- 17 hours ago
As The Junkies Hit the Skins today they wonder...do the Commanders really NEED Brandon Aiyuk?
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00:00We have some audio from one of Brandon Ayuk's very high-profile teammates.
00:05Maybe you've heard of him.
00:06His name's George Kittle.
00:07Pretty good player.
00:08For the San Francisco 49ers.
00:10He's got a terrible beard.
00:12He's got a big, gnarly, manly beard.
00:16No doubt about it.
00:17So he was on the Pardon My Take podcast with Big Cat and PFT Commenter.
00:22And here's what he had to say when PFT Commenter asked him
00:26if Commanders fans should be excited for Brandon Ayuk joining the team.
00:30I know that it's a sensitive thing because you like the guy.
00:33I'm going to let you guys talk while you're in Reese's.
00:35Because you like the guy and the whole rehabbing away from the team
00:37that can be tough on everybody.
00:38So I get that.
00:41How good is he still?
00:43Like the last time you saw him play,
00:45how excited should I be to probably have him on the Commanders?
00:49The last time I saw Ayuk was, call it week six, seven, or eight.
00:53I don't really know.
00:55But I used to make it a habit of mine to go out early in the morning
00:59before meetings to watch him train because he'd always be out there early.
01:01And I watched him run over 22 miles an hour and stop on a dime.
01:04So he's still got it.
01:07Or at least, you know, that was a year, I mean, eight months ago.
01:10So I don't really know.
01:12But, yeah, you guys have fun with that, I guess.
01:15Yeah, thank you.
01:15That's perfectly put.
01:17I mean, I have a lot of fun with that.
01:18Perfectly put.
01:18I guess.
01:19Still got it.
01:19Have fun with that, I guess.
01:20Yeah.
01:21Yeah, you have fun with all that comes with it.
01:23Yeah.
01:24I mean, it seems like he's very active on social media, which, you know, that's a great
01:28way to connect with fans and brands and sponsors.
01:31Yeah.
01:31So it seems like this, once he gets to us, then he'll finally be happy and every bad
01:37thing is going to go away.
01:38Yeah, you're right.
01:39I wouldn't be happy either after a team paid me $130 million.
01:42I know.
01:42Well, the taxes in California, he's probably like, oh, this sucks.
01:46I got so much tax.
01:47Yeah.
01:47More money, more problems.
01:48Right.
01:49Yes.
01:50So yeah, we'll take him.
01:51He'll make less money and he'll be happier.
01:53And then he'll stop posting weird stuff on social media.
01:57That honestly sounds like a game plan.
01:59Okay.
02:00Yeah.
02:00Okay, good.
02:01Then we're all in agreement.
02:02It sounds like a win-win for everyone.
02:03Yeah.
02:04Wow.
02:04And he really is not a fan of Brandon Ayuk.
02:08Well, I mean, I think he feels a little, yeah, burned as a teammate or whatever and
02:11doesn't understand the situation.
02:13Now let's build on the positive.
02:14When he did see him play, he said he ran 22 miles per hour and could stop on a dime.
02:21Yeah.
02:21So the talent's there, but it sounds like there's a lot of baggage.
02:26We know there's a lot of baggage.
02:27Yeah.
02:28And I've said this a few times on the show.
02:29I can't remember if it was on B, Mitch and Finley or Grant and Danny, but I was listening
02:33on our station months ago and there was an insider from San Francisco and he was talking
02:37about Brandon Ayuk.
02:38He said, you know, we've had a lot of diva wide receivers and he started going through
02:43all the guys who've had problems.
02:45Michael Crabtree, Terrell Owens.
02:48He said, but none of them has been as bad as Brandon Ayuk.
02:52That's pretty bad.
02:53I mean, if you're rattling off names like that, guys who are just tough to deal with.
02:57And he rattled off like eight or nine names that I can't recall at this time, but that
03:02once you heard their name, you're like, oh yeah, I remember.
03:05Oh yeah, that was a disaster.
03:06Right.
03:07Who was it that said Ayuk?
03:09It was some sort of like beat reporter from San Francisco that was on, I think it was
03:13on Grant and Danny's show.
03:14I mean, I didn't hear that he was a disaster when they signed him to the deal.
03:18I heard he was a disaster when it went bad.
03:21Yeah.
03:22So, I don't know.
03:23I wish they would have fought, and maybe they did, but followed up and asked Kittle,
03:27well, was he a good teammate when you were playing with him?
03:29Did you like him?
03:30Well, maybe they did somewhere else in the interview.
03:32Obviously, he liked his talent that he wanted to go out and see him run routes, but it was
03:38all the other stuff that I guess turned him off.
03:40I missed the last, did he post another video that he was talking about?
03:44I didn't see that.
03:45He did a Father's Day.
03:47He just said, go Commanders.
03:49Yeah.
03:49That's all he said?
03:50Pretty much.
03:50Well, he said something like, I had a great Father's Day.
03:52Go Commanders.
03:53Go Commanders.
03:54Oh, okay.
03:56I didn't see that.
03:57There's no denying it.
03:58He's a weird dude.
04:00I mean, I expected there to be another one, but I missed it for some reason.
04:05Can you use your considerable 49ers clout and keep Brandon Ayuk away from the Commanders?
04:10Yeah.
04:10I got tons of it.
04:11Just keep him a million miles away, please.
04:14What I wonder, and I've said this a few times, is if they sign him, if he gets released in,
04:21you know, seems like the 49ers aren't in a rush to release him, let's say he gets released
04:26in August, is he going to be ready to play and in shape come the season?
04:34Who knows?
04:35Probably not.
04:35I mean, if he didn't go through all these mini camps, I don't think so.
04:39No, it's going to be the same spot as Terry, only worse.
04:42I just have to hope that he's, like in between all these random Instagram videos, I hope he's
04:49working out every day.
04:50I hope he's training every day to get ready for the upcoming season.
04:53I don't know if he is.
04:54That's what I worry about more than the wackadoo videos because ultimately it doesn't really
05:01matter if you get the production.
05:04There are so many teams that have dealt with way worse, but they get production from the
05:10players and they overlook it.
05:12So if you can get the production, which is what is tantalizing, right, then you don't
05:18worry about goofy videos, but I do wonder if he can produce because we haven't seen him
05:23on the field.
05:24He hasn't had a touchdown in over three years.
05:27I mean, if he shows up here and he becomes the instant number two wide receiver behind
05:31Terry McLaurin and he's hyperproductive, you're going to forget about all these dumb videos.
05:36Exactly.
05:37If he goes out and catches 55 or 60 balls and is a threat downfield and is an outlet for
05:41Jaden Daniels and helps the offense hum, you're not going to care that he's a weirdo and he's
05:47a diva.
05:47But I'm not convinced.
05:49Let's say he gets released August 15th.
05:54A month before the season.
05:55A month before the season.
05:56I'm not convinced it'll put up Debo Samuel numbers.
05:59Yeah.
05:59He might not.
06:00Debo had 72 catches last year.
06:02He might be a big giant dud.
06:06He can come out and catch 20 balls, pull a hamstring, and then it's just the lost season.
06:10You don't know.
06:11And we've talked about it a billion times.
06:12I just wonder if he's ever going to post a video where we could see him running and catching
06:17balls.
06:18I mean, I think most people would like to see that.
06:19They would love to see it.
06:20Yeah.
06:21But since he won't do it, there's that many more questions.
06:25Maybe he's not running 22 miles per hour anymore.
06:27I saw that Kittle, who's rehabbing, because to me, I don't really understand when somebody
06:33says, I'm running 22 miles per hour versus 20 or whatever.
06:36But this gave me a frame of reference.
06:38Kittle, in his rehab, was positive, or people were pointing to, he's on the comeback because
06:45he was running 16 miles an hour.
06:4622 is significantly faster than 16.
06:50Yeah.
06:50Well, I mean, Iuke's a...
06:51I mean, you've got an older guy coming off...
06:53Different breed.
06:53He's a receiver.
06:54...off of an Achilles injury.
06:55And he's got a...
06:56Right.
06:57Well, Iuke is coming off a pretty significant injury, too.
07:01Yeah.
07:01Well, the good news is, like he said, is that when he saw him running, he looked great.
07:06Yeah.
07:07But, yeah, he hasn't played football in a year plus, whatever.
07:10So, I mean, I don't think you can expect it to be ready day one.
07:12Yeah, my sense would be, it would be kind of like a Terry season where...
07:18Only worse.
07:19...up and down, maybe some injuries pop up because you haven't been working out consistently.
07:24Yeah.
07:24And he's going to be rusty.
07:26Yes.
07:26And, by the way, new system.
07:28Yes.
07:30So, I don't know, I've told you, the guy that I'm most intrigued by is Tyreek Hill.
07:35I mean, he's still out there.
07:36I can understand that.
07:38There are some multiple big names still available.
07:40Oh, Debo, Tyreek Hill, Keenan Allen.
07:44Diggs.
07:45Diggs.
07:45Diggs might be the most productive of all.
07:48He had a really good year last year in New England.
07:52Wonder where he's going to land.
07:54Or, this team just likes what they got.
07:56I mean, I've seen Van Jefferson toe-tap in the end zone maybe a thousand times.
08:03Because you always see a play from, like, mandatory minicamp or from an OTA.
08:07It makes you raise your eyebrow, but you're like, okay, there's no defender.
08:11I mean, these guys are in t-shirts and shorts.
08:14People always fall in love with these receivers.
08:15Remember Marco Mitchell?
08:17Yeah.
08:17Is it Marco Mitchell?
08:19I think you might be right.
08:20Yeah.
08:21You might have had a couple calls.
08:21People would fall in love with a guy like that.
08:23Like, oh!
08:24Like Billy McMullen?
08:24Yes.
08:25Billy McMullen.
08:26So many guys.
08:27So many of those guys.
08:30So what?
08:31Yeah.
08:31Look.
08:32But you don't want them anymore.
08:33Well, I don't care either.
08:35But you did want them, but now you're just okay.
08:37You're on the fence.
08:38I mean, it seems like a lot, but there are guys I'd rather have.
08:42I think I'd rather have guys that played last year and played at a very high level.
08:46Right, so you'd rather have Diggs.
08:47Rather have Diggs, I think.
08:50Or Debo.
08:51Or Debo, yeah.
08:52But if you gave me Brandon and Iuke, they're obviously not going to pay him anything.
08:55Correct.
08:55He'd probably be littered with incentives.
08:57They're going to pay him nothing.
08:58I mean, I don't know how it hurts.
09:00And if he's a chemistry guy that's bad for everything, they'll just cut him.
09:05So it's almost no risk.
09:07That's why I kind of don't care.
09:09It's just strange.
09:10But also when people say, played with him, say, have fun with that.
09:14Well, I think.
09:15Which means that he obviously had some sort of an issue with him in the locker room.
09:18Yeah, but I think that's all post, it fell apart.
09:22Correct.
09:23I didn't hear that before.
09:24Yeah, you might be right.
09:24I think it's since it all fell apart.
09:26It's a teammate who got frustrated that the guy didn't show up.
09:29Right.
09:30He feels burned.
09:31Well, there also might have been underlying issues even before that.
09:34There might have been, but I didn't hear anybody say him.
09:36That's true.
09:37Possibly, but he was still.
09:38Didn't hear it, though.
09:39Going out to watch him run routes in the morning, according to George Kittle, because he was
09:44so impressive.
09:46Right.
09:47That's George Kittle basically saying to the whole world, buyer beware on Brandon Ayuk.
09:52Like, you're going to have your hands full if you bring this guy into your locker room.
09:55Have fun with him.
09:56He's a handful.
09:57That's what I interpreted that as.
09:59It'll probably be.
10:00I don't want to deal with him anymore.
10:02It'll probably be, if it happens, an Antonio Brown-like ride.
10:06Well, that's a terrible ride.
10:07But Antonio Brown can produce at times.
10:08That's not a ride you want to be on.
10:10Well, it depends.
10:11You want your guy to take his pads off and his shirt off and hop around in the end zone
10:14and leaving the field?
10:16It depends, because Antonio Brown still put up big numbers at times.
10:20Okay.
10:20But it's going to be 10 years.
10:22I've worked 100 catches.
10:24I don't want the guy acting like a complete psycho and a clown on my sideline.
10:29George Pickens ride.
10:30The Steelers had enough, and the Cowboys said, we'll roll the dice to Pickens, and he produced.
10:35I'll sign up for the Pickens ride, because I know right now he's in his prime.
10:38Right, right.
10:38I don't know that Brandon Ayuk is in his prime.
10:40Actually, I know he's past his prime.
10:43He's already shredded his knee.
10:45Pickens had a resume.
10:47He wasn't as bad off the field as Brown, Antonio Brown.
10:50Yeah, yeah, but you still deal with things, and that's why the Steelers moved on.
10:55Right, but here's the thing.
10:59Again, what's the downside?
11:01If he's a distraction, they're going to cut him.
11:03They're not going to give him any money.
11:04I know it's going to be minimal risk.
11:06Yeah, it's a minimal risk thing.
11:08I guess the only argument you can make is, well, they could assign somebody better.
11:11Yeah.
11:11But that's an argument.
11:12I can't argue.
11:13I think the downside would be, and I'm with you, it's not a big downside, but locker room
11:18chemistry, and maybe takes away from the development of a younger player like Antonio Williams,
11:24who they drafted.
11:25I would rather just, if you're going to sign another guy, I would rather pony up and pay
11:31Diggs $15 million for one season to see what, if he can give me 80 catches, then roll the
11:38dice on Brandon Ayuk for a minimum salary.
11:41I'd rather just, I kind of know what I have in Diggs.
11:44Ayuk is a giant question mark as to whether he'll be productive.
11:48I just don't know if he still has a desire to play high-level NFL football.
11:53Could you get all the guys on the field together for a tryout, essentially?
11:58You get Ayuk out there, Tyreek Hill, that's my guy.
12:03Diggs.
12:03Diggs, Keaton Allen, you have him run routes, because a couple of those guys have major
12:07injury question marks.
12:09All right.
12:09Tyreek Hill just posted a video, I guess, on Instagram, his reborn rehab video.
12:17But at least he's got a video of working out and doing stuff.
12:21Right.
12:23Brandon Ayuk is just walking around, like cash falling out of his pocket.
12:28The only thing I can think is that he'd shirt off.
12:31Like, is it possible he's going through all this, and then they actually don't sign him?
12:35That actually seems hard for me to believe.
12:37I feel like he knows they're going to sign him.
12:39It's possible if behind the scenes, Peters, and who's his right-hand man?
12:44Newmark.
12:45If they've met and they go, look, this was our plan all along.
12:49We never wanted to trade for him.
12:51But man, it's just too much.
12:53It's possible.
12:54Don't think it's likely, but it's possible.
12:55I think he knows they're going to sign him.
12:57But he's acting like a guy who knows he's going to be here.
13:01Now, maybe he's just a crazy person, and he's just agitating to try to manifest it.
13:08That's possible.
13:09I would think Peters, if he told him, yes, once you get released, we're going to get you in.
13:13I would have told his agent or something.
13:15Well, yeah, but I would have thought Peters would have told Ayuk, stop posting these videos.
13:19It just makes everything look worse.
13:20So stop doing it.
13:21Right.
13:22Maybe just stop listening.
13:23Stop doing it.
13:24Maybe.
13:25Or we're not going to sign you.
13:26Right.
13:26Yeah, but, I mean, I guess.
13:28But maybe not.
13:30I don't know.
13:30Because it just makes the commanders look bad?
13:33Well, I think it makes him look bad to the fans.
13:39Yeah.
13:39So the fans are going, we don't want this psycho.
13:42Okay.
13:43So it would just look bad, and then the media, obviously the media is on top of it.
13:47So if they did sign him, it would just be a bigger story than what he can do for them
13:52on the field.
13:52Or does it just make other teams not as interested, too?
13:55And so then you have less competition.
13:57So let him post whatever he wants.
13:58I guess there's a billion ways to look at it.
14:00I don't know.
14:01I would just think that Peters and Quinn would say, bro, stop doing this.
14:04Just chill out.
14:05Relax.
14:06If you want to post some videos of you working out, that's one thing.
14:08But don't make yourself look nutty.
14:10Well, I think Jaden should say that.
14:12Maybe he has.
14:13That might help, too.
14:14Maybe he's not listening to anybody.
14:15All right.
14:15When we come back, we're going to get back into the Wizards.
14:17It's their day.
14:18It's NBA draft day.
14:20It's only a little more than 12 hours away before they make the first pick overall.
14:25But they also made news by signing Trey Young to a four-year, $212 million contract extension.
14:32Do you like the Trey Young deal that the Wizards handed him yesterday?
14:37800-636-1067.
14:39We'll get your temperature on the Trey Young extension next here on The Fan.
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