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With WR Drake London heading into his fifth year option, Falcons fans have waited for news of a long term deal. But ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Bijan Robinson could soon ink a contract extension. Dukes and Bell break that down, plus other Falcons news this week.
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00:00And you also hear these reports from credible guys like Adam Schefter, who says he expects B. John Robinson as
00:06well as Jameer Gibbs to get extensions this summer.
00:09So when we saw this and we talked about it today on our pre-show and appreciate you guys being
00:13there.
00:14It's called Behind the Curtain. You can check it out every day. 11, 11, 15 ish on all our social
00:17media platforms.
00:19Mike and I were kind of like, huh? Because the one guy you've been focused on is not B. John.
00:24Right.
00:24It's Drake. Well, I'm just curious how they're going to play it with Drake.
00:26I mean, you could have argued if we didn't maybe be so, I don't know, jammed up.
00:31The Cousins contract last year, maybe you didn't want to restructure a bunch of guys.
00:34Again, that was Fontenot's regime. So different to look at how they handled it.
00:38Dimitrov generally gave guys the extension going into the fourth year, sometimes to get ahead of the market, I thought.
00:44And sometimes we didn't like it because you picked up Vic Beasley's option.
00:47Remember that one? We were like, no!
00:49Don't do it.
00:49And then Desmond Trufant got a contract going into his fourth inning.
00:52He got hurt the Super Bowl year. That happened.
00:53But as far as, you know, getting back to Drake, I mean, he is a star.
00:57He is one of the best players on your team. He's a leader on this team.
01:00He does all the things you need to do.
01:01He's a little bit banged up, and you didn't draft him.
01:03So maybe the rules that you, as a fan, feel don't apply to Ian Cunningham and how Matt Ryan approached
01:08this.
01:08So we'll see.
01:09But I just thought, you know, you should have probably in hindsight gotten it done with the class regime.
01:12What you paid for Garrett with the Jets, that'd be a steal right now at $32 million a year.
01:17Yeah. Look, remember, he's a top-ten pick.
01:19We're talking about Bajon Robinson, which means he gets a fifth-year option, okay?
01:24Most teams are not in a rush, except outside of quarterback, to take care of their first-round picks
01:32because they can let it play out, Mike, and it's cost-efficient.
01:36So, you know, we go back.
01:38B signed about a $13 million signing bonus as a top-ten pick, but he gets that fifth-year option.
01:42And even though we know that's going to be picked up, it doesn't mean that they can't do a deal
01:47early.
01:48And that's why, as crazy as this may sound like, why would you do it now?
01:51I said to you guys today, maybe the Falcons want to send a message, and we don't know if this
01:56is going to happen.
01:57If it does, great, okay?
01:58I have no issues with it.
01:59He is a superstar in this league.
02:01But maybe the Falcons want to make him the face, Mike.
02:05I think he's already become that, to be honest with you, because we don't have that star quarterback to say,
02:09hey, this is our guy, like a lot of teams, you think Bills, you think Josh Allen, you think Lamar,
02:14etc.
02:15That's not the case here yet.
02:16And so, with our team, it's Bijan.
02:19And I think if they were to give him a deal early, that just signals that they totally believe,
02:24and we know what a great human being he is.
02:25We know what kind of dude he is.
02:26We've talked about it.
02:27No-brainer.
02:28Yeah, I think it's a no-brainer.
02:29And I don't have an issue with it.
02:31I just am surprised that we're not even, you know, you're going into year four.
02:35He's got a fifth-year option that you can pick.
02:36And we're already talking about doing this?
02:38That's a little bit surprising.
02:40That's all.
02:40So, again, Day-Day and Abe on Monday kind of got into it about maybe it's one or the other.
02:44Don't know.
02:45Because, you know, we, as fans, expect to win every year, expect to go to the playoffs every year,
02:49and the glass is half full, just like Braves fans right now, everybody else.
02:52But maybe the management, as I've said to you on Tuesday, made they feel differently about it.
02:56Maybe it's a wait-and-see.
02:56That's why we've done all these kind of like holding pattern contracts, for lack of a better word.
03:00You know, as we're just trying to fill some holes.
03:03You know, we haven't really replaced.
03:04Like, you're hoping.
03:06It's like the Braves are starting pitching.
03:07You were hoping that a guy that really couldn't get on the field with the Bears is going to be
03:10as good as Cade Nellis was last year.
03:11You're hoping you had a couple of guys who can put the production that James Pierce Jr., or who may
03:15or may not play, Carl, gave you.
03:16So, that's just two examples.
03:18The other thing you said, it's crazy rumors.
03:20I think it was more driven by Philadelphia fans and media, the idea that somehow we would trade Jesse Bates.
03:25We talked about that yesterday.
03:26I mean, we have a financial decision to make about Jesse's contract in another year, but that would mean to
03:32the fans, that would signal to the Falcon fans, we are rebuilding this thing.
03:34We are not refitting it.
03:35We're rebuilding it.
03:36Yeah, because then you're giving up one of your legitimate stars on defense to say one or two things.
03:42One, which both may be.
03:43You're going younger, and you are going cheaper, because that's the message you're going.
03:50Right?
03:50When you're all in, think about the teams that have been all in, whether it's the Rams, whether it's Philly,
03:55okay?
03:56Even the Bills, who haven't gotten there.
03:58They're not doing that.
03:59They're not trading away.
04:00Old guys, they let go, but they're not trading away major pieces, Mike, that have helped him achieve success.
04:06And more times than not, if you look at their roster, all those guys have been paid.
04:10So we haven't gotten there yet where you've got a bunch of guys around Jesse Bates that are making a
04:15ton of money.
04:16He's making great money because when he was a free agent, he was the best safety on the market, and
04:19we paid him as such.
04:20But I think that would be a mistake.
04:22But to your point, if they were to do it, it sends the message that, hey, we're restructuring this thing.
04:27We didn't really think about the safety as a need, but we thought that Helms would be all right.
04:31You've got Bates, you already talked about, with a job that watched us.
04:34Billy Bowman, he's a stud coming off an injury.
04:37But yeah, they've got Sidney Brown.
04:38We picked him up in the trade, so we moved back while you were gone.
04:41They basically moved back to the Philly pick.
04:42So we dropped back a little bit in the fourth and sixth round.
04:45Swap picks?
04:45Swap picks.
04:46Okay.
04:46Along to get a guy in Sidney Brown that statistically has been on the field, more of a special teamer,
04:51but he has been on the field, but he's not like he's a starter.
04:54I got clearly defined as a starter from that squad, but they think he's good enough to have made that
05:00trade
05:01and dropped back a little bit to get him.
05:02What do you think of, again, this B-Rob thing?
05:05I like it.
05:06I do, too.
05:07He's a good, bruising, kind of physical guy.
05:10That's a perfect compliment to B-John.
05:11One year, $2.5 million deal, and it totally makes sense.
05:16So, again, when you look at your running back room, all right, the running back room is good,
05:20but it's not costing you $30 million, Mike.
05:23It's not costing you $20 million, at least not right now, but I think this is a nice replacement.
05:27People are like, well, how's he going to fit in?
05:29Did you see Tyler Algier last year?
05:31Right.
05:31That's how he fits in.
05:32He will get his fair share of carries.
05:34He'll get some of those goal line carries, Mike, down there because he can be a power runner,
05:39but it's just going to depend on what Tommy Reese wants to do down there, man.
05:41I mean, he's calling the plays.
05:42If he wants to spread them out and put B in the slot or whatever else he wanted, he can
05:46do that.
05:46But he could also have Bron Robinson in the backfield, so you've got options just like
05:50you did with Tyler Algier.
05:51Yeah, and we knew that we were going to have to find something.
05:53And, again, Algier, we always knew there was a chance he would make some more money.
05:56I was surprised.
05:57You know, it wasn't a big, big deal, but we know he's a 1,000-yard rusher, and I think
06:01in the right atmosphere, the right play calling, I'm not saying he's going to be as good as
06:05the burner, but I think he can have the kind of impact.
06:07How about this?
06:08A poor man's, air quotes, burner Turner when Michael was here for Arizona.
06:12But, yeah, I like what you got, man.
06:14And it's just, B. John, you don't want to run him into the ground.
06:17You don't want to get to the point where, like, Saquon, wow, what happened there?
06:20Derrick Henry, all of a sudden, it's like, it really catches up.
06:22They've always found, even with the previous regime, to find that balance.
06:25Yeah, it's a nice complimentary play by Ian Cunningham, because I, you know, the cheapest
06:30way to do this was to do it in the draft.
06:32But you probably weren't going to draft a running back until, you know, late in this draft with
06:36that maybe six-round pick, Mike, and you're really rolling the dice.
06:38I feel good about this, because this guy's played a lot.
06:40But he's fresh, because he didn't play a whole lot last year, because he played behind Christian
06:44McCaffrey.
06:45But when you talk about the amount of games, he's playing 58 NFL games, and he's got 22
06:49total touchdowns.
06:50Like, he knows how to find the end zone.
06:52So, you know, last year, not as much, again, because McCaffrey was just a beast.
06:55And we saw that when we played those guys with the 49ers.
06:58But he only had 92 carries for 400 yards.
07:00I think he'll be fresh coming into camp, and I think he'll be motivated.
07:03Right.
07:03And he knows his role.
07:04It's kind of at this stage of his career, maybe he can bankroll us into something.
07:07If something happens, otherwise, he'll be making these kind of contracts down the stretch.
07:11The other thing, and I mentioned the linebacker, I didn't have the name in front of me, Christian
07:14Harris is the former Houston Texan, who'll be playing alongside Devine Diablo.
07:18I mean, again, Troy Anderson is still here.
07:20I still can't understand that.
07:21I know that was more of a contract thing, because he cost against your cap for this year,
07:26because he wasn't playing last year on the Pub List.
07:29But that's the thing.
07:30And then, you know, all the other guys we've mentioned, like Ojolari, you're hoping that
07:34he can, you know, get back to form, stay healthy.
07:36We love his energy.
07:38Samson, Ebercom, all these guys, they're all one-year deals.
07:40Yeah.
07:41I do think the run defense is going to be improved with some of these D-tackles we signed.
07:45Again, you know, two D-tackles, three defensive ends, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
07:48But I do think that is an area where they realize, hey, we've got to try to get better in
07:51free
07:52agency, and then we'll see what we can do in the draft.
07:54I don't think the draft is a luxury item, by the way, this year.
07:57Like, oh, well, it doesn't matter who we pick.
07:58You've still got to get a couple of players in this thing.
08:00You've still got to get a couple of guys that can contribute and help your team, Mike.
08:03It's not like this is set, because I think a lot of people see all these names or the
08:08amount of players that we signed, and then they go, well, what else do we need?
08:12We signed all the—can't think of it like that.
08:14No, and again, I think because how this team approaches what they expect to see, I don't
08:18know.
08:18Does the general manager go in and talk to Matt and go, yeah, you know, we're like an
08:22eight-win team again.
08:22We're probably an eight, seven or eight-win team.
08:25Don't know.
08:25So, I mean, I don't think, you know, Kevin Stefanski signed on to be part of the ninth
08:30season of not making the playoffs here in Atlanta after having, like, just single-digit wins
08:34the last two years in Cleveland.
08:36But just food for thought, I think the most pressing need, if you look at the depth chart,
08:40is tackle.
08:41Defensive tackle.
08:42Okay, yes.
08:42Yes.
08:43And we love it, because Brandon Dorlis is kind of like that, you know, a guy that can
08:45kick it inside, but he's more of an edge, and he was great last year.
08:48But you do have Zach Harrison still on the roster, you know, if you want to kind of play
08:52with that, but he's now, you know, he's the same thing, kind of a tweener.
08:56I always say Richard Seymour, because Seymour was that kind of size-wise guy in a 3-4, but
09:00he's obviously not as good as Richard Seymour, but a tackle.
09:02Tackle would be my number one priority.
09:04Yeah, I'm all for it.
09:05I think you can go a variety of ways now with the way you've approached free agency.
09:09And the interesting thing is, Ian Tuck's my best player available.
09:12He might not be lying.
09:13He could be a linebacker.
09:15With the way that you've gone about free agency now, if a linebacker's on the board, Michael,
09:18we pick in that second round, which is our first pick, I'm cool.
09:22Like, you could be okay with that because you feel like you've added depth.
09:26Whether they're any good or not, we'll wait to see.
09:29But you've added depth to some of the positions you needed to add depth to.
09:33So when he says that, and we argue about this all the time, because I'm like, okay, you say
09:37best player, but does that mean you're going to go draft a guy that you already have on
09:42this team?
09:42It doesn't make sense.
09:43Go help yourself in another area.
09:45But I think he could truly do that and say, hey, the best offensive tackle on the board
09:49and we picked, and we're taking it.
09:51You know?
09:52And that's the way they can play this out.
09:54And when you've got a team, again, some folks, it's funny, right now on the text line, we're
09:58a 10-win team.
09:59You don't know what your quarterback is.
10:01Tua.
10:02Oh, you stop it now.
10:03You stop it.
10:04What?
10:05What?
10:07What texter said that?
10:08Let me pull up the text line.
10:09He's not lying about this.
10:10He's not lying.
10:1110 wins.
10:12Thank you, Mike Johnson.
10:13He's not lying about this.
10:15Thank you, Mike Johnson.
10:17Mike's making animal noise.
10:18The guy that played in the NFL.
10:20I mean, Tua is basically rolling out fortune cookie sayings, and you guys are lapping this
10:24stuff up.
10:25You know what?
10:26I don't know where he eats it and gets those fortune cookies.
10:29I can't promise anything to the fans in terms of how many wins or whatnot, but I can promise
10:35that I will give you my all.
10:36Yeah.
10:37All.
10:38The best version of Tua.
10:40By the way, I'm telling you, man.
10:42What?
10:42No more.
10:42That phrase has got to be stopped.
10:45It's in all walks of life.
10:47I mean, right now, there's a travel team.
10:48It's like, well, you know, I'm just going to try to be the best Jimmy Smithers I can
10:51be.
10:52It'll live up to my potential.
10:54It'll lead off spot.
10:55You know?
10:55The best version.
10:57It is true.
10:58I think at the end of the day, you're either a competitor or you're not.
11:01Yeah.
11:01He's right about that.
11:04He's absolutely right.
11:06That's what Jerome with the gym today.
11:08He's like, was Carl playing with you yesterday?
11:11I said, no, man.
11:12I just think he's fallen into the same trap.
11:15I believe in giving people chances, Mike.
11:18He fell into the same trap that I fell into with Kirk Cousins.
11:21I looked into those eyes.
11:23I saw quarterbacks on Netflix and I bought it.
11:25I lapped it up.
11:26I lapped it up.
11:27Just like you guys are now.
11:29Yeah.
11:29He lied to you.
11:30You should know better.
11:31He lied to you.
11:31You should know better.
11:32He lied, though.
11:34This guy hadn't lied.
11:35Yet.
11:36No, again.
11:37By the way, I looked it up.
11:38We were talking about he was asked in another interview about being a mentor to Michael
11:42Pettis Jr.
11:43It was the old coach, Flores, who didn't really like Tua.
11:46It was Fitzpatrick did mentor him.
11:48I went back and I looked up some articles from the Miami Herald.
11:51You're right about Flores.
11:51Where Fitzpatrick did say he had no problem working with him.
11:55He thought he was a great, at the time, great kid because he was right out of college.
11:57But they said it was Flores gave Tua some tough love that apparently he didn't respond
12:01to.
12:01That was the narrative.
12:02I do remember that.
12:04And wasn't there something like some words exchanged when he was the defensive coordinator
12:08somewhere else?
12:09Somewhere, somehow, it came up.
12:10And it came up.
12:11And people were talking about how he spoke to Tua and it was offensive and all this kind
12:18of stuff.
12:18And then Flores had to...
12:19It was a little backlash on that whole thing.
12:21Brian was...
12:22Again, he's old school.
12:23That's maybe why...
12:24Again, he's got that lawsuit thing, which they're still waiting to settle.
12:26But he's considered kind of an OG.
12:28You know, Brian Flores is a tough love kind of guy.
12:31He was a Belichick guy.
12:32I mean, he was there with Belichick all those years.
12:34I mean, I get it.
12:35But yeah, that relationship was sour.
12:37In 2024, Tua said the quarterback called Brian Flores, quote, a terrible person.
12:42That's what it was.
12:42And cited constant negativity.
12:45But then Flores shot back saying he's genuinely happy, air quotes, for Tua's success and wishes
12:49him the best.
12:49That's what it was, Mike.
12:51See?
12:52And that's just not in Tua's nature.
12:54He didn't say those kinds of things.
12:55I looked at...
12:56You know, I glanced at his eyes once.
12:57404-726-0929.
12:59Tua is not a destroyer.
13:00He's a builder of worlds color.
13:02He's a builder.
13:02He is a builder.
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