00:00That's Eric DeCosta from the Combine.
00:02He also said he didn't expect him to have an alteration in his salary,
00:05which I will believe that when I see it.
00:07What's he doing? $19.5 million.
00:10Marlon Humphrey, who we've talked a lot about,
00:12and it's weird because the year before last,
00:13he was not a pro bowler.
00:15He was an all-pro.
00:16Last year was, frankly, bad.
00:19And we wonder if maybe this is the point,
00:21if he's going to be back and Eric loves Marlon
00:24and maybe they figure out a way to bring him back,
00:25but does he transition to safety?
00:27Unless there are reports coming out of the Combine,
00:31and this is where a lot of the work gets done for free agency and trades,
00:34where the Ravens are sniffing around free agency for a third safety.
00:38I was surprised.
00:40I think it was Jeremy Fowler who put that out there over the weekend
00:44or the past couple of days.
00:47The Ravens, look, whether they take a big swing or not,
00:51they're never huge free agent players.
00:54And I believe they only signed two unrestricted free agents all of last year
00:59as a perfect example, and that was DeAndre Hopkins and Cooper Rush.
01:03I would be surprised if they invest anything of substance in terms of capital
01:10when it comes to the third safety because, to me, they have two options,
01:14one being Marlon Humphrey, who you just brought up,
01:17and I think Marlon is going to factor into the equation.
01:21But then there's the other one, and our buddy Jeff Zarebeck,
01:24who covers the Ravens for the Athletic, he basically did a stay-or-go piece.
01:29Yeah, should I stay or should I go now?
01:30Exactly.
01:30For the 19 unrestricted free agents, one of them being Ardarius Washington.
01:36And Jeff, he believes that Ardarius is going to stay.
01:41Okay, so I think those are two options.
01:44Either Marlon, he'll take the pay cut, maybe he leans more into safety this year,
01:49or you're not going to have to break the bank for Ardarius Washington.
01:53No, he's an undersized guy, he makes what he makes.
01:56He makes what he makes, and he's also...
01:59Remember, he wanted more money last year.
02:01Yeah, he's also coming off a season in which, gosh,
02:05we didn't think he had a shot playing,
02:07so you give him credit for even coming back off the Achilles tear.
02:11Like, he's going to want a one-year prove-it deal.
02:14So I just think those are the two options, Ken.
02:17Like, for them to invest any serious coin in a third safety
02:22for a guy that wasn't on the roster last year,
02:25I just don't know if that's the prudent move.
02:28Yeah, my only issue with Ardarius is the issue that's always going to linger
02:31with Ardarius is can he stay healthy?
02:33Because last year, he's undersized, he plays big.
02:36I mentioned before, he reminds me a little, not the same position,
02:39but he's a defensive back, Tavon Young.
02:40Tavon Young played big, and he's small,
02:42and once the injuries started, they didn't stop,
02:45and he went from being one of the better nickel corners in football
02:48to a guy who couldn't stay on the field.
02:49So, Ardarius Washington is interesting, and I like him,
02:52and he came back, and he made some plays in the limited time he was in uniform.
02:58And if I could sit here and say,
03:01yeah, I'm confident that Ardarius can play,
03:03yeah, I'd say he's a third safety and just move on
03:06because he's not going to cost you a lot of money.
03:07But I would say this, like, let's just say they sign Ardarius
03:12and it's $2 million or whatever the heck it is.
03:15You're fine because you have him and you have Marlon,
03:18the ability to play safety.
03:20You don't need another safety at that point.
03:23And they need to bring in, you know, they need to address it
03:28because it really bit him in the butt last year
03:32not replacing Ardarius Washington after he blew out his Achilles in April-May.
03:37You wait until during the season,
03:39you pull off the trade for Elohi Gilman to kind of settle things down.
03:43Who was not great.
03:44He wasn't.
03:44And then that allowed Kyle Hamilton to move around.
03:48You bring in Ardarius, you're fine.
03:50Between him and Marlon Humphrey,
03:52you have some flexibility at that safety spot
03:54to where Kyle can be that chess piece.
03:57By the way, is there a world where you bring Elohi Gilman back?
04:04I wouldn't.
04:05I think he was making around $5 million or so
04:09on his contract with the Chargers.
04:11I'd rather play Ardarius two or three.
04:12Exactly.
04:13I think that's where you have to make choices.
04:15And Lamar, obviously, he's not going to play under $74.5 million cap hit,
04:22but he's still going to count $40-some million against the cap,
04:26whether it's a restructure or a contract extension.
04:28When you're paying a quarterback,
04:31you got to look to get by on the cheap in some areas.
04:35And I think this is one of those areas, the third safety.
04:38Yes.
04:39I don't think your third safety has to be cheap.
04:42Exactly.
04:43And they've obviously seen how important that position is
04:48because they ended up making a move in, as you documented,
04:52made a move in season to bring in Elohi Gilman
04:54because they needed the third safety.
04:56So, although, you know, that said,
04:57I do think Malachi Starks will be markedly better than he was a year ago,
05:01but they still need the third safety.
05:03They do.
05:03That way you can move Kyle around.
05:05And quite frankly, I think Ardarius Washington is a better player
05:09than Elohi Gilman.
05:11Yes, I do too.
05:12And he's going to cost less than Elohi Gilman.
05:14So, thank you for your service.
05:17Yes.
05:17You can, you know.
05:17I know you're boys with Kyle.
05:19You both went to Notre Dame.
05:21That's great.
05:21I get that.
05:22Yeah, I think you're looking to move on.
05:24By the way, quickly, before we step out,
05:26how about the Trent McDuffie trade?
05:28Like three, four picks total.
05:30Three this year, one next year.
05:32Hey.
05:32Rams, F them picks.
05:33F them picks, man.
05:34F them picks.
05:35But look, you have the Rams and then you kind of have the Ravens situation
05:41where they love their draft picks.
05:44And Eric has been on the record numerous times,
05:47whether it comes to trading up in the draft
05:49or wanting to have as many draft picks as possible
05:52because it gives them more opportunities to hit.
05:55But it's two vastly different philosophies.
05:59And obviously, the Ravens have had their fair share of success.
06:02But you're trying to get to the Super Bowl
06:04and trying to win the Super Bowl.
06:06And I think there is room every now and then to swing that big trade
06:12like the Rams tend to do.
06:14If you didn't see it, the Rams got Trent McDuffie,
06:17the Pro Bowl corner from the Chiefs, for the Rams' first-round pick.
06:22And I think they own Atlanta's pick, too.
06:24But this is the Rams' pick pick, 29, their fifth-round pick,
06:27their sixth-round pick, and then their third-round pick next year.
06:30It's a lot.
06:31And they still got to pay McDuffie.
06:32Yes, they're going to give him a new deal.
06:33He was on his fifth-year option set to make $13.6 million.
06:36And I know the Chiefs were up against the cap a lot
06:39and they already restructured Mahomes' deal.
06:42They cut a player or so.
06:44But, yeah, it was a surprise, man,
06:47because McDuffie, he's been a first-team All-Pro in the past.
Comments