00:01we're halfway home here on Newswire. Thanks for being with us on Sports Grid.
00:05Adam Kaufman joined now by Jacob Kameker. Does a great job covering the NFL for USA Today Sports,
00:11sporting the throwback Houston Oilers shirt too. Like that. Jacob, let's get into some breaking news
00:18from Adam Schefter ESPN. This hour, Kenneth Walker, the Super Bowl MVP, is not expected to be tagged by the
00:26Seahawks.
00:26So he is poised to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens.
00:31Schefter says with Walker not being tagged, there's a chance to become just the fourth player to win
00:37Super Bowl MVP and begin the following season with a different team. The other three, Larry Brown,
00:42Desmond Howard, Dexter Jackson. What that tells you, it's been a while. What would the market be
00:48for Kenneth Walker and where would be a good fit? I think there will be a pretty strong market for
00:54Kenneth Walker. There aren't a lot of teams that maybe need that kind of front end running back,
00:58but given his performance in the Super Bowl throughout that playoff run and the fact that
01:03he's a physical downhill runner that could really upgrade any offense across the league should give
01:09him a robust market with the teams looking to, you know, bring him on board. I think you look at
01:14a
01:14team like the Kansas City Chiefs who really need a running back, both Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem
01:19Hunter free agents this year. Walker would be a big time upgrade for them. And with Patrick Mahomes
01:23coming off the torn ACL, you could say, hey, you can really lean on Walker early in the year while
01:28Mahomes gets back to full strength. I think another team to keep an eye on is the Arizona Cardinals.
01:34You know, they're in the NFC West. They've seen plenty of Kenneth Walker. James Conner isn't getting
01:39any younger. Trey Benson had trouble staying healthy last year. I believe their leading rusher all season
01:44last year was Michael Carter, who had 333 rushing yards. So they could use a shot in the arm there.
01:49Mike LaFleur, their new head coach, coach for the Rams. So again, they've seen plenty of Kenneth
01:54Walker, potential option there. And I think the Vikings, look, their cap situation isn't very good.
01:59But if you could sell me on saying, hey, if he came in and played next to JJ McCarthy,
02:04offer him some downhill support and a good receiver out of the backfield, you could sell me on that too.
02:09So I think those three teams kind of stand out as ones that I'd say, hey, you know,
02:13Kenneth Walker there, that would work out pretty well.
02:16More of a premier running back, obviously, off of that Super Bowl MVP. I made the comment earlier
02:21as we got some news surrounding Grease Hall, Jacob, that he will be given the tag by the Jets,
02:26makes him the fourth highest paid running back in the NFL, just north of $14 million for the
02:32upcoming season. The two teams obviously can still talk about a long-term deal, but he's already
02:36tweeted that he's betting on himself. So who knows, maybe that doesn't happen. But I remarked,
02:40find me a bigger name, less accomplished running back in the NFL than Brease Hall. He's never been
02:46a pro bowler, never been an all-pro, coming off only his first 1,000-yard rushing season.
02:51And I know the Jets have been a dumpster fire, but Hall hasn't exactly put that team over the
02:56hump here. So what did you make of the team obviously electing to keep him at that dollar
03:01figure, but what his future is maybe beyond the Jets?
03:05First of all, I think it makes perfect sense for the Jets to keep him. Look, we don't know who
03:10their quarterback is going to be. So you want to have as much infrastructure around that position
03:15with the uncertainty surrounding it as you can. And Hall gives them at least a dual threat running
03:20back who has sky-high upside. I know he hasn't accomplished a ton like you referenced, but he
03:25also had early career injury that kind of put him maybe behind the eight ball in his development.
03:30So if he can continue to stay healthy, we know that he's explosive. We know he's a good pass
03:35catcher. We know that he's a downhill runner that can really do, he can do everything that you need
03:40a running back to do. So for the Jets, I like keeping him, making sure he's going to stay there.
03:45Franchise tag's good for Hall. He's going to get paid a lot of money and, you know, really be the
03:50focal point of the Jets offense. I think this year will be telling though, if he has a big year
03:55and pops
03:55off, he'll post another 1,000-yard season, maybe makes the Pro Bowl for the first time,
03:59then I think he'll have a lot of interest in free agency the following year. But if he has any
04:04sort
04:04of injury or takes any sort of step back, then you're facing a lot more uncertainty just with
04:09the short shelf life of running backs in the NFL. So I think this is a mutually beneficial decision
04:14for both sides, but I think it comes with a little more risk for Hall. He probably would have liked
04:19to
04:19get a long-term deal locked up just to guarantee that he gets money, you know, beyond this season.
04:24But I don't think any running back is going to sneeze at the fact that he's making $14 million
04:28in a season.
04:30Let's keep going with the running back train here. And David Montgomery, not a free agent,
04:35but has himself a new home traded from Detroit to Houston. No question an upgrade for the Texans
04:40off of what Woody Marks did last year. Nick Chubb hasn't been the same in years. Joe Mixon didn't even
04:46play last season. And so he gets out of the shadow of Sonic and Knuckles and, you know,
04:52being the number two change of pace back to Jameer Gibbs into a situation where obviously he could
04:58thrive. He could be again, as he was with the Bears and early with Detroit, a thousand yard guy.
05:03What do you expect from Montgomery within that Texans offense under Nick Cayley?
05:08Yeah, I think Montgomery is going to be treated as the workforce there. We know he has great
05:12physicality. Again, he's a little bit similar to Kenneth Walker, not as explosive a playmaker,
05:18doesn't have that same high end speed, but he's a guy you can hand the ball to 20 times a
05:23game and
05:23he will, you know, give you a lot of production. I think that's going to be valuable. We saw CJ
05:28Stroud
05:29in the playoffs really, really struggle and just seem to lose his confidence. I think having a higher
05:35end support at running back, which is what Joe Mixon was supposed to be last year, but couldn't
05:39play because of the foot injury. I think having Montgomery, just the stable, steady support there
05:44will help him a lot. And then I think for the lion side of this, you can add draft capital.
05:50And I believe they also got juice Scruggs, a young backup interior offensive lineman who was
05:54once a second round pick. I think they got him as part of this deal. So you're just adding assets
05:59to your team for a guy who, yes, would you love him to have returned as your hammer behind Jameer
06:04Gibbs?
06:04Sure. But you can fairly easily replace him and find another physical back while leaning on
06:09Gibbs to be that sonic front end, you know, speedy workhorse for you out there. So I think
06:16for the lions, this trade makes a lot of sense. Texans definitely filled a need. They gave up a lot
06:20to get Montgomery, but given the contract he's on and the steady production he's had throughout his
06:25career, I think it's a smart move for both teams. Yeah. To that point for Detroit, a lot of the
06:31aftermath, I just keep hearing person after person saying, Oh my goodness, look what this does for
06:35Jameer Gibbs. He should absolutely be the number one pick in your fantasy drafts, your season long,
06:40your best ball. This is the guy that you have to have. He's going to be incredible. There's nobody
06:44competing for touches. And that's true today, but I don't think they necessarily intend to coach that
06:49way. I think they're going to try and replace someone who can come in and give you some similar
06:54production to what David Montgomery did. And I don't know if you have a name in mind, but I was
06:58scanning the board in terms of potential fits in free agency and one that jumped off the list to me
07:03that I
07:04think would be great there in that same role of Montgomery. Rico Dowdle.
07:09I'm a big Rico Dowdle fan, so I would absolutely love his fit behind Jameer Gibbs. And to your point,
07:15I think Dan Campbell with that offense has always preferred to have two running backs. I believe it
07:19was DeAndre Swift and Jamal Williams before who worked in tandem. So they're going to have a one-two
07:24punch there. Rico Dowdle would be a great fit. I think you could look at the draft to some of
07:28those
07:29later round guys that, you know, have good physicality. Kalon Black from Indiana is a guy
07:34who, if the Lions are picking late, he's on the board. He has some pretty good bursts. He's pretty
07:38physical. I think he'd be a good compliment to Jameer Gibbs, but they'll definitely bring in another
07:43running back. Gibbs will handle a bulk of the load, but he will lose some touches just to keep
07:47him fresh, which is a good thing. All right, from running backs to quarterback, and I don't want to talk
07:52about Tua and Kyler and Daniel Jones and all that stuff, maybe if we have time. But every free agency
08:00list I pull up, the number one free agent listed is Malik Willis, a backup quarterback, but a guy
08:06obviously who has had some success filling in and making the most of opportunity behind Jordan Love
08:12and others during his brief NFL career here. I'm wondering, though, has he shown enough to be
08:18a number one elsewhere, or he's just going to be a highly sought-after, high-paid backup? What's his
08:25future here? I do think a team is going to take a swing on Willis as a bridge starter that
08:32could
08:32potentially become a high-end option. He just has elite mobility, and his accuracy with the Packers
08:38was excellent. He had six touchdowns, no turnovers across three starts with him throwing the ball
08:43through the air. So I think that his potential will get him one of those two- to three-year
08:47deals
08:48worth 20-25 million annually. I look at teams like the Cardinals and the Dolphins who don't
08:53have a ton of cap space, but they can look at him and say, hey, he's young, he has upside,
08:57let's give him a shot. So I think it's going to be very interesting to see where he lands,
09:01tiny sample size, but man, the potential is through the roof.
09:07Dolphins are an interesting one. I still wonder, you know, I feel like I'm in the minority saying I'm
09:12not so sure it's the right move economically, not personnel-wise, but economically to move on from Tua
09:17quite yet. $99 million dead cap hit is pretty significant. Jacob Gamaker, thank you, sir.
Comments