2025 NFL Free Agency Frenzy

Welcome to a special free agency frenzy edition of the Pine Pony Podcast! We dive into the boatload of movement around the NFL, discussing the latest signings, trades, and rumors. From Jerry Jones' controversial views on free agency to the surprising $40M guaranteed contract for Derek Carr with the Saints, we have it all covered. We also discuss the shocking allegations against Le'Veon Bell and P Diddy's rumored misdeeds. Other highlights include the Seahawks signing Sam Darnold, Justin Fields going to the Jets, Geno Smith reuniting with Pete Carroll, and top performances by teams like the Patriots and Panthers. Join us as we break down what teams need heading into the 2025-2026 NFL season and speculate on future trades, including where Aaron Rodgers might land. All this and more on this jam-packed episode!

Transcript

Jason: 0:00

Welcome. Welcome. Welcome to a free agency frenzy edition of the pond pony

pershin: 0:06

podcast.

Jason: 0:07

It's what's happening in Persian.

pershin: 0:09

Not much, man. A boatload of movement around the league excited to dive in.

Jason: 0:17

Are you feeling the frenzy?

pershin: 0:20

I am, I am feeling the frenzy. It's I guess you could say I expected it. But still it's, it's, it's a lot of shit that went down yesterday. So, I mean, some more shit went down today and we'll cover as much ground as we possibly can, but especially yesterday, holy shit.

Jason: 0:41

Well, with that being said, let's start the show.

0:47

The Pied Pony Podcast.

Jason: 0:52

So to open the show, we want to get into the free agency, but first I have some other information. And that is this. Fun fact! The Cowboys haven't signed a free agent over 6 million dollars since 2015. It's like they refuse to pay free agents. So, don't count on it. Don't count on it. I imagine that's like people they bring in off a free agency, not necessarily like their own free agents that maybe they resigned.

pershin: 1:26

I

Jason: 1:28

did, or maybe I

pershin: 1:29

did say, I did see that Last weekend, Jerry Jones said that he does not believe that free agency is fulfilling needs. I think that's a crazy thing to say because that is exactly what free agency should be about. They say that the, the best practice is is where you go into the draft without absolutely having a draft, a particular position or two. And that way you could actually just be free to take. The best players that fall to you. Apparently Jerry Jones is he just thinks that the draft is That's the way the only way you're supposed to build your team and I just feel like that's kind of crazy

Jason: 2:16

stupid

pershin: 2:17

That's just kind of crazy

Jason: 2:19

That's the way the Packers build. I mean they you know, they like to be in a position where they're drafting where they can just You know, get a couple players where they, you know, need to fill a hole here and there, but like, otherwise, they're just drafting best available at the position they want.

pershin: 2:36

Yeah. Yeah, I thought that was a crazy thing to say Sometimes I wonder if he doesn't just say this stuff on purpose just so that people will be like damn But look at this crazy thing. He just said you know what I mean? Like

Jason: 2:49

man, look at what this crazy old white guy just said but

pershin: 2:52

after hearing that fun fact about them Not paying anybody to come to their team since what 2016. Is that what you said?

Jason: 3:01

15 2015

pershin: 3:04

Yeah, so a full 10 years decade I guess he, he really meant that. So

Jason: 3:11

it's crazy how he never gets mentioned as like one of the worst owners in the league. Like more so than like, you know, like temper gets mentioned a lot as a terrible owner.

pershin: 3:23

Yeah.

Jason: 3:24

But it's like no one really mentions Jerry Jones.

pershin: 3:27

Yeah. I'm surprised he isn't on the players list. The players must like him. He probably be buying them gifts and shit.

Jason: 3:36

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. For sure. In other news, Le'Veon Bell turns out he's a piece of crap. Did you hear the latest news about him? I did not. What

pershin: 3:45

happened?

Jason: 3:47

His cousin, Jade Bell, won 25 million in a court case where Le'Veon Bell was accused of incestual you know, things.

pershin: 4:02

Wow. And what

Jason: 4:03

have you, while she was like six years old.

pershin: 4:08

Wow. So

Jason: 4:10

right.

pershin: 4:11

Sexual abuse on a 6-year-old, that was his cousin.

Jason: 4:17

That's correct.

pershin: 4:18

Geez. Wow. I did not hear this. Wow, man.

Jason: 4:25

Yeah, it's crazy out there.

pershin: 4:26

You stay away from the news for one dance, and people start diddling their nephews and shit, like

Jason: 4:36

Can you imagine? I mean, well, speaking of diddlin OBJ is denying his Involvement? Involvement in Diddy, like, Drewski are allegedly a victim of Diddy, of the Diddler.

pershin: 4:55

Yeah, I don't know what the, what the exact like rumor is, like what the. What, what, what it is that supposedly went down, but you got to think even if he is a victim, he just does not want to be tied to it at all. You know,

Jason: 5:13

right, right. He doesn't want any of that. Shit's crazy though, man. Yeah. Yeah.

pershin: 5:20

P Diddy was, he's just a crazy, crazy person. He didn't just victimize like, Powerless people. He victimized like celebrities. Powerful people. He gave no fucks, man.

Jason: 5:35

No fucks. No fucks forgiven. And on that note, starting with free agency talk, one little tidbit. This is when we were talking about MLB and their hard caps and not having one and the NBA. This is hard cap work at its finest right here in the NFL. The Saints had to convert and basically guarantee 40 million dollars to Derek Carr, a quarterback they don't want. Yeah. To get, to get under the cap.

pershin: 6:12

Yeah.

Jason: 6:12

To get under the cap.

pershin: 6:13

Yeah, I saw that. I saw that.

Jason: 6:18

Oh man, that's hilarious to me. That's just like, like It just amazes me at how poorly run some of these, you know, teams are and then you've got Green Bay who's not owned by one sole person who just somehow is just like, like even the guys they signed recently, it's like all the money's guaranteed on the first year. So it's like, who cares after that? Like these guys aren't going to get the rest of that.

pershin: 6:51

Yeah, I'm starting to think it helps like when it's like ownership groups instead of just one owner Because it's almost like how like you could have like one crazy president Never, never, never had that happen before, but

Jason: 7:07

oh boy,

pershin: 7:08

but if you've got like an entire Congress of like some 400 different people or whatever, it's like, okay, they all got to go crazy before crazy stuff starts happening.

Jason: 7:20

Wow. Yeah, cause cause that's not happening either. Bad analogy, bad analogy. I

pershin: 7:26

mean, we had a nice run, right?

Jason: 7:27

But I get your point. 300 years or something. I get your point. We made it this far. We made it this far. Oh boy. And so getting to the free agency talk, quarterbacks are starting to fly off the shelf. So, so far what we've got here is Sam Darnold to Seahawks worth three years, a hundred point 5 million.

pershin: 7:56

That's actually more, that's actually more than I thought he'd get.

Jason: 8:00

And we knew he was going there once. Everybody kind of sniffed it out once Gino Smith was, was moved over to, what, the Raiders, right?

pershin: 8:12

Yeah.

Jason: 8:13

Where'd he go? Yeah,

pershin: 8:13

he, he went to reunite with Pete Carroll in Las Vegas, yeah, so then you got Gino Smith and the Raiders. He was on a team friendly deal too, so it's like, you're not gonna trade away a starting quarterback that's basically pretty cheap. Unless you already have something lined up, you know, so

Jason: 8:34

yeah, right. Yeah, so I mean that'll be interesting to see if Sam Darnold can continue what he did in Minnesota or if if he turns back into a pumpkin

pershin: 8:47

it's gonna be an interesting test right here because it He is definitely going to have lesser weapons and a lesser offensive line.

Jason: 8:58

Listen, listen. So I, if I'm a Seattle fan, I'm not, I, I don't, I, you know, I am not liking what my team has done this off season. No. So we have gotten rid of virtually everybody to bring a, a quarterback. So we've gotten rid of everybody to bring in. A quarterback for three years for a hundred point five million dollars. So, so when are you going to get all these people and the crazy to replace the crazy thing is still have this guy. The

pershin: 9:33

crazy thing is, is that you basically overpaid to get this guy. And you gave up people that were on reasonable deals already. So it's like, what, you're putting all your eggs in the Darnold basket? Really? Like, that's risky as hell, bro. That is so risky. It's like, so the big glaring thing on their team is that offensive line. And they've done nothing to upgrade the offensive line yet. It's, I mean, aye, aye, aye.

Jason: 10:04

It's, it's, it's crazy. It's crazy. The other one, the other quarterback to come off the, the, the board is Justin Fields went to the Jets for 40 million, two years, 40 million.

pershin: 10:25

Yeah. This was one of the first signings too. This was, this was surprising. I thought maybe. would be one of the final dominoes to fall. But in actuality, the jets apparently wanted to go after him. They think that he is viable and they, they not only believe, but now we have seen that, you know, you don't have to pay him that much. So basically, and they're, and they're thinking, They got to start in quarterback for the next two years on a cheap deal. Now, of course, this is Woody Johnson. So who knows how, how well this is going to go, even if fields does put his best foot forward, but you know, obviously the track record is not so great, very inconsistent hopefully he could kind of put it all together and be the kind of quarterback that. We were all hoping he could be when he entered the league, but at least at least they didn't pay him three years a hundred million Like Seattle, you know what I mean? At least if they're gonna take a risk It's not with so many eggs in that basket.

Jason: 11:40

I guess This would be the draft to do it. They are gonna need to you know, offensive line Yeah, I agree. Right? So yeah, I

pershin: 11:50

agree that offensive line was not so good last year

Jason: 11:55

Yeah, so I mean, I don't know. I don't really like it for the Jets. I mean, I'm fine with the money. I'm not, I'm not sold on Justin Fields really anymore. I'm kind of down on them, man. Man got benched for Russell Wilson and then couldn't even fucking, Russell Wilson lost five straight and couldn't eight. Justin Fields couldn't even start over. I

pershin: 12:16

know, and Arthur Smith was mad at Russell Wilson for changing the play calls and he still kept him in over Fields. Still, still kept him

Jason: 12:24

in. And then not on top of that, the Steelers didn't go to re sign him real quick. The Steelers are sitting there like, putting their foot around like, who are they going to sign? Now they're fucking left with Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers. It's, back to that in a minute. So off the board after that, Daniel Jones to the Colt one year, 14 million. I like it, man. Put a little pressure on AR 15. I mean, Daniel Jones certainly is capable of like throwing the ball. He's not very good, but I mean, he can, he can play. I

pershin: 12:58

thought the interesting part of this was like. He got not exactly starter money, but he also got more than backup money. You know what I mean? So it's like he, he really is truly a maybe starter for them. I think is what's going on.

Jason: 13:15

Oh, this is going to be a full out QB competition.

pershin: 13:18

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, to be honest with you, my money's on Jones. I actually think Daniel Jones, despite him being. God awful. I think he's actually gonna beat out Anthony Richardson for that job.

Jason: 13:29

Badmoney's on Jones for half a season and then it's back to AR 15.

pershin: 13:34

Yeah, we'll see how many weeks he can keep it, right?

Jason: 13:40

Yeah, Jimmy G, he went, he's, he's Rams. He's ramming it up one year, 4 million. Good for him. Zach Wilson, he's, he's at the Dolphins one year, 6 million. It's, I'm glad these guys are finding, finding roles. Josh Dobbs.

pershin: 13:57

I just think that Garoppolo may not be amazing but I feel like he's proven more than Wilson has proven and he gets the worst deal. Like, I don't get that.

Jason: 14:09

He is a terrible agent. Terrible

pershin: 14:11

agent.

Jason: 14:14

Josh Dobbs, Patriots, two years, eight million dollars. We're gonna talk about the Patriots because they've been doing work. Rabel's been doing work.

pershin: 14:23

Oh man, the Patriots and the Panthers.

Jason: 14:26

Yes. Jared Stidham, Broncos, two years, 12 million. How do you feel about that Broncos fan? I like it. I like it. I

pershin: 14:33

like it. I think he's pretty good. He's, he, he could keep your team, he could give your team at least a shot to win if he needs to go in there.

Jason: 14:42

Absolutely. Nick Mullins, Jags, two years, six and a half million dollars. Dude, he's stealing them. He's stealing money.

pershin: 14:51

I actually didn't see that one. So Is mac jones a free agent right now, or is he on a team?

Jason: 14:59

I have to look him up. Go ahead, but continue with your thought

pershin: 15:02

yeah, I I think that the patriots thing is really interesting because they They had a really good backup and joe milton. He literally had to come in for a game and a half and Looked good in his five quarters that he played or whatever it was. And so you would think they like, Oh, well, we got our starting quarterback on a rookie deal and we got our backup on a rookie deal, very cheap QB room. But then they bring in another backup jobs, obviously. And so that makes you think like, Oh, maybe they've got Milton on the trade block because you know, he's young bunch of bunch of QB needy teams out there. Maybe someone's willing to send them a third or something. I don't know. It's two fourths or something to trade out Milton. Yeah.

Jason: 15:57

So he's done. Yeah. Yeah. Mac Jones is on the streets. Wow.

pershin: 16:05

Can't even get a job. Damn.

Jason: 16:08

Yeah, bro. On the streets. Yeah. And then trade wise, what happened? Kenny Pickett went to the Browns for DTR in a fifth round pick. Wow. And various others. Wow. Like, What's funny, So you gotta think, What's funny is, Kenny Pickett's the starter?

pershin: 16:29

Wait, I guess he's gonna be competing for it. My, my guess is that they, They draft Cam Ward or Shadur Sanders. Maybe even they draft Jackson Dart or something, and they have whoever, whatever rookie they bring in, they have compete with Pickett. That's probably the plan. I, I was, I, I was definitely shocked to see that they actually traded something to get Pickett, though. Like, you, you would have, you would have thought, like, if it's Pickett, You don't, like, what's the difference between Pickett and Gardner Minshew, Mac Jones, or just, just sign Joe Flacco or whatever. Or

Jason: 17:12

DTR. Or just keep

pershin: 17:14

DTR. I don't, I don't know that Pickett is worth a fit. Like, I don't know. I thought that was weird.

Jason: 17:21

I think. Well, it's the, I mean, they're, they're trying to find a way to make, make it all work out.

pershin: 17:28

Yeah. Yeah.

Jason: 17:30

Well, and then, so, on a, on a rumor mill note, there's thoughts that Browns might try to look at Kirk Cousins.

pershin: 17:41

Yeah, Kirk said he wanted out. He said he, he wanted his chance to prove that he could still be a starter. He did not look good last year, but there is a chance that he's healed more so, healed better from the achilles that. Obviously really hurt his mobility last season when he was trying to play so I could, I could totally see a team. I thought maybe that's the route that the Colts were going to go. Cause they said that they wanted to bring in a competition for Richardson and they did in Daniel Jones. I thought maybe they would go after Kirk cousins, but the thing is, I think that the Falcons are not in any rush to give up Kirk cousins. Because they're paying him so much. I think that whatever team does want to trade for him I think they would probably have to be willing to take on some of his his money some of his cap hit and Maybe we'll see a team step up and do that But I think that he could just have to be stuck as the backup, you know,

Jason: 18:54

yeah, very true. So teams that are kind of looking for a quarterback Steelers Tennessee giants, who else? Giants.

pershin: 19:07

Yeah. You got to think the Browns, right? We, we already talked about them, but

Jason: 19:14

Browns. Yeah.

pershin: 19:15

Let's see. I feel like there's someone I'm forgetting. Did you say the Titans?

Jason: 19:23

Yeah.

pershin: 19:24

Yeah. I mean, that's kind of, that might be it. So that might be it,

Jason: 19:28

but. Teams, like players that are out there are Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Mac Jones, Garner Minshew, Famous Jameis, Joe Flacco, Marriotta, Cooper Rush, Jacoby Persett, Drew Logg, Trey Lance, Carson Wentz, like, oh

pershin: 19:46

Jacoby Persett got signed today. I saw that.

Jason: 19:50

Oh, okay. So he's not out there anymore.

pershin: 19:52

Yeah. I'm trying to remember who he is. So he, he went to the Rams, I think? No, no, no, Garoppolo went back to the Rams. Yeah, yeah. I honestly don't remember which team signed Jakoby. He's definitely a backup though. He got backup money. Cardinals. Yeah. Yeah, he's a backup. Cardinals.

Jason: 20:12

So, I mean, where's Rogers going to go? Like he's, he's totally, his team is putting the rumors out there. Oh, giants are interested. Oh, Minnesota. We forgot about Minnesota. They're kind of looking for a QB. They got JJ McCarthy, but they don't want to start him for some reason, but apparently they're interested according to, according to the media and it's like Steelers, giants, and Vikings are all interested in Rogers.

pershin: 20:41

I, my, my inclination here, the hunch that I have is that he's, he's actually manufacturing these rumors or his, his agent or his people, and in actuality, I think that these teams Really only want to bring him on as a last ditch Like last resort, you know what I mean? I think that they would actually well, it's

Jason: 21:10

getting to be last

pershin: 21:11

resort It is I mean, that's true. But I think that I mean aren't the raiders are still kind of

Jason: 21:16

looking too,

pershin: 21:16

right? I mean, no, they, they brought in Gino, I think Pete Carroll's just Oh, that right. Comfortable with Gino. That's right. I

Jason: 21:25

forgot.

pershin: 21:25

I could see the Raiders still drafting a young quarterback that'll purposely sit for a year or two. Like I could see them drafting a guy especially if it's a developmental type. If it's like the. Or if it's like Cal McCord or if it's like even Jalen Milrow, someone like that, they could just has upside, you know, if they could develop him. But the, the thing is that I, I literally think that like most of these teams. Would rather just have like a Kirk Cousins if they don't have to take on that that huge Contract or whatever. I think they would rather have a lesser quarterback without having to deal with the headache that comes with Rodgers because Everyone knows his reputation now Which is that he wants to have his finger and all the fucking pies When every team that he's a part of and it's annoying it's a hassle. So yeah 100% I think he showed last year that he stills got something in the tank, but MVP tank. Yeah,

Jason: 22:33

a pair of Same stats, same stats. This guy. It's not his

pershin: 22:39

fault the rest of the team sucked. I mean, to be, to be, to be like charitable towards him. He, like, had a bad offensive line. Like, he, he did. What he could, I, I, I think. I think he did as well as you could be expected. That, that being said, I just, I just feel like he has a reputation of being quite the hassle to deal with, and something of a control freak, and I, I don't think teams really want to unless they have no other options. So, I, I, my guess is that the Giants and And the Steelers are actually trying to bring on Russ and whichever team doesn't get Russ is actually the one that's going to pull the trigger on Rogers. I bet you. And I think that the Vikings thing is probably completely just made up. And, and the reason why they let Donald walk is because they are, they are comfortable with McCarthy. I think that's,

Jason: 23:45

so I think the Steelers. Should sign Aaron Rodgers on a one year deal. See, my thing is just like, I can't imagine He's better than Russell Wilson. as you mentioned, the Steelers have acquired DK Metcalf. What, what do you think about that trade? Man? I, I thought that was pretty, I thought it was a pretty good

pershin: 24:11

move for the Steelers. I mean, they have, fill it up. They have had a hell of a time, you know, getting a second wide receiver that's been worth a damn. First it was Deontay Johnson without any other receiver, and then finally they had Pickens, they let Deontay Johnson walk, and they couldn't get anything going. Tried to side Mike Williams, tried to draft Roman Wilson. They had to immediately extend him. I think that Oh yeah, I know. They, they gave up a second round pick and they immediately extended it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to come. But, that being said, now you've got a decent X, Y receiver that you've got locked out. I don't hate it for them. This is something that they've tried to address that they've basically failed to. I don't think that this really should be the priority. I feel like you just Need to get a decent quarterback in there. I honestly would have tried to go after Geno Smith or Sam Donald or something. I'd rather overpay for a quarterback than overpay for a DK Metcalf.

Jason: 25:23

You know what I mean? I would have tried my hardest to go for Matt Stafford when he was available. Yeah,

pershin: 25:29

and Matt Stafford even, even had his agent talk to teams and, and gauge interest and shit. I know. That's what I'm

Jason: 25:37

saying.

pershin: 25:37

I would have made an aggressive. So the

Jason: 25:39

other, the other major major what am I looking for, reciting Devante Adams goes to the Rams, signs with the Rams. Yeah. Man, dude, the Rams looking pretty good, man. They're looking

pershin: 25:55

good. You got, you got to see what you got to think. Stafford love that, you know, part of the reason, part of the reason he was upset was because they, they did his boy Cooper cup dirty. Right. But the thing is, is that Devontae Adams, basically they're like the same age. Devontae Adams still has more of the tank. Like he could still do more than Cooper cup is become a very limited sort of. Sort of routes that he wins on, you know with Devante Adams, it opens up much, much more. I think this is great. I think this is really good for them. And

Jason: 26:32

they, they need it. With Cooper cup, they'll probably release them post June 1st.

pershin: 26:40

Yeah. To

Jason: 26:40

create 15 million in cap space. As

pershin: 26:43

of yesterday, they were still trying to get a team to offer them anything at all in a trade.

Jason: 26:50

Man, I can't believe nobody, nobody, nobody wants that deal. They don't want to take on that, that cash or what?

pershin: 26:56

No, no, it's not the dude. It's, it, nobody expects him to be a starter anymore. They think that he's, he's fallen off the cliff, that he's just hit the end of his road.

Jason: 27:06

Fuck, man. I'll pick him up in Green Bay for that minimum.

pershin: 27:11

Well, I, but are you willing to trade something to the Rams to get your first dibs or whatever? No, not

Jason: 27:18

if I know he's gonna be cut 6 1.

pershin: 27:21

Yeah, I mean that, that's where every team is right now. They're like, I don't want to give anything up for him. I'll kick the tires. I'm just surprised that

Jason: 27:28

one of these teams that are like, feel like they're one wide receiver away or something, you know, like the chiefs or something.

pershin: 27:34

I think he'll definitely make a team, but I would not be surprised to see that he's, he's like a rotational bench guy.

Jason: 27:43

Right. Right. Yeah. And then moving on Josh Allen got extended. He, he's making a boatload of cash. Boatload.

pershin: 27:54

Yeah, they

Jason: 27:54

Aaron Jones,

pershin: 27:55

they extended Josh Allen like two seasons ahead of time too. I think that's smart by the way. If you already know you're going to want to sign him to his next contract, go ahead and make him happy right now. Give him that signing bonus right now.

Jason: 28:14

Pay high, pay early, and it'll always end up being like the lower of, of. Where it could have been.

pershin: 28:23

Yeah, absolutely. Especially when like the last three seasons in a row has been like a 10 percent increase on the salary cap.

Jason: 28:30

I mean, and that's in anything, in free agency as well. If you're doing deals early in free agency, you're paying the lower amount. If you're dealing deals at the end of free agency, these are like people that are gonna want, they're gonna want like higher money. You know what I mean? Like if, if you're the third wide receiver that comes off the board, You went from 35 million to 45 million. Whereas if you were the first one, you probably were only going to get 35.

pershin: 28:59

Yeah. I mean, the, the agents always want to start the negotiation off of the most recent, like high watermark, you know what I mean?

Jason: 29:08

So, right. And then Vikings re signed Aaron Jones. That's good good for him good for him.

pershin: 29:16

Yeah

Jason: 29:17

Browns. It's man. Hold on, man We got I gotta go say something about miles Garrett real quick, man. I I have flipped Miles I don't like miles Garrett man. He's a phony bro. He is all he wanted was cash, man All he wanted was cash first. He backed it to Sean Watson. I was like no man. He didn't know he wasn't for sure He's good. He's a good guy. And then now he comes out and says he wants to trade Realizes that they're not going to trade him and then just what casually resigns It's like bro, you already dogged them and said that they weren't going to win a championship Now you just

pershin: 29:57

it's it's ridiculous, bro. He it's ridiculous I mean, he literally wrote out a letter to the fans to say Right always wanted to be in a Super Bowl. I had dreams of being in a suit We all had that dream. Shut the fuck up. You ain't special. Okay, we're supposed to feel bad for you Cuz you had a dream of winning a Super Bowl. We all had that dream, bro And then I can't even believe the Browns gave him a deal Yeah, they really wanted to keep him. They really wanted to keep him. And I mean, congratulations, you got him. But, but as far as like Garrett goes, man, it's like, Now, now the fans have to, have to wonder if he even meant any part of that letter. You know what I mean? It's like, was this just a tactic to get a few more bucks out of them? You know what I mean? Like

Jason: 30:45

I just don't get why you wouldn't have traded him. You could have got something for him, and instead, you gave him a hundred and twenty three million dollars guaranteed, and he's gonna be thirty. Thirty, bro. Like, you could, now, now you're, now you're likely not going to get anything for him.

pershin: 31:11

This motherfucker tried to tell us, to our faces, he tried to tell us, it ain't about the money, it's about winning a championship. And then he got paid and he shut the fuck up.

Jason: 31:25

Bro, him and Deshaun Watson just hanging out, bro. No principles, no conviction. Can't even.

pershin: 31:33

Ridiculous.

Jason: 31:35

Alright, and then another big trade. I mean, Eagles just having to offload a little bit. Texas gets C. J. Gardner Johnson. A 2026, 6th round, and yeah, that's the cash, and then the Eagles get 2026, 5th round, Kenyon Green, who, you know, got a nice deal. But yeah, man, that's crazy. Good for the Texans. Yeah,

pershin: 32:00

the the Eagles lost several players, right?

Jason: 32:03

Yes, yes they did. I don't have them all. I saw that they

pershin: 32:06

did bring back Zach Vaughn. Which that's, that's a good signing. I think he had a really, really big year last year, but they lost like three or four different people on the defense, I think.

Jason: 32:20

Absolutely. They sure did. And then the Texas also had another trade where they got this year's third and seventh round picks from the commanders and next year's second and fourth round. And the commanders got Laramie Tunsil and a fourth round pick, which was great. I mean, the commanders are doing work. They are, I mean. They're gonna be I nasty who else today I forget who else I honestly somebody I

pershin: 32:51

honestly applaud this

Jason: 32:53

they Debo Debo they picked up. Yeah, too.

pershin: 32:59

They picked up Debo Samuel We

Jason: 33:01

talked about it last week

pershin: 33:02

and they they brought in They got an edge rusher too, I think but yeah, the, the commanders are, they're doing the right things. They're like, they got a good, cheap quarterback on us. Rookie deal. You've got like a three year window here before you need to pay him. Load that load the team up as much as you can and go for the gusto.

Jason: 33:28

Javon Kinlaw.

pershin: 33:30

Yeah. Yeah. They brought in a, they brought in a Javon Kinlaw and, and I think that the Laramie Tunsil deal was worth it. Like, they gave up a couple picks and they extended him, but the thing is that this was something that was going to be really, really hard to find in this draft class. Like, there, there's no Joe Ul, there's no Tristan Wirfs, there's no sure shot sort of Tackle prospects. And even if they were, they would, they would go, you know, top 10, top 12 picks there they're picking toward the back of the first round. So obviously the best way to get a dependable tackle like that. Is to trade for one and they made an aggressive move here. And I love it. I just think that this is what you should do when you stumble on a quarterback that's still on that rookie deal and you've got a bunch of confidence in that quarterback. Strike while the iron's hot. You know, this is what the 49ers trying to do. And they, they brought in CMC and they brought in a couple of different defenders when Brock Purdy was on his rookie contract, it didn't necessarily work out into, into a Superbowl, but they were a competitive team. And that's exactly what the commanders are going to try to do now.

Jason: 34:54

For sure. And then moving on, Najee Harris went to the Chargers, one year deal, 9 million, 9 million. Yeah. A little backup money, huh? So this is A little one two punch, maybe?

pershin: 35:05

So this is interesting because I feel like this is more than backup money for a running back, but yet this isn't like, this isn't like, oh, a big deal type money either. We just saw the Saquon actually got more than double that. Of course, he's not going to get what Sekhon got, but still the point is that like, I think this is basically on the lower end of starter money. So, my guess is that they're still probably going to want to draft somebody and they're probably going to want to have like a committee instead of just have him be a workhorse type. I don't think he's going to get the big workload that J. K. Dobbins got last season. I think they probably try to bring in Another guy or two. I think the same thing with Javante Javante Williams signing in Dallas I think that he he's probably just going to be like a passing down third down specialist and they probably plan on drafting a running back in the first three rounds. That'll be more. So the main guy, you know,

Jason: 36:11

right, right next one I got Chase young re or no, excuse me go back with who was that? Who did I just do nausea harris? Dante Jackson, also signed with the Chargers, two years, 13, 000, 000, you know, just out, people just out there getting signed hitting out the Packers, they signed a left guard, Aaron Banks, four years, 77, 000, 000, man, top, top guy out in free agency, man. That seems like a

pershin: 36:41

lot of money.

Jason: 36:44

Yeah, but we don't, we don't, the problem is, is we don't know all of the, we don't know the

pershin: 36:50

details.

Jason: 36:52

Yeah. It's most likely front loaded, but four years, 77 million for, you know, top 10 guy at his position, top five guy at his position. I'm okay with that. You know, protect Jordan love at all costs. Now we can, after releasing Josh Myers, you can move Elton Jenkins, I think. It's a center which will free everything, everybody else up. It's going to be top five offensive line in the

pershin: 37:20

NFL.

Jason: 37:21

Absolutely. Absolutely. They also signed quarterback, Nate Hobbs for years, 48 million. Another top 10 guy at his position, probably why we're looking at releasing Jair Alexander, or we might even keep Jair who knows it all depends on. The deal that gets worked out, but we're, we're likely going to look at trading him or something, trying to get something for him because in the draft, the Packers are probably going to draft another couple of corners, offensive linemen, and edge rushers. That is what our draft is. Double down on these.

pershin: 38:00

Yeah.

Jason: 38:00

Quarterback wide receiver. Yeah. Yeah, and then the Saints, they, they signed, cha resigned Chase Young for three year,$51 million deal. And Justin Reed, three years, 31 and a half million with 22 guaranteed. What you think about, think about all that?

pershin: 38:21

I think the Justin Reed deal's probably good. I think maybe he's getting up there, but he's. He's been productive, so I think that's probably a need that they had. They lost Joe Tooney though, right? I think that's a bigger deal for them. I think that offensive line was not performing well last year. And he was like the one piece of the offensive line that was performing well. So to lose him is like, Oh man, they really got to do something to address that offensive line. And it'll be interesting to see what they, what they scraped together.

Jason: 39:01

Yeah. Especially with how they're. Hitting the cap up against the cap. Yeah the, the bills are out there still doing moves, bringing in Josh Palmer, three year, 36 million, 18 guaranteed. I was shocked.

pershin: 39:16

I couldn't believe this motherfucker got 12 a year and half of it fully guaranteed. I was like, Oh my God. I feel like the only times that they've used Josh Palmer in I keep wanting to say San Diego, in LA. Is when they absolutely had to when they had no other dudes to roll out there There's so many injuries that they just had to and then it's like, all right fine Well, you'll get, you'll

Jason: 39:45

get,

pershin: 39:45

four, between four and seven targets this game because we have to. And it's like, Yeah. Oh man, I can't believe that the Bill's like, will, like, is he really an upgrade over Curtis Samuel or? You know what I mean? Like this man hates Josh Palmer. I mean, they got, they got Keon Coleman. They got Khalil Shakir underneath. Who's pretty good. They've got two good tight ends. Do they really need to pay Josh Palmer? 36 million. Like, come on, come on, man.

Jason: 40:19

Well, they also paid Joey Bosa one year, 12. 6 million. Now this

pershin: 40:24

one, I like

Jason: 40:25

this

pershin: 40:25

one. I like. I think Bosa's, I think Bosa's he was playing through injury last year, so they basically get a discount based on a down season. I don't think he's done. I think he's still got something to take. I think that this is a great, this is a good addition. I think the Broncos should have been the one to pay Joey Bosa 12 million, honestly.

Jason: 40:48

Yeah, well, they did pay Greenlaw three years, 35 million.

pershin: 40:53

I like him. I'm, I'm down with that. They, you know, he tore his Achilles in that weird. Post season play a couple years ago, and he's been basically in the recovery process ever since then and so we We basically get an injury discount on a guy who was a top tier Linebacker, you know, and so is he going to be the same guy he was? I don't know. Is he going to be close enough to the guy he was to justify that contract? Absolutely. I think that even if, even if he doesn't hit his ceiling, he's going to be worth that sort of middle of the road sort of a contract we gave him. I don't think we, we there was just not that much risk involved in a shitload of upside.

Jason: 41:46

Yeah. Yeah. And then the last couple of teams that we'll, we'll just hit on. Darius Slayton re signed, three year, 36 million. They also picked up Javon Holland, safety, three years, 45. 3 million. Darius

pershin: 42:02

Slayton went back to the Giants?

Jason: 42:07

Yeah. Re signed with the Giants, three years, 36 million. Yeah. So at least he. His stunning return.

pershin: 42:15

At least he had some good games in the past couple seasons more than what Josh Palmer did for that same price

Jason: 42:23

And then Another team out there just doing work the Panthers They brought in Bobby Brown three year contract 21 million dollars Pat Jones the second two years 20 million dollars Trayvon Morig, safety, 51 million dollars for three years. They extended J. C. Horne for four years for 100 million dollars, 70 million guaranteed. Such a huge

pershin: 42:56

contract, man. I do feel like J. C. Horne has played well when he's been out there, but he's had a ton of injuries. ever since he got drafted, he has not been available very much. I was shocked to see that he got this much money because it's basically, they're basically guaranteeing 70 percent of that, of that extension. And so it's almost like they're saying, not only do we have faith in you being a top tier cornerback, but we also have faith that you're going to, for once, stay healthy. And I'm like, bro, I don't know if I would be making that bet. But I will say though, that I do like the additions that they, that they brought in. They, they obviously needed help defensively and they've gone out of their way to address that. Be interesting to see what they do Wide receiver slash tight end wise in the draft because I think that's still The the spot that they need to adjust the most but I think that they're one of the big winners of free agency so far I think that there's no doubt their team has gotten meaningfully better and also I I think the patriots are right up there with them too with Bringing in some guys to actually move the needle. I think that Trayvon Merrick Was like kind of an under the radar guy who actually was really good on that Raiders defense last year. And no one noticed because it's the fucking Raiders. They weren't, they weren't going anywhere. No one was paying attention to them, but he actually had like kind of out of nowhere, he, he wasn't doing much like the first few years of his career, but then had a really good season last year and they brought him in. You know, for an expensive contract, but not like top of the line contract. So I think that's a really good sign.

Jason: 44:44

Yeah. It's speaking of the Patriots, they did a lot of movement. They clearly wanted to set the tone with fable coming in. Yeah. Yeah. So they brought in Milton Williams, four year deal, 104 million, Carlton Davis, three years, 60 million. Harold Landry, three year, 43 and a half million. Robert Spillane, three year, 33 million. Morgan Moses, three year, 24 million dollars. And Austin Hooper, one year, 5 million dollars. And it looks like Joe Milton's on the trade block. So Drake May seems to be the, the guy. The guy they want to go with right now.

pershin: 45:29

Oh, a hundred percent. I think they have a ton of faith in him and, and I think they should. I think that, you know, me, I was not high on Drake May coming into the league. I thought he was being overdrafted and the expectations were too high. Maybe he could develop into something down the line, but I did not expect him to perform that well. His rookie season and I was really impressed with his attitude every single game They got their ass whooped. The offensive line was so bad. He took a punty. He you know He got beat up physically every single game and then afterwards all he talked about was ways in which he could get better and How grateful he was of his coaches and his offensive line for the things that they did get, right? I just think that he he's shown himself to be that kind of person That you do want to have leading your offense. He's got the right mindset and he straight up played well with a bad cast of characters around him. And so I think arrow for Drake may I certainly have changed my tune on him. And I do think it makes sense for them to trade away Joe Milton if they are confident in Drake may that being, well, and they have Josh Dawes, they. You know, right, right They that's probably probably part of that Equation there. I do think that there's a a pretty obvious sort of What's the word like a set of similarities between all of these players that they signed so far? And that's like a certain fucking toughness like carlton davis Known as one of the feistiest cornerbacks in the league and harold landry known as as like this sort of undersized, but just really tenacious pass rusher. Milton Williams just a dog. I mean, these guys are just known for, for having that physicality and that aggressive Type and I think that this this perfectly suits Frabel. This is the kind of team that he wants is a run first feisty defensive Just smack you in the face. Oh wait when the sort of trenches This is the kind of team that he wants to put together. So I think that I think that this is, this is just really good for them. I think that this is going to play right into their identity.

Jason: 48:06

And then last but not least, the bears have overhauled their offensive line. They picked up Grady Jarrett on a defensive tackle. Excuse me.

pershin: 48:18

Yeah.

Jason: 48:20

They picked up Jonah Jackson, Joe, Joe Thune. Yeah. Or is that two? Yeah. Oh no. and Drew Dalman.

pershin: 48:30

Yeah.

Jason: 48:31

Jonah Jackson was from the Rams for 20 25 6 round pick. June Joe Ney from the Chief's 2026 fourth round pick. And this Drew Dalman Dalman is a three year deal. 42 million. 28 guaranteed.

pershin: 48:48

Yeah. And drew Dallman was the top center on the. The, in the free agent market, pretty much the only decent center in the free agent market. And they won that bidding war. And not only did they win that bidding war, but they were not content to sit there and they, they brought in Joe Tooney, who was the best offensive lineman for the chiefs last year. And they brought in Jonah Jackson, who was the best offensive line for the Rams last year. And it's like, it's like all of a sudden, that offensive line, that was a problem last year. And now it's looking like, Ooh, maybe it's going to be one of the best ones in the league. I wouldn't know.

Jason: 49:29

Justin Fields is like, yo, why would, why didn't, why didn't, Yeah, I know, right?

pershin: 49:33

I know. It's like, y'all brought,

Jason: 49:35

And then not to mention, Y'all made me, They added Grady Jarrett.

pershin: 49:39

Yeah, he, well, he's on the defense, but he's,

Jason: 49:42

Right, but I mean, I'm just saying 43 and they added a defensive player.

pershin: 49:46

Yeah. So Grady Jared's got a weird sort of Track record, I guess you say he was really good for several years in a row and then last year he did almost nothing So it's like is he is he still the same guy or is he falling off or whatever? I guess we'll see but if they actually get Like the Grady Jarrett of two or three seasons ago, then they actually underpaid and this is gonna be a great signing

Jason: 50:10

Well, yeah, he came back from an ACL tear in 2023. So

pershin: 50:15

yeah

Jason: 50:17

Anyway anybody else that you wanted to hit on free agency that we didn't discuss there's there There's a lot of people out there. We had a lot of people

pershin: 50:27

I, you know, just quickly, I will say that I was actually surprised that the Vikings brought Aaron Jones back and they guaranteed his money. I thought that was pretty cool. Good for him. But I, I didn't think that he actually looked as good as he did in green Bay. In Minnesota last year and the fact that they were eager to pay him I I thought probably a bad move considering that this is a really good or like Running back class that for the draft like they could just replace him on the cheap But you know, I will say that this is this is good news for Aaron Jones. Get your get your money

Jason: 51:08

Get your money dog. Get your money well starting after Cut verse people. All right. So starting next week, we're going to get into our pre draft discussion of all the teams in the league. We'll start with probably the AFC East and West and move on from there for four weeks. We'll take a break for April 1st, April fools. I'll be out of town. And and then we'll pick up from there and lead it up with the mock draft into the draft and then review the draft afterwards, see all the things we got wrong. So yeah, we look forward to the in depth discussion on what the teams need to do to improve for the 2025, 2026 NFL season.

pershin: 52:06

And next week when we record, is Rogers going to be in New York or is he going to be in Pittsburgh?

Jason: 52:13

Yeah, oh gosh, I hope we find out soon. And I hope we find out via Pat McAfee.

pershin: 52:18

Probably,

Jason: 52:19

probably.

pershin: 52:20

If

Jason: 52:22

you want to holler at us, you can hit us up at pineponypodcast22 at gmail. com or Threads and bluesky in Instagram at pineponypodcast. And that's all the scoops we got for you. So adios