The Russell Wilson situation goes from bad to worse

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That's the headline. The Rich Eisen Show with guest host Dan Schwartzman. OMG. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

Oh, my gosh. And now sitting in for Rich, it's Dan Schwartzman. It's a great occasion to be filling the big chair for Rich Eisen. I get the call when it's the week.

No one wants to work, and I love it. And what a week it is. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.

Whatever you celebrate, by the way, as a holiday, it all falls in this range in terms of when the calendar strikes the end of December. But we got a lot to get into. Art Martinez on the other side of the glass here and the Russell Wilson saga seemingly coming to an end in Denver. Wow. Whoever thought less than two years ago when Russell Wilson was traded. To the Denver Broncos in a blockbuster deal from Seattle, that the divorce would be this sudden and frankly, this ugly, because that's exactly what has happened in this scenario. Now, usually we don't I don't take a lot of phone calls, but I'm going to open it up today because there's a question I have to throw at you when it comes to Russell Wilson.

All right. He's a nine time Pro Bowler. But the year and a half, a year and three quarters, however long you want to say he's been in Denver, has it hurt his Hall of Fame candidacy? Is he as much a surefire Hall of Famer that you once thought at this point after just an absolute failure of a two year career in Denver?

Has he been exposed? Is Pete Carroll maybe greater than we give him credit for? Because I don't understand how somebody could be on top of a mountain the way that Russell Wilson was in Seattle dominating one of the great 10 year stretches anyone's had in a career. Surefire going to get that gold jacket in Canton, Ohio, to where now there's even a legit question, is he a Hall of Famer because of how quickly and how bad this downfall has been. So we're going to open it up today.

We're going to give you that opportunity to answer that question. Give us your thoughts on the Russell Wilson situation. And is it really one of the worst trades in NFL history when you break it down? Here's what the trade was in March of 2022. Seahawks deal Russell Wilson and a fourth round pick for Drew Locke, Noah Fant, defensive tackle Shelby Harris, two first round picks, two second round picks and a fifth round pick. OK, Wilson and a fourth for two first, two seconds, a fifth quarterback, Drew Locke, Tyta, Noah Fant and defensive tackle Shelby Harris. And for that, they got 12 wins in two years with Russell Wilson at the helm.

That's it. Twelve wins. A heck of a lot of money. We're going to get to that here in a minute for one of the biggest blockbuster trades in really NFL history.

It may not be Herschel Walker, but it's fairly close. We opened it up at eight four four two zero four rich. That's eight four four two zero four seven four two four, because, man, I've been scratching my head.

This has to be the bizarro world like an alternate reality. When you think of Russell Wilson in a Seahawks uniform on top of the world and Russell Wilson kind of potentially hitting rock bottom bottom here with the Denver Broncos. So what is the money situation? OK, Russell Wilson, for those 12 wins in two years, has made eighty five million dollars. In essence, Russell Wilson has made seven million dollars per win. OK, seven million dollars per win and change, by the way. In a Broncos universe, you know, uniform.

OK, that's what it's been. The five year, two hundred and forty two point six million dollar contract extension he signed doesn't even start till next year. He is guaranteed to make thirty nine million dollars next year. Why is he getting benched? Well, because they're not playing well, they've lost three in a row.

Their playoff hopes are fading. But he's got to take a physical in early March. And if he fails that physical due to injury, then another thirty seven million becomes guaranteed. So the last thing the Denver Broncos want to do is play Russell Wilson. And potentially have him get hurt to then be on the hook for thirty seven million more dollars. This is an absolute disaster.

But what you have to ask yourself is this. When Sean Payton took that job, he always seemed lukewarm about Russell Wilson, right? He never seemed that excited about Russell Wilson. What is it about Russell Wilson that maybe we didn't understand or know that Sean Payton seemingly didn't potentially is right about? Was he such a system guy in Seattle that he looked great? Was that defense, the legion of boom, the running game with Marshawn Lynch early on, were they just so dominant that it covered up for Russell Wilson's deficiencies?

Potentially, yes. Do we give him a pass for last year because it's changing settings, a new start, new teammates, new fans, new everything, new life? To where the adjustment period where he's trying to, in his mind, I guess, justify the heavy price and draft picks that the Broncos gave up to get him the amount of money that they've invested in him? That he tried too hard, that it hurt his abilities on the field?

Maybe yes. Statistically, he's been pretty good this year. What's kind of interesting is, statistically, Russell Wilson has actually put up a year that's very similar to other years that he's had.

It's honestly that simple. His numbers this year are very, very similar to what you expect Russell Wilson to do, all right? I'm going to break down the numbers for you and compare them to other years that he's had because it's really kind of stunning that they haven't won much and he gets blamed when, if you just break down the statistics, and again, this kind of shows you where statistics may not be the best gauge to measure things, he actually has played well. Russell Wilson has thrown for 3,070 yards, so he's on pace for about 3,600 yards, 26 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, so a couple more games if he would have played, he'd be at around 30 touchdowns, 9 interceptions. Quarterback rating of 98, a QBR of 50.6. That's actually, in terms of what Russell Wilson is, it would be his second year in the NFL, threw for 3,357 yards, 26 touchdowns, 9 interceptions. Statistically, you'd say, wow, he's had a pretty good year. But then you look at the results on the field, the lack of ability on third downs, the offense really being stagnant, and you say to yourself, wow, those stats are kind of misleading, correct?

Yeah, they are misleading. And as you sit back now and you go over that trade I just told you what it was back in March of 2022, the amount of money they've had to invest in Russell Wilson, the fact is it truly is one of the worst trades in NFL history. You don't give up that much draft capital for 12 wins in two years and a deal that kind of screws you when it comes to the salary cap.

It's a terrible trade. And it's shockingly terrible because we never thought Russell Wilson would be in this type of situation. He played what, how many years in, you know, he played what, from 2012 to 2021, 10 years in Seattle. In those 10 years, he threw barely 80 interceptions, threw 290 or so touchdowns, was routinely considered one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, nine-time Pro Bowler. I mean, was making the Pro Bowl literally every single year.

It is stunning. And if you want to say that it's age, then I'll be honest with you, I don't know, he's 35 years old, but quarterbacks these days are like fine wines. They seem to sometimes get better with age. You don't see a guy fall off a cliff at 35 years old and really fell off the cliff last year when he was 34 years old. Well, Sean Payton having to address this as the head coach of the Broncos, it's a little lengthy, but I think it's important that you take a listen to what he has to say here and pick what you want out of it. If you want to comment on what Sean Payton says about this move, 844204 Rich, that's 8442047424.

Dan Schwartzman in for Rich on this Thursday. Here's Sean Payton talking to the media. Most of you know, we made a change at quarterback and I understand all the speculation and everything that surrounds a move like that. And I can tell you, look, we're we're desperately trying to win and sure, in our in our game today, there are economics and all those other things. But the number one push behind this and and it's a decision I'm making is to, you know, get a spark offensively. Obviously, it's difficult and, you know, all of us feel like, man, we didn't do well enough. But, you know, one of the things we saw when we signed Stidham in the off season was not only film from preseason games, but regular season games.

And, you know, he's a guy that, you know, I'm anxious to see play. And if I didn't feel like he gave us the chance to win, we wouldn't be making that move. And so the irony is, obviously, is he was in a situation that many would say is very similar.

And yet I would say it's somewhat different. But that's kind of where we're at with it. I spent time with Russ this morning and he's been a pro and obviously disappointed. But, you know, all the work that goes into doing what he does or doing what they do at that position, it's difficult. And it's it's difficult and challenging. And, you know, there's a part of you, certainly myself as a head coach, that feels like, man, I needed to be better because, you know, now. He may he may need to play, you know, this weekend, next weekend, but and then regards to the future that we haven't had a sit down and I'm sure we will.

Greg and I and George, we speak frequently, but this is about now and this is about trying to get our eighth win and we'll go from there. The laugh track, of course, is not part of the press conference. Thank you, Martinez, for that one. That was such a bunch of B.S. Rolling off the lips of Sean Payton, one has to ask, does he really think we're stupid? It's frankly insulting what Sean Payton said there in that two minute press conference or two minute blurb of that press conference. This has everything to do with money. That's what it has.

It's everything to do with money. They're cutting their losses as quickly as they can to try to save as much of that money they can without having to pay out Russell Wilson. If Russell Wilson doesn't have the 37 million dollar guarantee against injury with that physical at the start of March, he might be playing these last two games. Reports say that they asked him back a few months ago if he would waive that.

And obviously they said no. Why would you waive that if they're dumb enough to put that kind of thing, that kind of provision in your contract? You live with it. You don't waive that. And when you make a move, this isn't the Jets moving away from Zach Wilson, Wilson, Wilson, you get it? This isn't that type of move where it's a young quarterback.

You can say, well, we still think the future is bright. When you're moving away from a nine time Pro Bowl, one of the highest paid quarterbacks in football and bringing in a journeyman backup in Jared Stidham, who's got six career touchdown passes to take over to tell us other than it's about money, you think we're all dumb. All right, if you had a better option, maybe you drafted. Oh, that's right, they have no draft picks. But if they drafted a Caleb Williams and he's been sitting on the bench for one year, then maybe you make the move because you don't think that at seven wins you're going to make the playoffs and fine. OK, you could sell us on that and say, look, it hasn't worked out with Russell Wilson and we're going to try the young guy because we invested a high draft pick in him. OK, I can live with that. Maybe that's not exactly what it is, but you can buy that excuse, right? You can buy that rationale. We have to give Drake May a chance.

I get it. But to try to say that this is a move about trying to win games and stuff and you're moving on to Jared Stidham again, we're not idiots. We're desperately trying to win. Yeah, with Jared Stidham. OK, who's been with the Raiders? He's been with the Patriots. And there's a reason why he's an expatriate and an ex-raider, because he's not very good.

He's 27 years old at this point. OK, maybe he rates him tomorrow and then something changes and becomes great. Highly doubtful, though, unless Sean Payton truly thinks he's God. And a quarterback whispering can make him into Drew Brees, which no one believes can happen.

It just doesn't make an ounce of sense, makes no sense whatsoever to try to tell us they're trying to win games when clearly they're not trying to win games with a move like this. What can you do? What can you do?

Honestly, what can you do? It is just mind boggling that this is where we are at when it comes to the future with Russell Wilson and the career he has had now as a Denver Bronco. OK, it's coming to an end. He will be gone most likely. No team's going to trade for him. Wait till the Broncos release him, because that's exactly what's going to happen. And he can sign for the league minimum. The Broncos are on the hook for thirty nine million dollars. It's not a bad deal if you are Russell Wilson to potentially choose where you want to go and get paid by the Broncos.

So you keep sticking, sticking it to them. And that's what's going to happen. Wow. He actually responded to it. Dan, we saw this exact same thing last year with the Raiders and Derek Carr.

It's exactly the same thing. Yeah, but you know what, though? But they've been drafted, you know, for two games. He was drafted by them, right? They kind of got to a point where it's like, OK, he's stagnated here, right? We're going to move on from him.

We've gotten as far as we can as a team with Derek Carr. Understandable. You traded the house for Russell Wilson, not just a house, you traded a luxury mansion.

It's worse. You're right. You paid him an incredible amount of money, right?

They got an ungodly sum of money thinking he was going to be that missing piece. And less than two years later, you have 12 wins to show for it and an ugly divorce that's beginning. That's bad.

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Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed as well. All right, more on Russell Wilson. Is he still a Hall of Famer in your book? And is this the worst trade you can recollect in football history, potentially since Herschel Walker went from the Cowboys to the Vikings?

Mike Pritchard, former NFL wide receiver, now the lead NFL analyst at Beeson, will answer those questions next. Just underway on a Thursday, Dan Schwartzman in for Rich on The Rich Eisen Show. You know, in today's world, it seems the best treatment is reserved only for a few. Well, Discover wants to change that by making everyone feel special. That's why with your Discover card, you have access to 24 seven live customer service, as well as zero dollar fraud liability, which means you're never held responsible for unauthorized purchases. Finally, no matter who you are or where you are in life, you'll feel special with Discover.

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To the house it goes. Jack Jones again with a pick six. Back to back weeks and the Raiders have stolen more points by their defense. That is courtesy of Westwood one. That is a stunner, by the way, in the AFC West.

What's happening there? Raiders technically could still win that division because the Chiefs seemingly are just self-destructive. But Russell Wilson's situation goes from bad to worse.

The divorce has begun in Denver. Guy that played in Denver and by the way, in Seattle and the Falcons as well. He's currently the lead NFL analyst at Vison.

Follow him on Twitter at M.I. Pritchard. Mike Pritchard joining us here. Mike, first of all, happy holidays. Happy New Year to you and the family. I have to ask you, how stunned are you looking back over the last two years as to how the Russell Wilson situation has played out in Denver? Dan, happy holidays.

Great to be with you. You know, I'm not all that stunned. I know how the NFL can work sometimes and everything's coming to the surface. You know, the contract situation, the underperformance by Russell Wilson or the perception of that. The changeover out there in Denver from ownership, certainly. And the fact that the Broncos haven't been relevant the way that we're accustomed to them being relevant. When Pat Bolen, Mr. B, was the owner, the Broncos were a prominent organization.

We know that. They've fallen off of that pedestal, certainly, and they're trying to get back on it. But they've lost their way. And Russell Wilson's just part of it. I think the shakeup going on out there with this organization has been anticipated.

Outside of the playoffs, outside of something enthusiastic with this franchise, this was bound to happen. So I'm not shocked at all that Russell Wilson and Denver Broncos are going to be part ways in the near future. But Mike, you know, when Sean Payton took over this job, he just always seemed kind of lukewarm about Russell Wilson, right? I mean, that was, I think, surprising to some people who may have thought last year as an aberration how poorly he played. But did Sean Payton maybe know something that maybe the average person, average football fan didn't understand with Russell Wilson?

And if so, what exactly is it? Well, Dan, you know, coaches want their own guys. Go back to Jimmy Johnson and Walsh, you know, before Troy Aikman. Aikman had to prove to Jimmy Johnson that he could be the guy and they go on to a dynasty, right? I mean, coaches, they want their own guys. And I think Payton had his reservations about Russell Wilson and rightly so.

And, you know, they tried to make it work. I think if you're Sean Payton and you're a custom and you're used to Drew Brees, I mean, that's your example. And so who's going to come close to that?

Who's going to even be on that level or come close to that level? And maybe Russell Wilson had a chance. Maybe he wanted to.

Maybe he wanted to experiment and find out. But obviously it's not what Sean Payton wants. Now, I will say this, though, it's more than Russell Wilson. And I think it's the Broncos, too, to blame. I mean, the GM gave Russell Wilson a contract. Sean Payton, like you mentioned, took the job. Sean Payton could be waiting right now for all the opportunities going to appear this year from a coaching standpoint. But he took that job knowing full well that Russell was not the quarterback he once was. And with that contract and how large it was and on top of that, the Broncos spending more than anybody else in free agency this past offseason. So it's not like they don't have fault of themselves in the front office. And that's being swept under the rug here by all the attention and the scapegoating with Russell.

But, no, there's a lot of things going wrong with that organization that Sean Payton and others have to fix now. Chatting with the lead NFL analyst at Visa, Mike Pritchard, NFL veteran with the Falcons, Broncos and Seahawks here on the Rich Eisen Show, Dan Schwartzman, Infra-Rich on this Thursday. You know, 10 years in Seattle, nine Pro Bowls. Everybody's putting him in a gold jacket to be in Canton, Ohio.

I think I was one as well who thought that. Now, two years later in Denver with the failure that's happened. In your mind, Mike, has he dinged his Hall of Fame candidacy here unless he goes out and resurrects his career elsewhere?

It's possible. You know, he's not a first ballot guy. And I think once you get beyond the first ballot situation, it gets dicey because now, OK, who do we have to get into the Hall of Fame? How many people from this position or that position needs to get into the Hall of Fame?

So it becomes a politic situation. And then, you know, who's going to advocate for him? Who's going to be his advocate? So that's going to be very interesting for Russell. I think his career up in Seattle defined to be a Hall of Fame career.

I think he's got that on his resume. But how many people are going to think about Denver and that stopped? So going forward, you know, teams are going to kick the tires and look under the hood of Russell Wilson. They're not going to take him for granted anymore and certainly think that he's that type of quarterback he once was in Seattle. Will you look back at what Denver gave up to get Russell Wilson, two firsts, two second, a fifth, Drew Locke, no offense, Shelby Harris for Wilson in a fourth round pick, 12 wins later and a boatload of money later outside of Herschel Walker's trade with the Cowboys and Vikings. Is this one of the worst trades in NFL history? Right.

It's got to be, right? Absolutely. So why is Russell the scapegoat? I mean, that's on the Broncos. How come the GM's not getting fired? Right. And the last time I checked, I mean, the rumors about the contract situation, the last time I checked, head coaches and GMs are not giving money back. They're not restructuring their contracts. Right. So, no, I, I think this is the beginning of a lot of changes in Denver.

It could get ugly. You know, they made a ton of mistakes along the way. And Russell is a highlight of all that. And it's sad because as players, we're often put in that spotlight. We're often put in that situation, whereas the front office makes a ton of mistakes. And nobody accounts for that until you see the headline that a GM was fired or a head coach has moved on. All right, I'm going to throw this out there, and if you don't have an answer, I completely understand.

I'm slightly putting you on a spot here, Mike. But based on what we know about the quarterback position and every year, so many teams are looking to fill that position. I do think there's going to be a good number of suitors for Russell Wilson.

What makes the most sense for him in terms of a destination in your mind? And again, it's very early. Yeah, like I said, I think you've got to kick the tires on Russell Wilson. I mean, the way he came to Denver and landed in Denver and wanted to elevate himself out of the locker room, that didn't fit well with a lot of people. So one, you have to be a strong organization. Two, you have to have an authoritative head coach in that situation. You know, a new situation with a new head coach, I think Russell perhaps could overpower that. But what coaches are out there that want Russell Wilson as their starter, you know, if they are a quarterback and team?

And that's where it gets tough. So you're going to have to have strong ownership, certainly a strong executive front office that that situation has to be in place. So there's only a few landing spots. I mean, we all thought, at least in my community, in my circle, thought that Lamar Jackson was going to land in Atlanta. The ownership situation out there didn't suggest that was going to happen.

Didn't want that to happen. OK. And so Lamar Jackson could lead the Baltimore Ravens to the Super Bowl. But, you know, people are mentioning that situation.

People are mentioning Washington. There's so many candidates coming through the college ranks right now. And what I mentioned earlier about coaches wanting their own guy and certainly somebody that they could mold or be familiar with. I mean, that's still prominent right now in the league.

So to me, I think it gets tough. It's going to take a unique situation for Russell Wilson and his next landing spot. All right, Mike, let's stay in that AFC West. The Kansas City Chiefs are nine and six. They haven't locked with the division, as crazy as that sounds. And they're not playing well.

And Patrick Holmes, frankly, is having statistically and really visually the worst season we've seen from him since he's come into this league. Is it boredom? You know, they win so much. They turn it on the postseason. Is it harder to kind of get motivated in the regular season at this point if you're the Chiefs? Is all the success they've had? You know, Dan, it's not motivation.

I think it's fatigue. Look at the Eagles as well. It's so tough to repeat in the National Football League. And hell, they just played a Super Bowl in February of this year. And you're going through the rigors of training camp and certainly the regular season and 17 games. And you're about to approach the playoffs.

And I think it's fatigue. And frankly, I think teams have caught up to the Chiefs. And, you know, that happens. That happens when you come back down to the pack. The Chiefs distinguished themselves and asserted themselves in an unprecedented way, really hosting AFC Conference Championship games left and right. But I think everybody's either caught the Chiefs or the Chiefs have come back down to the pack. And quarterback play overall has been down this year. And, you know, Patrick Mahomes, though, I wouldn't put it past him to figure it out.

Andy Reid as well. Qualifying for the playoffs will certainly re-energize you, though. And so maybe down the stretch you're limping. But once you get into the playoffs, maybe you can turn it back up again. But no question, the Chiefs are not the same team that we saw in the Super Bowl earlier this year.

Chat with Mike Pritchard, former NFL wide receiver, currently the lead NFL analyst at Vison here on the Rich Eisen Show. Look, I'm not one to believe in curses. My wife is, by the way, but I'm not. OK. Is there a Taylor Swift thing going on here? I know it sounds crazy, but, you know, she gets all the attention. You watch a game where the Chiefs are involved, cameras panning to her all the time.

The crowds are looking more at her. Travis Kelce has not played well, by the way, since it became public he's dating her. Are we looking into this too much, Mike, or you believe there's a little mumbo jumbo voodoo stuff going on here? I mean, the production is off the charts in terms of how they want everybody to perceive it, right? I mean, the pregame walk up, I mean, the fellas walking into the locker room. I mean, how many times we need to see that. Right.

And we know he's dating Taylor. Exactly. But but it's part of the entertainment value of the entire package. And I can't fault the NFL.

I mean, they just they crushed NBA over Christmas. Right. But the thing of the the thing about Travis, it could I don't know if this is it's probably more of a distraction because, you know, he's got so many things going on now when Travis was was ascending to a Hall of Fame level. You know, we didn't see him in a ton of commercials. We didn't see him all over the place with podcasts. We didn't see him swept up and going to I don't know, was it Rio or Buenos Aires?

I mean, wherever he was, he goes everywhere, everywhere. Right. So it's more it's more of a distraction or taking time away from the facility in the building that made him great.

That that to me is probably the biggest thing. And everybody goes through it, you know, high profile relationships or not. You go through those situations, but can you handle it? Can you still put the work in?

Can you still put the time in? And if that's not the case, then your performance is going to suffer. And certainly injuries are playing a part of it. And like I said earlier, I think fatigue is definitely a factor with the Kansas City Chiefs.

There might be more of a curse of Kadarius Toni's hands, by the way, than Taylor Swift. Right. As a former great wide receiver, you know.

Now, let me ask you this, though. Let's stay in that AFC West. If you're the Chargers, you got the quarterback in Justin Herbert, right? You throwing Bob Kraft a first round pick for Bill Belichick this offseason? Is it crazy? It's not crazy.

No, it's not crazy at all. You know, you got the quarterback, you got the franchise quarterback. You said, you know, the Chargers are unique because over decades, they've always been immensely talented. Right. I mean, just this name off the names, the marquee names that they've had. And they've gotten to a Super Bowl.

And that was during my time. But since then, it's been kind of kind of crazy to think that the Chargers can't get it right. So the last two head coaching situations have been the same.

Similar, whether it's Anthony Lynn or Staley. But yeah, you know, Belichick certainly I think he'll be motivated. I think he could bring on an offensive coordinator that would have a chip on his shoulder, make that both shoulders a chip on both shoulders, being the offensive coordinator in the AFC West, meaning Josh McDaniel's fired by the Denver Broncos.

Right. Got fired by the Las Vegas Raiders. And so you can you can migrate. You can complete their migration west of the Patriot way. Josh McDaniel's tried to do it out here in Vegas, but you can complete it out there in L.A. with the Chargers. And if you reunite Josh McDaniel's and Belichick with that quarterback, I mean, that kind of looks good for the Spanish family. They could win.

All right. Mike Pritchard, last question for you. I love what's happened to the Detroit Lions.

Love Dan Campbell. And he's such a passionate guy. They really will run through a brick wall for this guy. But are they a one and done? I mean, some games they look amazing. Some games they look terrible. Would it stun you if they lost in the first round of the playoffs?

Danny told you he was coming after your kneecaps. Right. I mean, exactly.

Yeah. You know, you know, it's a great story. It's an emotional one, too. I think as a former player, Campbell probably got himself into some situations emotionally on the sideline.

And maybe he's better off for it. But, you know, winning 11 games and reenergizing that organization, that franchise, that fan base has been incredible. He's done a hell of a job. And I think the play the coaches, the former players and the coaches on the staff have really done a great job of engaging these players in developing these guys. So I don't know if they're one and done. I think they have enough wisdom on the team, enough experience to kind of navigate through the playoffs. It's going to be interesting about the seating and how that all plays out. But no, I will find out a lot about Detroit against Dallas coming up. And can they go on the road and a big atmosphere and execute? Well, if that's the case, then then, yeah, I think they're a viable option to get to the playoffs. It is a great story.

I mean, Campbell's in high school the last time the Lions won their division. He's done an amazing job. It's great.

Mike Pritchard, make sure to follow him on Twitter at M.I.Pritchard, lead NFL analyst at Vison. Mike, again, happy holidays to you and the family. Enjoy the New Year's, my friend, and appreciate you hopping on the show. My pleasure. Thanks a lot for the invite and happy New Year, everybody.

Awesome stuff from Mike Pritchard there, as always. And yeah, I'll tell you what, Bellatrix, I've been thinking about that. Chargers tossed in a first round pick to the Patriots for Belichick. If you're the Patriots, you make that deal, right?

Because it's a relatively decent first round pick, a mid pick. You're probably letting go of Belichick anyway. It's probably time to start over there in New England. He hasn't been able to win since Brady's gone. He hasn't had the quarterback, right? Mac Jones doesn't seem to be the guy. Zappi's another guy that hasn't really worked out. He tried Stidham, didn't work out either. Does he want to kind of hang around, try to convince Kraft to give him another year?

Probably not. And if you're Kraft, if you're going to make the move, make it now. And if you're the Chargers, what's holding you back? You got marquee names on defense, Bosa, Khalil, Mack.

You got such offensive firepower. Herbert's out now, but he'll be back. If he's got the coaching and he's right, I mean, he's a top quarterback in this league, make some bad decisions as a young quarterback, but maybe you get that coached out of him by a Belichick and a Josh McDaniel. I think it makes perfect sense if you are the Chargers to make a deal like that. All right, Belichick to the Chargers. And how much do you think boredom is playing a role at the Kansas City Chiefs' struggles? 17 regular season games. They just got to get in the playoffs and they just turn on the Jets.

We've seen it from them, right? Is that what's going on or is there a deeper meaning? We open it up, 8-4-4, 2-0-4 Rich, 8-4-4, 2-0-4, 7-4-2-4. It is a Thursday edition of the Rich Eisen Show.

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Inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum, wherever you listen. This is the beginning of a lot of changes in Denver. It could get ugly. They made a ton of mistakes along the way and Russell is a highlight of all that. And it's sad because as players, we're often put in that spotlight.

We're often put in that situation. Whereas the front office makes a ton of mistakes and nobody accounts for that until you see the headline that a GM was fired or a head coach has moved on. That is Mike Pritchard. If you missed it, he just joined us here on the Rich Eisen Show. Follow him on Twitter at mipritchard. Lead NFL analyst at Vson.

I'm Dan Schwartzman in for Rich on this Thursday. And the Russell Wilson situation is just bizarre and mind boggling. This is what it's come out, come down to.

But you know what? Mike's correct with what he said. Everybody wants to sit there and lay the blame on Russell Wilson. And sure, there is a lot of blame that belongs on his shoulders.

I'm not denying that because he hasn't played that well. He's been exposed. He wanted to kind of take on this large leadership role.

And I kind of find him to be phony in that sense. There's people that are true leaders, right? People that locker rooms gravitate to.

They don't have to work at it. They naturally just get the respect of other guys in the locker room. I never thought Russell Wilson was that. I always thought he tried too hard to get that. It's like A-Rod, right, in baseball. A-Rod would always just try to sound smart. He would try to be a locker room presence. And maybe later in his career with the Yankees, a lot of younger Latino players would gravitate toward him. But I think he always laid it on a little thick.

And there was a kind of a phony label there. Russell Wilson to me is semi-similar to that, maybe not to the same extreme. But I never thought he got the respect in the locker room that other really good to great quarterbacks in this league got. He's not a Tom Brady. I don't think he is a Mahomes, right? I don't think he got the respect in the locker room of guys like that.

You don't see that. And I think that played a role in Denver. Maybe guys checked out a bit. Maybe guys didn't like him coming in and trying to take over that role when he had to work too hard at it. But with all the faults of Russell Wilson, Sean Payton's got to take blame too. We're desperately trying to win.

Yeah, absolutely. That's why I'm going to bench Russell Wilson for Jared Stidham. Has nothing to do with the fact that if he gets hurt and fails a physical in the beginning of March, you owe him $37 million more dollars.

Has nothing to do with that. But it all comes down to Sean Payton was brought in. Incredible resume, Super Bowl winning quarterback with the Saints. Took Drew Brees, nurtured him, made him into one of the great quarterbacks in history, all time legend, unbelievable numbers, passing offense. Denver gives up what a first round pick to get Sean Payton.

And what's he shown for it? Talk smack about Nathaniel Hackett, who, yes, was a terrible head coach. He's a terrible offensive coordinator. I'm a jet fan. I know this. But he talks smack as if he's done something with his team and he hasn't.

There's seven and eight right now. It's not like they're, you know, he's reinventing the wheel. And then, of course, the GM has to take a ton of fault here as well because he makes one of the worst trades in the history of the NFL, giving up what he did for Russell Wilson. And then to compound that move, he gives him this massive contract that only starts next year anyway. If they release Russell Wilson, he can sign anywhere for the veteran's minimum. And the Broncos are on the hook for everything else up to $39 million next year. So if he signs a deal for $2 million in, I don't know, Cleveland next year, the Broncos still have to pay him $37 million of the $39 million. So for Russell Wilson, he can kind of choose where he wants to go because money is not going to be an issue. He can play wherever the heck he wants to play next year because the Broncos are going to be on the hook for $39 million guaranteed dollars minus whatever the other team pays him.

What a crazy situation. Have the two years in Denver, in your mind, kind of screwed up Russell Wilson's Hall of Fame chances? We all thought 10 years in Seattle, nine Pro Bowls, he was a shoo-in. You still thinking that?

844204rich, 8442047424. And does this, in your mind, go down as maybe the worst trade in the NFL since the Herschel Walker deal from the Cowboys to the Vikings? Of course, it was a terrible deal for the Vikings. It began the dynasty for the Cowboys.

Let us know what you think. But also, I brought up something else with Mike Pritchard. Art Martinez on the other side of the glass, big Raiders fan, of course, follows the AFC West.

If you're the Chargers and you seem to make every wrong decision when it comes to hiring a head coach, Brandon Staley wasn't it. Are you throwing a first round pick to the Patriots for Bill Belichick? Yes, absolutely. Right?

Yes. I mean, it makes perfect sense you have talent. I don't know about McDaniel, I'm a bitter Raider head coach fan of his. Yeah, but you know what, Art, you know what, he's not head coaching material, we know that. Some guys are not cut out to be a head coach, but he did know what he was doing in terms of being an offensive coordinator, or so we think, right? Yeah, so we think.

Maybe it's all Brady, but still, I mean, they had success with him as offensive coordinator. Yes. Yes.

Yes. But the Raiders did not. I mean, he did all the offensive play calling, and was it Derek Carr? Was it McDaniel?

Was it, what was it? Wasn't Jimmy Garoppolo, right? No, it wasn't Jimmy Garoppolo either. I don't know, but you know, just bringing in Belichick I think makes a ton of sense. If he wants to bring McDaniel, bring McDaniel. If he wants to bring Matt Patricia, by all means, bring him too.

Bring the whole crew. No one on that Belichick tree, by the way, works out, if you haven't noticed, right? Like look at the names on that Belichick coaching tree, none of them really amount to anything. And maybe you get some fans in the seats.

I mean, have you looked at a Chargers game lately? Nobody knows. There's nobody going. The mayor didn't want him. Remember when they were making the move?

You live out there. When they were making the move, the mayor didn't even want the Chargers coming along. Nobody goes to the games. I mean, as compared to the Rams game, which is always full, the Chargers get no fans. Chargers get no fans. USC outdraws the Chargers as well.

Yeah. And you got the young franchise quarterback already there. If you're Belichick, you don't have to go in and draft a franchise quarterback.

He's already there. You got two of the best pass rushers in the NFL with Bosa and Khalil Mack right now. There's young talent there. Like that's a dream scenario if you're a 70-some out of your head coach who thinks he's got five more years and doesn't want to go through a rebuild. The toughest position to rebuild at is quarterback. You got the guy in Justin Herbert.

He's really good and can be better if he's coached up properly. That's a dream scenario. Plus the weather's better than Boston, I hate to say. It is. The older you get, you don't want to deal with like bitter, cold winters. Well, you'll be in LA. It's not a dome. It's literally cold ever.

Ever. In a dome. It doesn't even rain in LA. How do you guys even have water? You don't have water. But that was it.

It never rained. We're in a dome. Again? You're the great winter.

What happened to all that winter rain? Politics, my friend. Politics. Let's not get into it. That's a good point.

All right. What's wrong with the Kansas City Chiefs? Is there a fatal flaw to this team? Why has Mahomes struggled this year? Is it just sheer boredom having to go through 17 regular season games when at this point all they care about is the playoffs? Maybe that is what is, what's going on there in Kansas City. We're going to dissect that a bit in our number two. It is Dan Schwartzman, The Rich Eisen Show on a Thursday.

We are back right after this. For the real story behind some of wrestling's biggest moments, it's something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson too. 1995 when WCW announces they're going to be live and head to head with Monday Night Raw.

Feels like this would have been something Vince would have kind of laughed off. No, we did not like them moving to Monday nights. There were a lot of hotels. They all carried CNN, TBS, and TNT. Vince was convinced that Ted Turner had deviously done this deal to get in the hotels and keep us out. It's something to wrestle wherever you listen.