- 2 days ago
Washington Commanders Reporter Ben Standig from The Last Man Standig Podcast and Substack joins The Kevin Sheehan Show to discuss the Brandon Aiyuk drama and available free agents the Commanders should consider signing before and throughout training camp.
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00:00And we can talk football here for a moment.
00:03I haven't talked to you in over a week now, or maybe a week.
00:07I think maybe a week ago was the last time we talked because I was on vacation last week as
00:11well.
00:11So do you have any new thoughts on Brandon Iyuk?
00:16I talked briefly about him saying Jaden said, I don't do the internet.
00:23Hit me up.
00:24He tried to call.
00:25Jaden didn't answer.
00:26That appears to be, I think, the last time we've heard from Brandon Iyuk, which would have been Wednesday, so
00:34five days ago.
00:36Do you have any other further thoughts on the Brandon Iyuk saga from where we were last time a week
00:43ago Monday?
00:44I did just look.
00:45He did post some stuff, but it's like him feeding his dog.
00:48So nothing about the commanders, I don't think.
00:51Was that today?
00:53Yeah.
00:55Today, yeah.
00:57Yeah, no, nothing for me.
00:59I mean, just like I said, the idea that they are somehow playing the game on all of us just
01:06makes zero sense.
01:08That would be very bad news for Jaden Daniels.
01:12If he's trolling his fan base, that would not be wise.
01:14So I don't believe that's the case.
01:16So no, I have nothing new.
01:17I mean, you know, it's, you know, again, until Washington does something else, either, you know, signs Stephon Diggs or
01:26another receiver or flat out comes out and say, what's the deal?
01:30I mean, you know, we've obviously, other than the one time I asked Jaden about this specifically, there's been essentially
01:37nothing to be asked.
01:38And obviously, Quinn and Peters can't say anything about it if they want to bring him in.
01:43But when Peters presumably is going to speak with us at the start of training camp, as he does every
01:49year, there's got to be a way to bring this up.
01:52I mean, like, okay, look, I get you can't say anything, but can you just say you don't want him?
01:56Can we do that much?
01:57Like, I don't understand, like, why, why, why we haven't gone to that path.
02:01But yeah, nothing's changed for me in the last, in the last week or so.
02:05All right.
02:06Ben wrote on his sub stack today that Washington doesn't need to sign every recognizable free agent.
02:13But here's a list of who actually makes sense on free agents that are still out there that can be
02:20signed.
02:20Follow Ben on x at Ben Standig and link to his sub stack called Last Man Standing.
02:27He does a phenomenal job covering our football team.
02:31And it's for a couple of bucks, literally a month.
02:34That's it.
02:35I'm a subscriber.
02:36Trust me, Ben is worth it.
02:39So, you know, I read this during a break a little while ago, your list of, you basically said, you
02:46make a list of players I'd seriously consider.
02:48Uh, then you had worth discussing at the right price.
02:52Then you have a category, what do we have to lose?
02:55And then you have a category, appreciate the memories.
02:59Um, and that's it.
03:01Meaning these are players that actually played for this team recently and are still out there as free agents.
03:06So from each of these categories, I want you to give me the one that's most interesting to you.
03:11I don't want you to give everybody all of them because I'd like people to subscribe and read.
03:15This is a very well thought out and I read through the entire thing on the, on these.
03:20I have a couple of possibilities that I think I would, you know, just, um, barely disagree with you on,
03:26but from the category of players that should be considered seriously, you have five players on this list.
03:34Give me the one that you think is either most interesting or most likely.
03:42Yeah, I mean, I will just say, and just to sort of set this thing up, like it doesn't matter
03:46what your team is.
03:48You have a great team, a crappy team.
03:50Everybody always thinks, go add another free agent, go get more help.
03:53You know, what's wrong with that?
03:54Well, there's a, but there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a point where you can't just keep adding people.
03:58Um, it doesn't make any sense.
04:00It's the question is, do you have potential starting options or do you have enough depth?
04:04For the most part now, especially after the Rasul Douglas signing, I think they kind of have enough, but there
04:09are certainly places that they can, can upgrade and sure they could be, do better in the starting lineup.
04:14Um, so, um, you know, for example, this is not necessarily the starting lineup.
04:19I have no idea what Trayvon Diggs is up to these days, but so he got let go by Dallas
04:24last year.
04:26Um, and you know, he's had injuries and, and, uh, and, and all that, but he's still, you know, relatively
04:31young.
04:32This is a guy that led the league in interceptions a couple of years ago under Dan Quinn, when Quinn
04:36was a coordinator and the Rasul Douglas signing raised the floor.
04:41It did not necessarily the raise the ceiling.
04:44And if Stefan, if, uh, Trayvon Diggs, if there's a world where he is right, you know, then that seems
04:52like a guy who could hypothetically raise the ceiling.
04:54Now, again, it may be completely a non-story.
04:58It may, he may just be so far gone, um, that, that this is not a thing.
05:02And look at that, but I haven't signed him.
05:04But again, this is sort of just my general point.
05:07Like, sure.
05:08Could they use a better starting corner rack?
05:10We can make that argument, but that guy doesn't realistically exist.
05:14So what does exist?
05:15There are some players out there who you could say, okay, if I squint hard and things go right, I
05:20could see this guy working out.
05:22And Diggs is that, to me, would be that type of guy if he is healthy and mentally ready to
05:27go.
05:29Uh, because it happened late in the last show that I was on a week ago, Monday, and you were
05:33on with me when it happened.
05:35Um, we didn't have a lot of time to talk about it, but why do you think they signed Russell
05:39Douglas?
05:42Um, well, I mean, you know, if you look at the, you look at the cornerback situation, you know, Traymos
05:48obviously hasn't practiced at all since practicing his fibula.
05:51Let's just assume he's fine and ready for, for week one.
05:54Um, you know, you got Mikey Sanders still.
05:56We kind of know the deal there.
05:57He's got, he's made some good, good ball instincts to get interceptions, but he's kind of small to play on
06:03the outside, but they're, you know, forget the fact that he struggled in the slot last year.
06:06We don't even know how often they're going to even use a slot, uh, nickel corner, you know, because of
06:11the fact that they're going to play a lot of base.
06:13And then who's the third corner?
06:15I mean, I'm like, you can tell me about Amik Robertson, but look what he did last year in Detroit.
06:19He struggled because he was playing more on the outside.
06:22So I think the, you know, in terms of like, who's the third corner on the outside, I don't think
06:27they had one definitively, you know?
06:28So Douglas is a guy that started a bunch last few years.
06:32Um, you know, he's again, it's not a guy that's going to blow you away.
06:36You're like, wow, their, their corners are strong, but he's at least a viable option.
06:40And I think that, you know, to me, it was pretty clear.
06:43Like, even if the first three you're pretty good about, I don't know who the fourth guy was.
06:47So I think at a minimum, they now have four guys that can feel pretty comfortable with.
06:51And to me, more importantly, they have a bigger guy on the outside that they can turn to if they
06:56want.
06:57Um, so your first category of players that are still out there that you think the team should consider the
07:04most interesting of the five in that category is Trayvon Diggs.
07:08I'm just going to mention one other and Ben's got three others.
07:11So, uh, go to Ben's X account and subscribe to see who those players are.
07:15Cause I've talked, uh, you know, about this player here and there since, you know, the first or second wave
07:22of free agency ended.
07:23He's always been one of my favorite players in the league and that's Keenan Allen, you know, Keenan Allen.
07:30Now you, you wrote this and I tend to agree with you.
07:32I think Keenan Allen's going to be a charger.
07:34I think it'll end up that he ends up resigning with the chargers, but he played with Anthony Lynn when
07:40Anthony Lynn was the chargers head coach.
07:43He is truly one of the most respected locker room guys in the league at that position.
07:49Uh, he'd be, I mean, he and Terry would be like just incredible in terms of that position and having
07:56no diva-ness between, uh, the two elder statesmen, uh, in your locker room at all.
08:01The only reason I thought in addition to, I think that, you know, he's going to probably end up in,
08:07in LA with the chargers again, is that I kind of view Keenan Allen is what they hope.
08:13Trelon Burks might develop into, you know, a larger possession contested catch guy that you can throw the ball to
08:23in contested situations.
08:25And he's got great hands and he's going to come down with it.
08:28And, you know, he's not going to be a yards per catch guy, but he's going to catch, you know,
08:3460, 70, 80 balls that way.
08:37And I just wonder whether or not you view Trelon Burks as kind of the same way they might view
08:43Keenan Allen.
08:45Um, I get what you're saying about the bigger body of all that, but like Keenan Allen is just a
08:52consistent player.
08:54You know, he still gets, I'm not saying Burks is at his level.
08:57I'm just saying that they hope Burks is on the verge of becoming that type of player.
09:02Yeah. Well, the reason why to me, Allen would be interesting is, you know, is the consistency and the reliability.
09:08I don't think those are traits that we know for sure the Trelon Burks had.
09:12If he did, if he did, then he would be, we probably wouldn't have to talk too much about the
09:16number two, uh, receiver.
09:18Cause he probably would be it. So that's to me, like if you're, if you've made the move for a
09:21guy like Allen, you're basically conceding.
09:24We don't have, we don't feel comfortable enough, um, in terms of like a guy we can throw out there
09:28all, you know, frequently to, to be reliable.
09:32Um, and I think he would be that. So, um, I hear what you're saying on, on Burks, but I
09:37think Burks is more of a explosive athlete receiver.
09:40Whereas Allen's precise rat runner, um, and just, you know, things, things all on those lines.
09:45And so I don't view them too much as, as the same. And, you know, as we said, like I,
09:50you know, again, I think Allen most likely goes back to the chargers, but, you know, similar to when they,
09:56when they go out and get Douglas, it's a nod to say, okay, we don't think we have enough here
10:02at corner.
10:03So if they did go for a guy like Allen, it would be a nod to say, Hey, we don't
10:06think we have enough consistent pieces to go here. So let's go add another one.
10:11All right. Uh, the next category you had of potential ads to the roster still among free agents that are
10:19still out there, uh, is a category called worth discussing at the right price.
10:25Give me the most interesting of the few players that you mentioned here, um, to you and maybe to the
10:30team.
10:31Yeah. Well, this is where Stefan Diggs falls in, you know, obviously, uh, you know, for just looking at best
10:38receiver available, he's probably the answer.
10:41But, but they did somewhat similar to Keenan Allen, right? I mean, on the wrong side of 30, um, might
10:46be better off playing in the slot.
10:48Allen actually played, um, more last year on the outside than Diggs did relative to the number of total snaps,
10:55even though we view Allen more as a slot guy.
10:58Um, so yeah, I mean, look, if Stefan Diggs is on this team, you're feeling a lot better about that
11:03second receiver spot guy gets a thousand yards every single year.
11:07It's not going to be the explosive, uh, presence. I think some people may think he is, but you know,
11:12he produces, as we know, I think the question here is it's not the exact same thing as IU, but
11:18Hey, there's distractions.
11:19There's a lot of off the field. Yeah. Including over the last week. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So is that something
11:26you want? Now, again, if they're willing to go down the IU route, maybe they're willing to, to, to, to,
11:32to Pat, to not worry about some of these, uh, things, but that would be, to me, the real holdup
11:37is, you know, how much do they, you know, I, you know, without knowing exactly the details, just to see
11:42what you read, uh, in stories.
11:44But like, you know, what do they know about what's going on with Diggs in general? And then is that
11:47a problem? Um, but you know, again, if you're concerned about your second receiver, it is a pretty simple solution.
11:54Sign this guy and there won't be as much worry just based on production.
12:00Diggs said over the weekend, um, on his, I guess, a podcast. I don't know if it's his. He said,
12:08quote, my opinion, I can compete with anybody. Um, you can't name a number two better than me. Closed quote.
12:17He considers himself still a number one, but he said, you can't, you know, name a number two better than
12:24me right now. Uh, if T Higgins is a number two,
12:27that's a potential better number two, I like Diggs. I wonder whether or not in Keenan Allen wouldn't solve this
12:34problem, but I just think that if they're going to add somebody at that position and Diggs would be super
12:41interesting to me as a fan, cause I'd feel much more confident that they have more than just one now,
12:47but they want somebody who scares a defense vertically.
12:50I don't know if he does that anymore at 32 going on 33 years old. Um, your next category is
12:59what do we have to lose? And you've got several players in this group. Give me the guy that you
13:07think would be worth it because there's nothing to lose.
13:10All right. Well, this one was a late addition and I I'm going to say a name and everybody's going
13:15to yell at me and don't yell at me. Just hear me out.
13:17I know what you're going to say among the six or seven players that you've got listed. Go ahead and
13:24say it.
13:24So this is a player who was on the team last year and I would not, at no point that
13:28I have, I said, boy, they got to bring this guy back. But when you look at where we're at,
13:32this receiver room, if you're, if no Brown is healthy, are we sure he wouldn't be the second best receiver?
13:39But hold on. Here's the thing. The issue of the last two years has been, they had no depth. Should
13:45he get, or especially last year, they had no depth. Should he get hurt?
13:48If I just said to you at some point, Hey, Noah Brown's going to play six games this year. Uh,
13:52but you have enough other pieces behind him when he goes out. Is that worth it?
13:55Now, again, he may not be healthy enough, uh, all that. But like, again, if you're telling me right now,
14:00no Brown's healthy and on this team, is he not probably the second best receiver?
14:05The only issue is again, the depth, but they have guys, they have more, the army Brown here, you know,
14:10uh, right, right.
14:12If they actually have guys with a lot last year, it was like, wait a minute, Terry's holding out.
14:16This guy's already hurt and you have nobody. So, you know, again, if we're just sort of saying, well,
14:21who's the last receiver in the room, I don't know, a healthy Noah Brown. I, again, at this point,
14:27they're going to get the training camp. They're going to like play things out and we'll see,
14:30maybe the first week or so in, it's pretty evident that Antonio Williams is, he's ready to go or that,
14:36you know, the army Brown is still, it shows he's got a lot more than what Jacksonville saw, blah, blah,
14:41blah.
14:42But until we see that the number two spots open and the guy who was that guy the last two
14:46years, um,
14:48is available and you don't have to worry so much about him.
14:52Like it's like the same with like Brandon. Everybody's like, well, it won't cost him anything.
14:55Well, sort of same thing here. It doesn't cost you anything. He's going to play for nothing.
14:59If he gets hurt. Okay. Well that sucks. But now you have options. He's not, he's a,
15:03he's a luxury, not, uh, something you have to have.
15:07Ben said Noah Brown. I didn't. Um, but I do understand your logic on it. And, you know,
15:14they like, they, they have liked him and Jaden, when he's been healthy, has liked him as a big target,
15:20is one of the bigger targets, uh, out there. Who's made himself, you know, available, uh,
15:25when he's been available, that's been, of course, the question, your last category is appreciate the memories.
15:32Is there anybody on this list you think has a chance to come back?
15:39Um, I mean, I don't think so. You know, there's a couple of guys who were just talking,
15:44you know, camp depth, you know, if need be, um, you know, is there a world where
15:49Zach Ertz isn't, you know, saying he wants to come back and play. They, they obviously have made
15:54moves to not have, you know, to, to shore up the tight end room without him, but we still don't
15:59know
16:00definitively if they're going to have a viable red zone replacement for him. Right. So
16:05I don't know. Is there a world where you say, Hey, we screw him. We love having around. Let's
16:09help. Let's bring him in. Let's have him rehab with the understanding that, you know, by week,
16:14whatever it is, week eight, if he's not coming on the roster, we'll let him go or something.
16:18But you know, Hey, maybe by that point we've decided we don't have a good enough red zone option.
16:23And again, I still would say, well, he's older, you know, blah, blah, blah. They already got,
16:27you know, I'd rather see more snaps for Chig and Ben Sennett and Bates, then go back to that route.
16:32But again, if we're just talking about a guy that's available and around and can be in your
16:39locker room and all that stuff and we'll see, maybe, but that, but that's probably about it for me.
16:47Yeah. That that's an interesting one. Um, because you wouldn't have him for a while,
16:53uh, based on when he had his injury, you know, Ben Johnson does have in Chicago,
16:58Cole Komet and Colston Loveland. He's got two tight ends. I'm not making the analogy to,
17:04to Chig and, and Ertz. Ertz though, what you said that just made me think for a moment is
17:10he has been a tremendous sort of red zone target with his size and his ability, um,
17:17um, to make himself available, even if it isn't with a lot of space. Um, yeah, I doubt it, but
17:25I
17:25think that's an interesting one, uh, to consider. Uh, did you see the list of quarterbacks ESPN put
17:32out top 10 ranking for this year or not? I saw who wasn't in the top 10, right? So essentially
17:40he was
17:40tied for 10th. If you read through it, he was tied, uh, for 10th with Caleb Williams, uh, Sam
17:48Darnold and Jordan Love. And so they went, uh, vote wise. They, those four were tied for 10th. So
17:53they went to a group of their, um, contributors and said, here's the tie, you know, vote on who,
18:01you know, break the tie for us. And Caleb Williams broke the tie. And then Sam Darnold came in first
18:07on the honorable mention list. They don't list them alphabetically. So I'm assuming it's,
18:10you know, based on, uh, you know, putting a number in front of it, that would be 11 and Jaden
18:14was 12. So what are your thoughts about, uh, by the way, he only Laramie Tunsell's been on a list
18:22so far, top 10 honorable mention others receiving votes for all of the position groups they've already
18:28done. And what's left is wide receivers. I, I, Terry will be somewhere, uh, even if it's not in the
18:35top
18:3510 honorable mention or others receiving votes, but what did you make of Jaden coming in at 12th?
18:42Yeah. Yeah. Look, I mean, I totally understand why these lists exist. Uh, it's not like I just
18:47didn't write a list, uh, you know, so I understand, especially this time of year, why they exist.
18:52And then, you know, this one is serving, uh, people around the league. Cool. I just find it
18:57in unbelievably short-sighted to, to put Jaden outside the top 10. Now, if you're saying that this
19:04is a longer term, you're, you're, you're, you're thought of the longer term, uh, ranking
19:09and because of the injuries, you just don't know how much you rely on him. Okay. I can
19:14understand that to a degree, but if we're just talking this season again, who, who, uh,
19:20first of all, Jaden would have been brinked way ahead of Sam Darnold. I know Sam Darnold
19:23just won the Superbowl for him. I'm not knocking him, but come on. You're telling me if those two
19:28quarter X are available that anybody in the league would take Sam Darnold. No, right.
19:32I don't buy, I don't buy that at all. Um, and then also even in terms of Caleb Williams
19:36and Drake May, what Jaden did in the 2024 playoffs far exceeded, but either one of those guys
19:41did last season in the, in, in the playoffs.
19:44Well, certainly Drake May, who was terrible in the post season, had that incredible game
19:49against green Bay and the really exciting overtime finish against the Rams, even though
19:55they lost in the snow. Yeah. Right. Right. So, you know, okay. So I'm just saying like,
19:59again, these are all subjective and blah, blah, blah, but like, I, I just, this is just
20:04the classic recency bias because of last year and last year was terrible. I mean, there's
20:09no argument about it. And again, if you, if the injuries are your main concern, that's
20:13cool, but that's not who's the better quarterback today. That's a, who do you want in five years
20:18question. So to me, that's not, that doesn't make much sense. So yeah, he, I don't know where
20:23he would be. I mean, I think last year I probably would have had him fifth. That's fine to not
20:27have him there now. I mean, you know, but like I, I would put him over some of the other
20:32guys, like I said,
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