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The Rich Eisen Show. Today's guests. NFL network insider Tom Pelicero. NFL draft prospect Jennings Dunker. California Redwicks midfielder Ramar Dennis.
Dallas Renegades head coach Rick Neuheisel. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Buddy, welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show here live on a Friday in our neighborhood here in Los Angeles, California. Wherever you are, watching us on Disney Plus or the ESPN app, or listening to us on ESPN Radio or SiriusXM Channel 80, give us a call. We've got time for you.
844-204-Rich is the number to dial, even though we're four wide today. Tom Pellicero, my buddy, who's going to be working. Non-stop between now and essentially this point next Friday, because over the weekend rumors are going to fly, and then Monday the rumors become fact and then reports, and then Wednesday the rumors that become facts that are reports become official when the new league year of the NFL. Free agency period begins on Wednesday of next week, and it's just going to be non-stop. And so, Tom's going to be good enough to give us a whole chunk of his time here in hour number one.
And then, uh, somebody that I just saw at the combine, um, and I remarked at his mad flow. The man with the ginger mullet from Iowa, Jennings Dunker, tackle maybe guard in the NFL, is going to join us in hour number two of the program. And then we're going to be talking some lacrosse, Romar Dennis, who's going to be out there on ESPN Plus over the weekend, battling for the right to play for the championship in PLL action. He's going to be joining us in hour two. Number two, and then an old friend, Rick Neuheisel of UFL Action, which you're going to be able to see on ESPN as well, will be here in hour number three.
I haven't spoken to Rick in forever, and the UFL has banned the tush push, and that, as you know, is always sort of a a laboratory ground for the NFL. We'll talk about all that in our number. Three, and as I mentioned, it's a what's more likely Friday. Chris Brockman not here. Susie is, although she's not here yet.
She's taking a meeting that is very important right now to the business of. Of our production company together.
So she'll be coming out here right in the middle of our number one, right in the middle of Pelicero's hit, if you will.
So I say hello to you first, Jason Fellow. How are you, Jay Fell? I am here. And good to see you, TJ Jefferson. Candle appears to be lit.
It's over there. How are you guys doing? We are doing great in this neighborhood. And so, as I mentioned, to start the program, it is free agency period pretty much now, to be honest with you. Nothing could truly be done yet, even.
I mean, things can be done. Chats can be made underneath the table. On Monday, it's all out potentially legally in the open. And then Wednesday becomes official. And one thing after another is going to be happening, even though it's not official yet that Kyler Murray is going to be released by the Arizona Cardinals.
Report comes out. He essentially confirms it in an apology note to the fans that he said he let down trying to end a 77-year drought for Cardinals fans. He confirms that he's going to be free next week to sign with any other team for just the league minimum. We're wondering when the shoe's going to be dropping for Tua Tongo Vailoa. Not yet.
And then this news hits On Friday, just before we go on the air, so this is kind of fresh, that the Las Vegas Raiders are going to release. Geno Smith, unless they can somehow trade him. Beforehand, Adam Schefter was the one that Pop this out there. This would be an $8 million salary cap space saving. Um despite $18.5 million of dead money.
And it's kind of tough to trade somebody that everybody thinks you're going to be releasing.
So one would be thinking that this is going to be a release. Of Geno Smith and who wants Geno Smith, and would you believe the reporting out of New York City is The Jets would like Geno Smith. Oh, really? Yeah. the Jets would like a reunion of a guy that Was so upset he wasn't drafted in the first round.
He uh supposedly wasn't going to come back to be in the green room for the second night at Radio City Music Hall, but did anyway and the Jets drafted him. And then we all know it didn't work out for the Jets. And then he went to the Giants. And then after all that, he started. Going around the league, being written off.
But as he said, when he showed up in Seattle and succeeded there. He never wrote back. And then Seattle. Attempted to re-sign him just around this point last year. And whatever dollars was being put in front of Gino wasn't enough for Gino, so they sent him to his old.
Coach in Las Vegas and Pete Carroll, and it was a disastrous year, just an absolutely disastrous year. And his Uh inability to be protected. Um By the Raiders, and then his frequent penchant for Those uh muddy pockets leading to Some bad throws by him in a Flurry. of turnover marred games. led to eventually him being sat and replaced or whatever you want to put it.
But it was a one and done. It's going to be a one and done year. for the Raiders who aren't going to keep him around for that freight. to be the guy, the veteran in the locker room for Clearly, this move means Fernando Mendoza is the first overall pick in this year's draft. And don't even twitch in the direction of the Raiders unless you're bringing the noise and the funk and every single draft choice under the sun, and maybe your firstborn son or something.
Because the Raiders aren't trading that first overall draft choice. For anybody, because they're choosing Fernando Mendoza. Otherwise They might be sticking with Geno Smith, who is. As I mentioned.
Somebody, according to Connor Hughes, who covers the Jets for SportsNet New York. is a choice For the new offensive coordinator to put his Frank Reich thumb on any scale the Jets are going to make when it comes to their decision-making at quarterback. As you know, I've been mentioning Kyler Murray would be a great choice, but According to Connor, That Kyler Murray has been discussed, but he's being expected to sign with the Vikings. Cousins isn't on their table, but Geno Smith and Carson Wentz is Jacoby Brissette as well. If the Cardinals don't.
Keep him there. which might be their move, Unless Jimmy Garoppolo is the apple of their eye. He's currently been backing up for the Rams, where their new head coach Mike LaFlore has been the offensive coordinator. Connor Hughes par points out that the Whence years in Philadelphia essentially came to an end. Because Frank Reich And whence fell out But according to Connor Hughes, that isn't the case.
It meant no one loves Wentz more than Frank. I will just say this. Um Carson Wentz's And Taking sacks and whatever we saw, he did perform well at times for the Vikings, but then again wasn't available with his best. Availability. I I don't see that being a fit for the Jets.
Unless you just want to muddle your way through 2026. and get those high draft choices as possible as possible. Geno Smith does appear to be a better choice unless he doesn't want Hey, 2.0. Revisit to a Jets organization that has churned out the coaches and the general manager since his departure, but the guy at the top is still the same. You mean the very top?
The very, very, very top with the white lid, the jet cap. spends a lot of time over in Ireland? He uh no, the United Kingdom is where he did, yes, sir. Uh at any rate, long story short. Uh Carson Wentz and None other than Geno Smith are the Jets' options right now at veteran quarterback.
I don't know. They still have Justin Fields on their roster at the moment. But just one last time here. As for the report that The Jets would be interested in Kyler Murray. Because the money?
The money is right. The situation for them is right. The ability to have somebody who can get fannies in the seats and the fan base excited is right. that Kyler Murray would choose the Vikings. over the jets.
means a handful of things. One, he feels the roster is better in Minnesota, and I'd have to agree with him on that. Two, the head coach there is in better standing in Minnesota than he is in New York, and obviously you have to agree with that. Yeah. But there is a kid quarterback that's there.
And J.J. McCarthy. that at some point you would have to think the Vikings would be interested in Starting. Because they let Sam Darnold essentially walk by not giving him a godfather offer. or whatever assurances they might be offering Kyler Murray, To Sam.
Now again, I'm speaking out of school here because I wasn't privy, nor has anybody in the news and information community really said anything other than the fact that Sam Donald was given an offer by the Vikings. But it wasn't enough for him to say, I'm done. Here because I'm not looking over my shoulder for the kid. They're definitely going to have to start because they drafted him and they have to see what they have in him. At my expense, after I just won 14 games, I'm off to Seattle.
I'm out of here.
So This means If Kyler Murray winds up in Minnesota, and we'll talk about it should it come to pass. That they are done handing the football to J.J. McCarthy unless he shows up. And beats out a former number one overall pick in this league. who has way more experience under his belt than he does.
and that they are done with the ups and the downs. that you have to basically buy into with a young quarterback because I guess You know. They don't all come out of the box like, say, Jaden Daniels did in year one. or Drake May did in year two, or Caleb did in year two, even though this would be year two for JJ. I'm biased.
I root for the kid. I cape for him. I believe in him. I saw it at the college level. As we know, this is the professional level, as we all know.
It's different. But if indeed Kyler Murray's going there, You have to think he's the week one starter. I mean, how does this guy. get beaten out apples to apples by a guy Who has Only one year and even at that incomplete starting in the NFL. I mean, unless the Vikings give him the leg up.
that they clearly that Sam Darnold thought they were giving him. in any head to head. because he is the tenth overall pick. of a recent draft that needs to be given the time to marinate and to be groomed. And maybe that's why Kyler Murray would choose the Vikings over any other spot.
Because if he goes to the Jets, he's definitely the starter there. Yeah. He's definitely the starter there, and I guess. He doesn't think that he could use that as his Sam Darnold launching off point. as he could the spot where Sam Darnold actually pointedly launched off.
So That's my two cents on the quarterback front. We're waiting for the Kirk Cousins shoe to drop and the Tua shoe to drop. And then there's Malik Willis, who is going to, one would think, have his choice of where to go. To be a starter in this league right from jump. With a nice eight-figure annual value price tag.
That starts with a two, if not a three.
So it's time to start taking a look at this kid. And taking a look at any other team that is quarterback needy, and that includes the Pittsburgh Steelers. All of that. Aaron Rodgers showing up on Pat's show and saying there's no contract to even talk about. He would like to see one.
He'd be interested in seeing one. is his general gist. All of that with Tom Pellisero. We take a break, we come back, and Tommy P has all the answers, or at least we're going to ask him to have all the answers, right here on this Friday edition of The Rich Eisen Show. Save money and get a better view of the road when you replace your worn-out wiper blades at O'Reilly Auto Parts.
Right now, save $10 on a pair of Rainex Latitude Wiper Blades. They feature beam blade technology to improve windshield contact for maximum visibility. The professional parts people will even install your new wiper blades for free. Choose Rainx Latitude Wiper Blades at your local O'Reilly Auto Parts store or online at O'ReillyAuto.com. The Rich Isa Show Podcast.
Tom Pilicero here on The Rich Eisen Show. And just to bring everything up to speed, our radio audience just rejoined us, asking Tom how he keeps everything all charged up so he doesn't miss any stories, telling a story about how the. The master power switch in his hotel room, did all that business, switched everything off. You said that's power. That's power, right?
And clearly, it was not power. Right. It was power level. First, good point. Different mentions of power.
Tom, let's jump into it right here. Kyler Murray confirming that he's going to be cut. And everybody's putting him in Minnesota right now. Why? And then also potentially why not.
Tom. Here's what I would say, Rich. There is certainly going to be, I anticipate, mutual interest between Kyler Murray and the Vikings. If I had to say who is the favorite right now to land Kyler Murray, I would say for a lot of different reasons, it is Minnesota. I also would tell you two things.
Number one, technically there cannot even be contact. Kyler Murray has not formally been released. If you have guaranteed money left on your contract, you can't be released until the start of the new league year, which is 4 p.m. Eastern Time next Wednesday. If a team makes an announcement, if they tweet and do the farewell, thank you for your service, at that point, based on the rules the NFL adjusted a few years ago, you can call the player.
You can't finalize a deal, but you can have conversations and all that. The Cardinals have not done that. With Kyler Murray. And so at this point, there is nothing in place. There is nothing final.
Money will not be an object because he has that roughly $36 million guarantee. But there is no deal in place. The second thing I would tell you is. Kyler Murray has never been a free agent in his career. The last impression that a lot of people around the league have of Kyler from an interpersonal perspective is 2019 when he was going through the pre-draft process.
You may have had a formal or informal interview with him. He was a 22-year-old guy coming out in the draft, coming off of a Heisman Trophy year. Everyone in Arizona would tell you that Kyler Murray, who walked in the door, is the number one pick. And a lot of the bumps in the road that he had are well documented. It's not the same guy that exists.
In 2026, he's grown up in a lot of different ways. The coaching staff that just was there, including Jonathan Gannon, if you talk to those guys, they really like Kyler Murray. And so it's an opportunity. If I were in the shoes of Kyler's agent, we'll see how this plays out. I probably would take this rare opportunity to say, you know what?
Let's have Kyler speak with more than one team. Let's not just he gets released at 4:01 p.m. and he signs with the Vikings at 4:05. Let's go, and you know, whether it's other teams that might need a starting quarterback, whether it's teams that need a backup, whether potentially it's teams that are going to need potentially a starting quarterback in 2027, it's almost like a preview. It's a chance to reset whatever the opinions may have been about Kyler Murray back in 2019 to leave an impression in people's minds of who he is right now, knowing full well that, again, because of that guarantee, he's going to do a one-year minimum contract wherever he signs based upon the precedent of guys like Russell Wilson.
It would make sense if he gets essentially a no-tag clause as part of that. In other words, he will hit free agency again in 2027. You almost get a one-year jumpstart on what Kyler would certainly hope is a very lucrative venture into free agency in 2027. I don't think it's going to take a long time. I would think it's going to be sooner than later, and probably by the end of next week, by next weekend, Kyler Murray will have a new home.
It well may be Minnesota, but it makes sense for him to hear out other teams to get that FaceTime and for other teams to hear out Kyler Murray, even if all it ends up being is sort of advanced work for 2027. I think that it would make smart business sense, if nothing else, for Kyler Murray to take a breath. Evaluate what the options are before making a final decision where he goes at a time, Rich, that at age 28, he's still got a lot of football ahead of him.
So, you know, also has a lot of football ahead of him, a 23-year-old that they drafted two years ago. You know, in Minnesota.
So, what does this mean? You know, a competition, I understand, is everything. Um in the NFL. But bring in Kyler Murray. Or being the favorite to bring in Kyler Murray.
And this is, I'm front-loading a conversation because usually this sort of stuff does lead to. happenings. That What does it mean for JJ McCarthy? If Kyler Murray shows up, Are they going to just let him cool his heels and see what they still have in J.J. McCarthy for a month?
for or or you know like what what Clearly there would be, if you will, a leash on the kid. And that's the way to groom them. Like, that's the way to groom a quarterback is, okay. You now have a leash on you. I mean, that doesn't make sense.
None of it makes sense. Unless they feel he's done. And it's Color Murray's Good. Tom? No, it would not be that.
No matter who the Vikings bring in, barring some type of a long shot scenario that they signed Daniel Jones to a massive offer sheet that the Colts don't match, which I'm not expecting, anybody else who's coming in is going to have to beat out J.J. McCarthy. And so what they're hoping and what they're optimistic about is a competitive environment is going to bring out the best in JJ. If you're walking in there, whether it ends up being Kyler, whether it ends up being Geno Smith, if it's Joe Flacco, whatever it might be, none of those are going to be financial investments that are going to preclude you if JJ McCarthy is the better quarterback in the offseason. And I get that, Tom, just to jump in here to have a chat with you about it.
Yeah, I get that. I totally get that, but Kyler's different than two guys in their 30s or in the case Flacco in the 44. 100%. I mean, it's totally different. Kyler could end up being the law.
He could end up being the long-term guy. And if he beats out J.J. McCarthy, Kyler will be the starter. We'll see how JJ handles that. I wouldn't think that the trade market we'd see, but I don't think the trade market would be significant enough for the Vikings to want to move on from JJ.
And given the fact that he's never even had a healthy season as a backup. It may not be the worst thing in terms of his development if he's not ready to start. Again, what I would go back to is this: and you're absolutely right. A Geno Smith is a placeholder type of a situation. Joe Flacco would be a placeholder situation.
Kyler may well play his way into being, you know, giving himself the opportunity to be the Vikings franchise quarterback moving forward. But for the same reasons that we keep talking about what happened with Sam Darnell and Daniel Jones last year, the Vikings know they need to have options in that quarterback room because Kevin O'Connell and his staff are so good at grooming quarterbacks that they tend to end up having a lot more value after a year in Minnesota. Even if J.J. McCarthy were to be beat out, I don't know that that is the end of J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota.
It would be a disappointment. It would be a setback in the young career of a player that everybody in the building really likes, but just hasn't had the time on task to get better at the things he needs to get better at. On the flip side of it, we don't know what type of fit Kyler Murray in particular would be in this Vikings offense. It might work out great. He's obviously a dynamic athlete.
He's got a big arm, especially for a guy his size. We haven't seen him play in like the precision timing type of an offense that O'Connell wants to run. If JJ beats him out, then with Kyler, it's okay. You know, we trade you, we release you, maybe you are the backup and you wait. That wouldn't take that off the table either because you're just not paying him very much money.
I mean, the entire situation in Minnesota, Rich, I would say, is a little bit. Unusual here. But Kevin O'Connell is still seeking that franchise quarterback. It could be JJ, it could be Kyler, it could be somebody they're acquiring in 2027. But what they want to make sure they have this year is options, which is something that, based upon how things played out last year, they didn't end up having.
They had to sign Carson Wentz off the street. They go to the playoffs if Carson doesn't get hurt. They want to make sure that they've got other options in the building and somebody through the offseason to truly push JJ McCarthy and they hope bring out the best of everybody involved. Tom Pellicero here on the Rich Eisen Show.
So there's the update on Kyler. Uh, and now Geno Smith is going to be released unless he's traded, right? And so, clearly, the Just another box check that the Raiders are going to choose Fernando Mendoza. First overall. Where what's Geno Smith's um I guess Geno would be a spot for Minnesota.
Where else? Uh are the Jets a possibility as a reunion? I mean, the Jets are sort of a mystery team in the entire quarterback market right now. We know that they've got a high draft pick. Potentially, could you say we're going to draft Ty Simpson and that's going to be our guy going forward?
I think that's a scenario. I know that's a scenario within the league that people are taking into account. Beyond that, the Jets have the benefit of sort of watching how some of these other things fall and making their decisions from there. I don't get the sense that it's a singular plan. I know they've explored a lot of different possibilities there.
You know, would Gino going back to the Jets make sense? We'll see. There's a lot that is involved in that. Beyond that, for Geno, he kind of like Kirk Cousins may have to be a little bit patient here. Because if you think about how this market's going to move, Rich, the things that are going to go quickly are Malik Willis, I would anticipate, has a deal in place somewhere Monday or Tuesday.
People within the league think Miami and Arizona are the two most likely teams. I tend to believe that. Could somebody be laying in the weeds to go after Malik Willis, where that's the Jets, where that's the Steelers? Those are certainly possibilities. But Malik Willis is going to have a home during the negotiating window.
I would say I'm pretty confident in saying that. We don't know yet when Aaron Rodgers is going to make up his mind. We do anticipate Kyler Murray is going to land relatively quickly. Beyond that, there's just a whole bunch of different moving parts. And part of it is going to come down to what are the actual options that fall into place once Malik selects a destination, once Kyler selects a destination.
You know, again, whether you're cousins. Whether you're Gino, whether you're Tua, who, you know, we've been talking about this, Rich, for about a month now. People within the league all along have expected Tua. Gino, Kirk, and Kyler to all become free agents. It's happening actually earlier, at least in terms of teams meeting with the players to say they're going to be free, but they technically can't in the cases of Kyler and Tua because he's not, no announcements come on that one.
And Gino, they can't talk to anybody yet.
So you still have some moving parts that are going to play out up until next Wednesday when those guys who have guaranteed money can formally be released. Malik Willis is the one that's going to dictate some of what the options are for everybody else involved. All right. Transition yourself then, sir. You said.
Malik Willis is going to have a home during the negotiating window, which is Monday through Wednesday of last week, right? When does that window open? on Monday and then tell us what Malik Willis's options are going to be, do you think? Noon Eastern time on Mondays when the negotiating window opens. No deals can be final and official until the new league year begins 4 p.m.
Eastern Time on Wednesday. But generally speaking, Rich, we see. Over under 20 deals. I'm going off the top of my head, but it feels like usually 20, 25 deals get done on Monday. Then there's a whole bunch of them, a lot of them in sort of the B-level market or a few A-level ones that didn't get done on Monday.
Those will trickle into Tuesday. A lot of the big money has already gone out before that negotiating window actually closes. We go into free agency. One twist this year that I think a lot of people have forgotten about that you are allowed a limited number of Zooms with free agents during the negotiating window. It used to be for years since they instituted the negotiating window, you couldn't talk directly to the players at all until the new league year began.
Now, I believe it's five Zooms that each team has.
So, who has the most Zooms is going to tell you a lot about. How these markets end up moving here. For Malik, specifically, the two teams I mentioned, Arizona and Miami, are the two the people in the league believe are going to be in play for him. But then you also have at some level, Minnesota potentially could be interested. You know, they've seen Malik up close.
They know what he can do in a similar offense. A bunch of the teams that need quarterbacks are all running variations of that same offense. Arizona is Miami, Atlanta with Kevin Stefansky. It's all offshoots of the same thing.
So does that mean that Malik is going to end up getting $30 million a year? That's probably a stretch. I would still put the over-under for a Malik Willis contract at 20. Not that I can give gambling advice on the show. I have no idea if that betting line exists, but I would say 20 million.
Or take, which is what Justin Fields got last year: two for 40 with 30 G's from the Jets. That's probably roughly. You know, where that one checks in. In terms of the other top free agents, Rich, I'll just get myself to this. The names that.
You're going to see the big money coming off the board, all right? Let's go through it position by position. Quarterback, I don't think there's anyone beyond Malik that's really going to be pressed to come right off the board. Although there certainly are some guys who, in specific cases, you know, a Joe Flacco, if that's who Atlanta wants, a Jimmy Garoppolo, if that's who Arizona wants, they could lock those deals in early, but they're not going to be break the bank style deals. I'm not anticipating there's a running back out there that breaks the bank.
Kenneth Walker III is the top one for a lot of people, you know, going into the marketplace. But does that end up being 10? Does it end up being 12 or more? I don't think it's going to be 15 plus for the Super Bowl MVP, but we'll see. I would anticipate he, along with the likes of Travis Atien, are probably going to land relatively quickly in free agency.
Alec Pierce at the wide receiver position, he is far and away the top one. I talked about this yesterday, Rich. No matter what, even in the worst case scenario, Alec Pierce is going to get the biggest free agent receiver deal in NFL history. It is going to be $27 million plus. It has a chance to get to $30 million per year.
The Colts really want him back, but there's a bunch of other teams with solid established quarterback situations or young up and coming quarterbacks who stand ready to go after a guy who stacks up in a really rare way with guys like Deshaun Jackson and Mike Wallace in terms of not just being big play threats, but high volume big play wide receivers. At the tight end position, I don't know that there's anybody who's going to break the bank per se. I do think. Between Isaiah likely, we'll see how his market shakes out. Chiga Conquo, Kate Otten, all those guys are going to have really big markets.
Offensive line-wise, Tyler Linderbaum. That's going to be your top earner, I believe, in the free agent marketplace. That is going to be, I mean, Eric DaCosta, we already know, has said they offered him a market-setting type of a deal. This could end up being an eye-popping number somewhere into the low to mid-20s million per year for a center. Um, you know, there's uh, Conor McGovern's got a chance to do well, um, too.
There's gonna be a few guards, I don't know that any of them are gonna be off-the-charts type numbers. Zion Johnson's one I think will do well tackle-wise. Rashid Walker from the Packers, he's really the one. He's played a ton of games at left tackle, that could be $20 million per year. He's gonna be, you know, somewhere in that range.
Defensively, these markets are harder. To figure out just in terms of in talking to teams, in part because number one, you got strong draft classes at certain positions, such as safety. We just saw Cam Curl get a really strong deal today to go back to the Rams, three years, 36 million, max 39. That sets a pretty good bar. If you're Brian Cook from the Chiefs, Nick Cross is going to be a popular free agent, safety here.
Those guys now are all feeling like, all right, based upon that Curl deal, we should all be $13, $14, $15 million per year. Corner, there's some variance from team to team, but Alante Taylor is one I would keep in mind. He turned down a big deal last year to scuttle the trade to the Bears at the trade deadline. They had a trade worked out with the Saints, but the numbers just got. To a level that Elante Taylor thought, I'm going to do better in free agency.
Now, with the Trent McDuffie trade to the Rams, if he gets a market-setting contract, which it sounds like he will, which is 30 million plus, if you're Elante Taylor, you're saying, Why am I not going to get? I wrote the other day, 17 plus.
Now it's like, All right, we're both guys that some teams view as slot corners. Why am I not getting 20? The Elante Taylor market could really take off. Rick Woolen, I think, is going to get a strong deal in free agency. We'll just see where that is.
Jalen Watson from the Chiefs is another one that I think will do well. Linebacker-wise, there's really two, Devin Lloyd and Quay Walker. I think both of those guys will do well. Does it get to $15 million a year? It's probably somewhere in that neighborhood.
I know both those teams, the Jaguars, want to have, or the Jaguars want to get Devin Lloyd back. Certainly the Packers want to get Quay Walker back, but the market might dictate that those guys decide to get themselves out there and see. Defensive lineman, in terms of the interior guys, there's really one. It's John Franklin Myers. He is one of those that it's not a household name.
He's a third contract guy. He's 29. But don't be surprised if John Franklin Myers is getting $20 to $23 million per year. They're going to be serious suitors because it's a seller's marketplace. There's not a lot of other guys out there.
And then I think Edge is the only other one. I haven't gotten to and that's you know Trey Hendrickson certainly I think is going to get a strong deal. We'll see it's some of the same teams right now that are in on the Max Crosby potential trade that then could turn those resources over to Trey Hendrickson. Is that 25 a year? Is it 30?
Is it more? Not sure yet, but he's going to get a really strong deal. And then we'll see some of those, you know, the young pass rushers as well: the Dafe Owe, Jalen Phillips, Quiddy Pay could be in that category as well. All those guys, maybe $15 to $20 million per year players. I think I probably gave you right there, Rich, about 20 to 25 names.
Yes, you did. Go through, take out your checklist on Monday and see how many of those guys have deals in place by the time you go to sleep Monday. Bravo, bravo, sir. My God, take a breath. Take a bow.
I was trying to give you a little bit of water. No, no, no, no, no. Is it a window into me and the way that my brain works that of all the follow-ups? of anything that he just said Counting Zooms. Is Adam Duritz the lead singer of that band?
Counting Zooms. I had no idea we were counting Zooms. I saw County Crows at the Super Bowl. They were playing a party. That's right.
And apparently, they are now a spoken word band because Mr. Jones was there wasn't not a lot of tone variants. Every song. Everything's an evaluation to Tom Pellozaro. I'm writing that for blink one.
So to follow up in the time that we have left here, let's talk about the two guys. who are superstar names that everybody would love their teams to s Shock them or surprise them or please them and say, We got this done. Uh it's A.J. Brown. And it's Max Crosby.
Let's start with Max Crosby. Where does everything stand? The Raiders apparently want two firsts for him. What do you got for me on this Friday update on Max Crosby? Tom, please.
The Raiders have multiple strong offers right now. The risk that they run if they let this go beyond Monday is that some of those teams that have made strong offers. May decide, you know what? They really might not trade this guy. We're going to deploy our resources, whether that's draft picks and other trades, whether that's cash and cap devoted to free agents, on other players.
We already saw that happen potentially once with the Buffalo Bills, one of the three teams I mentioned last week when we talked about Max Crosby as a potential fit. They just traded a second-round pick for DJ Moore in a fifth, essentially a third-round value, but that's and they're paying them over $20 million this year. It doesn't mean the Bills are out on Max Crosby, but certainly they didn't make things any easier here. The Dallas Cowboys, from my understanding, are certainly still engaged on a Max Crosby trade. I would say the Baltimore Ravens are another logical fit.
The Chicago Bears, another team I mentioned last week, certainly would make sense and they could use an edge rusher. Part of the issue right now is just that the Raiders, and this could change as soon as today, have not really moved to bring this to a head. Usually the way these things work out in the end, we're talking about the top line trades, is ultimately. whether it's the off at the onset or as it's getting close. The team trading the player, or with the player that teams are trying to trade for, is gonna say, okay.
This is what the price is. If you're not here, You're not in the game, we're bringing it to a head right now. The Raiders haven't done that, they've essentially made teams bid against themselves, just saying, Well, what you're offering is not enough.
Well, what's the price?
Well, there's been other trades, here's what they've been.
Okay, but what's your price? That's where teams haven't been able to get necessarily a straight answer to this point. I do think this is a critical 72 hours, 48 hours, even for the Raiders, Max Crosby. And the potential trade partners, not just because of what I mentioned, that come Monday at noon Eastern, teams may deploy their resources elsewhere, but also because we don't know how Max Crosby might react if we get close to free agency and he's still a member of the Raiders. We've seen what the Raiders have said publicly.
We know that they have gotten calls. They have not really made calls about Max Crosby. We have not heard anything from Max Crosby other than, frankly, the high road. He has not said, I want out of Vegas publicly. He has not said anything negative about the organization.
But certainly there have been plenty of reports, including from me. He has been frustrated with the constant change. He certainly was frustrated with being shut down for the final two games last season. If at some point Max Crosby, and I don't know if this would happen, but if at some point he's not been traded and that frustration reaches a level that he decides to start saying things publicly that are disadvantageous to the Raiders, that could change the entire complexion of that relationship as well as the way that the marketplace sees him. We're not to that point yet.
We may get to that point. But as of now, the Raiders do have multiple strong offers they're considering. We'll see if they decide ultimately to bring this to a head. If it's going to happen, I would say the next 48 to 72 hours would make sense to do that before that window opens. And as for A.J.
Brown, because before you start there, again, with A.J. Brown. Um we're hearing Patriots Our friends across the street, chargers have been thrown out there. The question is: in the three minutes I have left here. What does A.J.
Brown want? We know the Eagles don't want to trade him, right?
So uh or or prefer not to, I'd imagine. Unless I'm wrong there. I give you the floor. He's a 28-year-old Pro Bowl wide receiver. Who didn't have his best year in 2025, but certainly is still productive.
Howie Roseman traded a first and I believe a third or fourth round pick for him four years ago. And in order for Howie to move on, even with what is generally regarded in the league as a depreciation of an asset, any player four years later, He doesn't want to take less than that in a potential return if he's going to trade A.J. Brown. There's a variety of different issues here in terms of Brown's contract, the cap hit that would take place if a trade happens before June 1st. There's no way, Rich, to.
post-June 1 a trade like you can a free agent. Meaning how the post-June 1 designation works is if you cut a player after the start of the league year, you can put a post-June 1 designation on him, which allows you come June 1st to push back some of the cap hit into the following year. That was a mechanism put in place in consultation with the union because under the old rules, Players had got held hostage for three months knowing they were going to be cut and you couldn't cut them until June 1. It's a good thing for players, but you can't do that with trades.
So they would have to hold on to A.J. Brown for three more months to not have the entire cap hit come crashing down on them in 2026, which is a consideration. Perhaps a more important consideration is how do you replace A.J. Brown? You're currently changing your offenses.
You have a first-time play caller in Sean Mannion, who was still a backup quarterback in the league a couple of years ago. He's running a completely different offense that you think AJ is a good fit in. You're going to find out how good of a fit Jalen Hurts is in it. You're going to then. Trade away AJ Brown.
Is there anyone in the draft you can get with, let's say, a late first-round pick that you would get in this type of a trade that you can plug in right away? There's not really an AJ Brown style receiver out there in free agency. There's probably no one else you can trade for that's a similar type of a player. And you're trying every year in Philadelphia to win Super Bowls.
So it's the replaceability as much as the cap considerations or the compensation that would give Howie Roseman pause. Having said that, there certainly are teams that are strongly interested. And it is as much What A.J. Brown wants, as it is the teams that would make sense for the Eagles. There's a lot of common ground there.
A.J. Brown's not going to want to go to a team that's rebuilding or doesn't have an established quarterback. But the teams that are rebuilding or don't have an established quarterback probably aren't in the A.J. Brown bucket either.
So, yes, your logical teams are the Patriots, where there's certainly a relationship with Mike Frabel. The Bills would have been in that mix prior to trading for a different receiver, DJ Moore. I don't anticipate at this point. Again, you never say never, but it would be hard to imagine they're going to jump back in and trade for A.J. Brown as well.
The Chargers fit that category. The Rams fit that category, except they also just traded a first-round pick in the Trent McDuffie deal that'll be finalized on Wednesday. And this goes back to what I'm saying, Rich, about. There's something to be said for, okay, if we're not getting the value, we'll just wait. But there's also something to be said for your leverage generally doesn't go up.
Yes, an injury could happen in training camp.
Somebody could swing and miss in free agency, swing and miss in the draft, but you don't know that. You don't control that. Teams that control a highly tradable asset who's going to command a first-round pick and more in a trade have all the leverage up until Monday at noon Eastern. At Monday at noon Easter, again, things can change, but you now do not have control over what those things are. It becomes very dependent on other moves.
That's why if we're going to see some of these big trades, whether it's Max, whether it's AJ, whether it's someone else, it's probably happening in the next three days or it might be. See you draft week. Tom, I'll see you next week. Thanks for the time. Thanks for everything.
Got to beat it on down the road. I assume next time I see you, you'll be wearing a suit because I'll be saying, can you pop on for five minutes when you're doing NFL network otherwise? You're the best. Truly. Thank you.
Appreciate it, Rich. Tom Pillicero, everybody, right here on The Rich Eisen Show. Back with more right here on The Rich Eisen Show. The Rich Eisen Joe, the Punt Dead. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, everybody.
That's how you do it, Rich. Yeah. 844-204, Rich is the number to tell. Susie Schuster is here. Hi, everybody.
What's up, Sue? How are you? We got a What's More Likely coming up. Jennings Dunker will be on this program in just eight minutes' time. We have a celebrity true or false for him.
What? Yes. How? Because in researching him for the Combine and for this show, there's too much. Really?
That needs to be asked of this young man. Instant celebrity. It's good stuff. I'll say this. When we were going to go watch the combine and then, you know, we're going through like the bowels of the.
Of the arena, and walking towards Jason and Liz, and I were the offensive lineman group.
Now I'm I'm fairly big guy. I'm like 6'3, right? These guys were just walking. Buildings, and I'm thinking, and then you watch how fast they were running in their 40s and during their cone drills. Man, that big should not be moving that fast, man.
Well, you're you covered. Iowa Hawkeye games, right? Back in the day. I mean, Chad Pennington and I had, I'm trying to remember the name of the kid who was the other linebacker. I did three years of Iowa games.
Yeah, well, it was. But you initials. No, you were you were but you were covering the the the the teams and saying there was no room for you to make a full lap as a sideline. You can't. You have to go into the stands to go behind the the the teams, TJ.
It's so crazy. You have to actually go into the stands to excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. Which is always um an elegant way to cover a game. But it also shows you that the fans are are right on top of the uh Opposing sidelines. They are literally right there.
And did you go in the pink locker rooms? Yeah, of course. Yeah, the visitors' locker rooms is painted pink, a color to make you feel not at all offensive. That's right. Women, like, you're soft, it's pink.
Mm-hmm. But I have to say, like, it was that's it it's a slightly outdated mentality, but it was a great place to cover a game and j just the nicest people. You know, it's also pink-ish or are maybe the the tips of Jennings Dunker's uh um mullet. I don't know. I was only able to see him from the 50-yard line booth.
You got up close enough. Yes, he walked. I'm looking at him, checking in. Oh, he's checking in right now. Fantastic.
Red through and through. There we go. I can't wait to chat with Jennings Dunker of Iowa Football in hour number two, and what's more likely with Sue. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
