00:00Here is Trent McDuffie.
00:03Do you know who Trent McDuffie is?
00:05I remember O.J. McDuffie.
00:07O.J. McDuffie is from here.
00:08Northeast Ohio legend.
00:09He ended up playing for the Miami Dolphins.
00:12Northeast Ohio legend, like you said.
00:14Trent McDuffie is Owen, you know.
00:17He was a cornerback for the Chiefs, but now he's with the Los Angeles Rams.
00:22Yes.
00:23Trent McDuffie, he was on.
00:25Super Bowl champ.
00:26Bussing with the boys.
00:28And this is what Trent McDuffie said.
00:31Not about really the acquisition of Myles Garrett, the loss of Jared Verse.
00:37I remember when Myles Garrett got traded.
00:40The news broke.
00:40Sean McVay told the team.
00:41And we went into our DB meeting, and we didn't even meet.
00:44We just talked.
00:45For an hour straight, coach was just like, I'm going to open the floor.
00:47Just get your feelings out.
00:48You know, obviously they lost Jared Verse.
00:49Jared Verse was a huge fart.
00:51Guys loved him.
00:52I could tell.
00:52Dude came to work.
00:53He had high energy.
00:54He was loved.
00:55And I know that kind of hurt a lot of guys.
00:57It's so interesting to hear you talk about the DB room taking an hour to have a conversation
01:00when the result of your team is you got Myles Garrett, who's the reigning defensive player
01:05of the year.
01:05What came out of that conversation?
01:07How were the emotions of the other guys that had been here longer than you and had known
01:11Verse for so long?
01:12That's one of my favorite moments from even just being on the team was Sean McVay standing
01:16up with Jared Verse in the room, saying what happened, letting Jared Verse get up and say
01:20a few words.
01:20And every single guy went up to Jared Verse, shook his hand, gave him words of encouragement.
01:25Guys weren't even like excited, excited.
01:27Knowing you have Myles Garrett coming to the team.
01:29I heard the news.
01:30I started smiling.
01:30I looked around.
01:31I was like, oh.
01:32Everyone was like, whoa.
01:32Jay Verse?
01:33You going to let him go?
01:34And I was like, that's special.
01:35Right there, for me, I was like, there's something here about just how tight-knit this group is.
01:40Feels like college.
01:41Yeah.
01:42Like, it really feels like a home.
01:44Audio courtesy busting with the boys.
01:45That's Trent McDuffie talking more about the loss of Jared Verse than the acquisition of
01:50Myles Garrett, who could be the greatest to ever do it by the time he's all said and done.
01:56Hard not to fall in love with Jared Verse.
01:58Everybody's fallen in love with Jared Verse.
01:59Naturally, when you lose a guy like Myles Garrett and you have to trade a guy like Myles Garrett
02:03and you bring a Jared Verse back, we're going to throw those expectations on him.
02:06Really overly fall in love.
02:08There's the honeymoon period there.
02:11And you've warned us about that, and I agreed with you at the time.
02:14Like, we've got to be careful about our expectations.
02:16Give me 10 sacks and give me that leadership.
02:18Because he spoke to Spencer Fano.
02:23Apparently, he made Spencer Fano.
02:25Spencer Fano wants to put in the work.
02:26He's already, to me, he's already better than Jed Wills, for crying out loud.
02:30Spencer Fano wants to put in the work with Jared Verse.
02:32Make himself better.
02:33Todd Munkin spoke about it yesterday.
02:35Here's what Munkin said about Jared Verse.
02:37The veteran, even though he's only going into his third year, working with the rookie.
02:42Oh, it was really cool.
02:44I walked up to Jared Afton and I said, man, I mean, we're so lucky you're a Brown.
02:48How cool is this?
02:49Because he's not only a great leader, he works his rear end off every day.
02:53And after practice, he's trying to get Spencer better.
02:55And I watched it.
02:56I stood right behind it.
02:58And I'm like, I'm listening to what he's talking to him about.
03:00And it was like, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
03:02It was like five reps in a row of his footwork.
03:04And then talking through what he was going to do.
03:06And now he could redirect.
03:07And now he could use his hands and punch.
03:09And it was like within five reps, I saw it.
03:13I saw Spencer get better.
03:14And it was him teaching him like he was a coach.
03:17And it was awesome.
03:19I want to ask you a question.
03:20And I don't know if I want to make my point yet.
03:22Because this is something that I know out of hell with it.
03:26I'm going to ask the question.
03:27Here we go.
03:30How many games do you think they're going to win this year?
03:33It's a four or five.
03:34How many games did you think they were going to win with Myles Garrett?
03:37Six or seven.
03:40How much of a difference does that matter to you in the long run?
03:46This year was never going to be about this year.
03:48Okay.
03:48Yeah.
03:49They won five games last year.
03:50Set the record.
03:52Set the record for sacks.
03:54It was great the year before.
03:55They won three games.
03:57Whew.
03:59Does leadership matter more to this team?
04:03The 2026 Browns.
04:07I already don't like saying it.
04:09He's turning around in the other room.
04:11I'm doing it.
04:12The hell with it.
04:14Does leadership matter more to this team?
04:16The 2026 Browns.
04:19Then the stats.
04:23Somebody says.
04:24In terms of a rebuild?
04:25Because you're basically saying it's a rebuilding team and this year doesn't matter.
04:28That's what I'm saying.
04:30So you're like building a culture and that stuff.
04:32That's what I'm saying.
04:33Okay.
04:34I'm actually not going to disagree with you about that.
04:38But in the end, if Jared versus like only half the player, Miles, there it is.
04:43Well, wait a minute.
04:45If this team, because there is young talent on this team.
04:50I'm not as over the moon with some of the guys as Nick seems to be.
04:54But there's young talent on this team.
04:57And I think that you do have some of the building blocks to success.
05:00I know what you're saying.
05:01Okay.
05:01I'm not killing you.
05:02But I got to explain myself because people are always coming in.
05:04I'm surprised you didn't just pounce on me and make me look like the biggest idiot who ever lived on
05:08Cleveland Radio.
05:08But I think some people, if they read between the lines, they'll be like, oh, you're kind of damning them
05:13with faint praise.
05:14Because.
05:14It's not.
05:15You're not really giving them much of a shot this year.
05:18But I do this all the time.
05:20And so that's why we're looking for fallbacks.
05:22We're looking for optimism.
05:23We're looking for things.
05:24Like the leadership stuff, that's all great.
05:26Will it matter in December when they've been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs?
05:31Are we going to care about Jared versus leadership?
05:32Well, it depends.
05:33Because, again, you've got a young bunch of guys here.
05:35How many of these guys, like the young guys, like you see Carson Swessinger playing here a long time.
05:41Right now, Casey Concepcion, who just started.
05:43Denzel Boston, who just started.
05:45Spencer Fano, who just started.
05:46You see Grant Delpit here for the foreseeable future.
05:49You see Denzel Ward here for the foreseeable future.
05:51You've got good football players here.
05:52You have talent here.
05:53Your first Super Bowl window is closed.
05:55I don't think that this is a second Super Bowl window yet.
05:58I think it's too premature.
05:59Sorry, Mary Kay.
06:00I know she'll join us at 820.
06:01I lost track of our Super Bowl window.
06:02Let's not get crazy with this.
06:03So, what I'm pointing out is that, hey, Miles Garrett got all the sacks in the world, it seemed, last
06:08year.
06:08And that was the biggest thing.
06:09That's the only thing that we had to look forward to at one point.
06:12That and seeing what the hell Shador Sanders had with last year's offense.
06:14That's the only reason they sent an actual broadcasting crew to those final two games.
06:19They won five games.
06:20They won five games.
06:22And you said it last year.
06:23They probably would have won four had it not been for Aaron Rodgers being so deathly afraid of Miles Garrett.
06:28But he just didn't want the record set against him.
06:30So, say Miles Garrett had 17 sacks when Aaron Rodgers just lined up and let it fly and possibly beaten
06:37the Cleveland Bronx.
06:38I can't say that for sure.
06:39Garrett won those two games.
06:41He won the Rams game, the Jordan Love, just inexplicably throwing the ball over the middle of the field.
06:47The bottom line matters more than anything.
06:50And I'm a rah-rah guy.
06:51And I know people like to do the cut and dry, black or white.
06:54I live in a gray area here.
06:56So, I am putting my toes in the pool.
06:59And I want to ask everyone.
07:00We have Allison Howard coming up at 720.
07:02Cleveland Sirens president.
07:04So, 216-474-0092.
07:07I didn't really give you the best case.
07:09Don't have a lot of time to do it.
07:11This is a long game theory.
07:12Because I'm telling you, by the time December comes around, if I'm saying they can win six games and that's
07:18where it is,
07:19and you're saying four or five, there's going to be a lot of you on a Browns Monday going,
07:23What did you say about that leadership, Ken?
07:25What are you saying there, dummy?
07:28I'm telling you, I'm playing the long game on this.
07:30I'm not trying to kill you because...
07:33This is something I think I'm right about in 2028.
07:35Right, right.
07:36And that's what we'd be banking on, is that young nucleus, that either the quarterback emerges this year,
07:43maybe Shador, we talked about leadership, by the way, and this is no sarcasm, no me trying to get anybody
07:48going,
07:49no battling with any radio show host in town.
07:52I'm being dead honest here.
07:53By the end of the year, if Shador Sanders was actually hitting his stride, and Munkin has done wonders with
08:02the offensive room,
08:03and we have seen steps, and we've seen these electric receivers in Boston, I mean, I didn't text yesterday, Mike
08:10Williams,
08:11I mean, Mike Evans, I'm sorry, Mike Evans, Mike Evans' text about Boston yesterday.
08:15Okay, and KC Concepcion, maybe he is.
08:19Maybe he is this dynamic, and all of a sudden, Munkin's got all the pieces working,
08:23and he's really the madman in the lab, you know, getting all this stuff together.
08:27Maybe your quarterback is showing leadership.
08:30I mean, we've discounted that, and not because we don't think Shador could be a leader,
08:34but you've got to be a starting quarterback.
08:36You can't do the Jameis Winston thing and be the backup.
08:38Took the words out of my mouth, man.
08:39So, now, you've got leadership on offense, now you've got leadership on defense, like, this is the plan, right?
08:46And that's why Jimmy Haslam, you know, he might say he's taking the over this year.
08:49He's not expecting playoffs this year.
08:51But the next year he is, because that's the NFL, you better be able to do this in two years.
08:58I cannot believe how many people agree with me on this.
09:01And what scares me is that we are still in the honeymoon phase.
09:04Oh, but that's a glorious place to be this time of year.
09:06And that's fine to say on, what is it, August 6th?
09:08Uh-huh.
09:08But October 31st, if Jared Verse has two sacks, I don't even think the win total matters.
09:16I think if Jared Verse has two sacks and Myles Garrett has 12 sacks, the situations,
09:25we can do all the explaining we want about how the Rams are set in this place
09:29and the Browns are set up for this, but you know that Monday morning.
09:34You were totally distracted by somebody else who walked into the room over there?
09:39I said that.
09:40I said, I got to play the long game.
09:41I said, in December, if they go out there and they lose one of these games and it's like,
09:44he has eight sacks and Myles Garrett and the Rams are 12 and whatever, and they look like
09:50they're just getting ready for the Super Bowl.
09:52Like, I'm going to catch hell.
09:54I know I'm catching hell in December for this.
09:56Oh, believe me, I've put the bullets in the chamber over there.
09:59And you should.
10:00And you should, because I said it and I have to own it, but I also want to say I'm
10:06playing
10:07the long game on this.
10:09Like, I go back to it, and I know I said, well, preseason matters, because I'm trying
10:14to find a team that has guts and heart, and we've missed it in the biggest position possible.
10:23And while I, Myles is a good dude, never had a crossword with him, nice to the kids, whole
10:30deal.
10:30I do think he stared us down at an event once.
10:32No, he was mad because he was there.
10:34He was fine with us.
10:36We are on good terms with him.
10:38Yes, you nut job.
10:41You are more perceptive about those things than I am.
10:43But, I'm just asking, if we're not going to win many games, do you want, because don't
10:50act like you didn't say, like, what are we, what is this about?
10:53Is this about the glorification of one guy, or are we actually trying to be a good football
10:56team?
10:56You brought that up late last season.
10:58You did.
10:59You said you had to ask that question, Anthony.
11:01That was odd.
11:02I mean, the whole final stretch of the season where, on TV, the only thing the broadcasters
11:07cared about was the Myles Garrett sack record.
11:10I will get to the phones here in a second.
11:11It's the only reason that we had the A-team or B-team on some of these broadcasts.
11:15See, here's Devil's Advocate, and then we'll get to the phones and social media reaction
11:18brought to you by Scheiben Jewelers, Cleveland's premier jewelry store.
11:20CD says people are talking about verse changing the culture in the same way they talked about
11:25Jarvis Landry changing the culture after the speech on Hard Knocks.
11:28Find a quarterback.
11:29So, oh, they don't, but I'm sorry, CD, was it CD?
11:33They don't fall for trees.
11:34I can't get them right now.
11:36Who was I supposed to get?
11:38There was no trade-up this year.
11:40I have who I have, and one of them is basically a pariah to Browns fans that apparently they
11:44booed the other day.
11:45I don't even know if that's true, but you hear that stuff.
11:48And the other one is a guy that, hey, is a really, really likable guy, but also, no,
11:55I'm not going to say what I don't believe, and I think we're looking for a quarterback
11:58in 2027.
11:59I want him to do well, but what I want and what I'm going to get are probably two different
12:03things.
12:04And then you got Dylan Gabriel, which I think is better for Shador Sanders, and I'll
12:07explain that coming up at 8 o'clock.
12:082-1-6-4-7-4-0-92.
12:10So if I can't get a quarterback, I still, I can't not still try to build a team.
12:16They can't just exist because I don't have a quarterback.
12:18That's not the way to do it.
12:19We've done that before.
12:20But are we willing to set through it?
12:21Because you're not going to get the payoff of this, of this conversation for at least
12:25a year, if not more, right?
12:27I'm doing two.
12:30Take yourself, Ken Carman, out of it.
12:32If you were just Kenny that works at the Stone Quarry, right, that's breaking rocks, are
12:37you willing to set and wait for two years?
12:39No, but if I'm Kenny who is, and this is going to be a little bit elitist, if I'm
12:45Kenny who works back at the Stone Plant like I did back in the day, and I haven't been
12:51around football teams, and I haven't been around coaches, and talked to coaches, and
12:55talked to guys who actually have moved people's emotions and made them better players and
13:00better people, I wouldn't believe that.
13:02It's just like, just give me the stats, man.
13:03Just give me the, stop talking about all this crap that isn't going to happen.
13:08And I want to know the real stuff.
13:11Because guys like Jared Verse, I'm telling you this, like what CD says, guys like Jared
13:15Verse makes it easier for the quarterback, whoever that is.
13:18That's what I'm saying.
13:19Like, if you don't have that, then I got to put everything on that new quarterback, and
13:24I got to go, hey, you got to lead this football team, and you got veterans on this team who
13:28might be looking at you going, whatever.
13:30However, you got to lead this football team that hasn't not been just not good over the
13:34last couple of years.
13:35They've had a very bad history for 30 years, and you have to be a savior of this franchise.
13:40And what did we do with the last guy?
13:42We gave him the keys to the building way before he could deal with it.
13:46Way before he was ready for the mantle of leadership.
13:49And he's admitted that himself.
13:50A guy like Jared Verse makes it easier for him.
13:53A guy like Swessinger makes it easier for him.
13:56A guy like Grant Delpit may very well make it easier for him.
14:00Denzel Ward as well.
14:02So I want to make this as easy as possible.
14:05Not just with good players, but with good guys who are not just, they don't have to sit
14:09there and be choir boys, but they got to go out there and be the type of leaders that
14:14we need them to be to make it easier for.
14:16If it's Shador, wonderful.
14:18If it's some guy playing in college, Julian Sands, CJ Card, Lenora Sellers, et cetera, et
14:23cetera, et cetera, even better.
14:25Fine.
14:26Fine.
14:26Well, not even better because that means I got to probably give up draft picks and two
14:30draft picks, but you get what I'm pointing out here.
14:32So a guy like Jared Verse makes it easier.
14:35Did Miles Garrett make it easier for Baker Mayfield?
14:37I don't know.
14:38Remember the Mary Kay article about basically it was him or me.
14:42And now we don't have either.
14:44Funny how that works out.
14:46I'm not doing champions pose and I'm not going to do it for a while.
14:49I'm going to take a beating on this and I deserve it.
14:52And I'll be waiting for it.
14:53I'll say the same damn thing.
14:55Because I guarantee if I think they're only going to win six games, that means that they're
14:58going to, we're going to come in here and they're going to get boat raced in some of
15:00these things.
15:01And you guys are going to be upset and you're going to call me the biggest idiot in the
15:03world.
15:04And I know that I'm just going to have to stand in here and this and take it.
15:07And that's fine.
15:08I'm playing the long game on Jared verse.
15:10Damn it.
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