Tom Pelissero: The Rams Had Serious Trade Offers For Cooper Kupp In October

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Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. The Rich Eisen Show. Brian Lenorse. What was your first reaction?

It was truly a stunning thing. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I'll be on the hunt for more information to understand why it is, and I'm still in a lot of ways on the show. Earlier on the show, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. Coming up, NFL Network insider Tom Pellicero.

Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Two-time Super Bowl champion and Greenlight podcast host Chris Long. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air.

844-204-RICH is the number to dial to have a conversation with us. Tom Pellicero will be joining us from New Orleans, Louisiana in 20 minutes time. J.J. McCarthy is going to join us in hour number three. I have not spoken to him in quite some time.

The University of Michigan national champion quarterback spending a, I guess, a sabbatical year nursing his surgically repaired knee, while Sam Donald went out and killed it for the Minnesota Vikings. He'll be joining us top of hour number three. And then Chris Long will join us from New Orleans. We'll get a few minutes with him as he's on a promotional tour.

There's a lot going on. He's always promoting stuff. J.J. McCarthy's got stuff that he's promoting. He's joining us with sleep number.

There you go. And Chris is joining us with Smirnoff. It's odd that Chris Long would be associated with some form of alcoholic beverage.

He's probably still detoxing after the tailgate on the floor two weeks ago. Exactly. And so, yeah. Oh, and then we head to New Orleans. Tomorrow's guests. Here's our guest list. We're all on the same flight, right? The the late one out. Oh, yeah.

Tonight. I'll wave to you. Do me a favor. Could you could you read the list on the card I gave you since I've worked so hard to put that on the card? Oh, also, we'll be so upset if you don't read the card. No, I have it on a piece of paper that got printed out in the back.

But T.J. was able to print this out here before he started F bombing the printer. Appreciate that. Thank you. So tomorrow, first guest.

This is great. Warren sample be first. Since we're talking about Jalen Carter and Chris Jones, who better to talk about defensive tackles?

I can control the line of scrimmage than the Colorado assistant. Jayden Daniels will be on tomorrow's program. Bert Kreischer will join us and we'll all take one to the face.

Dan Patrick will join us. CP. Yes.

Jerome Bettis. Oh, yeah. Our all fame friend. Did you know he's from Detroit? I'll tell him. Yeah. Yeah.

Stop it. I'll tell him about my my one day rooting for his school and how they let me down. And then. Oh, here's one. Miles Garrett is on tomorrow's program. You know, so he's still confirmed.

Why? He's still confirmed. By the way, why wouldn't he?

Well, I mean, if he's put it out there. Yeah. And he knows he's then going to New Orleans to talk. It's all part of a plan.

So there's that. Jordan in Nashville, Tennessee. Let's take your phone call. What's up, Jordan? How are you doing, Rich? Oh, I'm well. You sound very chipper, Jordan. What's going on? Well, you know, you got to put on the smile of the Browns fan and try to. The smile is your umbrella. Right.

OK. I'm a younger fan, so I I can't say I was there when the Browns got ripped away to Baltimore. But this this feels kind of like the equivalent of that. And I'm not I'm not upset with Miles. I think this this is kind of I mean, if the Deshaun Watson trade wasn't sounding the alarms of where the organization's head was at then, I feel like this is kind of the sign of just how poorly the culture is not only in that locker room, but in the front office as well, to the point where if we keep him, I feel bad because he's such a phenomenal player. He deserves to be going out and playing actual games that have actual stakes, not pedaling around in these kind of lose lose seasons. But he's also kind of been the guiding light of our team, I feel.

Well, Jordan, let me just jump in here and because you kind of sound like Luka Doncic being told he's got to move to Los Angeles right now. Listen, Jordan, I wouldn't say that this is a reflection of the locker room or anything other than the fact that the Deshaun Watson trade was an absolute total disaster. And and the contract that they gave him is something that this this franchise is still having to live under. And in term in terms of that, you know, Miles Garrett is twenty nine years old with two more years left on a contract with no guaranteed money on it. And and a team that's second overall on the clock where Deshaun Watson isn't coming back. And the plan to be a quarterback, you just heard the plan, a quarterback for the for the Browns might be to hop on Kirk Cousins for a year and then see what Deshaun Watson looks like. Or or go and hop on somebody for a year to bridge it to a draft with a better quarterback class in it. And why wouldn't he just sit there and go, I'm not winning the Super Bowl here before I'm at least 32 or 33. Why do I want to live through all of that when I can see what the world is? And thanks for the call, Jordan.

You know, I could see what the world is. And and McAfee had an interesting point that this came on the heels of Miles Garrett hanging out at the Pro Bowl. Where I'm sure he's like seeing all of his colleagues from Detroit and Washington and Green Bay and. Drake May was spinning it.

OK, but what I'm saying is he was around a bunch of guys his age and his peers that are on teams that are ready to win it or almost did. And he's probably like, oh, so there's grass that's greener elsewhere. And you put it all together and out comes a statement saying, I want out. Now we have Miles on the show tomorrow as scheduled. And when he comes on, there'll be it'll be a fascinating conversation with one of the nicest guys in the NFL, by the way.

I mean, his play is the exact opposite of his seeming day to day personality. And so but you have to sit here and say, I'm twenty nine. I've got two years left on my contract.

No money is guaranteed. And if they want me to actually stay here and be part of this rebuild that it clearly is going to be as Deshaun Watson is injured for next year, he's not he's not playing. And what are you going to do? We just heard Daniel Jeremiah say the plan could be if Kirk Cousins gets caught. In Atlanta, hop on him for a year, see if you can turn Kirk Cousins into Joe Flacco from two years ago, make the playoffs and then figure out the next year is a start and scratch. In twenty twenty six, with a better quarterback class in the draft or see if Deshaun Watson is still any good. And you could see.

Yourself in other spots, maybe trying to win a championship. I mean, why not send out that statement? It makes complete sense, and I think it was awesome.

A point that the Daniel Jeremiah mentioned as well. Andrew Berry's the general manager saying we are not going to entertain this under any circumstances when it was mentioned last week. And now Browns fans wouldn't leave that on Andrew Berry's lap, although we just heard one from Tennessee say maybe it's a sign of the locker room or what have you or the culture. They blew it with the Deshaun Watson trade and the contract they gave him. In retrospect, one of the worst.

Ever. In terms of results, in terms of the amount of availability that the quarterback has had, unfortunately for him is awful injury rut that he's in. Why should Myles Garrett have to sit there if he doesn't have to? Eight four four two oh four rich number to dial here on the program. It's an overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. So let's hit it. That was terrible. That was crap.

That was garbage. This place sucks. Overreaction. Mondays. Monday. On a Tuesday.

I took a sip of water so I wouldn't be jumping in when I shouldn't. See, that's me being a professional. Congratulations. Thank you. Jay, great beats. Great to see you, man. Happy Tuesday, everybody. Everybody good? TJ, good?

Tom straight. You packed? Oh, my God. Three quarters of the way. I just got to get the sneakers in the bag now. Ten seconds back. Yeah. Why would you want them back? Ever.

People want to know about the kicks. Now it's 15 seconds. Rich, you're talking about Myles Garrett, right? What should he do? Who should he talk to? Where should he go?

Yes. The Vikings should re-sign Sam Darnold, trade our third hour guest, J.J. McCarthy, and picks for Myles Garrett. Solves both their problems. Browns get a quarterback for the future, get Myles off their hands, Vikings bring back in, keeps him in the system when he succeeded so nicely this year, and get the edge rusher they need. And J.J. McCarthy isn't just a quarterback of the future.

He's a guy who knows how to win in the state of Ohio. I set you up for that, but yes. Where was I?

You were feeling yourself is what you were saying. I mean, it's not a bad idea. That's not a bad idea. Because I mean, you're, yeah, I mean, you're sending J.J. McCarthy going to a spot where Kevin Stefanski knows what to do with a quarterback of his caliber. Solves your quarterback issue.

And you stick Myles Garrett in the, Brian Flores. Get him out of there. You've had crazier ideas. That's for sure. Thank you.

You're welcome. Sort of a backhand and complimenting, I'll take my backhand there. I'll take it. I don't think this is an overreaction. You know, it's true. You know, it's a week of big trades. So I'm just, let's throw in a bit.

I, I just, I just, I, I tip my cap to you and say there are crazier things, crazier things. Cause, cause Donald isn't that expensive, right? Give Myles Garrett an extension where, you know, he's worth it. You're getting him in his prime. And then the Browns get JJ on his rookie deal. So plus an extra year of control. Right. Right.

And a guy who knows how to win in the Buckeye state. Exactly. You said that. Oh, I'm sorry.

The Buckeye state. Again, 15 seconds. We're not going to get back. Yeah, but it's my show. Wow. I'm sorry. It's our show. Oh, thank you. This is the Rich Eisen show.

We're here to throw in Hassan Haskins too, even though he's not on the team, just get Jim to throw it in. What is happening? Okay. What else? Look at it. Super Sunday.

We'll have a crazy what's more likely coming up. But I was thinking about this. There's at least a dozen hall of famers playing in this game on Sunday.

Okay. Now you're going to make me go to the roster. I've actually looked at the chiefs earlier. So you got Mahomes.

Hold on, I got Mahomes, Jones, Travis, Kelsey. That's three. Yep. We count coaches?

Yeah, that's correct. Great question. Joe Tooney.

He could have his fifth Super Bowl ring already. Okay. We'll check it.

We'll check the box. DeAndre Hopkins? Yes. That's five.

Especially with a win. Anybody else on the defense? Carl Aftis?

Does he get there eventually? I mean, you can't sit here and say this right now. Okay.

I would say he's on the nice. Andy Reid. Andy Reid and Spags?

Andy Reid and Spags. Yeah. Yeah.

Spags might get there one day, but I mean, Andy Reid, for sure, man, Dick LeBeau went in for his play. Okay. Right. Yeah.

But Spags could have like, Dick LeBeau is a hall of famer because he was an outstanding player. All right. I'm getting an assistant coach when there's people like Mike Shanahan waiting. Yeah.

That's a tall order, man. I get it. So let's give you Andy Reid. That's six. Where are we getting home with? We're getting home with Saquon? Saquon? Yeah. Who else are we getting home with here? Jalen Hurts? Hey.

Really? Right now? No.

Now you're in overreaction right now, mode. I mean, Lane Johnson. You can go Lane Johnson here, maybe. Lane Johnson, for sure.

I mean, let's go. That's eight. A.J. Brown? The A.J. Brown's on the- Jalen Carter? A.J. Brown's on the trajectory. But for sitting here like- No, I'm talking about let's project.

Project? I mean, Jalen Carter's in his second year. The owner? The Eagles owner? Now you're really struggling. Overreaction. Wow. I rule.

Whoa. What else? I'd get a little more love for that one. What else? Did you see who was at- I know at media night we were laughing and joking about it earlier. Did you see who was there last night? Jamis? Walking around, having guys eat W cookies? Jamis?

That was awesome. Yeah. Jamis Winston's going to be a starting quarterback in 2025. Based on the fact that I think Stafford's staying put, Cousins will wind up somewhere else. As Saquon pointed out last night, Giants need a quarterback? Jamis might wind up being at the top of the free agent market, although what happened where Cleveland's like, yeah, we're DTRing you right now.

I think they wanted to make sure they got a high draft pick. What does that mean? Oh, I see what you're saying. Yeah. Okay.

They got the number two pick for a reason. Okay. That's not an overreaction.

Okay. Did you guys see Jamis ask Saquon a question? He said, hey, I don't have a job right now.

Where do you think I should go? And Saquon said the Giants. Yeah.

We'll throw a little shade at the Giants though. I think Saquon- I don't think that's shade at all. I think Saquon is actually being helpful, Chris. There's people there he still adores. Yeah.

I don't think he'd be trying to calm Jamis either. What else? Cooper Cupp said that he looks like he's going to be traded, that Rams are looking to move him. I don't get it, but what else?

I do get it. Cooper Cupp's going to have a thousand yards in his new home next year. I will not doubt it.

Well, he's only done it twice in his whole career. I will not doubt it. Okay. I don't think that's an overreaction.

Dude. Listen, I know they're going to pay Puca at some point. What if they send him to Cleveland for Myles Garrett? Does he want to go to Cleveland? I don't know.

Do you want to go to Cleveland? At this point in time? No.

No. They're working with him. Oh, they're working with him.

Okay, great. What else, Chris? I'm looking forward to him having a good year. Chris, he's only hit 2,000 yards a season. That's crazy. Yeah, I know. He's only topped 800 once in the last three years.

But that one year was only a year. I don't think that's an overreaction though. Okay. Did you see what Commander's owner Josh Harris said yesterday? What did he say?

They are not going to change the team name. Huh. Jayden Daniels is so cool and so good, he made the commanders cool in Washington, D.C. Jayden Daniels has single-handedly saved this franchise. I agree. I don't think you're wrong. I think Spider would agree with you too. I don't think you're wrong. That it's branded, it's officially branded.

People are used to it. They are officially the commanders now because of this guy. Because well, and Chris, just to tack on to what you're saying, is he has so 100% turned the page from the Dan Snyder era that this year cleansed a lot of pallets and there was a palate cleanse that was needed in a big way and that he has made it cool to call this team the commanders. I agree with you.

This is spot on. I won't ask Jayden Daniels about it in our few minutes with him tomorrow, but yeah, man, I'm with you because he has totally turned the page. This is not a Dan Snyder name in people's minds anymore. It's a Jayden Daniels commanders. He's the master and commander. I'm happy for him. Of his domain.

I love that dude. You got one more? Yeah. Yeah.

One more. Next year, we're talking about the Luca trade and then how it affects the league and blah, blah, blah. The NBA finals is going to be a rematch of last year.

Dallas, Boston. I'm buying it. I'm buying, I'm buying the move, bro. I don't think you're off at all. I don't think you're off at all. I'm sure there are Cleveland fans out there saying it's their time.

Got it. Because fans are feeling good about things until the Anthony Davis-less and now Luca-less Lakers came in and spanked him in Madison Square Garden. And the thing that I still cannot get over is the narrative that the Mavericks got ripped off because Anthony Davis is broken down. I think that is so overlooking what the Mavericks have done short term to improve their lot. I'm with you, Chris.

I wouldn't be surprised if that actually is the case. Look at you. Look at us. Look at all. Look at us.

Is the printer working? Because I mean, things are just so on the up and up. When we try again. All right. That's overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. Let's take a break. We will be joining Tom Pelissero from New Orleans, Louisiana. I believe he's in the media center.

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Learn more at American Express dot com slash AMEX Business. Don't let the urge to sing along to that catchy tune distract you from that truck drifting towards your lane or that lane splitting biker creeping up beside you. Unfortunately, every Hyundai offers advanced safety features that can alert you to potential dangers around you. And Hyundai is over 120 IIHS Top Safety Awards since 2006, because Hyundai is always working to ensure the road doesn't get you.

Hyundai vehicles have won over 120 IIHS Top Safety Awards from 2006 to 2024. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, everybody, Tom Pelissero is going to be joining us right now from... That's great. Let's just pop them up. Yeah.

Let's just put them on. What's up, Tom? Look at you, man. So clearly you must have checked the bag because there's no way the hair gel could have gotten through TSA. Right? I mean, it's definitely more than four ounces, Tom.

You know? Checked the bag. Got the coconut oil. Just enough. Look at that. No explosions, which is huge, because let me tell you, I've had a coconut oil explode in my suitcase before.

That stuff does not come out of anything. So we made it safely. All is well. Okay.

And I see the pocket squares working. What did you say was going on the other day, please? Last night I was watching some of the media night. Tom, lot of ankle last night. Lot of ankle showing. You went sockless on media night?

Really? I went sockless. It's hot down here. It's going to be pushing up towards 80 degrees.

Ian and I had a little adventure around the stadium because we were the first ones to arrive and there was a tad bit of confusion about what gates we were and weren't allowed to go in. So we were huffing it quite a ways around the stadium and I was thankful to have a little breeze down there at the bottom. Do you want a breeze?

A little breeze. Ah, okay. Okay.

So again, I wasn't watching. There's too much going on in the household. Capri pants? I don't understand.

Why would there be too much angle? They're normal pants. They're normal pants. Tom's like a 32-24. It's a hiring inseam. 31-30.

Thank you very much. Back off. Back off from this man inseam.

Then with no socks and then the low shoes, it just gives you a little view there. By the way, another band, a cover band, hey, come and see Inseam Slander. Come on out. Inseam Slander?

So it was more like Capri pants then, right? This guy, I mean, does he not listen? My battery went dead a second ago. Oh my God. What is happening around here? Back from the Rich Asin Show Radio and Network, I'm sitting at the Rich Asin Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger is the right product for you.

Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. Tom Pelosero is here. Tommy. Let's go. Thumbs up, boys. How are we doing? It's been a wild day, Tom. Can't lie.

I got beads too. So let's just jump right into it, Tom. Walk me through how Miles Garrett wound up posting a basic farewell letter to the city of Cleveland. This had been going on, Rich, for three or four weeks since the Browns season ended. They had been, Miles Garrett and his agent had been trying to quietly make clear to the Browns that he wanted a fresh start elsewhere. Obviously, the Browns are at a different point right now where they still, I've said publicly that they are not trading Miles Garrett. In the Browns' mind, what they would like to do is redo Miles Garrett's contract, which has two years and about $45 million left, make him the highest paid defensive player, one of the highest played players in football in the coming months here, and make him a guy who's going to retire as a Brown and go straight into Canton. Well, from Miles Garrett's perspective, this is not about money. There's some of these standoffs, I think at Brandon IU class summer, where that was, they're going back and forth on the contract, they were not on the same page, and so you had a trade request, and he's in the building, he's out of the building, all this stuff. Miles Garrett, this is not a contractual ploy. The Browns stand ready to redo the deal.

This is a guy who's 29 years old, just turned 29 in December. He's got a lot of years left. That's a position where you can play well into your mid-30s, but he also knows time is running short to go and try to win a championship. So Miles Garrett truly wants to continue his career someplace else by making this public now. This has created some level of pressure on the Browns.

The Browns continue to say that their stance has not changed here. This could be a situation, Rich, that we're still talking about certainly beyond the start of free agency, potentially up to and even beyond the draft here. Those are the natural checkpoints, particularly the draft, because if you're going to do a Miles Garrett trade, which again, the Browns as of now do not want to do, if you're going to do one, you would like to think that that happens prior to the draft, because otherwise your trading picks out into future drafts as opposed to in 2025. Those picks become devalued here. Miles Garrett, if he were traded, would command one of the biggest compensation packages that we've ever seen in an NFL trade. But again, that's not the mentality right now for the Browns. They still want Miles Garrett to be part of the team. They have him under contract for two more years. I think it's going to be a while, Rich.

These things can happen quickly, but I would say it's probably going to be a while until he knows exactly how this resolves itself. So a couple of follow-ups then. You mentioned the market would be robust. Name me the teams that you think would jump in on this, Tom. All 31. I mean, I think that basically every team in the league would have to inquire about Miles Garrett, just because you're talking about a 29-year-old all-pro pass rusher, reigning defensive player of the year, who is still very much in his prime. You can't. This isn't the NBA.

I'm watching all the action over there. You can't trade your first-round pick 10 years from now. In the NFL, you can only go out three years. So is it three first-round picks? Is it two first-round picks and something else? It would be a significant value because you would have such a competition in terms of driving the compensation. A lot of times, too, Rich, when a team says, we're not trading the guy as opposed to the flip side of it, and I'm sure we get to Cooper Cup, where it's very apparent they're going to trade him.

That can impact leverage in terms of the trades here. The Browns are starting from a standpoint of, we are absolutely not going to move this guy. I do believe that there would be a ton of teams.

I mean, name a team. That team is probably interested in Miles Garrett. Now, who has the flexibility?

How are they constructed? Some of those things would end up being the questions here. But I would fairly say, Rich, almost every team in the league at least would be open to making a move if and when the Browns would be willing to do it. Not every team in the league, not all the other 31 are in line to win a Super Bowl or appear to be in line to win a Super Bowl, and that obviously would have to play into it. I guess the question would also be, if the Browns say, we can go through this year's draft without making this deal, we can wait till training camp, we could do that sort of stuff, would be how they view this year's draft. If it's deep enough for them to say, let's take a ton of capital now, as opposed to put it all together in another draft that has a deeper quarterback pool within it. And that's my next question is, how do you know, what's your sense of how the Browns view this draft? Second, overall, there are two quarterbacks that are considered first round, top of the draft worthy.

The Titans are sitting there at one right in front of Cleveland. How do the Browns view this draft? I would say, generally speaking, Rich, there could be a couple of quarterbacks that go very high in this draft, but you and I have been talking about this for weeks here, and it was reinforced by conversations I had at the Senior Bowl. I don't know how many teams have grades on Cam Ward or Chidoor Sanders that would truly make them top five type of talents here.

Could they go top five? Absolutely, because that position tends to be valued at a higher level. In terms of the actual grades, this isn't a quarterback class where you have slam dunk guys that you take up at the top.

Now it's entirely possible, because we are very early in the process. Cam Ward did not go to an All-Star game. He was invited to the Senior Bowl, decided not to go. Chidoor Sanders went to East-West, didn't really do anything but at least met with the teams there. Those would be the two guys that potentially you're talking about taking up at the top of the draft. The Browns, like the other teams, are going to have to make evaluations whether or not they think that that value is there. I would also say, if you're talking about where the Browns stand right now, trading Miles Garrett, that's the type of deal. I mean, it's the flip side of the Deshaun Watson deal. Look at how the Deshaun Watson trade has impacted the Houston Texans. All the additional picks. So they had the freedom in one draft to take the quarterback in CJ Stroud and the pass rusher in Will Anderson. The Browns gave up all those first round picks. What if they can get two or three first round picks back and use that to rebuild their roster?

I can't say it strongly enough. The Browns are not looking at it from that perspective, but knowing Andrew Berry and how he thinks about these things, you're never going to want actively to take higher picks in future drafts because those are just by nature devalued. The way the most NFL teams look at it as would be a first round pick in 2026 is really more like a second round pick this year and vice versa. So you're wanting to get all the draft capital that you can now because then you can also flip those and get additional picks in future years.

There's a lot of moving parts to making a trade like this. We've seen wilder stuff than this happen. How does Miles Garrett approach this?

How ugly does he want to make it? How much pressure does he want to try to put on the team? Are the Browns willing to really dig in their heels on this?

That all remains to be seen because even though these discussions have been going on for weeks, it burst into the open yesterday and that just creates a little different conversation. Tom Pellicero, cohost of the insiders on NFL Network, NFL Plus, our buddy, regular here on the Rich Eisen Show, zooming in from the media center in New Orleans at the Super Bowl. The Cooper Cup announcement yesterday, he pops it out there on social media that he was informed by the team that they're going to be seeking to trade him and they're going to work with him and his family to find the right place to continue competing for championships. I don't agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA. So the question is why, Tom?

What's up? Well, let's start by going back to last October when the Rams were actively engaged in Cooper Cup trade discussions among other players. They're off to a one and four start. They were exploring what their options were with Cooper Cup. Ultimately, for one reason or another, they decided not to pull the trigger on a trade, but they had serious offers. They had good value on the table.

They decided not to do it. Now Cooper Cup is a year older, he's 31 years old. I know that he had that monster season back in 2021, but each of the last three years, he's missed significant time because of injuries and his production has suffered significantly. I mean, you look down the stretch of last season, there were games where he had no catches or one catch. You know, he had 700 something yards once again. This is not a guy who's performing anywhere close to the level that he was when he had close to 2,000 yards, still a valuable piece.

And I believe that there will be a market. Cooper Cup will be playing football in the NFL in 2025, but it'll be really interesting to see how the Rams navigate this situation and how much money, if any, they may have to pay as part of Cooper Cup salary, or if he has to take a pay cut to facilitate a trade. And in turn, is he willing to do that as opposed to if you can't work out a trade where I get my full 20 million, I'm just going to say, cut me and I'll move on and sign someplace else for whether it's the minimum or whether it's something more than what he's due. He's got a $7.5 million roster bonus due on the third day of the league year in March, which is like March 18. $5 million of that is fully guaranteed. So the Rams are committed to Cooper Cup for at least $5 million. If he's still on the roster after that date in March, then they're in for $7.5 million. It's possible that if they're willing to pay that entire roster bonus, that actually generates more value for Cooper Cup in a trade, because then all of a sudden you're getting Cooper Cup around what he'd probably get on the free agent market, which is, OK, it's a one-year deal for $12.5 million. He's due another $20 million in 2026, but that's non-guaranteed. Part of that's in a roster bonus as well.

That can be a little bit more palatable. I've talked to some of the teams today that were in the Cooper Cup trade discussions a year ago who have said, we're not trading for them this time, because basically they think this is probably a situation where the Rams might end up having to cut them. It's entirely possible they can trade them. The Rams have been creative through the years with veteran players and being able to trade those guys somewhere down the line. I would fully anticipate that they'll explore every avenue for that. But keep in mind, that third day of the league year, that's where the rubber's going to meet the road.

If Cooper Cup hasn't been traded by that point, they're either going to have to eat another $2.5 million or they're going to release. I have JJ McCarthy on in a half an hour. What do I need to know? What do you think?

What's going on there? It's a fluid conversation right now for the Vikings based on the conversations that I've had. I would fairly say all options are still on the table with Sam Darnall. I do think that the way the season finished and the fact that the last two games did not match up to what they'd seen from Sam Darnall, the first 16 games, in a way it might make it easier for the Vikings to potentially do a multi-year deal with Sam Darnall, because the number, you might have a better chance of getting that done closer to the franchise tag number, which is around $40 million. With JJ McCarthy, that is a young player the Vikings think really highly of. They said it right after he suffered the meniscus injury, it led to the surgery that cost him his entire rookie year.

I believe in him. He's going to be the franchise quarterback eventually. But there's really no precedent for a rookie quarterback, much less a first round pick to miss an entire rookie season, the entire year of reps because of an injury, and then come back and start in week one in year two. Could it happen?

Definitely. But I believe that the Vikings have to have some type of a fallback plan, whether that's bringing back Sam Darnall, whether that is resigning Daniel Jones, which would be all likely to almost certainly be a lesser financial commitment than bringing back Sam Darnall. They're in a really unique spot, because you remember, there's a team that won 14 games this year. Sam Darnall's being hoisted on the guy's shoulders in the locker room after that win over Green Bay in week 17 that sets up the NFC North title game in Detroit. Did not play well in week 18.

They did not play well as a team in the wildcard playoff game against the Rams. So what is that number on Sam Darnall? A big part of this is going to be figuring out what's the market out there for Sam Darnall if he were to hit free agency.

And I'm sure that his agents, RJ Gonser and Jimmy Sexton, will have a very good idea of what someone might be willing to pay him. It only takes one team. Last year, the Vikings, it was a different situation, but they were going through a very similar calculus with Kirk Cousins, where it was, all right, we'll pay you right up to here.

But at some point, there's a number we're not going to go past because we're not going to be able to put a competitive team around you. It only took one team. There was one bidder for Kirk Cousins. That was the Atlanta Falcons. They paid Kirk Cousins significantly more than what the Vikings were willing to offer. And they let Kirk Cousins go. The biggest difference here, besides the fact that Sam Darnall is a younger player, is the fact that they can use the franchise tag. It's around 40 million dollars. That could lead to Sam Darnall eventually signing a multiyear deal, although that would set the baseline for a multiyear deal, maybe at a higher number the Vikings want to go to. He could play on the tag for a year or potentially there could be a tag and trade.

That's what I mean by all options are on the table. They're still filling this out. The Vikings are continuing to meet. They're in the early process in terms of their draft evaluations, in terms of potential discussions with other teams.

We're not down the road on it just yet, Rich. But in terms of J.J. McCarthy here, the primary questions I'd have for him are just how confident are you that you could go out there and play in week one in 2025? Because the Vikings have, again, have a high degree of confidence in him being the guy eventually here.

But week one with all those misreps, is that setting him up for success? That's a question they got to ask themselves. Tom, before I let you go, I know there's usually very little you learn from media night, but you were sitting there listening to everything come in from every podium and everything out there. The thing that jumped out at me is somebody asked a question of Travis Kelce about his future and did it in a way that they got an answer and say, where do you see yourself three years from now? And he said, I hope still playing football. Did that surprise you hearing that? That was the number one quote I caught up with it. The main thing I learned out of media night, Rich, is there's a lot of reporters from Germany at the Super Bowl. I did a lot of interviews that are going to be airing somewhere.

Not quite sure where. I did a lot of interviews with German TV stations last night, but as I was reviewing the quotes today, that's, I think, the most definitive lead that we've heard Travis Kelce talk about his future. And he's a guy who, in following Patrick Mahomes' lead, has done deals that have been team friendly with regard to the structure and the cash flow. Patrick Mahomes, if you look at the cash flow on his deal, ultimately, he signed that 10-year extension. The way that they've done it with the rolling guarantees and everything and the way they've moved money up at times, he's been as highly paid as anybody in the league. Travis Kelce, you can certainly argue, has done the same thing for the tight end position where he could have pushed this and been like, I want to be the first $20 million tight end. He hasn't done that. Every year, though, with a contract like that, you're reevaluating it. I would anticipate that continues to be the case with Travis Kelce. We've seen, frankly, we've seen him go through the regular season in the last couple of years. I don't want to say that he's not going 100 percent, but he is pacing himself.

You can see it. He is saving that energy because he knows, we're going to get into the playoffs. We're going to be able to do damage come January and February.

I'm going to turn it on. And there's not been a better player in the postseason the last couple of years, particularly relative to his regular season production, than Travis Kelce. As long as he wants to go, he's on that short list, along with Mahomes, Chris Jones, Andy Reed, and Steve Spagnuolo. That's been the five guys who have been the core of this entire Super Bowl run here. As long as they can continue to push it and continue to be competitive every year. Travis Kelce, I know he's got a lot of other stuff going on in his life, but you can tell when it gets to playoff football, he's loving every second of it. It's interesting to hear, definitely, that he's starting to push. If he's playing three, four more years, you're pushing 40 years old.

Not a lot of tight ends have been able to do that here, but certainly the Chiefs will want Travis Kelce wrong as long as he's willing to go. Tom, you're the man. You're the man. See you in person.

We'll see you in person soon. Put on some socks. I got them. I got them. I don't know if I can get them out. There they go.

Hey! Don't pull a hammy now, Tom. Don't pull a hammy. Don't play. I just did.

I just did. That's good. Hydrate, Tom. Hydrate, Tom.

It is New Orleans. Thanks again. You are my buddy from NFL Network. Awesome stuff, as always. So, the Luka press conference is over.

Can't wait to hit that, and we will when we come back. For the moment, though, here is a sports update from Emanuel Babari. This is a message from sponsor Intuit TurboTax. Now taxes is 100% free when you file in the TurboTax app if you're a first-time filer or didn't file with TurboTax last year. That's right, just do your own taxes in the TurboTax app by February 18th. Had a few jobs last year? It's free. Have a lot of forms? Yep, still free. Have a bunch of new invisible crypto coins? Heads up, it's still free.

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Must start and file in app by February 18th. This episode is brought to you by Love Hurts. Kiwi Kwan has had quite a career, from childhood roles in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, to a recent Academy Award win for Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. But now, Key finally stars as a leading man in the film Love Hurts. Love Hurts is the perfect date night movie with its mix of over-the-top action, comedy, and a ton of heart.

Love Hurts, only at theaters February 7th. Play the role of a tight end with a hall of fame resume. Okay. And the time is going to be, let's go, November 1st, 2019.

In the future, not too distant future. Would you mind if we quickly role play this out? We got one scene. Okay. Here we go.

One scene. Here we go. Ready? Chris, say action when you got it. Okay. All right, guys. Ready? Yes.

Action. Hey, Rob. It's Tom. How you been?

Hey, Tom. Good, man. I've been doing great, man. You're still killing it.

You're like 42 years old now. I mean, I know you miss me, Tom. I know you do. I do. I do.

Gronk, I do, man. It's not just me. It's everybody. We all miss you. And things are going great. Bill's a pain in the ass, but it's really something that could be better with you. Would you think of coming back and playing with me, Rob? Oh, Tom. I mean, you know, I miss you too. I miss the guys, but I'm just chilling, man.

I'm down in the Bahamas right now. Just relaxing. I'm sipping my water and I got your electrolytes in it, Tom. So don't worry. Don't worry, baby.

I got the electrolytes in the water and I'm sipping on a protein margarita, Tom. So I'm just chilling. Thank you. I love you. I miss you.

I'm just relaxing, homie. There's no chance, Rob. This is Tom. This is Tom.

You know, call me when you get to the playoffs. Rob, you're a natural, man. You are a natural.

You're a natural. That was great. That was so funny. I know that sounded that was lifelike to me. I thought that was pretty good. That was good.

OK. Nothing like a Gronk giggle, man. Last year, you know, Gronk showed up with Julian Edelman.

Oh, my God. He showed up with Julian Edelman just as Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer were leaving the set. Yada, yada, yada.

We all were buzzing. And this year, different vibe. He is paired with Drew Brees this time around. So bring your father to the Super Bowl.

That's on Friday. Gronk and Brees. That clip is so funny because crime fighting team in New Orleans. A year and a half later, Gronk did come back and won a Super Bowl with Tom Brady in Tampa. I remember I got him the giggle by saying, well, Bill's still a pain in the ass, but yeah, Gronk and Brees on Friday. So we got that going for us, which is nice, which is nice. I'm pumped about our guest list. Seth Rollins is coming by. Yeah, buddy. Oh, Cage was loving him last night.

Cage goes, he's a bad guy. Seth is like every Super Bowl, man. This is a new tradition, unlike any other.

I'm kind of digging it. Back here on The Rich Eisen Show, whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes you want to eat. And this football season, UberEats has the best deals on game day food no matter what you're craving. For two for one pizza to buy one, get one wings, UberEats is going to be dropping new deals each week as it has all season long. UberEats is the official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL.

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All right. Jerry's eating rice. Jerry's eating rice. Well, speaking of food, Luca showed up.

Wow. No, listen, this is the story that everyone's trying to figure out why the Dallas Mavericks traded away Luca Doncic. And the fact that the Lakers dealt for him and got him with just only one first round pick, Max Christie and the all world Anthony Davis, people are looking for answers here.

We need them. And the, the play that the Lakers made for Luca Doncic is indeed our play of the week brought to you by Sleep Number. It is like what we could see here and go, you know, let's talk about an actual play on the court.

This is ironic, Rich, because no one got any sleep after this. And then Luca holding up, by the way, the first ever number 77 jersey in Lakers history. Dennis Rodman, more 73.

That's the closest anybody's ever gotten to 77. And, you know, he shows up. There's, there's JJ Redick, his former Mavericks teammate, his new Laker head coach. What's Rob Lowe doing there? And it's not Rob Lowe. It's Rob Polinka in a zip up like leather jacket.

Divorce dad. Come on, Doncic. And Luca showed up looking like he's waiting for his wife and kids to come out of J Crew at the, you know, at the, at the Grove here in LA, you know, just like waiting, like, come on, got to, you know, got to go, got to go play a game. Let's go pickleball at 11. Well, he's not playing pickleball because again, that would be a workout.

That's an actual conditioning. He looks fine there. It's just a wild LA scene. You know, two dads showing up to talk about their billion dollar deal that nobody knew about and shocked the sports world. No one else had a chance to even get in on. How is that even possible? Well, because it was massaged.

Nice. Well, Luca, Luca, Luca needed a hug. Yeah, he looked like he looked on occasion. Like he couldn't believe I'm at a new press conference to introduce myself as the new Los Angeles Laker playing with LeBron. He was asked if, if the trade was a surprise. I mean, everybody was surprised. So you can imagine how surprised I was. I was almost asleep. So when I got a call, I had to check. It was, it was April 1st.

I didn't really believe it at first. And it was, it was a big shock. It was hard moments for me. It was, it was home. So it was really hard moments for me, especially the first day. But as I said, you know, I get to play in the greatest club in the world.

And I'm excited for this new journey. You know, who needs to talk to him? I'm serious. Freddy Freeman. Do you remember Freddy Freeman? He signed here and he wasn't traded here.

Willy came to Los Angeles, but he was talking about the old spot for a while. There was one time when he was playing the Braves and Kershaw was kind of like, all right, it's been a couple of months here, Freddy, like, you know, like it's time to turn a page. Yeah.

And you know, who's smiling. And I went to, I went to a high school baseball game recently as a part of a, a fundraiser for the Altadena little league through Harvard, Westlake and everybody else. And one of the players, when he reached second base for Harvard, Westlake, the Freddy Freeman dance move. Yeah. So now kids here in Los Angeles are doing it. So Freddy needs to call Luca up and say, you'll get over it. And by the way, you can win championships here too, making a ton of money.

This is my suggestion, hooking him up with Freddy Freeman. In the meantime, he was asked, Luca was asked why he thought the Mavericks traded him. Well, I mean, that's their decision. So I have no comment on that. They made the decision. I don't know why. So, but that's their decision. So I can't do nothing about it. And then one of the reasons that was given was that there was concern that, you know, beyond this summer or that you, there's a chance you might not agree to the Supermax extension. Did anyone, did you or anyone on your inner circle indicate that that might be the case? Absolutely not. Yeah. He's like, what am I going to not sign for 350 million dollars?

How much was I going to get? Come on. Listen, everybody's cutting around the edges here of the narrative in the same way. The narrative in Dallas is like, they got a broken down jalopy and Anthony Davis like, hello, you didn't. And here in LA, it's like, OK, LeBron James has a new role, soul cycle instructor for this guy. Yeah. You know, let me tell you, look, I'm triple doubling in my 40s.

Let me help you out at 25. Figure out your body and your conditioning, because honestly, that shot that the social media shot we had of welcoming Luca to Los Angeles, it was a shot of James Corden in a Lakers shirt. You know, that's the story here. It's just like maybe you got traded here because you weren't taking it. Michael Finley took a beer out of your hands in the NBA finals. So he was asked about his conditioning.

How do you address the criticism that's followed you on your way out about concerns about conditioning and durability? It's a motive. I know it's not true. I know. But it's a motive. Like I say, you know, I came here one of the biggest clubs in in in history sports. So it's a big motive for for a long, long run here.

Don't call Luca fat. That's the motivation. I guess that's the he said it's a motive. And I assume he's meaning it's a motivation, right? Yes.

Like it's not like a clue game. Luca with a ham sandwich and crypto. You know, the ham sandwich. Sleep better together.

Our player of the week. Sleep better together. Say 50 percent on the new sleep number. Limited edition smart bed.

Limited time exclusively at a sleep number store. Our player of the week is the Lakers getting Luca Doncic at age 25. And the star of the future here in Los Angeles, J.J. McCarthy and Chris Long and you in our number three coming up, Luca wouldn't be the first, you know, foreigner to come to Los Angeles and lose weight and change their body as they age.

Listen, man, there's a lot of questions here. Who is the rim protector? What is going down underneath the basket when LeBron and Luca are doing their all world act together?

The must see, by the way, all world act together. I don't know. Did anybody ask Luca when we're going to see him? It seems like Monday could be the Monday of next week could be the earliest. OK, because they're playing the Clippers tonight. Yeah, he didn't want to show up for that one. So, you know, we'll see him soon.

And then the question is, is what else are the Lakers going to do in the next 48 hours? It's Ruri Hachimura season. I guess so, yeah. Jackson Hayes season and Rui Hachimura. Yeah, these guys have a couple of days to audition basically for their jobs.

Yeah, in between shopping at the leather store. It's just crazy to me. That's what Palink is going to be doing. It's crazy to me that people think that LeBron and Luca won't be able to play together. LeBron is one of, if not the smartest basketball player of all time. And of course, well, J.J. Reddick is smart enough to get it done.

And you know, and you know how much it hurts me to say this. I hate it, but they're going to figure it out. He's rim protecting.

Who's crashing the boards? Yeah, they're going to have to outscore teams. What if somebody wants to go big on them? Right. They're in trouble.

As they're currently constructed, they got to score like 130 a night to win these games. It's fun. It's going to be fun. It's going to be fun.

No, I'm going to be like vomiting while I like trying to. Luca and LeBron are playing together, man. And then Anthony Davis is going to be introduced in Dallas. And it's just like.

Cool. It's like when Philadelphia booed Donovan McNabb. It's just like, hey, it's like, hey, you know, wait till he starts showing up. Like I said, triple doubling 30, 30 and 20. And, and, and Kyrie's got 20 and 15 of his own. Yeah, right. Right. But Brockman, the Lakers will wind up training for the Andre Ayton or somebody like that.

They're going to, you know, they're going to, it's just what they do. They're going to plug the hole with some Anthony Davis was saying a week ago that they needed another because he likes playing the four. And that's why in that reaction video with O'Shea, I was so shocked because I was like, wait a minute. Is that the reason he got traded? Because I don't think so. He said something.

No, clearly this has been in the works for a while. Yeah. Finals rematch, Dallas, Boston on Thursday. OK, well, Anthony Davis playing that one. I would imagine so.

OK, we'll see Anthony Davis before we see Luca. It's fun. It's definitely fun to talk about. JJ McCarthy. When we come back, our three on this busy Tuesday. Yeah. Give them Lala. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.