From Thirty for Thirty Podcasts. Brian Patter, senior defensive lineman from Miami. Gun down. The key to this case, it's Brian. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with Tabaki.
This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. Being placed under arrest. We had to kill our monsters.
Murderer you. Listen now. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody! Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show?
You're in luck! You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast, so you can listen anytime.
But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash rich eisen show and you'll never miss a moment.
Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Daddy's hosting today, kids. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. The Rich Eisen Show.
Earlier on the show, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. Coming up, Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Weber. NFL Network Insider Tom Pellicero. Actor Kim Fields. And now it's Rich Eisen.
Hour number two of the Rich Eisen show is on the air here on ESPN. ESPN 2 is next hour. Kim Fields is going to join us. She's in our green room right now. We've got a great celebrity, True or False, with her.
Boy, we're going way back. The way back machine there. And then there's you at 844-204-Rich number to Donald.
So what's more likely, Friday, we'll do that in hour number three. Tom Pelicero is going to join us shortly as well. Phone lines are completely lit. Love seeing that. Say hello again to our ESPN radio audience.
Disney Plus and ESPN. The app is how we are. We're on there now, but we're on there every day, 12 to 3 Eastern Time. We're going to Indianapolis next week for the Scouting Combine. Chris Brockman and Mike Del Tufo in their spots.
TJ Jefferson making his way back with OSHA Jackson Jr. after having a wild day at WWE for no contest wrestling, that awesome pod that we'd love for you to subscribe to if you already don't. He's a haul. Of Famer, and he's making his weekly appearance as he does here on the Rich Eisen Show during this basketball season. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Weber is back.
Hey, what's up, C. Web, how are you doing, man? Hey, doing great. How are you doing? I'm doing great.
Good to see you. You as well. How good is Cade Cunningham, man? How good is he? Man, he's special.
He's special for a few reasons. One, because he does it without all the The flair and maybe all the pomp and circumstance that deservedly comes with the team that didn't win last year and now is at top of the NBA. Also, he gets everybody involved. And is he a point guard? Is he a forward?
Is he a small forward? I don't know, but I know he can do it on both ends of the floor. I know his teammates love playing with him. And I remember in the beginning of the season, watching him get a game, have a game where he didn't have many points, but he had 14 assists. And I was talking to him after the game, and I was like, that's what winners do.
And he embraces winning. He has such a high IQ and a heavy level of intensity that you might not be able to notice, but it's definitely there with him.
So, you know, it's either him, Jalen Brown, or SGA for MVP, in my opinion. I mean, look at what he's done.
So I could talk about him all day. Yeah, I mean, Jalen Brown had a triple-double last night, and he's got a Celtics team just five and a half behind Cunningham's Pistons right now. Jokic is having a terrific season.
So, I mean, uh I couldn't believe this fact that the highest apiston has ever finished in the MVP voting was 97 when Grant Hill finished behind Jordan. And Carl Malone, that's the highest the Pistons ever finished. in MVP voting, but he he could be the first.
Well, that's one thing about the Pistons that has been consistent, whether it's been great players like Isaiah or even when you had the Pistons that had all five starters. I mean, you talk about Tayshawn, Prince Sheep, Wallace, Ben Wallace, and the two guards and Rip and Chauncey. It's always been a team philosophy there, and it embodies the city. It takes on and embraces the hard hat of the city.
So a lot of times you don't want the guys that are front runners. You want the guys that are team guys. And so I'm excited for Cade in this, but I know that that's not his number one goal. You could tell by how he played to just win in the all-star game and not try to score a million points.
So I really love what they've done. I've loved what Bernie Bicker, what Bernie, I love what Bernie's son has done. I played for Bernie, and so I definitely got to watch this great coach grow up and to become the man that he is from afar. And so I love what they've done. But you also really have to look at management and ownership.
They fired a coach when he was the highest. Bay coach in the league. When you have that type of self-introspection, when you look and you say, Wait a minute, what do I need to do to get better? And you're going to be a laughingstock, you're going to have people be able to poke holes at you, but you're taking on accountability so you can win in the future. Those are the type of things I love looking at and seeing how wow they kept their vision, they kept blinders on, and look at where they are this year.
So, I think everyone from the top executives to the head coach, to the assistant coaches, and definitely the Cade and his teammates needs credit for this year. You were a bad boys fan growing up, weren't you, Chris? Oh, 100%, man. You know it, you know it. What are you talking about?
Down to people like Chuck Nethert. I almost cried when we traded Kelly Jabuka and other people like that.
So, don't do that, man. That's my team. That's my quarterback. I know, right? Man, because you know, you know where I'm from.
Yeah, I'm from New York City. I'm a Knick fan from birth, right? And I show up on campus in Ann Arbor in 1986, and that's when the, you know, that's when the bad boys started coming on. And everybody in the dorms got Rick Mahorn posters on the wall and Lamb Beer, who I despised to this day. He's the man.
Well, I mean, I have a different point of view, you know, but those teams were just brass knuckles. Chuck Daly dressed, you know, like he's in the Sopranos. Oh, you already know it. That's right. You know what I mean?
And just coming for you, just coming for you. You know, I remember those teams. Yeah, man. And guess what? As mean as they seemed on the court, they were nice off the court.
I got a chance in high school to interact with a lot of those guys. You know, Rick Mahorn actually brought Charles Barkley by my high school to meet me because he knew that Barkley was one of my favorite players. Like, come on, man. He's in town for a week and, you know, for a game tomorrow, and you take your time to do that. Or Isaiah and how he came to my house and talked to me about recruiting.
Talk to me about life after basketball, life during basketball, Joe Dumas. When you have those type of relationships and people, it goes far beyond the community. And I think a lot of players understand that, but I hope all players understand that it's not just how well you play, but the community really embraces, you know, kind of the best parts of you. And so, yeah, growing up as a Pistons fan, it was always the best. I was able to have a really wonderful relationship with Chuck Daly and the rest of the Pistons as well.
So I'll always be a Bad Boys fan. Wait a minute. Charles Barkley was brought to your high school by Rick Mahorn. And what was what the hell? What was that?
Yeah, it's, you know, I got to be a little selfish plug. I talk about it in the book, but the picture is online. And it's a picture we always joke about where Charles Barkley is wearing these wrestler pants, these like Hulk Hogan pants. And so I'm sitting there in the gym, and I used to work out. I just come back from the McDonald's All-American game.
Rick Mahorn supported my AAU team. Shout out to Curtis Hervey, our coach. But he supported our AAU team. And so we came back and we had done well at the McDonald's game. And I'm in the weight room working out.
And I had this, you know, I was a rah-rah guy.
So back then, when I would do curls and other things, I would say Barkley's name, Malone's name. You know, I'm in high school. It was no social media. I had to entertain myself.
So, you know, my friends are kind of frozen in this pose. And I'm like, what's wrong? And I look behind me, and this is my favorite player ever. And he came over and he was so kind, man. And, you know, Rick Mahorn just, you know, Rick is anybody who knows him, knows he's one of the best guys.
And he goes, hey, Chris, here's that sorry son of a gun that you wanted to meet. And I'm like, what? And I go over, I shake his hand, Mr. Barkley. He's like, no, call me Chuck.
And, you know, for as nice as he was, he had encouraging words for me. As far as my workout regimen, he was very kind. I just remember how kind he was. But then at the end, I remember just taking mental pictures of him, looking at his feet, looking at his knees, his hands, how tall he was. And I just remember thinking, and every time people would ask, what was he like?
I was like, he's nice, but I can't believe he dominates the NBA like that because he was shorter than me. You know, I was 6'9 in high school. Charles Barkley is 6'6, maybe. And so I really had to understand, wow, this is a whole different level because of his athletic ability, his heart, his smarts. I mean, he's not just a nice guy walking around.
He's a killer on the court. And that's the one thing that always stuck with me, how his size and his height, but then how he dominated a league of men taller than him. But it was real cool that Rick Mohorn did that. And I'm forever grateful to my man Rick. Hall of Famer Chris Weber here on the Rich Eisen Show.
We're going to go down memory lane on the college front shortly. How much could you do? concern should Knicks fans have? watching the Pistons come into their house. and spank him.
Now three times In the span of about a month, right? And you've got the Celtics. Outperforming any expectations potentially with Tatum coming back. You got Harden there in Cleveland. What's your level of concern for the Knicks right now?
Well, I really had a high expectation for the Knicks when they brought on their coach because when Thibodeau left, I thought that he had done such a great job, but I thought he I thought maybe his voice was maybe not resounding as loud as it needs to in the locker room, and I had no proof of that. It's just that no, in basketball, after four, five, six years, if a team doesn't reach a certain level, do they turn you off? And so I had high expectations just because of change of energy. But you know, when you lose such a tough personality like that in the locker room in Thibodeau, it seems like they've lost kind of that toughness on the court because before they would lose games. But it didn't seem like they would give them up in the ways that they are, not getting back on defense, other things that we've seen.
But the Pistons are good. And so if I were a Knicks fan, I wouldn't blame or I wouldn't look at the season through the scope of the Pistons. I would look at it from how well we're playing. Are we getting better? Is Kat getting back into offense, getting more shots?
So he's happy. Are we moving the ball? Because they needed to play with faster pace, but they need to play with that defensive intensity of last year. Chris Weber here on the Rich Eisen show. And the best team in the West, you still expect the Oklahoma City Thunder at the end of the day?
Right now, I love the Oakland City Thunder, but you know, for some reason, I'm a big fan of Houston, man. I love Denver. Yoke is one of my favorite players, but that consistency just hasn't been there. And he could have five MVPs if we're really honest about it. He could have five MVPs.
He's that good and could win MVP again this year if he makes the numbers. But I really believe this year that there's going to be a little movement in the playoffs. It's not going to be just by seedings. We're going to see teams get out. I believe that there's some really good coaches out there, one in Houston as well, that is figuring out the weaknesses and strength of their team and is managing their team's win and losses right now.
But come playoffs, we may see a different identity in some of the teams as they're starting to integrate those styles in. At least that's what I'm hoping to see from a team like that. And just think about Golden State. Would you want to play them at all in the first round? I just wouldn't.
And so there's teams like that that if Golden State could stay seven or eight, who knows what they could. Do but before the year started, I picked the San Antonio Spurs to win it. I know it was a long shot at that time, or I don't know what the shot was at the time, but the reason why I did it was because of a man named Fox. Fox, if you look at the championship teams that Coach Popovich constructed, there was always a fast point guard, a point guard that scored inside the paint. And when you look at Tony Parker, what he did with the big fella Tim Duncan, you weren't only scared as a defender of getting back to Tim Duncan as a pick and roll, but you had Parker with one of the best jump hooks the game has ever seen in there.
And that puts so much pressure because now you can shoot it back out to Geno, get it to your shooters, that type of thing. I believe that with Fox and Wembley and with all the players that they have, I believe that they can come out the West. And I said it before the season started, and I'm going to stick with that just because of the speed they have, the way that they play together, the defensive prowess, but really because of that pick and roll between those two that's really going to change the game, come playoff style, and they can knock down free throws. Chris Weber, are you ready for your loss to Duke to be avenged in the biggest way possible on Saturday? Chris.
Oh man, I can't. I can't. Oh wait, this is the game? Yeah, you already know what's going on.
So, yeah, I can't wait to check out the game. Yeah, I think it's going to be great. Michigan, right now, we're playing great. I mean, we just went into Purdue. You saw what we did with them.
You saw how we did with other teams. And I just like how they play for each other. I think they play the right way, and everyone trusts each other. And when you trust each other, you don't play as anxious. You know, the ball is going to come back around to you.
You don't have to take bad shots. And the culture really is the strategy. And I think they have the culture there in Michigan.
So I'm excited. And I do because they have some, they're a tough team. You know, you look at Boozer and you look at his consistency, how he's dominated inside, the shooting of the guards. But definitely, I think that our size and our togetherness is going to be too much for them. Chris, I got to be honest with you.
You know, 25-1 is not even something that you and the rest of the Fab 5 were started a season off. Mm-hmm. Uh what Dusty Mae has done You know, that this team has the ability to beach and transition if they need. Half court if they need, off the glass if they need, three-point shooting if they need. off the bench.
I've never seen a team quite as deep. and as capable and flexible As this one. And when I think about it, I get so excited. But I just want the tournament to start now. You know what I mean?
Like, I just want it to happen. And then just to see him against Duke tomorrow, I'm going to be out of my skull. And have you seen, I don't know if you've been on socials or not, it the number of times I see the video of you guys getting introduced in the in the in the natty game, you know, and Leightner coming out there and me just you know, cursing underneath my breath. What was going through your mind? uh in that moment Chris.
Back then. Man, man, you know, we played them twice. It really mattered three times overall. And so the first time we played them, I think was like December 18th or 28th, it was something like that. But it was the first time we really brought out our new uniforms.
We had been recruited as these highly, you know, highly recruited guys, but we didn't get a chance to prove it yet on the national stage.
So this was our first test. And I remember, you know, just being in Michigan, the student section was moved down at that time, and it was an exciting feeling there. And then, you know, having Jim Nance call the game, it was exciting. All I was thinking was, you know, our parents are watching, the neighborhood is watching, our friends are watching. Let's make them proud.
And who are they to be scared of? Who are they to be equal to? That was kind of, you know, our thing there is that, you know, they had won a championship the year before. They had one of the greatest players ever, Christian Leighton there. Grant Hill was a close friend of mine.
And I thought about going to Duke. And so I knew their history. And Bobby Hurley was a friend of mine.
So my thing was, you know, who cares about them? I'm with my family now. We have to win this game. Let's get it. And, you know, we did our best that day in Ann Arbor, but just didn't come up with it when we played the veterans.
But yeah, anytime you played Duke, you wanted to attack, you know, and we made sure that we let them. Know we were there. We just came out on the short end of the stick. And that's why tomorrow is going to be fun to watch. As every win over them, I take is vengeance from us, whether it's in lacrosse or basketball.
It goes to that. I feel it. I'm the same way, C-Web. I'm the same way, and I really can't wait. It's fun to watch them do what they're doing.
Great to see you. You enjoy the rest of the week. We'll chat again real soon. And we're seeing you too. Right back.
The Hall of Famer, Chris Weber, as always, right here on the Rich Eisen Show, talking hoops. I cannot wait. You know what they should do? They should come out in the baggy shorts tomorrow. What do you think?
Oh man. Mm-hmm. What if they came out in a baggy shorts tomorrow? Don't tempt me with a good time. Wouldn't it be difficult, though?
Wouldn't it feel weird to them? I just don't want to change anything. No, why would you? You're one of the nation. Like, I want their socks to be the same.
I want their shorts to be the same. You know, that's what I want. I want that. Just don't change a damn thing. Part of me is like, what if they came out like the Fab Five and then just pounded them?
Oh, God. I'm not thinking straight. I understand. I'm not shaving straight. I'm not thinking straight.
Maybe I'm putting too much information. Do we need to pour something right now to calm your nerves? We got plenty of.
Okay. Tommy P is joining us next. Tom Pellicero is zooming in next. We'll talk about what's next week going to look like from a news point of view that's coming up. Um O'Reilly Auto Parts can help take the guesswork out of your check engine ABS or maintenance light with O'Reilly Veriscan.
The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASC certified master technicians. O'Reilly Veriscan can identify the most likely problem with just one scan. If you need help, O'Reilly Auto Parts can recommend a shop for you. Don't ignore a check engine ABS or maintenance light. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today.
A free service exclusively at O'Reilly Auto Parts. As many of you know, supporting pediatric cancer research is something I care deeply about. That's why I'm proud to share what Hyundai is doing through Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 27 years, with every Hyundai sold, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research. Alongside over 850 dealers, they've raised more than $277 million, helping over 25,000 kids and supporting more than 1,400 research grants at 175 institutions nationwide.
This year alone, they've committed another $27 million in honor of the 27th anniversary of the program. And they're proud to have national youth ambassadors like Jackson Trin and Emmy Cole who bring hope to kids across the country by sharing their stories. because at Hyundai, hope is our greatest feature. And it comes standard. Visit HyundaiUSA.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more.
The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Tom Pellicero here on the Rich Eisen Show. Our radio audience just returned talking about how all the tea gets spilled in Indianapolis. Because, again, like, I'm trying to think what other. spot has All the agents, because they meet with the union too, right?
They always have an annual meeting with the Players Association.
So, you know, where they used to be online now. They used to for very many years. But still, if you have a free agent or a draft prospect, you're at the combo. Right.
So the agents are there, union members are there, coaches are there, general managers are there. And, you know, it's also, in a way, a reunion. where everyone does get together and see one another. As opposed to What other events? Because the draft, everybody, all the decision makers are in their 32 separate facilities.
This is one of the only events on the calendar where everybody's there and everybody's kind of relaxed too, because we're far from having to make major decisions like the draft. Or wins and losses, right? Which can be the highs and lows of a season. Everybody's just hanging out. And you know what?
Here's what I heard. That's what I heard. This is what I know. And it's non-stop. It's just a constant churn of it's part of that same cycle of information, which is, you know, an agent may go in thinking that my market on this player is going to be one thing.
And of course, the agents aren't allowed to speak to clubs that don't report currently own the players' rights. Right.
But those conversations do occur. They might come out thinking the market's a lot stronger or a lot softer. They might get the idea, hey, I think that team might be moving on from player X because I've got player Y at the same position and they're showing interest in them.
So there's a lot of those kind of trying to put together what all the pieces are. Agents would tell you in the last several years, you know, whether it is collusive as the agents would tell it, or whether it's just a matter of good business, they don't feel like they get as many hard numbers from teams at the combine because teams, in a lot of cases, feel like, all right, if I meet with you on the Thursday of Combine week, you basically got 10, 12 days to shop that number around to everybody else and see if you can beat it.
So there are different teams that approach it differently. I can tell you, some teams are very hardcore, no tampering, and they simply won't do it. That's a pretty small number of teams. Other teams may be meeting with an agent about the player that's on their team. And then, by the way, just what's going on with this guy and that guy and that guy?
That's kind of the understood part of it. Tampering charges are fairly rare. It's just kind of accepted that there's some level of that that goes on at this event. And also, if we're talking about trades, if we're talking about, you know, potential cuts, restructures, all those conversations, they may have been occurring by phone in recent weeks. When you get to the combine, that's when it's kind of like, all right, where do we actually stand and what's going to take place over the next week here?
Do we have a path forward? All right, Tom Pellicero.
So what is the story that you're eager to get to Indianapolis to dig into or you think will be front and center that you need to dig into because you maybe haven't seen it? What do you think? There are a bunch of them. I would start out with Max Crosby. And as much as Raiders fans don't want to.
Hear that anything other than Max Crosby is going to be a Raider for life. There's an unresolved situation as we discussed last week. There, you know, certainly are some fences that need to be mended with Max Crosby. They promoted Rob Leonard, who's very close with Max, as defensive line coach to defensive coordinator. You know, but that was not an all-of-brand.
That's because Rob Leonard had a bunch of different opportunities. He could have gone other places, could have gone to college, could have gone to other DC opportunities. The existing regime, that was one of the coaches on staff that they really, really liked.
So they told Clint Kubiak, you at least got to interview this guy to keep on staff. He so blew away Clint. Clint was like, let's just hire him as the coordinator.
So that was not a A to B. We're hiring Rob Leonard because it's going to get Max Crosby back. It doesn't hurt because of the relationship between those guys, but Max has to decide exactly what he wants to do. And the Raiders have to decide what they want to do. Does it make sense having Max Crosby on the team and try to compete over these next couple of years?
Or do you feel like we're a few years away? Let's get maximum type of value in a trade, move on from them. I would certainly imagine that the Raiders and Crosby's agents are going to meet at the combine. Those conversations are going to be important as they figure out what the path is going to be moving forward. There are also a bunch of these situations involving quarterbacks.
The Dolphins working through it right now with Tua Tungavailoa. There's different options. All signs continue to point to Tua not being back in Miami, even though he's fully guaranteed $54 million, fully guaranteed. But is that a release? Can they find a way to trade him?
Kyler Murray, similar type of situation. He's due almost $40 million fully guaranteed this year. Another 20 in 2027 becomes guaranteed if he's on the roster within the first few days of the league year. Geno Smith also has an early vesting on his contract. All those guys have triggers in the first three to five days of the league year.
So sometime before March 13th or March 15th, Rich, the teams have to make a decision. If they don't move on from those players, then even more Money is going to become guaranteed. It makes sense. It's sort of a soft deadline for something to get done. And then, you know, in terms of those tags, there's a few obvious names: George Pickens with the Cowboys.
At this point, I would say it seems like that's headed toward him getting tagged. We'll see exactly what that means from here. Can they work out a deal over the next four months with George Pickens? Could they potentially look to tag and trade him? The Colts seem likely to use a franchise tag, although they'd like to get deals done with both Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce.
I personally believe, based on all the conversations I've had, that Alec Pierce is one of those guys who, if he does not get tagged and gets the free agency, he's going to get the type of contract that people are going to go, holy crap, I can't believe he got that much money. Because if Pickens is off the market, there's just not a lot of young wide receivers who are going to have a strong market. With Daniel Jones, again, they'd like to get a deal done with him. But, you know, is that deal looking like the Sam Darnold deal from last year, which was three for $100.5 million? Is it something closer to what those top 10 type of guys make in the 50s?
I have to imagine ultimately the logical number is it settles in the mid-40s. If they can't get there, then maybe they tag him. And it might not be the franchise tag, which is going to be about $47 million. Could be the transition tag, too.
So there's moving parts, but I would anticipate there's meetings between the Colts and Daniel Jones agents to see if they've got a path forward as well. We know this, Kirk Cousins is going to be released. It's going to happen March 11th or March 12th. He's going to become a free agent.
So for all those quarterback-needy teams looking at a draft where there's not a lot of top end type of talent, your options you're staring at are it's probably not Daniel Jones because he's likely going back to Indianapolis. Aaron Rodgers, if he plays, is probably doing that in Pittsburgh. Your options are going to come down to some combination of Tua. Kyler. Gino Kirk Cousins, maybe Justin Fields, although he doesn't have a trigger in his contract.
So the Jets can wait on that one as long as you want. And then you're into, and then Malik Willis, who is going to have, I believe, multiple teams interested. That's going to drive the market price. He doesn't have the experience of some of those other guys, Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo that are out there. But you're tantalized by what Malik Willis has done in a small sample size and relief the past couple of years in Green Bay.
He factors along those other experienced quarterbacks. as a major chess piece as all these quarterback spots get filled. Yeah, you're interested in him. I know that. I mean, was what I'm saying, you as collective, not just you, obviously.
As an information man, you're definitely interested in his market because You know, Dolphins, Steelers. I don't know what they're going to do. Rogers looms over this as well. Unless. I I'll be honest with you, I I'm I'm a little surprised at how We're not sharpieing him in.
From Mike McCarthy's first quarterback in Pittsburgh, but This sounds like, from everybody talking about it, like this is happening, that he's coming back. He's going to be the week one starter for the Steelers. They'll figure out what they're going to do with. With Will Howard, you know, I mean, um It's what it sounds like. I don't know what the reality is.
Tom.
Well, unlike a year ago when Aaron didn't make up his mind until right before OTAs in June, I anticipate, and based on my understanding, the communication has been everyone knows Aaron needs to make a decision sooner than later. And it probably comes right around that start of the league year, which is on March 11th. And so I know this, Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers have spoken a number of times. They've talked football. They've talked about what this would look like.
But this is Aaron Rodgers. He's got to make his own decision. Only he knows what's going on in his life and in his head. He's going through his usual process where he's probably going to drop off the grid for a week or two here, really think things through. He's certainly showing an interest.
We went from Rich after the season. When Mike Tomlin steps down, it seemed like that was probably it. And Aaron was probably going to be done at that point. But I said it on this show back, you know, right after that. If there was one coach that Aaron Rodgers would play for again, despite all the things that people had said and written about the relationship, it's Mike McCarthy.
Those guys are still close. And think about this too, Rich, where Aaron walks in last year in June to an offense with Arthur Smith, a coach he doesn't know, a scheme that had some grounding in things Aaron was familiar with, including from AtlaFleur, who had preceded Arthur Smith as the OC in Tennessee. But this is Mike McCarthy. This is Aaron going back to his roots. Everything is foundation of how he plays quarterback.
And if he's signing on in March and maybe is there for at least part of the spring and you know that he's the quarterback, some of those things that never seem to get resolved in terms of just the timing and the communication last year, maybe you've got more of an opportunity to go through the whole offseason to iron some of those things out. The Steelers, I would anticipate, know one way or another before the start of free agency. If they don't know by then, they're going to have to make other plans. Will Howard certainly is a part of it, but I'm with you. I mean, the odds, as I said on Super Bowl Sunday, are rising that Aaron Rodgers comes back.
I don't see it being anyplace else. If he's going to play, I believe it would be for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Is there another goat that we're waiting to hear from Travis Kelsey? What are the Chiefs going to do? They just redid.
Uh, Mahomes' contract. What does this open up for them and their plans? And what are you hearing about Travis?
Well, with Patrick Mahomes and his contract, this is the fourth year in a row that they've done it. That's how the contract was set up. Mahomes signed an unprecedented 10-year extension back. I think it was in 2020.
So he was under contract for 12 years total. And the way they did it was every year he had this massive, increasingly massive base salary. And what that allows them to do is every year, well, they just go to the Mahomes piggy bank. They convert the salary to a bonus. They prorate it into future years.
They push those cap hits. Every dollar you spend hits the cap eventually. But if you structure a long-term contract like that, you're just rolling it into the future. The cap's growing. You don't have that issue.
So that right there got them $43 million in change back on the cap. They still have additional work to do, but that gets them closer at least to cap compliance as we go into 2026. In terms of Travis Kelsey, my understanding, and I think Ian said this on Super Bowl Sunday, is they have already been in contract talks. It seems like this is trending toward Travis coming back and playing for Kansas City, but nothing is done until it's done. Obviously, Travis.
Travis has a lot going on in his life outside of football and decisions to make. But you watched him play last year. You know, he may not have the howitzer anymore in terms of the top end speed that he did back in the day, but he's still a functional NFL tight end. And remember this, in an offseason where Patrick Mahomes, by virtue of having not just his ACL, but his LCL repaired as well, he's going to miss a substantial chunk of time, probably the entire season, maybe into training camp. If you also don't have Travis Kelsey back from a leadership perspective, from the offense functioning perspective, it's going to create some challenges.
The fact that Kelsey also came out and said it's going to be great to see Eric Bienemi back in the building again seemed to be a tell. Bienemi coming back as OC that Kelsey was planning to return. But once again, he's got to make decisions, and I fully anticipate those decisions are going to come in the next couple of weeks. Any sense about Mahomes' readiness for week one? I know it's really early, but he does seem to be walking around whenever we've seen him.
Um what's the expectation level, to use your parlance here? I'm not a doctor, but I would say LCL repair. And remember, he had the ACL and the LCL repaired the next day, which is unusual. LCLs often complicate and extend the timeline. I would never rule out a high-end athlete because I remember Adrian Peterson blowing out his knee in Washington on it was either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in 2011 at the midst of a complete disaster of a season for the Vikings.
He played week one the next year and ran for 2,000 yards.
So put nothing past somebody like Patrick Mahomes. But ACL-LCL combos, those can take some time. I would fairly say we'll see on Patrick Mahomes. I don't think that it is definite that he is going to play. I certainly don't think it's definite that he's not.
But there will be real questions. I mean, it's Patrick Mahomes. It's maybe the greatest player of all time. You're not going to push him out there at 75%. They got to see.
They've got a great training staff there. But I would say real questions about not just is he playing, but how effective can he be right out of the gate in 2026? And the quarterback class that we're going to see next week, right now, it appears to be Fernando Mendoza. Ty Simpson-ish and then um Right? Like that's that's basically is that is that an assessment pre-combine?
uh of this quarterback class and then we'll w we'll wait and see and see who can Come to the fore. Tom? I'd say that's very fair going into the pre-draft process. And listen, we've seen guys jump up the boards in the past. We've seen players who, whether it's in the meetings, the interviews, the pro days, the combine, really help themselves, which is why everyone will be tuning in live to your coverage on NFL Network from next Thursday.
It's our coverage, Tom. It's our coverage. Come on. It's a lot more you than me. But yes, it's our coverage.
Don't say that. Don't say that. I don't want to go Starbucks on you, Tom. I don't think we need to. It's all peace, love, and understanding.
But no, I guess that's the question here. is Is how the quarterback class of last year or the year before affects the way people. view the new one. You know, like that's always. in that case where Three, four kids in 2024 turn out to be all right quite a bit, right?
One made the Super Bowl. Another one we need to see. We can't wait to see him come back because his season got washed out due to injury in Jaden Daniels. Caleb Williams, what a phenomenal breakout, right? I think people are going into this combine feeling way differently about him than we did last year, wondering what Ben Johnson was going to do, et cetera.
Bo Nix is another one. And then there's J.J. McCarthy right there in your town, and what the Vikings are going to do. here with him. Let's, I guess, land there, if you will.
Well, if we go back to that draft and remembering where we stood going into the process, it was pretty clear that you had at least five quarterbacks who were probably going to go in the first round between Caleb Jaden, Drake May, Michael Pennix, and J.J. McCarthy. Bo Nix was the one that people were talking about. Is he a second round pick? Is he a first?
But I have always believed in the idea that, hey, if you think this guy can be your starting quarterback, who cares? Don't get cute. There were rumors the Broncos will trade down and they'll take him in the 20s. They just went, their five guys are gone. We're going to take our dude right here.
And then Spencer Rattler was the seventh quarterback in that draft. And there were even people who liked him as kind of a developmental guy. And even though he didn't hold the job because Tyler Schuck, the second round pick last year, takes over with the Saints, you at least saw some skill sets and traits that you understood with Rattler going into this draft. And I haven't done my deep dives like I will do prior to the start of the draft, Rich, after teams get more familiarity and really. dig in on these players, but you hear it's one, maybe two.
going into this that can be legit starter type guys. Obviously, it's Fernando Mendoza, who's already said he's not going to throw at the combine. He will throw at his pro day. He frankly doesn't need to do anything. He could sit back and watch Indiana's pro day on TV if he wanted to, but he wants to be there for his guys and throw.
He's going to, barring some act of God, he's going to go number one to the Raiders. With Ty Simpson, I mentioned this briefly last week. I believe at the end of the day, he will go in the first because teams are going to see things on tape that look a lot like what they do in NFL schemes in terms of being under center at the play action game, turning your back to the line of scrimmage, which all those teams that run the quote-unquote Shannon McVay offense like to do in terms of their action passing game. And in the first half of last season, before, you know, Simpson, he got sick. He had some type of like a gastritis issue.
He lost a bunch of weight. He was maybe weighing like a buck 90 at the end of the season. He played pretty good football. And then they were just inundated. They didn't run the football well.
He got the crap kicked out of him in the bowl game. Everybody saw that. But Ty is going to impress people through the course of this process. He's one of those guys who is going to, at every step of this process, you're going to hear, hey, Ty Simpson is helping himself. I still believe, not just that he goes in the first, I believe Ty Simpson most likely goes in the top half of the first round.
And remember, with four teams holding multiple first-round picks, there are times the teams look at that and go, We've kind of got an extra one to play with here. We can get an instant impact from one and maybe a developmental starter from another because Simpson probably needs a year like a lot of young quarterbacks do. He'd be best served sitting back and having that time. Does he get that time in LA with the Rams, sitting behind Matthew Stafford? Does he get it in New York with the Jets, depending on how they ultimately decide to structure that quarterback room?
Do the Browns go into that bucket again? That would surprise me because they still want to find out exactly what they have in Shadur Sanders. There's a lot of different possibilities, but after Ty Simpson, again, this is early rich. We all know guys are going to help themselves. You'll be you and DJ will be talking about some of those quarterbacks that look really good in the drills, impress people, and maybe they're going to rise up the board.
But right now, it's draw a line to that next group, which I would say Carson Beck is in that group. People want to get to know him as a person and kind of peel back some of the layers there. Garrett Nussmeyer, you know, he was really impressive at the senior bowl, particularly in the game when the lights came on. He stepped up. He won the MVP of that game.
I watched him closely on the sideline. Not just, you know, the interactions when he was in the game, but when he's out, listening in on every play call, relaying him to teammates, getting guys jacked up in an all-star game. There's plenty of quarterbacks who just kind of, I'm going to go play my two series. I'm going to go sit and I'm done. I don't need this.
I stayed healthy. He was like engaged. I mean, it was like watching another assistant coach on the sideline. Those types of trades, son of a coach, that's going to help Garrett Nussmeyer. Does that get him into the first round?
It seems Farfetch going into the process, but again, that's why we go through all these additional steps. And maybe there's a Tyler Shuck type of guy that didn't go in the first, but I don't think anybody, Rich, would have had him prior to draft week last year being QB2 and then coming on and playing so well that we're not even talking about the Saints drafting a quarterback up high. Even coming out of the combine, you know, so you never know. Tom, I'll see you in Indy. Thanks, pal.
Sounds great. Pellicero, there he goes. They're heading off to Indianapolis. And we're heading off to break. Let's take a break.
Phone calls when we come back. 844-204-Rich. What's more likely? And the. Actress Kim Fields comes on out.
Uh The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, the Hyundai Hope on Wheels program has been going on 27 years. Over 27 years, every Hyundai Sold has helped fund saving, life-saving pediatric cancer research. eight hundred and fifty dealers nationwide together. Awesome stuff.
They've raised more than $277 million supporting over 25,000 kids in their fight against cancer. Visit HyundaiUSA.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more. At Hyundai, hope isn't optional, it comes standard. Our phone lines have been lit all day. We appreciate it.
We love being on ESPN here. It's awesome. ESPN 2 is our next spot for hour number three. I believe we're on ESPN on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Pat returns to his usual time slot right here.
Uh as we're both doing shows from the Combine.
So uh We just love doing it. And I look forward to seeing Pat in Indianapolis. I'm sure we'll run into each other. 844-204-Rich is the number to dial. Gabe in Washington State is one of our resident callers from Seahawks country.
What's up, Gabe? Hey, how are you guys doing? What's going on, buddy? How man? Hey, I'm just still basking in the glory.
You know, I've been preparing for the next season, the non-playing season, I should say. Yep. But, anyways. A couple of points that I wanted to talk about, ask about. This could fall under the category of being Friday of what's more likely that you think, Rick?
Something that teams could easily copycat from the Seahawks. in the Super Bowl that everyone saw. Was kicking field goals versus going for it on fork down. What a concept. Yeah, I know, right?
Take the points. Obviously, you gotta make the kick to get the points or whatever, but. Jason Myers went five for five. Let's say that Three of those field goals, they decided to go for a fourth down and they failed that conversion. Patriots probably have momentum going the other way on a short field.
That could that I d I thought special teams was a huge difference for the Seahawks all season long, especially in the Yeah, I don't think the people are gonna copy that. I I I think everybody's gonna keep going keep going I like it because, you know, you know, they won't get better. Let me just switch here. Jennifer Walker is current free agent pending, right? Um Running back has always been my favorite position.
Uh the first player I ever knew of Um my Mom's maiden name is Smith.
So when I was like six years old, I actually thought Emmett Smith was my cousin. And he is the first football player I ever knew. I guess I was almost a Cowboys fan when I was a kid, but. Like Eddie George was the first jersey I ever had. Ricky Williams was all time favorite player.
And then 2001, Sean Alexander ripped off 266 yards against football. And, Gabe, we're up against the end of the hour.
So, let me just say thank you for the call. I appreciate it. And Kurt Warner, I mean, before that with the C, I mean, Seahawks have had great running backs. He just gave me something to think about. There's no chance the rest of the league goes, you know what?
The Seahawks were the only team in the playoffs who didn't go for it on fourth down a single time. And they won the Super Bowl.
So we should maybe start just kicking field goals and putting a defense out there and taking points and not going for it on fourth down. Yeah, no chance. They were the only team in the playoffs, and they got 13 points off of everybody else trying for it on fourth down. And not making it. But I'm looking at the Super Bowl right now.
As you know, Jason Meyer said a record for most field goals made in a Super Bowl. Yeah. The First half field goals to make it 9-0. Um they They weren't even close to thinking about going for it. One was on fourth and seven.
Another one was on fourth and 14. One was with 11 seconds to go in the half. They weren't going to go for it on fourth and three with 11 seconds to go in the half. Then the field goal to start the third quarter for them was fourth and nine. They're not going for it.
Right.
So it's not like they were even tempted. Their other field goal was on fourth and fourth, the New England eight. I mean, but at this point, they're up. 22 to 7. You know what I mean?
I mean, they were up 19.7 and they weren't going for it. But they also have a great defense. And by the way, I love that idea. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
