00:00And the Falcons have reportedly acquired offensive tackle Wanya Morris in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.
00:07The Falcons gave the Chiefs a 2027 sixth-round pick, and along with Wanya Morris came a seventh-round draft
00:14pick for the Falcons as well.
00:15And at the same time, we did get the news yesterday that the Falcons have placed alignment Storm Norton on
00:21the pup list,
00:21so he will not be playing this next season.
00:24Yeah, I'm not sure if you'll ever see him play again.
00:28These injuries are tough.
00:29It's obviously a lower body injury somewhere below the knee, but before the big toe.
00:36So we really don't know.
00:38And so the fact that he missed all of last season and had a setback when he was trying to
00:43get ready to actually get activated,
00:47and then you turn around and now he's already suffered what I can only call a setback being on the
00:55pup list.
00:56Plus, I worry about his future as an NFL player.
00:59It sucks.
01:00I'm not going to say that like I know him, but I had a few interactions.
01:03He was a good guy, and you like to see good guys get rewarded and kind of stay healthy and
01:07be able to play.
01:08The Morris stuff to me is he's...
01:12I'm getting to the point where even just calling him a swing tackle is a little bit unfair.
01:16He's like the ultimate swing offensive lineman.
01:18He reminds me a lot of Elijah Wilkinson.
01:20He can play the guard position, and he can play the tackle position.
01:23Does he jump in your DMs and tell you about your team?
01:26Well, Elijah Wilkinson apparently just wanted to tell you how bad your team sucked openly on replies.
01:30Does he realize how out of pocket that was yet?
01:33Probably not.
01:33Probably doesn't care.
01:35I'm sure someone told him that was a jerk move, but I'm not sure if he cared.
01:44I don't really understand the angst.
01:46So random.
01:47I didn't think that he got treated unfairly here for the most part.
01:50I thought at times Elijah Wilkinson played as good as you can expect for your third option.
01:58And that's the context matters, right?
02:00Yeah.
02:00Are some fans ridiculous?
02:03Yes.
02:04I mean, that's every...
02:06I mean, you know, we've got people...
02:08The Braves are a first-place team.
02:11They're eight games up, and there's people complaining about half their roster.
02:14I mean, you know, like...
02:16So it's just how it is.
02:18That comes with the territory.
02:18I figured he would know that as a guy that's played in the league so long.
02:22But I think he fit...
02:24Morris, to me, fits along those terms where he can kind of do everything.
02:28And I think the immediate thought process by everyone, including myself, is he replaces
02:33Storm Norton as swing tackle.
02:34Yeah.
02:34That just makes the most sense.
02:36And again, to use the term corresponding move, is it felt like, you know, you're dealing
02:40with...
02:41And Storm Norton had ankle surgery, was what I was kind of digging into here.
02:44So the mystery may have been solved from earlier.
02:48But admittedly, I didn't really know what the details were of that injury, other than
02:52clearly it cost him significant time last year, and it would appear to be a setback involved
02:56with that.
02:57It's going to have him out again this year.
02:59And that is the kind of injury that, as you pointed out, if you're not able to, you know,
03:04get back because it's persistent, it could be the end of his career, which is a shame.
03:09But the Falcons, obviously, are left with having to fill that void, and this is a move that
03:12could help there or in a variety of other places.
03:15So the versatility is nice.
03:17Well, and Wanya Morris, I mean, he's a hometown guy, graduated from Grayson High School.
03:20He requested this trade because he wanted to play.
03:24But we have two starting tackles.
03:26So why does he think Atlanta will be different for him?
03:30Well, I think part of it is he had really fallen back in Kansas City.
03:36It's not in their plan.
03:37Yeah, he had, so this is a guy that was, two years ago was their starting left tackle
03:43for a number of games.
03:46Then last year, he's in the guard position.
03:48That's why, you know, he's kind of, he's kind of their swing guy, I guess, in a lot of ways.
03:52Doesn't get in very many games.
03:55And now he's just moved down to the track.
03:57He was essentially being used on scout team stuff.
04:02So he had fallen out of favor.
04:04He knew he wasn't going to get any time.
04:06He probably wanted a reset to get away from there and kind of start over, right?
04:12I mean, I think sometimes we all get in a situation where it gets to the point where we're like,
04:17look, this is not good for anybody, me being here.
04:21I'd like a fresh start.
04:22And that's what he's going to get.
04:24And look, this is a fairly cheap move.
04:31You read what the details were, but you essentially swapped late round draft picks.
04:37And because of it, you got Morris.
04:40And so now it's going to help you and it's going to help them getting off of it.
04:43And the guy's making his $1.4 million this year.
04:48So in the grand scheme of things, this is nothing, financially speaking.
04:54But he just probably wanted, you know, sometimes you need that.
04:58And you don't know what the future holds.
05:01Nobody in this room would have said, yeah, Elijah Wilkins will start 17 games for us.
05:06Thanks, you're at right tackle.
05:07Right.
05:08But you had to.
05:09And he did, for the most part, you know, he did an average job, I would say.
05:15So it wasn't like he was overly good, but he wasn't bad either.
05:18As far as Michael Durrell, Jack Nelson, Ethan Onionwa, what does this move mean for them?
05:25Well, competition, I'd say.
05:26Right?
05:27Absolutely.
05:28I think this could make Jack Nelson.
05:31Jack Nelson's a guy that needs to continue to grow based on what we saw early from last year.
05:36It probably takes him from as soon as the Storm Norton stuff was out there.
05:42If he knew about it, I'm sure he did.
05:44He's like, oh, I got a real shot at this.
05:46Now he's like, now I've got to really work to win this, which is good.
05:49Grant said the competition is good for everybody.
05:52I think it kind of moves some guys back a little bit.
05:55And the good thing is, is any of these guys that aren't necessarily – Jarrell, I don't know.
05:59That's a mystery to me.
06:00They traded for him in a similar trade last year, and then he just never played.
06:04Right.
06:04We thought that was the move to replace Wilkinson – excuse me, Storm Norton and –
06:12Caleb McGarry.
06:12Caleb McGarry.
06:13But it wasn't.
06:14It just – I don't know what the hell is going on with that guy.
06:16It was a non-factor.
06:17Yeah, so, you know, that's – I don't – I can't tell you much about him, but this
06:22does move those guys back a little bit, and they're all going to have some competition.
06:26And, look, it allows them to develop, especially the rookie.
06:29I mean, he's moving positions.
06:31He's hopefully not going to be pushed into action any time soon.
06:35Of what you know about Wynne Amars, does he fit this new offense that we're putting
06:39together better than he would have maybe over the last couple years?
06:42I think, honestly, God, based on his – what his skill set is, I think he could – I think
06:47he would have been fine with either one.
06:49They've – they've – I saw some stuff on him – film on him this morning where he
06:53was running wide zone, and he was running it very well.
06:56And then, also, you can see some stuff.
06:58The way he moves, he's a pretty fluid guy.
07:01He's very athletic.
07:03So, he could also be a guy – if he was replacing a Bergeron or a Lindstrom for a game
07:08or two,
07:08he could – you could still have him as a pulling guard and those types of things.
07:12And, sometimes, tackles will do that.
07:15I think he kind of – because of how athletic his skill set really is at times, he can kind
07:20of play in a lot of different schemes.
07:23The thing for me that I saw is that there's this time – and I hate saying this because
07:27I don't – it just sounds icky saying it as a guy sitting behind a microphone for three
07:31hours a day.
07:32But, there are times where it looked like either he was overwhelmed or he flat out looked lazy
07:37on film.
07:38And, that's not something he necessarily won't, which is what I think part of the reason he
07:42fell out of favor there.
07:44And, sometimes – what's a nice way of saying that?
07:47Like, just take some plays off, maybe?
07:49Yeah, and that's a position he can't.
07:50I don't know.
07:51Yeah, he definitely can't.
07:52Especially not in a pass set when you're protecting a guy making $500-something million
07:57over the next eight years, which is what Patrick Mahomes – and that's what he was protecting
08:01in some of those plays.
08:05I wonder, though, because you think about it, and maybe you've seen this with guys coming
08:09to Braves, and I know you've seen it too.
08:11Sometimes when you fall out of favor, you grow from that, but you don't ever get the
08:17opportunity to show that you've grown, necessarily, because that's the mindset that someone has
08:22of you, right?
08:23Maybe not in the original spot, but this is where we talk about those change of scenery
08:26type trades, where you're just looking for a new opportunity, and if plans change, and
08:30they change fairly quickly in the NFL as well, so you've got that going on, and talent will
08:37get you so far, but ultimately, it's a results-driven business, and if they don't feel like they
08:40can get it from you, why not see if you can get a little bit of something, move them along,
08:44and if they're wrong, they're wrong, but it's nothing but a great opportunity for Morris.
08:49Sorry, real quick, this could be one of those things, too, where you scout a lot of guys,
08:53and maybe somebody on this Cleveland staff, or Ian Cunningham himself, had scouted him
08:59and took a hard look at him coming out of college.
09:01Remember, Kansas City moved up in that 23 drafts, I think it was the third round.
09:05It was the third round, 22 overall.
09:06To get him.
09:08So, there was high expectations at one point, and so everybody thinks they're the guy to
09:13fix somebody.
09:14And you need some of those projects, too, because sometimes you do, and it really pays off,
09:18so lottery ticket might be a stretch on it, but either way, you're betting on talent.
09:24Well, and, I mean, if you look at him, like, he's only 25.
09:28You know, he's young, so Bill Callahan has a pretty good reputation for developing a lineman.
09:32Like, do you think he could benefit from Bill?
09:34Oh, absolutely.
09:36I like to call him Big Bill.
09:37I don't know why.
09:38It just makes me giggle.
09:40But I've said it, you know, I'll say it every time.
09:43We probably talk about him.
09:44He's one of the best offensive line coaches out there, and, yeah, if coming home to that,
09:51you know, obviously he played at Grayson, and he's 100% in, I don't see why Wanyan Morris
09:58couldn't revive his career and maybe take that and go somewhere else eventually, or maybe,
10:03look, again, we never know what's going to happen in training camp.
10:06Maybe he plays his way into the plans.
10:07Yeah, and that's the best-case scenario for him.
10:11If not, the best-case scenario is he's a swing tackle, and he revives his career enough
10:15to be a swing tackle for the next eight to nine, ten years, and that's a hell of a living
10:20because offensive, I mean, I said he's making 1.4 this year.
10:23I'd take 1.4 for the next ten years, and it's only going to grow because you get a veteran.
10:28You know, it only grows, so.
10:30How do you think Michael Panix Jr. and Tua feel about the Falcons continuing to add depth
10:36on the offensive line?
10:37I think it probably makes them feel pretty good because you want to see your team committed
10:41to that because that commitment extends directly to their ability to be able to execute their
10:46job, and that right tackle spot has been a problem issue for the Falcons.
10:49How could they address it with some depth this year?
10:52How could they make a longer-term move?
10:54Is this Jake Matthews ultimately moving over like you talked about before?
10:58There's a lot of different ways they could do this, or does it end up being something where
11:02we don't have the final answer for that particular spot but might see it in next year's draft
11:06or the year after?
11:07Yeah, you love hearing that you're getting depth, guys that have started before.
11:15Caleb McGarry is going to be a loss, no matter how you look at it.
11:19It was a loss last year in the run game.
11:20It'll probably be a loss this year in the run game.
11:22You hope Jawan Taylor is another guy that is extremely talented.
11:27And remember, the 24 Chiefs team was a playoff team, right?
11:32And they're a Super Bowl team.
11:35I've heard they're pretty good.
11:37Their left tackle and their right tackle from that season for much of the season.
11:40I don't know if Wynne Moore started in the playoffs.
11:44I know that he only had like 12 games that year that he started.
11:46But at one point in time, their starting tackles are now in your room and as death pieces.
11:53Now, their offensive line has been hit or miss at times.
11:55But, I mean, there's talent.
11:59Coach them up.
12:00Get them ready.
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