agreement for years.

Ninety eight million dollars. Baltimore Ravens keep their third round pick from 2020 as he will stay in the middle, working to disrupt quarterbacks and move defensive lineman the hell out the way. And maybe just maybe he can get his hands on Patrick Mahomes and move him on out the way.

I think that would be every Ravens fans dream. Unfortunately, I don't know how this bodes or what this means for Patrick Queen. I don't think that he's going to be sticking around. He's likely to head elsewhere. And some of the other dudes who happen to be free agents for the Baltimore Ravens. Jadaevion Clowney. He's bounced around a lot.

I wouldn't necessarily expect him to be back. And then you think about the offense. Real interesting to see what happens with Odell Beckham Jr. And then an offensive lineman who's helped pretty much stabilize that offensive line for Lamar Jackson and Kevin Zeitler. Everybody in the AFC is pretty much playing catch up to the Chiefs. I mean, the worst news about the Chiefs this offseason is obviously yesterday we talked about their fans who I don't want to say. Well, they had the fans that did freeze to death at that guy's house. But the fans who were in the stadium against the Dolphins, they got they got amputations coming their way. They got fingers coming off and toes because they were standing outside in some of the worst weather, the fourth coldest game in NFL history. And then the Chiefs have been known, their owner has been known to be a cheapskate.

But outside of that, everybody's playing catch up to them. 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS. It's 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS.

I'm going to take your calls. And we know Justin Madubike. He got paid by the team that drafted him. He's not going anywhere. I'm going to tell you about Bill Belichick, because apparently. Yeah, he could have had an opportunity with the Falcons, did not come to fruition. That's why he Morris is the Falcons head coach. But we've recently learned that there was a team that wanted to bring Bill Belichick in in another capacity.

I'll tell you about that team in a second. 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS. Let's go to Michigan and talk to Greg. You're on the J.R. sport brief show. Hey, J.R., Mr. Positive, thank you very much for taking my call. Hopefully you're feeling better. I'm coming along. I'm coming along real quick.

It won't take up much time. Tyson. God, I hope he destroys Jake Paul. I got to tell you, the ferocity of Tyson, when he goes in there and bobs and weaves, he could take out any heavy weight alive today if he really put his mind to it. I just, there's no way that this Jake Paul could beat Tyson when he comes in. You're going to look at him, you're going to go, holy crap, he's the same Mike Tyson that he was 25 years ago.

Uh oh, look out. The ferocity, I would have hated hit by him. Greg, did you say that Mike Tyson could hold his own today against any active heavy weight?

Believe it or not, J.R., yes I am, because I just don't think they're that good. If Tyson were to get in shape, like what George Foreman did when he came back at 44, 45, 46, if you were to get in shape, the man's just purely, he scares you. He scares you. I mean, because you know that he's just somebody that's unconventional and just hits with power on both sides, left and right, he can just take you out. He can just come right at you, bob and weave, and he'll just, oh, I have no doubt that he will beat Jake Paul. Okay, well thank you, Greg, for calling up your mission.

Thank you so much. Well look, the last time Mike Tyson was in a real fight, like a real fight, was in 2005, and he lost. And so I don't know how fast-forwarding, you know, 20 years later is going to move Mike Tyson into a competition against people who are, I don't know, 20 and 30 years younger than him. I think that'd be a bad idea. Against Jake Paul, they'll stand around, they'll exchange blows, and you know, they'll run away with money.

They'll run away with money, and they will run away with money and laughter, and good for them. Hey, Hickey, I found out that I know yesterday we were like, hey, what's the next biggest fight this year? We couldn't come up with it. You know, earlier today, and this is actually going on right now, Anthony Joshua is taking on Francis and Ganu in a boxing match. And I know Francis can hold his own as a boxer, but that's what's going on, man. And I don't even think that moves the needle, because one is more so known as an MMA fighter, the other one is a disappointing heavyweight.

Speaking of moving the needle, no idea this is going on. Yeah, I forgot either. Is that good English? I forgot either, that's bad, right? Not great.

I forgot too, yeah. There we go. Not good.

New York City education. That's how it goes. Hey, congratulations to Francis and Ganu and also Anthony Joshua for making money. Nobody cares. I'm just saying, there are people who care, and I love boxing. I got no interest.

I'm going to wait to see who wins, and I'll just maybe watch it later, but probably not. 855-2124CBS, speaking of watching things, we found out that Bill Belichick did have an NFL option. We found out that if he wanted to, Bill Belichick could still be active in the NFL. It's been reported that Bill Belichick got a call from the San Francisco 49ers, and he was presented with an opportunity to come on in and join the 49ers as the defensive coordinator. We know Steve Wilkes got the boot, and Bill Belichick got a call, and that's it.

It didn't go any further than that. What a shock, what a surprise. Hickey, do you know who called? We spoke to somebody who proposed that, right? Was it one of their writers, right? Radio guy. Yes.

Oh, now I'm blanking. No, we spoke to someone, and he presented the idea of Bill Belichick, that the 49ers should give him a call, they should give him a holler, and that this would be a perfect place. And I said, yeah, it'd be nice, but to think that Bill Belichick would just take a step back like his name is Chip Kelly, it's not in his wheelhouse. You know, there's Bill Belichick, and then there's Chip Kelly. I think a backwards move ain't it. I think that would put the final nail in the coffin for his coaching career as a head coach.

It would make no sense to just go backwards. Zero. None. And so was it worth a shot and worth a call to Bill Belichick? Yes. You can't gain anything unless you go out and actually look.

You don't learn anything unless you actually ask. But the idea that he would accept the job, no chance in hell. So no surprise that nothing happened and there was no opportunity. A matter of fact, his son, Steve Belichick, the one who had the mullet and the funny hair and the funny faces on the sidelines. Well, he's now the defensive coordinator for Washington. He got the job. He was fired or hired, excuse me, by Jet Fish. Kalen DeBoer, we know, is now with Alabama. Steve Belichick sat down on a podcast.

Yes, everybody has a podcast now. And Steve Belichick, he spoke the green light and he's talked about his dad. I don't know if Belichick appreciates this. Basically said Dad is looking for a TV gig. He's definitely pursuing some other stuff, whether it's TV or hopefully a regular on the green light or if he's retired. What are the hobbies that you think he's going to partake in? His hobbies would still be to, let's say, critique football. So, you know, he was excited when I came out here because he got to evaluate the scheme last year, evaluate the players last year. And I'm sure he'll come out here at some point to do some stuff. But the guy just loves football.

So there's definitely that element, obviously, in Nantucket, whether it's one man, paddleboarding, biking, all that type of stuff on the island. He does that stuff. You know, maybe have a cup of cocktails. I don't know. Oh, Hickey, what type of cocktail you think Belichick likes?

What does he do? You know, I don't know why I'm getting a vibe to like a fruity drink. Oh, well, you know, he did not mean animal. You know, like a margarita. OK. All right. Sugar, sugar instead of salt, right?

Yes. I think you go on the sweeter side. Yeah, I could see I could see Bill Belichick right now in Hawaiian shirt out Nantucket in a few months.

Just, I don't know, paddleboarding with a margarita. Oh, my tie in the hand. Yeah, he has that. What's that furry ass dog you got? Oh, Nike, the Husky, the Husky.

Yeah. You can take the Husky out there to sweat the death. Well, not the death, not literal death. Pete is coming after you now. No, I don't need Peter coming after me. Figure a speech, Peter.

I'm not here for the death of animals. Do you think he kept the dog? Wow.

You get in. You get into his personal business. I'm just asking. You know, I would assume in a breakup the girlfriend had the dog, especially. I mean, I don't know if Bill has time to take care of a dog. Wow. He's studying film.

Oh, wow. He doesn't feed the dog. He doesn't walk. That's why he's walking around. Used to in that dirty hoodie, right? Exactly. No time to shower.

So here's a cut off hoodie, cut holes all around and works just as good. It's great for the the aeration of his body since I guess Bill Belichick didn't want to go outside and take a shower. Look, this man will probably be back in the NFL next year. I'm actually surprised that his son sat down into the podcast about his dad's future because it's Bill Belichick.

Everything is seemingly closely guarded. Maybe Bill Belichick wanted his son to share that for negotiation matters. But outside of that, like, I don't expect anybody to sit around and tell you the intricacies of his life, let alone his own son. Let you know that dad, Bill, is going to be hanging out in Nantucket, sitting around having cocktails. Good luck to Bill Belichick. There was no chance in hell he was going to take a step back and become a defensive coordinator. He is not no stinking Chip Kelly. It's the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS.

That's eight five five two one two four CBS. There is someone who might be changing places. A New York giant might be joining a rival.

And there are plenty of people going, please. No, don't do it. I'm going to tell you who it is on the other side of the break. You are listening to the J.R. sport brief on CBS Sports Radio, the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS.

That's eight five five two one two four CBS. I just heard that report from Pat Boyle. I feel like everybody in the NBA is just getting hurt all over the damn place.

Right. LeBron James is rolling his ankle. We got Damian Lillard. He got a sore side. Bruised side. Victor when Benyama sprained his ankle. Steph Curry sprained his ankle. Carl Anthony Towns. This man is going to have surgery on a torn meniscus.

And I'm like, well, I guess this is good. How many people are really paying attention to the NBA? You know, as we move towards March Madness, maybe this is a break for some of these dudes. But look, somehow, some way the Nuggets are still out here kicking ass. We're going to talk about the Denver Nuggets in about, let's say, 20 minutes because they are a team that continues to roll along, especially after dispatching the Boston Celtics last night. So we'll get into some basketball talk next hour as we get ready to roll into the stretch run.

I give you the Cliff Notes version. Save yourself from watching some of these games where the superstars won't go out there and play. And speaking of playing and being healthy, you know, we open up the show by talking about Russell Wilson meeting with the New York Giants today. Met with the Giants. He flew to Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers. I've said plenty of times, I think that now that there's mutual interest, that the Steelers would be an excellent destination for the man. I think Atlanta would be good. But look, the Falcons are just like, hey, whoever we can get our hands on, especially with Kirk Cousins, there might be a little bit more more smoke.

And where there typically is smoke, there's fire. But the New York Giants are looking at the quarterback position as they should. Daniel Jones can't stay healthy.

We discussed that. The New York Giants have already let it be known that Saquon Barkley is going to be a free agent, that they're not holding on to Saquon Barkley, that unlike last year, they're not tagging him. They're not saying here's an extra million dollars.

Come back, shut up and play. The fact is, Saquon Barkley, he can go wherever the hell he wants. And we know the market for running backs, quite frankly, it's been it's been depressed. They put their foot, they being the owners, they have put their foots on the necks of the running backs because they're replaceable. And so unless I don't know, maybe the Cleveland Browns wake up and say, oh, yeah, let's hand out a ridiculous contract to a running back like they did to their quarterback, then the running backs are just going to have to, quote unquote, eat the scraps. Josh Jacobs is free. Derek Henry is free. Saquon Barkley is free. These have been some of the best running backs over the past several seasons.

And in the case of Derek Henry, this man is going to be running himself right into Canton. In the case of Saquon Barkley, unfortunately, he ain't been healthy enough to run anywhere. Last season hurt again. Couple of seasons ago, he tore his ACL. This past year, another I want to say down season for Saquon Barkley only played 14 games, 962 yards rushing.

Not necessarily at his peak, but how was he going to do anything when the entire offense sucks around him? And so we got a report from Howard Eskin out of Philadelphia that there is interest from the Philadelphia Eagles. And signing Saquon Barkley. Yes, there's a possibility that Saquon Barkley leaves the New York Giants, goes down the turnpike and ends up in Philadelphia with an NFC East rival.

I mean, what would be so bad? What could Saquon do that's so terrible? Signed with the Cowboys, signed with the commanders, signed with the Eagles, and they happen to be the closest rival.

You know, it wasn't that long ago, you know, after a game with the New York Giants, we're going to take on the Eagles that Saquon Barkley who went to. Hickey, is it the Penn State? What do y'all do? What is it?

How does it go? No, no, we're not like Ohio State. We have to put the in front of it. Just Penn State. You could say just Penn State. Well, what's that thing that y'all chant all over? Is it we are Penn State? We are Penn State.

That's right. Why do y'all chant that through the streets? When Zombie Nation is playing. And then you hit it. We are Penn State electric. But it's that y'all do that when it's not even like football games.

You'll do that in like the middle of the day at like eleven o'clock on the street. That's right. Why? I don't know.

But it's caught on and there's no end in sight. OK, well, being that this man Saquon Barkley grew up in Pennsylvania. There's an affinity for the Eagles. He rooted for the Philadelphia Eagles when he grew up.

Listen to this man describe one of the interactions against playing the Eagles. Their fan base is crazy. They're going to be loud. There's going to be chairs. They're going to be boos.

There might be some double birds. That's Philly, you know. It was funny when we were coming into the game last time.

Like just like a little kid and his parent. And like I was just like staring. I was like, I want to see if he's going to flip us off. And he did it.

He just gave us a thumbs down. I was like, OK, we're growing. We're growing.

We're going the right direction. But I expect it to be a hostile environment. You know, growing up in Pennsylvania, I was an affiliate fan growing up, had a lot of Philly fans. I know how passionate they are. So it's going to be fun. I wonder if Saquon Barkley flipped anybody the middle finger growing up.

Probably not. I've seen that more frequently than not. It's pretty sad. Like, what is that?

What is that? Is there an appropriate age to flip somebody off? Not 10, right? 13? I've seen kids on a bus. Hickey, ever seen a little child like throw somebody the middle finger? I feel like kids when they're away from their parents, the age does not matter.

That's when the bird comes out. I've seen children on a school bus, I think in New York. I've seen kids on a school bus like flip off the people driving by. And so it's not just the Philly thing, Saquon. Just to go ahead and let you know that the middle finger is universal.

Maybe kids all over America throwing up middle fingers to passing people on the school bus. Either way, here's a reality that Saquon Barkley leaves. Wouldn't shock me. The New York Giants, well, they don't want to pay the man. And quite frankly, this could be utilized as leverage.

The New York Giants could say, ah, hell no. We want to keep Saquon. We're not trying to pay him out the you-know-what.

But we can't afford to have this guy torturing us multiple times a year. So this could all be a game. This could all be a matter of leverage to keep Saquon in New York and for Saquon Barkley to get his own deal.

Now, let's be real. If you have to think about things from a football perspective, the Eagles are a better team. The Eagles have a better quarterback in jail and hurts. And we all know the Eagles hit the crapper to end last season, losing six out of their last seven games, getting smacked out of the postseason by Tampa Bay 32 to nine.

That was absolutely embarrassing. But there is no debate that Jalen Hurts is better than Daniel Jones. There's also no debate that the offensive line of the Eagles is much better than the lack of an offensive line or the Swiss cheese line of the New York Giants. You got still on the team. Lane Johnson, Jordan Maliazza. You got Landon Dickerson. And it doesn't matter whether or not Kelsey is gone.

It's still pretty damn good. Someone who doesn't want to see this happen played running back for the New York Giants. And now he's on the afternoons in New York City.

WFAN with Evan Roberts. His name is Tiki Barber. Tiki said, listen, man, don't go to the Eagles.

That'd be a bad idea. The fact that Saquon would even contemplate going to play for that team in Philadelphia is insulting to his giant history and legacy. Go to Baltimore, go to Houston, go to L.A. Chargers. Do not go to the Philadelphia Eagles, because if you do, that appreciation and respect and reverence that we all have for you, Saquon will be lost. It'll be gone. We want to still respect and love him. If he goes to Houston and he's down there with C.J.

Stroud and they do some great stuff and hell, he even wins a championship, we'll feel happy for him. Your jersey at 2-6 that we see all over the stadium, it won't be worn anymore. It'll be gone.

It'll be burned in some cases. Do not, without any doubt, go to Philadelphia. Well, I agree with Tiki on one thing, that if he goes to Philadelphia, people are going to just be like 2-3 with him. But either way, if Saquon Barkley is not a member of the New York Giants and if he does go to the Philadelphia Eagles, if he goes anywhere, like what legacy is there with Saquon and the New York Giants?

Please help me out. Besides people feeling that he's a nice guy and he grew up in the Bronx or was born in the Bronx, family in the Bronx, grew up in Pennsylvania, outside of that, what's his legacy as a giant? Did I miss something? Did they win a championship? Is he Tiki Barber? Is he like at the top of the all-time rushing list? Is he there?

No. So, to me, it doesn't matter if Saquon goes to Philadelphia or Houston or Timbuktu. New York Giants fans are going to like the guy. They're going to hate him more if he goes to Philly. But there is no legacy to protect. They're going to stop wearing his jerseys if he's not a Giants fan. This man is going to peter off into the distance.

Yeah, you'll see a smattering of his jerseys if he's on a faraway team. The fans will get over it. Legacy? Saquon Barkley legacy with the Giants? I don't know.

Rick Hickey, am I missing something? Like, what has he done? What'd they do? Nothing.

Nothing. And it's also, too, it's not like the Giants want to keep him. You know, it'd be one thing if they're here rolling out, you know, the red carpet, giving him the sun, stars, and moon, and begging him to stay. He says, ah, screw you guys.

I'm out of here. The Giants have, you could argue, disrespected him. They didn't want to pay him last year. Franchise tagged him. He came back again this year. And granted, the team sucked surrounding him. He didn't play every game. It's a running back.

You don't expect it. He only played 14 games. And everything crumbled around him. And they didn't tag him again. And that's not to say they don't tender him a contract. This is not to say that he doesn't stick around and stay as the starting quarterback for the New York Giants. But if he walks?

Yeah. They didn't want him. They didn't want to pay him. They want to give him a long term deal last year, or at least they didn't give him a long term deal to his liking. And now he is free to go wherever the hell he wants. And so legacy?

No. Derrick Henry has a legacy with the Titans. Tiki Barber has a legacy laid out, as although be it complicated, with the New York Giants.

And I can start going into legends, OK? Talking about the Emmett Smiths of the world and the Barry Sanders. But Saquon Barkley legacy with the Giants? He showed up like a bat out of hell. Excellent running back.

And then he was hurt. What legacy? It's the J.R. Sportbree show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Hey, I know a guy who has a legacy. He's big, tall, he's Serbian and he plays in Colorado. I'll talk to you about him on the other side. 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.