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00:00Yesterday, the Browns did not go out and get a quarterback.
00:02They didn't do anything crazy.
00:03They didn't get in on Tyler Linderbaum.
00:05And they ended up bringing in two guys, Zion Johnson, the guard, Quincy Williams, linebacker.
00:10Give me your thoughts on what happened yesterday and where we kind of are in this free agency
00:13or before the official start of the new year.
00:16Yeah, I mean, listen, I'm somebody who on the station has been pounding the drum for the Browns
00:20to go get Tyler Linderbaum.
00:21Like, I wanted that to be like a big splash.
00:23The show is already an A because we both agree on that.
00:25I wanted him really, really bad.
00:26And I thought, like, the Browns were always going to have minimal cap space.
00:31But we knew they were going to be able to do some things.
00:33And so I kind of pictured it as, like, if they could make one big splash, that's the thing I
00:37wanted them to do.
00:37But I also understand where $27 million a year for a center is a lot.
00:44I mean, Creed Humphrey was making $18 million per year.
00:47He exceeded that by $9 million.
00:49So I understand where they weren't really in the business of setting the market in that way.
00:53And so they've made some marginal moves here instead.
00:57I'm kind of blown away by how panicked I think Browns fans kind of seemed yesterday where it was like,
01:04why aren't they doing anything?
01:05Why have they done nothing?
01:06That's every day.
01:07That's every trade day.
01:08Right.
01:08And I get it.
01:09But I just, guys, Andrew Barry told you what this offseason was going to look like at the combine a
01:14couple weeks ago.
01:14He stood up there and he said to you, I think we can be a little more aggressive than last
01:18year.
01:19But we're probably a year away from being, like, ultra-aggressive in free agency.
01:24So I just don't know what people expected.
01:26Like, I can understand if you had your mind wrapped around maybe one big thing, like a Tyler Linderbaum, like
01:30we both wanted.
01:31But, like, the moves that they made, to me, it made sense for where they're at with the money they
01:36have
01:36to kind of find guys in the margins that they think can benefit the team in the immediate future
01:40and potentially the longer term as well.
01:42I kind of don't mind them losing a couple of these battles because I had heard yesterday that the Browns
01:47were hanging around for Linderbaum.
01:48I had heard that.
01:49They would hang around between $20 million.
01:52Then I heard it got pushed up to $25 million, and I think that's when the Browns said,
01:55yeah, I think we're out of this thing.
01:56We're not going to do this.
01:57But at least they were in.
01:58Then there was also talk over the weekend about Max Crosby, that the Browns were kind of around on that.
02:05Whether it's true or not, and the Browns offered two first-round picks for this year for Max Crosby,
02:09I don't know.
02:09That seemed like it might be a little bit overpaying, but I see what's going on in Las Vegas now,
02:14and I'm like, look what they're doing.
02:16Look what the Raiders are doing.
02:19Keith and I were talking about this yesterday.
02:20We were like, who's in a better spot right now for the future?
02:23Is it the Raiders or is it the Browns?
02:25When you look at the fact that the Raiders are going to get Mendoza, they'll have the number one overall
02:30pick,
02:30they'll take a quarterback, they now have a center to protect him, which makes sense.
02:34And really, if you have the cap space to go out and do it, why wouldn't you have done that
02:37yesterday?
02:37I totally agree with everything.
02:38Plus, they have another first-round pick that they got, and they're going to get two more first-round picks
02:44next year
02:44because of the Crosby deal.
02:46So Vegas, on this side of the deal, looks like their future seems more planned than ours does right now
02:53because of the quarterback situation.
02:55Yeah, the Raiders were the second biggest spender on day one of legal tampering, we'll call it,
03:00because that gets technically for ages.
03:01It doesn't start until tomorrow, obviously.
03:02Why can't we just come up with something else?
03:04I'm tired of it.
03:05That's fair.
03:05That's very fair.
03:06Maybe that's a good question for the show.
03:08Come up with a better name for the first two days leading up to free agency that we can name
03:11it.
03:11The negotiation window.
03:12That's what it is.
03:13I like that.
03:13That's all it is.
03:14I like that.
03:15Yeah, so they clearly have – they went into this offseason understanding where they were at, right?
03:20They had more money to spend than a team like Cleveland.
03:22They had the number one overall pick.
03:23Now they have two first-round picks.
03:25So they're very much in, like, let's revamp this entire thing.
03:29Again, $27 million a year is a lot for Linderbaum, but I also understand where they're coming from,
03:34where they're like, we're about to use our first pick on Fernando Mendoza.
03:37We want to have an offensive line in front of him that can protect him, put him in a position
03:41to be successful.
03:41Last year their O-line was a disaster, so I understand where they're coming from with that.
03:45But, yeah, like, I think if you're looking long-term, it does feel like the Raiders are in a maybe
03:52better position to be competitive sooner.
03:54What I will say, though, is I think a lot of that is framed around the idea that we're sold
04:00that they're getting their quarterback, right?
04:02Like, that answers so many questions.
04:04If the Browns had the number one overall pick, I think everyone would be like, oh, the Browns are okay.
04:08Like, they'll get out from the Deshaun thing next year.
04:10They'll figure it out.
04:11They have their rookie quarterback that's on a rookie contract, so they can kind of control him for several years.
04:15I think a lot of it's framed in that.
04:17Yes, the money matters.
04:18We also know, like, sometimes the biggest spenders in free agency don't always end up being the best teams the
04:23next season.
04:23That sometimes does backfire on guys' faces.
04:25It's just about where they are in the draft order, the fact that they're going to come away with Fernando
04:29Mendoza here,
04:30that I think makes their future look a lot brighter than Cleveland.
04:32I also think that you're kind of – I don't want to say you're grasping at straws,
04:37but I do think that we all sit here and we mythically think that because a guy is getting drafted
04:41number one as a quarterback that he's going to be a success.
04:45He's going to lead a team to the Super Bowl.
04:47I think really what the Raiders have done is given themselves an opportunity to invest in a guy for at
04:53least three years, right,
04:54and say we're going to take Mendoza, he seems to be the clear-cut number one quarterback out there,
04:59and we're going to roll the dice, and yeah, we have all these other things going on,
05:02but, you know, we're banking on Mendoza, and while that might look like their picture might be clearer than the
05:07Browns,
05:07you never know.
05:09Yeah.
05:09Like, you just don't know what Mendoza's going to look like in the NFL,
05:11and we all want to believe that there's this magical pixie dust that comes out when you pick somebody number
05:17one overall,
05:17and it just isn't true.
05:19It's – those elite quarterbacks are instant lottery tickets to be in the Super Bowl
05:25and Super Bowl contention for, like, years to come.
05:27Patrick Mahomes is that.
05:28Josh Allen is that.
05:29So, yeah, when you hit on those guys, you're 100% right.
05:32Like, then all of a sudden your window is now, and you have a long runway to sort of play
05:37with the roster
05:38and tweak the roster around a guy and go chase a Super Bowl.
05:41And so, yeah, like if Fernando Mendoza is that, 100%.
05:45But to your point, like, they're doing all this in preparation of Mendoza coming in.
05:49It also sounds like there's that report last week that maybe they don't want him to start immediately.
05:54Like, they want him to maybe sit for a little bit and then kind of ease him in.
05:56So, we'll see how true that is.
05:58You mean old school thinking from coaches?
06:00Well, and I guess when you're the Raiders and you were as bad as you were last year,
06:02and you have your roster sort of built up, maybe you can get away with that, right?
06:06Like, maybe you can add a veteran and start him first.
06:07Although you did just spend a ton of money on Linderbaugh yesterday.
06:08True.
06:08True.
06:09But, yeah, I mean, you're 100% right.
06:12Like, all it takes is next year if the Browns are lucky enough where they're in a position to draft
06:17one of these elite quarterbacks
06:18and they get it right, all of a sudden we're like, well, now the Browns' trajectory has totally changed
06:23because they have Arch Manning or whoever.
06:25So, it all comes down to that.
06:27And right now it's easy to assume that Fernando Mendoza is going to be great.
06:30But you're right.
06:30We have to see it first.
06:31Yeah, it's funny you say the word elite.
06:32Every time I hear the word elite now.
06:34How old are your kids?
06:35Young?
06:36Yeah, my son's three.
06:37So, he's not quite there yet.
06:38Well, guess what?
06:39At some point.
06:40The other day, he came home.
06:42Your son's in, like, high school, right?
06:44Yeah.
06:44Did they do, like, the 6-7 thing?
06:46Yeah, we're past that.
06:47Well, no, my son came home the other day from school and he's, like, doing – he's saying 6-7.
06:52And we're like, you're learning about this at preschool now?
06:55That's funny.
06:56Like, that's how far it's trickled down?
06:57Are you kidding me?
06:58Yeah, you're only – that's only – it's a couple months behind.
07:01But then you'll get into it and then maybe it'll come back and you'll be like, oh, here we go
07:04again.
07:05No, when you use that word elite, just get ready because that's some organization's way of trying to get more
07:11money out of you to get your kid to play at a higher level, which isn't necessarily true.
07:15So, just get ready because – just wait because you're – I mean, your kid's three now?
07:19Is that what you're saying?
07:20Yeah, he'll be four.
07:20Oh, man.
07:21Well, by four, by the time he's five or six, he's going to get recruited and he's going to be
07:25playing on the premier elite mega triple-A quadruple team.
07:30So, elite is triggering for you.
07:31And by the way, you just need to know that by the time he's five years old, you're going to
07:35need to travel to L.A. and Florida.
07:37And it really doesn't matter what sport he's playing.
07:39So, just remember that word elite is a great way to get more money out of parents when you're trying
07:43to tell them their kids better than they are.
07:44I'm not ready for, like, the sports phase.
07:47Like, I want my son to play sports, but, like, I'm not ready for the sports phase where you're paying
07:51for, like, travel leagues and all this other stuff.
07:54And my wife was, like – she was a really good swimmer in high school.
07:57Oh, you're in good shape, man.
07:58Yeah, I could see him – and her dad was good at baseball.
08:01Her dad was, like, a baseball coach.
08:03So, I could see where he actually ends up being pretty, like, good at something.
08:07And then we're probably going to be putting a lot of money.
08:09Yeah, I'm lucky that my wife's side of the family is more athletic than I was.
08:13My brother was athletic and my dad was athletic.
08:15But I was just kind of, you know, that guy who loved to play and be a part of the
08:19team.
08:19But my wife ran track, and then her brother was, like, all-state in wrestling in Virginia.
08:23So, hopefully, that's where the genes went to our kids on that.
08:25But going back to – so, again, the rule we learned here, why you're smarter for the first segment.
08:31Beware of the word elite.
08:32I'm not bookmarking this for later.
08:33Beware of the word elite because it's just a group of people trying to get more money out of you
08:38for your kid.
08:39But get ready because it's coming.
08:40You're a three.
08:41You're almost on the edge.
08:43Again, Mary Kay Cabot is going to join us at 11.
08:45I just – you know, what the Browns did yesterday, I think, was smart.
08:49And the thing that I liked the most was that they jumped out and got Quincy Williams really quick to
08:55make up for Bush, right?
08:56So, they knew they lost a linebacker.
08:59They were going to replace a linebacker.
09:00They've already got two guys on the offensive line.
09:03And I know that we're going to talk a little bit more about it in the next segment with Joel
09:06Batonio.
09:06But Joel Batonio's future does not look good.
09:09Today's the day.
09:10I just hope he doesn't go play for somebody else.
09:12But if he does, it's not like I'm not going to root for him.
09:14I want him to win.
09:15I would love for him to have the opportunity to try to win a ring somewhere.
09:19And, you know, I love Joel.
09:21I think he's a great guy.
09:22It'll be hard to watch him play for somebody else if that's what he chooses to do.
09:26It's interesting with Joel, too, and I know we're going to talk about this more because –
09:29and I heard John Greco talking about this with Ken and Lima driving around this morning.
09:33There's that loyalty piece for him.
09:35Like, yeah, he could go play somewhere else.
09:37But, I mean, the guy stood there at the end of the season and was crying about just thinking about
09:41his career as a Cleveland Brown.
09:43And you wonder if – similar to Joe Thomas, who didn't – wouldn't refuse to get traded to the Broncos
09:49to go try to win a Super Bowl.
09:50I mean, that deal was done.
09:50Because he wanted to stay in Cleveland.
09:52Like, I think there's a lot of that with Joel.
09:54So, would he go play for somewhere else?
09:55Does he want to just kind of retire a Brown?
09:58The Browns have kind of indicated they would have him back.
10:00But you're right.
10:00Like, Diana Rossini had the report this morning that they're pretty aggressive in the guard market.
10:04So, what does that mean?
10:05That's, I think, the big question that we have to sort of answer.
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