00:00Funny, a guy named, give us your name so we can call you out.
00:03He goes, you don't know how Matt Ryan and Ian feel?
00:05I would think, based on who we've signed, you have a pretty good idea what they're expecting for 2026.
00:12Okay?
00:12We're not exactly spending like drunken sales, nor should we, because we don't have a quarterback.
00:17We have to establish the baseline of who our quarterback is.
00:20It's most likely going to be Michael Penix Jr.
00:21They're going to give two an opportunity.
00:23But, I mean, they are sort of playing the pragmatic game here with this squad.
00:28When you sign a bunch of guys who can't stay healthy on one-year deals,
00:31it's not like you're going all-in to win the NFC South, some would argue.
00:34Well, I'll just tell you my timeline, Mike.
00:37We knew this offseason was about doing an extension with Drake London.
00:41So why hasn't it been done?
00:43We finally get one with Jackson Smith and Jigba.
00:45He resets the market.
00:47You knew it was coming.
00:48And I just wonder what he views his value as and what they view his value as.
00:53I think it's not that far off, but at the same time, they've been on the job now enough.
00:59I'm talking about Stefanski and Cunningham and Matt Ryan.
01:02They've been here enough to where if they felt like they were going to get this number together,
01:06it felt like it would have.
01:08If I were the GM, I would have done this deal already.
01:10I would have tried to get it somewhere in the, I don't know, $32, $33 million range,
01:16and maybe that's not enough to get the deal done.
01:19And in that case, where do we go?
01:20But I'm not going to overpay when at least two of these years are going to be probably
01:25in no man's land.
01:26Well, again, why should you, the play devil's advocate, I just want to make sure you get
01:30this straight.
01:30Love Drake London.
01:31I think they should have just taken care of it last year, but the financial situation
01:33with the cap, perhaps without restructuring everybody, there was just no way to make
01:36it work.
01:37So here we are.
01:38Because you don't have a quarterback, why would you commit $150 million to a wide receiver
01:42or whatever it's going to be when you have no idea who's throwing them the football
01:46the next couple of years?
01:46You want me to really upset some people here?
01:48Knock it out.
01:49Is there any world in which it's Drake or Bajon, but not both?
01:53Could be.
01:53Yeah, I think that's certainly a possibility.
01:55I think Bajon's the frontrunner to get his deal, and Drake may, as you said, twist in
01:59the wind to be tagged.
02:01And it sucks.
02:02But I mean, you don't necessarily, I know some would say when you find a really good wide
02:06receiver, and he is, it's so, I think he could be at the perennial pro bowler year
02:11after year if he had a reliable delivery system.
02:12He hasn't had that.
02:13One more caveat.
02:14One more variable here.
02:16What if it is Penix?
02:17What if Penix is the guy?
02:20Because now you're going to be pulling off of his rookie deal coming up, too.
02:24You're going to have Drake at 35, Bajon at 22, and Penix at, what are quarterbacks making
02:29now?
02:2948?
02:30Yeah.
02:31Who knows?
02:32Are we going to have all three of those guys near max or top five positions?
02:36And you're only going to have a one, you know, here's the thing is, you know, you'll have
02:38a one-year audition this year, presume, when he does get on the field, you know, remember
02:42the Jordan Love scenario.
02:43They basically had a one-year audition for him in Green Bay, and they decided to roll
02:45the dice.
02:46And for the most part, it's worked out.
02:47I think so, yeah.
02:48But in the case of Penix, but he doesn't have that injury history.
02:50That's the, that's still that, you know, caveat emptor.
02:53But if he's good, you know that you're going to have to pick up.
02:55That's buyer beware for folks in ball ground.
02:57Yeah.
02:57Do you have three max deals coming over the next three seasons?
03:00Potentially.
03:01Potentially.
03:02And I don't mean max, max, right?
03:04I don't think.
03:04But big money contracts.
03:05And so how much of that is, boy, we better wait on Drake, London, Bajon Robinson.
03:13Bergeron's going to have to get a contract at some point.
03:15Because if it's not Penix, and you're going into it with a rookie quarterback the year after,
03:20maybe you have more money to give both of those guys deals.
03:23But if you then have to give the quarterback, I don't know.
03:26I don't know.
03:27To be honest, if I were the GM, though, I would have already given Drake London this deal.
03:32I would have tried to not overpay.
03:34Certainly nowhere, starting with a $40 million.
03:37Somewhere in the mid-30s, hopefully low 30s, 33, 34.
03:41The fact that it hasn't been done yet, though, makes me, it'll open my eyes a little.
03:45Well, I mean, like I said, there's a lot of ways you can do this.
03:47I think we've just, we've sort of been cowed or trained as Falcon fans to expect Dimitrov
03:53would do it this way, and Fontenot might do it this way.
03:55But, you know, in some cases, general managers, and I thought, you know, I think certainly
03:59Dimitrov learned his lesson with that.
04:02After they gave Vic Beasley the option, they were never going to do that for, who was the
04:06guy that was a flame-out?
04:08Tack?
04:09Yeah.
04:10Tack McKinley.
04:10How many different flame-outs do you want me to go through here?
04:12Yeah.
04:12I mean, you could have had, you know, TJ Watt, but who wants that, right?
04:16But, you know, so with Tack, they were kind of, okay, we're not going to give that fifth
04:20year, he's not going to go, we get it.
04:22But most general managers will make a move, and then they'll validate it by continuing
04:27to pay the guy.
04:27And that's fine if he's doing the job and he's putting the numbers up.
04:30But I can't go against Drake.
04:32I think most guys in their car right now.
04:34All right, Dede, squash the daylight saving question.
04:36We'll have to go with Drake.
04:37Like, should the Falcons give Drake a contract extension this offseason, or make it another
04:42parentheses, or it's a proven deal, worst case, he gets tagged.
04:45I'm also stuck, Mike, on, like, the yes, they should give him a deal, but, like, it can't
04:50be $38 million.
04:51No, but I mean, what is his agent looking for?
04:53That's the thing.
04:53He's going to want a dollar more than Alec Pierce because he's better than Alec Pierce.
04:56It's not like they're just not giving him a deal because they're not giving a deal.
05:00There's probably a number that they would do.
05:03He's maybe not willing to do that.
05:05And then there's the negotiation window.
05:06What's in the middle and how close can it get?
05:08Like I said, if it's $33 million, $34 million, I'm doing it.
05:12If it's $39 million, $5 million, like, I don't know if I can give him that right now.
05:16So, it's a great question.
05:17So, Dede, we, again, hold the daylight saving.
05:20Now, Dede is repurposing the poll question.
05:23And how do you want to read it?
05:24Should the Falcons give Drake a contract extension before the season begins?
05:27Yes.
05:28No.
05:29Let him audition.
05:30And, in parentheses, worst case, you can tag him.
05:33How's that?
05:34Yeah.
05:34Does that sound about right?
05:35I don't know how to do this in a poll.
05:36I'm just trying to frame it.
05:37Yeah.
05:37The caveat would be there's got to be a number, man.
05:42The answer's got to be yes, but with a number.
05:44All right, brother.
05:45I'm just looking at the show.
05:46When he was on your show a couple times, Andy and Randy, he talked about how he thought
05:4930 would get it done.
05:50I think it's more than 30.
05:53I love Drake.
05:55I don't think you're getting him for 30.
05:56It's 20.
05:57I think you would have, prior to the Jackson Smith and Jigba deal, you probably could have
06:01got it for less than 30.
06:02I think now you've put yourself in a bad position.
06:03And that's why you do it quickly, to Mike's point.
06:05That's why you do it early, as soon as possible.
06:07Pierce's average salary is 28.5.
06:0928.5 million for Pierce in Indiana.
06:12It's got to be more than that.
06:13Yeah.
06:14He's a better receiver than that.
06:15And if Drake's listening, we love you, man.
06:17It just sucks.
06:18The way the cap has been played by this team, and now we're in sort of a limbo with the
06:23quarterback, it's kind of a strange...
06:25You could argue outside looking, if you don't live in Atlanta and know how much Drake means
06:29to this team, you would say, yes, why would I commit those kind of money and salary cap
06:33space to a guy when your quarterback situation is a complete question mark?
06:36I thought the restructuring of the A.J.
06:38Terrell contract was maybe a precursor to this extension.
06:44Maybe it still is.
06:45But the timeline has it.
06:47It didn't add up to like, hey, we got this money, and now we're giving it right to you.
06:50So I'm still waiting.
06:51Could be, like I said, in a week's time, or we could be at camp.
06:55We'll find out that the deal gets done.
06:57Some news from the NFL, guys.
06:58It's our fourth and one segment brought to you by Priority Men's Medical Center.
07:01Check them out at prioritymensmedical.com.
07:03Good news.
07:03If you hate ESPN's coverage of the draft, NFL Network will continue to broadcast their coverage
07:08of the draft.
07:09That story dropped today.
07:11ESPN, there were some thoughts, because they've merged.
07:13They pulled a plug on the NFL Network, but apparently you'll have two separate broadcasts.
07:17And I kind of, I know it's not flashier or wild.
07:20I'd stick with the NFL Network.
07:22That's mine.
07:22I normally watch the draft.
07:24Well, not day one, but like day two, day three.
07:26I kind of just watch the draft on mute and just let the banner tell me who got the pick.
07:30Yeah, Mel Kiper, I just want to choke him out, man.
07:32I just can't.
07:32I don't need that much analysis, nor do I need the sideshow of announcements and the
07:37guys coming up and doing all their nonsense of who the pick is, mispronouncing names,
07:41all that stuff.
07:41I hear you, buddy.
07:42You don't want to see former pros out there shining.
07:45These guys go to the Hall of Fame.
07:46Guys in the Ring of Honor for their respective teams.
07:48It's really the kids that bother me, Mike.
07:51That's who.
07:51Hey, Mr. Killjoy.
07:52Carl will be back tomorrow, guys.
07:53Abe's with us today.
07:54We'll come back.
07:55We got some more on the Hawks.
07:56The road's getting tougher, and the Hawks, you know, certainly are in the mix now for a
08:01locked-in playoff seed.
08:02We'll talk more about it.
08:03Come back.
08:03Right here with Abe in for Carl.
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