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00:00All right, Thomas, you know, we wrap things up.
00:02It seems like we're coming to the trickle end of NFL free agency.
00:05Of course, there's still going to be some signings and some trades and, you know, we'll get Kyler Murray and
00:09Diggs and some other names are going to end up with other teams.
00:12But I personally, I mean, it's been a very active and fun free agency, but I don't think the pendulum
00:18has changed at all.
00:20Like, I think Kenneth Walker signing with the Chiefs is a fun signing, but I don't think that any team
00:26like made this crazy move that changes their odds.
00:30And there's nothing on the board that I've seen that's changed significantly in the last 72 hours.
00:34Yeah, I would say it's teams making signings to address the issues that they had, you know, teams bolstering their
00:42offensive line, teams improving their defense.
00:44But there's no premier caliber players that are truly out there anymore.
00:49Teams just don't like to let those players go to free agency.
00:52That's why so many of them get extensions, you know, before it happens.
00:56And then, you know, they create, you know, cap space by restructuring.
00:59And so it's good to see teams make improvements.
01:01And we will see some teams jump into the playoffs next year, you know, who weren't in it this year.
01:07But to your point, like, yeah, the Chiefs will be back.
01:09Mahomes is starting in September.
01:11It's going to be them.
01:11We're going to have the same conversation.
01:13Oh, can the Bengals stay healthy?
01:14Can the Bengals have a competent defense?
01:16It's going to be them plus Baltimore.
01:17How are they going to operate with the new head coach?
01:19We know the Chargers were there last year.
01:21Add in the Pats again.
01:22Like, it's going to be the same grouping of teams.
01:24And then what do we get from the Houston, Denver, Jacksonville grouping?
01:29So do you think that what the Raiders did has been?
01:32I know they had to give those picks backs for Crosby.
01:34But I think they're going to end up getting those picks again from somebody else, whether it's now or at
01:38the draft.
01:39I mean, I think, Tom, it would be silly to believe that Crosby is going to play for the Raiders
01:43this season, regardless of what they're saying.
01:45Yeah, I think it'll end up being a 1 and a 2 instead of a 1 and a 1 or
01:501 and a 3.
01:51But, you know, that's what I think he is deserving of getting if you're just looking at the trade objective.
01:57Like, a 1 and a 1 is a lot.
01:58No doubt about it.
02:00It would certainly be up there as well.
02:02You know, they're going to draft Mendoza 1.
02:04I think we all know that.
02:05They're going to draft some offensive linemen to protect him.
02:07They need to bring in a few more offensive options around him.
02:10But I think they end up trading Crosby.
02:12It won't be for the same price that they got from the Ravens, but it'll still be good.
02:16Yeah, no, I think they'll do fine.
02:18It's just, you know, highly unusual for a player to be traded and asked to come back, like, as if
02:22nothing's happened.
02:23Kind of funny that that's a narrative being pushed.
02:25But I would guess by maybe even Monday of next week, we'll have a trade again.
02:30All right, Tom, enjoy the World Baseball Classic games coming up this weekend.
02:32I know you're watching those closely, too.
02:34And we'll be talking Major League Baseball soon with you coming up.
02:36So thanks again for coming on.
02:38Of course.
02:38Thanks for having me.
02:40All right, we dive deeper into NFL free agency.
02:42Vinny Iyer has given out some grades on who did what in free agency, which team succeeded, which teams failed
02:48thus far.
02:49Vinny from Sporting News is up next.
02:51Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid.
02:52Always fun to catch up with Vinny Iyer from Sporting News.
02:55We'll check back in with Vinny after today for the NFL draft coming up next month here.
02:59But as free agency comes to a close, which is what is so good about the NFL free agency and
03:04NBA free agency and hockey to a degree is that you have a cap and teams got to spend.
03:09And if you don't, you're going to be left paying somebody you really don't want.
03:12So you get all these signings in the matter of 72 hours.
03:15Let's bring Vinny in to go over some grades because it does appear.
03:19I mean, I don't know what percentage.
03:21I feel like 90% of the free agents are gone and signed.
03:24So that's good.
03:25Vinny, what is the top grade that you're giving out?
03:28Which team do you think did the best through free agency thus far?
03:33Yeah, I think there was a lot of positives for the Chiefs.
03:35I know they moved their cornerbacks gone, but I think you look at this team, that's one position they've been
03:42able to replenish pretty well in the draft, get corners, and they had to save some money to spend in
03:47other places.
03:48Now they have the extra first round draft pick.
03:50I'm not saying they're rebuilding, but they're a little bit tweaking and reloading a little bit.
03:55So they know they'll have Travis Kelsey back.
03:57They added their running back that they desperately needed in Kenneth Walker, so that was a good pickup, and they
04:02got a couple underrated pickups there in Lillie Gilman.
04:07The safety came over from the Ravens.
04:10He was an impact player, and then you also look at Kyrus Tonga.
04:12He's a versatile guy that they can use at defensive tackle and fullback.
04:16So they are really about the draft and want to just know that they can get corners.
04:23They can get interior offensive linemen all the time in the draft.
04:26They've proved it over and over again.
04:28So they're tweaking the impact players that they actually needed.
04:31So the Chiefs did pretty well.
04:32On the other side, the Rams did well.
04:34I mean, they had to shore up corner.
04:36They got the two Chiefs starting corners, and they kept Cam Curl for safety, so they're going to be good.
04:42And then the Bears, I still think they're working on trying to get this team upgraded here for Caleb Williams.
04:47So if you've got the spending power, you've got a quarterback that you're trying to win for, such as Patrick
04:54Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, or Caleb Williams, different levels of contracts on each.
04:58You played that quarterback, and you're really going to be successful in free agency.
05:03Vinny, I think I have a good idea for a column for you, or maybe even a story.
05:08Because this is my read on this.
05:10You could certainly disagree, and I'm not trying to make you write something that's not accurate.
05:17But you know what it feels like to me, Vinny?
05:19It feels like the days of the NFL rebuilds are now one year and done.
05:27That's what it feels like to me.
05:29In the past, when a team would go into a rebuild, I mean, like baseball and like the NBA, it
05:34was two years.
05:35Sometimes, you know, you expected three years.
05:37And the Saints are a really good example of that.
05:39And I think maybe the Dolphins in two years will be an example of that.
05:42The Giants are a good example now.
05:44They're back in.
05:44In the NFL, you can't take more than one year away from the fans, it seems like, anymore.
05:49The Saints did it last year.
05:51And now, all of a sudden, they're right back in, spending in free agency.
05:55Great signing for them, getting Travis Etienne.
05:57So they shore up the running back position, and they added other players as well.
06:02Yeah, I mean, you have to point to the Saints, the Giants, the Titans.
06:06These are those teams that you have expectations all of a sudden.
06:09Like, you were not good last year.
06:11Everyone's going to say, look at what the Seahawks did, what the Patriots did,
06:14what the Jaguars did, what the Bears did.
06:16The owners are going to be saying, why can't you do that, general manager and coach?
06:20Go out and get those guys.
06:22And the win-now pressure is always on in the NFL, because everyone's saying,
06:26anybody has a shot.
06:27And we saw that.
06:28Anybody has a shot.
06:29If the two longest shots just made the Super Bowl, what's that going to do for the rest of the
06:33league?
06:34Everyone's going to be like, oh, we can be that team.
06:36If we spend in free agency wisely, if we have a good draft, we can be there.
06:40And the Saints are a great example.
06:42They feel very confident in Tyler Shuck.
06:44What do the other teams have in common?
06:46The Giants, Titans, second-year quarterbacks they believe in.
06:49Jackson, Darden, Cam Ward.
06:51You've got to attack while that rookie contract is in play, because that's the best time where you can spend.
06:57That's your window for winning big.
06:59And that's what you're seeing with these teams.
07:01Like, hey, we don't have time to waste.
07:03We need to go do this right away.
07:04And then the flip side, again, Rams are like, Matthew Stafford may not play for more than one more season.
07:10We've got to go get some guys that can help us win now.
07:13I don't care what we give up in 26, 27, 28 in the draft.
07:17We need to get guys that can help us win now.
07:19And it's worked before for them.
07:21So, you can't argue with that logic either.
07:24Yeah, I mean, look at the division the Saints are in.
07:26I mean, it was kind of a disaster.
07:28You know, nine wins maybe gets you back in there.
07:30Speaking of that division, the Bucs take a big hit here.
07:33I know Mike Evans hasn't been 100% healthy the last few years, and he misses time here too.
07:37But, Vinny, this to me was the biggest surprise of all.
07:40You're mean to tell me that the Bucs couldn't make Mike Evans a lifer there?
07:45Wow.
07:45I guess he chased the money.
07:46I can't blame him.
07:47$60 million.
07:48I think the majority probably guaranteed of this too.
07:51At the end of his career, he's going to be chasing down Jerry Rice and a lot of other, you
07:56know, Hall of Famers for numbers.
07:57He may not get to number one overall in all of them, but they throw so much in San Francisco.
08:02Great ad for the 49ers.
08:04I just am surprised here.
08:06I mean, this was a franchise player.
08:07I'm surprised to see him go.
08:09Yeah, I think Mike Evans looked at the situation, and you look at the Buccaneers.
08:14They're developing a little bit of a crowd here at wide receiver.
08:16Chris Godwin and Joe McMillan were out there.
08:20The Mecca of Bucca, they brought back their tight end, KDOT.
08:22And when you look at the 49ers, Juwan Jennings is not going to return.
08:26Brandon Ayuk is not going to return.
08:28George Kittle is coming off Achilles injury.
08:30He probably saw, where can I thrive and be what I was personally and go win big?
08:36And I think that was a combination of things that lured him away.
08:38And I think he wanted to explore that and the possibility, and maybe it's not a good sign
08:42that he doesn't feel like the Bucs were a team to contend and do something, but the 49ers
08:47who have been depleted working their defense was more appealing.
08:50But I think he's a great fit for the 49ers.
08:53Big play receiver.
08:54He's going to be dominant in the red zone, playing off Christian McCaffrey and Kittle when
08:57all those guys are on the field together.
08:59Good luck.
09:00Another field stretcher for Purdy is one of the best deep ball throwers in the NFL.
09:05All right, finally, let's get to the little bizarre offseason the Colts are having here.
09:10They gave a lot of money to Alec Pierce and a lot of money to Daniel Jones.
09:13And this is a team that didn't even make the playoffs last year.
09:16I mean, if there's ever a lock in the draft coming up, it's the Colts taking a wide receiver,
09:21right, Vinny?
09:21Like, I mean, first round, best receiver on the board.
09:24What is Indianapolis doing?
09:26I know they have a great running game and they played great while they had Daniel Jones last
09:30year.
09:30But if I'm not mistaken, the end of their season ended with a quarterback that, you
09:36know, basically pushing our age here.
09:39Yeah, I mean, the Achilles injury, I mean, you can't just assume he's going to come back
09:43as strong with Daniel Jones.
09:44You still paid him a reasonable amount of money.
09:47And then Alec Pierce, they paid him like a number one wide receiver.
09:50Well, you said goodbye to your true number one wide receiver, Michael Pittman.
09:53So there's going to be a lot of question if the Colts don't win.
09:56And I think this is it for Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard, if that team does not make
10:00the playoffs after spending this much money.
10:02I mean, 15 coaches, it felt like we're fired.
10:05Yes, Steichen's on the hot seat.
10:06Thanks, Vinny.
10:07Appreciate it.
10:08All right.
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