SPEAKER_00 0:00

Free agency is come and gone. Who came out like heroes and who made out like zeros? Plus, which big four league is having serious expansion discussion? Find out now on Hey It Sports. Welcome back to Hey It Sports. I'm your host Carter, joined this week by Dad. Dad, how are you? I'm good, bud. How are you? Pretty good, pretty good. Happy, happy to have some sports in my life. Yeah. Watched the uh World Baseball Classic last night. Yeah, it was a good game. USA took out uh little controversy at the end. It was definitely a ball. I think it was lower, looked lower than it was because the where the ball, like where you see it, is when it when the catcher catches it, not where it's at the plate. And so it probably had another like half an inch higher. So I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

I don't think it was close. If it if they were able to challenge it like they're talking about doing, it would have been called a ball all day.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Yeah. Well, the Dominican are the best team in the world. Man, they're they're loaded. So it shouldn't even come down to that. Paul Skeens, American hero.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Yeah. They had their chances, there's no doubt.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

They did.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

I'm still a little surprised, honestly, as we watch these this world baseball classic. Like, even the American team, I'm so out of the loop on baseball. Like, those two guys that hit home runs last night, I don't even know who they are.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Gunner Henderson and um Roman Anthony. Yeah, I don't know who those guys are. Gunnar Henderson plays for the Orioles, and uh Roman Anthony plays for the Yankees.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

I like their post-game press conferences. Uh they were both uh very humble. I like that.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Yeah. There's a lot of uh praise for our coach. I don't know who our manager is, but he pulled Alex Bregman, who was playing third, and he had been playing well, but he pulled him for Gunnar Henderson and he hit the home run. Did I Dave Roberts? I'm not that I'm not that big on baseball, to be honest. I just more of an America guy than a baseball guy. I tell you what though, American hockey, American baseball, we're all turning around. I really would love to see this continue this trend continue with soccer this summer. I don't think it's gonna happen, but well, they have their opportunity playing in America.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun. Mark DeRosa is the manager.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

I didn't know Albert Puholz was the manager of the I didn't either, man. DR. That was pretty cool. Makes you feel old, don't it? Mm-hmm. Yeah, welcome to the club. Yeah. But um, yeah, America dropped their their kits today. And do you see those? The Stars and Stripes jerseys. They like them. They look good. I may have to get one. Who's talking about? We're going to a game in Dallas. We're watching the Netherlands versus Japan. Awesome. Um shout out Tanner. Um, I may have to actually may have to buy him a Japan jersey because for whatever for some reason he's a big Japan fan.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

That is odd. But you know. Can you name a Japanese player?

SPEAKER_00 2:43

No. I don't think he could either, to be fair. But yeah, as always, there's a lot happening in the sports world right now. Free agency for the NFL is pretty much wrapped up. All the big names have signed somewhere. There's still some stragglers that'll sign somewhere in the coming weeks. But for the most part, we have an idea of who's going where and what teams are looking like. And so I've graded every team's free agency. Oh wow. I looked at who they got who they lost, looked at who they brought in, how much money they paid for certain players, all those kind of things, and I gave them a letter grade from from F to A. Before we get into it, I do want to kind of preface by saying like my grade is not based on how good I think the team is going to be, it's just strictly on their moves over the past like two weeks. And so you're going to see some teams with an A that are not an A team, but they made A word A-level moves in free agency. That makes sense. Yeah. So trades, uh free agency signings, everything like that. I have, and we'll we'll go through it. First off, I have the Arizona Cardinals. So the Cardinals, um, their biggest move that people are talking about is um moving on from Kyler Murray. They brought in Gardner Minshew on a one-year deal. They signed Tyler Algier, who's one of the bigger names in this year's free agency. And then they signed Kendrick Bourne, a receiver, and then they brought in a lineman. And then they lost another lineman and they lost Calais Campbell. I give the Cardinals a B. I think there wasn't much for them to do to like really change the tide for them. And so, you know, it's looking like they're going to draft another lineman in the draft because there's no quarterbacks after the first pick. And so I think their goal right now should just be to put themselves in a good position when they do draft a quarterback eventually.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Um Will they draft one this next year?

SPEAKER_00 4:27

I don't think they should. The only one that's worth drafting is, in my opinion, Mendoza. And he's obviously not falling past one, and the Cardinals have three. And so, unless they get Ty Simpson, which I don't think that they should do that either. I think just be bad, be bad again. You know, let um build everything else up. That way, when you get your quarterback, you're ready to go. Because I mean, you just learned with Kyler Murray. When you draft a quarterback before you put a team around it, it doesn't work. They had very small success with Kyler Murray.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

Are you making a joke because he's small?

SPEAKER_00 4:57

I guess I am inadvertently. But, you know, they they took Kyler with the first pick and it didn't really work out because the team was so bad everywhere else. Um, it's very rare that works out. You know, the Bengals, it's I guess you could say it worked with Joe Burrow. They had one year of success, two, two years of success, but haven't really made the playoffs outside of that. Um who else? Cam Ward. I know it's a little early for him, but Caleb Williams. I think the Bears did a good job of uh building around him after, but that was after they drafted him. Yeah. And so I like what the Cardinals did. I think just put yourself in a position to be successful a few years from now. Moving on, have the Falcons. They signed Tua Tagovaloa on a one-year vet minimum, which is like 1.3 million. It's so crazy that the the Dolphins are paying him $100 million.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Yeah, he's gonna make $54 million this season, almost all of it from the debt from the Dolphins in dead money.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Yeah. We'll talk about dead money a little bit here in just a second, for those who don't know what that is. Um, but they brought him in, they brought in a receiver, I don't think you'll get much playing time, and Jahan Dotson, and then they franchise tagged Kyle Pitts. You don't know what the franchise tag is. Basically, they take the top five highest paid players out of at a certain position, and they average that that um that number out, and that's how much you get for the franchise tag. And so he may he's gonna make around 15 million this year, which is a huge overpay in my opinion. Absolutely. He had that one good game where he scored like three touchdowns, but outside of that, nothing nothing right home about by any means. Um, they obviously, like we said, lost Tyler Algier and they lost Caden Ellis as well. And then they drop Kirk Cousins.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Now speaking of dead money.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Yeah. So they didn't just drop him, they did what's called a post-June 1st designation. Do you know what that is? Nope. Okay. So, like obviously they were gonna drop him, right? You can drop a player or you can designate them for a post-June first drop. And essentially what that does is you can split their contract up into two years. Okay. And so the Dolphins did it with Tua, um, and the Falcons did it with Kirk Cousins. So essentially, you can defer their dead money over next year. And what dead money is is like let's say I sign a four-year deal, but after two years, you just can't you can't handle me anymore. I'm not any good. They basically just say, we're gonna give you the rest of money we owe you right now, and you're just gonna go. And so that's where you see people like Tua really choke holding the dolphins because they they still owed him a hundred million dollars. Well, that's over 50% of the cap almost. You can't you cannot afford to pay him $100 million and fill a roster. And so what they do is they designate him for post June 1st, and now they can delegate this money over two years instead of having to pay it over one year. Um, and you may think, like, well, why would you not do that with everybody? Well, you only have two slots per year that you can that you can do that. Uh and so Kirk Cousins, for example, they they designated him. He has still owed $35 million from the Falcons, which is insane. That's no one when they when they signed Kirk Cousins thought that was a good idea. But the Falcons are gonna Falcon, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

And then spend a first round pick on Penix.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Yeah. Um, so if they had done a normal cut, they'd have to pay him that 35 million like right now, and that would go against their cap for this year. But with this day designation, they get to pay 22 million this year, and then the rest of it they'll pay next year. Gotcha. And so it's still a lot, but kind of softens the blow a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Um You know I don't want to spend a lot of time on the Falcons, but Tua's walking into a pretty good situation. You got a new coach that kind of fits his style, um, a new start. Obviously, I don't think Penix has a stronghold on that starting quarterback position for the Falcons. He's coming off a late season injury. And so Tua's got a chance to make some noise and kind of prove the haters wrong. But as you already said, Falcons are gonna Falcon. I don't I don't see it happening.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Yeah, I gave him a C minus. I think if Tua's kind of your biggest name he brought in, that's not a great um, that's not ideal to say the least. You you may be right. I don't have that much faith in it. I think it's gonna be the same thing. Like he had a good situation in Miami. He had a great offensive coach, he had a great receiver and great running back behind him, and he couldn't make that work. Um the Falcons are a better team, but I don't know. I I don't I don't hold much hope for I give him an F just because they're in the Falcons. Yeah. Next up we have the Ravens. They re-sign their backup corner quarterback, Tyler Huntley, and then they tr they bring in Trey Hendrickson and they lose their starting center, Tyler Linderbaum, Isaiah Likely, who would have by all means been their starting tight end this year, and then they lost just a lot of like names that people may not know, but a lot of core players. Yeah. It's time for my weekly rant on the Ravens. Already? What they did has got to be invest investigated. You talking about the Max Crosby trade? Yes. So they trade for Max Crosby, they give up two first-round picks, and it's like, okay, you know, not ideal as a Bills fan, but sure. And then all of a sudden, he you can't see it, but I'm doing air quotes, fails his physical, and then they sign, they immediately sign Trey Hendrickson right after that.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

I think it's a genius move myself, but it does it does seem pretty squirrely.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Like you can't tell me they were talking to Trey Hendrickson and Max Crosby at the same time and said, hey, you know, Trey Hendrickson's not as good as Max Crosby, but we can keep our two picks and have a player who doesn't have too much drop-off. Yep. And he's on a and we give him our own deal. That should not be allowed.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

That's tampering. It just it it fires me up. It makes me so mad.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

Well, in today's sports, tampering is just part of the deal. I mean, Baltimore's not the only team that does that. Um, maybe to that degree, but you can't tell me that these some of these free agency deals weren't in place before the deadline and that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

So well, like it just they screwed over the Raiders because the Raiders made all these free agency signings banking on not having to pay Max Crosby. Now, luckily they're like they had a lot of cap space, and so they're gonna be fine either way, but they also kind of screwed other teams too, because there were teams that were waiting to see what what happened with Max Crosby, waiting to see what happened with Trey Hendrickson. And like it was a good move, sure, but like it was not the most um fair play move, I guess. And does that really matter at the end of the day? No. But you know, if if I'm a general manager in the NFL, like you know, I'm not working with is the Ravens guy. That's right. Because you just screwed me over as a Raiders GM. Yeah, and now like I'm fighting an uphill battle, and we already suck. And so it just oh, it frustrates me so much. And I think that needs to be investigated. I don't think that should be allowed, um, but whatever. I gave him a B just because yeah, they brought in Trey Hendrickson, but that's really all they brought in. Um, and again, they lost so much. That offense is looking rough right now outside of Lamar and Hendrix.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Lamar wasn't happy about losing Lyndon Bombard either, I promise you that.

SPEAKER_00 12:12

Yeah. Well, next up, I guess we'll talk about them, the Buffalo Bills. The biggest move we made, as everybody knows, we talked about it last week, was the DJ Moore trade, trading a second round pick. And I've already given my opinion on that, so I'm not gonna get into that again. I am pro the trade, though. Uh we bring in D. Alford, we re-signed Dawson Knox, bring in CJ Gardner Johnson, and then we re-signed Connor McGovern. My this is my favorite move we made was re-signing Connor McGovern. We signed him to a four-year, $52 million deal. And here's why I love that so much. The Raiders brought in Tyler Linderbaum, the center from the Ravens, on a three-year $81 million deal. Connor McGovern was our most consistent lineman in terms of like his play. He was a pro bowler, top five center in the league, and we got him for $30 million less than they than another team paid for Linderbaum, who is a good center in his own right, but I think that was my favorite move. We got that done quick, so that way we didn't have to test the market before we paid him because if we had waited on that, we'd have been spending a lot more money or we probably wouldn't have re-signed him. We couldn't afford him. We also signed Bradley Chubb.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

That's your that's your secret sauce right there, in my opinion. I thought that's a great move for you.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

See, I think this was a a um a reactionary thing. Paid him paying him $45 million over three years.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

He's a good player, Carter.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

But I think we were in the Trey Hendrickson sweepstakes. And then we panicked when he went to the Ravens. Oh, we got this money we were gonna give him. We got to give that somewhere else. And we signed Bradley Chubb. I got to do my homework on him. I don't think he's that good. I think he's kind of bounced around a lot.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

I think it's a good move. I mean, he's a what he was a what top five pick when he came out. I know he had some injury stuff, but I think he's a good player, and I think that's a low key. I mean, you you spent a lot of money on Bosa last year, too, right? Yeah, and he's gone. Already?

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Yeah, we don't know. We don't want him. He's old and washed. I can't that's not true. He he was very good for us last year, but we're we need to he he cost too much. I'm thankful Brandon Bean did things. I'm I'm glad he went out and got players. I think CJ Garner Johnson's a great, great move for only six million dollars.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

Y'all need y'all need a little attitude now on that defensive side of the ball.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

Yeah, we didn't resign Trey, we didn't re sign Jordan Poyer. And so we need somebody like that for sure. And then I think we're gonna I don't know what we're gonna do in the draft. We'll have to get into our draft at a later date. I've been doing my work on that. Our key losses, um, we lost that Sega round pick for DJ Moore, which again I'm fine with. Um we lost Taryn Johnson, who I think is one of the more underrated players in the league. I was pretty sad to see him go because he's he'll be a Bills legend forever because of what he did in the playoffs against Lamar Jackson. We move on from Joey Bosa, and then we don't resign Brandon Cooks. And then there were some other pieces that weren't really just super big, but I gave the Bills a B plus. Again, that Connor McGovern, it's not gonna like make headlines, it's not gonna be something that people talk about, but I think that's the most important thing we did this year was re-signing him, especially since we lost David Edwards to the Saints. Yeah. Um, so solid for the Bills. We didn't have a lot of caproom to work with either. We had to restructure some guys as well. Moving on to the Panthers, I think the Panthers might be my favorite, uh, might have my favorite moves of the free agency.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

They signed a lot of people. And they might not be the big name guys, but we're talking about just core players. I think they I think they add a lot of pieces.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Yeah, so they brought in Jalen Phillips from the Eagles. He played for the Eagles and the Dolphins last year. Four years, $120 million contract for him.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Massive deal.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

And then they brought in Devin Lloyd for three year $45 million deal. Probably the steal of the free agency. Like, he is so good for the Jaguars last year. And coming into the Carolina defense that needs somebody like him. I love what the Panthers did. Yeah. And they also re-signed Isaiah Simmons, who hadn't been like just the hugest name in the NFL. Uh, you may remember him. He was on the uh Clemson team against LSU in the national championship in 2019. He kind of was a special teams guy for them. He played pretty well, especially in the playoffs. He had a blocked punt. Um, but re-signing him is good as well. And then their notable losses, they lost Cade Mays and they lost Rico Dowdle as well. And so they're really gonna rely on Shuba Hubbard this this year, and we'll see how that works out for him. I gave the Panthers an A. Very happy with what they did. Next up, the Bears. So the Bears signed Kobe Bryant from the What? Yeah, back from the Dead. No, from the uh Seahawks. He got a three-year deal up to 40 million, and they re-signed Devin Bush, and they bring in Garrett Bradbury from the Patriots. They traded, they traded him for a fifth-round pick. Great move for him, especially because um their starting center retired. He was only 27 years old and he retired. Right. Um they did lose Tremaine Edmonds and they lost their center, and they lost obviously DJ Moore, but they got a second round pick for that. And then they also lost uh Kevin Bayard, who led the league in picks last year. He went to the Patriots. Um, I gave the Bears a B plus. I I like what they did. I think they they retained the majority of their core, uh, got a little bit younger in some areas, brought in that Super Bowl caliber player and Kobe Bryant.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Kobe with a C.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

And a Y, yeah. So B plus for the Bears. Very pleased with them. Another team I was pretty pleased with, the Bengals. Uh, they I mean the the glaring hole of that team.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Offensive line.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

Offensive line and all, but also just the defense as a whole. They addressed the defensive side of the ball, bringing in Boye Mafe. Ask Will Campbell if he's a good football player. Um, I'm sure he'll tell you yes, from the from the Seahawks. They brought in Brian Cook, safety from the Chiefs, and they also signed Jonathan Allen. So they spent a good bit of money on their defense this year, which I think no big headlines for them. Other than losing Trey Hendrickson, yeah. And then um Joseph Asai moved on as well. So I think they got better though, and that's all you can really do at this point. I gave them a B plus. The Browns the Browns lost four starting offensive linemen and they signed four right back, or they they signed three and traded for one. And so that was pretty much all they did was re-kind of um shuffle in some new linemen, and then they all but they also lost um David and Joku as well. And so I don't know if Shadur's the answer down the line, but at least they got him some some new offensive linemen, I guess. Um just kind of average for the Browns. I'd give them a C, C plus.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

They only have $7 million left in cap space. I think that's where you if you're a Browns fan, you're frustrated because you're not a good team, but yet you have no money to spend. We know as Saints fans, or I know as a Saints fan, what that world looks like. And uh that's kind of a frustrating thing, but I think that's the boat that the Cleveland Browns are in right now.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Well, yeah, when you're signing Miles Garrett for all that money, you know, kind of pigeonholed you elsewhere.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

And how much dead money do they have with Deshaun Watson? It's gotta be a lot.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Well, it's technically not dead money because he's still on the team, but I get what you're saying for sure. He gets paid way too much to just sit on the bench. I guess maybe he plays this year. I don't know. Next up, the Cowboys. They franchise tag George Pickens. I thought that was great for them. He was a top, a little bold, he was a top five receiver last year. He was the he was a better receiver than CeeDee Lamb. He was the best receiver on his team in a very high volume passing game for the Cowboys. So to get to be able to just tag him, I thought was a great deal for them. They re-signed Javante Williams as well, who we we called this. He had a he had a career resurgence in Dallas this year. He he was signed for a three-year deal worth $25 million. Uh they trade for Rashawn Gary, which I was very happy for them for that. They only gave up a fourth-round pick for it. And then they really didn't lose any big names. They lost some defensive players, but overall, pretty good for the Cowboys. I gave them a B minus.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

The George Pickens thing's gonna it's gonna continue to develop, though, because those guys don't like getting that franchise tie because it's just a one-year deal. Even though it's good money, um, that's gonna play out, and Pickens seems like the type. He's not gonna go quietly into the goodnight.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

So yeah, he has a he's a character too, so I'm sure that'll come to fruition at some point. Next up, the Broncos, they didn't bring in anybody new of note. They resigned JK Dobbins and they resigned Alex Singleton to two-year deals, but I think they were one of three teams that that didn't sign anybody. Yeah, like they you're coming off an over-achieving year, I would say. You know, they have the best record in the AFC, and then they get complacent. I think this is really gonna bite them in the butt. Uh, not happy for them. I think they could have done a lot more. Um you're still in a rookie, rookie quarterback contract. So the time is now, but they just they sat on their hands and just kind of watched. And then they lost Dre Greenlaw as well. And so not happy for the Bar. Well, I am happy for that it happened to the Broncos, but not happy for them. Top seeding in an AFC. So I'm gonna give them a C minus. Next up, the Detroit Lions. They bring in Isaiah Pacheco to replace David Montgomery, who they traded to the Texans. Um they lost three starting linemen, which man, the the Lions are spiraling. It's it's sad to see because they were so fun to watch two seasons ago, and I think they're gonna be even worse this coming year than they were last year.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

Um also lost Alex Anzalone. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:48

We'll talk more about that later, but just not not ideal for the Lions. Um you got Jared Goff, you got Jameer Gibbs and Navano St. Brown, that three headed monster is still there, but lost Montgomery. Lost Montgomery bring in Pacheco. I think that's a lateral move. And you bring in a lineman for Montgomery.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

Pacheco can't stay healthy.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Well, I think when he's the lead back, he can't. I think with Gibbs getting the majority of the workload, I think that'll be good for Pacheco. But yeah. And they're the I don't remember his name, but the offensive coordinator they brought in wasn't like an outstanding move either. Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

They're that was the question going into that season, right? Was those and those two coordinators, how much was it going to affect them? And it apparently it did.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

I mean, you saw the success Ben Johnson had, and you know, I was optimistic for him last year. I I thought Dan Campbell could make something happen, but I think it they both the Lions and the Bears both really proved how much Ben Johnson meant to that Lions team two years ago. Yeah, we'll see it. It's not looking good for the Lions. I gave him a C minus just because just more and more holes are popping up for them. Next up, the Packers. So they bring in Zaire Franklin from the Colts and Javon Hargrave as well. They lose a lot, though, and I think this could be I think the the Packers will still be good, but I think this could be a backward step for them as well, honestly. Um they lose Malik Willis, who, I mean, I guess for them isn't really just the biggest deal. They have Jordan Love still. That's right. Um, but they lost Romeo Dobbs to the Patriots, trade away Quay Walker, and they lost corner Nate Hobbs as well. And Rashawn Gary that we just talked about. Another team, like, man, you you had pretty pretty good success, all things considered, last year, and you just kind of sit on your hands. You bring in a couple guys, but you didn't you didn't replace any of that offense. You only brought in the two defensive players, and so I think it's gonna be tough for the Packers to sustain their success as well. But, you know, Jordan Love, maybe he proves me wrong. He hadn't done it yet, but maybe he proved me wrong. Gave the Packers a C. Next up, we have the Texans. So the Texans re-signed Dalton Schultz, a couple offensive linemen, traded for David Montgomery, like we talked about, and they also brought in Reed Blankenship on a three-year deal. Just kind of average for the Texans. Um, I thought I think they should have focused more on offense because we saw last year their defense was not the problem.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

They need offensive line in the worst way.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

They did resign two offensive linemen, but yeah, you're right. Their their O-line, not that CJ Stroud was really doing them any favors, but just a big dysfunctional group over there in Houston.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

They need to make those moves like like what you talked about with the Panthers. Just like it may not be sexy, it may not be headlines, but those solid players, man, it makes such a difference when you when you when you're so close. And they and the Texans are. That defense is incredible.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

I give the Texans a C plus. Just kind of middle, middle of the road average moves from them. Next I have the Colts. The Colts re-signed Daniel Jones to a two-year deal, and they signed Alec Pierce to a four-year, $116 million deal.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

That might have been the dumbest move of the um of all free agency. I don't know if I've said that yet. But you're paying a deep threat, $116 million over four years.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

And you let Michael Pittman walk. Not walk, but they traded.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

Yeah, they trade they trade Michael Pittman. I wouldn't have traded Michael Pittman all that money either.

SPEAKER_01 25:13

I'd pay that over to Alex Pierce, I would.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Yeah. Um, but they just really overpaid for two guys that are not are not needle movers. You're really investing your future in Daniel Jones, who's not playing next year anyway, because he toys Achilles. I I do not love that for the Colts at all. Um they lost Nick Cross as well. Just not good for the Colts. They were a top five spender in free agency. And all they have to show for it really is Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce, two guys that were already on their team. Yeah. So D plus for the Colts. Not happy with them at all. Next is the Jaguars. I'll just say I gave the Jaguars an F.

SPEAKER_01 25:51

Yeah. I don't I I don't think you're alone in that. They lost so many of their defensive pieces. We already talked about Travis H. Ain going to the Saints. Cardi had 1,400 yards from scrimmage three of the last four years. And the only reason he didn't get the other one was because he was hurt. They closed the game, excuse me. They closed the season on an eight-game winning streak. And this is how you follow it up. Absolutely. They're one of the three teams that I mentioned that have not signed anybody. They don't have the cap space. And um, I don't know, man. You gotta you you gotta evolve and you gotta get dip you gotta get better, and and the and the Jaguars definitely didn't.

SPEAKER_00 26:27

Yeah, another one of those teams like really overperformed this year and and succeeded expectations. We talked about this last week with Samuel. Like for whatever reason, I guess coaching, they were in my opinion, the best team in the AFC. Um and that was out without their first round pick for the majority of the year. And then that just to do nothing, like and I I understand, like, you know, Fred, you can't make anybody sign to you. Um you can't you can't make Travis Etienne stay. I'm saying ETN, I'm not calling him A chain. There's already an A-Chain in the league. That just gets confusing. But you can't make ETN stay. You can't make Devin Lloyd stay, but to have nothing to show for what you just did, right? That's that's so bad. They have got to restructure Trevor Lawrence. That's different between them and the Bills of the world and the the Ravens, even like Josh Allen restructures his contract every year to make more money so that we can sign other players. Trevor Lawrence isn't even at the level of a Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. Like he is holding on to his money. They have not restructured him once. And again, he's just he's pigeon holding the franchise. They can't do anything because all their money's tied up to him.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Well, I think it's one of those things too, Carter. Like, maybe they I don't know. If they went to him and said, hey, we got a chance to go get you know this player if if you do this, I I I think I think he would do that. But we don't know what's going on behind the scenes um with that. So it's I don't I don't want to beat up on Trevor too bad because it might not be his choice. He's not gonna go to them and say, hey, give me less money and go find some people. But when they come to those players with that, and it happens all the time. It happened with Drew Brees, happened with Tom Brady. Tom Brady was the king of that. He restructured a bazillion times and to win. That was more important to him.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

That's right. But until that happens, the Jaguars are not gonna be looking good. And they don't have a first-round pick this year either. So there's really no new talent coming in that's worth anything as of right now. Next up, the Chiefs. Chiefs make one of the biggest moves of the free agency period, bringing in Kenneth Walker for a $45 million deal over three years, $30 million guaranteed to a running back.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

A lot of money.

SPEAKER_00 28:33

I think they significantly overpaid.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Is that a big upgrade from Pacheco? I don't know. I mean, I think he is. I mean, he is, but not that, not for the money that they spent on him.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

And then you're gonna have to hear all year long, even though it's not a free agency move, about Travis Kelsey another year. Is this gonna be it? Is this his swan song? You know, Taylor Swift. And don't forget, Mahomes is coming off a late season injury.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Yeah, they signed Justin Fields, which honestly tells me that he may not be ready as soon as everybody was kind of hoping. Man, Kenneth Walker. We I wish Samuel was here because he'd probably have a diff different argument. We uh I applauded the Chiefs last week because they haven't paid a running back, and that's part of why they're so successful. Like, no one other than like Chiefs fans probably could tell you who their Super Bowl winning running backs were over the past almost decade now. You know, the Patriots had a different running back every year they went to the Super Bowl. The running back is not a position you can spend money at, in my opinion. Like the exception is Saquon Barkley last year with the Eagles. I'm not gonna say this is gonna put a dagger in the Chiefs, but this is not good for them, in my opinion. They lost a lot, a lot on defense. They traded Trent McDuffie, they lost Brian Cook, Leo Chanel, Jalen Watson. You can't, those aren't guys you just willy-nilly replace. Yeah. You know, the Chiefs' defense wasn't great last year, but I think that was more scheme than um than personnel.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

Yeah, and those guys are getting older too. And and you're in a division with the with the Broncos and the Chargers who are kind of on the up and up. Um, so you can't stay the same or even go down or afford to lose them.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

Yeah, and again, I'm not gonna this is this is not the draft brief episode that will come. I think they're gonna be making a lot of moves on draft night because they have two first-round picks, their own and as well as a um Rams pick in the Trent McJuffy trade. But I could certainly be proven wrong. I just I don't think this was good for the Chiefs. I gave them a C minus. Next up, the Raiders, and I love what the Raiders did. Give them an A. I gave the Raiders an A. Brought in Eric Stokes, brought in Darren Johnson, who I talked about earlier. They signed Tyler Linderbaum, N'Kobe Dean, and Clay Walker. And technically kept Max Crosby. And they keep Max Crosby. Man, they're not gonna be like winning divisions or anything, but the Raiders may that they are doing everything they can to put Fernando Mendoza in a position to succeed. Um, I I love what they did. Like their defense is gonna be pretty good, I think, next year. They signed two secondary players to kind of edge players. Um you bring them back Bowers, you bring them back Gente, you sign Linderbaum to kind of be the anchor of the offensive line.

SPEAKER_01 31:05

Like they were aggressive and they spent smart. I I know there are other teams that were aggressive that didn't spend smart spin smart, um, but the bet the Raiders have done it the right way.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

Yeah, and then they also they also moved on from Geno Smith. Um, and they traded him. Like they didn't even have to drop him, they traded him to the Jets because the Jets wanted him for some reason. Yeah. Um and they got rid of two of their offensive linemen that were terrible. I gave the Raiders an A. Very happy for them and what they did. Next is the Chargers. Um, they kind of shuffled some offensive linemen around, brought in some new guys, they re-signed Khalil Mack. That was pretty much all they did. I like what they did. Um, they re-signed their defensive tackle who punched Travis Kelsey in the face. I think that alone's what got him uh the extension. I gave the Chargers a B minus. They uh lost Bradley Bozeman, who retired. He's also under 30. Um, but Tyler Badash on a three-year deal, he'll be their best. No, he won't be their best lineman because they still have Joe Walt.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

And they had Trevor Penning.

SPEAKER_00 32:03

Trevor Burrus, yeah. Take that for what it's worth. A lot the Chargers could do. They need to find a receiver in the draft, I think, because Keenan Allen walked. I think he's probably going to retire.

SPEAKER_01 32:12

He can come to New Orleans. I'll take him.

SPEAKER_00 32:15

Next, the Rams. So they re-signed Tyler Higby, trade for Trent McDuffie, and they also extended him for a four-year deal. Um, they brought in Jalen Watson and they re-signed Cameron Curl. If this is Matthew Stafford Swine Song, then I think they've put themselves in a great position to go out on top for him. Um, Trent McDuffie is one of the best corners in the league. Jalen Watson, another great corner, and then uh Cameron Curl is another, he's like their slot corner. Um I have him down for an A. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:44

Would you give him?

SPEAKER_00 32:45

I give him a B plus. I've been trying to I've been working on Mike Draft to have him have Jeremiah Love fall into them right now at like 13 or 14.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

He ain't gonna fall. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 32:57

Again, I I'm excited about draft. We're gonna have to wait.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

After his combine, he's not falling. I'm excited. He might be top five now.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

We'll we'll save it. We'll save it. Next, the Dolphins. They bring in the number one ranked free agent in Malik Willis. Sign him to a three-year 67.5 million dollar deal. Played six games. He has six games under his belt. Cashing in. I mean bold swing. You know, if you're the Dolphins, I mean, what do you really have to lose? You're gonna be one of the worst teams in the league anyway. You may as well just try. And if he's bad, you get a better draft pick.

SPEAKER_02 33:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:32

Um, but they lost Minka, Fitzpatrick. He went to the Jets. And then again, obviously Tua, $100 million in dead money over the next over the next two years.

SPEAKER_01 33:43

That's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 33:44

Like, pay me $100 million not to work for you. Yeah, you know how bad you have to be to be paid $100 million to not play for somebody.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

But it's also indicative of how crucial it is when you swing that big on a player and miss, especially at the quarterback position.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

Yeah, the Dolphins really overreacted to that one year that they got second in the division, and it just they're eating crow now and paying for it. Yep. They also uh Tyreek Hill walked. Um, interesting see where he signs.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

Yeah, I didn't realize he was still out there.

SPEAKER_00 34:11

Yep. And then they lost Bradley Chubb as well. He's another 24 million in dead cap. So they have over 75 million in dead cap this year. Crazy. Just between two and Bradley Chubb. Uh I gave him a D minus. Like, you're paying for the sins you've committed over the past like two or three years ago. Yeah. Next to the Vikings, they re-signed Eric Wilson, linebacker. They bring in Kyler Murray, uh, and then they lost Javon Hargrave, Aaron Jones, and Jonathan Allen. Do you know how much Kyler Murray got signed for? He got the minimum one point three, yeah. Him and Tua got the same amount.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

The Cardinals are gonna eat 35 million.

SPEAKER_00 34:49

That's no that's so crazy. I like it for the Vikings, honestly. Like, he's better than JJ McCarthy. I think so. I don't know where all the smoke comes from this guy. JJ McCarthy didn't work, but before him, we've seen like the Vikings and specifically Kevin O'Connell gets the best out of quarterbacks. I'm not gonna say it's a career resurgence for Kyler Murray, but I think I think it could put his name out there.

SPEAKER_01 35:12

You have zero risk. I guarantee you the punter's getting paid more than he is.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

Yeah. And he's making all his money from Arizona, too. So he's there. Everybody's fine. I think it's a win-win. Uh I gave him a C minus, though. I think they could have done more with what they had, but you know. Next is the Patriots. They had a really good free agency class, too. Elijah Vera Tucker, who was the best, one of the better linemen uh in this free agency pool. They signed Kevin Byard, who I mentioned has was the league leader in interceptions last year. They bring in Romeo Dobbs from the Patriots or from the Packers on a four-year deal for $80 million. Thought that was a bit of an overpay, but uh then they they cut Diggs, they cut Austin Hooper, and they traded Brad Garrett Bradbury. I think the Patriots got better this year. I gave them an A-minus. I liked what they did. They didn't get they were not complacent. They were the opposite of the Jaguars of the Broncos. Like they they're reloading, and you have to respect that as much as I don't like them. Next up, the Saints. Yeah. Travis Etienne. Again, I'm not saying A-Chain. He can call himself that I'm not. Caden Ellis, $33 or $33 million deal. I thought that was very team friendly. They signed David Edwards, and then they bring in Noah Fant as well. I gave the Saints an A. Yeah. I'll we have a group chat going from a few of us, and Samuel's talking bad about Mickey Loomis. Mickey Loomis low-key dealt this free agency. Yeah. They may have overpaid for ETN, but what are you spending that money on anyway?

SPEAKER_01 36:47

Um yeah, the big the big question mark obviously is gonna be what's gonna happen with Camara's deal. Um, is he gonna retire? Is he gonna sign somewhere else? You know, it's yeah time will tell, but that's that's kind of the last big contract I think the Saints have hold hanging over their heads. But I saw a stat today, Carter. Mickey Loomis is the ultimate manipulator of the salary cap, and he has been for years. They signed seven free agent deals this year. This is the first year ever that the Saints don't have that void year on a contract, which is where he hid a lot of money for them, and it's eventually caught up with them, kind of like you're talking about with um who were you just talking about? The Dolphins. Yeah, like with the Dolphins. Um, so it's kind of a new time and a new era for the Saints as far as the way they're spending their money. So we're gonna see what happens. And I I think I love the solid pieces that we're putting together. We still have a long way to go. We still need a lot of help, but you know, I think they're doing it the right way. Um, and you know what it's like when when you have success in New Orleans.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

I think they're very similar to the Raiders. Like they're not gonna win the division by any means. The South is pretty bad. They might. Yeah, um, but they're taking steps in the right direction. They're making steps in the right direction. Right for sure. I love the David Edwards pick as a Bills fan, not pick, uh signing as a Bills fan. He'll be a cornerstone for for y'all for the next four years.

SPEAKER_01 38:05

And kudos to Samuel in the previous episode who said, quote, if the Saints sign a solid guard and a running back, I'll be happy. And that's exactly what the Saints went out and did with their first two moves. So Samuel called that one.

SPEAKER_00 38:19

Yeah, and then lost Duana Davis, which I'm sure hurt Saints fans' hearts. Um, just such a locker room heartbeat kind of.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

He's a Drew Breeze, he's a defensive Drew Brees.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

Yeah. Cam Jordan's probably not gonna re-sign, and then you just couldn't afford Elante Taylor with what the bite the Titans were offering.

SPEAKER_01 38:34

I can't wait till we get to them.

SPEAKER_00 38:36

Okay. I give the Saints an A. Uh Thanks, man. We need it. Happy for him. This is the most optimistic they've probably been in a while.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

It's all gonna depend on Tyler. You know, is he the real deal or was he flashing the pan? Time will tell.

SPEAKER_00 38:51

Next, the Giants. They I like what they did a lot too. They brought in Isaiah Likely at tight end, Termaine Edmonds at linebacker, and Greg Newsom at corner. Very good pickups for them for John Harbaugh and the Giants. You had a good thing going with Dart, Scataboo, Malik at neighbors, and so bringing a tight end, red zone threat, Isaiah Likely is uh very, very good linebacker and Tremaine Edmonds, and then a good corner as well. Um again, like there's something to say about teams who understand where they are, like the Giants, the the Raiders, the Saints, like they know that they're not Super Bowl contenders, and you can't you can't become a Super Bowl contender overnight by signing one big player. It's just about stacking little wins, you know. And I think they were a team that did that well. And so I gave the Giants a B. They lost Russell Wilson and Wandell Robinson and Bobby Okarike. I love Bobby Okarica.

SPEAKER_01 39:44

Is Jamie still there?

SPEAKER_00 39:46

I believe so. That's all I need to know. And Bobby O'Kerrike hadn't signed anywhere yet, but I'm very curious to see where he goes. He's one of the more underrated players in the league to me. I like him a lot. Next, I gave them a B. Next, the Jets, put the Jets at a C. A tag, Brees Hall, which I thought was unfair. I thought they should have paid him. Um, they bring in DeMario Davis. They signed Joseph Osai, and then they traded for Geno Smith and Mika Fitzpatrick. They traded for the worst quarterback in the league. It's not great. They lost their best linemen on a team that does not have good linemen already. And then they lost Quincy Williams as well.

SPEAKER_01 40:23

And paid Demario Davis, too.

SPEAKER_00 40:24

A pretty good linebacker. Yeah, I gave Demario Davis a two-year deal, which I thought was kind of ridiculous. I don't think he has two really two good years in him still as much as I like him. He's just he's getting old. But you know, it's probably why he agreed to go there because they were offering him the longevity. That's right. So I gave them a C, not really much to go off of there.

SPEAKER_01 40:43

And their future is going to be determined just you know, having the second pick in the draft. What are they gonna do? They're gonna take a quarterback?

SPEAKER_00 40:49

No, they're gonna go edge. It's very edge heavy.

SPEAKER_01 40:52

It's not gonna win him a game, but okay.

SPEAKER_00 40:54

Well, you know what I mean. Miles Garrett won games for the Browns. Well, you know what I mean, but look at their record. Yeah. Next, I have the Steelers trade for Michael Pittman, and then they extended him on a three-year deal for $60 million. They bring in Jamil Dean, a very good uh defensive back from Tampa, and they bring in Rico Dowdle as well. The biggest hold to the for the Steelers last year, I say biggest, one of the biggest holes was their running game. They just couldn't get the ball going. They had Kenneth Gainwell, but they lost him. Um, but he was more of a pass-catching back, not really a ground and pound kind of guy. So for them to bring in Rico Dowdle, I thought was a pretty good move. Uh interested to see what happens with Aaron Rodgers. Does he come back?

SPEAKER_01 41:34

He's gonna hold him hostage again. That that's what he likes to do. So that's what you get when you sign somebody like him.

SPEAKER_00 41:41

Yeah, they kind of missed out on other free agents. I kind of would have liked to have seen a Kyler Murray with them, but you know, it doesn't that neither of those players are needle movers anyway, and so it doesn't super matter. But next, the 49ers, they signed Mike Evans, they brought him away from Tampa three years, $60 million.

SPEAKER_01 42:00

Just like you were talking about with DeMario. When he heard three years, he was like, Yeah, give me that.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

What an overpay, man. Like, he's old, he he was never like the most athletic player in terms of like agility and quickness and those kind of things, but coming off a hamstring at plus 30, yeah. God, that may be the that may be the dumbest move of the free agency. I I hated that for them. Yeah, uh, they lost Juwan Jennings, which stinks for them. He was really he was pretty good for them. Uh they but they brought back Dre Greenlaw. I like the Dre Greenlaw signing a lot, but 60 million for Mike Evans, yeah, that's insane. I gave them a C. Not happy for them on that. Seahawks, they lost a lot, obviously coming off a Super Bowl win. They lost Rek Woolen, Kenneth Walker, Kobe Bryant, and Boye Mafe. Two really good defensive backs, an edge player and a running back. Um, they did re-sign Josh Job, uh rookie or second year corner from this year, and they re-signed Rasheed Shahid for $51 million over three years. Yeah, the Super Bowl tax really ate them there. I think after a full offseason and things of them, him being in their system, I think he could prove to be more than a uh return specialist, but yeah, $51 million for your third best receiver. Yeah, that's that's a bit that's kind of crazy to me.

SPEAKER_01 43:22

And who's the running back they signed? I don't even know who this is, Emmanuel Wilson.

SPEAKER_00 43:25

Yeah, no, no one worth writing home about. I think they they draft a running back in the late rounds. I gave the Seahawks a C. The Bucks re-signed Kate Otten, signed Kenneth Gainwell, which I thought was a really good move because they lost uh Rashad White. And they brought in Alex Anzalone from the Lions. Solid pickups. Um, they did lose Jamil Dean and Mike Evans on top of Rashad White. Uh just kind of stayed stayed in the same spot to me. I don't think they really moved the needle in either direction. I gave them a C plus. Titans.

unknown 43:59

Say.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

They brought in Cordell Flott and Elante Taylor, two pretty good defensive backs. Let me take this one. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 44:07

The Titans spent just for next year $80 million. And this is who they spent it on, Carter. John Franklin Myers, Wandale Robinson, Elante Taylor, and Cordell Flott.

SPEAKER_00 44:21

Yeah. And Ms. Trubisky.

SPEAKER_01 44:23

$80 million. Just in those four players. That's who they brought in. And it's a total contract, $295. I'm excuse me. Yeah, $295 million just on those guys and their contracts over the, you know, if they all play out like they're supposed to. That's ridiculous for those four guys.

SPEAKER_00 44:42

Yeah, I think they were trying to, like we talked about earlier, like teams making smart moves, knowing their limits and stuff. Like they were kind of the opposite. If they had all this money to spend, they have Cam Ward and they were just kind of like, let's just throw it all out and see what works. And yeah, not looking good for the Titans. They kind of put themselves in a um in handcuffs over the next few years with these players. I think Alante Taylor's really good.

SPEAKER_01 45:03

He he is, but he's not worth what they got. What he got.

SPEAKER_00 45:06

20 million a year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:09

He's not consistent.

SPEAKER_00 45:10

They spent real money on Mitch Trubisky, too. Like, why would you do that when you have the number one pick from last year for a backup quarterback?

SPEAKER_01 45:17

Well, if you get to Trubisky, then that that's going to be indicative of year anyway. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:22

And they also lost two good linemen as well. I give the the Titans a C minus. And finally, we have the Commanders. I give the Commanders a B minus. They lost a good bit, but maybe addition by subtraction. They lost Debo, Bobby Wagner, Marshawn Lattimore, Von Miller, and Tyler Biadosh. They're at team average age, probably dropped by like three years, just off losing those four players. Because those were all they were decent players too, but they're all so old, arguably washed. They got a lot younger. They brought in Odafe Owe from the Chargers, edge player, Amik Robinson from the Lions, losing a tech grad. Not grad, probably didn't graduate, but he played at tech. Leo Chenal from the Chiefs and Kayla Von Chason from the Patriots. I like what they did. I like the moves they made. If Jaden Daniels stayed healthy, their offense would not have been nearly as much of a problem as it was last year. And Terry McLaurin for that matter. Right. Their defense was so bad. They couldn't stop anything. And so to bring in four really solid players, I think bodes well for them. So I gave them a B minus. Well, that was a lot. That was our ranking, or that was my grade for every single NFL team's free agency. You know what this means. The draft is right around the corner.

SPEAKER_01 46:42

My most favorite sports day of the year.

SPEAKER_00 46:44

So excited. Real quick, top five biggest spenders. You want to guess them?

SPEAKER_01 46:49

Tennessee.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

Number one. They spent $298 million.

SPEAKER_01 46:53

I'm going to guess Carolina. Number five at $182. I'm going to guess million.

SPEAKER_00 47:00

Yeah. $298 million. $382 million. Raiders number two, $283 million. How about the one that only spent players on money on their own players? The Colts. Oh. And then the commanders at four, $225 million. Okay. So of those top five, I'd say three of those did a really good job with what they did. I know two of those did a really good job with their money, and the other three did not. But we'll see. Again, these grades are not based off how good I think this team's going to be next year, just based off their moves and free agency. Right. My three winners, Raiders, Panthers, and Saints. And then my three losers, the Jaguars, Colts, and Dolphins. Yeah. Almost with the Chiefs as a loser, but I don't want to overreact too much. Yeah. I think you saw front offices on complete opposite ends of the spectrum and how they spent their money. And kind of again, I think a really big part of it is understanding where you are team-wise, like what your what your realistic um ceiling and floor is, and what can you do to raise those? And so one last thing before we go. And those talks are being acted on. Next week, the NBA, owners, and league personnel are discussing the possibility of expansion. It's a formality. It's going to happen. It's more money. So at the end of the day, it comes down to the owners. They have to get 23 out of 30 owners to agree to say yes. Um that the expansion teams would be Seattle and Vegas. And so it's a possibility the Pelicans move to the East.

SPEAKER_01 48:34

I don't think it's going to happen that should, but it's not. They've already said that Minnesota and Memphis would move.

SPEAKER_00 48:41

Well, do you think it's do you think they should do it? Like I know you said that probably will because of the money. Do you think they should?

SPEAKER_01 48:46

Because it's it's going to grow the league, and that's you know, that's that's important to those guys. That's two more franchise. That's I mean, that's a lot of money, especially when you're talking about a market like Las Vegas. Um, you see what the Raiders are there, you see what the new uh hockey team that's there, the Knights. I mean, it's just makes sense that that basketball would come there as well. Um, and so because of money, yes, I say it's gonna happen. I think it's just a formality.

SPEAKER_00 49:13

It was so successful for the NHL, their two um expansion teams, and they're expanding they expanded in the same cities. They expanded Seattle Kraken and the Vegas Golden Knights. I think it'd be very good for the league to do this. Um, there's so much parody right now. There's room for players on team that are not on teams to be on a team. That's right. I'm interested to see like, and this is obviously years down the line from now, but like who gets protected from in the draft, who who teams save and who, all that kind of stuff. But let us know. Are you are you pro expansion or pro keep it how it is? All right, with that'll wrap up this week's episode of Hey It Sports. Let me know. Let us know how you feel about your team's moves. Are you are you more optimistic now than you were before? Do you feel like your team went in the wrong direction? Be sure to check us out on Instagram, posting uh daily content and updates. Thanks for tuning in, sign off for Hey It Sports. I'm Carter and Go Bills.