Good Morning Pride, Episode 10: “Jared Goff extension, with Jeremy Reisman”
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Good Morning Pride. I almost messed it up. You know what? I think I got nervous because our special guest today, I always tease him for messing up intros, and I think the rooster's coming to roost here today or something like that, right? Is it the chickens that come to roost? I forget how to phrase this.

Welcome, Jeremy Reisman, to Good Morning Pride. How are you today, buddy? Good, Ben. That was a great simile and or metaphor that you just started off with. I think it's an analogy, but I'm not sure. I need an English teacher who can help me with my correct pronunciation.

What is it? I mean, I'm lost at this point with what exactly it is and how and what I'm metaphor assemblies. I've got them all confused. It's it's mid-May and we're past the draft. I was thinking that I was going to get a chance to have my brain shut down for a little bit because of the draft is behind us.

And then the Lions go out and sign Jared Goff to a massive extension. So I've got to get my brain working again. And I figure you're the most knowledgeable person to get my brain back on track. So here we are. Oops. Well, clearly your brain isn't back on track if that's what you thought. Yeah. Well, I would bring to the show. It's apparently my decision making is still questionable. So, all right.

So I think at this point, everyone knows Jared Goff got an extension, right? The deal is still not fully released. I mean, we know basics, right? But what we do know is the new deal is to go, is to piggyback on top of his existing deal, which ends at the, at the end of the 2024 season. So then he, at the end of the 2024 season, he's going to have a new deal or, you know,

Contractual terms, it's a new deal. It's the extension, right? That goes 24, I'm sorry, 2025, 2026, 2027 with an option in 2028. What I find interesting is

I haven't seen any clarity on whose option it is. Right. I've, I've watched Tom Palisaro talk on NFL network. I've, I've looked at his Twitter feed. I've Googled it and I cannot figure out whose option it is, if it's a team option or if it's a player option. Another interesting wrinkle to, to unravel when we start looking at, you know, what this pot or what this, this new contract is all about. So I,

Right off the bat, we're going to get the details on that. And so I think once we get the details, we'll have a much firmer base to make our impressions of, is this a good deal? Is this not a good deal? Is it really good up front? Is it bad on the back end? We need those details to do a full evaluation. But in the interim...

Everybody wants reactions. So let's give them reactions. Initial reaction for you is what, Jeremy? I would say...

A very mild surprise that it was that high. You know, 53 million average per year puts him second, only behind Joe Burrow, who has 55 million a year. But that, I mean, the average per year thing is generally a worthless metric. It's not that important when it comes to cap management and things like that. It's just, it's an easy way to rank quarterbacks. What's usually more important is the guaranteed money. And so...

170 million guaranteed in his contract. Again, kind of a high figure, a very high percentage of his overall average value. And, uh,

At first, again, that was a little bit surprising. But then, like, you look at the trends of quarterbacks really since Deshaun Watson got his fully guaranteed contract. Every other contract has kind of been inching its way closer to fully guaranteed. Now, no one has reached fully guaranteed because no one is as stupid as Cleveland Browns. But in general, it seems like a big deal. And but but not like.

ridiculously big. Not beyond... If I were to have made a range of possibilities where I think this deal might land, I probably would have said somewhere between $48 and $55 million. And so this is within that range. So it's not a complete shock or anything, but it's on the higher end. And

You know, I think it's certainly manageable. This is where contracts are headed. They always increase. So while he didn't quite set the market, it's not surprising that he came close to setting the market because he's been playing as a top 10 quarterback for the past two and a half years and arguably closer to a top five quarterback over the past year and a half. So.

I get it. I do think if we were to like to kind of deconstruct what we expect out of this, I, I, I do expect that fourth year option to be hefty. Right. And I do think that fourth year option is going to carry the bulk of, of, of the contract. Um, it just, that's how the lions have done it with the, with the other guys. Right. And, and, uh,

And it just makes sense. Like if you're going to put an option on it, that tends to be, if he earns it, then you give it to him type of thing. Or it usually sets the table for another extension at that time. Right.

So my guess is it's a team option. I don't think so. Right. Yeah. In general, these are right. There's not a lot. Almost all options. Yeah. Sometimes like Kirk Cousins has some like weird stuff always put into his contracts because he's weird. But well, you know what I mean? Like he's he's he's weird. It's OK to say he's weird. He's quirky. He's quirky. I think is a better, better approach.

Two Wolverines are calling a former Spartan quarterback quirky and weird. It's fine. Don't do that to me. Don't put me in. But, so, yes, it averages 53. But I think, like, when we, like...

Take that option year out of the way. I think it's going to be a lot more, or it's going to be a lot closer, I think, to the range that you were just talking about, right? It may not be up to 53. It's probably not going to be below 48. But if you look at the three years that he's going to be under contract, it's probably going to be

All right. Like around 50 million. It might be even maybe 49 or eight. You know what I mean? Because I really think that fourth year is going to be, uh, it's going to be a heavier portion of the pie. Most of that guaranteed money though, I think is going to be eaten up in the first three years as well. Right? So if you're looking at those, you have to, uh, I don't, one we don't know is that if that 170 includes a 10 million that he's guaranteed this year. And if it is, um,

That 170 can get split over four years plus the option. So potentially we're over five years, which means again, if you're spreading that guaranteed money out, it's a lot easier. It's a lot more palatable.

Keeping in mind, though, that the fifth-year option may have a high price tag, the Lions are probably going to want a lower amount of guarantees in that fifth year, right? And so that tends to maybe push more of the guarantees up into the first four years. So again, if he's making...

$40 million guaranteed over the, over the first like four years and then 10 million guaranteed in that option year. That's again, that's, that's, that's the going rate for, for a quarterback these days. Right. Um, but, but you have to get to 170 million. That's, that's a tricky part. Well, that's what I'm saying. If they guarantee more, if they, so if they, if they up the guarantees in this year, um,

So it's beyond that 10. And then you do the 25, 26, 27, each like 40, 40, 40, that gets you to one 60. And then you put 10 million in that last year for one 70, you know, you can afford that the options less, it's less severe. Um, but again, I don't know what they're going to do. I'm just spitballing like ideas, ideas here. So I do think this number will be lower than I think what people are projecting it to be right now. Um,

But again, either way, it doesn't, it doesn't, it's not overly, and I mean, I'm just putting up speculative numbers here and that's probably a pointless, it's probably a pointless exercise because we'll know the number soon enough. But I just, I guess the point here is,

While it's $53 million on average, that doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to end up being the second highest paid when we look at how this thing is structured, right? Like he may end up being, you know, he may end up being like in the top five. But like you just said, with the way he's been playing recently, that falls in line, right, with the top five production.

Yeah. And I mean, a lot of people equate, I think the average per year to salary cap, which is a very bad way to think about NFL contracts. A lot of times when you're looking at an average per year and say it's 53 million, a lot of times they don't hit that number in terms of your cap hit.

Three or four years into the contract. Yeah. And so, you know, you know, I saw some people clowning like, Oh, the lions are spending this percentage of their cap on, on golf and, and Sewell and, and I'm on her on. It's just like, yeah. Like those, the other two guys have single digit cap pits in 2024. And it's very possible that, that golf is somewhere like around 20 million, right? Like it, it, it, it, there's a good chance of it being relatively low, uh,

Both this year, maybe even next year and the year after. And then you're talking about like a big jump to like 50, 55, maybe even 60 cap it. And again, some of that cap hit might be in a quote unquote dummy option fourth year that the lines probably don't have an intention of, of exercising or, or maybe they have it holding there for, for a possible extension. So, um, that it's the reason why, uh,

I understand why people use average per year, because again, it's an easy way to stack quarterbacks or stack positions and contracts and stuff. But generally speaking, it does not have as much of a practical use when, when analyzing contracts. And so it's why it's hard to do one of these instant reaction podcasts when we don't know the full structure of the deal. Um, even with the, you know, the guarantees in place. I'm with you. I I'm with you. I do think it's easier for people to, um,

wrap their head around an average, right? As opposed to just like knowing when the cap hits hit, because that's something we don't even know with golf. Like we can look at like Amon Ra's contract and we can look at like Sewell's contract and we can say, okay, those seem to be,

uh, juxtaposed in, in, in when they hit, right? Like you're going to, I'm on Ross hitting the maximum number or the, not the maximum, but the highest number, uh, in 2026 where Sewell doesn't hit his maximum number until 2028. So like if golf comes in and his maximum numbers in 2027, like that's purposeful, right? Like they do that on purpose. Like the, uh,

The second highest paid player on, or okay. So golf is the first highest paid player, right? And then the second highest paid player we've talked about before is Taylor Decker because he's in the final year of a contract with Chad, a big extension. And then the third highest paid player is Frank Ragnow.

well frank he's already seen the peak of his contract of his uh contract that came uh what lat no yeah last year last year it was the highest point that his contract was going to be at and now he he's actually tapering back off the pack down and then it'll kick back up in 2026 but um it's still going to be below what he was making in 2023 and when you like look at like

So he's making 16.4 last year. That's what he made last year, 16.4. He's going to dip down to 12, then a little bit back up to 14, and then he's going to be at 16.3 in the final year of his contract. But when you look at like percentage of salary cap and what it's estimated to be, the 16.4 last year was 7.3% of the salary cap.

That's 16.3 two years from now is only expected to be 5.8 of the salary cap. Right. So we, you see this, you see this drop where, so when people are saying, man, you're pushing so much money into the future, um,

It's not, it's okay to, to, to backload these contracts and push them into the future because $50 million today is not the same as $50 million tomorrow. It's going to be a lower percentage of the cap hit. And that's one of the reasons that you can, you can get it to adjust. And then it becomes a lower, it becomes more palatable, I guess is what I'm saying. And then you, if you stack when it peaks and you match it up with your other superstars, you're,

It's really easy to have a different superstar peak at a different year of their contract. And then that's how you can afford them as opposed to just doing an even split and then spreading that out equally amongst the three years. That's, that would be more problematic than the, than the approach that, that NFL teams have. Yeah, that'll, that'll make sense. Um, uh,

Go ahead. I was going to potentially move the conversation to something else because I feel like... Me too. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to talk because I was rambling there. No, it's all good. I'll let you... It's your podcast. You take it where we go next. No, my question was, or I guess my thought was, for a player to...

to reach what they thought was his peak in L.A. and to get a big contract in L.A. and then to be discarded.

When's the last time you've seen a player like, cause we see that happen all the time. When's the last time you've seen a player re hit that peak again? It doesn't happen. Right. It rarely happens. Right. I've, I've thought about this for a long time and I don't even know how to search into history to, to try to find an example. But if, if someone has an example, it'd be the first time I've ever heard of it. And I was just talking about this with Mike Payton, like,

This speaks so highly to Jared Goff's character that he was able to weather that storm. Because remember, it wasn't just a matter of weathering the storm in Los Angeles and the embarrassment of a trade where you're clearly the quote unquote throw in or you're labeled the bridge quarterback or all these things. But you also go to a Detroit team that is decimated, that has no hope, that is just brought in this weird quirky head coach and this first time GM no one's ever heard of.

And you're expected to go in there and compete. And it doesn't happen. You go Oh 10 and one to start your, your Detroit lions career. And those Fox graphics show up every week. Your, your golf is, is whatever with, with Sean McVay and Owen, whatever with every other coach. Right. And then he plays a little bit better to the end of the season, but then 2022 comes around and what, what happens again? The lines start one in six.

This guy has gone through a heck of a lot and it has been called bad names by some people that, that might be in this podcast that aren't Eric. And like he's weathered at all. I look, I'm, I'm fully adopting. I'm fully owning some of the bad things I said about Jared Goff. And you're going to see him on pride of Detroit.com pretty soon. But, but like that, that,

that's it. Like it on just a pure skill level. It's so unbelievably hard to go what he's gone through and come out on the other end and succeed in a new town and reinvent yourself and get better and be humble enough to, to realize that there's things that you need to improve on and, and, and do it and go through it and, and weather the storm and whether the media storm and whether the losing storm. But, you know, it's,

Goff has always shown that he's capable of it, right? Like he did it at Cal. Cal was a horrible team before he got there. Certainly was. And he turned around that program. And so...

I think this is a day to celebrate Jared Goff not only as a franchise quarterback. Let's call it. I think for the first three years, we all shied away from that term for him because we weren't sure. Jared Goff is a franchise quarterback, and he's a damn good one, and he's a really impressive human being for being able to persevere everything he's been through. The only other player I can think that

I think listeners might recognize that has gone through something similar would be like Baker Mayfield. But I mean, but Baker isn't going to get this level of money. I just, he's just not right. Like he would need to, he would need to do what we've seen from golf, right? Which is show that consistency over time and take the, be able to take the team to, to another level. I think that,

Last year, they kind of backed their way into the playoffs and hit a really struggling Philly team and then put up a really good fight against Detroit. But I think there needs to be more longevity with Baker before he's going to see a big re-up in contract. Now, I know he just got paid recently, but it's not...

it's still on the lower tier, right? He's got it like, what, three years? I think it was like $100 million for like three years. So that's, you know what I mean? That's really good for what he was doing. But like the difference between $100 million, a three-year $100 million, and four-year $200 million is pretty significant. So again, I think that speaks to all the things that you were pointing out with Koff is we all said, you know,

We're not ready yet. We're not ready yet. You know, he's got to show it. And he struggled those first couple of years, certainly. And I think the cast around him didn't help. The team wasn't ready. I don't think he was ready mentally, you know, like he got cast off and that, that took a toll. He's, he's, he's mentioned and admitted to that. But the confidence is, is there. The accuracy is there. Yeah.

I just think back to the L.A. game, and I just think about how he was just absolutely...

in the face of adversity, facing off against the bully who pushed him around. And he was dealing in that whole game pretty much. But I mean, he was like 11 of 11, right? Like the first 11 passes he completed or something ridiculous like that. And it was like tight window, like craziness. And the thing that always impressed me about Goff was...

the year, the playoffs before he was traded to Detroit when he had the broken hand. And then the injuries happened and he played with the broken hand. I always thought that was awfully impressive and spoke to his character. And I think we've seen that kind of, that one moment repeat itself where you've seen him look at what's in front of him and step up. And

A lot of people would fold in those situations and he really didn't. And, and I think that's a testament to how this team is built and, and, and in the, with his leadership, the way that it is, it's, it's, he is very much the face of, of what they want it to be. And this is, he's shown again, when, when he's faced with a problem, uh,

He's found a way. Now, is he perfect? No, he's not. But he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now, and he's getting paid like it.

One thing that I think is going to be interesting to see, and we've seen it already a little bit, is, you know, a lot of people talk about when they talk about elite quarterbacks, franchise quarterbacks, they elevate the players around them. And I think for a long time, Jared Goff was kind of viewed as the opposite, right? Everything, you know, the common term, everything around him had to be perfect for him to succeed, which I think is interesting.

Very much an exaggeration of the truth. I think every quarterback needs a certain amount of comfort around them to succeed. And I don't think Jared Goff is uniquely leaning on that, even though I probably at one point was one of the people who said that. But like DJ Chark, how do you do after he left Detroit? Josh Reynolds, how's he going to do? Yeah, that's how did he do before he landed in Detroit? Mm hmm.

He was much better with golf than he was. I don't even remember what team he came from. Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. Basically the Texans. Same team. And so, like, I think he's already starting to put to bed some of these notions that he doesn't make the players around him better. And I don't know. Does Sam Laporta have the kind of year he does without Jared Goff? Does Amon Ross St. Brown?

I mean, he's still probably pretty good because he's just not that I heard when he got his contract extension. I heard if he didn't go to Detroit, he never would have been that because Detroit doesn't have anybody else but him. So that's that's what I was told. That's what I was told. But no, I think I think.

I think it's now fair to say that Jared Goff has made some of the pieces around him better. And that is, again, that is the cornerstone of a franchise quarterback. And so to me, the evidence is more than overwhelming now that Jared Goff deserves a deal like this, even if it is on the high end of whatever I was thinking. The thing for me and the thing that I guess the characteristic that stands out with Goff, and if you want to argue, if someone wants to push back and say,

that he doesn't make people better. My counter argument would be that he understands what players strengths are and how to utilize them. Right. He's never going to, and this is a, this is a whole team thing too. Like the coach and staff does this too. Like Jared knows if I can get Sam in this situation, I'm going to be able to hit him because he's better right here.

If I can get Amon Ra, or if I can, you know what I mean? Like he knows every play intimately because him and Ben Johnson have helped design this, this playbook, but he knows the plays. He knows the players. He knows their strengths. He knows their weaknesses. And he rarely puts players in situations where they aren't featured and where they aren't at their best. And so, I mean, how many times do you see him throw, uh,

like a pass across the middle that isn't like one that a player can catch in stride and just keep going. Like you never see him throw like those, those like murder balls where like somebody is going to, you know, catch a knee and then be out for the season. And then you got to yell at the other team's safety about it or something. Right. You never see him like he's, he's very smart about how he,

And that's, I guess, one of his best, that might be his best characteristic in my mind is he's, he takes care, he knows how to make the players around him better. Now, is he developing their game? I don't know. But is he making, is he putting them in situations to succeed? Absolutely. Absolutely.

Like he knows what the play is designed. He knows where it's supposed to go, but he knows which players are going to do which well in which spot. And he knows where, how to, how to target them in those spots too. Like, and, and that, that's why you have a guy like Sam Laporta setting rookie records. That's why you end up having Amon Ra having the seasons that he's had is because he understands the players around him and how to feature him. And I think, um,

That part of his game goes underappreciated nationally and even locally a little bit, because I think a lot of people look at that sort of stuff and be like, oh, that's Ben Johnson. That's Ben Johnson's scheme. He's scheming guys open. He's doing this. He's doing that. But it's easy to forget that Ben Johnson took a lot of his ideas from

Jared Goff. Yeah. Like you remember the Las Vegas summit that they had for three days to develop their new offense. Like Jared Goff has been an integral part of developing and designing this offense. This offense is almost as much is as it is Ben Johnson. And that should give you confidence that when eventually Ben Johnson finds the right head coaching job that he wants, uh,

Jared Goff should still be okay because that is where he's taken the biggest step, I think, in his career post-Rams is he's taking ownership. He's learning stuff. The coaching staff has said several times he's become such a better quarterback before the ball is even snapped than he was when he got to Detroit because he doesn't have Sean McVay, I would say, holding his hand, but it's not even holding his hand. He's holding the whole controller for him.

He's saying, move over, Jared Goff. Let me grab the sticks. That's how it was in LA. And now he has so much more ownership over everything and it's making him a better, smarter quarterback where he does understand routes. He does understand coverages. He does understand pre-snap reads. He does understand what his own players does best and how to utilize that to his best ability. And that, I mean, that's quarterbacking. Sometimes that, most times, that stuff is way more important than

Can you throw 70 yards downfield? How, you know,

How are you now on out routes? How, you know, can you escape the pocket and run for 40 yards? Like, no, if you have a key understanding, a core understanding of offensive scheme, defensive scheme, and how it all works together, then you're a really good quarterback. And that doesn't show up when you're throwing the ball. It doesn't show up in your highlights, right? It's not something that's that people can point to and be like, wow, what a play. Jared Goff is an amazing quarterback. And that's why he's always going to be underrated to some aspect nationally, but he's,

That's what's made him such an impressive quarterback in Detroit and why, again, he's deserving of the contract he got. I think there's going to be a lot more to unpack on this situation as we get into it. You know, like, they've had a good offense. Like,

Yes, Ben Johnson deserves a lot of credit. Yes, Jared Goff deserves a lot of credit. But when it comes time to put the ball in people's hands, he's the one who does it. Jared Goff is the one who's doing it, right? And this has been a top five offense for two years in a row because of it. And there's a lot of things that are right about this offense, but that's great. They need to be. And I know, look, I said earlier, he's not perfect.

And I know people are always going to want that guy who can do everything. Right. Always not mobile. Oh, we can't throw it 70 yards or whatever. Right. But how many people are right. Like that. Yeah. Like we're talking about like one or two people. And then like, what's. If you've made a top five list.

of quarterbacks in the NFL. It doesn't matter who it is. Okay. If you made a top five list, I guarantee the quarterback that ends up fifth on that list. And maybe even the quarterback that ends up fourth on that list, the fan base hat, that player's fan base has massive complaints about how that, how that quarterback is playing. Right. Right. Because there's not, there's not, there aren't quarterbacks in the NFL that, that are, are, you know, void of flaw. And, and so you have to look at,

I mean, you have to look at how he utilizes what he has. And again, I think we're I think Lion Champ fans should be happy about that. And I think the proof is is on the table right there. You know what I mean? Like what we've seen over the last was it like I don't know how many years.

27 games or something like that, right? If you go like the 10, right? It's an awfully impressive resume he's put together over a really solid amount of games. And if he had the playoffs into that, I guess it's 30, right? The last 30 games he's played have been awfully impressive. And he's had some down moments, but that's fine. Like that's just part of the NFL. Everybody does. Okay. Yeah.

I think I'm comfortable putting a bow on it there until I know a little bit more about the numbers, which I think are going to be fun to talk about. Yeah. Can I ask you? Yeah, please. I have one more question for you, and it might not be that answerable until we get those details, but I think a lot of people have been asking because now that this is done, everyone wants to move on to the next topic or the next extension in this case. And so, yeah, a lot of people are asking you.

you know, do you think this negatively impacts the chances of something like a Taylor Decker and or a Lee McNeil extension, either this off season or next? I think the Decker one is always going to be a little bit challenging unless he's willing to go down in price. Right. Like I think the Lions would love to give him like a two or three year extension at like,

two thirds of what he makes. Right. Yeah. And if, and if he was willing to do that, knowing that he's upwards of, you know, he's over 30 now. Right. Right. Isn't he? Hold on. I'm going to double check that just so I'm not 31. If I'm not mistaken. So like if he goes in, yeah, you're right. He's 31. If he goes into free agency, he'll be 32 and getting a three year contract is

is going to be challenging at 32. It's more than likely going to get a one or a two year deal. But I think if the Lions were to give him that security, I think he would like that. I think they'd have to, they'd want to come down in pricing. So if he's willing to come down in pricing, I think you can get that done. Aleem on the other side is a lot more difficult because the defensive tackle prices are going up and he is still young and he is still flourishing and

But again, you can make it work if you're creative with the cap, right? I mean, just again, I don't have the numbers in front of me. I'm just kind of spitballing off the top of my head. Amon Ra's big contract hit is in 26. Sewell's is in 28. If you were to structure a lean... If you were to say, okay, quarterback is just what it is. If you were to say, okay, a lean hits in 27...

And then Aiden's peaks in 29, like you might be okay because that Aiden contract is coming. But you have a little bit more time with Aiden and then, you know, maybe you can avoid the fifth year contract.

you know, hump with Aiden and you get a contract extension done and you can push that or you can push that extension where it hits in, you know, in 2030 or something like that or 2000. Yeah. Right. So like, yeah. So there's, there's ways to work around it. And I don't think they're like up against it because,

they had 23 million available going into this contract extension. And if it ends up going down, like we do think it will, uh, they're going to have more. And then you, you start rolling money over and you start planning ahead. Like,

They got a couple of really, really smart capologists on that, on that front office. So by the way, they're doing some crazy stuff too. Like, I don't know if you've got, like, if you've looked at back at the Amon Ara extension, uh,

Or, or, um, any of the, like, like there's some, there's some like weird twists in there that, you know, I've, I've reached out to some CAC expert and they're like, yeah, this is a really rare thing that they're doing that we don't normally see. It's super weird. And, um, you know, they, they definitely, I don't, I don't know if I want to call them loopholes, but like there's certain structuring ways that they're doing that are really creative that I hadn't seen before. Um, that, that are,

Working around some things that in a way it's beneficial to the team. I'm going to, I've touted this guy's horn before. Don't do it. Don't tell, we're going to lose him. Keep losing guys in the front office, Eric. Don't do it. I've noticed that these new wrinkles, these loopholes have all started to occur once they brought on Brandon Sosna. Sosna is incredible.

Not often talked about because he's number two, he's behind Dizner and Dizner gets a lot of love and Dizner is very much involved in these and he's part of it. But Sosna is like a fresh set of eyes coming from the college level and he is highly intelligent and

And I think he looked at these situations and maybe it's, maybe it's his suggestions. Maybe it's not. Maybe, maybe a light just clicked on for, for, uh, Dissner that hadn't over the first six years of his career, uh, doing these, but it, it, there was this change that seemed to occur and we're starting to see these wrinkles and we're starting to see them take advantage of, uh, veteran cap moves and stuff like that. Right. With it, with the salary caps where you can get veteran benefits. Um,

Like Marcus Davenport's contract. Like I still don't understand that contract and how they can pay him what they pay him. And it only costs like half or a third or whatever it is. I still don't get it fully. I've tried. I've tried looking it up. I've asked questions. I don't have good, I'm not getting good answers. But yeah, that there's a lot of really interesting things that get thrown around here. And it's going to be interesting to see how it plays out because it's

You can organize the salary cap in a lot of different ways. And if it keeps jumping the way that it's jumping, they'll be able to afford all these guys. Right. The question just becomes, can you get the contracts done before the next guy, which is which they've done so far?

Right. In general. Yeah. They did it with Amon Aran, right? Right. With Panay and Jared Goff. And, and it's interesting cause we, I don't know if you'd watched it, but like he was, Brad Holmes was basically asked today before the deal was done on, on the Rich Eisen show. Like,

Does that matter to you? Does it matter to you to, you know, either get it done first or let the market decide first and see where the market is and then make your decision? And I've listened to Brad Holmes a lot over the past three years. I was certain he was going to punt on that answer. I was certain he was going to be like, we certainly was going to say, you know, we have our own process. It's not really impacted by other people. He didn't really say that.

He said, no, you kind of think about those things a little bit. Like that takes a little bit. And I'm like, oh, interesting.

I thought you were going to take the high road and be like, we have our own process and it doesn't matter what anyone else does. He kind of did a little bit, but he very much, yeah, he very much gave a more honest answer because he was like, yeah, they, you know, the, the players agents do too. And I thought that was a very easy one for him to punt on as well. And the fact that he, I do find it interesting though, because like that golf deal had to be done when he's going on to that. Right. Right. Like he, he knew it. Yeah. Like I'm sure he was just sitting there like,

Yep. I know this is coming down the pipe and I did it, you know, I got ahead of him again. So yeah, why not just show my cards because he is, uh, he's feeling very comfortable in his own skin right now. And, uh, and, uh,

That's that's that's I'm okay with it. I'm here for the bravado. Before, before we close, I want to go back to Aleem really quick. I know I'm, I said I wanted to do the short and now I'm extending it even further, but, but I just like, I think the philosophical debate with a guy like Aleem McNeil is really interesting to think about, like throw away numbers, throw away whether the Lions have the cap space or how much it's going to cost him. But the Lions, uh,

have already gotten to this point in where they are as a franchise where they have to decide where good players on their roster stand. Are these good players foundational pieces that we have to resign? Or are these guys really good players that we're going to have to make a tough decision on, right? Like Jonah Jackson was the first guy who was that decision. You can even make the argument that maybe TJ Hawkinson was the first guy that they had to make that decision on.

You know, are we going to give this guy an extension or are we going to trade him at his highest value? And listen, like guys like Jared Goff, Amon Ross, St. Brown, Panay Sewell, Aiden Hutchinson. Those are the easy decisions. Pillars. Yes. Those four are the pillars. Right.

Lee McNeil is to me like right in the middle right now. It's like he could really go either way. And I think the lines are probably going to do the wise thing to do, which is let's be sure about it. Let's give him 2024. He's got, you know, DJ reader to help free him up a little bit. We brought in Marcus Davenport. We're better on the defensive seven, the front seven now.

show me you're worth it and then maybe maybe you inch towards that foundational piece i'm just not sure he's there yet he's he had a hell of a season i'm not gonna lie and you know if you if you're into pff scores he's a top 10 defensive tackle i'm not sure i quite put him in that category yet but he's close yeah and so again i want to make a break season i just watched that rams game yeah he tore it up he tore it up he was insane yeah um

Okay. It's just consistency has always been the issue with him, right? Like last year, the year before that was that Giants game, right? Where he just like 12 pressures or something insane like that in the Giants game. And then it's just, it needs to be a little more consistent. The Giants didn't double them. That's why. Right. And I think the addition of reader will really give us a taste of now that you have to double reader, can you let Aleem cook? And will he?

It's kind of a chicken or egg thing because you look at the lack of attention and the lack of investment on the defensive line. Like, yes, they've invested draft picks, but they haven't invested a whole lot of money outside of reader. And you're like, well, maybe they're not going to extend them because they're

They're, you know, they, it's just, the interior is not as important to them at the same time. Right. Yeah. They, yeah. They, they invested draft capital in, in the position. But they extended them too. Well, they had to extend them cause that was a, they were in salary cap hell that time and they had to, they had no choice. They didn't have any other guys that could extend that they didn't already. But the question now becomes, is, is,

is the lack of attention because they don't care much about the position or is the lack of attention because they knew they already had someone solid. You know what I mean? Like that's, that's what I, I, I'm not sure of. Right. And, and that will be the million dollar question for if they will sign, if they want to sign a lien, if they think a lien is the reason why they could go light in investments or in, I guess in money,

then yeah, you extend them. And if you think it's, or if you just think the position, if you just think the position is not as valuable, then you don't extend them. But I find it hard to believe a guy who basically made his best

case for being you know one of the better gm candidates was his ability to identify eric donald is all of a sudden just going and a former defensive tackle himself is just going to former it's just going to to not think the position is valuable right um i'm leaning towards it getting done the the the issue that i have is i've been looking at the defensive tackle pricing and

And it's a lot higher than what I was expecting it to be. It's 20 plus million a year. Right. And so that's a little, that's hard. That's a hard pill for me to swallow at the same time. As I talked about with Morgan on the last podcast, having a player who can get interior pressure just makes everyone else better. And, and, and you have that potential to have a lean, be that guy this year. And if he can be, yeah,

Everyone else is going to look better. Aiden's going to look better. The cornerbacks are going to look better. And there's a real domino effect to if Aleem can show out. If he does, he absolutely gets paid. If he plays the way he's been playing, it'd be interesting to see what their philosophical approach to the position and him are.

I mean, look at the, he's not Chris Jones, but look at the difference Chris Jones made to the Kansas City Chiefs last year. Right. And not just a matter, and I'm not trying to asterisk the Lions win or anything like that, but just look at how he played in the Super Bowl. I mean, no one wants to say, but Chris Jones was the Super Bowl MVP this year.

Yeah, he's a – it's a totally different defense. And they had to shift to their defense in order to get that Super Bowl win. So, yeah, I could feel that. That's it. I wasn't trying to do my Mike Tirico impression there. I'm sorry. He just threw the asterisk out there and then walked away. Like it was just like a – just hanging there. So, yeah. Yeah.

they got options. They've, they've got, they've got a lean that you have to consider. You have Decker. You have to consider, you know, we haven't even talked about the fact that if he and Derek Barnes are probably both, uh, there are also two other starters in contract years. So they've got some space. They've got some time. See what happens. Like you want a roster that is that you draft and develop and pay. That's,

If you could have a roster full of those guys, you're probably in a good spot. So this is the... It sure looks like the makings of keeping this foundation together and keeping this team together. And that chemistry and having those players that you draft and then reward. It's good...

it's it's beyond just good like you know um karma it it shows other free agents and when it comes time yeah and when it comes time to like need a guy or you know it it sure opens the door for that so i don't know um i still have a couple minor concerns about the roster overall but uh

I'm happy with the extensions that are happening because I think it gives stability. And this is the next one, the next box checked. And I'm hoping for a little bit of a break to recharge so I quit stumbling over myself. But yeah, I'm hoping for a break, but also looking forward to the next extension as well.

Hey, buddy, your scheduled podcast is just around the corner. Right after that, you and me are going to be hitting up OTAs. Man, I'm telling you, it's a...

I know everybody loves these podcasts. I'm trying to get them out. Uh, you weren't even this, the one that I was supposed to do next. Um, I have, I was supposed to get Miko done over the weekend. Um, and then I, I, and then I didn't get it. Joe and I were supposed to, Joe's been on vacation for, for if anybody's been wondering why I haven't done a regular, uh, DOB show. Joe's been on vacation. He's back and I'm trying to get, uh,

Trying to get him back on the schedule. The schedule is coming out, so we're going to have to do a podcast. I'm going to do a podcast with schedule as well. There'll be more coming. I'm just trying to make them... Not so easy to do four podcasts a week, huh? Not with three kids, it's not. Oh, man. End of the school year is fun. No. No, it's not. So, anyway...

I hope we continue to make progress with all of our podcasts. And we'll see how that goes. And hopefully we'll have... I don't know. Hopefully we'll have some news. Every time I think we're taking two steps forward, one step back type of thing. But in the interim... I'd say one step forward, two step back. No. No, I think we're actually making progress. It's just...

which direction we're headed in is hard to say. But I, I'm, I'm off track at this point. So for those of you who have, you know, stuck around through my, my muttering here at the end, I appreciate everyone tuning in and listen, we will have more shows coming up, including the schedule. We're going to have probably get a Q and a done again. And I know Mika wants to come back on. So I want to get Mika back on the schedule as well. So yeah,

Hopefully we'll have more podcasting entertainment for the Lions fan base. Jeremy, thank you for joining me. I know you have been on your media tour, which is congratulations for that radio streaming. You're all over the place right now. So thanks for making the time for this little podcast. And thanks. Thanks for being my surrogate podcast. And we'll get some more. We got some, we got more stuff coming. Don't you worry.

All right. Until next time, let's go Lions.