00:00Eric at home, NFL.com, joining us here on The Fan.
00:03Eric, how are you doing today?
00:05I'm doing all right. How about you guys?
00:06We're good. We're trying to digest and figure out everything
00:09that both Andrew Barry has said and now Jimmy Haslam has said
00:12in speaking at the owners' meeting.
00:14We'll start with Jimmy because he's the one that got everyone
00:16kind of in a weird spot today.
00:20Eric, he's just speaking very like,
00:22hey, Deshaun Watson's got a chance to redeem himself,
00:24and I think it's throwing a lot of people off.
00:27Yeah, yeah. Candid will always disarm people, I guess.
00:32But, yeah, I mean, given the situation that they have
00:35at quarterback right now and given the layout of the draft,
00:39yes, they're well-stocked with picks, but there's nothing –
00:42I wouldn't even say Fernando Mendoza's guaranteed hit.
00:45You know, I mean, this is not a draft where you feel like
00:48you have a quarterback problem and you can solve it.
00:51So I guess the eternal optimist view would be,
00:55hey, listen, we have this guy that we paid a lot of money for one time.
00:59Enough time has passed to maybe kind of cool some of the drama
01:02that's surrounded him.
01:03Again, I'm giving you probably the rosiest version I could possibly think of,
01:07but with what they have and a new coach
01:11and a lot of question marks in the position,
01:13I guess you can't rule it out.
01:14And, you know, there were some whispers that, you know,
01:17behind the scenes he'd been working and working hard
01:19to get back on the football field.
01:21I don't know how much stock I put into him
01:22or how much I really believed it was going to play out that way in Cleveland,
01:26but I guess you can't rule it out.
01:28I don't think anyone's ever questioned Deshaun's work ethic or effort or whatnot.
01:34I guess the question I have for you, Eric,
01:36is the juice worth the squeeze here with Deshaun, right?
01:38I mean, is there enough to gain with this situation?
01:43And my argument is the off-ramp's less than 365 days away from here
01:49when they can make him a post-June 1 cut designation
01:52and just move on from this whole deal, right?
01:57But do you think there's enough here where this whole thing is worth it
02:02for the Browns to even explore,
02:04or even with the quarterback room consisting of Shador Sanders
02:07and Dylan Gabriel as well?
02:09Yeah, I guess you have to ask yourself,
02:10what would be the best-case scenario?
02:12Like, obviously, him playing well and looking like the guy who,
02:16you know, when he left Houston,
02:18even though it was a bad Texans team that year,
02:20I mean, he played at a really high level.
02:22I guess you could argue his Browns high was probably right before he got hurt.
02:27You know, the Pittsburgh game, I guess it was.
02:30I'm trying to remember who they were playing.
02:31I think the Ravens maybe was one of the divisional games.
02:34It was the Baltimore game.
02:35They were down by double digits in the second half.
02:38I mean, he played with the broken shoulder in that second half.
02:42And it really was just the second half, yeah.
02:44Yeah, so, I mean, again, you just sort of ask yourself,
02:47what's the best thing that can come out of this?
02:50I guess him playing well and giving them a little bit of a boost until next year,
02:56which, you know, depending on who you listen to
02:58or how much stock you put into it,
03:00this could be a good quarterback draft in next year's class, you know,
03:04and then kind of see where you're at.
03:07But, yeah, I mean, he's into his 30s now,
03:10hasn't played in, what, a year and a half?
03:12I mean, there's only so much I think you could realistically expect.
03:16But if you don't have the other two guys,
03:19and this shouldn't preclude them from trying to add one more quarterback
03:22if they feel it can help them.
03:24But at the same time, it's like you don't have a lot of options.
03:27So maybe if you realistically think he has the chance
03:31to at least push those other two guys,
03:33then maybe it's worth the squeeze.
03:36So we've been wondering if next year is just a transition year.
03:38And so if that's true, and it is about 2027 in the draft,
03:42should we be rooting for any one quarterback to win in that scenario?
03:46Is there one of them between Shador versus Deshaun
03:48that would have the leg up in that competition that way?
03:52Well, yeah, this is interesting to think about.
03:54I mean, I think you would hope that one of your drafted quarterbacks
03:59would perform well.
04:00I mean, I would think that, again, it's previous –
04:03I know the front office is still there, but, you know,
04:06previous coaching staff had a look at them.
04:08You know, you can judge for yourself what you saw last year.
04:11I would guess Shador third and Dylan –
04:15sorry, Shador second, Dylan third at this point.
04:17I don't know, you know.
04:18But, yeah, I would think if one of those guys performs well –
04:24and the thing is, though, if they perform well,
04:27they're going to be your starter of the year after that, right?
04:29I mean, you know, I guess we'll define well.
04:32Yeah, it depends how well they perform, yeah.
04:34Yeah, right.
04:35I mean, if there's something intriguing about them,
04:38but they just don't feel like they're starting material,
04:40I suppose there's some trade value there, but I don't know.
04:43I mean, quarterbacks are different than any other position.
04:45But I feel like I'm talking myself in circles because, at the same time,
04:49it's like, you know, what really is the best-case scenario?
04:52They're going to probably just set themselves up for next year anyway,
04:56and it's always one-year business when you don't have the quarterback.
04:59Yeah, quarterback competitions never go well here, Eric.
05:03That just is the way it goes.
05:05We talk ourselves in circles on an annual basis.
05:07I want to ask you about the Miles Garrett situation,
05:09the contract adjustment last week, the bonus shuffling that around
05:15when that's going to get paid and whatnot.
05:17No real cap benefit right now.
05:19Andrew Barry, reluctant to give any definitive answer,
05:24didn't exactly come out and say,
05:26no way are we trading Miles Garrett.
05:28Just said, hey, he's a career Brown.
05:30Do you think, and based on things that you may or may not be hearing right now,
05:35do you think that there is a real chance that the Browns do trade Miles Garrett
05:40after that contract adjustment?
05:42I think it's probably slightly more possible now, no matter what they say.
05:47I mean, obviously, it certainly has to be factored in.
05:51Obviously, I don't think the, you know,
05:53the up-and-ass deal falling apart has anything to do with that
05:56or if that's a, you know, it triggers them to make a move or anything.
05:59I don't believe there's any connection between those two things.
06:01When you sign that contract, you sign Miles to that contract,
06:04you obviously were at least prepared for him to be a Brown for life.
06:08But at the same time, if you've kind of reevaluated things
06:11and feel like you're not in a position to compete, you know, in a two-year span
06:17and or you think you can get the kind of value back
06:21that only a handful of non-quarterbacks in this league can even, you know,
06:26dream about getting, then maybe you reconsider at that point.
06:29But I don't know.
06:31It just feels like there's so many balls up in the air right now.
06:33Your star pass rusher may or may not be in the trade market.
06:38You know, the quarterback situation we just ran through.
06:41A talented roster with a rookie class last year that was so exciting to watch develop,
06:46and you feel like there's at least somewhat of a core in place.
06:49But, you know, the chaos is what sort of makes you wonder
06:53if it's ever going to come together.
06:54So, I don't know.
06:56I mean, I haven't heard a lot of buzz.
06:59You know, I've made some calls the last week or so,
07:01mostly draft-related calls, but it's not like I've heard people say,
07:04ooh, we're, you know, preparing for a deal or anything like that.
07:07So, hard to project anything, but I can't say it won't happen.
07:12Eric at home joining us here on 92.3 The Fan.
07:14You see how we get in a complicated spot here because it's like,
07:16if you were just going to try to suck for 2026 to go for 2027's draft,
07:21you would have just traded miles either earlier, last year, whatever.
07:25But, like, they continue to kind of play with the idea that they just,
07:28they're half-assing everything.
07:29They don't want to do a full rebuild.
07:31They don't want to, like, completely go for it.
07:33But in the same respect, they're also not really doing much to be competitive
07:37or try to win a substantial amount of games.
07:40Yeah, it's hard to butter both sides of the bread, right?
07:43I mean, you want to, you want to, you don't want to tank.
07:45Obviously, we've seen, you know,
07:47what happens to teams that go into those full tank modes.
07:51Morale goes down.
07:52It's an unattractive place for free agents, right?
07:55Even if you consider the draft, too.
07:57I mean, you know, the last thing you would want is an Arch Manning
08:00or one of these sort of premier quarterbacks to pull an Eli Manning, you know.
08:04So, there's that.
08:06There's also the fact that, you know,
08:09I think any time you're not trying to win, short-term, long-term, or whatever,
08:14you're still setting yourself back.
08:15Like, I don't think there's a tried-and-true way to tank successfully in this league,
08:22even with, you know, no lottery,
08:24even with the guarantee of getting a high draft pick every round and all that stuff.
08:28I just, I haven't really seen it happen in this league.
08:31So, you know, obviously, if you can make the most of those picks,
08:35no matter where they are, you're going to be successful,
08:37and that's really the bottom line, I think.
08:39You mentioned you'd make some phone calls, you know,
08:42about the draft and what might happen.
08:45Browns obviously was 6-24 in front of them, five of the top 107.
08:51I'm assuming, only because it's their greatest need,
08:55that left tackle and wide receiver will be the target.
08:59So, what are you hearing?
09:00What do you think the Browns do with those two first-round picks?
09:03Yeah, I think you're right.
09:04I think those are the two positions.
09:06In fact, you know, it wouldn't shock me or you or anybody else, I don't think,
09:10if they used those two positions on their two first-rounders.
09:14Now, we know that, you know, it's the front office that is willing to move up and down
09:19and, you know, sort of throw some offers out there to see what happens.
09:24So, you know, assuming they stick there, I don't know that there's going to be a wide receiver
09:30or a tackle taken ahead of that pick.
09:32That's really what, how it's shaping out right now.
09:36Mendoza, one.
09:37Reese, two.
09:39Three.
09:40I would guess either the pass rusher, Bailey, or the tackle, and which one, I guess.
09:47But now I know it's probably the most likely, you know, four.
09:50Four, could it be Love, could it be a pass rusher, five.
09:54I've heard the two Ohio State guys, Stiles and Downs.
09:59I'm guessing Love would be a factor there, too, if he was still available.
10:02But, you know, I don't know that anyone other than Arizona would be prepared to take an offensive tackle.
10:12And then the question becomes, you have to kind of play it both ways to see how your simulations come
10:19out.
10:19If we take Carnell Tate at six, what tackles are left for us at 24?
10:24What tackles are there at 18 in case we want to trade up, you know, ahead of the Steelers, ahead
10:29of some other teams?
10:31You know, you do it the reverse way.
10:33What if we take, do we like Francis Mow?
10:35I know what to take him that high.
10:37Or Freeling from Georgia.
10:39Or, you know, any of the other options there.
10:42Spencer Feneau.
10:43Is he worth that high a pick?
10:44I don't know.
10:45So, that's really what it's going to probably come down to and then what receivers are there towards the bottom
10:50around one as well.
10:52And, you know, it's a three- and four-dimensional thing where you have to kind of look and see
10:57which positions are going to fall off quickly,
11:00which ones have some depth, which players are you pounding the table for.
11:04Or, I suspect in the way I've kind of been playing it in the mocks has been to put the
11:09receiver first and then also then come back for the tackle.
11:12Because, again, I think they can slide up.
11:14And there are enough questions with some of the top receivers that I kind of wonder.
11:18I mean, yeah, they could get Omar Cooper or somebody like that.
11:22Or, I don't think he's a first-round pick personally, but a good player.
11:25Or, you know, you could maybe get Jordan Tyson if there's a question about his injuries.
11:31But the safer route might be to go Carnell Tate if he has maybe a lower ceiling than some of
11:37these other prospects.
11:39And then try to get the tackle.
11:41But left tackle is a pretty important position, too.
11:44So, it wouldn't shock me if they went the other way.
11:46Eric at home, NFL.com, joining us here on The Fan.
11:49Staying in the AFC North, there's no way the Steelers end up letting Aaron Rodgers,
11:54or Aaron Rodgers, deciding he doesn't come back, right?
11:56After all this chatter, because their option then would be, what, Will Howard going into next year?
12:00That just doesn't seem likely.
12:02Yeah, I guess you'd have to sort of explore, you know, what free agent options are out there.
12:07Would Kirk Cousins be a fit for a Mike McCarthy offense?
12:09I don't know.
12:10I mean, you know, obviously it depends on Aaron.
12:13If Aaron wants to, you know, change his mind, I would think everybody kind of feels like he's coming back
12:20or leaning towards coming back.
12:21And there doesn't seem a lot of panic out of Pittsburgh, you know.
12:25I mean, different coaching staff, and they're treating it roughly the same way they did last year,
12:30which is kind of crickets.
12:31Nobody seems all that bothered by the situation.
12:33But I do think we'll hear sooner.
12:36And you're right, Will Howard, they may talk him up, and they may like him,
12:38and say that this kid is, you know, an intriguing prospect or whatever.
12:44But I can't imagine McCarthy would sit there and be fine with that and say, yeah, we're good to go.
12:50We'll add a receiver and a tackle and everything will be great.
12:52But, yeah, I think it's more likely than not.
12:55But I don't know that I could say definitively he's for sure coming back.
13:00I think it's about 90-10 at this point, if I had to guess.
13:06The Browns' trade proposal with the draft picks was rebuked strongly.
13:12They read the room.
13:13They pulled it off the table instead of, you know, getting wiped out in the vote.
13:19What was your thought on what they put forward?
13:23And, I mean, this is something the NBA does.
13:26Was it really that crazy of a proposal, wanting to give teams the option to use draft picks five years
13:35from now?
13:36Yeah, it's not a crazy proposal.
13:38But I think, you know, first of all, I think you just, that was one of the things that came
13:43up in the conversations about, you know,
13:45asking about prospects and this five-year draft pick thing came up more than once.
13:51And, yeah, I mean, I don't know.
13:52I think more of the old-fashioned guys are kind of like, ah, that's silly.
13:57And there's a sense in the NFL of not wanting franchises to crater out, to bottom out, where, you know,
14:05a GM who knows he's going to get fired starts trading picks five years from now and whatever.
14:10I mean, that's the fear is that somebody could kind of sabotage an organization, if you will.
14:16I don't know, like, set fire to it on the way out.
14:20I don't think that's likely, you know, for a guy that, unless they feel like they have zero chance to
14:26get a job elsewhere,
14:27would be a pretty extreme option there.
14:30But, yeah, I mean, the idea that we've seen with the NBA draft, and I don't follow that league quite
14:34as closely,
14:35but, you know, you have picks being traded so far into the future, you have no idea.
14:40There could be two GMs from now, two head coaches from now, right?
14:43So I think the sense around the league was, let's not mess with this here.
14:48It was at least good for them to bring the discussion up.
14:51You always have kind of interesting things that come out of those discussions.
14:54Nobody sees it the same way, but it didn't seem like to get any real traction.
14:59Eric at home, fantastic insight as always.
15:01We'll catch up with you later.
15:02Thank you so much.
15:03All right.
15:03Take it easy, guys.
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