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00:00Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid. We're joined by Jacob Kamaker of USA Today here
00:05on the show to go over the latest NFL free agency and Jacob's hands. I'm sure we're busy on the
00:09computer yesterday, but Jacob, you've had time off, right? I mean, not time off technically,
00:14but you've had time to let your brain sort of reset since the Super Bowl. And then all of a
00:19sudden we get inundated with all of these gonna signs, not signed, but gonna signs. But look,
00:25who stole the show yesterday? Had to be Jacob, the Las Vegas Raiders, without a doubt. They
00:29have a couple of different reasons for doing this, by the way. Number one, they want to be better.
00:33Number two, oh my gosh, I didn't realize how far under the cap that they were. And you know how
00:37the NFL is. You got to spend money in this league. You can't sit back and tank without spending. You
00:42can spend and tank. You can't do both. So a lot of what I see here, to me, are available
00:48free agents
00:49to help the team. But very curiously, Jacob, because of what I'm alluding to here, short-term
00:55deals, short-term guaranteed money, a lot of upfront money for this year.
01:00Yeah. And to your point, Craig, I believe the Raiders entered the offseason with the second
01:04most cap space in the NFL. That might've changed given some contract restructures or releases in
01:09the days of head of free agency, but they had a lot of money to spend. And I absolutely love
01:15the fact
01:15that they brought in Tyler Linderbaum to play center for them. Raiders had the worst offensive line in
01:20the NFL last season, perhaps one of the worst that we've seen in the NFL in decades. So they really
01:25needed upgrades across that unit. And center is one of the more important positions on the line because
01:31it ties, you know, the left side to the right side. And you have a, have to have a strong
01:35relationship with
01:35your quarterback there too. So Linderbaum is going to come in, experienced guy, rock solid. He's been one of
01:41pro football focuses top seven graded centers in each of his first four years in the league. So
01:46he's going to give a steady presence in front of presumed number one overall pick, Fernando Mendoza
01:51there. And I think that's going to be a nice long-term partnership. He got a massive deal to do
01:56this
01:56though. Creed Humphrey previously set the record for center pay in the NFL at 18 million a year.
02:02Tyler Linderbaum is getting 27 million in average annual value, which is a massive deal,
02:07but he could be well worth it for a Raiders team that needs to upgrade his offense blind. And Hey,
02:12the Ravens have to be looking at this and saying, man, we really screwed up. They had,
02:16they could have exercised the fifth year option to keep Tyler Linderbaum. They would have had to pay
02:21him 23.5 million for that one season. They decided now we might be able to get him for a
02:27little bit
02:27cheaper if we sign him to an extension in the off season, but that bidding war blew past that number.
02:32And ultimately they're going to have to replace him. And that's a really tough position.
02:36You know, they'll have to draft one probably, but all of a sudden their interior offensive line
02:40isn't looking too good. And it was already an issue outside of Linderbaum last year.
02:44Yeah. So better for the Raiders, especially if they do take Mendoza, which everybody expects next
02:49month. Okay. So the Dolphins making a lot of news because we, we sort of know where they're headed,
02:55Jacob, right? Like they're headed in a transition season at the best at worst, it's a rebuild.
03:00And they have the Packers staff basically on board in Miami now, including their GM. And so they opt
03:05to say farewell to Tua Tungavailoa, who we'll get to in a minute and sign Malik Willis, who look,
03:12I mean, he did look good as a backup. We literally have no idea how he will do starting for
03:1916, 17 games
03:20in the NFL season, which honestly speaks to only $45 million guaranteed for him. I mean, think about it.
03:27That's usually money for one season of a guaranteed quarterback. But I think that this works out real
03:34well, Jacob, for the Dolphins to take a shot. And I think when Willis looked around the league,
03:39he probably thought to himself, you know something, if I don't sign here, I'm probably not guaranteed
03:44to start anywhere. So good fit here for both. Absolutely. It just seemed like the best opportunity
03:50for Willis, as you alluded to. Look, the Dolphins are rebuilding. They're going to have to build up
03:55the roster around him. But, you know, you go in there, he has familiarity with the coach and the
04:00general manager having come from the Packers. And how robust was the market going to be for him?
04:06Yes, he has a lot of upside. He has elite accuracy and excellent mobility that he showed off in Green
04:11Bay through six touchdowns, no interceptions during his time with the Packers. So, you know,
04:16there's a lot to like about him. But at the same time, he's only got six career starts under his
04:21belt
04:21across four seasons. So there's a tiny sample size here. As you mentioned, he's going to have
04:27to start 16, 17 games with the Dolphins. And we just don't know how that's going to go. So I
04:31think
04:31this sort of rare mid-tier quarterback deal makes sense for both parties. It's short term enough that
04:37if the Dolphins, you know, if Willis doesn't pan out, they can move on from him without taking
04:41too significant of a cap penalty as they continue to rebuild their roster. And for Willis's purposes,
04:46he's locking in that $45 million. That's, that's all his, that's great for him. And if he plays well,
04:54a couple of years from now, he's going to have the opportunity to sign a more lucrative extension
04:57and he'll still be young. I think he's only going to be 27 this upcoming season. So
05:02still a lot of upside. There's a lot to like about this deal for both parties. I just think it's,
05:06it was the most sensible fit. You could have made a case, Hey, maybe you would go to Arizona, but
05:11with them seemingly ready to roll with Jacoby percent, as they continue to build up the roster,
05:15Miami was really the best fit for Willis. So I'm excited to see how this pans out. I really liked
05:20what I saw out of him in green Bay and we'll see if he can keep that going as he
05:25gets more and more
05:25and more snaps down in Miami. Yeah. And they do like Quinn Ewers a little bit. So you would think,
05:30okay, well, if this doesn't work out, they, you know, have him too. So on the flip side too,
05:34looks like he gets cut and saw and he's going to sign with the Falcons pretty quickly here.
05:39This one, a little more curious to me just because it felt, it feels like the Falcons have questions now
05:44at
05:44starter and at backup quarterback going into the season. From a system perspective,
05:48it makes sense. You have the left-handed quarterbacks, both Pennix and Tua, but why am
05:53I a little skeptical of this whole thing? I'm not, I'm not sure that this is the best fit for
05:57him,
05:57Jacob, in my opinion. So the injuries are the big issue here because Pennix is injury prone
06:03throughout his career, dating back to college. He's had three knee injuries, I believe. And Tua himself
06:08has been banged up often. Obviously concussions have been an issue for him. So I completely understand why
06:13you'd be a little bit skeptical and saying, Hey, is this quarterback room going to work? Are they
06:17going to both be able to stay healthy? But I think the point you alluded to them both being left
06:22-handed
06:22quarterbacks, I think from a system perspective, that's great because they won't have to make any
06:28shifts to their protection should Pennix or Tua have any sort of injury issues. And I also think
06:33for Tua's perspective, he's coming into a team that has a proven solid offensive line, a lot of weapons
06:39and Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson. When he was his most successful in Miami, he was
06:45surrounded by a lot of quality weapons. He didn't have that as much this past year with Tyreek Hill
06:49getting hurt. So I like the idea of this fit for him. I think it's a great fit for him.
06:54I think
06:54organizationally though, to your point, things could go south for the Falcons in a hurry if the injury
07:00issues crop up. So I like it for Tua. For the Falcons, it's a big risk. We got more to
07:06cover with
07:07Jacob. So let's take a quick timeout. We'll be back with more Newswire diving into why the Kenneth
07:12Walker signing is a good fit for the Kansas City Chiefs. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Newswire
07:18here on Sports Grid. Jacob also joins us throughout the NFL season and we talk some fantasy football.
07:23So let's dive in a little maybe on this next move here, which sends Kenneth Walker to Kansas City.
07:28And Jacob, the Chiefs finally appear to have recognized that they got to get some help on
07:35the outside at running back. And I know Travis Kelsey will be back, but let's just be honest
07:39at this stage of his career, we don't even know what he is. Walker was fantastic in the Super Bowl.
07:44He was really good for Seattle. I think a lot of folks thought that it was a bit surprising that
07:49they let him go until I did see those reports yesterday that stated that they may be in on the
07:55draft, which would be interesting really for Seattle if they took love or somebody else there.
07:58But I digress. Kenneth Walker over a thousand yards, five touchdowns. The touchdown number is
08:03a little bit deceiving because Charbonne got the ball a lot at the goal line. This is probably the
08:08most impactful fantasy move, I think, thus far. Would you agree? I would agree because Kenneth
08:14Walker is probably going to be that workhorse in Kansas City. And the Chiefs, you know, they did not
08:20have much of a running game last year at all. Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt handled the bulk of the
08:24workload, and they combined to average 3.8 yards per carry. Kenneth Walker, as you alluded to,
08:29averaged 4.6 yards per carry. And he was just much more explosive as a runner, and he does a
08:34lot as a
08:35receiver, too. So he can be a true three-down workhorse for the Chiefs. Yes, you're going to
08:40want another running back who can spell him a little bit, sort of like what Charbonne did with the Seahawks
08:45last year just to keep Walker fresh. One of the reasons he enjoyed one of his best seasons was
08:49because Charbonne took on some more of those touches and, you know, prevented Walker from
08:53taking a lot of hits in the regular season, which allowed him to be, you know, in great shape for
08:58the
08:58Super Bowl. But I think for the Chiefs, you know, they're going to want to lean on Kenneth Walker,
09:02especially early in the season, because Patrick Mahomes, he's coming off that torn ACL.
09:07Adding a high-end, proven running back next to him just gives him a little bit of time to say,
09:12hey, we're going to be run heavy early in the season as Mahomes kind of gets back up to speed,
09:17tests out that knee, and feels fully comfortable there. So I think Walker ends up being a big-time
09:22fantasy asset. He's going to get a ton of volume in Kansas City, especially early in the season.
09:27So it wouldn't surprise me if the first five to eight weeks of the season he's like a true running
09:31back one, and then we'll see how things go from there. But if he could stay healthy, his potential
09:36is through the roof. And he's exactly what the Chiefs need. They shelled out a lot of money for him.
09:40Andy Reid had not paid a running back in Kansas City more than $3 million, except for Jamal Charles
09:47in terms of average annual value. So they recognized they needed help at running back.
09:51They went out and got it. And I do love the fit. I think he's going to really complete that
09:56offense,
09:57you know, save for maybe some help on the offensive line at right tackle.
10:01Yeah, we'll dive more into the odds. I'll show everyone the odds here based on the signings
10:05yesterday, but we got a lot more free agents to do. But first, I'll just show you that the Ravens,
10:09with the moves that they made, especially with getting Max Crosby. I'm guessing that's why
10:13they are the current favorite to win the AFC. But it's wide open like it just was last year.
10:17And you can even see that New England is eight to one. They got to the Super Bowl last year.
10:22Oddsmakers are telling us that there are so many teams that can win as far down even as Cincinnati
10:26at 15 to one as well. Maybe the biggest surprise, Jacob, of yesterday was the Buccaneers and their fans
10:33bidding farewell to a guy that when he gets his bust in Canton in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,
10:38it's going to be Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans. But Evans, I guess,
10:44wasn't feeling very loved at the end here in Tampa Bay. It's the only thing I can think of here,
10:48how they couldn't figure out to get him back in Tampa. I have no idea. He goes to San Francisco.
10:53He'll be playing in a wonderful offense there that will help his career. And I mean,
10:57I'm not going to say that this is about stats, but I mean, I just can't really, you know,
11:03I'm sort of perplexed here why the end of his career is being played in a different Bay Area.
11:06Yeah. It's going to be very strange to get used to this. I really didn't understand it at first,
11:12but Evans' agent released a lengthy statement that basically said Evans wanted a new challenge
11:17and the Buccaneers made a strong effort to keep him, but he just wanted to do something a little
11:21bit different. And I think to the point of the Buccaneers, they might have loved to keep Mike
11:25Evans, but they're actually going to be okay at receiver without him. They have Chris Godwin and
11:29Emeka Ibuka, strong starting duo there. And they have a couple of young receivers who I really like.
11:35Tez Johnson performed well last season and Jalen McMillan, he missed a good chunk of the season,
11:41probably more than half of it with an injury, but he's looked very good across his career to date.
11:46So I think the Buccaneers are going to be okay without him. It just sounded like Evans wanted
11:50a change. He wanted to go somewhere where he could continue to fight for a Superbowl. Potentially,
11:55he might be able to do that with the 49ers. He wants to play in a good offense with a
11:59good quarterback.
12:00So he's checked all the boxes, but yeah, it's going to be very strange. The first time we see him
12:04in that 49ers uniform and wearing a different number than 13, which he's worn throughout his
12:10entire career. Cause that's Brock Purdy's number, Craig. So we're going to be looking at a very
12:14different Mike Evans next season. Yeah. We could be chasing down a thousand receptions. I mean,
12:20that's just incredible. He's got a great career. All right, Jacob. Thanks again. We'll talk again
12:23before the draft. Thanks for coming on. No problem. Take care, Craig. Uh, Kyle, before you go here,
12:29I guess we, you know, we've run through so many of the different signings and we could do this for
12:33an
12:33hour and, or, you know, to try and figure out exactly who went where, I guess I would ask you
12:38this in terms of actionable signings that happen in the national football league. I felt like there
12:44were so many and from a fantasy perspective, yes, very actionable, but how about from a betting
12:49perspective? Did anything shake the tree for you based on what we saw yesterday? There was really
12:54no mega free agent this year. Maybe Crosby was the biggest name that has changed places in the last
13:01six or seven days. Is there anything that happened in your opinion that changes betting odds?
13:06Betting odds, not too much because they were kind of the high priced markets anyway. Kenneth Walker
13:12going to Kansas city was obviously a position of need, but you're never going to get a discount on a
13:16Patrick Mahomes live team, even with the dude can't even walk right now. You know, it's a torn ACL,
13:21but you're not going to get a discount there. You're not going to get any kind of value going
13:25that direction. I do like what the giants have done, bringing in Isaiah likely terrain admins.
13:30They signed a corner this morning. They brought back both their tackles. They're going all in
13:36on this Jackson dart thing sooner than later. I thought they might give them another year to progress.
13:40They seem to think that their windows open now. So if you want to take them sprint, I mean,
13:44it's early to be betting divisional odds or anything like that. It's not going to be favored
13:48to win that division, nor should they be, but I think they're going to be pushing to win the
13:53division this year. And it, you know, it starts with a mindset like that Jackson dart has to stay
13:58on the field. Scadaboo neighbors, you know, all the fantasy guys, but it's interesting to me
14:03whether they can pull it off or not. It's interesting to me that they view their wind now window as
14:082026,
14:09not 2027. I got you, Peter. I just threw that into the end. I know you're focused on college hoops.
14:14I totally,
14:14agree with you. We'll catch up again soon. Thanks for coming on the show. Appreciate it.
14:18Sounds good. Thanks for having me.
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