00:00All morning, we have been handing out hypothetical contract extensions to a few Falcons.
00:05Talked offense, talked defense.
00:08Some of the names brought up.
00:09Matthew Bergeron, Divine Diablo, Jesse Bates.
00:12Is there any scenario where those guys that we've been mentioning you would hand a contract extension to are not
00:19here?
00:20I think for sure.
00:21There's, you know, multiple scenarios.
00:23I think the question is, what scenario is that?
00:25But, yeah, I would say that there's certainly no slam dunk that all three of them are part of this
00:31team after this year.
00:32I think Jesse Bates could.
00:34I mean, I think it depends on these guys and how they play and if they want to test free
00:38agency again.
00:38I mean, if Jesse Bates balls out and feels like, which he has all three, the three previous years, and
00:46has a fourth year,
00:47and then maybe he feels disrespected because he hasn't been approached or they don't hit him up quickly
00:54after the season or whatever, then, yeah, maybe, you know, maybe, or maybe he wants,
00:59maybe he doesn't like the, where it's going, the future.
01:04Or maybe they've decided that they don't want to pay Jesse Bates what he could probably get on the open
01:11market
01:11or even close, and they think that they could, maybe they have a guy that they've cross-trained
01:17or they could go get a guy and let Xavier Watts kind of be the lead guy.
01:22That would be his year, his third year at that point.
01:24Or maybe they want to move Billy Bowman back to a safety position and slide Avion into Nick.
01:30I mean, there's so many scenarios.
01:31So, yeah.
01:32And also, I would take it a step further with Devon Diablo and what if he misses time this year
01:39and one of these guys that they've drafted is able to step in and fill the void that he does
01:47leave
01:47at a good level and you're like, you know what, that guy can replace him
01:52and we don't have to overpay, we don't have to send a guy who was only here for a couple
01:58years
01:58and missed a lot of playing time.
02:00So, there's lots of things.
02:02Yeah, and I do think the interesting part about the Jesse Bates one in me is
02:07I'm with you that he's been unbelievable.
02:08I don't think last year was quite as good as the previous two, in my opinion.
02:14You know, again, when you're under three different defensive coordinators in three years,
02:19that can be a little bit of a struggle.
02:20But I think we would have all looked a year ago and said, yeah, Caden Ellis will be back for
02:24sure.
02:25And you just don't ever see things kind of getting off the rails with everything around him
02:30to be able to put those scenarios forward.
02:32But it was a tough pill to swallow when Caden signed down to New Orleans.
02:36I think it would be the same way with any of those three guys.
02:38If they were in a free agency and head somewhere else, you'd have to have a game plan already in
02:42place
02:42to be able to take over at that spot.
02:44Don't you feel, though, if the defense wasn't – if Olbrick didn't want certain characteristics
02:50from Ellis, like if it was a different defense, it might have been a situation where you had him back.
02:56Or if you didn't have Jalen Walker who could slide in.
03:00And, I mean, I think under different circumstances, Caden Ellis might have still been here.
03:05I just think based on what they want to do defensively and what they have in some spots,
03:10they didn't want to bring him back at the age and the money.
03:14It's hard to say because I do look at Caden Ellis and I think he very much fits under the
03:19–
03:21you're not going to find a bigger fan of him than me,
03:23but I do think he fits under the umbrella of maybe jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
03:28Really good at everything.
03:30Understanding things.
03:32You know, being able to call defenses.
03:33Really good blitzer.
03:34Can edge rush.
03:35Can make tackles in space and decent against the run.
03:37I don't know that he played any of those at, like, you know, an all-pro level.
03:41The numbers are going to be good, but I bring this up all the time,
03:44and I was teammates with this guy.
03:45Paul Warlow goes to the Pro Bowl and is the leading tackler for the Atlanta Falcons.
03:50They were dragged down tackles, and it was like you felt like,
03:54okay, there's no long-term future for him at this spot.
03:57Yeah.
03:58And it ended up being kind of a flash in the pan.
04:00And I get where you're going with that.
04:02I cringe at that comparison because Cade Nellis, to me,
04:07made so many plays over the, what, three years he was here that were –
04:13that overshadowed some of the tackles that, you know, behind the line –
04:19like on the other side of the line of scrimmage,
04:21on your side of the line of scrimmage and not theirs,
04:24that wasn't necessarily all of his fault.
04:27But, I mean, look at the sacks that he was able to do.
04:30I think he had a couple of interceptions.
04:32Cade Nellis is a guy that did make tackles for us,
04:35but also was pretty decent in pass coverage.
04:39And I wouldn't get – Warlow's tackles were –
04:42and I mean it out of respect, seemingly everyone –
04:48he had 20 tackles in a game.
04:50Yep.
04:5118 of them were either two to five yards down the field,
04:55and maybe two were at or around the line of scrimmage, maybe TFL.
04:59Yeah.
05:00But, like, to me Cade Nellis is so much better than that.
05:03I completely agree.
05:04And so I understand what you're –
05:07Yeah, it's a scaled-down comment.
05:10You know, I don't mean it as much.
05:12And, again, I'm a massive Cade Nellis fan.
05:15But if Cade Nellis – it's interesting.
05:19If, like, Divine Diablo and Cade Nellis had both hit free agency this year,
05:23I would be curious if you would have re-signed one of them over the other.
05:26Yeah, I do.
05:27I do think I have a theory on that.
05:30Okay.
05:31Just based on what they already told me about Cade Nellis
05:35with what they did with him this year,
05:36I think they absolutely probably would have brought back Divine Diablo most likely.
05:40I would give it, like, a 75% chance he was back.
05:43And Cade Nellis, I think, would still be gone.
05:45Because I think Diablo plays – he's a different athlete.
05:52His age and his athleticism puts him as a guy that fits so well
05:57in what Ulbricht wants to do.
05:59And I think a lot of why Cade Nellis is not here was his athleticism at his age
06:05and the fact that he wasn't getting any more athletic as he got older.
06:09I think Divine Diablo is, what, 26, 27?
06:11Yeah, he's only played five years of NFL football, so yeah.
06:15Yeah, and so I think it's one of those things where
06:19absolutely they would have brought back Divine.
06:21To me, there's no doubt if they had to pick between one or the other.
06:24I think they did pick between one or the other.
06:26I agree with you, but I think that's telling as to what I'm trying to say.
06:29Like, he was a jack of all trades.
06:31He could do a lot of different things,
06:32but I don't know if he's as good of a linebacker as Divine Diablo.
06:36I don't disagree with that.
06:37He's not as good as an edge rusher as James Pierce or Jalen Walker, probably.
06:43I mean, I think he's the best blitzer, but is he doing that at an all-pro level?
06:46I mean, he does everything really, really well.
06:51Don't know that any of it's that level like a Divine Diablo is in that one specific thing.
06:56Is that how you think they viewed him,
06:58or do you think they viewed it to a situation where he does everything at a high level,
07:03but he is now, where he is at as an athlete,
07:08and he's not really the athlete we want at a middle line, an off-the-ball linebacker.
07:15Agree?
07:16Sure.
07:17And he's not getting any younger, and we're going to have to pay him more money moving forward.
07:22Like, I think it was age and athleticism, you know, not just what he was as an actual player.
07:32Like, I think they could have lived with that part
07:34and had those other two things been in a situation they liked for the money he was going to get.
07:39I think that's fair.
07:41There is a name that has not come up yet in any of this conversation, Kyle Pitts.
07:46I know it's not along the same lines.
07:48I know he's got the franchise tag, but would you expect a contract extension to happen at some point,
07:56or is there a scenario where he's not here?
08:01TBD.
08:01I mean, as much as that seems like a cop-out, I just think that there's so much left to
08:05be determined.
08:06I think it's almost like saying who's going to be the starting quarterback in 2027.
08:10We don't know.
08:11You know, there's a lot of things left to be worked out.
08:14And let's get this off the ground.
08:16We're all rooting for Kyle Pitts to be very, very good in his franchise tag year.
08:20And we're all rooting for Kyle Pitts to go out and get that contract
08:23and, you know, be deserved and do all the different things that you're asked to do
08:27and fit into Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Reese's offense.
08:30But I think that, you know, you have this franchise tag,
08:34and they've come out and said, hey, top of mind, Drake Lennon, Bajon Robinson.
08:38There's a reason that's not there for Kyle Pitts.
08:41And I think you have to read between the lines on that.
08:43They put the tag on him for a reason, didn't extend him to a contract for a reason.
08:47He's making good money this year.
08:48And I think that his mind frame, like we talked about last week a little bit,
08:50it's been great.
08:51This is an opportunity.
08:52They believe in me.
08:53They want me to go out and get it done.
08:55And I just think that he's got a few more, you know, boxes to check, I guess,
08:59before that's being talked about.
09:02I don't know how.
09:04I come back.
09:05You can't re-sign everybody.
09:07Like, you can't re-sign everybody.
09:08There are casualties of it.
09:13And to me, if you get some – I mean, Kyle Pitts could have a great year,
09:20but if you go out and get – you're going to extend Bajon,
09:24and Bajon and Drake do their normal production.
09:26Say Zachariah Branch pops out, Jahan Dotson has a good year,
09:30and Austin Hooper or whatever at the tight end spot does okay.
09:34Like, I think they – all of that can make it hard to spend that money on Kyle Pitts.
09:41Especially when you've got to re-sign an all-pro Jesse Bates type player.
09:46Because I'd rather have Jesse Bates and Matthew Bergeron than just Kyle Pitts,
09:51personally.
09:52And that's not a knock on Kyle.
09:55It's not wanting him to – I would love him not to leave.
09:59Because I think it makes you that much better if you ever get the quarterback
10:02figured out.
10:04But there's also the part where he could have a year like he did in years two
10:10through four.
10:12And it makes it easy.
10:13Or maybe that's the best way – best thing to happen because you can re-sign him
10:17that way.
10:18And you get him for cheaper, I mean.
10:20But, yeah, there's – in my mind, there's a scenario that every player we've
10:25talked about, including Kyle Pitts, isn't here.
10:27If he has a repeat year, same as last year,
10:30is it higher probability that he's here or not here?
10:33I think it's higher probability he's not here.
10:35I think he could play his way out of here financially.
10:37And I don't blame him because I – that would then be on how bad does he want
10:42it here.
10:42Does he want to be here enough that he could take a little bit of less money?
10:47Because if not, somebody out there is going to be able to pay him top tight end
10:54money, and that's okay.
10:58And I don't blame him for doing it either.
11:00I don't blame anybody in that scenario.
11:02Yeah, it's – and you bring up John Dotson.
11:06I can't shake the feeling that John Dotson and Kyle Pitts are going to be kind of
11:10fighting for the same real estate.
11:12You know, like in this offense, I don't think it's a key – I think Kyle Pitts is
11:15that big of a receiving threat where he should be the number two guy behind a
11:19Drake Lennon when you look at the receiving stats.
11:21But I don't know.
11:24I think that, yes, if he has a repeat season like he did last year, that he's
11:28definitely here long-term and there's some kind of contract.
11:30I don't think it resets the tight end market by any means, but I do think that
11:33there's a road forward.
11:34It just – it almost comes down to a timing thing.
11:37If it – you know, if Tua Tungvaluah becomes your starting quarterback this year
11:42and delivers to Kyle Pitts and Kyle Pitts gets the same numbers that he did last year,
11:47now you're looking at having to possibly re-sign Tua Tungvaluah.
11:50You know, it's like – there's such a timing thing associated with Kyle Pitts that you
11:55just kind of got to hold your breath and, you know, hope for the best outcome.
11:58So I feel like it always comes back to that quarterback competition.
12:00It has to.
12:01It does at all.
12:02It has to.
12:02That's what opens your window.
12:04And look, if you don't – if you have a down year this year, I am so curious what
12:09they think the path forward is.
12:10I mean, I genuinely don't know.
12:14You go sign somebody, you've got a ton of money.
12:16But I think a lot of that has to do with who's there and where you're drafting.
12:22Because I think where you're drafting plays into it.
12:24For a team that doesn't want to give up draft picks and basically, in other words, straight
12:29up, where you're drafting could be everything.
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