Looking to free agency... with Nicki Jhabvala

0:00Ampire. Hello and welcome to my podcast. Do me a favor, subscribe to John Comre Port, wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching on YouTube hit that like button. Hit that subscribe button. You can find us there as part of Ampire Media, Ampire, always much appreciated when you tune in. Don't forget you can read my work on espn.com. Videos up there from the combine and a video up there about Tyler Beatis, I'm going to talk about in a minute. Those are like 45 seconds to a minute long. So quick videos just to kind of get you up, caught up on the news, et cetera, and some analysis. Also, I will have a story about the commanders and how one school happens to be on my alma mater. But one school has four guys who could fill in need for the commanders at number seven. Doesn't mean they're all going to make sense when the draft hits doesn't mean that they're all going to be there. A few of them will probably be gone. Some of them may not make sense at that time, but right now they all play positions

1:02of need for Washington. So I talked to Dan Quinn about some of these guys, had some interesting comments about a few of them in particular. So stay tuned for that. And then later on the week, I will be having something on how about the commanders free agent approach this year and how it's kind of different than the last couple of years. So stay tuned for all of that. In a minute, I'll be joined by Nikki Javala from the athletic. As we go over, just coming back from the combine, things that you learned about them. But also looking forward to free agency, just some approaches that they can take, should take, will take, all that good stuff. So stay tuned for that. So before I get there, just a couple of things, one, let's go back to Tyler Biotto. So the other day, when it was initially happened, I had just finished the podcast. So I had to record another one. And in between the first one and the one I did, there was another one that was, I didn't realize my laptop wasn't plugged in. And the battery went dead just as I was finishing up. So I had to do a third one. Anyways, but the bottom line is what I, after that, after that, recording that, then you

2:05kind of learn about why they cut Biotto. So I still go back to, if they felt he was playing well, he would still be on the roster. Period bottom line. This is not about the salary cap at all. And there has not been a post June 1st designation. That's nothing. I have not been told that. I've not heard that where people are getting, I think, what you have to realize, and you hear the 8.3 million, it's about cash available, has nothing to do with the cap. So that's what he was doing, 8.3 million dollars in cash this year. He, they can now take that money and use that toward another signing, whether it's part of the bonus, whatever it is. Like, they're going to take that and use it over there. The cap is only affected by about 2.8, 2.88, something like that, 2.88 million. So that, the cap and the cash are very different. You talk to teams like, you can manipulate the cap to a degree. You cannot do everything under the cap. You cannot manipulate everything. You do have to adhere to certain things, but it's different.

3:05And you will hear from exactly as like, cash is king. They look at cash available and cash that they have to spend more than they're going to look at the cap, for sure. But again, it doesn't mean you have, there are restrictions because of the cap, but in this move, it was about freeing up cash, not cap space. So if they end, by the way, if they had done a post-June first designation, and if we somehow find out that it is, but again, that's not something I've heard. If they do that, then you do free up $8 million in cap space this year. But you're not allowed to use that cap space until June. So it doesn't really help you in frangity, and they have good amount of cap space available. And there's another guy that I would say this week will be the last week that Marshall and Vladimir will be on the roster here. So that will free up $18.5 million once they do that. So I'm anticipating that at some point this week. But that'll free up more. But again, the point is they don't have to do that. They can also restructure or do something with Nick Allegretti's contract to free up a

4:07couple more million. But again, the Beatis deal, the move was nothing to do with the seller cap because it only frees up a little bit, but it does free up that $8.3 million in cash that can then go to somebody else, for sure. Now it does create another hole, we know that. And so that's one thing that it does. So and now they have to fill that hole, whether it's, I know Nick Allegretti might compete for the job, depending on who they bring in, but Allegretti is not guaranteed of anything for sure. But there are, I remember talking to people last summer that they felt like Allegretti could be a good center, or at least it was better at center than at guard. But again, they're not going to hand him the job. I do believe they'll bring someone else in, and whether it's a matter of, they're coming in above him, or to compete with him, one or the other. So anyway, just wanted to clear that up, David Rye is now going to be the past game coordinator, taking over for Brian Johnson, who of course is joining the Ram staff, and then Ben Steele

5:08takes over as the tight ends coach for Rye. And Rye was a very good tight ends coach. So one thing too, like Steele was with Dan Quentin for two years in Atlanta. He was at Arizona's tight ends coach last three years, worked with Tramack Bride, of course. So he has experience, it's a good reputation, but Rye does too. And so I think he'll be good in that role. I do think that Rye is probably a future offensive coordinator, and it's funny because like you talk to people when they look at offensive quarters, they really like coaches who have been in multiple roles, but also tight end coaches, because they tend to understand when your coach is tight end, you have to be well versed in the run game and the past game. So I'm curious to see what happens with Rye in this role, and how we can help David, how we can help David Blow, and I think Rye is a pretty sharp coach. You obviously get a chance to talk to him a lot, and so that's good, and I told you Ben Steele, so we'll see, but that's those are the latest coaching moves, and there you go.

6:08Folks, that's it for me. Here's my conversation with Nick and Jabala from the Athletic. The NBA and NHL seasons are heating up, and baseball is right around the corner, and for all of your needs, go to Fandall to check out all of the great options they have for you to place your bets and get in on all of the action. How about that trade deadline flipping things around for a number of the contenders? In the NBA as we head towards spring. How about March Madness, just a few weeks away, as well as we get set for one of the great tournaments in American sports? You can get everything you need, and all the action you are looking for at Fandall, a proud sponsor of this and all of the podcasts here at Empire Media. Fandall, get in on everything. All right, Nick, we always enjoy having you on you know that, so we just got back from the

7:14comment. Now, we're taping this Friday is coming out Monday, so if there's some moves that happen over the weekend, which are possible, they will be discussed before this video comes out, so understand that. I don't know that we're going to be surprised by anything comes out, like maybe there was some surprise about Tyler Beaudish. How surprised were you by that move? Fairly surprised. It was more considering how many other moves they have to make across a roster, and this just adds another, where he had another year left on his deal. He wasn't playing great, but he wasn't playing terrible either, and that group overall, I thought was probably one of the more consistent, positional groups that they had, so in some ways you could look at it as changing something that worked pretty well, but in their mind, they clearly view it as we need to get better here. Yeah, and I think like you, it's like there's a surprise in that, oh, okay, they have all these other moves that they know they're going to make, but it wasn't great last year, and so you know

8:17that, but even knowing that, it's not like saying, oh, but I think he could be one of those cat, because there's no cat benefit. This is strictly to me, mostly, I know it frees up some money, but if you're playing well, you're not getting released. Yeah, but he also wasn't playing that egregiously bad either, so it wasn't one of those that stood out, it was like, oh man, he could really be one of those veteran cuts. Right, right. There are probably three others I would put on the list ahead of them, but you know, and that's part of the surprise, I think. Right, and I think in their minds, if he's playing better, they're not doing this, like, I can't, we consider it say, like, I didn't think he was playing great, but it wasn't like I was like, oh, I mean, you know how this works with some players, you have the new story ready. Right, right, right, right, not have this new story ready. Yes, and this one, you know, he was said to make what more than 10 million, he had a cap for just one and 10 million, but it's, I mean, every team nowadays, it's not so much the cap, it's the

9:19cash. Correct. And he frees up about 8.3 in cash. And that's, that's where it's really a big deal. And like, as you know, like, it's funny, because you talk to people in the league, and you bring up salad cash space, and they always say it's cash. Cash is, yeah, the cap can be manipulated, but yeah, cash is key. So again, what were some of your, what were your main takeaways from the combine, what you heard, what you saw. I don't know about this for the athletic. So I'm going to plug your, your little stories there on the athletic. Yeah, I, I, I don't know that there was any grand takeaways. I mean, anybody who's expected to go in like the top 10, top 15, they're talking to. Right. That's going to happen every year. They're talking to everybody, every position, because nearly every position they need to fill outside of quarterback and left tackle and, you know, right guard. I'm trying to think of the others who are like true lots. I mean, I would have honestly, I, I would have put Yada's on that list. Just because again, thinking of all the other

10:22positions they have to fill, but, you know, they, they need another corner. They need safety help. They need linebacker help. They certainly need help on the G line, especially on the edge. You know, they, they need definitely receivers. They can use another pass catching tight end. Now they definitely need help on the O line. I mean, the list, they're going to be talking and running backs because they're still uncertainty there. They have a lot of potential still, but no, no sure thing yet. They need a backup quarterback. I mean, the list goes on. A kicker. So yeah, I mean, they're going to be talking to everybody and it's pretty wide open. I, you know, I, the more you dive into the draft, it's, it's going to be difficult for them to try to acquire more picks just because there's, it's not a deep quarterback class. So there's, I wouldn't imagine there's too many teams that are eager to trade up. And the only way you can trade back is if there's a team willing to trade up. So who's going to want to trade up for number seven to get, you know, what the number three pass rusher on the board, you know, like I,

11:25I just, I'm not seeing it there. So unless they, you know, as somebody is dying to take on one of their guys, and that wasn't the case at the trading deadline last year, I don't, it's going to be difficult for them to acquire more picks. But I do think this team is in a fairly good spot for an all season, just in terms of where they're at financially. The draft aligns with the needs they have. Just being a deep, a drusher deep receiving class. But there's, there's a lot of questions, you know, just what does this team going to look like? It sort of feels like we're back at the beginning. They're the mystery team, just with the coordinators, new systems, but well, and I'm going to get to all that too, because I think it's interesting how you assess the offseason based on the moves and how they assess their season based on the moves. So, but with, um, with the combine too, I'm like, you're right. The, and something, you know, like sometimes teams are going to trade up for something other than a quarterback. But the more quarterbacks you

12:27have, the more top talent gets pushed down. And then the more teams want to trade up for that, and that's what you get, but you're right. Like if you want a defensive end, do you want to trade up and give up picks, or do you want to wait and get guys a second third round, maybe who may be possible? And so like you want those blue chip guys, and I was talking to someone else during, when I was there. Um, and you know, I was like, you forget what day it is when you're there. Like you have no clue what day I talked to somebody. Um, but there was like, there's not, it's going to be really hard to trade back this year, maybe more than a lot of others, because there aren't as many blue chip guys, and they might be gone by then. So why give up a lot to what are you going to get? So unless somebody falls there. So you're right, that'll be hard. Um, but, but then the other part was you talk about the meetings. You have to be prepared in case you're able to trade back. So there might be guys down there. So you're going to see them meeting with a lot of guys like, it's, it's, it's customary. You have to do your work. Um, yeah, you have to do your dollar. Yes. But how do you assess then their move so far, coaching staff, and even some of these player moves. And what does that tell

13:32you about maybe how they viewed their season? If that makes sense. Yeah. I mean, I, I think they've said flat out. It was not a good season. And it was, I don't know how you could ever say, you know, five and 12 was a good season. Um, you know, they did have some extended meeting circumstances, you know, the, all the injuries. Um, a schedule wasn't particularly kind to them, but, you know, it certainly wasn't the worst in the league shoot. You look at what the 49ers are going to face next season. Gosh, that's not brutal. Um, but, you know, they, they didn't play well. At all, they weren't coached while they didn't play well. I mean, I, I look at the tackling as sort of, you know, the baseline. I mean, when you have a, you know, defensive head coach and however many, you know, really strong positional coaches that they did on defense and they still couldn't tackle. That's a, that's a concern. Obviously, um, a glaring one. And it, it, I mean, it's a little thing that can spiral into big problems when you can't do the basics. How are you

14:35going to do the bigger stuff, right? Um, and I think they recognize that. They recognize it quickly, but, you know, there's only so much you can do in season, right? And, you know, other than try to work on it. Um, so they knew they needed some wholesale changes. Um, I think it's the interesting part to me is you're making these wholesale changes in the critical year three. Um, you know, which is, you know, in many ways, a make a break season for the staff, you know, this, we all know the urgency in the NFL is greater than ever. I mean, I'm old enough to remember when coaches got two full seasons to prove themselves now. Many don't even get a full season to prove themselves. So, you know, you got to win or else it's going to be starting over again next season. So it's a gamble, but I clearly it's one they felt they needed to take and they have confidence and, and these play college, even though it's their first time to, you know, to really pull it together.

15:35And I think that's why I was getting at two like clearly it was a bad year, but there have been times in the past where might see like they might dismiss it. Oh, it was just about injuries. If we're healthy, we'll do this. To me, what this suggests like they knew that problems were deeper than just injuries, right? And I think a lot of it, too, as you look at on offense, eight is very clear. They wanted a different system. Um, you know, I, I look across the league and the majority of the league is playing in some version of a West Coast, you know, they're all different many are multiple at this point, but many have those same principles of West Coast. There's a reason it's copied over and over again, right? Um, and I, it probably the biggest is the balance and how it helps the quarterback. And I, I think it became evident throughout last season that they need to find more ways to help Jane Daniels. I mean, he much of their success in 24 was because he, he was Superman. Um, you know, in that mass, a lot of their deficiencies, but you can't expect

16:38any player, especially on quarterback to do that every season. It's just not sustainable. So they got to give them some help. They need more balance in the run game, better protection upfront. They needed to, you know, scheme up ways to create more balance in their offense. And I think that's a lot of their reason for wanting to go the route they did. Um, you know, he can't play only seven games because he's hurt. And like, you can look at each injury and say there's, you know, each injury, the reasons were different each time. Sure. But you also want him to give him the best environment possible. Right. So what does that tell you that about what they're doing for agency? Um, I think they're going to want dynamic pass getters. I think receivers going to be a big priority. I think they know they need, you know, a complement to Terry, a reliable complement to Terry. To have sure that one a one b, um, they know they need depth there. I think they want a strong running game. Um, so I, I wouldn't be surprised if they added that room, you know, they, they,

17:41losing zackers and, you know, I know they said they kept, they don't keep the door open for them, but the reality is he's also getting at the end of his career at some point. Um, so they, they need to add targets for them. They need to add playmakers. Um, and I think Laramie Tunsell will get paid handsomely. Yes, he will. And, and it's funny, because even with Earth's like, he's an emergency fallback if they don't have somebody in September. That's like, that's, that's what he is. Like, and, you know, when they hold the door open, that's the scenario that people need to understand. Um, but you're right. Like with Laramie, I think I don't think we're going to be going through a repeat of last year. Well, we thought that of Terry too, but, you know, anything going to happen. I think is that one when started to go, you could, you could kind of foresee this. Yes. I mean, this one is, I mean, he's going to think that he's already, you know, number one, and, you know, APY to the cap. So it's like, you know, he's going to, you know, stay within the top one or two,

18:49no matter what. So, yeah. What else does he know? Sorry, go ahead. No, the other thing too, is it seems like that there's some, you know, they, they want defensive ends. They want corners. Like, this seems to be a good phrasing class for what they need and want. Yeah. So how much, how much do you think, and it might be a little bit hard until we see them in August, right? Like, but how much do you think they can improve that defense right away, just because of where, maybe what the draft can get them and what for agency can get them? I would think quite a bit. I think we'll also start to see their vision too, because it is going to change under Dorante. You know, you'll start to see the sort of the types of players that they're looking for. But I, I think they know they need to get younger, get faster. They need to add length, you know, so I think you're right. Yeah, it does align with what they need, but I think there's plenty of room for them. I think it'll look a lot better quickly if they can get the right guys, which sounds stupid and

19:55obvious, but like, you know, I feel like we've gone into all seasons and it's been like, yeah, they need an elite ed rusher and you come out of it and like, they did not get any. How many doubts are we like, I think I have any mock drafts that I did. I think I had an ed rusher and everyone, probably that one. I mean, I am curious though, what was your arm length from the athletic higher due? What was what? Your arm length. Oh, I mean, I'm basically a limpian anyway. I roll out of bed as like the superior athletes, but you're like, Von Miller roll out of bed. Basically, basically, I mean, look at me. But so, but you're, you're all right. Like, there've been times where you think like, oh, they're definitely going to get this position. They're like, oh, well, maybe not. And this is where I'll be honest. Sometimes they get this way. I love about our job. We can sit there and tell people, this is what they're going to do. And this is why. And then they don't do it. It's like, this is what they didn't do. And this is why. And you can sound smart and both, you know, you can be completely wrong about or they and they might not do it. That's the beauty of this job.

20:58So, right? But everybody's going to follow the board. Everything follows the board. You know, the guy, they're always going to get their guy. And whoever it is, he was, he was not going target on the board. The guy all of them. They always, they just followed the board. Are there some fridges at this point that you, I don't know how much you dug into this at this point, like that you say, like, this would be a good fit. This would be a good plan of target. I know, I just, I like Jalen Phillips. I think he would be, I mean, I know he's dealt with injuries, but I, I just, I like the way he plays when healthy, obviously. I think you'd be a really good addition to the line. You can bolster it with the draft, you know, have, you know, if you go get somebody in the first round, you have your two solid pieces that on the ends, like, that could be really interesting to me. I'm trying to think of some of the others. I don't bring in a youth gets brought up a lot. I mean, obviously, with the connection to Adam and Jane, of course, I mean, there's the whole thing in San Francisco is a mess to put it politely.

22:03I mean, I, I could see them adding them, but I don't see them as, I don't, I don't think they could rely on him as like the, you know, the true number two. I think he certainly has a talent to be a number one, but given how things have panned out with the 49ers, it sounds like he's healthy, but I just don't think given the circumstances, you can rely on him at this point unless he shows that going forward, but it might might be like, you know, like sort of a bonus if you're able to get sort of that kind of talent, but you also got your true number two. It's like, I would, you know, yeah, I would definitely agree with that. I think you can get him on one year proof of deal to come in here and do whatever, but you go out and you sign like whether it's gobs or Jennings or someone like that to that pair. And now you have quite a different trio than you had the year before. Right, right. I'm trying to think of, you know, some of the others. I would like to see him

23:05at a veteran titan. And Joku would be very interesting, I think. Kind of think the good thing is too, nigga, there's the good, there's good corners available, right? Like, you know, whether it's woolen from Seattle, a lot of tailoring, there's some guys that are there that I think can definitely help them. And do you get the sense that they might have a different approach this offseason than the past two? I would hope so. Don't you? Did it work last year? Yeah, I mean, that's, I mean, they got to add to every position. And that's, I think they'll be better. Will they fix things overnight? No, I don't think so. I think that's, that was sort of the misconception in 2024, like, oh my god, they're transformed overnight. No, they're not. I still had a ton of holes. You know, and I think the holes are even bigger now,

24:07because, you know, Bobby Wagner's likely not back. That's a big hole to fill. You know, not, I mean, Bobby Wagner is Bobby Wagner. He's a hall of fame or no doubt. But at that point was he playing like a hall of fame or no, but he had brought so much other stuff to the table, you know, and he was a smart player back there. So finding that at a really critical position is going to be difficult. You know, finding that reliable, consistent safety, I thought Will Harris played really well when he was healthy. But he was only healthy for like the first few games of the season, then it was, you know, he's coming back to a team that was pretty much already out of it. Um, I think finding ways to get their young players back on track. Right. That to me is a big huge. I mean, you can't stand to lose, you know, you know, a couple of second round picks. Um, wait, what was, what was, what was, what was the second? What was the second mickey was the second?

25:09Mm-hmm. So you can't stand to lose a couple of second round picks. Right. Because they, you know, just get off track. You got to get those guys going again. See now, that's, and that to me has been the thing with this group as much as like fringesy hits or misses, they need more of those day two guys in 2024 to, to, to ascend this year. Like you've got to make like Johnny Newton, you've got to take a big step, you know, like Brandon Coleman may end up starting, right? If Paul leaves. And then, but like Mikey, like, you know, get back to where we thought you were going after your first year. Yeah, he convinced Chris Paul has gone. Good Lord. I'm just saying, though, I'm, I'm not convinced, but I, I do think he probably hits fringesy, but then like, but does he then get the deal he wants? We don't know that, right? And if you don't, then you can come back. But I don't, you know, I don't know. Um, there was a time, one time I was in Mike Shanahan's office and his comment was, you don't win with bleeping guards. And, um, I know that Kyle was a big proponent of that.

26:10And I know that Adam Peters was with Kyle for six, for five plus years, whatever. So I don't know that you're going to, he knows Kyle Shanahan really does. Yeah, believe it or not. What? He also knows. Hey, did you, have you heard about the 2013 Washington staff and how many guys? Tell me more. I think some of them went on to become head coaches. That's wild. Yes. But the point is like, yeah, but the point, the point is like, does he view that as a, do they view that as a big money spot? You already paid, well, they did get one of them. So you already paid big money to cause me. Do you then invest in another guy at that at a certain level? I think that's going to be the tough one. But now you need a center. So, you know, and, yeah, I just want to convince Chris Paul after one season. We'll get that. But, right. Yeah. And if he doesn't, he'll be back. And I apologize for boring you and forcing you to y'all. And so, yeah. God, man. It's not the first time. Usually I annoy her, not, not cause her to yawn. So I like, I'm starting to question

27:13my coffee doesn't have the amount of espresso I ordered. It says it does. But I'm not. Well, I was at like 10, you don't have 10 shots of espresso in there. I requested four. And it says it's a quad, but I don't know. Maybe should have gotten five. That would, I'm only, I'm on my second cup of coffee with my little Madrid coffee cup. So. Oh, wasn't that adorable. There you go. You're going to add a London one to the next, the share. If we have time to get over there and around, yes, I will. So I need to. I like, you know, it's, but I will, the Madrid coffee was pretty good when a little shop that we had before I was very happy with that. Anything else like from the combine, like whether some of the prospects that you around, anything that, you know, that you're able to share, like, you know, that you've already written that you want to talk about, like, some of the prospects that you got anything from. Oh, since you were kind of not to plug my story, I'll plug your room and main story. I, he is one that really interests me. And I know there's been a lot made of the arm length. And I thought it was really telling that both Adam

28:15Peter Sandin, Quinn, you know, both emphasized it, you know, the film speaking more. It's how do you play with sort of the frame you have? If it's not a hindrance when you play, then, you know, who cares, really? But it is something you have to consider going in. It's not something you completely overlook. And you have to, you know, make a decision of whether they think it'll be a hindrance at the NFL. But I like the way he plays. I just think he's aggressive. I think he's physical. I like that he plays angry. And I, I don't know, I think he would be really intriguing. I think sunny styles has had an insane combine. I mean, athletic freak. I think it'd be really interesting he's the one they decided to go with. I think Caleb Downs is no doubt that in my mind, I'm sure they're, you know, it's up for dispute for others. But like, I think he's the best player in the draft. And I, I would, I mean, that'd be amazing if they added him. But I, I mean, there's

29:22plenty of talent. Most of them unfortunately came from Ohio State. But, you know, they can, I'm willing to look past that. I was just going to ask you, do you know where they went to school? Can I tell you? I will say, I will say, though, Nikki, what's going to happen on draft now? You're going to have five guys from Ohio State going to first on because came McDonald that knows how it was going to go as well. And all I'm going to do is be pissed off that like, how did you not win a title? It's amazing. How did you guys not win at all? And I'm going to remind you of that. I told you guys go, like, how did you guys not win with this? Like, what was wrong with you? You couldn't make a win. Like, I wasn't the one calling place. That's why. If you heard me from my couch, I was dead on every time. So just, just, just, I mean, no, no, no, no. But, um, so, yeah, but I do think like, I do think they'll be aggressive. They have to be. They have a lot of needs. They have to fill. They have a lot of, a lot of roster spots have to fill. But it's like, the last point thing too is going back to the roster. And I'm sure you've heard this too. You talk to people

30:26around the league and it was Jane covered up a lot of scenes on their roster and that they felt like you look at the roster. It needs a lot of work. And I think like, you know, I think you have to take to me. Take the approach that get guys who can be here for a few years and build that up. Younger guys who can build an ascend. Yeah. Well, you know, that's why I think this is a really important draft for them. You, I mean, they've talked repeatedly about we want to build through the draft, but, you know, the last couple of years, they found some good pieces, but not all of their selections have been consistent and immediate contributors. They really need those to develop and pan out and add to them. So, yeah, I mean, with anything in the NFL, I think it always, a lot of it comes down to how long their leash is, right? Like, how much, how much time will they have to get this right? Because I, like we said before, it feels like they're starting over in many ways. And I think they understand that how big a season this is. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So,

31:29and it is funny because I, it's the draft stuff you're right. Like, you've got to build through that. And they get also highlights like they almost have to be perfect with their picks to get to the level because they don't have like, you know, Seattle had a couple guys hit big time before this group, this Mike McDonald got there because Schneider's a really good GM head of a lot of time. These guys didn't have that. So, like, they have to be, they have to really hit on a higher to me on a higher percentage. You can't afford a lot of misses. So, like, that's going to be true of this. And you can't miss on the seventh pick. You've got to hit on the third and hope some other guys from the past develop. Is there last thing that, is there one guy even from the last couple drafts that you're more intrigued to see how they develop and how that maybe can fill a spot that we think right now as a whole? Yeah, I mean, I mean, they're really, I mean, we name two of them, right? Juan Martin, Mikey Sainter, so even that, Juan was drafted by Rivera and his regime. But Jordan McGee, a linebacker, I think it's another one, you know, if they don't go the route of,

32:32you know, getting another linebacker in there, can he be, you know, the quarterback of the defense? I mean, that's a, that is a big role to fill, you know, stepping in for Bobby Wagner, if that's what they call him to do. I also wonder, and I started to throw this out there at the end, but like, I do wonder if some guys might, they might appear to be better suited for different positions. Might we see Juan and the nickel more than we do, you know, at safety? It's, at times we might, we're going to see him experiment throughout training camp as every team does. But, you know, you know, might some guys move around more? I mean, I would think they, maybe they utilize Frankie Louville, certainly different than what they did last season because they did, you know, much of what they did because the need with the injuries, but might they try to utilize some guys differently? Thanks for throwing that out there at the end. You're welcome. You're welcome. Just some food for thought, you know, I agree. And even I think that the spring is a time when you start to see that, right? And see if it works. Like they did that with Tyler Owens last year in camp and they didn't feel confident with what they saw because you didn't see the playtime result,

33:35but that's what they're using for. It's not always say he's going to do this, like, see if they can do this. Right. I think you're right. Like, Juan and Frankie to me are, you know, you would have thought last year that both players are kind of going up and then you're right. Like Frankie going down a little bit because of other reasons, but also, you know, just missed too many, to your point earlier. So yeah. So anyways, buckle up, Nikki, going to be a fun ride, I think. Let's do this. Yeah. Fun ride to get to find out 11 o'clock at night that you think your day is done and they sign two more guys and get it up. So let's go. All right. Thanks, Nikki. Anything else you want to plug? No, I don't think so soon though. Maybe soon. Maybe soon. That's a really bad thing, but yeah, maybe soon. I'm working on something. All right. There you go. Thanks, Nikki. That's it for this episode. Thanks, Nikki. For joining me and thank you as always for tuning. I'll be back on Tuesday with another episode. Starting to go over a lot of stuff and frazy

34:37that the commanders face, whether they're on roster or looking at shoot. What might they do in three minutes to talk to you next time?