NFL Free Agency: Kirk Cousins, Christian Wilkins & Saquon Barkley new teams & more! | Full Episode

Dave Helman is joined by Greg Auman to recap a busy first day of the NFL Free Agency legal tampering window. To start, the two recap the biggest moves, including lots of movement in the quarterback market and huge deals for defensive tackles. Dave and Greg then run through their favorite signings of the day, the most impactful, the best under-the-radar move, the biggest head-scratcher, and try to decide which team “won” day one of free agency. Finally, Dave attempts to recap the rest of today’s big moves as fast as he can.

0:00 Intro
1:06 Dave Helman & Greg Auman react to NFL Free Agency moves
2:01 Kirk Cousins signs with the Atlanta Falcons reaction
6:21 Russell Wilson signs with the Pittsburgh Steelers reaction
9:25 Baker Mayfield re-signs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reaction
13:00 Chris Jones, Christian Wilkins sign big contacts with Chiefs & Raiders
14:22 Austin Ekeler signs with the Washington Commanders live reaction
17:41Chris Jones’ impact on L’Jarius Sneed
19:28 New York Giants trade for Brian Burns live reaction
25:06 NFL favorite signing from Day 1 of free agency
28:34 Most impactful signing from Day 1 of free agency
30:43 Most under-the-radar signing signing from Day 1 of free agency
33:03 Biggest head scratching moves so far from free agency?
33:35 Biggest head scratching moves so far from free agency: D’Andre Swift
34:438 Biggest head scratching moves so far from free agency: Jon Runyan Jr.
35:23 Jacksonville Jaguars
40:00 Winners from Day 1 of free agency
42:10 Winners from Day 1 of free agency: Atlanta Falcons
42:43 Winners from Day 1 of free agency: Green Bay Packers
47:45 NFL Day 1 Free Agency rapid fire round up

#NFLonFox #NFL #KirkCousins

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NFL Free Agency: Kirk Cousins, Christian Wilkins & Saquon Barkley new teams & more! | Full Episode

Whether you think he’s great or not the Falcons are in the conversation now they are a relevant team a team that should expect to make the playoffs and that just hasn’t been the case since about I don’t know 2018 or So welcome into the NFL on Fox podcast I’m Dave Helman and the money is officially flying maybe not officially the league year still starts Wednesday afternoon so yeah we’re we’re not even into the start of the new league year but in case you live under a rock the

Negotiating window is open deals can be agreed to in principle and the NFL has wasted no time Blockbuster deals all over the place major trades as teams seek to gear up for the 2024 season it has been an exciting first day to say the least so many of our questions

Heading into free agency already answered my good buddy Greg Alman of foxsports.com was gracious enough to join me again to break it all down the the the big moves the the interesting the heads scratching moves the confusing the exciting everything in between I’m gonna make it short and sweet we’ll get

To that because the longer I talk the more likely it is something new is going to happen before we can finish the show so you know the drill please subscribe on Spotify Apple podcast we’ll be back Thursday to break down everything else that happens we’ll be here all offseason

Long we got you covered our handle on all of the socials is NFL onf Fox pod please give us a subscription follow a like leave a review all that good stuff all right I can’t talk anymore because I I don’t want to miss any more news so

Let’s jump right into it Greg alond join me to cover all of the craziness from the first day of free ageny all right Greg let’s be as efficient as possible because the way this is going something’s probably going to happen while you’re on with me in the time

Since you hopped on Zoom Brian Burns has been traded to the New York Giants it’s just that kind of day so we we’ll get to Brian Burns there’s a lot to get to but let’s let’s start it with the big ticket items you came on the show with me last

Week and we talked about the landing spot for some of these quarterbacks let’s start there with the biggest most expensive position Kirk Cousins now a member of your division the NFC South agreeing to a deal with the Atlanta Falcons and if I can be honest this felt

Like the most poorly kept secret in the NFL for the last two or three days that this was going to happen yeah absolutely it’s one of those where you know last week we’re talking about his in-laws are in town and all the connections and you know pro football talk is saying he’s already

Looking to move his family there um so there was this lingering like what if Minnesota realizes they might not have very much left at quarterback and tries to make a push um they didn’t so it’s one of those where I think you see how much money is involved for the Falcons

This is four years and $180 million $100 million guaranteed um you realize how much that franchise was aware of what the drop off was at quarterback and what their plan B might have looked at and I think you pay a lot to avoid that scenario basically yeah which I mean

There’s two ways to go with this I guess let let’s start with Atlanta because it is it’s I mean it it’s this is the Big Ticket quarterback they’ve been missing since Matt Ryan left town basically and I’m curious we we we’ve seen what a struggle it is to win this division for

The last couple of years is it as easy as saying the Atlanta Falcons are the prohibitive favorites right now I think they’re probably a slight favorite right now I mean everybody got excited when the saints got Derek Carl last year thinking that would push them over the

Top and it got them close they they tied for the best record in the division but they didn’t close it out so I do think um you know the perception of this Falcons team a year ago all last season was a great team that was missing a quarterback solid offensive line great

Young Talent on offense a good defense and they just had quarterbacks that gave them 17 touchdowns in 17 games and as many interceptions and you can’t win without that position so I think what this does as you said maybe for the first time since Matt Ryan or maybe even

Two or three years before Matt Ryan was gone in Atlanta is it gives them a guy who can be a playmaking quarterback a 30 touchdown quarterback I think I think the number with with cousins is 25 touchdowns or more in the last eight full seasons he’s played and that’s much

Better Atlanta’s had 17 touchdowns each of the last two years 20 the year before that so this should get them to be a much better offensive team and put them position at least to make the playoffs if not to win the NFC sou yeah I I can’t

Falcons fans I can’t promise you that you’re going to make it to the Super Bowl or anything I think Vikings fans are going to going to bring up the lack of postseason success but I I think you can set your watch to Kirk Cousins being a good productive quarterback I think

Atlanta is going to be in the conversation in a way that they just haven’t been the last four or five years really quickly before we move on I do think it’s it’s interesting to see where Minnesota goes from here because now all of a sudden it’s nice not having to pay

The guy but now it’s I don’t know do you try to swing a trade for Justin fields or do you do something crazy in the draft to get up and draft one of those guys the options all of a sudden don’t look inspiring in Minnesota right with with Mayfield back

In Tampa with Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh now sudden it’s like hey Sam darnold uh might be available uh so yeah I would think there’s got to be something between those two uh whether it’s I mean trading for Fields trading within the division is always a little

Bit uh harder to pull off so the Bears might not want to they might take a slightly worse offer just to avoid seeing Justin Fields twice a year in divisional play uh but again he would be probably their best remaining option there’s not a lot of good uh even second tier quarterbacks

Available you’re talking about guys like garoo there’s other people they could they could go to but it’s just it’s not a it’s nobody you’d confuse with Kirk Cousins at first glance I’m really interested to see how they navigate that we’ll have time when they eventually

Show us their plans we can talk about it then let’s get to those other two guys you mentioned you and Eric Williams came on the show and y’all both honed in on Russell Wilson as a very interesting storyline line I got to be honest with you I thought he might hang out there

For a little while longer than he did but Russ didn’t even wait until free agency opened he signed a deal in Pittsburgh for roughly 1.2 million I like I like the deal in the sense that I think Pittsburgh got better at quarterback and this was already a team

That made the playoffs but am I crazy if I don’t think it changes the calculus for the Steelers all that much in the AFC pecking order um I they’re not like a top tier I mean I think it definitely helps them on the offensive side of the ball they for it

Felt like for them to move forward with Ryan with with Kenny picket versus Mason Rudolph was a lot like the Falcons a year ago with like Des rer or Taylor hinei they were gonna have a h at quarterback so what this does is it gives them if you just get Russell

Wilson of last year which is 26 touchdowns against eight interceptions you’re getting that for a million two he’s he one of the cheapest gu’s on their roster so even as a one-year Bridge quarterback I think they’re better for it it it makes them certainly a team that’s expected to be a playoff

Team I don’t know if they’re going to Challenge Baltimore I don’t know I mean Cincinnati is going to be better Cleveland that whole division is is hard to to get a good beat on right now but I think it helps them I I think it’s a

Good match for him I can see why he’s going to a veteran coach a consistent winner uh has some weapons to throw too and for the for the Steelers it’s definitely better than running it back with Kenny picket and hoping that he just finds himself in year three that is

One thing I do think the Steelers deserve credit because they are more than almost anybody I just think the Steelers are they’re set in their ways they I mean it seems like they’ve done everything the same way since the 1970s you know famously only three head

Coaches going back to Chuck null so for them to kind of step outside of that comfort zone and and bring in some competition for Kenny picket and to do it with a very high-profile player like I said I’m not convinced the Steelers are a drastically better team because of

This but I do think they deserve credit for sort of deviating from that very typical Steeler way sure and this is kind of I mean from a locker room chemistry standpoint there’s a risk involved here I mean Russ again Russ isn’t for everybody he’s gonna have to handle himself probably better and have

Things work out from a chemistry standpoint better than they did in Denver in that again this is a guy that that it got to the point where they were okay taking on $85 million in dead money in paying him $39 million this year not to play so you’re taking a gamble that

Tomlin just as a manager as a uh a guy who gets people to get along when they might not otherwise do so he’s got to figure out ways to make that work so there isn’t a negative aspect from a locker room Vibe standpoint let’s take it down to your backyard Tampa Florida

And a very similar to their whole offseason I mean they did it with Mike Evans a week ago and now Baker Mayfield resigns in Tampa Bay I don’t think that’s a surprise I think most people expected that to happen but just the way that it all just sort of

Came together no drama no negotiating in public Baker slots right in three years 100 million with a a chance to make 15 or so million in incentives I think it’s just rare for for a free agent quarterback you know the most important position position to

Just kind of slot right in but I guess it’s a testament to the relationship there with Baker and the Tampa front office that this this just felt really easy for such a big- Time negotiation right I agree and I think it speaks well to Mayfield putting a

Priority on being in a good situation where he’s comfortable and feels like he’s valued and a leader as opposed to rolling the dice and going somewhere where that might not be the case I think he probably could have gotten more I mean I mean if he is a free agent right

Now he’s prob going to the loser of this Falcons Vikings deal for more money than he’s getting right now from the from the buck but again I think he you know came there not knowing I mean when he went to the Bucks last year for $4 million

That’s probably his last shot to go to a team as a presumptive starter and he made the most of that he had career highs in yards career highs in passing touchdowns led him to the playoffs won a game in the playoffs and kind of won the

City over it’s not easy to take over a team from Tom Brady and he did that and he won as many games more games than Brady did won a playoff game when Brady did in his last year and now he gets the the the fruits of that which is you know

For him at least two years and 60 million I like the symmetry of it I think like I like that the Bucks know where they are you know I like similar to Kirk and Atlanta I don’t know if they’re going to win a Super Bowl but I

Think this is these last this last year or two maybe three it feels like Tampa’s last chance to do something with this core of guys that they won the Super Bowl with back in 2020 whether That’s Mike Evans and Chris Godwin we’ll see what happens with lante David but this

Feels like pushing your chips in for two years and if it works great if it doesn’t that’s when the Buccaneers retool but I I like keeping the continuity of this team that kind of surprised people last year right oh yeah and this will be a little bit different

Than that you know with the Brady years you had such high expectations with last year you had amazingly low expectations where some people thought they’d be among worst teams in the league yeah now now I think it’ll be kind of middle of the pack now I I think the NFC South

Will be seen as a dog fight will be seen as hey the Falcons you know went out and got Kur cousins they’re the team to beat bucks were able to bring everybody back maybe a little pieces here and there because they’re not quite as cap

Strapped as they were a year ago and the Saints are right there too I mean the Saints again went nine and eight tied for the best record lead they they’ve got carb they they probably won’t have the upgrades talent-wise the rest of the division will but I think they’ll be

Right in it so yeah it makes it a fun division to to handicap going into the season I’m going to say I don’t I don’t think anybody would mistake it with the best division in football oh no but it but it might be the most competitive I

Mean I don’t think anybody’s back in the Panthers right now but other than that you could make a strong case for any of the other three so that’s definitely that’s going to be something to watch as we inch closer to training camp all right let’s take it to the defensive

Tackle position and I mean Aaron Donald did this years ago like I I think people have gotten used to the idea of defensive tackle being a premium position but we’re really hammering at home at this point Point Chris Jones resigns in Kansas City 5 years 158 plus million do and if that wasn’t

Enough in the same division now Christian Wilkins goes from Miami to Las Vegas on a four-year $10 million deal I’m curious I mean I don’t think defensive tackle has replaced Edge rusher as one of the like big five money positions but I don’t know man some of these paychecks might have you believe

In otherwise oh I mean Justin M almost got a $100 million on his four-year deal you’re right yeah absolutely yeah no I mean if you think about I mean Wilkins you’re almost wondering why Miami didn’t franchise him and that the franchise tag was one year and 22 million and he goes

Out and signs for 27 per so that they’re probably unless there just was some kind of agreement they wouldn’t do that they probably missed out an opportunity to get something for him there and that if you tag and trade in theory you’re getting him cheaper than the Raiders did

And then you don’t have to give up that much for it but yeah yeah the D tackles again Chris Jones absolutely set the Mark we had him in that top 50 as the number one free agent um you know Chiefs aren’t going to be able to bring everybody back but they definitely bring

Him back and he’s you know at the very front and center of that defense uh a big part of why they’ll be back competing for another one this this coming season wa we have a breaking update what was that Justin who signed in Washington that see that’s that’s what I

Was talking about Greg Austin Eckler now to the the the Washington commanders have been a very busy team here on the first day of free agency couple of couple of former Cowboys Tyler botes dorren Armstrong they got your guy out of Carolina Frankie louu going to Washington and now Austin Eckler I think

You you see this all the time it’s a completely new organization in Washington they had a boatload of cap space and I mean Dan Quinn seems like he’s trying to build the bones of a of a competitive roster here in his first year as the head coach absolutely we

Kind of knew they would I mean they had had a crazy amount of cap space hundred million in cap space and a number two overall pick you kind of can line yourself up where you don’t have to pay a whole lot for your quarterback and you can surround him with Talent so to

See that they you know got rid of Chase young got rid of montz sweat during the season last year they kind of were creating uh a shopping spree a spending spree where they they would be able to have a lot of pull here on the first day

Of free agency and again like Frankie louu I think is a strong signing for them he’s a guy who’s a linebacker but can kind of moonlight as a pass rusher had seven sacks this past year um that division is hard to paint because the Eagles don’t have Kelce the Eagles don’t

Have Fletcher Cox they’re losing people they’ve also just added saquon Barkley and they’ve just added uh an Elite pass rusher paying $17 million today so I mean it’s it’s one of those where there’s a lot in flux um so it’s hard to know within those I mean commanders

Certainly were bringing up the re this past year but I think they’ll be a able to narrow that Gap uh the Giants you don’t know where they’re going to fit in uh who their quarterback’s going to be but I do think the NFC will be an entertaining division again oh always

Yeah and you know the Cowboys will get active in free agency about two weeks from now so we’ll see what they do when they finally feel like spending money I hate to I hate to jump here but what I mean this is what you do in free agency

All this money’s flying around the commander if if they draft a quarterback at two and he hits they will have the talent in place to be successful I mean we saw it last year with Houston like nobody was taking the Texans seriously if if the quarterback hits there’s no

Telling I mean the commanders they have two great receivers and Terry McClaren and Jan doson you like their their you know they’ve got defensive pieces offensive line even with Tyler botes not so sure I’m sold on that but hey free agency’s young they’re still time for

Them to add to that so if the quarterback they pick it to is good that’s that’s a very interesting Team all of a sudden new defensive-minded coach number two overall pick on a quarterback ton of money spent in free agency it’s kind of the Texans blueprint

And it’s easy it’s probably not going to win a division title like Houston did but it wouldn’t be hard to get them to nine and eight to get them to 10 and seven if things go right and the rookie doesn’t look like a rookie um and they’re one of the most improved teams

In the NFL then which I just I I was so caught up on what they had yeah they add Austin Eckler into that mix at running back to go along with Brian Robinson yeah there’s stuff to to feel good about there a phenomenal piece of improvisation there Greg let’s I do I

Want to hit on one more point with Chris Jones specifically with the size of that deal that the Chiefs gave him and again the writing was on the wall for at least a week or so what does that mean for lerus sne I mean we know they gave him

Permission to request a trade it doesn’t seem very logical that they would sign him to a major deal as well would we think that he’s probably getting moved between now and the draft I think so I mean quarterbacks are so coveted in this league um there’s going to be there’s

Going to be decent compensation coming back on ATT Tack and trade for Sneed I mean you think about Jaylen Johnson’s off the market now this is the best corner available and you have to give up pick to get him but I mean the Bucks just got a third round pick for Carlton

Davis who’s at $14 million isn’t nearly the corner that sne is so no I I think it’s one of those where they have some real Financial constraints that will keep them from signing everybody they want um you know but they they brought Drew back he’s back now you know they’ve got

Linebacker covered with him back they’ve got Chris Jones back um it’s one of those where as a championship team nobody comes harder for free agents than guys that can pluck Stars off of a championship team and they’re a two-time defending champ so they’re going to get

Raid they’re going to get hit hard in free agency um they did well just to keep Jones at the top of that list and not lose him but again the price you pay for that is you just don’t have the flexibility to keep The Supporting Cast

You’d like around him I think if you’ve got a piece like Chris Jones though and then you have Patrick Mahomes and we know they’ve drafted well bringing in guys like McDuffy bringing in guys like Nick Bolton George caraus I could go on and on like if you know that and that

Those guys will be there and be on cheap contracts for at least the next two or three years yeah give me the draft pick let lerus sne go get his payday and we’ll we’ll go find our next Trent McDuffy I wouldn’t be surprised at all okay

This is what I alluded to at the top of this it literally just happened like 15 minutes ago you cover the NFC South Brian Brian Burns finally traded away from Carolina I a move that feels like it’s been five years in the making he goes to the New York Giants and

Immediately gets the the major payday he was waiting for was it it was 87 and a half million guaranteed 8 87.5 million guaranteed five years 150 uh just short of Bosa in terms of I think he’s the second second highest paid Edge rusher pass rusher in the NFL

Just huge money and clearly something Carolina wasn’t willing to go to I think they probably would have liked to have realized that a year ago when the Rams were offering multiple first round picks um but where they are right now you tag and trade you get a two and a five and

You move on can you shed any light for me as to why I I mean I just I think time time is the enemy of any NFL front office like sign the deal or make the trade one or the other like because even if even if you’re wrong on the deal the

Faster you get it signed the faster you can get out from under it and the longer you wait on a trade the less it’s gonna be four clearly as we’re seeing with this deal I mean why why the hold up on Carolina’s part well I mean I think

Initially the thought is that they traded away Christian mcaffry they traded away again Robbie Anderson how can you go without him anymore traded away Anderson traded away DJ Moore at the draft last year and I think the sense was you don’t want to trade away

All of your stars so the one guy that they decided was Untouchable in this was Brian Burns and and you get him on a fifth year option and he wants more money and you get him on a franchise tag and he wants more money and eventually I

Think you get to a point where it doesn’t help their case that they went from a seven win team to a two- win team so now you’re having to overpay your own guys to keep them um and I think you reached the point where again before

When it’s the GM that made all those decisions you might be more likely to pay now it’s Dan Morgan there now it’s Dave Canales there a fresh start you can kind of say that was another GM’s mistake not taking those draft picks when we could have got him when I came

On I realized we couldn’t keep him on a long-term deal I got the best we could get for him we got the number 39 overall pick now they have 33 and 39 that’s that’s two impact starters they get a fifth rounder that’ll be somebody but I

Think it gives them also the other nice thing is that now Carolina has $24 million in cap space that they didn’t have this morning because they’ franchise taged Brian Burns so it it’s come luckily on the first day of free agcy there’s still money that can be

Spent properly uh they went out and spent 20 million a year on Robert hunt to get one of the better guards available to improve their interior offensive line I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not done I mean I think if they come out of this week without getting one of these Premier receivers

Calvin Ridley or Maris brown or one of these types um in theory they could take one of those picks and trade it for T Higgins okay and do a tag and trade after a tag and trade um they need to upgrade the offense to me I thought it

Was weird for them to put a whole lot of money into the defense while neglecting everything around Bryce young and now they have $24 million and a draft pick that will go towards building a better line and better weapons around him so he can look closer to the quarterback they

Drafted I think that is that is the Saving Grace and we were wondering about that before we started recording is which pick are the Panthers getting and the fact that they get pick number 39 overall so the what the the sixth pick in the second round of the NFL draft I

Mean top 40 picks are typically seen as it’s a different level of value right so yeah as soon as you said 39 alarm Bells went off in my head of like o could this get you T Higgins cuz that all of a sudden changes the math a

Little bit about how you feel about Carolina’s offense or even even if not having pick 33 and pick 39 maybe it doesn’t completely erase the sting of not having a first round pick in this year’s draft but it it is a nice consolation prize though to know that on

Friday night you’re gonna have a lot of ammunition to work with oh yeah and and if you wanted to package those two picks together 33 and 39 probably get you to around 20 or so if there’s one guy that falls that you see as just a Difference Maker if one of

These Elite receivers for some reason Falls if if there’s an edge because they now need one with Brian Burns gone they can now move up um that helps again I mean they like we mentioned they lost Frankie luu so now you know you’ve lost essentially your two best defensive

Players when defense was the strength of this team so it’s this is a full-on rebuild but now they have more money to rebuild with now they have a high draft pick to help with the rebuild it helps them Rebrand this team as players that Canalis and Oran brought in for this

Team as they move forward with a new identity not only that but especially you know Dave Canales he got this job because of the work that he did with Baker Mayfield I’ll gladly sacrifice my defense in the short term if it means that I can build a a sustainable offense

Around Bryce young I mean that’s that’s going to dictate everything about how this hire goes I really and truly did not expect to spend this much time on the Carolina Panthers on the first day of free agency but hey that’s that’s the joy of free agency you never know what’s

Going to happen that’s going to bring a team to the Forefront okay so that I believe that catches us up on the latest especially with the Austin Eckler news so if if we don’t get to something that’s because it happened after we were recording we’re sorry we’ll get to it

Next time but Greg I want to wrap this up with you we’re gonna play a quick game we asked you ahead of time we’ve got a we got a handful of categories from the first day of free agency and I just want to notes with you about how

This first day went so let’s just start it off and it can be anything it could be a big name it doesn’t matter it could be whoever you want but so far from what we’ve seen what’s your favorite signing what’s your favorite move in free agency

This year I think I like Sequon Barkley to the Eagles honestly it’s a lot of money by modern running back money uh but to think that what he did in New York with a less than ideal offense and offensive line I think he could be really productive in that offense

I think he could be the one of the few backs to justify a12 million year salary uh and I like it I thought I thought they did well there they let some guys go they pick some guys up they kind of had a busy day today but I I I like the

Idea what Barkley can be in that offense so here’s my here’s my thing with sequan he goes to the Eagles on a three-year 37 38 million there’s some incentives baked in there as well he’s a wonderful player he’s got 15600 allpurpose yard potential does saquan and maybe I’m

Wrong but does saquin raise the Eagles ceiling I mean they just had a 1200 yard season from DeAndre Swift they got my sanders a major deal in free agency the year before that it just doesn’t feel like production from that position was their problem in my opinion like when

You consider the money that they could have spent on the back end of their defense or the fact that Jason Kelce is retiring I just wonder if they could have spent that money you know Xavier McKenna going to the Green Bay Packers on a huge deal stands out to me of like

H I think maybe that raises the Eagles ceiling a little bit higher than saquan but I don’t I don’t want to sound like a hater either because I do think this is going to be incredibly fun to watch right and and fixing the defense probably was a bigger priority for the

Eagles than upgrading their offense I mean the second half of the season the reason they were who they were was their defense was awful so I think they’re hoping that a new coordinator there helps couple of new pieces shuffled in and out they’re they’re not done there

In Philadelphia um no more Fletcher Cox which is range uh you know but to bring in somebody already I I think they’re they’re going to be active especially on the back end uh so we’re not done with it but like I said I just liked it as

A rare use of resources at running back in this league higher than whatever the kind of 8 million dollar threshold everybody else seems to be at right now Josh Jacobs got a lot of money from Green Bay today that that’s also a power move if you will those are both going to

Be incredibly fun to watch both of those running backs my favorite is it it this is boring but I think it’s going to pay dividends the LA Rams quietly signed Jonah Jackson for three years $50 million and remember last week they resigned their own guy Kevin Dodson so

Really fortifying the interior of that line which I think is always a great move when you have a veteran quarterback like Matthew Stafford Kiren Williams breaking out in a big way at running back for them so these aren’t moves that are going to sell a lot of jerseys but

Man I I feel good about offense that was already very good last year sure all right let’s keep it pushing this one has potential to be boring I know my answer is boring but that’s fine the most impactful signing for you so far I think I have to go with

Cousins I think it’s just it’s it’s the the most franchise changing move it’s I don’t think you have a choice but the saer cousins and if I if I want to be like non-quarterback Division I I think I might say Christian Wilkins going to the Raiders just because it’s it’s so

Rare to let a talented D tackle like that loose on the open market and I think having him inside is going to make Max Crosby like a 24 sack guy um legit major big season ahead for Max Crosby because they have a lot more they have to deal with on the

Interior of that that Vegas front um so I like that too if I if I had to get out of the quarterback box that’s where I’d go next is is Christian Wilkins getting paid uh by the Raiders in Las Vegas I think that’s another thing worth mentioning and I’m right there with you

Obviously Max almost one Defensive Player of the Year anyway this is only going to help Tyrie Wilson the top 10 draft pick from last year another guy that could benefit in a big way from just having a a space eating matchup eating monster like Christian Wilkins in

The middle there but yeah I mean Kirk you do have to just you got to throw it out there that Kirk Cousins I said this earlier today whether you think he’s great or not the Falcons are in the conversation now they are a relevant team a team that should expect to make

The playoffs and that just hasn’t been the case since about I don’t know 2018 or so uh so and and I’m guessing Arthur Blank the owner is well aware of that and that’s why he was willing to spend this money is like hey I remember how it

Feels to make the playoffs every year and I’m sick of not doing it yeah six years without it that’s a drought and um it’s one of those where again they they’ve set themselves up where I I think now if they’re not a playoff team it’s a disappointment in

Atlanta which says something it’s been that long since you’ve been absolutely again talking about fun offenses I mean you think of all the top 10 picks they’ve spent at the skill positions here over the last three years I’m sure fantasy football players are going to be very invested in what’s going on with

The Falcons all right what about an under the radar signing like doesn’t yeah it can’t be saquan it can’t be Josh Jacobs but somebody that’s under the radar that really pequ your interest here I’m going to go Andrew van GLE G to go yep Minnesota Vikings Brian Flores

Getting one of his old Miami guys and bringing them up it’s two years 20 million it’s fairly inexpensive uh but I think it’s a good pick for them they brought in a couple different defensive guys I mean obviously they lose cousins today that’s going to be the headline of Minnesota is

Who the heck is their quarterback moving forward but their defense got better and if they can find an answer at quarterback uh somewhere between cousins and Sam darnold I think their defense will be better for him I’m a big big fan this one happened relatively recently before we recorded but the Cincinnati

Bengals brought in Gino Stone on a two-year $15 million deal safety play was so big for defensive coordinator L Ana rumo there in Cincinnati when you think about Jesse Bates earned a huge payday with Atlanta last year Von Bell in Carolina Luan rumo turns out knows

How to use a versatile safety and Gino Stone had an amazing year not even as as the primary guy uh you know he he got a lot of playing time due to injuries but nine pass breakups and of course seven interceptions for Baltimore last year if

A if a defensive mind like l anarumo wants you I’m gonna assume it’s probably a pretty good move and I’m I’m guessing Gino Stone and and that is that is not a big contract like Gino Stone has has the potential to very much outplay that deal right absolutely yeah and when you look

At I mean that defense if you’re going to borrow from a defense you’re going to steal from a defense that’s the defense you want to do it from right and like you I think they took a step back to lose Bell to lose Jesse Bates I think it

Was inevitable they take a step back and and and their losses their their drop off defensively kind of got obscured because they’d lost burrow and they weren’t nearly the team overall uh but if you think about defensive Minds like I said lose near the top of the list and this gives him a

Big weapon and a center fielder who again is probably good for five or six picks in that defense okay it’s all been very positive very friendly to this point we’re not going to say I I think it’s so dumb to call somebody like a loser on day one of

Free agency like I said 75% of these deals are probably not going to age very well like you can go back and look and see of all of this money that gets spent a lot of it is going to be uh regrettable but with that said I just I

Think it’s interesting to look at at the process like look at why teams do things and who they target and we can’t say that they are a loser but some of these moves are confusing so I’m curious if you have a a head scratching or a confusing decision that

Went down here today yeah I’ll give you two the first one was literally the first contract signed today and and that’s DeAndre squi going to the Bears uh getting three and 18 I felt like there was a little bit of a warning last year and the Eagles had a pro bowl

Running back in Miles Sanders had like 1300 yards 11 touchdowns in Philly he goes to Carolina gets paid well like six million a year and did nothing in Carolina granted a terrible offensive situation uh but he went from like 4-9 a carry to like 33 a carry and you wonder

Like oh how much of that was just getting to run behind an amazing offensive line in a loaded offense in Philly and now again DeAndre Swift comes to Philly does well gets a thousand yards makes the Pro Bowl boom gets paid and I just wonder I worried that Chicago

Who didn’t want to pay David Montgomery money a year ago and let him walk and he goes and has 13 touchdowns and a th yards in Detroit why they’re now looking to pay somebody who did really well in another offense but I don’t know if he’s going to have that same success in

Chicago uh now that I’m done dumping on him I will also give a shout out to John runan there was kind of this crazy guard jackpot money being distributed today uh Robert hunt got paid a lot of guys got paid in ways Lon Dickerson got 21

Million a year um guard is like right there with tackle now in the crazy offensive money going out uh but r got three and 30 and I I just don’t know if I thought of him as a above average guard I think he was number 47 among

Guards Pro Football Focus this year not the PFF is the end all but that’s that’s bottom quarter of starting guards so to go out and think that he’s the answer and give him 10 million a year it it felt like a non-answer or a half measure to me

There I’m baffled by almost everything that the Jacksonville Jaguars have done today and the crazy like look I get it you’re going to lose players if if you don’t hit on your draft picks you’ve got to replace them in free agency the market is always going to be more

Expensive so I get it you you got to spend money to replenish a team that’s what we were talking about with Washington but my thing is we just watched Jacksonville have a similar day to this two years ago and for the most part those deals haven’t really worked

Out that well you know Christian Kirk has has had his moments but I don’t think has lived lived up to the deal that he signed a couple years ago um fono fatukasi the defensive tackle they released him last week and then they go out today and they sign Gabe Davis to a

Three-year $39 million deal Darnell Savage who I think most Packers fans would tell you they were like they’re hoping to find an upgrade to Darnell Savage he gets a nice deal Mitch Morse who was recently released granted I mean that’s a cost-saving measure by the buffalo bills but it’s just weird to see

The Jags go back to the same strategy that got them to a disappointing finish this year like you know they’re they’re in the mix for the one seed and they fall apart down the stretch and they’re back here doing things the exact same way I just I think

The whole thing is very confusing is the perfect word for it like you were all here two years ago why why are we doing this again so sometimes there’s that lag where you get the news that a team has signed somebody but you don’t get the

Money right away right and you kind of get excited like oh wow that’s a big name or but you don’t know the context of like how much was that dress or like that was a nice dinner well how much did that dinner cost and so I literally

Built it up in my head as being a a far worse contract for Gabe Davis than I was worried they’re giving Gabe like three and 50 sure uh big like six like again I I probably was more critical of Christian Kirk’s deal when he got it and he’s probably been closer to earning

That value than I expected him to um but Gabe Davis when it came in at 13 mil a year I was like oh you know that’s that’s actually not bad that that’s almost wise spending on the first day of free agency and you don’t see that so

Within that weird expectation I built up in my head I was like you go Jaguars okay but let me you’re not wrong but here’s the confusing thing and granted it’s one day we’ll see what they do but like and look I’m not I don’t mean

To crap on Gabe Davis I think he has he fits a very specific and useful role he had some big moments in Buffalo but I think Gabe Davis needs a number one receiver and we we know that’s not Christian Kirk despite what the money says and and we don’t know what’s going

To happen with Calvin Ridley who is currently still sitting out there I mean if the Jags bring back Calvin Ridley I I would look at it and say wow you spending a hell of a lot of money on your top three receivers first of all

But on and so I if they do that then fine I would say you have a very expensive receiver core but it looks pretty good but what if what if they don’t I mean I don’t I don’t think you move Gabe Davis and Christian Kirk up a

Layer in terms of their involvement in the offense like I said it’s it just seems like a backward way to do things in my opinion yeah I was presuming that they were moving on from Ridley I didn’t expect them to add a $20 million and a 13 million receiver in

The same year uh so if they if they did I mean Gabe is is a is not a get people excited about losing Kelvin Ridley replacement Type move um and Jacksonville’s got to be careful and the Jacksonville had that window where it looked like the division was theirs and

Now Houston is right there Tennessee has a new coach ind’s gonna have with luck a healthy Anthony Richardson leading them after what was a surprisingly resilient team last year and if it’s not if they’re not careful the Jags can really fall behind in a bad division yeah and which is a crazy thing

To say about a team that I saw as a potential number one seed in the playoffs last year was fighting for it with six weeks to play it’s crazy how quickly life can change in the NFL all right one last one before we let you go

And it it is only one day so we’ll have to revisit this as free agency winds down but with most of these major deals going through and I am hearing I feel like a like a breaking news reporter we do have the Miami Dolphins yeah right Miami Dolphins agreeing to a deal with

Former Seahawks first round p pick Jordan Brooks on a three-year $30 million deal I like that a lot I don’t think it’s enough to make me call the Dolphins the day one winners but Greg oh they lost a lot today yeah which I meant

To say that earlier I get it look I hate to side with billionaires over millionaires I’m always going to side like the NFL teams should push to win you should demand that of your owner to try to spend as much money to be as competitive as possible but the Dolphins

Are a very real reminder of what it can look like when you do that and I think that’s why Christian Wilkins isn’t there anymore I think that’s why they’ve had to make a lot of the decisions they’ve made over the last couple days I digress aside from what’s going on in Miami Greg

Who who do you think won the first 24 hours really more like the first 12 hours of free agency yeah Washington definitely spent a lot um and that impressed me just to see the sh volume of what they added there Vegas I didn’t have high expectations for

Vegas going in here they did let Josh Jacobs go with Herz minu feels like a nice signing I’ll be honest for what they paid there’s so much money that gets paid in free agency so to be able to get uh the 20th 22nd best quarterback

In the NFL things go right for two years and 25 million feels like it’s okay again Wilkins I think is a game changer on the defense um to have Antonio Pierce get to add you know what for him is probably the second best player in his defense that that seems like a strong

Thing for them um there’s not a single thing I I we talked about the Dolphins they they would have been an easier pick as the team that lost the most today um Jordan Brooks notwithstanding that’s probably easier to pick than a big winner because there wasn’t one person that went crazy the

Patriots had so much money they were very quiet today uh the Titans had some kind of moves early on I thought they’d be more active um so Washington is The Big Spenders right now but I don’t see a clearcut wow this team is four wins better than they were this morning kind

Of thing well I I think there’s one obvious one we’ve but we’ve already given it we’ve already given it enough oxygen I mean it’s Atlanta I think again just the Falcons are relevant in a way now that they just haven’t been I mean again they’re they’re leading podcasts

Like this they’re leading National TV like I said I don’t know if Kirk Cousins gets them over that hump and to a championship but I think he will he will have them in the mix in a way that just hasn’t been the case the other one and I

I think this is this is the way that I would prefer my team handle free agency is I’m gonna guess the Green Bay Packers don’t do a whole lot else yeah but they made an impact signing on each side of the ball they go and get in my opinion

The best running back in football Josh Jacobs maybe not well excuse me Christian mcaffrey I’m so sorry okay maybe not the best but certainly best available C and certainly the best available and certainly on the short list I mean when you talk so often saquon Barkley is a great example I mean

He’s a great player but there is an element of buyer beware where you’re like well the injuries have been an issue he’s spent a lot of time touching the ball behind a terrible offensive line Josh Jacobs for the most part I mean the guy’s 26 the injury issues have

Been minimal he’s shown that he can be an NFL rushing champ in a decent offense and now he’s going to a very good offense and then on the flip side you got a new defensive coordinator in Jeff Halley you bring in a versatile safety like Xavier McKenna who can sort of help

Him revamp that and it’s a a unit that already has a lot of Talent on it if the Packers don’t do anything else I think they feel very very good about where they are heading into the draft so I I do I feel really good about the work

That they were able to do today yeah I agree with you it’s one of those where I mean mcken probably of the sa there were so many safeties out there all of a sudden but in terms of one that wasn’t cut loose and could have been franchised I think they did really well

There and Jacobs again makes Jordan Love’s life so much easier he’s had a good onew punch over the years but to have a 25 carry a Game Force that you can ride in that offense and take some of the pressure off him with all those young

Receivers back Green Bay should be a fun offense to watch it’s ionic we would be saying that too about the Packers on a day when you know they’re expected to part ways with two franchise Legends obviously Aaron Jones gets the short end of the stick and it sounds like he’ll be

Released after they sign Josh Jacobs and David baktari also Moving on but I mean unfortunately bakari hasn’t been much of a factor for two three years at this point and Aaron Jones I get it it’s going to be emotional parting ways with a guy that’s done so much for your team

But replacing him with Josh Jacobs is not a terrible consolation prize so I I already felt really good about the Packers I feel even better about where they are now agreed and again it’s there’s these running backs it’s a good position to stay young at so to move on and get four

Years younger going from Jones to Jacobs you kind of saw that in Tennessee a little bit as well where they knew that they’re moving on from Henry Tony Pard is not the the force that Derrick Henry is but on balanc it’s a nice position to recycle and get younger and and just

Switch out for a a newer model if you will and with that we can wrap this up and hope that nothing too crazy happens between now and the next time we record Greg before I mean is there anything anything else any anything I’m forgetting anything that’s that you’re

You’re red hot about before we get out of here no no I think I think we hit it well we still know where Justin Fields goes that that’ll be that’s kind of my unanswered question is where he’s going to land um there there had been a second

Split Second where it sounded like Vegas might get involved there and that would have been intriguing I don’t know if M kills that or not but there’s the chance that Fields doesn’t go somewhere where he’s an obvious starter or a presumptive starter um and you know I think we’ve

Expected he would but there’s only so many quarterbacks to go around so my my big question right now is where does he end up how do they get something for him and and how does he come out of this with at least a shot at a starting job

Somewhere yeah I think Vegas is going to be the front runner until otherwise notified and and on top of that I also think I’m starting to think wherever Justin Fields goes it’s not going to be a given that he’s the starter when the season starts I think he’ll it’s either

You’re either talking about maybe potentially backing up or at the very least competing for a starting job once training camp starts which I’m not sure how many people had that on their bingo cards right and the problem with Fields is that you have to decide by May

Whether you’re picking up his option of 22 million for next year and if you don’t know he’s your starter you probably don’t want to do that so now you’re talking about a team that might only be looking at as a one-year rental which means a smaller return for for

Chicago you could kind of do that thing like they did with Jordan love where they didn’t quite pick up the option but they gave him some money in year two it it complicates the the the trade calculus on on Justin Fields if he doesn’t go to a team that expects him to

Start right away it’s funny we like all through the offseason it’s kind of been decreasing like it started out you know he was playing really well at the end of the year and it’s like maybe they can get a one for fields and then it’s like

Ah two or a three is probably more realistic and as I’m sitting here in mid-march I’m like maybe a gets it done and if he’s going to go you know be in a quarterback competition so we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves Greg it’s always so much fun

Having you on man I appreciate it and given the way that this goes we’ll we’ll probably be talking to you soon when some more stuff pops off man thanks a lot of course thanks for having me on day appreciate it thanks again to Greg for stopping by and helping me get

Through it all the crazy thing is we talked for 45 minutes and didn’t hit on everything that happened that’s when the entire that’s what happens when the entire league is out here trying to get better in the same 12-h hour window so before we get out of here it’s been a

Minute since we’ve done the hurry up offense we usually do this for game previews to get through all the games on a given weekend we’re going to do it for free agency we’re going to take you through the best of the rest everything else that happened that Greg and I

Didn’t have a chance to get to my wonderful producers are going to give me three and a half minutes to make sure I don’t go on too long and I’m gonna try to hit there’s no way I’m G to hit everything there have been like 500 transactions in the NFL already on the

First day of free agent but we’re going to get to the big big stuff that happened and we’re going to try to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible to get you on your way so let’s start it back in Philadelphia we talked about saquan Barkley but on the other side of

The ball the Eagles also bringing in one of the biggest defensive free agents of the Year former Jets Edge rusher Bryce Huff agreeing to a three-year $ 51 million deal to sign on to Philadelphia’s pass rush he becomes the highest paid non-quarterback undrafted free agent in NFL history what

A freaking success story for Bryce Huff I’m curious what this means we’ve already heard the trade rumors around Hassan reck and Josh sweat Hassan reck about to cost the Eagles $22 million against the cap Josh sweat something like $9 million it’s probably possible the Eagles keep all three on the team

And their pass rush would be great for it but I’m going to guess one of those guys gets moved between now and the draft but it won’t be Bryce Huff the newest member of the Eagles pass rush sticking with pass rush users Leonard Floyd had a wonderful year in Buffalo

The guy’s had nine or more sacks in four straight years he jumps back to the NFC West remember he used to play for the LA Rams he is the newest San Francisco 49er two years 20 million I’m guessing he’s going to be the newest replacement for Chase young opposite Nick Bosa I wonder

If San Francisco has more work to do though with Eric armad also being released we’ll see I mentioned Buffalo Deon Dawkins tried to troll us all and act like he was getting released but in fact he resigns with the Buffalo Bills three years $50 million for the left

Tackle good for him in Indianapolis a trio of reigning for the Colts the first of which Michael Pitman Jr the latest guy who goes from the franchise tag to a new contract he gets three years roughly $71 million defensive end taquon Lewis and defensive tackle Grover Stewart

Resigning as well so the Colts doing a good job of keeping their own yet yes Jawan Jennings is a wide receiver four but or wide receiver three but it’s also worth mentioning that he resigns in San Francisco guy was almost the Super Bowl MVP he re-ups with the 49ers to keep

That offense intact here’s a sneaky good signing that I love the LA Chargers let Austin Eckler walk out the door but they do agree with running back Gus Edwards on a two-year $6.5 million deal if you know anything about Jim Harbaugh he wants a battering Ram one cut running

Back that’s Gus Edwards to a te very unsurprising big big signing in the NFC North Jonathan granard former of the Houston Texans signs with the Minnesota Vikings on a 4-year $76 million deal big big signing for a guy who has definitely earned it I’m just curious what it means

For denil Hunter as of this recording denil Hunter has not signed but with grenard going to Minnesota I doubt he is a viking for much longer Center Lloyd cushenberry arguably the best Center on the market this year he signs in Tennessee four years $50 million for the former Denver Bronco obvious that Rand

Carthon the GM in Tennessee trying to fix that offensive line they drafted Peter scony last year now they’ve got Lloyd cushenberry in the middle oh and Tony paard to run behind him not too bad two big resigning in Cleveland zarius Smith the defensive end defensive tackle Maurice Hurst resigning to work with

Miles Garrett yeah I wouldn’t want to play anywhere but with the defensive player of the year either that’s not surprising Devin single ter agrees to a nice little payday three years $16.5 million to sign with the New York Giants defensive lineman Deno autre gets two years $20 million okay I didn’t make it

Sorry there’s a lot going on in the first day Deno ay gets two years 20 million to sign with the Houston Texans former Titans defensive lineman and former Titans linebacker Aziz Al shaher one of the best tacklers in the league over the last couple years three years 34 million

I love it when signings just make sense too Ryan knows he needs to build up his defense he had to play against Deno arrey and Aziz Al Shyer twice a year with Tennessee last year oh by the way Al Sher played for Deo a couple years

Ago so yeah you love it when a coach gets to free agents and he’s like yeah bring me my guys that’s exactly what’s happening in Houston with those two signings one last one literally as we’re wrapping up recording offensive lineman Michael U resigns with the New England Patriots three years 57 million Greg

Mentioned the Pats have a ton of cap space hadn’t done a whole lot with it Michel wnu eats up a significant chunk of that to help them rebuild their offensive line I’m exhausted that is a whole lot of free agency news and there’s plenty more coming because look

We got the list there’s no shortage of bigname interesting players still left out there as of this recording Jags receiver Calvin Ridley still available I mentioned Vikings defensive end denil Hunter Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith of course King Henry Derrik Henry still sitting out there as well as a

Dozen other bigname differen maker players we will be back later this week to catch you up on everything that happens there potentially more trades coming who the hell knows it’s the start of the league year anything’s possible this was a lot of fun thanks a lot to

Greg I’ll catch y’all next time yeah please go follow us on all the on the social social Spotify Apple podcast YouTube you know the drill we’re on all the social networks at NFL on Fox pod we will be back Thursday to catch you up on everything and yeah go find us on social

For everything in between I appreciate it so much I’m going to go try to sneak a nap in while I can I’ll talk to y’all soon