00:01Doug Carver, Scott Anderson, 97.1.
00:03We'll have more on Game 5 coming up a little bit later on.
00:05Thanks for being with us here on a Wednesday.
00:07Are you going to eat that coming up in just about an hour's time?
00:10In the meantime, Lions made news yesterday, the fifth-year options.
00:16So people, just so everybody understands how this works,
00:18when you get selected in the first round, the way the contracts work,
00:22you get a four-year contract with a fifth-year team option,
00:25meaning that in that fifth year, the team can decide,
00:29do you want to keep this player for a fifth year
00:32or do you want to let that player hit free agency
00:35or try and negotiate something longer?
00:38But the thing is, you have to make the call after three seasons.
00:41So Jack Campbell, Jameer Gibbs have played three seasons with Detroit.
00:45They have to make a call now on the fifth-year option.
00:48In the case of Jameer Gibbs, they picked it up for an amount of $14.3 million.
00:54How does that number get determined?
00:56Well, the number gets determined by your draft slot,
00:59the position you play, the number of Pro Bowls that player has been to,
01:04and that comes up with the number of what the player is going to get paid.
01:08In Jameer's case, $14.3 million.
01:11They declined Jack Campbell's fifth-year option.
01:14And there's a reason for it.
01:15The reason is all linebackers are in the same category.
01:19Off-the-ball linebackers, the market for off-the-ball linebackers
01:23isn't the same for pass-rushing linebackers.
01:26But they're all in the same category when it comes to determining the fifth-year option.
01:31So a T.J. Watt gets $42 million a year.
01:34It can impact what an off-the-ball linebacker that Jack Campbell gets.
01:39They are distinctly different positions,
01:41but for some reason the league lumps them in together.
01:45And it makes Jack Campbell eligible for a massive number
01:50for his fifth year that the Lions said we're not going to pick up.
01:54Now, Dan Miller immediately tweeted out when this news broke,
01:58the Lions absolutely consider Campbell part of their plans going forward.
02:02It just makes more sense under the cap to get a longer deal done
02:06versus looking at the fifth-year in 27.
02:09So they're going to say, we're turning this down,
02:11but let's negotiate a long-term contract
02:15that brings you in line with the highest-paid off-the-ball linebackers
02:19and not the league's predetermined number
02:21that might get you paid like a pass-rushing outside linebacker.
02:24Right, like he ends up getting a five-year $100 million extension.
02:27Yeah.
02:28Something like that.
02:29Yep.
02:30So, you know, when I first saw the news as a fan of Jack Campbell,
02:34I immediately thought...
02:37Wait, you're like Jack Campbell?
02:41I immediately thought, in this one move, Brad could lose me.
02:48Yeah, you freaked out.
02:50You sent a text to both Kang and I immediately after seeing that
02:54with the Twitter post on that
02:56before seeing any reaction from Lions beat reporters.
03:02And I feel like Kang and I both responded pretty quickly,
03:04like, relax, it's not going to understand what's going on here.
03:09Yep.
03:09They're going to give him an extension,
03:11it's just they're not willing to take on the $22 million for the fifth year.
03:16I mean, whatever it takes, lock up Jack Campbell.
03:20Yeah, and they're going to.
03:21You feel pretty confident, right?
03:22Yeah, I'm pretty confident.
03:22Yeah.
03:23That's going to happen.
03:23I mean, Brad Holmes has said it, like he's part of their future.
03:26This is just doing business.
03:28Well, and I think it's interesting
03:31because they're going to pick up the fifth year for Gibbs
03:34because it's affordable to pick up the fifth year for Gibbs.
03:38They're not going to pick up the fifth year for Campbell
03:41because it's not affordable to do it,
03:43but they're going to work on the extension.
03:45I don't know if they're going to extend Gibbs or not
03:47when all is said and done, you know,
03:49because he's signed through 2027 now at this point.
03:52I imagine they will, but that price is going to go up significantly
03:57for a running back when they have to come time to go for an extension.
04:01It's going to be interesting to see.
04:03There's a lot of data that supports not re-signing him
04:08no matter how great he is, and we love him.
04:12But running backs have a limited number of,
04:16they have a shelf life, and.
04:19They didn't draft one.
04:21No, they didn't.
04:22And they haven't signed one to an undrafted free agent contract either.
04:26Well, Pacheco.
04:27Oh, you mean of the rookie class.
04:31Pacheco's banged up, and who knows.
04:33He's rocked up, too.
04:35Did you see that video of him going around?
04:36Good for him.
04:39Anyway, they have also decisions to make on second-round players.
04:44Yeah, because fourth year.
04:46They get four-year contracts, and so after three years,
04:50typically extensions get done in the offseason before the final year of your contract.
04:57So Brian Branch, Sam Laporta.
04:59So the question is, what's the priority here?
05:04And would you bring them all back?
05:08Would you bring them all back?
05:11Well, I'm not extending anybody until after the season.
05:16I would extend Jack Campbell.
05:18I feel confident with Jack Campbell.
05:20We can work out some longer-term deal at a price that makes all the sense in the world.
05:25That's fine.
05:26But as far as Laporta or Branch concerned, I love both of those guys as players.
05:32But they're both coming off surgical procedures.
05:37With Branch, he's coming off an Achilles injury.
05:40I don't know what he's going to be like when he comes back or when he's going to be anywhere
05:43close to 100%.
05:46I can wait that one out.
05:48And I would tell both players, we really like you, but we need to see how you respond physically to
05:54having the surgeries.
05:57Now, maybe all those questions will be alleviated in the summertime or in fall camp with Laporta because he'll be
06:04practicing.
06:05And I don't know if he has any restrictions at this point.
06:09If he's ready to go, then you can consider that.
06:11But it's a tight end position.
06:13It's becoming one of the key positions in the NFL now.
06:17And how much are you going to spend for a tight end?
06:22Now, they've got some guys that brought into camp because they have to out of necessity because of, you know,
06:29they only had like Laporta and Brock Wright are both coming off of injuries.
06:32So I don't know if those are any long-term solutions they have.
06:36I doubt that they're long-term solutions.
06:37They're the guys that they have in from the undrafted free agent board.
06:43But we've seen them move on from tight ends in the past.
06:46They moved on from TJ Hawkinson, who was really good.
06:50But why do you think they moved on from him?
06:52I think that they didn't want to pay him.
06:55They want to pay him market value.
06:56They didn't want to pay him market value.
06:58They got a draft pick in return, and they were also rebuilding.
07:01That was also a key factor in that.
07:03It was a team that was going through the rebuilding process.
07:06They had just had to make the trade, you know, six months earlier to trade Stafford, you know, more than
07:12six months earlier, I guess.
07:13But that was that first year of golf, and they were seeing what they had.
07:16We got to rebuild this thing with the ground up.
07:19Let's get some assets, and they did.
07:22I don't think it was an easy decision to make, but they made it.
07:25So it might be different in circumstances now because this team is a playoff team and perhaps a championship quality
07:33team.
07:35But in part, they're a championship quality team because they have Sam Laporta.
07:41It's a tough situation.
07:42I'm still going to let the season play out before I give an extension.
07:46I would not give an extension in the offseason, this offseason.
07:50Okay.
07:50So one of the things that the Detroit Lions are looking at is cap challenges, and that's pretty obvious.
07:58Everybody knows it, and they've got to find ways to save money.
08:04I would sit down with both Brian Branch and Sam Laporta and say, I know you're injured, but we want
08:11to extend you.
08:12We want to extend you.
08:15We are willing to take the risk on extending you.
08:20But this is where you might actually find a bit of a workaround with savings is sit down with injured
08:28players and say, we will commit to you long term.
08:32But given the questions with injury, we have to protect ourselves a little bit.
08:38So what is a fair contract for you as a player coming off an injury and see if you can
08:45get a injured player that chooses the security of a long term contract at less than market value to save
08:54money.
08:54And it would be a risk by the Lions.
08:57But given their cap considerations, I think you negotiate with those two players and potentially sign them if they are
09:05willing to take the security long term at a lesser value than if they weren't hurt, especially in the case
09:13of Branch.
09:14Because we went through this with, who was the running back from Illinois?
09:20LaSure?
09:21Yes.
09:22When he had the Achilles issue, I'm pretty sure it was him.
09:26I did a deep dive into players and Achilles injuries.
09:30And there comes a point where, yeah, it costs you half a step.
09:35And at certain positions, that's going to be incredibly costly.
09:38And at safety, that might be one of them.
09:39The Lions would be taking a significant risk in going and signing those players to long term contracts.
09:47It could work out brilliantly if they are willing to take less than market value for the security.
09:53So I wouldn't be dismissive of signing them.
09:56I would see what they're thinking and what their agents are willing to do and what they and their agents
10:00are willing to do.
10:00No, I get that.
10:01And I'm sure that's part of the negotiation process and that they need to see, they need to find a
10:06baseline of what the agent's looking for and also present some of their case, which is your case.
10:11And I like that idea.
10:12I like that approach.
10:14But if you're the Lions, you also have to, you got to start thinking here.
10:18In the safety position, you've got Kirby Joseph locked up long term and you don't even know if he's going
10:22to be able to play.
10:24It seems to me, it sounds like he's trending in the right direction, but you're right.
10:27There's uncertainty there.
10:29So to tie up even more money at that position with a guy who's got an injury issue with the
10:38Achilles, it's a tricky situation if you're the Lions.
10:43This isn't so easy.
10:45Yes, no.
10:46There's a lot of gray area with this right now.
10:48I like the idea that they could perhaps create more cap space for themselves by taking a chance with these
10:56two injured players long term.
10:59If they're willing to negotiate at a lesser than market value, they might not be, in which case you're like,
11:04all right, cool.
11:05We'll sit down with you after you go out and have your prove it year.
11:09But we want to talk now and maybe you can work something out.
11:14Note, all of this is a new moot point, a complete and total moot point, and you lose me if
11:19you do not lock up Jack Campbell long term.
11:26Non-negotiable.
11:27They're going to lock him up.
11:28I don't think there's any question.
11:29Kang, I want your two cents on this.
11:31We'll get to that.
11:32Carson Anderson, 97.1.
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