00:00All right. There is, you know, some news from the park since the end of the show yesterday.
00:07We got injuries mounting all over the place. Another one maybe today.
00:14Now maybe the possibility that starters play Saturday against Detroit.
00:19Quinn said that a good amount of starters will get playing time against Detroit.
00:25No specifics, including nothing specific about Jaden Daniels and whether or not he will start.
00:34But yesterday it was learned that that pec injury that Johnny Newton had is going to require surgery.
00:42So he's out for a while. Crucial season for Johnny Newton.
00:47Let's not kid ourselves. This guy was an early second round pick.
00:51You know, described as kind of a steal early in the second round because some had late first round grades
01:00on him.
01:01You know, they weren't peacocking like the Snyder era group would do, like with Darius Geis.
01:08I'll never forget that. My God, you would have thought the guy was supposed to get picked number one overall
01:12with the way Bruce Allen and others were talking about getting Darius Geis late in the second round of that
01:19draft.
01:19By the way, Jay Gruden thought Darius Geis, had he been healthy, had he not been in some trouble,
01:27he thought he had superstar talent. He really did.
01:31Really loved the upside of Darius Geis. Obviously, it did not work out.
01:35But I'm not suggesting that when they selected Johnny Newton as the highest rated player on their board
01:42in their first draft year with their second pick after Jaden was picked at number two overall,
01:49that they somehow told us like they, you know, they're playing chess and everybody else is playing checkers
01:55that they know they got a first round talent.
01:57They did say we got a guy that we did not expect to be there in Johnny Newton and we
02:05couldn't pass on him.
02:06Johnny Newton was a really good college football player, people.
02:11He was the Big Ten defensive player of the year at Illinois.
02:14He had some injuries coming into that draft and I think that set him back a little bit in his
02:20first year.
02:21We've seen flashes, but nothing consistent.
02:24If you believe what I believe, which is you need three years, three full seasons to actually judge a draft,
02:33well, the 2024 draft is on the verge of taking a big blow.
02:38And that is their second player picked, Johnny Newton, early in the second round,
02:43is more likely than not going to have a difficult time making a big impact on a big portion of
02:50his third season.
02:51And he hasn't made a big impact yet.
02:54So there is that.
02:56That is an injury that is of note.
03:01Rashad White, you know, I think we mentioned this yesterday, hamstring injury.
03:05No, it was not from the ALS ice bucket challenge.
03:08For those of you that followed that fun little bit.
03:12What did you say?
03:12Warren Sharpe was the one who put that video out and heavily implied that it could have been that.
03:18So I was thanking Warren for that entertainment last night.
03:21I didn't know that it was Warren.
03:23I like Warren a lot, but it was not that.
03:26It actually happened in the joint practice last week with the Dolphins.
03:32Nick Allegretti, once again, a little bit banged up in practice yesterday.
03:38He is now likely out of the upcoming preseason game.
03:43Like part of me is wondering, I want Jaden to play, but I want him to play because I want
03:48him to play with his center, Nick Allegretti.
03:51I want him to play with the right pieces around him.
03:54I want them to have a legitimate dress rehearsal for a series or two, preferably two.
04:02We'll see what happens.
04:03We knew about Chason, we've known about McGee, and then you said that right before we went live on the
04:11show, you said somebody's reporting that Deron Payne was banged up today.
04:14Yes, Tashaun Reed has tweeted out that you can add Deron Payne to the extensive list of injured players.
04:22It is undisclosed, so we don't know what's going on, but Dan Quinn will surely be asked about it tomorrow.
04:28Yeah, I mean, look, the bottom line is if you go through the whole list, right, Mariota, Tunsil, okay, Tunsil,
04:34the big one.
04:35Tunsil, the one that is for, more likely than not, the season.
04:40It could be less than the season.
04:42He could be back in early December, and if they're in the mix for a playoff run, he could end
04:47up being a significant part of the 2026 late season and postseason.
04:52Fingers crossed, but devastating injury there.
04:56Marcus Mariota, the backup quarterback, MCL, he is starting to work out out on the field, should be ready to
05:03back up Jaden Daniels in the opener.
05:05We certainly now, with Johnny Newton, have a more serious, longer-term injury.
05:11Then you just go down the list.
05:13Trey Amos obviously has missed a bunch of camp, and he's not back to 100% yet.
05:19Same with John Bates, Jeremy McNichols has a quad, Jerome Ford, River Craycraft, remember him from last year, they brought
05:26him back.
05:27Those guys are on the IR.
05:29Dietrich Wise is still on the pup.
05:31We do have Dorrance Armstrong coming back, but we found out, you know, the other day that he's suspended for
05:36week one.
05:38Tim Settles had the calf injury that he's been dealing with.
05:42Who am I forgetting?
05:43Always got calf tightness.
05:45Always got a calf injury.
05:47Chason's got the knee.
05:48Yeah.
05:49It's a long list.
05:51Yeah, it's mounting.
05:53I'll tell you what, though.
05:55The Tunsil injury is the most serious.
05:57They do have, I think, some depth up front that they can perhaps, I mean, I think there was some
06:06expectations for Johnny Newton.
06:08Maybe not recently, as in the last week, because of what happened on the opening drive, opening two drives, really,
06:15on Friday night, for whatever that's worth.
06:18But they do have, obviously, Tim Settles as a guy that can play inside, can play nose.
06:26Who's this, in terms of a pass rusher, interior or exterior, up front, Omenihue is a guy that I know
06:33they like.
06:35Barber played well the other night.
06:36The guy that played well in the second half, I don't know how much this is worth, but the former
06:40Terp, Byron Cowart, showed well.
06:43And apparently they do like him.
06:45He's been in the league for a while.
06:46He was a good player at Maryland, transferred from Auburn.
06:49And I'm pretty sure that's the Byron Cowart that transferred from Auburn when he came to Maryland.
06:56Look that up for me.
06:57See if I got that right.
06:58I think it was Auburn.
07:01And then, of course, they had What's-His-Face transferred to Auburn from Maryland.
07:05And he's in the NFL.
07:06I'm forgetting his name right now.
07:07But, you know, they've got some guys.
07:11They've added, you know, 11, 12, 13 new defensive players.
07:15Nine or ten of them they're expecting to play.
07:18But around the league yesterday, man, a devastating injury in Houston.
07:24Because Jaden Higgins, the wide receiver, the 6'4 1⁄2 wide receiver for a team that is considered to be
07:32a Super Bowl contender in 2026.
07:35He is the number two to Nico Collins in Houston.
07:39Second year, second round pick in 2025.
07:42Torn ACL in the joint practice that Houston had on Tuesday with the Raiders.
07:48He played really well at the end of last year.
07:51Had a good game in the game that they lost in Foxborough.
07:54He ended up being really the only legitimate target that C.J. Stroud was able to find because they didn't
08:01have Collins in that game.
08:02And then they lost Dalton Schultz during the game, their tight end.
08:05And then, you know, C.J. Stroud just started throwing the ball to the other team over and over again.
08:11That was absurd.
08:13That game still stings for me because I had Houston to win the AFC championship from about midseason on.
08:20And then I had them for the maximum allowed against New England in that game.
08:24All they had to do was punt it 12 or 13 times and they would have won the game instead
08:28of turning it over and giving New England short fields.
08:31But that is a big, big blow.
08:34A true number two.
08:36Help me with this, Max.
08:37I was thinking about this yesterday when I saw that Higgins went down.
08:40I can't think of a pair of receivers that are more similar physically and even stylistically than Nico Collins and
08:52Jaden Higgins.
08:52They're both 6'4 plus.
08:55Collins is closer to 6'5 probably.
08:58They both, you know, have that incredible one-on-one contested catch ability.
09:03They both have separation ability.
09:05They look alike.
09:06Like, is there a pair of a number one and a number two receiver in the league where both of
09:13them are 6'4 or taller?
09:15That's a good question.
09:18I was thinking.
09:20How tall is Michael Pittman?
09:21Is he 6'1 or is he taller?
09:23Pittman is not 6'4.
09:25That's true.
09:27Yeah, he's not Metcalfe size, I don't think.
09:29What about.
09:30No, wait.
09:31Pittman is 6'4.
09:32Is he?
09:32Yeah.
09:33Hey, listen.
09:35I'm looking right now.
09:36What's Alec Pierce?
09:37What's Alec Pierce now that Keenan Allen's joined the team?
09:40He strikes me as like a 5'11 guy.
09:426'3.
09:43No, no, no.
09:44Pierce is tall.
09:45He's 6'3.
09:46Yeah.
09:46And Allen's 6'3, right?
09:50Probably.
09:51I think he's taller than that.
09:53No.
09:53My God.
09:54Is Keenan Allen shrinking?
09:55He's 6'2.
09:57Ah, he's not 6'2.
09:59Listen.
10:00These are pro football references.
10:01He doesn't play 6'2.
10:03Well, I mean, I guess the point that I'm.
10:05So what are you saying?
10:06That Pittman and Metcalfe are both 6'4 or taller?
10:09Yeah.
10:09Okay.
10:10So that's the one?
10:11That's the group?
10:12That would be the first one that comes to mind at least.
10:15Yeah.
10:18Metcalfe, by the way, also is just flat out bigger and stronger than every dude that we're
10:22talking about because he's got to be 6'4, 240, 230, right?
10:28I mean, he's just a big, large man.
10:31Nico Collins isn't that.
10:33Jaden Higgins isn't that.
10:35The height, yes, but not the rest of it.
10:39What's he weigh?
10:416'4, 235.
10:43Metcalfe.
10:45Collins.
10:476'4, 222.
10:50And then Higgins is probably 6'4, 215, something like that, right?
10:56Let me see if I can get that real quickly.
11:026'4, 215.
11:03Did I just say that?
11:04I think there's a negative room.
11:06Tank Dell is back.
11:07Remember after that horrific injury a couple of years ago, but he's a little.
11:11And he's practicing very little.
11:13The Houston team is a team, after adding David Montgomery in the offseason,
11:20you know, that you're not, this is a team that had some issues at running back
11:26as the season went along.
11:27I mean, the rookie from USC, you know, Marks, Woody Marks, he had a decent season.
11:37But look, that defense is going to give them a chance every week.
11:42CJ Stroud just has to be able to manage the game this year.
11:45You know, it's funny.
11:46I like CJ Stroud.
11:47The offensive line needs to block for him, too.
11:48That was the other issue last year.
11:50Well, they had a major problem there, too.
11:51And then he didn't have anybody to throw to in that playoff game in Foxboro.
11:55Yeah.
11:57But I actually don't think CJ Stroud is that bad.
12:01I think he has a chance to bounce back.
12:04You know, they've got, look, he's one of those guys.
12:08He's not going to do it on his own.
12:10He's not going to strap a team to his back and do it on his own.
12:13He needs the running back.
12:15He needs the supporting cast.
12:17And he lost a big part of that supporting cast in a rising, you know, true number two,
12:25for sure, in Jaden Higgins.
12:28Also, and I think this happened.
12:29Did this happen after the show yesterday, Tyler Biotish, that we read about?
12:34No, no, it happened two days ago, and then the news officially broke at some point.
12:39We didn't talk about it yesterday, did we?
12:40No, we didn't.
12:41I think we might have off air a little bit, but it was.
12:43Oh, well, then my fault for not getting to it.
12:45Tyler Biotish, who signed that three-year deal with the Chargers after he was released here.
12:51ACL damage.
12:53There's still more to come, but it looks like a pretty bad knee injury.
12:58And, man, that team last year, let's face it, the offensive line was a train wreck.
13:06Justin Herbert, I think, got sacked as much as anybody in the league,
13:09got pressured as much as anybody in the league, and it got to him.
13:13It legitimately got to him last year.
13:16And that team still, still ended up in the postseason at 11-6, but got run out of the building
13:26by the –
13:27well, they didn't get run out of the building.
13:28They just couldn't move the football or score against New England in the wild card round.
13:32And they lost for Sean Slater in the preseason last year.
13:36He's back, and, you know, he ended up being the highest paid left tackle in the game
13:41until Tunsil got the extension in terms of average annual.
13:44Well, they – you know, Joe Walt was missing last year.
13:47That offensive line has to be intact, and they just lost the center that they were excited about.
13:52You know, when he went down, I was reading a little bit about the reaction.
13:57Harbaugh and others, they really thought that Tyler Biotish was having an excellent camp,
14:01and they felt like they were in good hands with Biotish at center.
14:06Not sure why we didn't like him, but a little bit more pressure on Allegretti.
14:13But Biotish isn't going to play for a while, it would appear, in L.A.
