- 8 hours ago
The MMQB's Albert Breer talks latest on the Browns following the NFL Combine, ahead of free agency.
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00:00to have this conversation about Kyler Murray's future,
00:02the Browns' future at quarterback for this year.
00:05We head out to the Make It Right Call, Kyle Wright hotline.
00:07The man has been, I'm telling you, on the phones,
00:11tracking down Kyler Murray's future.
00:13Albert Breer, what's up, buddy?
00:15Hey, what's up, guys? How you doing?
00:16I mean, we're selling the virtues of Kyler Murray to Cleveland.
00:20How good could it be, buddy?
00:23Well, I mean, I actually think he's got some juice.
00:28You know, I think he's going to be motivated.
00:30We'll see where it goes, you know.
00:31But I think he's an interesting case
00:36because he's going to be able to make this purely a football decision, you know.
00:40And maybe that won't favor Cleveland.
00:41But, you know, because of the offset, they, you know, he has camped.
00:49They have a chance to really look at this analytically
00:52if everybody's offering the minimum.
00:54And I assume that's where it's going to be
00:56because the Cardinals are going to get stuck with the rest of the bill.
01:00You know, he's going to be able to kind of prioritize
01:02what the best football situation is for him,
01:05which to me makes this thing a whole lot more interesting.
01:07So, Albert, then who are the main competitors
01:09against the Browns in this bidding war?
01:11And what realistic chance do the Browns have?
01:14Well, that's the thing is it's not a bidding war.
01:16You know, and just to explain to people how that works,
01:18it's like, so he has $36.8 million fully guaranteed left on his Cardinals contract.
01:25So he's getting that money regardless.
01:27Right, right.
01:28Unless someone is willing to pay him more than that,
01:32then that's the number he'll get.
01:34So essentially what that means is a team would have to pay him $40 or $45 million
01:39for the Cardinals to get off the hook.
01:41Otherwise, the number is going to be the same.
01:44And naturally, in that circumstance,
01:48the team signing him is going to want to pay him on the minimum.
01:51And Kyler is going to have no problem just sticking somebody else,
01:54sticking the Cardinals with the bill because they just cut him.
01:58So, you know, that makes it so, again, this is a pure football decision for him
02:04because the money, again, I can't imagine somebody could pay him $40, $45 million.
02:09He can make this a pure football decision.
02:11The only caveat to that is another team could add a second year
02:16and guarantee some money in the second year
02:19and maybe try to make it more enticing to him that way.
02:22But the way I'm envisioning this happening is it's going to be like Russell Wilson.
02:27He's going to find the best football situation for him,
02:30whether that's going and being a clear cut starter somewhere,
02:33whether that's competing somewhere, whether that's developing somewhere.
02:37You know, and I think, you know, a team like Minnesota, the Jets,
02:41the Browns would be in this mix.
02:43Teams that I think, you know, would give him the chance to get on the field in 2026
02:50would have an advantage.
02:51And then it's just going to be about convincing him that you're the best place
02:56for him to go and play football and resurrect his career.
03:00Albert, the Browns quarterback reports, or rather the quarterbacks it could be interested in,
03:07to add a third quarterback to the room of Shador or Dylan and then Deshaun
03:12are pretty much all over the place.
03:14Do we know what the Browns' intent is with adding a quarterback here?
03:19Is the intent to pursue winning as much as they can this year,
03:23or is the intent to, you know, kind of sell a fight here and make everybody think
03:29they're trying to win as many games as they can this year?
03:32Yeah, I don't know that, like, they're going to go all out to go get a veteran quarterback,
03:38if that's what you're asking.
03:39But I didn't mean to add competition to the room.
03:42I think there's still a decent chance that starting quarterback isn't on the roster right now.
03:48I think there's a chance that starting quarterback for Sean Watson.
03:51I mean, who knows, maybe one of the young guys breaks through and competes, you know what I mean,
03:57and winds up winning the job.
03:59I think all that stuff with a new head coach in place is open because, you know,
04:04everybody sort of gets a plain plate now with a new coaching staff in there.
04:07So I have a hard time seeing who's going to be a starting quarterback in September.
04:12I also have a hard time seeing them going all out to go and find, like,
04:19some sort of veteran quarterback that's going to be there for more of a year.
04:22I think they view this the same way they viewed last year as sort of a transitional year for them.
04:28And the good news is on the other end of it, you've got, you know, in 2027,
04:32a draft that looks like it's going to be full of quarterbacks.
04:36And, you know, which ones wind up being the ones at the top we'll see.
04:40But there's a good dozen names out there that I think have a chance to go somewhere in the first
04:45round.
04:45What did you read on the Browns and potentially adding Anthony Richardson to the mix?
04:54Yeah, I'd be careful on that one.
04:57You know, I think if you're in a position where you're going to have a young team,
05:01you've got a first-year head coach, you're trying to establish a program,
05:05I don't know that he'd be the fit.
05:07I'd also say the eye thing, right, like, should not be ignored.
05:14And, like, how is that going to affect him as a player?
05:18He already had his issues, you know what I mean?
05:21But now you've got the eye thing that's a big piece of this.
05:25I know it's exciting, the idea of it, for people to look at a guy with that sort of size
05:30and speed and strength and all the rest of it.
05:33I think it's an information project that you want to assess in a good round.
05:38Albert Breer on the Make It Right call, Kyle Wright Hotline.
05:41The other bit of quarterback news today is that the Colts transition tag Daniel Jones.
05:48There's some concern in Indy from the people that I've seen that this opens up the room,
05:52that somebody could offer him a big deal and steal him from you.
05:55People are talking about Minnesota, potentially.
05:57Are the Colts taking a risk by only transitioning tagging Daniel Jones?
06:04Sure they are.
06:05You know, I think that this is obviously a calculated risk by the Colts.
06:10I mean, I think what the Colts are betting is that no one's going to pay him at that level.
06:16You know, I think it'll take a team, like, coming in, like, Seattle came in on Cam Darnold last year
06:24that says, like, yeah, we see him being the quarterback for the next few years.
06:27Oh, by the way, we're okay with him, you know, being on a torn Achilles
06:31that might keep him from participating in the spring and summer.
06:34And it might be hard to find that team.
06:37But, you know, I think what you gain in leverage by transition tagging him
06:43rather than franchise tagging him, you give up in security.
06:49And that you don't know that he's necessarily going to come back.
06:52And here's the other thing, too.
06:54I think this is, like, a little nuance to it that's important.
06:57And it does at least give him the chance to have realistic talks with other teams
07:01about his worth.
07:02And I think for a team there's some power in that, in letting a guy know, like, hey,
07:08you know, like, we're going to let you go and see if there's a better place for you
07:12out there.
07:13And we're going to let you see what your market value is.
07:17And, you know, I think Daniel Jones' intention is playing for Shane Zykin next year.
07:21I think the Colts' intention is having Daniel Jones being their quarterback.
07:26But they haven't gotten very far to this point.
07:28You know, my sense is they were pretty far apart on the few talks that they have had.
07:33So there's definitely a lot of work to be done.
07:36We saw that the Bengals did not end up tagging Trey Hendrickson.
07:40They just keep taking a step back on defense even more and more.
07:44It seems like a peculiar move, but one maybe I guess we could have seen coming, Albert.
07:49No, I would have told you in November they weren't going to tag him.
07:54I think the – I think Trey Hendrickson was out on the Bengals.
07:58I think the Bengals were out on Trey Hendrickson.
08:01Simple as that.
08:03Like, I don't – I had as little question in my head about that one as I've had of any
08:11of these over the last decade or so.
08:15So it just was not in a good place in October, November, December.
08:18He gets hurt.
08:20Is he pushing his wife through the injury and trying to get back in play?
08:24That was an open question.
08:26They gave him a raise at the beginning of last year.
08:28I just – I think that whole thing, you know, without placing blame on anybody specifically,
08:35was in a really, really funky spot.
08:37And so I think this was always the end game.
08:40I think November, December, January, this was the way it was going to go.
08:44And obviously now Trey Hendrickson gets what he's wanted the last few years,
08:49which is a chance to get one last fight as a financial apple as a player.
08:54Albert, in your Tuesday notes here, you talked about the Browns doing O-line work.
09:00They traded for Titus Howard from the Texans yesterday.
09:04They have been linked to Linderbaum to a lesser degree, but Walker, the left tackle out of Green Bay.
09:10How do you kind of see the Browns attacking the offensive line here in free agency,
09:15kind of pitting the big names versus maybe running a numbers game with some of these
09:19offensive linemen that are available?
09:22Yeah, I think it's going to be a two-barreled approach.
09:24Like, I think, you know, you're going to see them attacking free agency.
09:27You're going to see them attacking the draft.
09:29Like, I look at Titus Howard as a pretty good solution, a guy who's got some flexibility,
09:35and that allows you to look at both guards and tackles in free agency.
09:39You know, and then I think the draft class in the first round,
09:42you've got some good prospects to tackle.
09:45So, you know, obviously they've got four starting offensive linemen
09:49that are out there as free agents now, Coughlin, Tonio, Teller, and Postage, right?
09:56So, DeJuan Jones really is the only guy that you have coming back that, like,
10:02looks like he could be a starter, whether it's a guard attack or tackle.
10:05And now I think between Jones and Howard, you have two guys with some position flexibility,
10:10which will allow you to be creative in how you put the group together.
10:14But I don't think there's any question about it.
10:17Like, they're going to look in the veteran market, as they already have with Howard,
10:22and they're going to look at draft picks to try and completely reimagine what they are up front.
10:28Did Monroe Freeling, did he do enough to put himself up in conversation at number six overall?
10:34I don't think so.
10:36Like, that would surprise me.
10:37Now, one thing you have to be comfortable with, and one thing that I think is interesting about all of
10:42this,
10:42is, like, the top two guys presumably are Spencer Fano and Francis Malinoa from Miami.
10:50And Malinoa and Fano are both right tackles.
10:53Now, I think, like, most guys would tell you that they think Fano could flip over to the left side
10:58if he needs to.
10:59Malinoa, like, I think for Jeff, is more of a right tackle by trade.
11:04So, like, how do you look at those guys versus, like, Caleb Lomo, who is the other tackle from Utah,
11:10who has played left tackle, who's a prototype, who's a little raw.
11:14You mentioned Monroe Freeling.
11:16Again, a guy who has, like, I think real high-end potential, but maybe needs to harvest his talent a
11:21little bit.
11:22So there are some moving parts there.
11:24I think most people would tell you right now that Fano and Malinoa would probably be right in that range
11:34where the Browns are,
11:35and that Freeling and Lomo would be big reaches at number six overall.
11:41But I think part of that could come down to exactly what you're looking for with your draft pick.
11:47Maybe that leads to the Browns trying to trade down again.
11:49And I certainly think they're like a lot of other teams where if you offer them a pick in 2027,
11:54they might jump at it.
11:56Albert, given the state of the quarterback position, given that Max Crosby's out there, Trey Hendrickson is out there,
12:03do you think people are going to be calling about Miles Garrett this offseason for the Browns?
12:09Sure.
12:09I don't know how far it'll go.
12:11I mean, I've said this to you guys before.
12:12Like, I view it as, like, they should listen, at least.
12:18You know, I just – he's a great, great player, guys.
12:21You know what I think of him.
12:22I just don't know, like, what that's going to look like in three years.
12:27You know what I mean?
12:28Like, it does seem like this is more of a long-range rebuild that the Browns are in now,
12:32and they invested in the guys from last year, the draft class.
12:35They're hoping to draft as well as they did.
12:38Having the two first-round picks certainly helps.
12:42And, again, like, maybe the second of those first-round picks winds up being one of those tackles.
12:47But I – you know, like, I – I don't know.
12:52I would just – I would look at, like, where they are right now as sort of being in more
12:59of a position
13:00to plan this out long-term, you know, rather than jump on anything right now.
13:07Albert, other big news, this one away from the Browns.
13:10Drew Dahlman, though, telling the Bears that he's retiring from the NFL, 27 years old.
13:14It seems odd after the season he just had with Caleb Williams making a Pro Bowl
13:18and everything in between.
13:19Do you know any insight or any info on this at all?
13:22Yeah, I mean, he had some injuries.
13:24Look, I think there's also, like, this is sort of, like, what players are empowered to do now.
13:30You know, because they're getting paid more.
13:32They have more information on what football does to them.
13:36And I think more guys have planned post-career.
13:39So it's not, like, football or nothing for them.
13:42And this guy's, like, the son of a guy who was a really established NFL offensive lineman, too.
13:48You know, his dad's Chris Dahlman, who was a starting lineman, you know,
13:51for the Steve Young 49ers back in the 90s.
13:54You know, so I think it's, to me at least, the way I look at it,
13:58it's one of those scenarios where you have a guy who is in the prime of his life
14:05and has options and is taking one of those options.
14:11I just don't know specifically, guys, if there's anything more behind it,
14:16which there could be.
14:17I'm just not sure one way or the other.
14:19Albert, great stuff, buddy.
14:20Appreciate you.
14:21We'll catch up with you next week on the auspices of legal tampering
14:26and NFL-free agency.
14:28Awesome. Thanks, guys.
14:29Albert Breer there, MMQB on the Make It Right Call, Kyle Wright Hotline.
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