The Insiders Podcast: QB Carousel Continues - Kyler Murray’s Vikings Deal & Young QBs on Notice

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The Bleak Willis Era has begun in Miami.

And he has over about 45 million reasons

to feel great about his decision.

But how long will it be until the dolphins

can compete in the AFC East here for Willis tonight

on the challenge ahead?

It's been a wild week in for agency

with the defending champs keeping

and losing some key players while everybody else plays ketchup.

Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones

and new bucks running back.

Kenneth Gainwell joined the show tonight

to break down everything.

The NFL Draft kicks off six weeks from tonight.

That's a real stat, which means it's pro day season.

We are on the scene at USC,

where top prospect,

McCuy Lemon was just one of the stars.

Welcome inside with the insiders,

alongside Ian Rappeport and Judy Batista.

I am Tom Pellicero.

We got tons to get to.

So let's dive right in with the breaking news

within the past hour.

It is now official.

Two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, Kyle Murray,

has signed a one-year contract with the Vikings.

Murray will make $36.8 million this season,

but it'll be the Cardinals paying all

but the minimum salary.

The deal also includes a no tag clause,

which means Murray gets to hit free agency again next March.

He's already in the building.

He passed his physical and he's happy to be there.

I want to thank God.

I want to thank the Wilf family.

I want to thank Rob, I want to thank Coach O'Connell

for giving me this great opportunity.

I'm super excited and I can't wait

to touch the field as a Minnesota Viking.

It's a great day for me and my family.

And again, I want to say I cannot wait,

cannot wait to be touched

as a feeling of being a Minnesota Viking.

Like I said, I'm just great for the opportunity.

Grateful for the opportunity.

I look forward to coming in and competing,

getting to learn the offense,

getting to be with Coach O'Connell.

Obviously he's had a lot of success

and again, I'm just looking forward

to the opportunity coming in here and competing.

Ever since I started playing tackle football,

I was seven years old.

I was seven years old.

Genuine, genuine fandom.

Ran deep, Vikings gear, through and through.

A lot of purple in my household.

I don't want to bring it up right now,

but maybe later another day it was a moment.

I'll bring it up anyways, whatever.

I cried real tears whenever, you know,

whenever I breathed through that interception,

I would cry real tears that day.

Step one is Vikings quarterback.

Make sure that you know how to spell skull.

You can see him right there in a Vikings uniform

playing youth football.

Step two, say something that's relatable

to every person in Minnesota.

As yep, cried one far through the interception

back in the 2009 NFC championship game.

This is a dream come true in many ways,

Ian for Kyle and Murray.

But first things first, he now has to beat out

JJ McCarthy in what should be one

of the most fascinating quarterback battles

that we see this summer.

Several things here.

First of all, that was an amazing picture.

Like the fact that, you know,

you become a lifelong fan of the team

when you're like a Peewee.

I mean, that is the coolest thing.

This was already a great story.

And for Kyle and Murray, what hopefully

is a career resurgence for him,

but growing up a Vikings fan

and really speaking to the fans

on your introductory press comments,

I mean, it is all exceptionally cool for Kyle and Murray.

And look, I think it's fair to say this was assigning.

We all expected, we've been talking about it

for several days, probably the best quarterback spot

around goes to probably the most decorated

quarterback who was a free agent.

But now it's time to get to work.

And for Kyle and Murray, this is like you said,

time going to be a fascinating one.

I'm already thinking about training camp,

going to visit Minnesota checking in

on the quarterback battle and just see

where it's going to land with Kyler V.

JJ McCarthy.

And I don't know if there is a bad outcome for the Vikings.

If Kyle Murray reestablished to himself

as a starting quarterback and franchise guy on the league,

that is great.

If JJ McCarthy beats him out

and he becomes the franchise guy,

that also is excellent.

Either way, all eyes are going to be on Minnesota

this summer and beyond within really,

really interesting quarterback battle.

I mean, let's be realistic about this.

This feels like a lot more than just competition

for JJ McCarthy.

Any other veteran quarterback that comes in

that would have come in,

would have been competition for JJ McCarthy.

And you could have said, okay, well,

they hope that that spurs JJ McCarthy to raise his game.

This is a guy who can legitimately be the quarterback

of the future for the Minnesota Vikings.

His ceiling is so much higher than any

of the other veteran quarterbacks they could have brought

to compete.

His worst seasons are still much better

than JJ McCarthy looked last year.

And JJ McCarthy is starting from well behind Kyler Murray.

I mean, he obviously was injured last year.

He's had inconsistencies and he's had injury issues

throughout his career.

But when he's healthy,

he throws for almost 4,000 yards.

The last year he was healthy.

He was 23, 4, he had 21 passing touchdowns

and five rushing touchdowns.

He rushed for over 500 yards that season.

So he's a really good quarterback.

I think because Arizona did not win a ton

when he was there,

they had other deficiencies.

And I think that sort of overshadowed

that when he is on the field,

he is still a really dynamic playmaking talent.

Again, his ceiling is really high.

It's he is starting from ahead in this competition

even though he is not the incumbent.

Kyler only 28 years old still even though it feels

like he's been in the league for a long time.

Not much to negotiate when you're talking about a guy

with all that fully guaranteed money coming to him.

It was going to be a minimum salary.

But what is Agent Eric Berkart didn't negotiate

is that no tag clause,

which means that if Kyler goes out

and plays the way that he expects to,

wins that job, helps himself plays well through the season,

he sets up as the number one free agent

hitting the market next March,

which means we would be talking plenty

about Kyler Murray at this time one year from now.

But first, going up against JJ McCarthy,

by the way, they wanted to give him competition last year.

It didn't come together quite that way.

The hope is this elevates everybody

competing through the summer.

Blake Willis has a new home.

It is in Miami, one of the biggest free agent signings,

the number one free agent on Greg Rosenthal's board

at NFL.com, putting pen to paper today

on a three year contract.

Here's a little what Willis had to say.

I mean, there's a lot of great reasons to be here.

I mean, those two guys are the biggest ones

in my opinion as far as what I see this organization

and this team becoming.

I can't see the future, but I know is they're going to put

in the work each and every day just as well as

I would try to do the same.

Whatever role, whatever leadership, whatever it is,

they brought me in as a piece of the puzzle

that they want to put here.

And I'm grateful and honored to be a part of that.

Daniel Jones not switching teams,

but he also got a new contract.

Two years up to $100 million after initially getting

the transition tag from the Colts.

It wasn't a whole lot of drama here, though,

because the Colts wanted Daniel Jones

and Jones definitely wanted to be an Indianapolis.

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone involved

to my agents to Chris Ballard, Mike Bloom and the team here.

And then obviously grateful to the Earthsafe family

and this organization for believing in me

and giving me a chance last year to come in here

and then certainly this year.

So I'm excited and thrilled to be back.

This is a special place with really, really good people

who care about football, care about winning,

care about the players.

You obviously have the injury and those things always

complicate these matters.

I mean, how did you contextualize that?

And do you think that was something

that had to be confronted with during this process?

Yeah, you know, I can see it's real.

I'm part of the process and I understand the team

has to take that into account.

I'm very confident and being back to 100% and ready to go

and working every day to do that.

I have really good people helping me get there.

So yeah, I'm very, very confident in that,

but I understand it's a consideration for the team

and they have to take that into account.

Yeah, I'm confident I'll be ready to go.

I think my goal is to be ready for week one.

With that being said, I understand it is a process

and there's a lot of work to do, and I'm ready to do it.

Free agency frenzy is over, which means it's time

to turn our attention to the NFL draft.

USC's pro day happened today.

Our Bridget Condon was on the scene.

A beautiful day for USC pro day.

All eyes on receiver, Mackay Lemon.

The 5-11 receiver expected to be one

of the top wide receivers taken in next month's NFL draft.

He did participate at the NFL Combine last month,

but did most of his on field work out here today.

He ran a 40 yard dash with an unofficial time of 447,

did the three cone drill, and also ran the route tree.

I watched him at one point, go up to a group of scouts

and give him a thumbs up, making sure

that they got everything they needed.

And talking with people, that's the kind of guy

the team will get whoever drafts him,

a guy willing to do whatever it takes.

All 32 teams were represented from the NFL here at USC,

including the Rams General Manager, Les Sneed.

I asked him, what do you like most about Mackay?

He said he's a guy that just makes watching football feel fun.

Another receiver here getting a lot of interest

because of his performance at last month's NFL Combine

is Jacobi Lane, the 6-4 receiver

who a lot of people are telling me he's somebody

who has just continued to improve.

Former wide receiver in the NFL, T.J. Hushman Zada,

is his trainer and says from the first time they got together

until now, there has been so much improvement saying,

he just keeps getting better and better.

He even said that this is a guy who he believes

in the right situation with the right team.

He could be a pro-bola in year two.

One other thing to note, former Trojan and current

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was in attendance here today

supporting his former teammates.

Thank you, Bridget.

As we look ahead to some of the other notable pro days

upcoming, hard to look anywhere

other than the last one on that list.

April 1st, not a joke.

Indiana, Fernando Mendoza, going to show out

with the fellas one last time before he heads to,

I don't know, maybe Las Vegas.

The free agency, Frenzy, may have slowed,

but it has not stopped.

New today, Jacquon Brisk or former standout safety

with the Chicago Bears is signing

with the Pittsburgh Steelers sources

tell the insiders in a deal done by Andre Odom and AJ Stevens.

It is a one year, $5.5 million deal for Brisker.

Mike Evans got a lot more.

He got a lot more, three for 16,

for Mike Evans, 16.5 million in the first year

with the San Francisco 49ers.

That's him, Sonny's name on the dotted line with a feather.

And after that, he talked to reporters

about his new landing spot.

Football wise, this was the best spot for me, for sure.

And I've always appreciated how the Niners

went about their business on the football field.

And I got some guys here that have always told me

great things about this organization.

And I've always loved the way Kyle calls the games.

Actually, well, first off, I did my research

on a lot of teams that I was looking at.

I was looking at contenders, guys with good quarterbacks,

obviously.

So I was looking at here, Buffalo Bills,

teams that needed a number one raw receiver.

But when I got on, I like this place,

this was my number one spot on my own.

And then I talked to John and Kyle.

And it's solidified for me.

So I've always been a fan of Kyle, like I said previously.

And he just talked about how he sees me in this offense

and it just made me even happier.

And there was a no brainer really

after I got on the phone with him.

Is he making the NFL for transactions?

Of course, the Super Bowl champs have been full of them as well.

Losing a couple of their key stars.

Super Bowl MVP, Ken Walker is one copi Bryant,

play a mafia, reek woolen.

Keep it some other other studs, though, including Rashid Shaheed.

And of course, one player who is not a free agent,

resigned last year before free agency, actually,

is our good friend, Ernest Jones.

The fourth through you might recognize him

from some such times as celebrating the Super Bowl.

The world is watching the baddest men on the planet.

Let's go.

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Come on, boy!

Yeah!

Let's go!

It was hunting right away.

We got it.

We got to get it.

Woo!

Woo!

Let's go!

Let's go!

Woo!

I'm playing with my quarterbacks, bro.

Man, we bad.

I'm playing with my quarterback, bro.

Man, we bad.

And we bad.

Not going anywhere.

Ernest Jones back for year six.

And of course, our good friend here

on the inside as you watch this show.

You know him well.

Welcome back with us, Ernest.

Thank you for joining us.

You saw some of those clips.

And obviously, your mic'd up.

Watching all that from your Super Bowl win.

Does it feel like that was yesterday

or does it feel like that was 100 years ago?

It feels like 100 years ago, man.

I miss it so bad.

You know, sitting there seeing those clips,

you can feel what you were feeling in those moments.

And I won't lie to you.

I missed that stage and missed that feeling

that you had during that time.

When we last talked to you, you were just kind of a couple

days out from the Super Bowl, still celebrating,

still smiling, all of that good stuff.

How much time did you take to really just kind of

marinating the win and turn the focus on to our,

well, next season's coming.

I got to get ready for that.

I mean, I think I'd best send it to Gloria

for about two weeks and then you start realizing.

Once they start sending you messages about, you know,

wins OTAs and, you know, when we'll have to be back,

it's pretty humbling, man.

So you got to, you know, have a short leash

when it comes to just celebrating these things.

So took two weeks and now, you know, just getting the body

ready for year six.

And, you know, another opportunity for us to go,

you know, win it again.

So free agency, frenzy was just the last four or five days.

It was crazy and we'll get into some of that stuff.

The Seahawks had several big name players that were up

as free agents and wanted to get paid.

Some returned, some did not.

I was curious.

You take a look at some of the guys who did not return,

including Kenneth Walker would be one.

Rick Wohne would be another.

There are several others.

What do you think of some of those guys

getting the very deserved pay days,

but obviously walking out the door?

Yeah, I think it starts there, man.

First, before anything, you know,

I'd love to have them on back on this team,

but I understand, man.

We all, we got families to take care of.

And, you know, honestly, that's what we did it for.

We said it, you know, early on as a team, like, man,

we go out here and we perform it.

And we went in Super Bowl, the guys that get paid.

So to see us living that out, what we talked about,

you know, still, it's big, it's key.

Those guys deserve it.

Now, it does suck for the Seahawks

because those are some really good football players.

But in turn, you know, you just got to trust

the organization, trust, you know,

the ability that we have for the guys that's in that room

that are already in that room.

And let's just go, let's just go play ball.

So as far as where they went,

you had Kenneth Walker going to the Chiefs.

You had Rick Wohne going in the Eagles,

Kobe going to the Chicago Bears.

Any of those fits you like particularly good,

like any of those places you say,

all right, well, this guy's gonna go kill it here.

I mean, honestly, they all are gonna kill it.

The Kobe one to Chicago, just how they play defense,

they got a guy that plays, he plays defense

the right way.

K9, he's gonna go over there to Kansas City

and they're gonna love him, man.

That's why I said it sucks because each four of these guys,

man, each four of these guys, they're gonna do nothing

but bring, you know, already good teams

to even better situation.

So, Rick's gonna go out there and ball and fill it.

They're gonna love him.

And boy, he's a dog, man.

He's gonna go out there and do the job in Cincinnati.

So, like I said, unfortunately for us, I hate it

but they're gonna love it.

All right, so there was some good news.

Rashid Shaheed is back.

Josh Job is back.

Also, Drake Thomas, you're a partner in crime over there.

Not back because he never left but did sign a new extension.

What were your reactions to getting some of those guys back

and did you find out on social media

do they give you a little heads up?

I found out on social media, it was funny

because Job's wife and my wife, we had got the news.

It broke the news.

So then we hit them up, you know, immediately.

And they were like, dang, how do you know?

I was like, most of the times the world finds out

before you do.

So that was pretty funny.

But those guys, man, they glad to have them back.

Rashid, Drake, Job, man, Josh Jones.

They were all big pieces and helped us out this year.

So it's gonna be key to get those guys back.

And, you know, now having Rashid, I think for a full year,

for all season, how he can impact us on offense,

I think it'll be big.

One of the things about Seattle

and specifically John Schneider, who I know you know well,

he's, I think it's safe to say,

one of the best in the NFL, all of his draft picks seemed to hit.

I mean, which is why Seattle's kind of in the predicament

because you got, Jay, saying you got to pay,

you got witherspoon, you've had cross.

I mean, literally, like endless amount of draft picks

who have had success.

What do you think of the organization sort of draft

and develop ways?

Because, you know, a lot of times you have Super Bowl champions

and it's like, oh, we got to pay these guys,

we got to keep them.

Because you guys have drafted so well, like,

you can, it feels to me at least, like you can rely

on the draft to be like, it is okay.

We're gonna find other ways to have really good players in here.

You know, I think I got really good, you know,

trusted faith in what they're doing

because when I got to this team,

man, searching for guys that played the game,

the right way and played the game and, you know,

the way it's supposed to be played, that's rare.

And they had 50 something guys already when I got here.

So you could tell they've been drafting well.

This is something that they, you know, they do.

So I just trust in the process.

You know, there's some big names out there.

We love to have them, but I trust in our work

and trust in our coaches and knowing that we can, you know,

we can go do this again, just take it one day at a time.

All right, one more question for you.

One of the big stories of free agency was the Max Crosby trade

to the Ravens.

And obviously he is not getting traded.

The Ravens going back to the Raiders with the physical,

just not being something that the Baltimore Ravens

were comfortable with.

How closely were you following it?

And what were your thoughts on the craze

in a surrounding Crosby situation?

I was, I kind of, once I found out he was going to Baltimore

and, you know, you, you, you, you're on social media.

So you see Max Crosby maybe linked to the Seahawks.

So you're thinking there's a chance.

So once I've seen him go to Baltimore,

I, you know, I thought it was, it was kind of over for us.

Then you get that news and, you know, it's, it's unfortunate.

But I, you know, I think everything happens for a reason.

Guy has a plan for Max.

And I think it was his plan to be back in Las Vegas.

Tough situation to, to be let go from a team

to have to return.

But as long as everybody has grown in about it,

you know, anything can go, go forward.

Well said, Ernest, thank you very much for joining us

on the insiders.

I really appreciate you all pro season last year

looking forward to see what you have in store for us next.

Be well, man, and have a great rest of your off season.

You're so, thank you all.

Put it to talk about with Seattle,

but we're still talking about the Minnesota Vikings

because Kyler Murray has now officially signed in Minnesota.

Our good friend, Steve Weish joined the show

to tell us what he thinks about Kyler.

And we'll get the some other quarterback analysis as well.

This sports spotlight is brought to you by Capital One.

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Did you know that two new expansion teams

will begin play this year in the National Women Soccer League?

The 2026 season will see the league expand from 14 to 16 teams

with Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC

kicking off their inaugural seasons in March.

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Braking news tonight.

Kyla Murray is officially a Minnesota Viking,

the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback,

former number one overall pick,

signing a one-year deal with Minnesota.

It's gonna make $36.8 million this season,

though the Cardinals will be paying all,

but the minimum salary also gets

a no-tag clause, which means if this whole thing

goes the way that Murray wants it to,

he'll be a top free agent again, next March.

Already nailed the spelling, skull,

which makes sense since Kyla,

says he grew up a Vikings fan shed tears

when far through that interception.

And Kyla, you don't even wanna know

about all the things that happened before we were born.

Welcome back to the Insiders, Tom Pellicero,

and another former Minnesota Steve Whiteges

with us right here, Steve.

Yet another move that we've seen,

teams bringing in these veterans,

some of them on minimum type contracts,

and really kinda put in some young quarterbacks

like JJ McCarthy on notice that it's go time.

Yeah, absolutely.

Tom, it's somebody grew up in Minnesota.

I'm still crying tears over Drew Pierce's Hail Mary

over Nate Wright.

That's how old I am way back there.

It's set to push off.

There we go, the push off.

You know it.

But look, this is a situation we're seeing

these young quarterbacks,

who once we're supposed to be the face of the franchise,

gets pushed.

And now JJ McCarthy, in Minneapolis,

he's really gotta come in and compete

because Kyla Murray, this is not a deal

where he's being brought in to be the backup.

This is a one year deal with a no franchise tag clause

added onto it, which means he's trying to parlay this

into something bigger.

And also after what happened last year,

offensively with just a catastrophe in Minnesota,

they are trying to win ball games.

And we know how good a player Kyla Murray is when he's healthy.

He's someone who could really come in

and add some electric juice to that team.

So JJ McCarthy better understand what he's up against

and maybe parlay his limited opportunities,

even a preseason into something bigger.

Gino Smith is a jet again,

far different circumstances than when he was a second round

pick out of West Virginia.

Now a seasoned quarterback, Steve,

who has been around the block

and at a time where New York has yet to make a decision

on exactly what's gonna happen with Justin Fields.

Yeah, I mean, if you're Justin Fields,

this really seems like the writings on the wall,

there's been plenty of reports out there in conversation

about him being traded or being cut outright.

It just hasn't worked.

He's had opportunities at multiple stops.

He has not been able to hold on to a starting job.

He's not able to stay healthy.

They've been some last year before putting him on IR.

Gino was brought over to start and you look at their free aid

that he moved with all the veterans that they signed.

They are trying to win right away.

There's no more time.

It seems like for Justin Fields to figure out who and what he is,

especially when they know that Gino Smith

can do a job a certain way.

Gino making a little bit more than the minimum

all part of the horse trading that went on

to get him to agree to a restructure contract.

Get him over there and the raiders getting something

resembling draft pick compensation.

Another guy making the minimum to a tongue of aloe

who heads to Atlanta where Michael Pentech

Jr. is still recovering from that knee surgery.

What do you make of the prognosis

from what you know, Steve and how this entire situation plays out?

Tom, this is where it's gonna be the real interesting competition

because the main thing is Michael Pentech's recovering

from that knee injury.

If he is on track and everyone says he's been in the building,

working hard, doing everything he's supposed to do,

but he still might not be able to get the snaps

that often in offseason workouts.

That's where Tuah comes in with a new coaching staff

led by Kevin Stofanski,

bringing in offense, which is very Tuah friendly, timing,

getting the ball out to the receivers.

That's what Tuah does well so Kevin Stofanski wants.

So Michael Pentech's one has to get healthy,

but if his rehab is delayed in any way

or if Tuah fits into this offense of scheme right,

it'll be real intriguing to see when Michael Pentech's

finally does hit the field if at all.

This is gonna be the competition to watch during training camp.

Meanwhile in Miami, Tuah still the highest paid quarter back

though he is no longer on the roster.

They're gonna have to pay about $53 million this season.

Quinn, yours is still there.

That's the guy who filled in after Tuah was benched late last season.

Yet now they sign Malik Willis.

He gets $45 million fully guaranteed over two.

Certainly seems like it's a walk in the door starter situation.

So what does that mean for yours

and the broader quarterback plan in Miami?

Well, this is one where because he's just going into

his second year, you don't bail on him.

Bobby Sloik is a, he's got a younger quarterback,

a talented quarterback to develop.

And this is when we're yours, you want him to develop.

You're the team and for yours has an opportunity

to develop in the off season in the preseason.

So when he gets his snaps, he can parlay himself

into the next Malik Willis.

Malik Willis had limited starting opportunities.

And we saw him improve and improve all those opportunities

that he got.

That's what several quarterbacks going back to match shop

who would get preseason reps and sit behind Michael Vick

parlayed into starting jobs.

So Miami does not seem like they're in any hurry

to get rid of Quinn, yours, even though Malik Willis

looks like to be the starter.

That's a player to develop and a very talented young player

at that time.

Steve, we are required to continue talking about the Ravens

and various past freshers who are or not on their team.

We'll do that with you in just a little bit.

But first, Judy.

Ernest Jones, the fourth just told us

the Chiefs are going to love Kenneth Walker.

He signed his contract today.

There it is.

He's this here is the Super Bowl MVP on his new team.

Yeah, it's a winning coach here.

You know, watching over the years,

been a plenty of Super Bowls and they know how to win.

So I feel like it's a great fit for me.

When I came here, he tweeted out and coming to my Instagram too.

So and then we talked on the phone and texted each other.

So I was able to send the day.

So it was cool to meet him.

Real genuine person.

It's time for roster refresh presented by Chipotle.

We bring in our Mark Ross.

I think we're going to be doing this a whole lot

in the next few weeks.

Mark, let's start with the Carolina Panthers who were busy

the last few days.

They remade their defense basically.

What do you think of their moves?

How much of a leap could you think they can make?

Absolutely.

Love Carolina's moves.

And look, Judy, it's free to see a lot of teams

sign a lot of players have a lot of quantity.

But are they really making the team better?

Are they upgrading?

Well, for Carolina, they had extreme positions of need.

And I think they filled it with absolute superstars

and playmakers there in spending that money in Jalen Phillips

and Devon Lloyd to pair with Derek Brown and JC Horn

in the back end to give them playmakers at all levels

similar to how Seattle's defense is constructed

where they had playmakers at all levels.

The Carolina Panthers overachieved last year on defense.

But they were 31st to the league on third down

and 28th in sack.

So these two guys will absolutely help improve

on those numbers.

And I think for the Carolina Panthers

finding the form that mentioned Seattle,

all the kind of good teams last year,

defense carried them.

And now we'll see that again next year

where they can go in and say,

look, we can still down anybody.

And then now the offense, you guys get things done,

bright show and go score some points for us.

All right.

The Baltimore Ravens led free agency in drama.

How did they do in every other department?

Well, the roster refresh was kind of forced upon the Ravens.

First, they tried to dictate it.

Then it got forced back on that.

But in the end, Judy, I think this refresh

is good that it didn't go through

because I would much rather have Trey Hendrickson

and those two first round picks than just Max Crosby.

I think the Ravens issues want more beyond just having

to get Max Crosby come save the day.

Trey Hendrickson still gives you that similar production.

Maybe even better as a pass rusher.

Maybe not as good as Max in the run game,

but gives you that pass rush.

And now you still have those first round picks

one this year, one next year to help your roster

because the Ravens got decimated in free agency

with key losses, namely Tyler Lindnerbaum,

as head likely a Lohi Gilman and the like Dremont Jones.

So they still have a lot of holes to fill there.

And they got roster refresh,

which will help out with those two first round picks.

Absolutely, Mark, thank you very much.

Jonathan Allen, the former Vikings events of tackle

was released a couple of days ago,

sounding a two year, $26 million deal

with the Bengals to help fortify things up front.

For Los Angeles Chargers, it was out with the old

in with also the old, the same old person,

Denzel, Param and Fred to the show, by the way, 33 years old,

still doing it one of the more physical linebackers.

He goes to the Chargers again and Keaton Mitchell goes

to the Chargers for the first time,

although there's plenty of former Ravens personnel there.

He gets a two year, $9.25 million deal for Los Angeles.

For Rogers back and is going to throw right and deep again,

a lot of contact down to you.

Did Game World catch that?

He did.

Holy mackerel.

He was laying down on the ground, supine, caught it,

picked it up, ran it into the end zone at all, I think he did.

No, that's a cat, that's a cat, caught it.

Hit his right elbow, bounced up into his body.

He spun up.

This is incredible.

Insane touchdown catch by Kenny Gainwell there.

That was week 16 against the Lans.

And look at that.

He and Alex and Zaloni are now teammates on the tip of Baybox.

They were a part of Bucks Free Agency,

the early part of Free Agency.

You can see their additions there.

And of course, their losses, we are lucky enough

to be joined by Kenny Gainwell right now.

On the insiders, I'm Judy Batista.

That's Ian Rappaport.

Kenny, first of all, congratulations.

I know you just signed the contract a few minutes ago.

How you feeling?

I'm feeling good.

I'm happy.

My family happy.

I'm happy I'm here.

I'm ready to play.

And I can't say much as I want to right now,

but I'm extremely happy about this.

All right, so these can be stressful times, right?

Contract is expiring.

You wait to be a free agent, but you really

don't know what's out there.

Obviously, last year ended up signing a one-year deal

with the Steelers and then sort of saying,

all right, I'm going to go out and prove it.

What have the last week or so?

What has the last week or so just been like for you?

And then kind of take us through how you found out

where you're going and give us the TikTok a little bit.

It was a little stressful.

It was a little press for me.

I would just wait on a great opportunity

to come through for me.

And man, time of day was set on by opportunity.

I wanted to take in.

It's just me, myself again, bending on myself

and going out here and finding a great place for me.

And I'm just ready to play with the guy that's in his room,

the running back room, and just do great things with bait.

What do you know about Baker Mayfield?

What have they told you?

What kind of conversations have you had with Fox folks?

I haven't had any conversations yet,

but I'm pretty sure we will here soon.

But man, I'm just excited to play with him.

I know it's out of two towards the game

and how he plays football.

That's my mindset too.

I go into this thing with full of blown hit, full of steam

ahead and just trying to play football.

It's hard to play in the home, man.

I love his attitude towards the game.

And it's going to prove it to myself

that I want to play the same way.

I want to go back a little bit.

Because I mentioned we were talking about the one-year

prove it deal you took with the Steelers.

And obviously you did prove it.

You're in this really nice contract with the Tampa Bay

Buccaneers.

Was there a moment kind of going into this when you're like,

all right, I think we're going to be in a good spot.

Because as a running back, you don't always get the nice deal.

Sometimes you got to prove it and prove it again and prove it again.

Was there a moment either that last season and the off season

where you realize like, all right,

this is all going to be pretty good.

Yeah, man, when I went into last season with the deal I had,

I was just, OK, let me go out here and try to prove myself

and prove to everyone that don't know me or the things

that I can't do want to feel.

And go out there and show them that I can't do it.

And when the opportunity can't for me to do that,

I did and I showed up every game that I got it opportunity

to get a ball in my hand.

And that's something I've been doing all my career.

It hasn't been shown.

But right now I'm taking full advantage of it

and I'm happy that Tampa Bay gave me an opportunity again

to go out there and prove myself once again.

I mean, you really proved it last year.

You had a breakout season.

You were the Steelers MVP.

Aaron Rodgers raved about you.

Said he wished he'd played with you for 10 years,

like raving about your football IQ.

How were you able to sort of take that leap last year?

You were on a one-year contract.

How you bet on yourself.

How were you able to elevate your game like that?

I think it is something I always had in myself, you know?

And just Aaron, I say Aaron had that, you know,

he had that looking inside the spot, a good guy, you know?

And I just stuck with it the whole year.

I tried to jail it, you know, because we

helped each other throughout the whole year

to want to be great.

And it was just something that I really

wanted to go and get and wanted to do.

And it really happened.

So you're on a new team now.

And you got some really good players.

You mentioned Baker.

You got Chris Godwin.

Obviously Mike Evans, no more.

But Ameka Bouga, Kate Odden resigned.

He got Bucky Irvin running back with you.

Like, first of all, have you heard from any of those guys?

And second of all, like, as you sign with the team,

you're like, all right, like, who do we got?

Like, you know, are you sort of re-equainting yourself

with the roster a little bit?

Yeah, yeah, I have.

And also I had talks with Bucky.

We talked about ball.

We talked about what we can do together.

But at the same time, you know, I want to come in here

and fuel him.

And he'll fuel me, man.

Bucky is a good guy.

And I understand that, you know, we can both do this thing together.

And we don't go out there and do it or do this thing.

What are your expectations for this season?

You had a breakout season.

Where do you go from there?

Just continue to stack.

Continue to stack those days.

Continue to stack what I've been doing.

You know, try not to be a guy that's going to fall off.

But, you know, I'm trying to bring as high energy as I can.

And there is, you probably won't see anything different.

What I did last year, I'm trying to bring even more energy.

But I'm just trying to do everything that I can to, you know,

help this thing out.

Todd Bowles, your new head coach, certainly a favorite of his

players, someone who always has great relationships.

Have you, what kind of interactions have you had with him?

What have you heard about him?

What are you sort of expecting from your new coach?

I met him this morning.

It was a great experience talking with him

and breakfast, and it was cool.

I'm ready to play for him.

I'm ready to, you know, experience what's going on.

And definitely ready to play ball for a guy that loves football too.

Kenny, congratulations again.

Thanks so much for joining us with a pro to watching you this season.

Definitely.

Time for active moves presented by the Wells Fargo active cash

credit card, Tom Pelicero and Steve White's here on the insider.

Certainly a lot of active teams in the edge rush market, Steve.

The question now is, do these guys who got paid live up to those pay

checks?

Hey, Tom, they better because this year you saw a lot more movement on

the edge market than we saw in the previous season.

Of course, let's kick things off with Trey Hendricks.

And he ends up with the Ravens after the whole Max Crosby boy to trade

Fiasco.

Now, this is a player that the Ravens are counting on big time because

they lost so many other players.

We know good Hendricks can be, but he only played in seven games last

year because of that missed core injury.

He's going to be somebody who's motivated to come in.

We have to see what is left and how well this defense plays with the coaching

change there.

But Trey Hendricks clearly is an engine starter that will need to deliver

after everything has happened with the Ravens thus far this off season.

Now, let's go to his replacement and Cincinnati,

Boyet Mapet, who comes over from the Seahawks.

Now, Mapet was mainly a rotational player in Seattle because they were so deep.

But you talk about somebody who was an absolute disruptor with athleticism.

He's someone who's going to have to step up and to possibly get their other

first round draft picks off the edge.

Miles Murphy and Jamar Stewart back into gear.

Now, we'll go to Bradley Chubb.

And I think this is the one that's been the most underrated move so far this

off season because Chubb last year in Miami, he's coming off a eight and a half

sack season.

But he has a scheme fit for new Bill's DC Jim Letter,

who's going to be switching more to an odd front, a 34 front Chubb.

Good against the run, very solid and creating pressure and then closing on the quarterback.

If he stays healthy, he could be this steady edge rusher that the bills have lacked for

a long time.

So this is a really good acquisition by Buffalo Tom.

Steve, thank you very much, fantastic stuff.

As always, we look forward to chatting with you again soon.

Still more to come here on the insiders.

We had some moves to became official earlier today.

We get the Rams signing Trent McDuffey.

He signed his contract as part of the trade over for the Kansas State Chiefs.

Also, Tyler Linderbaum signed that massive three year, $81 million deal with the Raiders.

Stick around, more to come.

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The QB Caruso was spit and started with this guy, Malik Willis, the richest QB deal of

this offseason.

Two of his deal wasn't rich, but still landed a perfect spot.

He goes to the Atlanta Falcons, I think is one of the more fun acquisitions.

Gino Smith heads back home full circle.

He gets traded from the Raiders to the Jets, Gardner-Mitch.

Gardner-Mitcher's hair makes a cameo.

Gotta love that.

He's also with the Carolina Panthers, sealator Andy Dalton at some point.

That was one of the moves, and then we had a big one today, Kyler Murray, signs with the

Minnesota Vikings.

He gets a minimum deal, but he gets a no franchise tag clause.

That is an important thing for one of the more fascinating figures of 2026 and beyond.

It is official.

Jackson Dart has a new target.

That's Isaiah likely signing on the dotted line, joining John Harbaugh at the New York

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CJ Gardner-Johnson, still rolling, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with the bills can

be worth up to $6 million.

That's right.

One of the best villains in football headed to Buffalo.

The Lions, agreeing to terms with former Bucks DB, Christian Isian earlier today.

It is a one-year deal for him.

And Al Qudin, Muhammad, another long-time veteran who I feel like we report on every

march as Ian reported earlier today, headed to the Bucks on a one-year deal with a maximum

value of $6 million.

Welcome back to the insiders, Tom Pillissar, we in Rappaport, Judy Matista, Judy, I pose

this to you.

All the frenzy, all the signings, who is one person you're still looking forward to

seeing exactly where they land.

I guess I'm still waiting for Kirk Cousins.

I want to see what happens to him and when it happens to him, but mostly I'm waiting

for Aaron Rodgers.

Yeah, I think both those two guys are interesting.

I would say for me, I'm most interested in what am I going to do now that free agencies

over?

So today, I had a little free time.

I deleted all my emails.

That was really important.

I folded some laundry.

Those have been kind of waiting through free agency.

We've basically had our lives on hold for like two weeks.

So I think it was important to handle life things.

I'm going to get a haircut on Saturday.

Tom, what do you got?

Why did you delete all your emails, Ian?

Because I don't read them.

So you just, at some point, you glance through them and you kind of like delete, delete,

because everything that was timely, everyone texts me, so emails, I just delete real quick

and then just move on.

If you don't read them, what is the point of deleting them?

Just let them pile up.

Like what?

No, no, no, no.

What are you hiding?

You can't have those unread, can't have those unread emails just delete.

Read and then delete.

That's how you do it.

Oh, man.

You're strange.

I love that.

Tomorrow.

From 7PM Eastern Time.

Who knows where the friends he will take us next?

Appreciate you all watching.

We will.

See you tomorrow.

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