2024 NFL Free Agency Preview: Landing Spots for Chris Jones, Kirk Cousins & more! | Full Episode

Dave Helman gets you ready for the start of NFL free agency with this special in-depth preview. To start, Dave runs through the list of tags, cuts and signings from a busy Tuesday in the NFL. Then, Dave is joined by FOX Sports writers Greg Auman and Eric Williams to dive into this upcoming free agency class. The group begins with the impact of the franchise tags and covers the biggest remaining available players, including DT Chris Jones, DT Christian Wilkins, QB Kirk Cousins, QB Baker Mayfield, and DE Danielle Hunter. Finally, they assess the running back market with a number of big names set to become available.

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2024 NFL Free Agency Preview: Landing Spots for Chris Jones, Kirk Cousins & more! | Full Episode

I don’t want to get too much into draft talk right here but it seems like the Vikings and Falcons are both going to make a pitch to Kirk Cousins welcome into the NFL on Fox podcast I Dave Helman and as predicted so much stuff has happened since the last time we talked to y’all here on the show The League year a little less than a week away it starts March 13th the the new league year free agency all of the

Good stuff that comes with it and suffice to say teams are getting ready well so are we here at the NFL and fox podcast the next time we talk to you the negotiating window for free agency will have opened so the next time we are in

Your ears on your screen teams will have already started making moves so we’re going to get out in front of that this is our free agency preview we’re going to get you covered on the biggest storylines the biggest topics heading into free agency my good buddies Eric Williams and Greg alond of foxsports.com

Join me they wrote a wonderful top 50 free agent list the the best free agents available in 2024 make sure you go check that out on the website on the Fox Sports app to get you ready and then when you’ve had a look at that listen to our conversation we’re going to break

Down the the biggest story lines for the biggest guys and we will have you covered when everything starts next week so as always if you’re not subscribed please do maybe even leave us leave us a nice review like great show good content guy talks too much but yeah five stars

Anything like that that would be that would be really great if you want to do that on Apple podcasts on Spotify wherever you get them you can follow us on all your socials at NFL on Fox pod we’ll be here all through the free agency frenzy the the first day

The first week and then you know free agency goes on for a month the signings are going to be ongoing probably up until the start of April when teams really focus in on the NFL draft so we got you covered make sure you’re following all that good stuff free

Agency preview coming up before we do that like I said it’s been a flurry of activity in the NFL as teams get ready for the spending process so we’re just going to catch you up since the last time I talked to you thank you so much

To Ari myov at mysports update for just putting this all in a tweet that I can read right here we talked about the franchise tag deadline that was Tuesday and most of our predictions came true Michael Pitman of the Colts Jaylen Johnson of the Chicago Bears Justin matuk of the Baltimore Ravens Antoine

Winfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Josh Allen of the Jacksonville Jaguars Brian Burns of the Carolina Panthers all have been franchise tagged that goes along with Jerry Sneed who we already knew was going to be franchise tagged as well as T Higgins so as you’re going to

Hear in our free agency preview a lot of the big big names in this free agency cycle have been franchise tagged Patriot safety Kyle Dugger has also been transition tagged it’s an accounting procedure don’t worry about it basically the Patriots are trying to save $4 million by giving him that tag instead

Of the franchise tag few deals being thrown out as well going to shout out my guy Dalton Schultz former Cowboys tight end now secured longterm with the Houston Texans sign a three-year $36 million extension to stay in Houston after his fantastic season last year signing looks like CJ strout’s going to

Keep his tight end option for the foreseeable future that’s really exciting Houston also agreeing to a deal with their kicker Cami Fair Baron it’s been thinking about you know Mike Evans signing ahead of time as well now the Texans getting deals done with a couple of guys also it’s been impressive to see

How many teams have been able to get things done despite the looming Spectre of free agency it seems like there’s a lot of willingness to cooperate around the NFL right now another resigning worth mentioning the lions are bringing back cornerback Emanuel Mosley on a one-year deal and then this is what you

Expect to see the week before free agency teams shedding salary all over the NFL the Seahawks the biggest one they cut safeties Jamaal Adams and quandre Diggs as well as tight end will dley free something like $20 million in money ahead of free agency quandre Diggs is the interesting one I’m guessing he

Is going to have a robust Market Chargers cut Eric Kendricks the former uh the former Minnesota Viking current charger just guessing Mike zimmers the new defensive coordinator in Dallas longtime uh head coach in Minnesota just guessing Eric Kendricks might have a star on his helmet before it’s all said

And done New York Jets cutting tight end CJ Ooma Panthers cutting tight end Hayden Hurst like I said this is all expected because teams have to get ready to go throw that money at other people next week that is the bulk of the show that’s what we’re going to get into

Right now like I said the league year starts Wednesday March 13th that is when you can sign free agents but the tampering window the negotiating window that starts March 11th so as soon as Monday afternoon teams can start agreeing in principle to Deals bringing on free agents it is coming up really

Quickly and to help me with that as promised Eric Williams Greg alond our own guys here at foxsports.com join me to preview the big storylines the big names to know in the 2024 free agent class all right guys y’all feel like the perfect people to talk to to preview free agency you

Helped collaborate on our own Fox Sports top 50 free agent list for this coming League year and I’m going to start off on a bit of a Down note because it’s starting to feel a little bit anticlimactic around here like if you’re somebody that gets into the the Intrigue

And the juice of free agency and all the big deals getting signed franchise tag deadline was Tuesday March 5th and after it was over it feels like a lot of the Marquee names are off the market I looked it I looked it up on y’all’s list if you include Mike Evans who’s

Obviously not tagged but he has already agreed to a major deal with the Buccaneers if you include him nine of y’all’s top 15 free agents are off the market already before we even start this so Eric I’ll I’ll start with you how do you how do you see that

Affecting the the spending at the start of free agency obviously there’s still some really intriguing names out there but a lot of the biggest ones are going to be staying with their current teams yeah I mean this is what happens traditionally in free agency and it’s

It’s why the the NFL has it set up that way so owners can hang on to their top guys by by franchise tagging them um and and and keeping them on their team or giving the the team the the opportunity to do that um I think it it it it Waters

Down some of the top players that that are going to hit the the free agent market so if you’re a a team that has some money to spend and and you know wanted to sign somebody like like um like Justin matuk you know who was a

Good player for the Ravens um he’s no longer available so you now have to move to the next guy on your list um but there’s still a lot of good players that are available um guys are still going to get signed to to what we deem as as you

Know pretty high contracts maybe higher than we we deem their value um so there’s still plenty of guys that are going to hit the open market and and be available for teams to bid on I’m curious and I’m sorry if I’m asking you to predict the future but I look I mean

There there are some Heavy Hitters among these these guys that have been franchise tagged right whether you want to talk about Brian Burns whose Saga is just ongoing in Carolina feels like it’s been two or three years at this point that he has been in a contract top with

The Panthers uh T Higgins is another similar name like that where you know people have been speculating about his future Greg I’ll I’ll ask you this because I mentioned Brian Burns Antoine Winfield is another one there are some guys like Winfield where it just you know this feels like a placeholder you

Use the franchise tag to buy yourself four more months and Antoine Winfield will very likely stay a Buccaneer a am I right about that but B how do you see this shaking out with some of these other guys which of these guy which of these players do you see reigning for

Sure and which ones might be playing for or heading for a year where they’re truly playing on the franchise tag yeah I agree with you and I think like you said I think Antoine Winfield’s definitely at the other end of the spectrum where it’s it could be a week I

Mean two years ago the Bucks tagged Chris Godwin and a week later they had a a long-term extens ition so I think he wants to be there I think they want him there and now it’s just a matter I think the Bucks are willing to make him the

Highest paid safety in the league it’s just a matter of working out the the details of it and the only reason he has the tag is you hit that deadline where if if you don’t get that tag in then you have the risk of losing somebody um I do

Think Brian Burns is probably the Other Extreme um they’ve been trying to get a long-term deal for Brian Burns for a long time and it hasn’t happened um and you know we all know the Panthers had lucrative offers they turned down multiple first round picks they’re

Probably not going to get that now but I think at the point where if you’re a franchise that’s struggling and needs as much as Carolina does to get extra draft picks to get $24 million in cap space they can upgrade a ton of positions they can find four or five starters for that

Money and that might do them better than than keeping the the best player the most elite player on their team but yeah in the middle all these defensive studs I don’t know if Sneed stays with the Chiefs I don’t know if Jaylen Johnson stays with the bears but I think this is

That middle ground where at least you know you’ve got them for this year if if it gets to be late summer and you haven’t worked something out you can use the leverage of hey you don’t want to get traded you don’t want us to to move

On with you maybe that helps get a deal done uh but the tag means different things different teams and different players for sure all right so let’s turn the focus to the guys that are available and and like I said there are still some really good ones Chris Jones is is number one

On y’all’s list let’s start there Eric this this feels interesting to me just because I mean Chris Jones is he’s an incredible Talent he’s I mean I don’t think I need to say a whole lot about what Chris Jones means to the Chiefs and he hasn’t been tagged and yet it feels

Like all the momentum suggests that he’s going to stay in Kansas City or is that just like is that like beer goggles like post Championship Vibes and once the Market opens that might change or what do you see for Chris Jones when teams are actually allowed to talk to

Him hey you bring up a good point Dave I don’t know what his mental state was when he made that statement at the parade that he was coming back I think his agent would like to hey you know pump the brakes there let me do some negotiating before you make that

Statement um you know I I think that Chris Jones has reached the level of Aaron Donald in terms of his impact I can’t believe I’m saying that that’s a person that that covered you know Aaron on a regular basis for two years but when you watched him play in Super Bowl

And the impact that he had in the postseason I think he’s he’s now reached that level and probably deserves to be paid in that same range you know which is uh you know low to to mid-30s annually um you know with where the Chiefs are in the cap not sure how

They’re going to get that done in terms of the financial finagling that they’re going to have to do to make it happen but certainly they seem committed committ to having him there uh at least for the you know the upcoming season in order to to to defend their title um and

And I think their their defense is much different and they’re not able to do what they can do on the back end if he’s not there on a consistent basis on the front end so I expect that they’re going to figure out how to how to get it done

But you know we’ll see the other thing that makes it interesting is and and we talked about all these guys that have been franchise tagged because of where they are financially the Dolphins have very noteworthy not tagged Christian Wilkins who I don’t think anybody puts Christian Wilkins on the same tier as

Chris Jones but he is a phenomenal player and guys like this don’t hit free agency very often I think these are both going to be very eye popping numbers I feel a little bit more confident that Chris Jones will stay with his team whereas I think Christian Wilkins is is

Very very likely gone from Miami but how this stuff works out and and does Chris Jones need to sign before Christian Wilkins settles on a number that type of stuff I think is gonna be very intriguing next week yeah no doubt and and and Christian because of his age is

Is unique you know in terms of a defensive tackle that is that talented hitting the free agent Market you know last year the ners were able to sign uh hardgrave and and I think he improved their their defense and I think this is something similar if you’re a team

Perhaps like the lions that that got to the the NFC title game last year and you need interior defensive line help that’s going to kind of push your team over the top and you’re wi willing to spend some cash I think that’s a player that you

You look hard at that’s going to kind of change the trajectory of of what you’re able to do defensively I actually had I had something different in mind for Greg because Greg I I I appreciate the irony here you cover the NFC South and you know obviously somebody had to win that

Division but the Intrigue during the season was not all that great and so you for instance you weren’t on the Pod as often as Eric was talking about the 49ers and their R to the Super Bowl but the NFC South is incredibly interesting when you’re talking about resetting the

League year because the NFC South is in the thick of it for arguably the two most important free agents in this in this class of free agents obviously the Atlanta Falcons have been strongly linked to Kirk Cousins here over the last week or so and OB and and Baker

Mayfield as well is is angling for a new deal maybe in Tampa Bay let’s start with Kirk do you buy the validity to I mean it’s getting a little crazy like we we’re connecting the dots that his wife is from Atlanta Kyle pittz is responding to rumors on social media that he maybe

Had an agreement with Kirk Cousins about wearing number eight I mean how much validity do you think there is to this no I think there’s something to it there might be a little bit more smoke than fire at this point um I’m not sure when the tampering window for jersey number

Negotiation begins in the NFL but uh but it makes sense if you look at the Falcons to me uh last year what killed them was kind of that summer of inaction O of not pursuing a free agent of not chasing Lamar Jackson of not moving up

In the draft and being content to move forward with Dez Ritter as their guy at quarterback um that’s why Arthur Smith got fired it’s why they’re seven and 10 for a third year in a row so it will not surprise me at all if if braheim morrris

If Terry fno take the opposite Tack and they absolutely swing through the fences um that could mean giving Kirk Cousins at 35 coming off an Achilles $40 million a year it could mean trading for Justin field it could mean moving up into the top three of the draft I don’t think

They’ll make the same mistake twice um cousins would be the most glaring write a huge check and see what happens um I think it makes sense I think it’s a talented team that finished better than the Vikings did last year um I think he makes them a team that would be expected

To be a playoff team could probably use another receiver to throw to uh but again it it should be a similar offense to what he had with okell and Minnesota uh kind of that Rams based everybody spent a little bit B of time in Los Angeles with McKay so the offenses are

All about the same um it would make a lot of sense if they like Fields Fields would be less expensive cost a little bit of draft picks maybe have a little bit more long-term upside uh but in terms of of making sure this Falcons team won’t be confused with last year

Starting your off season by sending her cousins is a big step in that direction yeah I think you know it sends a pretty clear signal when Arthur Smith the former head coach gets fired largely because of what they didn’t do at quarterback I think they’re gonna fix it

It is it’s fascinating and I don’t want to get too much into draft talk right here but it seems like the Vikings and Falcons are both going to make a pitch to Kirk Cousins maybe somebody else comes in but right now I it feels like a good guess

One of those teams is going to wind up with him and then the other team like you mentioned Justin Fields you also might have to Pivot to this year’s rookie class and it’s interesting to think the team that loses the sweep Stakes might be doing something bold in

The draft to get up to take a a Jaden Daniels or a JJ McCarthy whoever it winds up being it’s always interesting to think about how you kind of allocate those resources of like okay if we don’t get Kirk Cousins do we have what it takes to answer this question another

Way right and it’s all in play that’s the cool thing for Atlanta is that they’re they’re close enough at eight where they’re higher up than Carolina was when they traded up last year so to go from eight to three which probably gets you Jaden Daniels um it’ll cost

Their second round pick it’ll cost next year’s first round pick probably but that seems like uh it would be in play and obviously that costs less from a dollar standpoint than than giving Kirk Cousins probably two years and $80 million fully guaranteed um so they just

Have to decide are you going to get older and have a more known commodity quarterback or or can you win uh kind of like Houston did with a Young quarterback uh Fields wouldn’t be as young but potentially a rookie quarterback on what would otherwise be a playoff caliber team in Atlanta um these

Are kind of the first dominoes when you think about how this free agency it shakes out I think it starts with your your Kingpin top dollar quarterbacks um there’s the chalk version where cousins stays in Minnesota Baker Mayfield stays in Tampa um but then there’s also versions that are more chaotic where

Okay if cousins goes to Atlanta now the Vikings are suddenly players do they get Russell Wilson do they where do they go you have these teams that are playoff caliber teams if they have the right quarterback they’re not going to sit back I don’t think so it’ll be fun to

See which which scenario kind of starts things off in the next week here all right let’s let’s talk about the other guy Baker Mayfield and I I I think both of y’all have some some excellent Insight that you can add to this because Baker is in a very similar situation to Gino

Smith who Eric you cover the Seattle Seahawks and and what they wound up doing with Gino Greg let’s start with just brass tax I mean where do you think it stands with Baker and the Buccaneers I mean as as soon as Mike Evans sign signed on Monday all the smoke was like

Don’t be surprised if Baker doesn’t make it to free agency either still have not quite a week because the the the negotiating window opens on Monday but they do have plenty of time to still work something out do you do you have any inkling as to whether that might

Happen I I think he’ll be back I think everything the Bucks have done to this point has been with an eye towards reminding Baker that he has familiarity and comfort and things he knows in in Tampa that he won’t have anywhere else even again like there’s a little bit of

Intrigue when Dave Canales and Brad is leave to go to Carolina now he’s going to have a new offense they go out of their way to go get Liam Cohen to get a coordinator he’s worked with in the past uh a guy that is fine no matter who your

Quarterback is but he has a specific relationship with Baker Mayfield that helps that situation so I I look at what Baker was doing before he got to the Bucks and it’s a long wandering three teams in one year not a fun time so for him to have the success he had in Tampa

To reestablish himself with a new home a city he likes a fan base that’s embraced him a team that has made him a leader I don’t know that there’s enough money from an outside offer to convince him to roll the dice and move his family and start scratch start from scratching a

New city when he has a good situation here in Tampa um I don’t know what that dollar value is in terms of 27 a year 33 a year uh it’s kind of like what’s the what’s the smallest amount of money that’ll make him fear valued but allow

Them to surround him with the kind of talent you need to repeat as a division champ which and that goes back to my point I think what played out with Gino Smith and the Seahawks feels awfully similar to what’s going on with Baker Mayfield I don’t know what the number is

Going to be but I would imagine the deal that Baker eventually signs will look at least somewhat reminiscent of that deal that Gino got in Seattle three years 75 million maybe it’s an extra year maybe it’s a little bit more money but would imagine it’s a similar ballpark Eric I’m

Curious I don’t think the Seahawks regret that move I mean Gino Smith played good football last year but a year or so on from that deal and and now a new coaching staff in place how do you think Seattle feels about that like it it doesn’t seem on the outside like they

Feel like they’ve completely answered their quarterback question or or have they I think they told us how they felt about the deal by going up and picking up the the guaranteed money for the second season I think they’re okay with Gino being on the roster at the number

That he’s going to be at but I also feel like they know that they need they need a guy that can kind of take them to the next level at the quarterback position order to compete in the NFC West when you talk about Kyle Shanahan and Shawn McVey so while they’re they’re committed

To to Gino for 2024 I also feel like they’re going to they’re going to draft a quarterback at some point in this year’s draft as a developmental guy uh to move on you know with you know in the next year or two uh because I just feel

Like they need a guy that gives them a little more juice from that position in order to compete not only in the division and but to compete for a Super Bowl again this is a franchise that’s drafted two quarterbacks in 14 years since John Schneider has been the GM and

And Pete obviously he’s been the head coach and Schneider comes from Green Bay where they had a history of drafting developmental quarterbacks almost every year so he’s kind of went away from that I think he wants to get back to that that way of of putting a roster together

And that’s you I I I think that’s a similar situation to Tampa maybe it sounds harsh but this this feels like a situation I mean Baker Mayfield can clearly win you the division he’s already done it and if he’s not setting the market at quarterback which I don’t

Think he will then Tampa Bay can obviously put a really good roster around him but it’s going going to be interesting to see what that limit is and how long that satisfies the Buccaneers uh because like I said I mean you can win with Gino Smith goino Smith

Has played good football in Seattle but how long can you be satisfied with that when you are competing against rosters like San Francisco or or Star quarterbacks like some of the young guys coming into the league so I mean Greg what’s what is your and I mean The Vibes

In Tampa seem so good don’t get me wrong and I I love that story but I wonder what the long-term Outlook is here especially you consider Mike Evans how much longer will he play after this deal that he just signed Chris Godwin is another guy that’s getting older that’s

Had injury issues I wonder what the window is for the Buccaneers to look like this if they bring Baker Mayfield back right it’s it’s probably I would think he and Mike are kind of on that same clock where you got two more years to make something happen and then

They’ll probably have decisions to make from there um this still has very much the core of their Super Bowl team team from four years ago when you think about Evans and lonte David uh Tristan wors Antoine Winfield all those types are all still here Vita vea in the middle you

Got um the young core of that team is still there they’ve kind of been able to I don’t want to say Rebrand but move on from Brady um you know it’s one of those where I think you forget because you had three years of Tom Brady in Tampa but

This is a franchise that hasn’t had a lot of great quarterback play in its existence so what Baker did last year isn’t uh 45 touchdowns Elite but it’s one of the better non Brady bucks quarterback Seasons so if you can get that if you can count on the leadership

Aspect of what he did for this locker room I think they’re definitely okay with another year or two of that and then moving forward from there one last guy I want to get to and I’ll I’ll give it to to both of y’all uh because it is

It’s it’s an interesting one the top prospect I think we’ve we’ve covered everybody else that is going to be available next week down to y’all’s number 12 guy out of 50 and that is the Curious Case of denil Hunter who doesn’t really look like your usual Premier free

Agent you know he’s already signed a big contract he’s 29 years old uh this isn’t your typical 25 26 year old in the prime of his career and yet had an amazing season playing for Brian Flores last year clearly has a lot of juice left in the tank I’m curious what y’all think

His Market looks like and what the the bidding war looks like for a guy who like I said maybe isn’t your your stereotypical you know Marquee free agent at this point in his career I think it’ll be strong I mean you look at his numbers uh again a

Little bit older than your Burns and Josh Allen uh so maybe you don’t think of it long term but I mean he had 16 and a half sacks last year led the NFL on tackles for loss probably gets lost in the player of the year type things

Because he’s not as flashy as as a watt as a Crosby as a u you know as miles in Cleveland that there’s other people that probably get more attention than him but as maybe the fifth or sixth best pass rusher in the League last year really

Got a lot done um production levels were better than they were the year before I I think he’s I think he’s going to be a good value probably won’t be a hundred million doll contract but I think he’s going to give somebody Pro Bowl level pass rushing for at least the next two

Years before you start worrying about how old he is to add to what Greg said he plays a premium position and then Edge rushers tend to still be productive into their late 20s early 30s and so I think you could still count on a couple years of him playing at the level that

He’s at right now so if you’re a team that feel like you know your pass pressure away I think you definitely take a look at him yeah it reminds me a little bit and Javon hardgrave is is not quite as old as denil Hunter I don’t believe but it reminds me of the

Situation last year I don’t don’t eventually Eric the ners run out of cap space right like eventually the ners can’t do this too right but I do you know you mentioned being a pass rusher away there’s got to be a team like that out there that’s like wait denil Hunter

Is available to us and and maybe we don’t have to pay him we don’t have to pay him Nick Bosa type money but for a good payday we can add a 16 sack caliber player to the roster yeah I would imagine there’s going to be some very

Good teams that have some interest in that Dave the Saints don’t seem to run out cops Bay so maybe they can just keep pushing it out that’s a really good point and the Saints aren’t pay the Saints quarterback does not cost what Brock pretty cost so shoot maybe maybe

There’s really no limit to what the ners can do and you know another team in the NFC West Rams i i i the Rams are kind of my trendy pick to to to go to the Super Bowl next year based on what they’re able to do last year with such a young

Team and if and if they can add another pass rusher to what they have already and Donald and Kobe Turner and and young um I think that makes them pretty dangerous on the defensive side of the football so guy like Hunter would make sense a couple years ago they they they

Signed uh uh Floyd who’s who’s a free agent again with with the bills and uh you know again a guy like that kind of makes a lot of sense because he’s working off Aaron Donald so he’s gonna get singled up and and again a guys guys

Around the league see that and know they can put up numbers if they go to Los Angeles I like that pick a lot I would be mad at you for saying that about the Rams because I feel that way about the Rams but I’ve already I’ve planted my

Flag on the Green Bay Packers as my uh as my surging team for 2024 all right this one this this storyline you couldn’t really draw it up better based on where we’ve been over the last year because last year it was the summer of the angry running backs it

Was the The Never Ending news cycle of when are we going to Value this position again in should we value this position and we’re going to find out very in very clear terms because I can’t remember a year where so many of the biggest names at the position are hitting free agency

At the same time thanks to these teams not wanting to use franchise tags on them again saquan Barkley Josh Jacobs and Tony Pard are all hitting free agency throw in Austin Eckler and Derrick Henry as well and you’ve basically got other than Christian mcaffrey you’ve got every bigname running back from the last

Half decade hitting the market at once what do you guys expect like surely surely these guys can still get solid deals on the open market Greg I I’ll start it with you because I’m GNA be bummed out for them if at least a couple of these guys can’t get get a nice

Payday here next week right I mean like $10 million a year okay that that’s that’s third receiver money that’s Dalton Schultz money in the NFL and it’ll look like a jackpot with with how we’ve devalued running backs in the NFL so again I’ll start at at 10 maybe we’ll

Say 12 million a year which is crazy Monopoly money crazy spending for running backs in today’s NFL but again this is saquon Barkley this is Josh Jacobs these are young running backs there there’s probably uh some high usage at work there um I don’t think they’re going to spend as much to get

Derrick Henry because there’s a lot of tread on those a lot of tread that’s worn off those tires I I think Barkley and Jacobs are still both backs that have great football ahead of them I’m intrigued to see how Tony Pard fits in h maybe not as a dominant primary bcow

Back but as a guy that can still catch a million passes and and help somebody as a as a you know a shared roll back um Austin Eckler I’m intrigued to see what he can do it’s definitely in the position where there probably the highest volume of uh top half the league

Talent that’s not only available but probably available at good value so for me it starts with Jacobs and Barkley because they’re the youngest guys in that group but it it definitely gives them a chance to reestablish themselves as stars in a way they probably haven’t been since really early in their careers

It’s an interesting conversation because um like you said Dave it was so much uh in the news last year you know they they met as a group you know there talk about them you know creating their own Union you know to kind of you know represent themselves and and you know those guys

Were tagged so they you know teams tagged them at 10 million and now the franchise tag goes up to 12 million and nobody tags them so that kind of tells you how the teams feel about them I think if you’re a running back I think

You have to go year to year at this point you know try to get what you can this year get the most that you can in terms of guaranteed money and then go out and produce and then do it again next year and then I think also you know

As Greg mentioned I think fit’s going to be really important if you’re if you’re you’re one of these guys you have to really find a team that’s goingon to that’s going to give you the best opportunity to put up good numbers I think again like if you’re Austin ekler

I think the Raiders make sense because you know Tom Tesco’s there as a GM uh you know that division um they know who you are as a player and then I think you saw what Jacobs could do in that offense and I think Austin’s even more dynamic

As a pass catcher but I think fit’s going to be important and then I think you’re going to have to take a little bit of Humble Pie and maybe not look for as many years and look more in terms of the guarantee I think more so than most positions that’s such an interesting

Conversation because for instance if you’re Josh Jacobs and I know it’s it’s trendy not to want to pay running backs like all the stats nerds will tell you it’s a bad idea and for the most part I agree with that but in a in a circumstance like Josh Jacobs the guy

Just turned 26 years old he does have obviously he’s got wear he’s one of the best feature backs in the NFL but at the age of just 26 and remember he didn’t carry the ball a lot in college he only had one year as a starter at Alabama as

Far as running backs go that’s not as much mileage as it could be I would gladly sign this guy to a big deal knowing that I can get at least two or three more really really good years out of him but Eric you make the interesting point it feels so important to weigh

This stuff like if if you’re Josh Jacobs would you take a four-year deal with a lot of guarantees knowing that that team is going to run you into the ground most likely because of what they’re paying you or do you maybe take a one-year deal two-year deal with less security maybe

Even a little bit less money but knowing maybe you’ll be in a better situation maybe your usage will be more favorable and you’ll be in a position to cash in one more time when you’re 28 let’s say like I I think the the Dynamics of that are fascinating and I think it’s

Something that running backs probably need to weigh a little bit heavier than almost any other position in the league I agree Dave because your value is going to change I think dramatically year to year and so you want to be able to hit the market as quick as you can to be

Able to to cash in on that value particularly if you have a good year you know if you go out there and you put you know, 1500 scrimmage yards and now you’re locked into this this longer term deal where maybe your value goes up but

You can’t take advantage of it I think I think that’s something to think about that maybe other positions you know like receiver obviously quarterback are maybe not thinking as much about I wouldn’t take more than a two-year deal I’d give yourself the chance to reset your value

Um these are these are good backs that are not coming off terrible seasons and there’s not much of a market for them so again these things can change so much if we had this conversation two years ago we certainly would be talking about Ezekiel Elliott probably and he’s not in

That conversation at all so there it’s a fleeting existence as a top tier NFL running back uh but if I’m them even if the money’s good if you get two and 20 it’s a chance to reset yourself in two years you know your Cap’s going to be

275 280 in two years uh maybe the league will come to embrace the running portion of the NFL offense and maybe they’re paying more than I wouldn’t lock myself in too long with at today’s running back rates I think that’s the I think that’s

The number that yeah if if I was in that market as a running back and Josh Jacobs I think I’d be looking at two years 20 I would sign that in a heartbeat and I would offer that in a heartbeat if I were a team that could get Josh Jacobs

All right really quickly we’re running out of time a little bit and I’m just going to put youall on the spot because I mean all these the mega deals are going to come down so quickly it always feels like it’s over in 48 36 48 hours but as free agency

Goes is there a signing a name a fit that excites you on a on a lower level maybe Beyond like the 10 or 15 names that we’re talking about here is there something you have your eye on that really intrigues you here over the next week or so I can’t believe we haven’t

Talked about him I know he’s not a free agent but Russell Wilson is going to get paid a lot of money by the Denver Broncos and I really feel like he’s a wild card in all this if you’re able to get Russell out a minimum um and you’re the Minnesota

Vikings and then you can build around that um I think he makes a lot of sense I think teams have to kind of you know evaluate that am I gon to pay Kurt Cousins 40 or am I gonna pay Russell Wilson minimum and then build around him

And have that extra cap space uh to look at so to me I I you know I I don’t know if um I don’t know if he’s being well obviously he’s being talked about a lot just because of what happened there but in terms of the value he brings to the

Team because you know somebody else is is paying him like you know kind of like an NBA salary um I think it’s interesting I I think it’s it’s the biggest gamble in this draft and it it’s not a financial gamble at all these teams will will write $100 million

Checks and not blink and with Russ you just you have to hand him the keys to your franchise you’re giving your starting quarterback 1.2 million um and you know it’s just a one-year weird kind of trist he might want 30 million again a year from now

You want him to want that because it means he had a good year it means that while you had him um you have to convince him it’s that weird kind of recruiting almost it’s not free agency he gets to go to the team he thinks gives him the best chance to reestablish

Himself as a top tier quarterback so if you are again if you’re Minnesota if you’re Atlanta if you’re a team that’s seen as only needing a quarterback to be a playoff team you you get Russ to get you there and it might be hey thanks again best of luck in free agency maybe

Get a comp pick out of it U but it’s a million dollars so you can like you said you can get Russ and Christian Wilkins and matab or not matab but you can get Chris Jones and Russell Wilson for the price of cousins right now it’s a strange

Thing uh but I’ll be intrigued to see which NFL team is is kind of risky enough to try it look I I hesitate to say it because who knows how it works out but I mean we saw we just spent eight minutes talking about Baker Mayfield I mean how much better does

Russell Wilson’s statline from last year look if he’s making $3 million instead of whatever his number was in Denver 40 uh so I I definitely think the expectations of your contract play into that and Russell Wilson while maybe no not maybe certainly was not at the level

He was three or four years ago he played well enough last year that if you get him on the cheap you’re probably going to feel good about that and yeah y’all are right if if you have Russell Wilson playing for the bare minimum who knows what else you can do in free agency

That’s definitely going to be interesting to watch guys I could talk to you about this all day we do have to run unfortunately I appreciate it so so much I look forward to seeing how The Dominoes fall it ALS starts Monday remember the league year opens Wednesday but the negotiating window basically

Means all of these deals can get agreed to in principle starting on Monday afternoon so have your calendars marked guys I appreciate it as always and I’ll talk to you real soon thanks for having me appreciate it da take care that does it for the show

We will be back next week and like I said next time you hear us free agency will have started we will be discussing deals at least agreed to in principle it’s going to move really quick if you need to further prepare like I said Eric and Greg did a great job

Previewing the biggest free agents available in 2024 go check out their article foxsports.com and the Fox Sports app we will be back next week to start breaking it down the league year begins hope is in the air we’ll see where all the movement takes us who signs who who

Agrees to what so make sure you’re subscribed find us on Spotify Apple podcast subscribe to the YouTube channel wherever you get your podcast wherever you get your NFL news news we’re on all the socials at NFL onf Fox pod you know where to find us you can’t say you don’t

Because I say it every show we appreciate the support so much and we we will be back next week to break down what it all means as the league year begins I appreciate it I’ll talk to you’all next time