Aaron Rodgers takes the field in Pittsburgh, T.J. Watt & Trey Hendrickson skip minicamps | The Insid

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So much football practice, so
little time, so much slow motion
as well. 25 teams on the field for minicamp today. And we got
the next 60 minutes to take you
all around the NFL like nobody else can. That includes a stop
in Pittsburgh, where QB1 has
finally arrived. What took so long? Why were the Steelers the
right spot? And is that a
wedding ring on Aaron Rodgers finger? We are live in
Pittsburgh to break down the
four time MVP arrival. We know one of Rodgers new teammates was
not there to greet him. And T.J.
Watt was not the only superstar missing today. Around the
league, we will tell you who
showed up, who didn’t, and what it all means about big deals
getting done. Welcome inside
with the insiders. I am Tom Pelissero. That is Mike
Garafolo, who we have released
into the wild, though not the tree lined parking lot. You saw
him in earlier today on NFL
network. He is now wearing a very form fitting polo shirt
inside the building. How’s the
vibes there today on a big day in Pittsburgh, Mike. Oh, the
vibes are just excellent. Tom.
Actually, it’s pretty quiet in here. Earlier minicamp the
opening of minicamp Aaron
Rodgers arriving. Look we’ve gone through this with him. With
the Jets. There was a lot of
hoopla the last couple of years with his arrival there. This was
the opposite. This was more of a
expected arrival for many, many months finally occurred. And for
a team that is saying, hey,
we’re not going to build everything around this guy, he’s
going to be a piece of what we
do. But he fits. They feel like he fits in the vibe between him
and Mike Tomlin, which we’ll get
to in a second. Seems like it has been really good over the
last couple of months, and that
is why Aaron Rodgers is here. Finally, for a little taste of
the spring session before they
break and come back for training camp in the summer. To be clear,
this is not a green screen. This
is not a mike is really there inside the Steelers facility.
And this is also not I. It’s
really Aaron Rodgers wearing a number eight practice jersey and
on the field for the first time
in a Steelers uniform, a months long courtship coming to a head
last week when Aaron Rodgers
agreed to terms on a one year contract that could be worth
close to $20 million. Rodgers on
the scene at last. And here’s what he had to say about why it
ended up in Pittsburgh. You know
I think it starts with Mike Tomlin. I mean, I’ve been a fan
of his for a long time. There’s
a few iconic franchises in the NFL. I played for one of them
for 18 years. This is another
one of those. There’s something special about obviously this
this area. So many great
quarterbacks are from Pittsburgh. I feel like
Pittsburgh has been a part of my
career from the beginning. Again, the rapport that that
fell in between me and Mike made
it to where, as I was going through my personal stuff, there
wasn’t any other option for me.
It was here or not play. I don’t need it for my ego. I don’t need
it to keep playing. A lot of
decisions that I’ve made over my career and life from strictly
the ego, even if they turn out
well or always unfulfilling. But the decisions made from the soul
are usually pretty fulfilling.
So this was a decision that was best for my soul, and I felt
like being here with coach T and
the guys they got here and the opportunity here was the best
for me. And I’m excited to be
here. So we’ll see what Aaron Rodgers body can do. The soul is
certainly willing. He seemed
upbeat today. Mike watching from afar. He looked clean cut
relative to Aaron Rodgers, who
has showed up sometimes in off seasons past. What else did you
glean from his time with the
reporters there? Well, you know, married life will do that to
you. Tom and Aaron Rodgers did
confirm that that is a wedding ring that he is wearing on his
finger. We haven’t met Britney
yet. It’s like when your friend is telling you he met this new
girl. It’s going great. When can
we meet her? We don’t know. Maybe we’ll all, you know,
double date at one point and
finally meet Britney. We shall see. But in the meantime, Aaron
Rodgers on the field at
minicamp, we saw him in the locker room before practice
trying on a number of different
helmets. The helmet that he’s worn, as he said for 20 years as
a helmet. Every year, the NFL
and the NFLPA, there’s the helmets, there’s the helmets,
the Non-approved helmets. He’s
got to now change to a different helmet. Said he can’t stand the
one. You can see it right there.
Can’t stand the one he’s wearing right there. Look, that’s part
of why he’s here right now is
just to get a little bit of a taste. Didn’t know where he was
going in the building. Had to
ask directions from Burt Lauten, the head of media relations for
the Steelers. Where’s this?
Where’s that? Figuring out the building? Because remember, when
they go to training camp, it’s
not here. It’s going to be in Latrobe. So he wants to get to
know the building a little bit,
get to know his teammates. It’s also a mandatory part of the
spring. He wasn’t under
contract. If he didn’t sign, he wouldn’t have to be here. But
you know what? The rest of the
team, it’s mandatory. I’m going to be a part of this. I’m going
to start to build the rapport
and get to know guys and be around. He did not, as you can
see right here, did not take any
reps during the team portion of practice. He said he was willing
to do that. But Mike Tomlin said
no, relax, stay to the side for now. We actually asked Tomlin
about that and he said, I’ll be
honest with you, the reps in June are more important for guys
like, let’s say, Will Howard,
the young guys, because they’ve got to get caught up to speed so
that they’re ready in training
camp. So that’s the trust that Tomlin has in Aaron Rodgers. The
fact that he hasn’t been around
all spring. He’s listening to the play calls and the headset
because he’s got to learn the
terminology. You’d think we’re late in the process, but they
have that much confidence in him
to get caught up that they’re giving the reps to some of these
younger guys here and believe
that he is going to be ready to go come week one. Once he gets
his work in training camp, he’s
had some throwing sessions with DK Metcalf alone now. Got to
have at least a little bit here
in Pittsburgh. Tom Aaron Rodgers was also asked about how long it
will take him to pick up all
that stuff with the language and the scheme in the offense. He
said, well, probably a couple of
weeks. Well, you had a couple of weeks. If you had showed up
sooner here and said he’s got
like 2 or 3 days on the field in minicamp. But he also said this
was about wanting to make sure
that the other things he was dealing with in his personal
life were resolved, or at least
improved that he was going through during the spring. He
wanted to make sure once he
arrived, he was all in. That’s something that took place really
over the past week here and now.
Here we go once again, Aaron Rodgers arriving with great
fanfare on a team that’s got
really, really high hopes. Certainly the Steelers hoping
that this ends better than the
last time Aaron Rodgers made his debut at MetLife Stadium, which
lasted all of four snaps during
his first season with the Jets. So Aaron Rodgers on hand for the
mandatory minicamp. There were
some other players around the NFL who were not there for the
mandatory minicamp. That
included Trey Hendrickson holding out in Cincinnati while
awaiting a new contract. Jonnu
Smith, Jalen Ramsey, who was excused, Terry McLaurin, and
then one guy, Mike, right there
in Pittsburgh who’s a pretty important piece of that team as
well. T.J. Watt in the last year
of his deal. Tom making I think it’s $21 million this year.
We’re looking at pass rushers on
the top end of the market, up to around $40 million per year.
Look these other names in the
list and you’re going to get into some of them in just a
short bit. They’re more
contentious than this one. I don’t feel that this one is
contentious. You don’t have to
find a player. Like we talk about these fines. That could
add up to over $100,000. If a
player misses mandatory minicamp over the next couple of days,
you don’t have to find a player.
So we’ll see what the Steelers wind up doing on this one. I
know that they feel really good
about the talks that they’ve had and the offers that they’ve
made. They also have a lot of
confidence in T.J. Watt. In fact, they were talking about
while we’re talking right now,
he’s probably literally working out right now. Mike Tomlin has
the belief that T.J. Watt is
going to be just fine working away from the facility. So
they’re not stressing about that
part of it. If there was a pressure point right now and the
start of training camp seems
like it’s a pressure point, I feel like this thing would get
done and it will get done at
some point. I don’t sense any long term concerns about T.J.
Watt, despite the fact that he’s
throwing up that peace sign in that picture, he posted on
Instagram what, a couple of
weeks ago and people freaked out about that has been an ongoing
situation for months with T.J.
Watt. Everybody knew what those other pass rushers getting paid
Myles Garrett, Max Crosby,
Danielle Hunter on a one year big money extension. T.J. Watt
was going to want his eventually
kind of similar with Terry McLaurin. This is something that
was percolating all the way back
at the combine that at some point here with the wide
receiver market exploding.
McLaurin, who is due a little under $20 million in 2025, was
going to be seeking a contract
upgrade. Not only did he have Jamar Chase, who blew out of the
water the top contract in the
market, his teammate Tee Higgins got a deal that’s worth more
annually than Terry McLaurin is
making right now. It’s still the second week of June. There’s not
necessarily a pressure point
right now, 5 or 6 weeks until training camp. Let’s see where
we are as they try to work
toward this deal. And as for Trey Hendrickson, this has been
playing out very publicly in
Cincinnati, where Hendrickson traveled a few weeks ago to get
in front of the media on an open
practice day and explain all the reasons that he was not going to
play on his existing contract,
which is due to pay him $16.5 million this season. The top of
that market now is $40 million
per year with Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson, who signed a
one year extension two
offseasons ago. That’s why he’s under contract for 2025. He
doesn’t want another one year
extension here. So can they come to a number that makes sense on
a multiyear contract? You hate
to say anything is close because there is no close. It’s either
done or it’s not right now. It
is not done with Trey Hendrickson here. Can’t rule out
the possibility they could do
something to get him in for the mandatory minicamp, but as of
now, he is not there. One of his
new teammates, the guy they plan to play on the other side of the
line, Shemar Stewart, is there
in Cincinnati, the number 17 overall draft pick, but at this
point, Shemar Stewart does not
have a contract. So he is not practicing, is not signed a
participation agreement. And he
had some thoughts on that whole situation today. I still go to
meetings. I still studying my
playbook, you know, taking on the right notes. And then when I
get some free time, I go out to
train. I’m 100% right. So it should be a no brainer. And in
Trey’s case, I think it should
be a no brainer too. I mean, he let 17.5 sacks for two years
back to back. If I was the GM or
I was the owner, take all my money. But I guess they don’t
operate like that. A dispute
over contract language keeping Shemar Stewart away for the time
being. Micah Parsons also is up
for a new contract, but he is at least in attendance today. Told
reporters he was dealing with
back tightness. Could perhaps also just be a little bit of
wallet tightness for Micah
Parsons. But new coach Brian Schottenheimer, happy that both
Micah and Trayvon digs showed up
on day one. I think it just shows you that he’s serious
about what we’ve talked about,
which is developing that leadership mentality, the
mindset to be a guy that we can
count on and us not just the fourth quarter when he’s got to,
you know, make a big sack or get
pressure on the quarterback. But just in general throughout the
course of a week and it’s a long
season. We all know that. And my conversations with Micah have
been great. He’ll be out on the
field doing some stuff. Yep, it’s actually great. Trayvon got
here early. It’s great to see
him. He’s one of the first guys I saw and he got his rehab stuff
in with Britt. So both guys were
excited to be here. Trayvon Diggs still a long road back
from his injury. James Cook is
healthy. Was actually on the field today. Had skipped all of
the voluntary portions of the
offseason schedule while seeking his new contract. They had talks
way back February and March
after the season, weren’t able to get a deal done. But after
conversations today, cook
decided to be on the field. As for why he showed up, he told
reporters, I like my money.
That’s why I’m here. Fines for missing all three days would
total a little over $100,000.
Kirk Cousins also likes his money. He chose to show up on
day one of the Falcons minicamp,
even though cousins had made it abundantly clear early in the
offseason that he would love to
be playing quarterback somewhere. Not backing up that
guy. Michael Penix Jr cousins
today, speaking to reporters for the first time in quite a while.
Also making clear that at this
point his focus is moving forward. Michael’s going to do
great. He’s going to have a
great career. He’s off to a great start. He’s got all the
all the tangibles and
intangibles. You need to be successful and I’m just here to
support him, you know, as he
needs it and just getting better. You know, being better
than I was last year, being
better than I was yesterday. And today, you know, each and every
day just work on improving, you
know, on the field, off the field, building connections,
relationships with my teammates.
You know, it’s a lot of different aspects that go into
that. You know, in order for,
you know, this team to have the season that we want to have this
year. Mike we know this. The
Falcons were so high on Michael Penix Jr. They were willing to
take him number eight overall in
the 2024 draft, just six weeks after they had signed Kirk
Cousins to a deal including $100
million guaranteed. No question, when I asked Raheem Morris back
at the combine, is there any
scenario where Kirk could beat out Penix? He said Penix is our
starter. And in listening to
Kirk’s words there too, when he said, those are things we talked
about months ago and now we move
forward. I can’t help but think this is a guy who’s got a no
trade clause, and even if
something materializes at some point during camp, the preseason
or the regular season, Kirk
might go my best opportunity to show I can still play high
quality football might be if a
situation injury or otherwise arises right there in Atlanta.
Yeah. Well, listen, if you’re
the Falcons and there isn’t a big injury elsewhere, remember
that Eagles Sam Bradford trade
from a couple of years ago more than a couple of years ago. But
remember that trade in the
Eagles had the ability to trade him then for a first round pick.
Because at that point, if you’re
a team that’s in contention and your starter goes down, you
don’t have a backup that you
want to turn it over to. You get a little desperate, and all of a
sudden now you’re willing to bid
higher than you were the entire offseason. So that’s one reason
why the Falcons could wind up
looking smart by holding on to Kirk Cousins. The other one, if
there is an injury to Michael
Penix, you’re right Kirk Cousins being your backup. One of the
better options that the Falcons
have as it pertains to backup quarterbacks throughout this
entire league. And you talked
about a couple of months ago when they went through all these
things Kirk Cousins had that no
trade clause which allowed him to say to the Falcons don’t even
agree to a trade before the
draft because I’m not going to accept that because he was
worried that what happened to
him in Atlanta could have happened to him potentially
again. So this has been a little
bit of a back and forth when it comes to the leverage. In this
case, the Falcons had it then
cousins had it feels like it’s kind of gone back and forth. And
now the Falcons kind of have it
when it pertains to whether he stays or goes. Because there’s
not a lot of options. There are
no other options really from a starting standpoint. There are
no other options for a team
willing to take on all of that money. It could change if
there’s an injury or some kind
of situation where a team needs that, whether it’s in training
camp, into the preseason, maybe
even early in the season. So there’s really no way of
predicting this at this point.
What cousins is saying control what you can control. Be the
best employee, the best backup
that he can be in Atlanta at this point. And then we’ll see
where it goes. A $27.5 million
backup, fully guaranteed in 2025, also has $10 million fully
guaranteed in 2026. Falcons have
not wanted to eat a substantial chunk of that money. Just one of
the reasons that right now, Kirk
Cousins is still in Atlanta. Justin Herbert is still in LA.
Breaking news right there. He’s
the Chargers quarterback. He’s on the field. And he’s got a big
fan in Jim Harbaugh. You’re not
going to want to miss what Harbaugh had to say about Justin
Herbert as they kicked off
minicamp today. Our Omar Ruiz was there. And next he’s here
with us on the insiders. Shake
it up, shake it up shake shake all have a better story to tell.
Take control at ready.gov. 25
teams on the field for minicamp today, including the big boys
with the Chargers right there in
El Segundo. Rashawn Slater, who is still awaiting a new deal, as
well as last year’s first round
pick Joe Ault on the field, getting ready to protect a
quarterback that it’s safe to
say Jim Harbaugh likes a lot. The best. You know, expectation
is setting the setting, the
example, you know, of work ethic and training. You know, you’re
at least you would at least be
aspiring to train at his level and to, to compete at his level
and to, to work at his level. I
know it motivates me every day. Welcome back to the insiders,
Tom Pelissero, Mike Garafolo,
and a guy that motivates us every day, Omar Ruiz. Omar, you
were there at Chargers minicamp
today. What else did you, Jim Harbaugh, have to say about
Justin Herbert? Well, Jim
Harbaugh, whenever he speaks about Justin Herbert, you guys
know he gushes about him. So I
asked what he would like to see from him in minicamp. And a lot
of what he said had to do with
that soundbite right there. How Justin Herbert, he hopes, will
continue to elevate those around
him by those players aspiring to work like Justin Herbert and
really follow his lead in that
way. And Harbaugh identified Herbert as one of nine players
that hsays are elite on the
roster. And I’m not going to leave any of these guys out, so
I’m going to read it off. But
those players were Herbert, Derwin James, Khalil Mack, Joe
Ault, Ladd McConkey, Zion
Johnson, Rashawn Slater, Tuli Tuipulotu, Don Henley. Those are
the nine that Harbaugh has no
problem identifying and singling out amongst the team. Derwin
James telling me that those are
the nine players that he tells in team meetings he wants
players to ascend to. So
Herbert, he says, is always going to play at his elite
level. He’s going to practice at
that elite level. He’s going to work at that elite level. What
they’re hoping for is now that
those nine players are the tide and the tide rises, all boats
and the rest of the team elevate
in that way. And Harbaugh telling me that there’s plenty
of room for other players in
that elite category. And if they have enough of those that reach
that, they feel that they can go
pretty deep so far in the playoffs this year. It’s
bothering me. It’s the Elite
Eight, right. So you got to come up with something different like
the fine nine or something like
that. That’s the Elite eight is one off. It’s bothering me. What
else? Yeah, right. Exactly what
else is Harbaugh emphasizing for this team in minicamp? Omar,
other than crisply ironed
khakis? Well, you know you know, Harbaugh always emphasizes
physicality, right? So I asked
him how in this non-padded nonphysical practices, the
setting that minicamps are, how
do they instill that physicality? He told me that
we’re not they’re not going to
instill the physicality that they’re going to see in the
fall, that he wants the team to
play with. What he does want to see is Polish, he said. That is
an old school term. He says that
people don’t use anymore, but he wants to have his team polish in
that they’re trying to be
perfect in everything that they do. And he wants everybody to
know exactly what they are
doing. You see, the way Ladd McConkey runs routes to have so
fine for their assignments on
the field that it translates at every level, and they are ready
to go once they are able to
implement the physicality portion of the year in training
camp. So it is the technique,
especially on the offensive line guys he wants to see with those
explosive first steps, those six
inches tending to be perfect, and then they get greedy. And
the second and third steps and
you mentioned coming into this segment, Tom, that Rashawn
Slater was there in attendance.
Speaking of those O-line, those perfect techniques, Slater
participating in the mandatory
minicamp portion, obviously going into the last year of his
rookie contract, working for a
bigger deal. But Slater’s presence, another indicator that
these Chargers believe they have
something special in the building with that culture,
they’re looking to get obviously
further than the wild card round of the playoffs. Slater’s
presence just like the rest of
the star players, most of the rest of the star players have
been very active. They’ve had a
high participation percentage for those star players and most
of the offseason, all working
toward what they expect to be an even better team in 2025 for
these LA Chargers. Omar thank
you. More from you a little bit later. One guy who will not be
back with Jim Harbaugh in LA
this season is last year’s top running back, J.K. Dobbins,
agreeing to terms today with an
AFC West rival. He is headed to Denver on a one year deal that
could be worth up to 5.25
million. Comeback player of the year finalist last year.
Dobbins, of course, has dealt
with multiple major injuries in his career. But still, when he
has been on the field, one of
the most efficient backs in the NFL. And now pairing up with a
high draft pick in Denver.
Anthony Richardson, a high draft pick several years ago, injuries
have been the early story of his
career. They’re also the story of the offseason dealing with a
shoulder issue. He recently got
a second opinion, coach Shane Steichen said today it is the AC
joint that he injured back in
2023, dealing with soreness. No alarm bells at this point, but
more reps this week at a time
that he is in a competition with Daniel Jones. Also, the Colts
this week announcing officially
their new ownership structure. Jim Irsay, the longtime owner
and CEO, passed away last month
at age 65. His daughters, Carly, Casey and Kaitlyn, are now
taking over the team, with Carly
Irsay Gordon serving as the controlling owner. Here is what
she had to say today about her
vision for her team. We are so proud to continue our dad’s
legacy, beginning with carrying
out his foremost wish to keep the Colts in our family. We want
our fans to know that we’ve
spent decades in our family business learning every aspect
of our organization. Under our
dad’s leadership. A lot more to come here on the insiders, the
Dolphins also out on the field
for minicamp today. And Tyreek Hill. First time since wrist
surgery. He’s catching some
passes. What does it mean for the direction of this Dolphins
offense in 2025. Cameron Wolfe
was there. Next. He’ll be here and he’ll tell us on The
Insider. We’re here.
Progressives accident response Are you kidding me or late game
mayhem. It’s a miracle. Can you
believe it? Get NFL RedZone now. A steamy minicamp down there in
Miami. The Dolphins mandatory
minicamp one of the many opening today. Tua Tagovailoa to Malik
Washington, their possible
breakout candidate this year. We’ll see. Some of us think so.
Some of us think maybe not.
We’ll see. Meantime, here’s Mike McDaniel on the philosophy for
the Dolphins this season. Being
able to feel a team in seven weeks have gotten gotten to that
point where I have an idea of a
team not exactly what it’s going to look like. They’ll define
that by their daily work, but
the elements of a team that you can only really create through
blood, sweat, tears. Failure is
the key because too many people are avoiding failure in life and
in football. Yep, I agree with
that. That is some wise sage advice there from Mike McDaniel
on life and football Cameron
Wolfe joining us now. Cam you got to like read between the
lines on this and what Tua
Tagovailoa had to say about the team chemistry. Because it’s not
like there’s been wholesale
changes to the roster. Just a couple of guys that were not
necessarily there anymore. But
you’re talking about team and chemistry and all this stuff.
The buzzwords keep buzzing for
the Dolphins. What is it about this team that they want to see
such better chemistry in 25?
Yeah, the biggest thing I saw from Tua is a different look
every year. He looks a little
different than he did the year before. But for them, they’re
they’re trying to change a
culture that from the perception from the outside is soft. That’s
a word they’ve heard a lot and
they cringe with the idea of it. But look, it’s not going to
change through June words. And I
think the team knows that they’re they’re saying the right
things at this stage. But we’re
going to see the action when it comes in the fall and December
practice. I think the most
interesting thing to us said today was discussing his
progress through the injuries,
because that’s really the question mark when we talk about
Tua obviously had the concussion
last year. He had the hip injury late last season. He said that
he got healthy around February
from that hip injury. He wouldn’t say exactly what it
was, but he said that as long as
he protects himself better, it won’t be reoccurring. And really
that’s been a focus point for
him throughout OTAs and minicamp. Getting the ball out
quicker, making those decisions
where last year he wanted to run somebody over a lower shoulder
to prove that he was tough
enough, he said. I got to make a different mindset decision
because my availability is key.
He’s planning on throwing the ball away more, sliding more and
not wanting to be that superhero
that risked his availability as it has in the past. And so he
has to lead through that. But I
have heard he’s been more vocal in the building. He talked about
practicing with guys even
outside of the practice time. And that takes me to Tyreek
Hill, his top weapon, who is
coming off a tumultuous end of the season, taking himself out
of the game asking out. And then
everything that’s happened in the offseason. He’s recovering
from that wrist injury I watched
him today catch passes for the first time. We’ve seen since
he’s had that wrist surgery. You
could tell he was still getting comfortable. He dropped one
pass. He caught a few others
signed for his recovery. Mike McDaniel said that the combine,
the hope was for him to be able
to start catching passes by training camp. And so the fact
that he’s already trying at this
stage in minicamp shows that he’s in good pace for the
regular season. He’s been vocal
throughout practices, and they expect to see a different
version of Tyreek than we saw
late in the season. Tua did mention he’s practiced with
Tyreek, some of those routes on
air and trying to get ready for the season that they hope is
going to be a little bit more
smoother in December and January than it has in the past. It is
interesting when you talk about
the changeover in culture, the new culture and making sure
everybody’s bought in that a guy
who was frankly asking out is still a part of the team and
still expected to be a key part.
That’s the trust they have in Tyreek Hill that he’s going to
be eyes forward this year in
2025. Jonnu Smith the tight end. Jalen Ramsey the cornerback not
there in at minicamp for two
different reasons. And excuse and excuse what he got there.
Yeah two completely different
reasons for Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey’s accents. Let’s
start with Jonnu Smith. Jonnu
Smith wants a new contract. He’s set to make $4.1 million last
year. He’s coming off an
excellent season, the best tight end season in Miami history. And
he wants that bag. And right now
they haven’t been able to get to a contract. From what I’ve been
told, this has been going on for
multiple months. And then Johnny made the decision not to show up
for mandatory minicamp. It was
not excused. So he is potentially getting fined over
$100,000 for missing this week.
And that’s where some of those trade talks we’ve heard with
Johnny come up right now. Both
sides would like to get something done. We’re going to
have a month or a month and a
half until training camp to see if that’s done. But he’s a key
part of the weapon, Tua said.
Today he’s team pay Jonnu. He said he’s thrown a couple of
times with Jonnu outside of the
facility. Facility. Facility. And so the hope is that he gets
something done there. As far as
Jalen Ramsey, it’s not a money deal. It’s a relationship deal.
And this is a divorce that is
just waiting an ending at this stage. He is staying away. They
excused him for practice. He
will not be fine. This is a situation where both sides are
working together to find that
right trade partner. He’s still due $21 million in guaranteed
money, and they’ve got to figure
out that money before finding the right partner. So this could
be something that still lingers
until training camp, until they find a right partner. But two
guys who are, for different
reasons, not here for Miami. Sometimes you see these trade
situations get resolved right
before training camp. It’s like, let’s just move on. Let’s not
even bring this into training
camp. Let’s get the best deal that we could possibly get.
Let’s eat as much money as we
possibly have. Again, you need that pressure point. Could be
the start of training camp for
the Miami Dolphins. Cameron Wolfe will be there at the start
of training camp to see if Jalen
Ramsey is there and what the Dolphins are going to look like
in 25. Morgan Moses just there
walking into the building. A free agent signing from the New
England Patriots. Just enormous
human being an enormous presence for the Patriots. There’s a lot
of people think this could be
the team that maybe gets close to flipping its record under
Mike Vrabel, with a schedule
that lines up pretty. I don’t want to say easy for them, but
pretty nicely for them. We shall
see. The work begins in the spring, continues into the
summer. Stefon Diggs there for
the end of the spring. Asked about that video of him on a
boat. And he pretty much said,
mind you. I kind of like have a thing where I talk about my
personal life with people I
don’t know. Personally. I’m pretty sure everybody here, men
and women, are great people, but
you know what I’m saying? I kind of keep my personal life
personal. Personal. I had a
conversation with Drake. Obviously, I’m gonna echo
everything that he said. He told
me, you know, hoping everybody making good decisions and
saying. And I had had a
conversation with people in the building as well. So, you know,
everything else, everything
else. The Browns feel they made a good decision locking up Myles
Garrett on a four year, $160
million contract extension this offseason, mainly because this
is what he looks like. It’s not
I it’s not photoshopped. I’m not really sure what that is. Myles
Garrett has muscles on top of
muscles, and he also has some thoughts on being back in
Cleveland. I mean, I look
forward to having my best season for sure, and I think it’s
trending that way. Feeling
really good. And I think everything is pointing in that
direction. And I like where we
are as a defense units really firing, really rolling. And I
think it’s really clicking as
far as the scheme and the plays, especially early on, that’s
that’s big. I think it’s a good
opportunity to put him in the graveyard. Time now for Count on
It presented by Toro. Tom
Pelissero joined now by Brian Baldinger. To be clear, for
anyone watching at home, he’s
talking about the graveyard in his front yard where he has the
tombstones. Every Halloween the
kids can see it. Not the literal graveyard. Although Aaron
Rodgers is 41 years old, some
bad things potentially could happen here. Let me ask you
this, Paul, do we know Myles
Garrett’s a really good player? They do have talent on this
team. But can Browns fans count
on their squad being more competitive in the AFC North in
2025? Well I mean right now
they’ve got Joe Flacco penciled in as a starter right. I mean
that’s kind of what we’re led to
believe right now. It could change. But you know and you
know it just so happened that
Myles Garrett became the defensive player of the year,
the year that Joe Flacco took
over and led him to the playoffs, winning four of his
five starts down the stretch and
getting him to wild card weekend. And so for Myles. I
mean it starts with Myles can go
out and be the defensive player of the year again. And they
might win four games if they
don’t score more points than they did a year ago. And so you
know I think the offensive line
should be good. I think Kevin Stefanski knows how to call
plays. I think they’ve got some
weapons. They need a quarterback to play a whole lot better than
any of the four starters did a
year ago. And if they do that, if they score more points, where
Myles Garrett gets a chance to
really get after Aaron Rodgers week six get after some of these
quarterbacks, you know, to start
the season right now whether you know it’s week one against
Cincinnati, whatever it might
be, it’s a lot easier to get after them if you’ve got a lead
in the fourth quarter. And so I
think that’s what Myles Garrett is like. All right Joe Flacco
come in like do what you did.
Let’s score some points. Let’s put our Jim Schwartz led defense
myself Mason Graham let’s get
some dogs out there to get after these quarterbacks. With the
lead in the fourth quarter
something they rarely saw a year ago Aaron Rodgers trailing with
Myles Garrett pass rushing on
the other side. Not a situation he wants to be in. But he did
sign up for this ball two he
arrived in Pittsburgh QB one finally joining the Steelers
back after this. With more on
the story of minicamp week. Aaron Rodgers making his debut
in a Steelers uniform are. Mike
Garafolo is in Pittsburgh. Him and Boldy with us next to break
down all angles on the insiders.
You don’t always have to be the At. Call me Richie Tarantino. At
the jump. A lot of news around
the NFL today, including a veteran player, ended up in
Buffalo. This time it is
linebacker Shaq Thompson, the longtime Carolina Panther,
agreeing to terms on a one year
contract with the bills. Walter Nolan, one of the handful of
remaining unsigned first round
draft picks agreeing to his rookie contract with the
Cardinals and the Vikings,
extending tight end Josh Oliver, another free agent acquisition a
couple of years ago by Kwesi
Adofo-mensah and his staff, agreeing now on a new contract
as they build that thing out
around J.J. McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers finally agreed to his
contract with the Steelers last
week, a one year deal worth up to close to $20 million. He got
his first taste of practicing
with the Steelers today, then faced the media and wanted to
make clear he’s not trying to
run the Aaron Rodgers offense. I don’t understand that last term
take over when I see fit. I
mean, I’ve called some two minutes over the years. But the
idea that somehow I need to or
have spent most of my career playing outside of an offensive
system is just not correct. So
I’m going to learn the offense, and Arthur and I are going to
talk a bunch this summer, and if
there’s things that I like that I’d like to see in the offense,
Arthur, I’m sure is going to put
it in. But he knows how to call a game. I know how to get us in
the right spot based on what’s
called. There’s 2 or 3 plays called in the huddle. Sometimes
my job is to get us in the right
play. DK has been blowing me up for a while. You know, we got to
get together out west, but I’ve
gone against him a number of times. He’s a big, athletic,
fast, got great hands, ball
skills. But the thing that that really excites me the most is
his character. I think he’s a
high character guy. When you play 21 NFL seasons, you
eventually get some
opportunities to take down some notable records, including one
owned by his former teammate.
Brett Favre. Needs six pass touchdowns, surpassed FA for
fourth most of all time, among
many, many other things, he’s got the opportunity to become
the fifth quarterback to beat
all 32 teams, because he does get to face the Packers in Week
eight of this season. Welcome
back to the insiders, Tom Pelissero, Mike Garafolo and
Brian Baldinger here. But I’ll
start with you in your mind. Obviously a lot of attention
comes with Aaron Rodgers
entering Pittsburgh. All the attention they send Mike, you
know all the way to Pittsburgh
for this thing here in your mind, what is the benchmark for
this season to be a success for
Rodgers and the Steelers. Well the Steelers haven’t won a
playoff game in eight years I
mean this you know this is 19th year for Mike Tomlin a playoff
win is the benchmark. That’s
where it’s got to start. Otherwise why are they investing
in a 41 year old quarterback.
They’re there to win playoff games. And if anybody that’s
been around Steelers Mike you’re
there all day today. You can’t walk in that facility not see
the six Lombardi’s. So their
whole goal is to get a seven. Can Aaron help them get there.
It starts with winning a playoff
game. And so Mike Tomlin you know and then the low side of
the whole thing here Mike is
this is the 19th year for Mike Tomlin. We’re well aware he
doesn’t have a losing season.
Well Aaron Rodgers doesn’t want that on his epitaph as well that
you know he was there when Mike
Tomlin had a losing season. So the benchmark though is winning
a playoff game. It’s just that
simple right now. And the offensive line that is going to
play behind there right behind
Mike Tomlin right now. They have a chance to be very good. And
maybe one of the better ones
that Aaron has played behind in the last few years. If they go
nine and eight and lose in the
wild card round, it’s like, well, we could have done that
with Russell Wilson or Kenny
Pickett or Mason Rudolph who’s currently on the roster. Like
there’s got to be, especially
because this is a team that they’re going to be good enough
where they’re not going to be in
prime position to draft a quarterback. It’s not like they
have a guy in the building at
some point. They need a long term plan at the quarterback
position. So for the time being,
I agree with you. They have to win a playoff game. But it’s
also about and I know we’ve said
and you saw it there. They’re going to want to run the
football. I mean that’s an
organizational philosophy. But since Ben Roethlisberger has
retired the Steelers have 46
touchdown passes, the fewest in the NFL. They need a guy that’s
going to start providing some of
that in their offense right now. And Aaron Rodgers at this point
we saw the flashes of it with
the Jets. We didn’t see it consistently and he was banged
up. I mean he said today he felt
pretty good. Last year he was banged up. We need to see more
than flashes right? I mean we
need we need to see consistent vintage Rodgers. No question.
And I would argue that. But Tom,
I would say real quick and we have talked about this
throughout the offseason. I
mean, he was not good at the end of games last year. They had a
great chance to beat the
Minnesota Vikings in London. He missed a wide open Garrett
Wilson. He had a chance against
Seattle after he threw a pick six to Leonard Williams to go
down and win that game. They had
a chance if they could score a touchdown. Mike, you might have
been in the building against
Denver Week four to win that game, and they couldn’t score
from the one yard line. He had
opportunities he couldn’t. I think he’s got to see that. It
had to be frustrating to him
that he couldn’t consistently put the ball where he wanted to
put it, the way we’re used to
seeing him do it where under any arm angle, any release, any
platform, Aaron Rodgers put the
ball where he wanted to put it, like he did that for the most
part of his career, and he
struggled to do that last year. You could see in that video from
practice today he still has that
arm twitch. He can still get the ball out. Can he stay healthy?
Can he make it happen over a
full season? That’s the big question Baldy. Thank you Mike.
Don’t move. We got to talk about
C.J. Stroud, who’s got his arm working once again. You can turn
off those panic buttons. We’ll
explain after this on the insiders. So why can’t we say
we’re the best home shopping
site? Because while true, you teams this week around the NFL,
including the Texans who got to
see C.J. Stroud back on the field. Whether it was a
shoulder, a pec, general body
soreness. C.J. Stroud says the issues that kept him out the
past couple of weeks. No big
deal, folks. I was already throwing, you know, before you
guys see me out there pretty
normally. I just I think y’all don’t have much to talk about.
So y’all just everything is
blown up in the offseason, so I’m fine, man. I really okay.
The goal was just to be bigger,
faster, stronger like every offseason, but be more
intentional about it. So how
more fluidity. My hips lose a couple pounds, run faster and I
got all those done. Welcome back
to the insiders. Tom Pelissero joined once again by Omar Ruiz.
Okay, Omar. So we know C.J.
Stroud from a health perspective. According to him,
he’s going to be just fine as we
head into the break. Prior to training camp here. But I
thought it was interesting
hearing him talking about maybe trying to change his body just a
little bit as the Texans try to
get over that hump from being a team that’s in the playoffs and
winning a playoff game to
getting where they really want to go. Yeah, Tom. Bigger,
faster, stronger. The goals that
C.J. Stroud set out for himself this offseason. And he said he
hit PRS in most every category
that he was shooting for personal records. So he
accomplished those goals in the
video beforehand. He saw that incredible catch by Jaden
Higgins forming chemistry with
some of his new weapons. Christian Kirk has been a
presence there this offseason.
So C.J. Stroud and company, obviously, like you alluded to,
they’ve won playoff games each
of the last couple seasons. But looking to take that next step
and obviously holding him out
from throwing during OTAs, as Demeco Ryans described, was just
precaution, trying to do what’s
best for C.J. Stroud and the entire football team. But Stroud
saying that he’s going to be
throwing this summer with his guys in LA and trying to
continue to build that
camaraderie and leadership. He was also asked what he’s looking
forward to most about playing in
new offensive coordinator Nick Haley’s system, and he said the
fact that he’s going to be
working with Caleb. He said it’s the chemistry and camaraderie
they’re forming, not necessarily
the X’s and O’s, is what really can take this team to an
ascending level. The other news
out of Houston this week they signed Nick Chubb. He was in the
building participating in
minicamp. C.J. Stroud saying he didn’t even recognize Chubb
because he is so unassuming and
quiet. But Demeco Ryans said they’re just learning Nick Chubb
how he functions, how this team
functions, getting him on the same page in that regard. So
when training camp rolls around,
they can unleash him. Ryan saying that of course, when Nick
Chubb is healthy, when he is
fully rocking and rolling, one of the most dynamic players in
the NFL, they’re hoping to get
him up to speed. And Ryan, being a former player in the NFL,
appreciates just how hard it is
to come back from an injury the way Nick Chubb did, both with
the knee and then obviously the
foot last year. So if they can get him right there in the 25
season, an incredible added
dimension to that running game with Joe Mixon and another
weaponry around C.J. Stroud. As
you mentioned, Tom, this team trying to get over that hump and
beyond the divisional round of
the playoffs this season, second straight season that the Texans
pick up a running back. But a
lot of success in the AFC North was available for not too much.
They can only hope this works
out as well as Joe Mixon a year ago. Omar, thank you very much.
Coming up on The Insider, Xavier
Worthy might have to watch out for his 40 yard dash record.
We’ll explain what we mean right
after this. On the inside. to see. This is the NFL players
choice only on NFL network. The
Eagles announced today that chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie
and his family will make a $50
million donation to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and
Penn Medicine to create the
Lurie Autism Institute. Lurie says the institute’s goal will
be to spark a new era of
scientific discovery in autism spectrum disorder. Great work by
the Lurie family across the
state. Aaron Rodgers is officially a Pittsburgh Steeler
and Mike Garafolo has decided
to, I’m told, try his hand at taking down Xavier Worthy’s 4.21
record in the 40 yard dash. Is
that right, Mike? We had I knew you were going to show the
stumble you we had. We had a
free block while you were doing the last segment. So he said I,
Cody and I, my producer, were
talking about. I said, we got to time the 40. I got to get a time
40. So this was this one here
was 602. I try to get you to, to run at the combine but you
chicken Bleep won’t do it I got
to beat Desmond Watson 464 pounds at 593 I got to get
cleats on I’m coming BOOKS.
WE’RE HERE EVERY DAY, ALL DAY. SEE YOU AGAIN TOMORROW.
>> CHA-CHING.