April 9, 2025 • 15 mins
Mike Florio of PFT joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about where the draft stock is at for Shedeur Sanders right now, Cam Ward likely going at the top of the draft, the situation with Aaron Rodgers, Brock Purdy’s upcoming contract, and the Dolphins.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time for a weekly conversation with Pro Football Talks
Mike Florio, brought to you by Simply Seattle. Tired of
buying and repping the same old Seattle sports gear everyone
else has. For the best Storm, Seahawks, Mariners, Kraken, Rainiers, Sounders,
and not to mention, the largest Sonics collection in the world,
check out simply Seattle dot Com. Now with Mike Florio,
(00:21):
here's Softy and Dick.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
All right, boys and girls, here we go back from
Jimmy's on First Dick as the week off. Hugh Millon
in for Dick Fane and joining us right now on
the radio show, the King Baby of all NFL Media,
the undisputed heavyweight Champion, Hugh of the NFL Press Corps,
Pro Footballtalk dot Com, the NFL on NBC, our friend
Michael Florio, Michael, how are you.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Great?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
He literally just dropped his phone, let me call me?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Dropped his phone, like literally dropped his phone on the ground.
Was it the butthole comments that finally got to him
and finally broke him? He said, have had enough of
those premature or those immature clowns over there. So we
got Mike back on the air, we got a lot
of stuff to talk about obviously. In The NFL Draft
is two weeks from tomorrow. The mock draft is two
weeks from today. We'll have news on that, by the way,
(01:12):
coming up. Pro rightly, Let's try one more time, three
two and one, Michael, how are you? What's going on?
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Hey? Cool? Great? I'm having a hard time hearing you, guys,
but if you can hear me, let's power through it.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Well, I'll tell you what. You're the second person, Jackson,
this might be an issue. You're the second person that
said that to us today. So we will try and
power through. But the draft, let's just start there is
coming up two weeks from tomorrow, the first round of
the draft in Green Bay. I want to know this.
I want to know winter we get in the draft.
Everybody else is getting the draft. The draft is going
(01:44):
all over the country. Looming Field, they got a hold
of a big, you know, event center here. We got
a great arena. Now, should we, as Seahawk fans, Seattle
football fans think that one day of the NFL Draft
might come to our town.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I think everybody's gonna have it at some point. It's
something that's moving around from city to city. It's something
that the cities that will never host the Super Bowl
have an opportunity to bring to town and become the
epicenter of professional football for a weekend with hundreds of
thousands of people showing up. But it seems like each
place they go, they one up the place where it
was before. It's Green Bay, then it's Pittsburgh, and everybody
(02:23):
wants in on it. It'll be interesting to see if
another city that's already hosted it doubles up before it
goes everywhere. In theory, it should go everywhere everybody that wants.
If you don't want it, that's one thing, but anybody
that wants it should have it at some point. It's
the beauty of having an event in the middle of
spring where weather, in theory, shouldn't be an issue.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Let's stay with the draft, and it seems like as
time has passed here, it seems like cam Ward is
more cemented just to go to Tennessee and that's done.
But it seems like the most intriguing guy for this
draft is should or A lot of opinions floating around,
some real positive, some not so much. What's your sense
(03:07):
of the latest about Shaudor Sanders.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I'm always larry of the opinions from anonymous scouts because
there's a basic mindset when the draft is approaching. If
there's a team out there that really likes the guy
and would like to have that guy slip and slide
down the board so they can draft him, there's an
incentive to participate in the spreading of rumors and opinions
about how he's not very good and you might win
(03:33):
the prize by having him there when it's time for
you to pick. Conversely, if it's a guy you don't like,
you will spread positivity and hope that someone ahead of
you will burn their pick on a guy that you're
not going to draft. Chris Simms was talking about that yesterday.
The year that he worked in New England, they were
told by John Robinson, the former Titans GM, if you're
out with your buddies from other teams and they're talking
(03:56):
a guy up and it's a guy we don't want,
go ahead and join in. Talk that guy up and
let's get him taken, and let's get the guys we
want farther down the board. So that's part of what
happens prior to the draft. But with Shitar Sanders, like
any quarterback, the high end quarterbacks are going to be
overdrafted because every draft pick is a lottery ticket and
some have bigger prizes than others. And if you can
(04:16):
win franchise quarterback, you're going to be more likely to
roll the dice on a guy where the risk of
the franchise quarterback becoming a bust is maybe greater. So
I don't see him getting to twenty one. That's where
the Steelers pick. I think if he gets past nine
at the Saints, I think somebody's going to trade up
(04:37):
and get him in the teams before a team like
the Steelers can get it. Because I think the Steelers
would be inclined to take a shot because they need
a long term franchise quarterback. They took their shot with
Kenny Pickett three years ago, it didn't work out. They
went along twenty years between Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger.
They understand the importance of having a franchise quarterback, and
(04:58):
where do you find them unless you get lucky in
round six or pick seventy five like the Seahawks did
back in twenty twelve. The only place you're going to
find a guy that can be the guy for ten
fifteen years. Is in the first round of the draft.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
What's the probability that Seattle has an option that he's
available at eighteen.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
We were talking about that today as we were looking
through the teams. In the teams, most of them already
have their long term answer. But what's the biggest characteristic
of the Sam Donalds contract. They can get out after
one year in thirty seven and a half million, So
if they really like Shador Sanders and the best message
to send as a team an organization prior to the
(05:39):
draft is one of unpredictability. Keep your card close to
the vest, don't make your position clear as anyone. Some teams,
I think try to put out affirmative smoke signals about
what they're going to do. But you want the teams
picking behind you to truly have no idea what you're
going to do, because if it's clear, if they've connected
(06:01):
the dots and read the tea leaves properly and they
know what you're gonna do, you're apt to get jumped.
So I wouldn't rule it out, depending upon how they
actually feel about him. They're not going to tell us
they shouldn't tell us how they actually feel about them,
but their quarterback situation is one that would be conducive
to drafting a guy if they really like him and
if they have a shot at him.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Well, Mike Florio with US Pro Football Talk dot Com,
the NFL, and NBC all brought to you by our
friends at simply Seattle. Just use cokjar fifteen for fifteen
percent off anything on the website at simply Sattle dot com.
So here we go another week. Another question about Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Right.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
McAfee apparently has an event in Pittsburgh tonight. There's rumors
that maybe Aaron Rodgers will show up and announce his
intention to sign with Pittsburgh. I know McAfee's already shot
it down.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
What do you think. I don't think if Aaron Rodger's
style to do something like that, especially once people are
talking about it and it's a thing and there's speculation
that'll show up, it would have to be truly unexpected,
truly a surprise for Rogers son on and I would
assume he's ready to make the committed to the Steelers. Look,
there are people who firmly believe he wants to play
(07:08):
out what's happening in Minnesota and see if they come
to the conclusion, after fully and completely evaluating the performance
of JJ McCarthy in the off season program, that they
should roll the dice, go all in, try to get
to the top of the mountain with Aaron Rodgers like
they almost did with Brett Farr back in two thousand
and nine. And people think, and it's plausible to agree
(07:30):
that he's just biding his time and playing it out
and eventually signing with someone before training camp, and along
the way he gets to avoid the off season program
and go to Peru or Egypt's or Mars or wherever
he wants to go in the months of May and June.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Mike floyal with US and Mike Gino. Smith had some
comments this week basically eluding While he didn't take direct
shots that Mike McDonald, he said that prior to last
season that he felt like there was a few like
out with the old in with the new type of thing,
and it left him. It wasn't so much the contract,
(08:07):
but he said the respect what level wasn't in line.
Just kind of what's your take on that whole thing
with Gino now and his account of what happened in
that last year in Seattle.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Hey, look, nothing says respect as it relates to a
quarterback like his contract situation. That's right, And the Seahawks
had a year to year contract with Gino Smith, the
three year, seventy five million dollar contract. They could have
gotten out of it at any time. They don't fully
guarantee money beyond the first year for anyone. And that's
a flaw, that's an issue. That's the thing that can
(08:39):
break ties against you when it's time for free agents
to make their decisions. And frankly, if Sam Darnold had
any viable alternatives to the deal he signed, he would
have taken it. If he'd had an alternative to guaranteed
him fully and completely two years of compensation like many
quarterbacks get, he would have done it. So there was frustration.
I think last year we heard the reports that Gino
Smith won an extension, he didn't get one, and lo
(09:01):
and behold, here's Pete Carroll landing in Las Vegas. And
one of the great loopholes in the tampering rules, if
you're a coach who isn't working for any team, you
can talk to any player you want about anything you want.
And it's not tampering until the moment you're employed by
another team. They could have laid the foundation for exactly
what happened, where the Seahawks make an offer, Geno in
(09:23):
his camp, don't respond, the Seahawks understand they need to
trade him, and bing bang boom, he ends up with
Pete Carroll in Las Vegas. That whole thing, in theory
could have been completely and totally engineered as long as
they didn't talk about it. After Carol became the coach
of the Raiders.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Mike, why is the brock Purty contract not yet done?
You think in San Francisco?
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Well, look, long term contracts between any team and any
player can be done quickly if you want to do it.
I think at the end of the day, the question
becomes how much of a financial commitment are the forty
nine ers really going to make? It has felt like
based on some of the things it had been said
and some of the reporting that's been done. There was
a report a few weeks back that the forty nine
ers opened at forty five million per year, and the
(10:06):
reaction that was, oh, that's way too low. But as
an opener, it's arguably too high. You're starting at forty
five million. Where you gonna end up. You can't end
up in the fifty million dollars a year club. And
then when Jed York, the owner of the team, was
asked last week at the league meeting, has brought pretty
a top ten quarterback? He said, yeah, well look at
the list of the high staid quarterbacks. If you get
to ten, you get to jail and Hurts at fifty
one million a year. So I don't know why they're
(10:29):
doing it. I'm a firm believer in players getting paid
everything their work, but a guy who isn't a top
five franchise quarterback shouldn't be trying to get paid like one.
And I don't know why the forty nine ers would
do that, especially if they're also going to say, well,
one of the reasons we're taking a step back is
because we got to pay all this money to the quarterback.
But no one is forcing you to do it. You
(10:50):
don't have to do it. You can you can say
we'll find another brock Party. He hasn't won a super Bowl.
He isn't Patrick Mahomes, he isn't Joe Burrow, he isn't
lamar Ja, and he isn't Josh Allen. I don't think
he ever will be. And I'm not a hater for
saying that. I'm just somebody who can watch football and
see who the best of the best are and who's
(11:10):
in the top half of the league. So you know,
that's the question. If he's a top fifteen, top sixteen guy,
what should he get on a long term deal? And
I keep waiting for one of these teams to say, hey,
we want to keep you, but we're not going to
give you some ridiculous amount of money. And oh, by
the way, you're at the contract this year at five
point three million. We can franchise tag you next year
at what's it going to be forty two to forty
(11:31):
three million, and then we can francise tag you again
if we want to, or you can take our long
term offer, which will give you multiple years of security
at an average annual value of forty three million a year.
I think that's what the forty nine ers should do,
but it seems like their intent on making him a
top ten quarterback, and then now that they've torn down
the roster to a certain extent, good luck having him
(11:53):
perform to the level that justifies the investment.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Mike, we're nearing the end of the pre draft, safe
of the offseason at this juncture, give us a team
or two that has impressed you in terms of how
much they've improved their team. Maybe a team or two
that you kind of think of left wanting, and then
as a bonus, just kind of your thoughts on Seattle
in that regard.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Well, And I think the reality for any team, the
story of the offseason is how can you close whatever
gap you're trying to close. You're trying to get to
the Super Bowl. Are you trying to get to the playoffs,
or you're trying to catch the team that is in
third place in your division. I like what the Bears
are doing because I believe that Ben Johnson's going to
be a good head coach. They've gone out, they rounded
up players, They've spent smartly. We'll see what they do
(12:39):
in the draft, but they are trying to get the
most out of the talent they have. And when Ben
Johnson says, hey, the team I was worried about as
Lions offensive coordinator last year was the Bears and they
end up in fourth place, that tells you there's already
an untapped potential there, and now Johnson's in a position
to turn that team around now as to other teams
where you just kind of look at it and say,
what's really going on? And it's like, what if the
(13:02):
Dolphins really done and they're a team that needs to
do something to try to instill a toughness and an edge.
To Ron Armstead, their left tackle who just retired over
the weekend, told us back super Bowl week, there's they
need an edge. And you know, yet guys on the team,
at least one guy on the team after they lost
to the Packers on Thanksgiving nights Day, that the defense
was soft. I don't know if I look at the
(13:23):
Dolphins like what what where are they trying to address
their flaws? And how are they reasonably going to be
better in twenty twenty five? So look, it's it's a
reality where everyone is your own zero and the schedule,
whether you get easy games early or hard games early,
is going to be a factor. You know, the Seahawks
are kind of an unknown right now. Outdoes Gino Smith,
(13:45):
outdoes k Metsaf What do you do with those draft picks?
How do things look once it's all said and done.
There's a reason to be optimistic about Sam Donald, but
there's also a reason to say what he did last
year can't be duplicated, right, And maybe if he struggles,
he worries about Sam Howell coming in, and maybe they
want to get Sam Howell chance this Sam Donald struggles.
You know, the reality is this. We've seen this play
out each of the last three years. It happened with
(14:06):
Derek Carr, and it happened with Russell Wilson, and it
happened with Daniel Jones. There's an injury guarantee next year
for Donald that vests right after the Super Bowls. If
they're struggling, you got every reason to put him in
bubble wrap and get him on the bench. If you
make the decision, you're gonna move on after the year.
That puts extra pressure on him that he didn't have
last year. Last year, what he had over his shoulder
(14:26):
was Nick mullins, he can have bad games, and he
did and not worry about getting benched. He has bad
games and the team is teetering on the edge of
contention this year, he and look at what happened week
teams Vikings, Lions. You squeeze that ball too tight and
you start missing your mark and the next thing, you know,
it all falls apart. So you know, there's reasons for optimism,
(14:48):
but there's reasons for cautious or at least restrained worry
and concern that Sam Donald isn't going to ever be
able to duplicate what he did last year. I'm not
saying he won't. I'm just saying there's reason to look
at the this year differently than last year.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Well, the key for Sam Donald, Mike, I know, you
gotta go. The key for Sam Donald is simple. Just
give him time. Sam Donald, good time. Mike, you're the man,
great stuff. We're talking a week, buddy, Seeapal.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
You gotta pay your bill.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
We're working on it. We're working on it.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Man.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
We gotta find you a raise too, Uh, Mike Florio
with us. All right, we're gonna break. We gotta come
back here and talk about those Geno Smith comments, by
the way, where let's face it, he said he was
disrespected by the Seahawks because he wasn't getting paid enough
or offered enough. We'll get to that next on ninety
three three KJRFM
It's time for a weekly conversation with Pro Football Talks
Mike Florio, brought to you by Simply Seattle. Tired of
buying and repping the same old Seattle sports gear everyone
else has. For the best Storm, Seahawks, Mariners, Kraken, Rainiers, Sounders,
and not to mention, the largest Sonics collection in the world,
check out simply Seattle dot Com. Now with Mike Florio,
(00:21):
here's Softy and Dick.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
All right, boys and girls, here we go back from
Jimmy's on First Dick as the week off. Hugh Millon
in for Dick Fane and joining us right now on
the radio show, the King Baby of all NFL Media,
the undisputed heavyweight Champion, Hugh of the NFL Press Corps,
Pro Footballtalk dot Com, the NFL on NBC, our friend
Michael Florio, Michael, how are you.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Great?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
He literally just dropped his phone, let me call me?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Dropped his phone, like literally dropped his phone on the ground.
Was it the butthole comments that finally got to him
and finally broke him? He said, have had enough of
those premature or those immature clowns over there. So we
got Mike back on the air, we got a lot
of stuff to talk about obviously. In The NFL Draft
is two weeks from tomorrow. The mock draft is two
weeks from today. We'll have news on that, by the way,
(01:12):
coming up. Pro rightly, Let's try one more time, three
two and one, Michael, how are you? What's going on?
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Hey? Cool? Great? I'm having a hard time hearing you, guys,
but if you can hear me, let's power through it.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Well, I'll tell you what. You're the second person, Jackson,
this might be an issue. You're the second person that
said that to us today. So we will try and
power through. But the draft, let's just start there is
coming up two weeks from tomorrow, the first round of
the draft in Green Bay. I want to know this.
I want to know winter we get in the draft.
Everybody else is getting the draft. The draft is going
(01:44):
all over the country. Looming Field, they got a hold
of a big, you know, event center here. We got
a great arena. Now, should we, as Seahawk fans, Seattle
football fans think that one day of the NFL Draft
might come to our town.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I think everybody's gonna have it at some point. It's
something that's moving around from city to city. It's something
that the cities that will never host the Super Bowl
have an opportunity to bring to town and become the
epicenter of professional football for a weekend with hundreds of
thousands of people showing up. But it seems like each
place they go, they one up the place where it
was before. It's Green Bay, then it's Pittsburgh, and everybody
(02:23):
wants in on it. It'll be interesting to see if
another city that's already hosted it doubles up before it
goes everywhere. In theory, it should go everywhere everybody that wants.
If you don't want it, that's one thing, but anybody
that wants it should have it at some point. It's
the beauty of having an event in the middle of
spring where weather, in theory, shouldn't be an issue.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Let's stay with the draft, and it seems like as
time has passed here, it seems like cam Ward is
more cemented just to go to Tennessee and that's done.
But it seems like the most intriguing guy for this
draft is should or A lot of opinions floating around,
some real positive, some not so much. What's your sense
(03:07):
of the latest about Shaudor Sanders.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I'm always larry of the opinions from anonymous scouts because
there's a basic mindset when the draft is approaching. If
there's a team out there that really likes the guy
and would like to have that guy slip and slide
down the board so they can draft him, there's an
incentive to participate in the spreading of rumors and opinions
about how he's not very good and you might win
(03:33):
the prize by having him there when it's time for
you to pick. Conversely, if it's a guy you don't like,
you will spread positivity and hope that someone ahead of
you will burn their pick on a guy that you're
not going to draft. Chris Simms was talking about that yesterday.
The year that he worked in New England, they were
told by John Robinson, the former Titans GM, if you're
out with your buddies from other teams and they're talking
(03:56):
a guy up and it's a guy we don't want,
go ahead and join in. Talk that guy up and
let's get him taken, and let's get the guys we
want farther down the board. So that's part of what
happens prior to the draft. But with Shitar Sanders, like
any quarterback, the high end quarterbacks are going to be
overdrafted because every draft pick is a lottery ticket and
some have bigger prizes than others. And if you can
(04:16):
win franchise quarterback, you're going to be more likely to
roll the dice on a guy where the risk of
the franchise quarterback becoming a bust is maybe greater. So
I don't see him getting to twenty one. That's where
the Steelers pick. I think if he gets past nine
at the Saints, I think somebody's going to trade up
(04:37):
and get him in the teams before a team like
the Steelers can get it. Because I think the Steelers
would be inclined to take a shot because they need
a long term franchise quarterback. They took their shot with
Kenny Pickett three years ago, it didn't work out. They
went along twenty years between Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger.
They understand the importance of having a franchise quarterback, and
(04:58):
where do you find them unless you get lucky in
round six or pick seventy five like the Seahawks did
back in twenty twelve. The only place you're going to
find a guy that can be the guy for ten
fifteen years. Is in the first round of the draft.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
What's the probability that Seattle has an option that he's
available at eighteen.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
We were talking about that today as we were looking
through the teams. In the teams, most of them already
have their long term answer. But what's the biggest characteristic
of the Sam Donalds contract. They can get out after
one year in thirty seven and a half million, So
if they really like Shador Sanders and the best message
to send as a team an organization prior to the
(05:39):
draft is one of unpredictability. Keep your card close to
the vest, don't make your position clear as anyone. Some teams,
I think try to put out affirmative smoke signals about
what they're going to do. But you want the teams
picking behind you to truly have no idea what you're
going to do, because if it's clear, if they've connected
(06:01):
the dots and read the tea leaves properly and they
know what you're gonna do, you're apt to get jumped.
So I wouldn't rule it out, depending upon how they
actually feel about him. They're not going to tell us
they shouldn't tell us how they actually feel about them,
but their quarterback situation is one that would be conducive
to drafting a guy if they really like him and
if they have a shot at him.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Well, Mike Florio with US Pro Football Talk dot Com,
the NFL, and NBC all brought to you by our
friends at simply Seattle. Just use cokjar fifteen for fifteen
percent off anything on the website at simply Sattle dot com.
So here we go another week. Another question about Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Right.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
McAfee apparently has an event in Pittsburgh tonight. There's rumors
that maybe Aaron Rodgers will show up and announce his
intention to sign with Pittsburgh. I know McAfee's already shot
it down.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
What do you think. I don't think if Aaron Rodger's
style to do something like that, especially once people are
talking about it and it's a thing and there's speculation
that'll show up, it would have to be truly unexpected,
truly a surprise for Rogers son on and I would
assume he's ready to make the committed to the Steelers. Look,
there are people who firmly believe he wants to play
(07:08):
out what's happening in Minnesota and see if they come
to the conclusion, after fully and completely evaluating the performance
of JJ McCarthy in the off season program, that they
should roll the dice, go all in, try to get
to the top of the mountain with Aaron Rodgers like
they almost did with Brett Farr back in two thousand
and nine. And people think, and it's plausible to agree
(07:30):
that he's just biding his time and playing it out
and eventually signing with someone before training camp, and along
the way he gets to avoid the off season program
and go to Peru or Egypt's or Mars or wherever
he wants to go in the months of May and June.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Mike floyal with US and Mike Gino. Smith had some
comments this week basically eluding While he didn't take direct
shots that Mike McDonald, he said that prior to last
season that he felt like there was a few like
out with the old in with the new type of thing,
and it left him. It wasn't so much the contract,
(08:07):
but he said the respect what level wasn't in line.
Just kind of what's your take on that whole thing
with Gino now and his account of what happened in
that last year in Seattle.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Hey, look, nothing says respect as it relates to a
quarterback like his contract situation. That's right, And the Seahawks
had a year to year contract with Gino Smith, the
three year, seventy five million dollar contract. They could have
gotten out of it at any time. They don't fully
guarantee money beyond the first year for anyone. And that's
a flaw, that's an issue. That's the thing that can
(08:39):
break ties against you when it's time for free agents
to make their decisions. And frankly, if Sam Darnold had
any viable alternatives to the deal he signed, he would
have taken it. If he'd had an alternative to guaranteed
him fully and completely two years of compensation like many
quarterbacks get, he would have done it. So there was frustration.
I think last year we heard the reports that Gino
Smith won an extension, he didn't get one, and lo
(09:01):
and behold, here's Pete Carroll landing in Las Vegas. And
one of the great loopholes in the tampering rules, if
you're a coach who isn't working for any team, you
can talk to any player you want about anything you want.
And it's not tampering until the moment you're employed by
another team. They could have laid the foundation for exactly
what happened, where the Seahawks make an offer, Geno in
(09:23):
his camp, don't respond, the Seahawks understand they need to
trade him, and bing bang boom, he ends up with
Pete Carroll in Las Vegas. That whole thing, in theory
could have been completely and totally engineered as long as
they didn't talk about it. After Carol became the coach
of the Raiders.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Mike, why is the brock Purty contract not yet done?
You think in San Francisco?
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Well, look, long term contracts between any team and any
player can be done quickly if you want to do it.
I think at the end of the day, the question
becomes how much of a financial commitment are the forty
nine ers really going to make? It has felt like
based on some of the things it had been said
and some of the reporting that's been done. There was
a report a few weeks back that the forty nine
ers opened at forty five million per year, and the
(10:06):
reaction that was, oh, that's way too low. But as
an opener, it's arguably too high. You're starting at forty
five million. Where you gonna end up. You can't end
up in the fifty million dollars a year club. And
then when Jed York, the owner of the team, was
asked last week at the league meeting, has brought pretty
a top ten quarterback? He said, yeah, well look at
the list of the high staid quarterbacks. If you get
to ten, you get to jail and Hurts at fifty
one million a year. So I don't know why they're
(10:29):
doing it. I'm a firm believer in players getting paid
everything their work, but a guy who isn't a top
five franchise quarterback shouldn't be trying to get paid like one.
And I don't know why the forty nine ers would
do that, especially if they're also going to say, well,
one of the reasons we're taking a step back is
because we got to pay all this money to the quarterback.
But no one is forcing you to do it. You
(10:50):
don't have to do it. You can you can say
we'll find another brock Party. He hasn't won a super Bowl.
He isn't Patrick Mahomes, he isn't Joe Burrow, he isn't
lamar Ja, and he isn't Josh Allen. I don't think
he ever will be. And I'm not a hater for
saying that. I'm just somebody who can watch football and
see who the best of the best are and who's
(11:10):
in the top half of the league. So you know,
that's the question. If he's a top fifteen, top sixteen guy,
what should he get on a long term deal? And
I keep waiting for one of these teams to say, hey,
we want to keep you, but we're not going to
give you some ridiculous amount of money. And oh, by
the way, you're at the contract this year at five
point three million. We can franchise tag you next year
at what's it going to be forty two to forty
(11:31):
three million, and then we can francise tag you again
if we want to, or you can take our long
term offer, which will give you multiple years of security
at an average annual value of forty three million a year.
I think that's what the forty nine ers should do,
but it seems like their intent on making him a
top ten quarterback, and then now that they've torn down
the roster to a certain extent, good luck having him
(11:53):
perform to the level that justifies the investment.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Mike, we're nearing the end of the pre draft, safe
of the offseason at this juncture, give us a team
or two that has impressed you in terms of how
much they've improved their team. Maybe a team or two
that you kind of think of left wanting, and then
as a bonus, just kind of your thoughts on Seattle
in that regard.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Well, And I think the reality for any team, the
story of the offseason is how can you close whatever
gap you're trying to close. You're trying to get to
the Super Bowl. Are you trying to get to the playoffs,
or you're trying to catch the team that is in
third place in your division. I like what the Bears
are doing because I believe that Ben Johnson's going to
be a good head coach. They've gone out, they rounded
up players, They've spent smartly. We'll see what they do
(12:39):
in the draft, but they are trying to get the
most out of the talent they have. And when Ben
Johnson says, hey, the team I was worried about as
Lions offensive coordinator last year was the Bears and they
end up in fourth place, that tells you there's already
an untapped potential there, and now Johnson's in a position
to turn that team around now as to other teams
where you just kind of look at it and say,
what's really going on? And it's like, what if the
(13:02):
Dolphins really done and they're a team that needs to
do something to try to instill a toughness and an edge.
To Ron Armstead, their left tackle who just retired over
the weekend, told us back super Bowl week, there's they
need an edge. And you know, yet guys on the team,
at least one guy on the team after they lost
to the Packers on Thanksgiving nights Day, that the defense
was soft. I don't know if I look at the
(13:23):
Dolphins like what what where are they trying to address
their flaws? And how are they reasonably going to be
better in twenty twenty five? So look, it's it's a
reality where everyone is your own zero and the schedule,
whether you get easy games early or hard games early,
is going to be a factor. You know, the Seahawks
are kind of an unknown right now. Outdoes Gino Smith,
(13:45):
outdoes k Metsaf What do you do with those draft picks?
How do things look once it's all said and done.
There's a reason to be optimistic about Sam Donald, but
there's also a reason to say what he did last
year can't be duplicated, right, And maybe if he struggles,
he worries about Sam Howell coming in, and maybe they
want to get Sam Howell chance this Sam Donald struggles.
You know, the reality is this. We've seen this play
out each of the last three years. It happened with
(14:06):
Derek Carr, and it happened with Russell Wilson, and it
happened with Daniel Jones. There's an injury guarantee next year
for Donald that vests right after the Super Bowls. If
they're struggling, you got every reason to put him in
bubble wrap and get him on the bench. If you
make the decision, you're gonna move on after the year.
That puts extra pressure on him that he didn't have
last year. Last year, what he had over his shoulder
(14:26):
was Nick mullins, he can have bad games, and he
did and not worry about getting benched. He has bad
games and the team is teetering on the edge of
contention this year, he and look at what happened week
teams Vikings, Lions. You squeeze that ball too tight and
you start missing your mark and the next thing, you know,
it all falls apart. So you know, there's reasons for optimism,
(14:48):
but there's reasons for cautious or at least restrained worry
and concern that Sam Donald isn't going to ever be
able to duplicate what he did last year. I'm not
saying he won't. I'm just saying there's reason to look
at the this year differently than last year.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Well, the key for Sam Donald, Mike, I know, you
gotta go. The key for Sam Donald is simple. Just
give him time. Sam Donald, good time. Mike, you're the man,
great stuff. We're talking a week, buddy, Seeapal.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
You gotta pay your bill.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
We're working on it. We're working on it.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Man.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
We gotta find you a raise too, Uh, Mike Florio
with us. All right, we're gonna break. We gotta come
back here and talk about those Geno Smith comments, by
the way, where let's face it, he said he was
disrespected by the Seahawks because he wasn't getting paid enough
or offered enough. We'll get to that next on ninety
three three KJRFM
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