00:00What do you make of what's going on with the PA?
00:03Well, as we're talking about master deflectors, J.C. Tretter is one of them as well.
00:07Because as soon as Lloyd Howell's improprieties came to light, all of a sudden, when J.C. resigned, it was,
00:16oh, we didn't really vote for him as the, you know, executive committee.
00:20We had voted for the other guy, and, you know, the 32 board of representatives were the ones who voted
00:25for him.
00:25You know, and then he had the whole thing that he didn't know about the collusion.
00:29But he, as I've talked to people, he's really great at riling up a room and getting guys to rally
00:37and believe in him.
00:38And so he always finds a scapegoat or an enemy.
00:42And so then it's like, oh, man, like, let's get behind him.
00:45So for him, he's like, hey, I've been in this, you know, this organization.
00:49I've been at the top.
00:51I've helped with the negotiation for the last CBA.
00:54And then when we had to renegotiate because of COVID.
00:55And I know the fights and the battles that we have to be.
00:59And if you look at the way that the whole thing was set up, look, they had David White, their
01:04interim.
01:05And then they had Tim Pernetti, who was the conference, you know, America Conference Commissioner.
01:13And that was the three they had.
01:15If that was a wide net, it was basically a slam dunk for J.C. to win.
01:18But Tretta wasn't even involved at first.
01:20All of a sudden, he ends up in it.
01:22Exactly.
01:23Because he stepped down as well.
01:25Right.
01:25Exactly.
01:26But the guys on the executive committee are all guys who served on that committee when J.C. was their
01:33president.
01:33They're loyal to him.
01:35Right.
01:36Right.
01:36And so they were like, hey, I know that the president, Jalen Reeves-Maben, really does not care for his
01:41role, doesn't like it very much.
01:43But he leaned on J.C. a lot.
01:44So now J.C. is going to be back.
01:46He can kind of, you know, let J.C. handle the dirty work and then the role.
01:50And so it is, like you said, it's a mess I would have.
01:53And I know there were some guys who did have real questions.
01:56But at the same time, the whole player body, 2,000 players, sadly, a lot of these guys don't care
02:01about the union.
02:02They don't realize how important it is for their futures, for the business of football.
02:06And, you know, there are a lot of even veterans that just want nothing to do with it.
02:10And so they didn't even have full attendance from the 32 teams there.
02:15You know, the Rams are right there in L.A.
02:17And, you know, they were in San Diego.
02:19Their team rep didn't even go.
02:20And so.
02:21Because they rested, Mike.
02:23They rested.
02:24The thing of it is, as a guy who was on that committee, look, we knew and learned and we
02:29fought.
02:29We didn't give a damn about Roger Goodell or who had Paul Tagliabue all the way back.
02:34These guys today don't have a damn clue of what they're dealing with.
02:37And then you got a guy who I think playing both sides of the fence in J.C.
02:41Tretter, where he's trying to please the NFL while robbing the damn NFL PA.
02:47He needs to be a person that people come after.
02:49And I think, listen, they got another guy.
02:52I don't know if he's your relative called Mr. Jones.
02:55He knows every damn thing.
02:57And he's been making the circuits.
03:00That right there, that dude, he was raised by some parents who taught him how to do everything the right
03:05way.
03:05They better be careful.
03:07That's all I got to say.
03:09And it's unfortunate that more people, more players were not caring enough to listen to people like Mr. Jones and
03:16others who raised concerns.
03:19Because I'm worried that they're putting themselves in a bad spot there.
03:23They are.
03:23Interesting times coming, man.
03:26Especially with the league trying to hammer through this 18th game and what looks like a, I don't know, kind
03:32of a yes man getting that position in what looks like kind of a rigged vote.
03:36Let's switch it to the actual football, right?
03:38Because that's what we enjoy a lot more.
03:41Talking with our friend Mike Jones here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
03:45You can follow Mike at by Mike Jones.
03:47Check out all of his work in the athletic.
03:50Mike, I know you're keeping an eye on the entire league, but Washington, one of the more active teams in
03:55free agency, both volume and dollars.
03:58What do you make of Washington's start to the offseason?
04:02I thought that they did a good job of really addressing needs like getting faster and younger on defense, getting
04:11more pass rushers, fortifying, you know, getting a piece to fortify their secondary.
04:15They added depth for their wide receiver position, you know, winning in the trenches with Tim Settle coming back, you
04:24know, and they added some depth at the running back position there.
04:27So it'll be interesting to see how they go in the draft because they've really met a lot of needs.
04:33Now, they want to continue to build through the draft, but they got some important pieces on both sides of
04:40the ball through free agency.
04:41And still, I think it was like $50 million that they still have that they can spend, you know, in
04:46salary cap money if, you know, they see other veteran needs that they need after the draft comes to plug
04:52some more holes.
04:54For sure.
04:55Beamich and I, I think they've done a lot here, but I think the seventh pick is still wide open
05:02for them.
05:03I don't, like, yes, they added pass rush, but if David Bailey or Reuben Bain or somebody's there, I think
05:08they could still take them.
05:10I think Love, Tate, I think those are all real options.
05:13What are you hearing about Jeremiah Love?
05:17Because he seems like the hottest topic, and you hear Tennessee might want him, and then Schefter randomly says Tennessee's
05:24not interested.
05:24Like, what has your take been on the love train?
05:29It's so hard to tell what's real and what's, you know, at this time, you know, we say it's lying
05:35season because you'll hear some say, oh, they're not interested because they're trying to okie-dokie everybody into not thinking
05:41they're going to jump up and try to get them.
05:43And then some teams say that they do like them.
05:45He would be an intriguing piece, a dynamic offensive weapon for you, you know, and we'll see how it plays
05:52out.
05:53Like you said, they really have put them in positions so they could get a top-level pass rusher or
05:58they could get an impact running back or a wide receiver.
06:01It's a good thing for them, and I don't think they could go wrong if it's one of the three
06:06of those positions because they're all positions of need, and every franchise that is successful has talent at those three
06:13positions.
06:14I think we've seen this team go in the draft some time and not know what they need to do,
06:18but I think they have positioned themselves very well where they're not forced to do anything at this point.
06:26No, I don't think so.
06:27And, you know, I think that they've done a better job this offseason in positioning them.
06:33You know, like you said, sometimes it feels kind of aimless or they're kind of like waiting to see what's
06:37going to happen, but now they're in a good position here.
06:39You know, some of those moves last year in free agency, you know, weren't really keeping with the plan that
06:48Adam Peters had talked about when he first came here.
06:51Now it feels like he got back to, okay, we're going to use free agency to fill certain spots and
06:56then we're going to build through the draft,
06:57and now they can get some real franchise quarterstones.
07:00Like you said, whether it's, you know, an elite-level pass rusher or whether it's a running back, whether it's
07:04a wide receiver,
07:06they are just in better position to really make an impact move rather than be beholden to what else other
07:14people do and just hope for the best.
07:17Mike, the Brandon-Iuke thing has been a big topic amongst fans, and I guess everybody else, he even basically
07:23says he wants to come here.
07:25Where you look at the fact that the 49ers are basically, they're not doing him any favors, and I don't
07:30think they are forced to.
07:32And then you look at the commander.
07:34How long do you think they can wait for this whole situation to happen?
07:37If they're going to go on and build stuff, are they going to wait because they may consider him a
07:41piece of their plan?
07:43Yeah, I mean, I guess we'll see.
07:44I think that a lot of clarity comes to the draft when people are either able to get a piece
07:50that they want or they're not,
07:51and then the asking price when the team is saying, hey, we want this pick, and you decide, okay, you
07:56know,
07:56we're in better position, we can pull the trigger on this.
08:00You know, obviously, it's better for everybody if they get this thing done sooner than later,
08:04but we've seen trades, you know, this last week.
08:07I think there was like four straight days of trades, but I think that things will heat up closer to
08:12the draft.
08:12It's going to be interesting because the 49ers have decisions to make there.
08:16With Iuke, they can't really come back there.
08:19They've got decisions to make with Trent Williams, you know, and his, you know, contract situation.
08:24So the 49ers have got a lot of, you know, balls up in the air, and we'll have to decide,
08:29you know, fairly quickly,
08:30especially as the draft gets here, and then we'll start seeing those dominoes fall.
08:34Mike, have you heard anything about this Brian Thomas stuff down in Jacksonville?
08:38Do you think that's at all a possibility?
08:40I don't think so.
08:42From what I was told, that they don't plan on trading him.
08:45They want to keep him.
08:45So I guess he's a hell of a player, and he's young, so it makes sense.
08:49Yeah, for sure, for sure.
08:52But at the same time, it's like, look, for them, they need a valuable weapon.
08:58I mean, Travis, you know, Travis Hunter, they drafted him, and it sounds like instead of being a two-way
09:03guy,
09:03they're really going to primarily use him as a DB.
09:05So you don't want to lose, you know, Brian Thomas, you know, that they need.
09:11He was a, you know, valuable weapon for their offense.
09:15Yeah, obviously they have some other wide receivers, but from what I was told,
09:19that's not a guy they want to let get away from them.
09:22And the last one from me, I feel like I could ask you these questions all day.
09:27A guy you know well, we spent a lot of time in Ashburn listening to him talk, Kirk Cousins.
09:33What do you think happens with Kirk Cousins?
09:37I'm not quite sure.
09:39This is another one that I think that we might have to wait until after the draft
09:42to see what people were able to get as far as quarterbacks.
09:46Is it somebody that, you know, got a young guy, but he's going to have to sit a little bit?
09:51I'm interested in seeing, okay, the Raiders obviously have the number one pick there.
09:59Obviously they're familiar with that system.
10:01I don't think that Cousins would want to go there.
10:03I think he would rather go somewhere where he can play right now.
10:07Minnesota had been a team that I had told that might be interested in bringing him back,
10:11but then they got Kyler Murray, so that kind of crossed him off.
10:14You know, and then, you know, Atlanta, even though he was a free agent,
10:18he could have wound up coming back there, but that kind of got crossed off.
10:21So the spots, you know, it's almost like musical chairs.
10:24These chairs are getting taken away little by little.
10:26He's going to wind up finding somewhere.
10:28But there's not a team that right now looks like they're really desperate, you know,
10:34for, you know, his services or, you know, other veterans, you know,
10:37are still out there as well.
10:39You know, but again, once the draft comes and we see, okay,
10:43who was able to fill certain holes, get the quarterbacks, whether, okay,
10:46this guy's going to need to sit for a little bit and need a veteran mentor,
10:49then I think we'll start to see.
10:51All right.
10:51Hey, Mike, we appreciate you making time for us, man.
10:54Enjoy the weekend.
10:54Hopefully it's a quiet one.
10:55I'm sure it'll be full with kids' sports for you.
10:58All right, man.
10:59Yes, you are exactly right.
11:00And enjoy a couple drinks with me, guys.
11:02Will do, man.
11:03All right.
11:03The great Mike Jones.
11:05Who?
11:06Mike Jones.
11:07Mike Jones from The Athletic.
11:08You can give him a follow at ByMikeJones, Twitter and Instagram.
11:11Read all of his work in The Athletic.
11:13Really good reporter.
11:14I'll be looking forward to seeing Jonesy in a couple weeks in Arizona.
11:17I'll be looking forward to seeing Jonesy in a couple weeks in Arizona.
11:17I'll be looking forward to seeing Jonesy in a couple weeks in Arizona.
