NFL Free Agency Reaction: Kirk Cousins-Falcons, Josh Jacobs-Packers, Saquon-Eagles | Colin Cowherd

Colin Cowherd reacts to the latest news around the NFL with free agency. Colin discusses Kirk Cousins leaving the Minnesota Vikings for the Atlanta Falcons, Saquon Barkley leaving the New York Giants for the Philadelphia Eagles and Josh Jacobs signing with the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay had a busy day signing Jacobs & Xavier McKinney but also released Aaron Jones & David Bakhtiari. Will Bakhtiari reunite with Aaron Rodgers on the New York Jets and why did Green Bay decide to be so active this time during NFL Free Agency?

Timeline:
00:00 – NFL Free Agency
04:15 – Kirk Cousins signs with Falcons
06:20 – Aggressive GMs & coaches
09:25 – David Bakhtiari to Jets?
11:38 – Where does Justin Fields land?
16:00 – Saquon Barkley to Eagles
17:42 – Josh Jacobs to Packers

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#nfl #football #packers #falcons #eagles #packers

Welcome to the official YouTube channel for the Colin coward podcast go on hit the Subscribe button there you go right down there if you want to be among the first to hear my weekly takes NFL college football more right there all right some instant reaction on the free agent frenzy now this this

Stuff is changing by the minute so I’m going to try to do this quickly get it out to you um I think the my first takeaway is the money in the NFL now there are guards making what quarterbacks did 10 years ago the explosion of Revenue in the NFL

Based on uh you know your your your DraftKings your sports gambling money and your TV contracts is enormous um I also think um what’s important to knowe anybody connected to a quarterback a quarterback protected a quarterback or pursuing a quarterback is going to get paid safeties the furthest

From a quarterback are not getting paid look around right now safeties pretty good safeties are being let go they’re the furthest player from a quarterback uh I mean I don’t know where Jamal Adams goes of the Seahawks formerly the Jets who pays for him uh but yet guards are

Getting paid the Rams now have two pro bowl level expensive guards as they’ll move another guard to Center um they’re protecting an older quarterback his knees uh you know quarterbacks need to be protected and that’s where the money is going the other thing of influence that jumps out

To me is that um the the influence of the head coach influence of the head coach so a great example Matt leflour is an offensive coach he goes and convinces the front office I can make Josh Jacobs work now Aaron Jones is very good he’s let go probably too often banged up now

Josh Jacobs has also had some injuries but he may view Josh Jacobs as a better version of a good player Aaron Jones so they make the call Rams offensive coach go get another expensive guard Jonah Jackson who is a terrific young late 20year Old Guard would a defensive coach

Pay that kind of money or have that influence to want to expens guards Antonio Pierce defensive coach goes to Mark Davis and says hey get me in this division against Herbert and momes get me an expensive hundred million uh interior lineman Christian Wilkins 85 million guaranteed you see the influence

Gabe Davis an inconsistent receiver Doug Peterson offensive coach convinces his front office get me Gabe Davis let’s pay him $40 million Jim Harbaugh this is not a surprise Harbaugh is willing in fact I think we talked about this about two weeks ago he wants a running back he

Wants some power football he goes and gives Gus Edwards Baltimore a two-year deal offensive coach you see the influence the guys making money in this league are not general managers it’s quarterbacks and head coaches are making 15 million 10 million 20 million 30 $40 million a year they have real power in

The building those defensive coaches um they’re going to I mean Mike Tomlin look at all the money the Steelers spend on the defensive side now look at the look at the Rams outside of Aaron Donald they’re not paying anybody on defense they’re gonna pay Cooper cup Matt Stafford two guards Rob

Havenstein uh they pay their uh their tight end see where the money goes Mike Tomlin it’s the defensive guys getting paid so that tells you the influence of the head coach um in terms of um moves that will impact wins well none of these teams are going to pay this money

If they don’t think it makes the team better so we can all kind of admit that listen I think Kirk Cousins to Atlanta is it more than I’d like to pay yes but the market for Kirk Cousins was going to be 40 million up and he’s going to get

About 45 million for Atlanta he has tremendous value in at Atlanta tremendous value defensive coach weaker division he’ll be arguably the best quarterback in that division they have young offensive players that need guidance that’s tremendous value but in Minnesota where he’s not as young or talented as Jared Goff looks like Jordan

Love has a chance to be more talented and and um more productive than him Caleb Williams is coming into the fold and they look at in Minnesota SOA and say we have two good receivers a great left tackle very good tight end excellent offensive coach we don’t need

To spay spend $ 45 million for Kirk Cousins we’re going to go get maybe a Sam darnold on the cheap draft a quarterback kind of reset our quarterback clock so Kirk Cousins value in Atlanta is pretty strong young team defensive coach weaker division where

You drop 27 points you can win a lot of games in that division in the NFC North you got Caleb Williams coming in and regardless of what anybody says Bears have some Talent now Bears have some Talent um you also have Jordan love and the Packers their talent overwhelmingly

Now with Josh Jacobs on the offensive side Detroit stacked offensively best offensive line in the league Ben Johnson great coordinator Amar on St brown pan Su uh tremendous young running back Jared Goff so the value for Kurt Cousins and Minnesota let’s go get a JJ McCarthy

Let’s go get a penck a bone Knicks uh and then Sam darnold reset the quarterback clock Sam darnold on the chap so it just depends on who the coach is I think again if you’re a quarterback protecting the quarterback pursuing a quarterback connected to the quarterback

You’re going to make a lot of money and The League is on fire it’s just I’m looking at some of these moves um Garder mchu went to the Raiders and in that division um good luck but Antonio Pierce is going to spend a fortune on a defensive tackle Christian Wilkins they

Get two years 25 million on the cheap they go and get a quarterback I don’t think Shawn McVey or Matt laflure not that they need Garder mchu I don’t think they would go sign a two-year deal with Garder mchu that’s not their answer so you just see the importance offensive

Coaches put on a valuable back a tackle a weapon a quarterback all of it’s fun though isn’t it you know one of the things the NFL has created Through The Years um is there’s a lot more young general managers and years and years ago you just didn’t see this kind of activity uh

Older general managers very reluctant to take some swings on this stuff but with the youth um in free agency and the youth in coaches a lot of these Les sne and Shawn McVey and John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan you know these guys are close uh they have each other’s back they work

In unison and they’re aggressive people uh younger people in society tend to be a bit more some would say Reckless but more aggressive you know than older people so I love what it is right now we’re seeing in the NFL some big swings I mean Gabe Davis three years 40 million

At Jacksonville is pretty pricey that probably means they’re moving off Ridley or a Christian Kirk both of who I like that’s a little pricey for me but it’s Trevor Lawrence got a lot invested you know Doug Peterson’s GNA spend money on offense to make that work so I get it

Little pricey for my taste now Rams pay Jonah Jackson the former Lions guard three years 50 million you say oh that’s expensive they already have a Kevin doson but they’re moving their excellent rookie guard last year they’re going to move him to Center so it makes sense right you’re not

Paying your left tackle now you’re not paying your Center yet you’re paying your guards to protect Matt Stanford I get it I guess those two you could say are at the higher end the price point um nothing bothers me I I did I will say

Um I like Aaron Jones of the Packers a lot I also like Josh Jacobs of Green Bay um Aaron Jones is a good football player where do you go with a running back like Austin Eckler free agent Aaron Jones can go where he wants to go I like Aaron Jones

A lot that’s a really good player out there these young general managers though a lot of these guys if not analytics they’re going to push back on safeties they’re going to push back on off-ball linebackers they’re going to push back on running backs that’s what they’re going to do Matt LeFleur goes

The opposite way he pays for Josh Jacobs here’s an interesting one so the Packers released David bokari so he’s missed 41 games in three years he was really good in his prime but he can’t stay healthy we know Aaron roggers has a history of wanting his buddies to play with him and

Not necessarily his great buddies Randall Cobb at once very productive pass his prime uh I guarantee he’d love Bak diari to protect him for a game Allan Lazard so again I could see Bak diari coming over and the Jets still drafting a left tackle and bokari being there for some reassurance some guidance

Almost almost a coach to a rookie left tackle listen Andrew Thomas for the Giants was a very good left tackle he wasn’t ready to play when he came into the league he got overwhelmed a bit that is not an easy position to adapt to college to the pros left tackle

Quarterback left tackle that is a lot to put on a 22y old’s plate I could see Bach diari going to the Jets for a year again can’t stay healthy would he take an incredibly Team friendly one-year deal Aaron and David B are are close um Green Bay made a lot of moves but

Again young aggressive head coach in a division where Detroit’s got real real talent stacked roster they add Josh Jacobs they release Aaron Jones uh they lose Darnell Savage and John runan they release David bakari they add a safety Xavier uh uh McKinny lot of movement in

Green Bay not known as a team that does make a lot of moves of note in the free agent period the thrill and excitement of March Mania is here it’s one of the best three four-week periods in sports in America every single year draftking Sportsbook one of America’s top redded

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G to have to pay him within a year uh Calvin Ridley Jaguars ride receiver is going to be out there Leonard Williams defensive lineman for the Seahawks um Austin Eckler Chargers Ryan tanah Hill quarterback Titans you know tanah Hill uh is interesting so big mobile accurate

At one point um was a number one seat in the AFC it it’s interesting if you had Ryan tanah Hill or Justin Fields now tanah Hill is more expensive who would you choose well kind of my belief is you can’t worry too much about cost at quarterback I mean it’s obviously if

You’re Minnesota 45’s too rich on Kirk Cousins but it wouldn’t be if he didn’t have a surgery was three years younger and a little more mobile than you just pay it right tanah Hill is interesting if tanah Hill and Justin fields are your options I mean one has been a number one

Seed one can’t win games sounds crazy Derk Henry of the Titans again I’d be interested one or twoyear deal the Justin field scenario is really interesting right he hasn’t been signed yet um there are certain arguments in his favor hey it’s the Bears they can’t get quarterback right his first year to

Year and a half the offensive line was horrible he had a firste defensive head coach um you know the division has better teams and more experienced coaches Dan Campbell Matt laflure um there are certainly arguments to be made that he could be better elsewhere I think that’s reasonable I’ve said before

Sam darnold reportedly is going to get a shot in min SAA with a really nice offensive weapons is Justin Fields worthy of another shot I think so now I thought Atlanta was his best space but Seattle’s still out there I mean it does say something that Antonio Pierce took Gardner mshu over Justin

Fields now what’s scary about mshu is that he had one of the smartest offensive coaches in the league Shane Sten so as minu a little overvalued based on a brilliant offensive coach and the Raiders aren’t gon to get nearly as good of productivity out of him now with

A defensive head coach and a defensive culture that argument makes a lot of sense to me you know that’s why I always worry so Kevin o’ Connell is an offensive coach they have Justin Jefferson I mean Kirk Cousins was on fire before the injury now he goes to

Young offensive weapons and a defensive coach it’s realistic to think he won’t be as productive so in free agency when you when you get a quarterback or a star receiver like T Higgins is out there right potentially in a trade well T Higgins is going to go to a place he not

Going to Kansas City I doubt now if he got momes then spend some money but the truth is he has Joe burrow okay and then he has an offensive coach and then he has Jamar Chase on the other side drawing double teams so T Higgin productivity You could argue for

A number two receiver he’s in a perfect space to be productive offensive coach great quarterback star receiver on the other side yeah but what if he goes to an average Quarterback what if what if T Higgins ends up in New England and he is the dominant one draws double teams they

Have a rookie quarterback it’s a defensive culture then T Higgin could disappear so you know Tyreek Hill was lucky he went Andy Reid to Mike McDaniel and Tyreek great but so much of this stuff is situational T Higgins isn’t the perfect place for a number two receiver to eat

Burrow the offensive coach Jamar Chase perfect no guarantees he would do that if he went to the Raiders now I don’t think he’s going to the Raiders but all this stuff is situational remember only about 33% I think the number is of free agents hit right that that’s it so a lot of

Times you see a player and you look at him and go well how good’s he gonna be like I think saquan Barkley Giants to the Eagles could be productive first of all better offensive line in Philadelphia both the Giants and the Eagles have offensive coaches but a

Better o line in Philadelphia you have a better quarterback in philate less reliant on Squan Barkley less predictable offense you’ve also got two excellent wide receivers Devonte Smith and AJ Brown Eagles always have good tight ends so you can’t glom onto and focus on a saquan Barkley like you could

Do with a New York Giants so I think saquan Barkley could go to Philadelphia and you look up and you’re like oh I’m getting the best version of saquan Barkley you know the wide receivers wide keep the safeties out of the box you have very very productive pass catching

Tight ends in Philadelphia a quarterback that can move all of a sudden saquan Barkley in Philadelphia better offensive line you may be looking at a pro bowl the Pro Bowl running back saquon Barkley so I the if I’m saquan Barkley today I am fist pumping get me to Philadelphia get me

The Eagles Playbook better o line better weapons better quarterback what’s not to like you could get fewer carries and be more productive so you know like like a lot of these guys I look at and I I think you know sometimes a good player is a good player

But if I’m Josh Jacobs for the Raiders and I get now an offensive coach over the last 10 years better offensive lines I would say a weaker defensive division okay so you you know you start looking at that division Minnesota doesn’t have a great defense uh Detroit

Is mostly about offense so I look at Josh Jacobs and I think I go to a winning culture with winning momentum an offensive coach I’ve got tremendous tight end and wide receiver weapons young and it looks like Jordan Love Again here’s a quarterback that can move and now he’s got some experience in

The system and starting I’m Josh Jacobs so saquan Barkley Giants to the Eagles Josh Jacobs Raiders are the Packers I’m a running back I should be much more efficient much more productive perhaps even with fewer carries isn’t that a running back’s dream fewer carries more production more touchdowns so there’s an

Argument there that like a Barkley and a Josh Jacobs those everybody’s uh saying you know running backs very sad nobody wants a running back Squan Barkley and Josh Jacobs got great landing spots I’d be shocked if both aren’t more productive I mean Green Bay doesn’t make moves in

Free agency but Jordan loves 25 Jacobs 26 Musgrave the tight end 23 Reed the receiver 23 Christian Watson Romeo dos I mean Green Bay’s offense is going to be dynamic for years and they don’t spend money in free agency this this they just want to make sure

They can get a running back that’s healthy I if you don’t like Green Bay’s offense I don’t know what you’re watching because they got nothing but young Dynamic Twitchy fast talented pieces tight end running back wide receiver Quarterback