00:00Good morning, 97.1. Jim Costa, John Jansen, Heather Park, Gov and Greg behind the glass.
00:06Two Grand Slam at $7.25, a chance to win $2,000 and get all 10 questions right.
00:13Steve Eiserman set to join us in the 8 o'clock hour, 8.02 today.
00:16Reflect on the trade deadline and the month ahead, the playoff push, all the good stuff.
00:20John, it's free agency time in the NFL. We just did the frenzy.
00:24Bunch of moves on day one during the legal tampering period.
00:28A move that hasn't been made yet for the Lions that I feel is inevitable, but we just haven't seen
00:34it reported, is a Jared Goff restructure.
00:38And it makes all the sense in the world to restructure Goff because it would give the Lions money to
00:43attack free agency more aggressively.
00:45It would mean they don't have to carry a nearly $70 million cap hit on their quarterback next season, but
00:51it hasn't been done.
00:52When Mahomes got his restructure done, it was reported everywhere.
00:55Now, maybe the Lions are just keeping it close to the vest and it will come out Wednesday when the
00:59league year officially starts.
01:02But am I missing something? Is there a chance they just don't restructure Goff?
01:05They don't want to guarantee him more money beyond 2027?
01:10Sure, there's always that chance.
01:13And if they don't, it gives them more flexibility.
01:17Flexibility, as you mentioned, like if they don't want to guarantee him past 27, it may give them more flexibility
01:22next year.
01:23It depends on how many moves they want to make in free agency, because if it's not Goff, it's going
01:31to need to be somebody.
01:33Whether it's Amon Ross St. Brown, Aleem McNeil, Penny Sewell, they're going to have to free up money somewhere because
01:42they still have to sign their draft picks.
01:44Yep, and yeah, they're going to have to sign their draft picks, but also who's playing edge opposite Aiden?
01:50Right.
01:50Who's replacing Alex Anzalone?
01:51And they don't have to be dollar for dollar matches to the guys they lost.
01:54They won't be.
01:55No, and they lost to Meek Robertson.
01:56Like, you still have to consider what's going to happen at the corner position.
02:01DJ reads back and, you know, we're going to still have our other corner.
02:07But do you have a theory as to why it hasn't happened or hasn't been announced?
02:10Well, it doesn't have to be announced or done until, I believe it's noon tomorrow, which is when the new
02:16league year officially starts.
02:18That's when all of these.
02:19So when we say, hey, they've signed Cade Mays, they haven't signed him.
02:23They've agreed to terms.
02:24He will actually sign at noon tomorrow.
02:27Yeah, I would hope for their sake, though, if they are restructuring Goff, that they have done it on paper
02:33already so they know what money they could be spending now when phone calls are being made and deals are
02:38being agreed to, albeit not signed.
02:40Agree.
02:41And again, whether it's Goff, it's going to have to be someone.
02:46And if they don't do it by noon tomorrow, then they have to be under the cap one way or
02:54another to start the league year.
02:57If they're not planning on making any other free agent moves, then they really don't have to restructure contracts until
03:05they get to the draft to free up enough money to be able to sign their draft picks.
03:08Right.
03:10It just it just struck me as odd or weird that it hasn't happened yet.
03:15And it could be nothing.
03:17But I just thought, ask the people, like, is there a chance that Jared Goff is a player?
03:22They which is so weird.
03:23They love the guy.
03:24They publicly praise the guy that they they just want to let the next two years play out.
03:29Well, they publicly praised Taylor Decker for a while, too.
03:31Yeah.
03:32And it is a business.
03:33But I mean, I feel like I've seen enough to say this is a guy you're trying to win a
03:37Super Bowl with.
03:38And the best path to winning a Super Bowl with him is kicking his salary down the road and using
03:42that money today as opposed to because I don't think.
03:46Maybe I'm misreading this, John, if they don't restructure him, that's giving them an out because, well, he struggled in
03:51some big games and maybe they don't want to commit to him beyond 27.
03:54I didn't think that was the position of the organization.
03:56So I'm a little confused why it hasn't happened yet.
03:59So, again, it depends on what they feel about their own guys, how much they because we've talked about just
04:07simply being able to sign their their free agent or their rookie class.
04:12What are they going to do with their running back?
04:16What are they going to do with, you know, Laporta?
04:19Are their contract extensions coming for them?
04:22Because if there are, they still need to free up money to make that happen.
04:27Now, what it could be is, hey, they want to put the best team possible out there for what they
04:35can afford right now and give themselves maximum flexibility next year.
04:42And I don't I don't know what next year's free agent class may or may not look like.
04:47That's that's that's beyond any of the research that I want to do.
04:51Brad Holmes has to know that.
04:52Right.
04:53Guys that are potentially available next year at all the key positions.
04:56And maybe they want to take a big chunk out of Jared Goff's contract this year.
05:03Next year is a restructure for him.
05:06And they add a couple of years when they get a chance to see what he looks like again this
05:11year.
05:11And not that they're trying to figure him out.
05:12They've they've they know exactly what he is.
05:15My thought is they know who he is.
05:16But you gain greater flexibility if you don't do it until next year.
05:21I think I still think it's going to happen to four, eight, five, three, nine, ninety seven, ninety seven.
05:27Some feedback coming in from you guys.
05:30Guys, the Lions aren't a big announcement team, especially when it comes to restructures.
05:33Look at the times it's happened in the past.
05:35Let's not look too deep into this.
05:38Well, I agree with that statement.
05:40They're not they're not even big on announcing contracts.
05:44You know, like what was it two days before the draft?
05:47They they they sign Amon Ross St.
05:49Brown and Penny Sewell to at that time record setting deals.
05:54And as we all know, as soon as they signed, then the next guy, A.J.
05:58Brown dwarfs Amon Ross St.
06:00Brown's contract.
06:01And but it felt like it was two really big signings that they just kind of we'll just put this
06:09out there.
06:09Well, I'm hoping I'm overthinking this and it is just a matter of the deal is done.
06:14They just don't have to announce it till Wednesday.
06:16But Kansas City didn't hold the it wasn't a big announcement with with my homes either.
06:22Like it's just a Schefter tweet.
06:23Hey, it's out there.
06:24They freed up some money and look now they're adding Kenneth Walker and they're wheeling and dealing and making moves.
06:27And it could just be an organizational thing.
06:30Like maybe it is Occam's razor.
06:31The simplest solution is the answer.
06:33Like it's done.
06:34It's just not public because, John, if it's not done, I really question how they're going to do all that
06:39they need to do.
06:39And do this offseason and why they wouldn't just commit to golf longer term.
06:43Well, and it goes to motivation is are they looking at this year as, hey, yeah, we're going for the
06:49Super Bowl.
06:50You restructure a number of contracts.
06:52You spend money on your roster and you go get it.
06:56Or is this, hey, we're going to put the best lineup out there that we possibly can and afford.
07:03But next year is the year that we're going to invest more in free agency and trades and do more.
07:11And next year is the all in move.
07:14Again, I'm not saying I know one path is better than the other or is what they're going to do.
07:18We deal in hypotheticals until we have the actual announcement one way or another.
07:23And again, Wednesday, you'll know one way or another whether they did it because the league year will be underway
07:26and money will start being locked in to team salary caps.
07:29The move they made yesterday was Cade Mays.
07:32John, we have a text saying, why is everybody caught up in his run blocking grade, which apparently was not
07:37very good last year?
07:39Well, because there's not a lot of people that have sat there and watched film on Cade Mays.
07:44So if you haven't, what do you do?
07:45You go look towards all of the grading websites and whether you trust them, not how much value you put
07:52in those.
07:53I don't put a lot of stock in the in the value that PFF puts in their grades.
07:58I see him as a great fit in this offense.
08:03And if it's going to be, hey, we're going to try and go as vertical as possible.
08:07We want to get movement on the nose, whether it's a double team with either left or right guard or
08:12you're going to be singled up.
08:14He's a he's really good at singled up blocks when that guy is right in front of you.
08:18I'm not going to ask him to reach a three technique.
08:22That is there are not a lot of centers that could do that.
08:24That's not in his wheelhouse.
08:25I want him to go.
08:27I want him to take that nose tackle and bury him five yards deep.
08:31That's what he is going to be brought here to do.
08:35Scheme fit.
08:36You got a new O.C.
08:37If you're going to run more gap schemes, you got a heavier set center, who, by the way, was great
08:41in pass pro.
08:42I know that's not the whole game, but I feel like last year that was a huge issue.
08:46Yeah.
08:46So I think maybe the best way to put it is he's really good in the phone booth.
08:50Yeah.
08:50OK, there you go.
08:52And if you ask him to stay in the phone booth, which is what we think they're going to do.
08:55So, yeah, he'll be really good.
08:56And if he does his job and Ratliff can stay in a position he already played, suddenly are you better
09:00at both spots?
09:01Like, yes, we were concerned they'd move Ratliff to center.
09:04That concerns off the table.
09:05Even with any of his weaknesses, you're better off with Cade Mays than you were last year.
09:10Right.
09:1197-1.
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