- 4 months ago
Seth and Sean take a deep dive into the details and their thoughts on the Texans giving Will Anderson his highly anticipated contract extension.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Will Anderson Jr. gets his bag. Three years, $150 million, $134 million guaranteed.
00:07Extension kicks in after the 2027 season. So he signed in through 2030 now,
00:17heading into his fourth year. They exercised a fifth-year option a week or so ago, and now these
00:23final three years on the deal, big, big money for Will Anderson. I'd imagine he's getting a
00:27signing bonus involved in all this too, and they've got that all figured out.
00:31The practical guarantees are about $130 million, and it's about the same as Micah Parsons got with
00:38his four-year deal with the Packers. I think the big thing to keep in mind is that you're going
00:42to
00:43see that he's making $50 million per year. He's actually, over the next five years, making $36.5
00:49million per year when you factor in these next couple years' salaries. So it's still, this is
00:54why I think it's an awesome extension, because Micah Parsons is making, on his contract with
01:00the Packers, $46.5 million per year for four years. Will Anderson Jr. gets that $50 million
01:08per year extension, but it works out to him making $36.5 million over the next five years.
01:13And by the time he's at the end of, or going into the final year of that contract, that's
01:18going to feel like a real bargain as long as he stays healthy.
01:20Yep. This is no surprise that he's getting a huge deal, Will Anderson. The Texans love
01:25Will Anderson. Here was D'Amico Ryans at the owners' meetings in late March, just a few
01:31weeks ago.
01:31You talk about a leader and a guy who does everything the right way, everything you want,
01:36everything I've asked of him. Just being in this draft, this draft time, I just remember
01:43back, speaking with Will, he was our first 30 visit, first guy we had in on a 30 visit.
01:48And that meeting is still the best 30 visit I've ever seen. Like, he's just that type
01:54of guy. You know, he's a leader in all respects. So I love having Will. I love what he can
02:00provide
02:01to our organization. I think he's shown that in three years that he's been here.
02:05Yep. So that's... D'Amico, you mentioned it, Seth, a little earlier. Like, Kamari Lasseter
02:10and Will Anderson Jr. seem to be the two guys that the organization holds up as the sort of
02:15the future or current and future model of what they want a Texan to look like.
02:21Well, I know, you know, and also, look, in terms of giving extensions to guys after three years,
02:27you know, Jalen Petrie is a guy that operates the way that they want their guys to operate.
02:33Nico Collins is a guy that operates the way they want their guys to operate. And I think,
02:37yeah, Kamari Lasseter is 100% one of those guys. Derek Stingley as well. But Kamari Lasseter,
02:42just, and I guess you and I keep bringing it up because there's all this chatter out there
02:45from people who are convinced that the Texans aren't going to be able to retain Kamari Lasseter.
02:50I think that I would be incredibly surprised if they ever let Kamari Lasseter go.
02:55Yeah, I would too. The one, the tipping point for me in terms of just the money, you know,
03:02the cap space is not unlimited. There are things you can do to stretch it.
03:06Kalen Bullock will be the interesting one to me because I think they like Kalen Bullock.
03:10I think the league likes Kalen Bullock. I think Kalen Bullock is an ascending player,
03:14but that may be one where the rubber meets the road. You know, like, look back in the day,
03:17they eventually let Mario Williams walk. He was a number one overall pick because they had a bunch
03:21of guys they had to pay on that team, you know, so you got to make hard decisions.
03:25They've drafted so well on defense that you're getting into that kind of where the lions are right
03:30now. You're going to get punished for drafting too well at some point, and you'll have to make some
03:35painful decisions on, on guys. I haven't heard, I haven't heard what Nick Wright had to say on the
03:40Willie Anderson Jr. extension. I do know Will was somebody who did not like that trade three years
03:45ago. He did not like Nick, Nick was Nick, right. Nick, right. Did not like that. Will didn't like
03:50the trade. I was sorry. Yeah. Yeah. So no, but yeah, Nick, uh, yeah. Nick didn't like the trade.
03:54And, uh, this was, it sounds like, it sounds like Nick was saying this almost immediately after the,
04:00the news came down because he, uh, you know, Nick's usually very, very precise. I had to edit
04:06this down from about three minutes. He was hemming and haws his way a little bit, and I could only
04:11get
04:11it down to a minute and 20 seconds, but because people on this, uh, people that listen to the
04:14station know Nick, right. Well, we'll allow the one minute, 20 second long clip. This is the type of
04:20player that is the easiest to pay, but I do wonder if it's even possible for a non quarterback
04:27to make this a good value contract where the salary cap is. Can, can a non quarterback provide you
04:36$50 million worth of value? I think it's hard. And so what you showed is his production,
04:43which is top two pass rusher in the league production. He has to stay there now throughout.
04:49And it's really interesting to me where the market's gone and where it hasn't gone. It is
04:56pass rusher wide receiver quarterback are the only guys making more than 30. And you have at that
05:06position, eight wide receivers and pass rushers making more than 40. And obviously, you know,
05:1215 quarterbacks making more than 40. Every other position is stuck at a $30 million ceiling for
05:18offensive linemen and corners or $20 million ceiling for tight ends and running backs. The
05:23league is obviously telling us what they value. I just think it is man. Oh man. It is really,
05:29really hard to have a guy, you know, someone making quarterback money. Who's not a quarterback
05:36and have that pay, you know, end up being paying off for you. Let me, let me, uh, let me
05:41guess that
05:41this is where you would point out to Nick that this is actually three years tacked onto two cheap
05:46years. Yeah. It's spread out over five years. Yeah. So it ends up being five years at 36 and a
05:52half million per year when you include this year and next year's salary. But even that going beyond
05:56that, if you look at the history of highest paid defensive lineman, for instance, um, the sometimes
06:03as it does with every other position, sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't with Aaron Donald,
06:07he's twice been the highest paid defensive lineman. Uh, the first time was in 2018 and they would go
06:14on to, you know, win the 2022 Superbowl while he was still on that contract. Then they made him the
06:19highest paid player, uh, defensive lineman again after that. And you know, they didn't, uh, they
06:24didn't win a Superbowl obviously before he retired. Um, Nick Bosa, Fletcher Cox, guys like that,
06:30they've been on teams where they managed to pay those guys and then, and then later on go on to
06:35a
06:35Superbowl. And that's where I'm not, I'm just, it's, it's what you have to do sometimes because
06:41that is the, the player that affects the quarterback is as important, uh, like almost as important as
06:51the quarterback himself. Yeah. Will Anderson in the Patriots game had two strip sacks. One of
06:56which was recovered by the Texans. Like a strip sack in the playoffs is worth $50 million plus if,
07:04if you're going to go to the next round. I think Will has shown himself time and time again
07:08with big playoff performances, uh, in addition to his regular season performances that yeah,
07:14three years from now, when that contract kicks in adjusted for inflation and the cap and everything,
07:20it's not going to look nearly as impressive as it does right now. And yes, it very much is worth
07:26what he can provide as long as he stays healthy. I would, I would add to that. And, and normally
07:33what I'm about to say, I would say, and people like Nick or people not in Houston would say you're
07:37a little too close to the situation to think and think what you're think, what you're thinking and
07:41say what you're saying here. But what I, what, what I feel about will also is that I don't know
07:48that
07:48I can think of a Texans player who is, who means more behind the scenes that I've covered. Forget about
07:55this version of the Texans. And I would include JJ Watt in that. I would include Andre Johnson in
08:00that, uh, to Will Anderson Jr. Just in terms of just the leadership and, and what he means to the
08:07team as the face of the team, the tone setter for the team on both sides of the ball. As
08:12you mentioned
08:13earlier, Seth, he's the guy that D'Amico points to and says, do it like that guy does it. And
08:17he's
08:17been saying that since about the time we'll set foot in the building as a Houston Texans player.
08:22I think that's worth something too. I think there's a value in that, that you almost need
08:27to be around the team, you know, covering the team or probably be in, you know, and I'm not in
08:32the locker room, but I would guess everybody we talked to that is in the locker room would
08:36corroborate that Will Anderson Jr. is a, a major tone setter for this team. And I think there's value
08:42in that too. If you, if your take is, boy, it's going to be really hard for this guy to,
08:47at the
08:48position that he plays to live up to the average annual value of the contract. I think you've
08:53got to factor in the entire ball of wax beyond the field and the off the field with Will
08:58Anderson.
09:01Thank you for coming to my Ted. No, I agree. I agree. I know. Yeah. Thank you for coming
09:06to my Ted talk. All right. Uh, here's Will Anderson Jr. on, uh, treating people how this
09:12is an old cut from a couple of years ago. Um, but, uh, but how to treat people in the
09:18building
09:19setting it. Yeah. Well, this is what I wanted to, um, like, this is again, this is one of the
09:24most mature things I've ever had heard from a rookie. And it was the very last thing he
09:29said at his exiting press conference after the Texans lost in the Patriot, uh, the loss
09:35to the Ravens in the, uh, in the playoffs that year. But remember, um, Will Anderson had come
09:40into a team that had been just an abysmally bad football team for the previous couple of
09:44years. And Sarge asked a question about changing the culture and how do you, how do you go about
09:50changing the culture? How, how did you go about changing the culture? Just, let's just go
09:54show love. Let's just have energy. Let's just, wherever we walk by them, whether it's a nutritionist,
09:59custodian, security guard, that's at the front. Like, how can we make them feel love for coming
10:03here, working for the Texans, the stadium, everything like that. So no matter who it is,
10:07and that's how you change your culture. That's how you get everybody, you know, wanting to be
10:11a part of something special. Like they just probably over there just standing around, but you come
10:15in and you say, Hey, how are you doing today? I hope you have a great day. Now they look
10:18forward to
10:18coming back to work. You know what I'm saying? I think it's the same thing in the locker room.
10:21Like that person may not be feeling the love. What's up, bro. You good? How are you doing today?
10:25You good? Like workers may have to be down. You don't know. And I think that's just one thing
10:30that's how you change a culture is just speaking to everybody, making everybody feel love, no matter
10:34what your status is, no matter what your rank is. We're all in this together. We're all trying to
10:38change the culture. We're all trying to win. So just be as one and we'll have fun doing it.
10:42So like the reason that from my perspective, why I was so impressed by that is it goes back
10:50to the way that you want your highest paid players to be also the guys that do things
10:56the right way. They're not the exception to all of the other rules that everybody else
11:01has. And when it comes to the football side of things, you want guys that practice hard,
11:05the guys that do all of that. But also just, man, sometimes it's like guys, sometimes guys
11:13in NFL locker rooms end up being divas and some of them end up operating almost like basketball
11:19players or baseball players do. Like the, just like they're, like they're in a different class
11:25of not just their own teammates, but also the support staff and everything. There's nothing
11:30worse than seeing a high paid guy treating equipment manager like crap. Like, like, well,
11:34you're just a bad human at that point where Will is the exact opposite. So I think in terms
11:39of an example of the way to operate and how to have actually a good, a good culture and
11:43a good feeling in the building, it's all of those things that they would have heard from
11:48the people at Alabama about why he was worth trading up for. So like the winning the, whether
11:53or not that was worth trading up for Will Anderson, it's so much more than just his production
11:59on the field. The production on the field definitely made it worth it. That was a good trade
12:04that the Texans made in the draft, but what he actually does as an example for younger
12:10guys to follow, it's just huge. It's just, it's hard to put a number on that.
12:14Yeah. And that's why I said when Nick Wright is saying, it's going to be hard for this guy
12:17to live up to the number. I don't think Nick's factoring that in, you know what I mean?
12:20I think he's just looking, he's guys like that outside of Houston and it's not just Nick
12:25and I'm not picking on him saying, cause we played that audio. They're just looking at like,
12:29okay, well, he's got X amount of pressures and these many sacks and he sets the edge in
12:34the run game. There's a lot more to Will Anderson Jr. than just those things more than any other
12:38player that I've covered with the Texans. There's more to him than that. All right.
12:42So this, I've not heard this skip Bayless yet. Oh, okay. So this is skipping. This one's a little
12:46bit confusing when a, uh, I can't remember who sent this to us. I apologize. Uh, but this is skip
12:51Bayless on his podcast or somebody's podcast. Basically we cut right in while he's in the middle
12:57of talking about how he's just not as impressed by Will Anderson compared to the way these other
13:02pass rushers operate. Was he reacting to the contract when he's talking about this guy?
13:06Yes. Okay. Fly off the screen because they play with hair on fire. You know, they play frenetic,
13:13frantic, electric sort of edge rush football where you're just saying, God, Trey Anderson does that to
13:20me. Will Anderson is an anchor. He's solid against the run and the pass where he's doing everything
13:27and he is commanding a double. So Daniil Hunter is eating 40 million worth a year. He's eating from
13:32the other side, but Will Anderson has not been box office for me. I don't turn on the TV thinking,
13:38oh, I get to watch Will Anderson rush the passer today. Whereas with Max Crosby, I promise you,
13:43that's all I got. When I'm watching the Raiders, I can't wait to watch Max Crosby fly off the edge
13:49and bend. Can I just let me hang on one second. This is why of all these national guys that
13:56have
13:56their own thing. Yeah. I'll click on Acho from time to time. I'll always click on Stephen A. Smith
14:01because he entertains me. I don't click on Skip Bayless. I literally don't. I don't click if his
14:07video pops up on my feed. He's just so bad. That was Bill Simmons talking NFL bad. Like when Bill
14:14Simmons has all these takes where it's obvious that he doesn't actually watch the NFL. That's
14:20what that was. And I hold Skip Bayless to a higher standard. Who cares if he's not box office?
14:28I know. No, no, no. The best part of that was I turn on to watch the Raiders and that's
14:32all I've got.
14:33Yeah. Yeah. Idiot. What else are you going to watch on the Raiders? Of course, that's all you
14:38got. No, but this perception, I think it's really sounded like he was talking about Will Anderson
14:44scouting report or something from, from when he was a college player, that he's just more of a
14:49bull rusher and he's all power and hustle and everything. And you contrast that to, again,
14:54going back to that Patriots game, Will Anderson had two strip sacks in that game. The, in the one,
15:00the second strip sack that the Texans recovered was him careening around the edge, just destroying
15:06Will Campbell. Yeah. And he's got, and then, then, and then bringing up Max Crosby was really the
15:12worst example because Max Crosby and Will Anderson are similar in that they're both really good against
15:19the run as well as the past. Yeah. Max Crosby, Skip Bayless, by acting like all Max Crosby does
15:24is, is, is bend around the edge to make sacks. No, Matt Crosby is awesome against the run as well.
15:30Like they're very, they're very, they've got different styles in the way they move, but
15:35they're still very similar in their, both their dual run and pass rush impact. It was a, it was a
15:41weird, and you're right. Aside from all of that, what the hell does that have to do? Even if that
15:45were all true, what he said, what the hell does that have to do with whether or not you pay
15:48a guy and
15:49what it could, what kind of an impact he has on the guy? Who cares? Who cares? So, so the
15:53Texans
15:53shouldn't pay him because you don't turn on the TV to watch the guy. Well, plus in saying that
15:57those other guys play like their hair is on fire and Will Anderson doesn't like, no, that's,
16:02right. No, that's one of his calling cards. That'll be, that'll get played on Friday on
16:05take a mania for sure. Wait a second. Now I have to think about it. Like, yeah, when he's talking
16:09about guys that play with their hair on the fire, high motor guys. Yeah. He brought up Hendrickson
16:13and Max Crosby. Max Crosby. Interesting. I bet they would run, I bet they would run precise routes
16:19too, if they were wide receivers. It's got very sure hands. Sure hands. Yep. Yep. Yep.
16:25Come on, skip. You're better than that. I would hope so. I would think, I don't know. I would hope
16:29so.
Comments