00:01Tone, good morning. Hey, what's happening? I'm doing well. It's a big day today. It's
00:06gonna be even bigger if you are in Bay Village or Avon Lake. Think twice about
00:11going to work today. You can see something incredible. More on that coming
00:14up at 643. Something very incredible. If you're getting ready for work, you might
00:20want to think about taking PTU. Oh, we've been gearing up. For some folks, I am
00:23absolutely dead serious. For some of the others, we've been gearing up for this in the
00:27Lima household. Actually, I think a lot of people are gonna be excited.
00:29I think some people, you're gonna roll your eyes, but some people are gonna be
00:32very, very, very excited. All right, coming up at 820. Is Daryl joining us at
00:36820 this morning? All right, I finally get to ask him the question then about
00:39Jim. Finally get to do it. Anyway, you heard Denzel right there. Does it change
00:45your mind at all? Because, like, okay, so last week, you weren't here on Monday.
00:51Big conversation about Miles. Big elephant in the room. Then it happens. And then
00:56Tuesday, I was with you. And I got brought up briefly about Denzel Ward and his future.
01:02And there were immediately a lot of people going, oh, no, you can't get ready. You can't.
01:05You can't. And I figured once the best player was gone, it just made it easier to move on
01:11from some of the other players to go after some guys. I was actually surprised at the reaction
01:16that was there about trading Denzel. The floodgates are supposed to be open now, right?
01:20And there were plenty of people saying, absolutely not. You cannot trade this guy.
01:24You cannot do that. And then I thought, well...
01:26People said that?
01:27Why would I make that up? Did I make it up?
01:30After they traded Miles?
01:31After they traded Miles. I got a lot of people.
01:33Interesting.
01:33A couple of comments.
01:35Did they say why?
01:35A couple of comments about, you know, just because he's from here.
01:39He's a Cleveland guy. He likes it here.
01:42The usual, the usual fare.
01:46Not a lot of football reasons why, to be honest with you.
01:51But there was a lot of the, you know, he's a guy who loves it.
01:55And I think, honestly, with moving on from Miles, it makes everybody kind of go over the last nine years
02:02of Miles Garrett.
02:02But then I think it also makes you examine the time that we've had with Denzel Ward.
02:07And I think it puts Denzel Ward's time in a different light.
02:10And how he's been with the fans.
02:12How he's been in the area.
02:13And there were a lot of people having comments.
02:15And I actually agree with them.
02:17I go, you know, for all the hand-wringing and stuff.
02:18And we've done a lot over Miles Garrett, over his time with the Cleveland Browns.
02:22There was really very little about Denzel Ward.
02:25Obviously, there's some injury issues that we've had.
02:28There's been some weird conversations about those.
02:30But just the value is never remotely going to be the same.
02:34As far as what?
02:34The return.
02:35No.
02:36The return.
02:37So, you know, in terms of reshaping a roster and trying to elevate a rebuild and, you know,
02:44doing everything you can to make sure you're getting what you can, the pieces and parts to help, you know,
02:49recreate this roster, it was never going to be, the corner was never, albeit a lockdown corner,
02:56was never going to be the formula for that.
02:59No, it wasn't.
03:00And I just, I really did, I think I read people wrong on that, where at least the reaction was
03:07to me that they did not want to get,
03:10they did not want to lose Denzel Ward after trading away Miles Garrett.
03:14Which, Denzel Ward, and you heard a couple of those comments, I'll play them again for you coming up here
03:18in just a moment.
03:19But you heard some of those comments that he had made, and I think that there is a loyalty conversation
03:25to be had with fans.
03:26And I, you know, there's always going to be a time for some fans where some player goes, whether it's
03:33in free agency, whether it's in trades,
03:35and it kind of, it kind of breaks everything for them, and they go, okay, I no longer treat these
03:39players the way that I used to trade them when I was a kid.
03:42You know, that type of thing.
03:44And I, maybe people still go case by case when it comes to Denzel.
03:48I know they went that way with Nick Chubb.
03:50I think a lot of people in their heart of hearts knew that last year with Nick, that he wasn't
03:55the same type of running back that he had been the years before.
03:58Obviously, a lot of that has to do with the injury, for crying out loud.
04:01But I think there were still a lot of people who were really upset with the Browns and really upset
04:05just because he had ended up going to the Houston Texans.
04:07And what he did with the Houston Texans wasn't, I'm not trying to talk trash about Nick Chubb whatsoever.
04:13It wasn't like overly remarkable or anything crazy.
04:16No, he's clearly fallen off.
04:17But there were a lot of people, there were some people who were very upset about the loyalty to it.
04:23Fans, they get upset about players.
04:25And maybe it was that way with Denzel Ward, even though Denzel Ward hasn't had any word near the drop
04:30-off that a running back would have.
04:33No.
04:33But it still feels that way with some fans.
04:36Minus the concussions, right?
04:37Denzel should be able to play at this rate, at this level.
04:41I wouldn't be surprised.
04:42I mean, Joe Hayden.
04:43Think about Joe Hayden when we thought he was starting to get a little washed up in Cleveland.
04:46He goes to Pittsburgh.
04:48Did he make a Pro Bowl with the Steelers?
04:50He had a bit of a renaissance.
04:51He ended up having a couple of years where he played right back near that level.
04:55So, it wouldn't surprise me if Denzel was able to maintain this level.
05:01The question with Denzel, and basically when the Miles thing happened, I came on the air next day,
05:06and people just thought it was a foregone conclusion on Denzel.
05:09And I'm like, well, by the deadline.
05:11See, I thought it was any time with Denzel.
05:14That's what my thought was.
05:15Well, I just didn't think anybody right now.
05:17Teams aren't desperate the way they will be at the deadline.
05:19So, you know, that's different from a Miles Garrett swing where the Eagles might have been involved
05:25and the contenders feel like they need that one piece that can make a difference come playoff time and everything.
05:31Teams don't even know if they're going to – most teams don't even know or already have their secondary.
05:36So, it would involve guys going down with injuries or the current guys they have on that team of the
05:41rookies not being able to step up,
05:43or the second-year players not being able to step up.
05:45That's why I think the market for Denzel might become more robust at the deadline.
05:49That was not the case with the Miles Garrett situation.
05:51Well, with Miles, I think one of the issues that people brought up was if you traded him at the
05:55deadline.
05:56Because I was like, well, maybe still deadline, deadline, deadline.
05:58I wanted to start the season with Miles and see where the season went before we had those conversations.
06:04But there were definitely people advising against that because of the injury situation.
06:09All right, well, Miles, yes, can get banged up.
06:13Now, he's played through some pretty significant injuries before.
06:18Denzel, Denzel would.
06:20His criticism has always been he hits bigger than his body.
06:23His body is not big enough to take the hits that he dishes out on it.
06:28But it's a higher likelihood that Denzel would be hurt by the trade deadline than what Miles Garrett would have
06:33been.
06:33Yeah, but I'm not going to sit there and, you know, when Joe Thomas was here that last year,
06:38I was like, this is asinine not to get a first-round pick for him.
06:42I can't believe, you know, there's a team that would just gip-wrap you a first-round pick
06:46and we're just going to keep Joe Thomas on one of the worst teams in football.
06:49Never made sense to me.
06:50But I don't have that attachment to play.
06:52Oddly enough, I have more of an attachment to Joe now than I did when we were playing.
06:55It was because he's become buddies with us.
06:58And certainly over the weekend got some responses to an event that Joe was at with a very famous individual.
07:0559 and 52 seconds if you had before 6-10.
07:11Straighter box, congratulations, you're a winner.
07:14But the Joe thing was very different to me.
07:17It never made sense not to just take a front.
07:20A team is just going to give you a first-rounder for a guy who's not going to help you
07:23win.
07:23Joe Thomas was never going to help the Browns win it.
07:26He would admit it.
07:27Is Denzel going to help you?
07:28Denzel, yeah.
07:29You know what?
07:29He could help you win, what, two years from now, three years from now.
07:35But then I expect the drop-off to really happen with him.
07:39But I'm not sitting here going, oh, man, if he gets another concussion and we don't get it.
07:43Because I'm not hearing first-round pick.
07:45You know, I had said that on Tuesday.
07:47I'm like, oh, man.
07:48Obviously, they're going to trade Denzel.
07:50And now after just kind of listening to people talk around it, around the league,
07:55I think Zach Jackson said third or maybe a second.
07:58I'm like, oh, it's not an all-time missed opportunity.
08:00Well, if you're saying a third or maybe a second.
08:01See, I thought maybe second.
08:02I thought second.
08:03Okay, it's not as big of a missed opportunity if you can't trade him.
08:07And plus, then I do weigh in, hey, you know what?
08:09He is one guy here that fans love.
08:12And you know me, I don't have that attachment nearly as much.
08:14When it comes to that, we do usually, like I thought the conversation started at three first-rounders.
08:19That's probably where it would finish for a lot of people.
08:21And I understand that we had some, like, Tom Pellicero came on and kind of did the weird math around
08:28it.
08:28Like the curve made it like, oh, well, technically, when you think about it, you did get three first.
08:33Like, let's not go crazy here.
08:36Because you got Jared Verspeck.
08:38You got the first-round pick back.
08:40I just thought, man, if you add more to the chest.
08:43But if we're adding, naturally, I think we overrate our own players.
08:48So I would naturally overrate Denzel Ward and the return you would get for him.
08:51And I know we looked around some of the other places.
08:54Yeah, I think if Sauce Gardner had a different name, I think you probably would have got less for him
08:59if you're the Jets last year.
09:01But that was, again, that was a trade deadline move.
09:03So maybe the deadline is, we'll see where the season goes.
09:07If you start off better than what a lot of people think you're going to be, maybe we'll talk about
09:12holding on.
09:12If things go not very well, or a lot of people think they're going to go not very well, then,
09:18yeah, let's open up that possibility.
09:19I do have a larger question.
09:21And this is more from a thematic sense, overall, sports, big picture stuff.
09:27Yeah.
09:27You know, in our recent sports-watching years, obviously LeBron left twice.
09:33That's totally set that aside, different category.
09:36But, you know, seeing Baker, who was as big a fan favorite as it gets, seeing how that unfolded towards
09:44the end, seeing Nick Chubb.
09:47More on him coming up a little bit.
09:48Oh, yeah.
09:49Nick Chubb, the injury, and then eventually what led to, you know, him leaving.
09:55And you go one by one, Miles Garrett, as good a player in any sport as we may ever see.
10:01There's a chance we may never see, in all three sports, somebody as good as Miles Garrett.
10:07Are fans doing what I always say that I do?
10:11Are fans getting to the point, especially in today's day and age, when even your favorite college players, it's year
10:17to year,
10:18on the type of attachment you might have with them?
10:22No.
10:23Are fans getting to the point where they are going to prevent themselves from having that visceral, emotional attachment?
10:31I think, well, it depends on what age you're talking about.
10:34I think if you're talking to teenagers and anybody younger, there's always going to be an attachment to a player.
10:40And whether or not you feel that way for the rest of your life, it depends on how much you
10:44love that player during that time.
10:45But there's always going to be guys that you feel a soft spot for as a kid.
10:50But as an adult, I don't know.
10:52I think it's different.
10:53Like, there's guys that come and go, and you get used to talking to them.
11:00You develop some sort of a relationship with them.
11:02That part makes it tough.
11:04That part makes this part of it difficult.
11:05I feel like Jose is the last one for me.
11:07But as...
11:08Like, Jose Ramirez is...
11:12That's the last one that I may have that attachment with.
11:14If we found out the Guardians made a huge deal and traded Jose Ramirez, I'd be like, my jaw would
11:21have to be picked up.
11:22Yeah, that would probably be...
11:24But outside of that, I don't...
11:26There's no probably about it.
11:27That would be beyond the pale.
11:28If the Cavs traded Evan Mobley, tomorrow wouldn't be like, oh, man.
11:32I mean, some people felt that way with Garland.
11:34But there's just nobody.
11:35There's nobody.
11:36I don't know.
11:37And I'm older now, right?
11:38So I just think you're...
11:39Some men are different.
11:40Yeah, because you're not supposed to be anymore that attached to 20-year-old athletes.
11:47I mean, let's be honest.
11:48You're not supposed to be...
11:49That gets a little weird, right?
11:49There might be certain stories and certain storylines you follow, and then you really like them.
11:54But a lot of it's like...
11:55I mean, we did this.
11:56Okay, we'll talk about it.
11:57We did this with Baker.
11:58You remember that.
11:58When people were naming their dogs after him and stuff.
12:01And Liz is like, I like that name because she was pregnant with Jonah.
12:04I'm like, I'm not naming him Baker.
12:07And she's not even like a...
12:08She's not a...
12:09She likes the Browns, but she's not a big sports fan.
12:11She just thought the name was cool because she kept hearing it all the time.
12:13I go, no.
12:14And she goes, why?
12:14And I go, I'm nine years older than him.
12:16I'm going to talk to this guy.
12:18And at the time, it was going to be for the rest of his career with the Cleveland Browns,
12:22which meant he would still be with the Cleveland Browns today in a different universe.
12:26And it was like, I'm not going to sit across the table from a guy.
12:29And when I named my kid...
12:32Arguably, I named my kid after him.
12:33Yes, I understand where the name Axel comes from.
12:35Different story.
12:37Different all the way around it.
12:38But when it comes to him, I wasn't going to do that.
12:40And so that was my first foray into like, yeah, kind of like the stuff with the players
12:46isn't the same anymore.
12:47And I like Denzel.
12:49I think Denzel's a hell of a player.
12:51Denzel's a good person.
12:52But I think if you get to the trade deadline and the Browns are sucking up the room and
12:57there's a chance to send him to a defense for a second round pick because maybe the
13:02price might go up considering there's the desperation that a team might have to try to
13:07punch their ticket into the Super Bowl, then yeah, I think I'd be willing to have that conversation
13:11with a competitive football team.
13:13Like, I don't know if I'd want to send...
13:15I'll tell you this.
13:15He's been such a good player for you.
13:17I don't know if I'd want to send him to some garbage dumpster team for a third round pick
13:21right now.
13:22Like, I wouldn't want to send him to the Cardinals for a third round pick.
13:25I wouldn't understand that.
13:26But when it comes to the Browns, when it comes to us, yeah, I know we're not expected to
13:30be that good this year, but if we get to the trade deadline, a good team's willing to offer
13:34a decent pick, yeah, I'd have that conversation.
13:37I think that...
13:37And I think I'd have that conversation with Denzel.
13:40I'd go, do you want to go to a team that contends or do you want to stay here?
13:44Because if it's a second rounder, then I might have to do what I have to do for the
13:47franchise, honestly.
13:48But a third round pick, I think that if that's the best we can get, I do think that there's
13:52a conversation that we have to have with each other on that.
13:55And I think that's fair.
13:56Yeah, I'm just not in a rush to do that now.
13:58I'm not like, oh, we've got to get a third round pick now for Denzel Ward.
14:00That, to me, would be defeating in many ways.
14:02Now, there would be some people who say they just want the quarterback, and so there are
14:05people aiming to lose this year.
14:08I'm not one of them.
14:09I just don't know.
14:11As of this moment, and it's still really fresh, but I'm starting to kind of see around
14:17the corner and to see what's coming.
14:19As of right now, I can't see myself.
14:23Like, early season, yeah, there might be some fireworks.
14:25If they lose games, there might be some early season Monday morning fireworks.
14:29I can't see myself getting that upset for very long, considering how big of a trade this
14:34is and what you tell the world when you make a trade like that last week.
14:38And if it were to be Denzel, you'd really be telling the world what you're planning on
14:41doing.
14:41So I kind of dig the idea of keeping him around to see where it would go.
14:45And if it goes to a bad place, there's only going to be contenders that are there.
14:48Hopefully, he's still healthy.
14:49Let's have a conversation with Denzel.
14:51He might deserve that right as a veteran.
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