Trey Hendrickson reports to training camp, Isaiah Likely out at least 6 weeks | The Insiders

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ready. Are you the NFL preseason
August 7th through 23rd on NFL
If you like a little quarterback at happy hour. Boy, do we have a
six pack for you. Aaron Rodgers,
Dak Prescott, C.J. Stroud, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson,
Bo Nix all on the field. And
guess what. You also get us. Welcome inside with the insiders
alongside Judy Battista I am Tom
Pelissero here in Latrobe with Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers
today. Mike Garafolo is with us
as well. 36 days away from kickoff of the 2025 NFL season.
Just one day from football.
Though the Hall of Fame game is tomorrow night with the Chargers
and Lions, we are oh so close to
seeing players back on the field. For now, though, cam
rolling on across the country
and for the first time we can say this there are no more
holdouts. That’s because Trey
Hendrickson, who has gone through an offseason long
process over his contract with
the Bengals, was back on the practice field today, though,
dressed like that, not
practicing at this time, the holdout has become the hold in
sides. Remain at odds over
guaranteed money in a potential extension. Afterwards,
Hendrickson and his quarterback
spoke about the situation. The plan was to be here day one.
Like I said, things transpired.
Nothing’s really changed. So being here, just acclimating
with the guys, that was a
priority for my wife and I. How would you describe your current
process with the front office?
Have things progressed? Are you optimistic? I think I answered
that like two questions ago.
Like, you know, things are exactly the same. What I’m not
going to do is, as best as I
can, like, avoid being a distraction. You know, I want to
help the guys, you know, the
guys that have helped me along the way. Demario Davis, Cam
Jordan, even Sam Hubbard helped
me a lot when I was here. So to be that right now I think is
that’s what’s most important.
And this this narrative will kind of iron itself out as we
continue to progress towards the
season. Whenever you can have a guy like that in the building,
even if he’s not going, you
know, it’s good to see his face, good to have his presence. You
know, he’s going to play a big,
big part of this team this year. And so just to just to have him
around makes a big difference in
the energy around here. He brings an intensity that is very
unique. And so I think that’s
good for us. This is the guy that has the most sacks over the
last two years. And you know,
production is value in this league. You know, you can think
you’re such a good player, but
not having any production doesn’t really matter. So when
you have a guy like that you
want to reward him. The NFL’s sack leader last season surely
welcoming those words. Mike,
from the most important player on the team, Joe Burrow, the
Bengals bent their longstanding
contract extension contract structure to get the burrow
extension done. Last year, they
broke it with Jamar Chase. This time around, Trey Hendrickson
wants the same thing. He wants
guarantees beyond year one of the deal. The Bengals haven’t
gone there. How exactly does
this unfold in the days and weeks to come? Well, that’s the
big fear with these teams. And
the green Bay Packers traditionally have been another
one where you start to provide
that guaranteed money beyond the first year, and the next guy
goes, well, what about me? The
next guy goes, what about me? The next guy goes, what about
me? Oh, whoa, wait a minute.
Hold on. We’re going to stop right there. And it’s like,
well, why not? Why am I not? I
led the league in sacks. I should be in that group that
you’re talking about there. So
that’s been the conversation this whole time. And Trey
Hendrickson at this point in his
career, certainly guaranteed money is an important metric
when it comes to a contract
extension for him. So that’s what the discussion has been.
Now you’re going to see him
here. And Judy, when we talked about Shemar Stewart getting
done, we said, well, these reps
are incredibly important for him because he didn’t have him in
the spring. He’s got to learn
how to finish. That was the question coming into the draft.
And I said, boy, it’d be great
if Trey Hendrickson was there to teach him the things that he
needs to know about how to
finish. Well, at least he’s getting that now, at least
verbally. He’s going to get that
now as well. So I’ve never been an advocate, especially now that
the fines are mandatory to stay
away and just give up $50,000 a day. I think Trey Hendrickson
finally was like, yeah, that’s
kind of silly. We’re not getting anywhere. Let me at least go
back into camp and not get fined
every day, right? That’s one reason why you report to not get
fined. The other is to change
the dynamic with the team. There’s no question that Trey
Hendrickson sitting there, Joe
Burrow getting up there and going to bat for him vocally. By
the way, I love that Joe Burrow
goes to bat for his guys for contracts. That changes the
tenor of the conversation in the
building. It puts more pressure on the organization to get a
deal done. It’s uncomfortable
when Trey Hendrickson is sitting there not practicing. All of his
teammates are there. They want
him on the field, too. It does put a little bit more pressure
on the front office. We will see
if that gets a deal done. But certainly the fact that he is
going to be there and is willing
to be a mentor, as you pointed out, for Shemar Stewart, while
they iron out the contract,
hopefully that is a good step in the right direction for the
Bengals. Trey Hendrickson also
reiterated today he is still not going to play on the last
existing year. On his current
contract. He’s due around $16 million this season. That means
something else still needs to
happen one way or another. For Trey Hendrickson to actually
suit up. Whether that is the
Bengals moving on, what they want to do, or Hendrickson
potentially softening that
position. The same goes for Terry McLaurin in Washington,
who also turned a holdout into a
hold in of sorts. Technically, he is on the physically unable
to perform list. He had an ankle
injury the end of last season. He rehabbed it. That is what the
commanders have said, that
McLaurin is on the PUP list with. However, Mike, this comes
down to much like Trey
Hendrickson, the dollars and cents when it comes to what do
you pay a player who is around
age 30? Highly productive, but going on to a third contract,
where teams historically have
been reluctant to pay those guys near the top of the market.
Highly productive, but but
consistent and available. I mean, he’s played 17 games in
each of the last four seasons.
He’s also a leader. I continue to say this. You don’t get that
a lot of times at the wide
receiver position. You just don’t. And he was anointed early
in his career as the guy that
was going to help lead this team into a new era in a lot of ways,
and he has done that. So he’s
sitting there saying, well, what’s that worth to you and why
is it not worth somewhere in the
ballpark? At the very least, maybe in the upper sections of
that ballpark, but in the
ballpark of what some of these other wide receivers are making,
the market is up at $40 million
per year. He’s in the low 20s. He wants to get somewhere that
begins with a three. So the
sides have not been close. They continue to work continue to try
to get something going. I think
it might be the pressure of the season, maybe once we get a
little bit closer to there, that
helps get this done. Ravens tight end Isaiah, likely another
player who is potentially
looking at a big payday sometime soon. However, he’s first got a
rehab process and a surgery
ahead of him. As our Ian Rapoport reported earlier today,
likely will have surgery this
week to fix a broken bone in his foot as the result of rolling
his ankle in practice on
Tuesday, a six week timeline which coach John Harbaugh said
he has seen that out there and
that is correct. Good that he’s following Ian on social media.
That would put him ready right
around week one, whether he’s ready for the opener or not.
Harbaugh expressed confidence
that likely is going to be back in the early portion of the
season. Right. And Harbaugh also
made clear that it is not a long term injury. So once he gets
through this surgery and
recovery from it, he will be good to go. They also sort of
held out the possibility that he
could be back before six weeks. Their season opener is 39 days
from today, so that is just
short of six weeks from today. We will see how quickly he
recovers. And of course, in the
meantime they’ve got Mark Andrews. They’ve got a very
effective tight end trio. So now
it is Mark Andrews at tight end one. While Isaiah likely
recovers. Meanwhile a news we
brought you earlier today Maxwell Harrison the first round
pick of the Buffalo Bills. The
cornerback there suffered what looked to be a really serious
injury. They were worried about
the ACL. But as we told you earlier today here ACL intact
LCL sprain looking at a couple
of weeks here. So good news for Harrison, who expressed his
thankfulness on Twitter. A
couple of posts about how God’s got his back. Elsewhere, Xavier
Worthy, the Chiefs wide
receiver. He is in the concussion protocol now. And you
say, how does that happen in
these practices? You don’t see a lot of concussions? Well, he
came down and hit his head hard
on the ground on a deep pass. So that’s how that happened. So
worthy in the concussion
protocol. One of several one of several injuries, several big
injuries. Key injuries for the
Chiefs right now Ian Rapoport traveling today. But good thing
we could use as many of his
tweets as possible right there in that segment. Meanwhile out
in Oxnard California Cowboys
training camp is rolling on a new staff surrounding Brian
Shannon. Excuse me surrounding
Dak Prescott. Although Brian Schottenheimer, the new head
coach, was previously the OC.
Our Kimmy Cheeks is there. David Carr and myself here live in
Oxnard, California as the Dallas
Cowboys practice just wrapped on the field behind us. Now, they
did have an off day yesterday.
We’re back today in pads. It was not seven on seven football or
seven on seven practice. Instead
it was all 11 on 11. David, can you give your thoughts on what
you saw from practice today? I’m
not gonna lie. It’s kind of a throwback. It’s crazy to me.
I’ve not been to a camp,
honestly, in a long time where I haven’t seen a seven on seven
rep or even a nine on seven
inside run rep without the receivers, they all come
together and every period,
obviously they were different. They had red zone emphasis, they
had moved the ball, they had
third down. They were all doing it together collectively. So I
think it’s really unique because
Schottenheimer yeah, his dad’s a throwback. They run the ball
downhill. He’s doing those
things. But you have to establish that you’re going to
actually do that. You can say
those things. It’s fun to say it at press conferences and we’re
going to run the ball like
everybody says that. Like who doesn’t want to be tough and
physical, but they actually do
that. They come out here and they practice real football. And
I love that because in this day
and age, there’s so much talk about, you know, passing game
coordinators. And I didn’t hear
that term one time today when I’m in Dallas. So this is fun
because I think these guys have
an understanding that, okay, this isn’t maybe the greatest
roster ever, but what we’ve put
together is components that can run the ball at you and be
physical. And that kind of flies
in the face of what we’ve seen a lot in the current trends in the
offense, especially in the NFL,
is it’s a lot of spread out, a little bit of basketball on
grass at times and you lose that
physical element. So for them to show up and say those things,
yes. But then to see it live in
person, that was really cool for me because I it’s been like 20
years maybe since I’ve seen a
team. Are you saying this is like old school 20 year Tom
Coughlin throwback
Schottenheimer LaDainian Tomlinson downhill. Now they
don’t have LaDainian Tomlinson
but they have like five different guys. They can do that
right. And I just love it I
think it’s going to protect Dak. That’s what Jerry’s talked about
since we’ve been coming to camp
the last couple of years. At least I have. Every time I see
Jerry it’s like we got to
protect Dak. I understand Jerry. Everybody wants to protect the
quarterback, but they’re
actually going to do it based on they’re going to run the ball
protect him with the play action
pass. And then you have the key is here. You got to have KD. And
then another guy opposite him.
You got to have Pickens that can win those situations. So now the
defense has to pick. Can we
double both of these guys. You can’t because we’re coming
straight ahead with the running
back. So you got to have extra guys down in the box that
creates one on ones outside.
It’s an easy way to play football I love it. Beyond just
protecting Dak Prescott. When
you look at this new offensive scheme, especially under
offensive coordinator Clayton
Adams, why do you think that helps Dak Prescott not only in
protection but but ensuring that
he doesn’t have to throw the football 30 4050 times a game.
Yeah that’s it. That’s the key.
Like we talk about the last couple of years protecting Dak.
He’s been injured. But when you
put him out there 3040 different passes and most of them are all
dropback like the play action
doesn’t really do anything. Like I’ve talked to linebackers. Like
unless you’re a team that we
really think you’re you’re dialed in to running the ball.
Play action passes are relevant
to us. And so teams kind of just get away from it because they
see it’s not effective. But this
team, it’s going to mean something. And what I always
loved about Play Action Pass is,
you know, the protection is going to be great because you
got a good fake. You got two
good backs, a tight end, even sometimes chipping his way out,
you can still throw the football
effectively, but utilizing those type of concepts to protect your
guy and keep him there for the
long haul. Because at the end of the day, if dak’s there at the
end of the season, they’re going
to have a chance. That’s really what we’ve seen the last couple
of years, is he’s not there, and
now you don’t have a chance to win, but they’re going to have a
good enough team and a good
enough identity to if he’s there at the end of the year, he’s
clutch man. Like Dak’s played a
ton of football. He knows it. He understands the game. He knows
how to win in this division. He
knows how to win in this league. Just get him to the end of the
season with a chance. He’s got
enough weapons to win. The main takeaway from camp today, head
coach Brian Schottenheimer. He’s
not just all talk, he’s also about that action. Maybe that’s
the theme here for the 2025
Dallas Cowboys. New Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens joins us
in just a little bit. But first
the pads are on for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And that
guy number eight. Well you’ve
seen him a few places in recent years. How is Aaron Rodgers
looking in his new home. We were
here. We’ll tell you right after this on the insiders. The
insiders is brought to you by
Fisher Investments. Clearly different money management. At
Fisher Investments. We may look
like other money managers, but priority.
The pads officially on here in
Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where that guy, number eight, Aaron
Rodgers, of course, is the
center of attention. Before he got out on the field today,
Rodgers spoke with the media
about how camp is going so far. Once it stops being fun, you
should probably hang it up. So I
love that we’re out here in Latrobe. I love the opportunity
for true camaraderie at
nighttime. After meetings are done, guys hang out. You know,
guys coming to my room last
night, I was in Highsmith’s room, so it’s pretty cool to see
everybody hanging out the way
they are. And there’s a lot of fun, a lot of really great
offenses over the years. What do
you like about this offense under Arthur Smith specifically?
I like the flexibility. You
know, Arthur’s not rigid in what he’s doing. He wants to tailor
the scheme to the personnel that
you got. And when you bring in a Kenny Gainwell bringing a Jonnu
Smith, bringing a DK Metcalf and
myself with some of the stuff I’ve done over the years, you
know, we’re we’re trying to find
out what guys do best and implement that in the offense.
So I love that about Arthur. So
we’re going to keep doing that. We saw Aaron Rodgers out here in
Latrobe today, not just on the
field in pads but also walking around in the cafeteria. Judy
I’ve covered Aaron essentially
his entire career, going back to his early days as a backup in
green Bay. Physically, he looks
good. He is still a 41 year old man who is going to be playing
at a point in his life that very
few NFL quarterbacks have done in the past. You could see the
little things today. Certainly
he can still flick it. He still can throw from different arm
angles, but there were a couple
throws where you could tell the communication was a little off.
One time he was rolling out to
his left, throwing across his body and he misses. He kind of
slapped his hands together. You
can see he didn’t do anything in OTAs. They’re kind of making up
for the ground that they lost.
Well, as part of that session with reporters that we didn’t
show you there, he said there
he’s learning the offense. He feels like he’s got pretty good
command. But he said there are
some times when he steps up there and he’s a little fuzzy on
it, and the center is making the
calls for him when that happens. So he admitted it’s not quite
there yet. As you heard him say,
they’re still trying to figure out what everybody does well,
what they like, what he likes,
and then they’re going to put the offense together. It is
worth repeating. They did almost
nothing in minicamp after he signed. Obviously there was no
offseason. That was always the
concern with him coming in so late is they were going to have
a lot of ground to make up, to
put the offense together, to make him comfortable, to get
everybody comfortable with him.
They’ve added a lot of pieces on this team, offense and defense.
They are clearly making a push.
It all hinges on how Aaron Rodgers gets comfortable, how he
performs, how that offense
performs. Is probably a really good thing. I mean, I was there
at minicamp and you’re right, he
didn’t do much. And not only that, he had players coming up
to him on the field introducing
themselves. You talked about the center. Zach Frazier walked up
and was like, hey, hi, I’m Zach
Frazier. I will be trying to keep people who are trying to
tackle you away from you. Nice
to meet you. So this is good time that really they have to
make up for, not only from a
football standpoint, but also from a camaraderie, from a
locker room, from a teammate
perspective. So that’s why you know what? Good on you.
Steelers. One of the few teams
that still goes away for camp. You ever notice the teams that
go away for camp these days are
perennially the good teams. You probably should do a little bit
more of that. Other teams I
would just add this in talking to Steelers folks when I got
here last night, they all said
players have gravitated to Aaron Rodgers. Not surprisingly, they
said he is charismatic. Even
some of the veteran players who maybe were a little annoyed and
impatient about his late
arrival, have been won over the locker room, loves him. There’s
a lot of enthusiasm and they’re
really happy with how he looks physically. Aaron Rodgers also
said this is the first time that
he can remember where he was part of a live tackling
practice. I checked in with
somebody who would know Mike McCarthy, who said they stopped
doing that in 2007 with the
green Bay Packers here. So that’s the essence, though, of a
mike Tomlin training camp. They
want physicality. They do one on one pass rush and pass blocking
types of drills. We had a fight
out there today Joey Porter Jr and Robert Woods getting into it
right after that fight happened.
Steelers front office person walked by me and said Welcome to
Latrobe. That is what it is all
about here. Callousing yourself for a long season ahead.
Meanwhile, training camp also
rolling on in Houston with the Texans C.J. Stroud and company
coming off of a couple of
playoff appearances. No, that’s not the Panthers. That’s not the
Titans. That’s a nice light blue
jersey on C.J. Stroud. Our Bridget Condon and Mark Ross
were there to see it in person.
One of the cooler days here in Houston. If that’s even a
sentence you can say, but
honestly, doesn’t feel bad. But the defense was heating up. And
I know people say the defense
usually has an advantage over the offense as the guys still
look to jell together. But this
offense has so many new pieces and new offensive coordinator,
new offensive line coach, a lot
of guys fighting for starting roles on the offensive line,
plus a new trio of receivers.
What’s your biggest takeaway about how C.J. Stroud is
beginning to gel with this new
offense? Well, it’s going to take time. And as you mentioned,
the defense is utterly dominated
today. Of course, the offense said that was just today. But
when you look at this Texans
team who won their division last year and who won a playoff game
and who were in the mix to win
another game for tank, Dell got hurt that they have a ton of
changes. They could have upwards
of nine new starters, where C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins are
really the only two certainties
who are going to start. You may have a whole entire new
offensive line. New running back
Joe Mixon is hurt the receiving corps with the two rookies out
of Iowa State in Higgins and
Noel. They may get in the action. And even Dalton Schultz,
the tight end, may lose his job
to Stover. So they have a lot of changes that will that may take
time for them to really gel. And
hopefully by game one, they’ll have it all sorted out. Bridgett
C.J. Stroud is going to have a
little bit more responsibility, is the word to say in year three
as he enters this year three
with Demeco Ryans as they try to win back to back to back AFC
South titles. He’s going to be
calling out protections, making checks at the line of scrimmage.
How important is it for him to
have a little bit more control in year three? Well, that’s what
you want from your franchise
superstar quarterback okay. As a rookie, he thoroughly exceeded
expectations okay. We’ll chalk
that up. Well. He showed he could do it. And then last year
took a little bit of a step
back. Some of that was because of the offensive line. But some
of that when I studied CJ it was
his own doing. You know he didn’t hit as many receivers as
he should, didn’t make the right
reads at times. So he has to elevate his game to. And the
more confidence that your
franchise quarterback has, the more confidence your offense
has. The more confidence your
team has, the more confidence your head coach has. So
everything flows off of how C.J.
Stroud either gets back to his rookie year, or you’ll see a
little bit of the
inconsistencies that we saw last year. So the best version of the
Texans can compete for a Super
Bowl. But we see even the average version can make the
playoffs and win the division
like they did last season. This defense dominated last season
sixth in total defense. At the
end of the season, they added a big piece in C.J.
Gardner-johnson, who was
obviously with the Eagles, won a Super Bowl. You’ve been around a
lot of these guys and talking
with them. When you’re in the front office, how important is
it for this team to have a guy
that has won a Super Bowl as recently as last season? You
know, it really is invaluable
because most of the other players are talking about
winning the Super Bowl, but they
don’t know what it feels like. But C.J. Does, and he can really
impart that wisdom and the
little nuances of this is what it really takes, not what I
think, what we are trying to get
to. But he can actually say, this is actually what it takes.
And so he’ll be an integral
piece of being a leader and on the defense. But when you got
maybe the best pass rushing duo
in the NFL, maybe some argument there and Will Anderson and
Danielle Hunter, if those guys
can really hunt and thrive, this defense will be back to top five
status again. C.J. Stroud took
52 sacks last season, second most in the NFL. The only other
was Chicago Bears Caleb
Williams. Now they get to go against that duo you just
mentioned out here at practice.
So you got to hope that it’ll improve things come week one.
We’ll send it back to you guys.
We’re here in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. George Pickens is
not now a member of the Dallas
Cowboys, where he is hoping to have what could be a very
lucrative 2025 campaign. George
Pickens caught up with our David Carr. Hear from the newest
cowboy right after this on The
Insiders. Thanks for walking us through the plan. You guys
heading up north soon? Yeah. Got
Lizzie for a couple weeks this actually started this show five
minutes early because we found
out Tom Coughlin was going to be shown during this episode of The
Insider. Speaking with Giants
players earlier today, the two time Super Bowl champ imparting
some words of wisdom for a New
York team that is going a little look a little bit different here
in 2025. Obviously, Mike, it all
starts out at the quarterback position where that guy, Russell
Wilson has been anointed QB one.
And the lingering question, good or bad, how this thing plays out
will be how long is number six
still on the sideline? Yeah. By the way. Go, go watch that
speech that he gave right there.
It’s been almost ten years. It’s been ten years since he last
coached in the NFL with the
Giants. And watch the eyes watch the eyes of the guys around him
and get the feel like that guy
still knows how to talk to millennials. I don’t know why
the league decided at 68 that he
was done. He’s got the energy at 68 or 69. He had the energy of a
guy 48, 49. He’s still got it
there. It’s an impressive speech. Go take a listen to
that. And Brian Daboll right
there in the background. Certainly appreciating that he
was able to provide that. So
look this is a team where I said this the other day and I’ll be
back there on Friday. I think
Baldy is going to be with me. Judy, are you there as well? I
believe I think it’s the three
of us. And we talked about the energy that is there at that
camp because of that guy number
three and what’s happening there. They got a tough slate to
open up. But definitely, Judy, a
different feel to Giants camp this year. There’s no question
there is optimism a positivity.
When I was out there, whatever day that was that we were out
there Sunday, maybe that like
ages ago, somebody said to me, you know, he brings he meaning
Russell Wilson brings
positivity. And this team needed that. They did need that. They
needed confidence in somebody.
Russell Wilson has a lot of confidence. He talks up all of
his teammates. When we sat down
with him he name checked basically half of the offense.
They need that. They like the
way he has been performing so far. They really like what
they’ve seen from Jaxson Dart. I
think the question is going to be given what the slate looks
like, it is very, very
difficult. How long before they want to go to Jaxson Dart? What
will the results dictate there?
And when? John Mayer, the owner, has already said, Mike, that
he’s running out of patience.
That was a quote from a while ago, but it was earlier on this
off season. You know, that there
is pressure on everybody in the building with Russell Wilson.
We’re here in Latrobe,
Pennsylvania today with the Steelers. He came out and played
pretty well out of the gate last
year. Once he got healthy and replaced Justin Fields, it was
what happened down the stretch
when they just didn’t seem to have a lot of juice. You wonder,
can Russell Wilson sustain for
an extended time? Not 5 or 6 games, but 15, 16, 17? Or is it
an inevitability that eventually
we would see the rookie? This is there’s a lot of things I can’t
really and we don’t know. We got
to see how it plays out. But you know, they could go six and 11,
which would be twice as many
wins as last year. But they could be four times as bad. Like
I’m just messing with numbers
here. The point is, they could be so much better and so much
more advanced and have so much
hope for the future and yet still have a terrible record.
And you wonder at that point, is
John Mara going to have to look at the results or the direction
of the team? I’ve known him to
look more toward the direction of the team in the past, but how
many of these losing seasons
could you potentially sell to your fan base? I do know this.
This you’re seeing Jaxson Dart
there. Cam. We saw him. Abdul Carter I do know that this draft
class has got a lot of swag, a
lot of confidence, a lot of guts to it. They feel like these guys
are going to help set the tone
for 26 and beyond, just by how they play in 25. For some
reason. And as I’ve been doing
my camp tour, I’ll tell you this much the number of people who
have just mentioned in offhand
comments to me, man, the Giants got a good one in Abdul Carter.
It is substantial, no question
about the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Dak Prescott
back for another season in
Oxnard, California. But he’s got a new wide receiver George
Pickens who sat down with our.
And David Cobb David Carr and I excited to be joined with Dak
Prescott. And this offense is
newest offensive weapon. And wide receiver George Pickens
thanks so much for coming and
hanging out with us. How was practice today? It was great.
You know I never complained
about the weather out here in California. So it was definitely
a fun time. We as broadcasters
are not complaining about it. You guys are taking care of us
here in Oxnard. Yeah. It’s been
it’s been great. It’s my first time out here in California in
general. Just Oxnard. Oxnard.
Yeah, it’s nice though. I looked at 72 degrees almost every day.
Every day bro. Yeah that’s
great. So okay, so we were talking a little bit before we
came on about some of the
passing game concepts and how that’s going to work with shady
and the offensive coordinator.
Like a lot of that stuff, I see Dak making checks at the line of
scrimmage. Is there more freedom
for him to kind of get to the good stuff, or is it kind of
called from the huddle? Most
definitely more freedom because him making checks is him just
getting us in the right look for
the type of look that they want to bring. You know, defense has
got way smarter these next
couple of years. They’ve been stammen and fake coverages. So
he’s hard to guess right before.
Yeah. Right. And it used to be easy. So like we definitely got
a lot of checks for that. Yeah I
love that you and CeeDee lamb, the two of you are one of the
most explosive wide receivers
room in the NFL. What kind of duo do you envision for the both
of you in this passing game? I
envision a crazy duo Man CD. That’s my best friend already.
It’s like one of the only guys
that I talk to for real here, and I feel like we’re going to
do something special as long as
we just keep working and keep grinding. Yeah. Did you guys
have. Sorry to cut you off here,
Dave. Did you guys have conversations prior to you
joining this organization, or is
that friendship bloomed once you got to Dallas? A little bit of
both. It’s like when it
happened, he was like, I talked to Jerry and I talked to, like,
the upper echelon people. Then
he was the first player that I called. So yeah, I love that. I
also love that you were standing
next to Dak. Yeah. Picking his brain a little bit. So is it
like are you mostly asking him
is there like a 50 over 50 like back and forth or how’s that
conversation going. A little bit
of both. Yeah. More 70 more me asking him. He definitely knows.
Yeah. But more me asking him
just his, you know, thought process. You know he’s a he
likes to run stuff fast. So I
was just trying to pick up on his thought process. Along those
same lines, can you speak to the
rapport and the friendship you are building with Dak Prescott?
Oh yeah. It’s amazing. I was
just literally at his house last night for his birthday. Oh happy
belated birthday today. So Dak
is a cool guy man I kind of been watching Dak since he was at
Mississippi State. So yeah. How
much of the offensive system we see obviously emphasis on the
run game. But are you guys kind
of inside out because I know Philly is like that. Like trying
to create one on ones because
they have two great receivers. You guys now have two great
receivers on the outside trying
to create those one on ones. There’s a lot of that
conversation with Dak about
maybe just tweaks on the routes specifically. Like you
mentioned, he likes to work
fast. Is that kind of speed up your clock in your routes a
little bit? Literally. That’s
literally it. The timing. Yeah. The timing. I was asking like
what type of timing does he
like? You know, some cuz like a quick out fast. Now some like to
actually wait and develop take
shots. So definitely the timing is the you literally hit it
right on the nail. Love it.
Yeah. Now you’ve had the privilege of playing for two
incredibly legendary franchises
and organizations. Of course, starting your career with the
Pittsburgh Steelers and now
being here with the Dallas Cowboys. What are some of the
key differences that you’ve
noticed here early on in your time with Dallas? Oh,
definitely. The I probably say
the guys the guys in the in the organizations a little
different. I feel like the
Cowboys are bigger, you know what I mean? A bigger brand as
far as like football, besides
football, it’s a bigger brand. So definitely the guys around
the organization. Tomlin have
you guys running sprints if you guys get in fights. Yeah. What
just happened out there I’ve
never seen that. Yeah that was crazy. That was crazy. Nah coach
Tomlin definitely he wouldn’t do
that. But I think we need that. You know what I mean because
it’s more of a discipline thing.
Like if you don’t want to not we’re third and 14 or third and
15. That’s a great point. See
what I mean. So like hindering the team a little bit. It does
hurt the team. Exactly. Like
it’s good to see that energy. But you also want to do things
the right way. You never want to
go over the edge. You just want to be right othe edge. Yep.
Exactly. You’ve been really
outspoken about kind of dispelling this notion of some
of these reputational things
that have gone on from your previous team. What is the
legacy that you want to submit
here with your time with Dallas? Very long legacy and like a
great one, because I feel like
when I watch the Cowboys, it’s just that’s always what I known.
You know, that’s kind of why the
brand is so big. They’ve always been the Super Bowl from back in
the day. So I kind of want to
hone in that. You know what I mean. Just to true cowboy. So
you’re one of my favorite
players. I’m just going to tell you I’ll be honest here. We’re a
national team. We used to do a
show together, Total Access. And he has loved you for years. Like
I’m like, please, just get this
man the football so you can do a lot of great things. Is there
anything that you’re working on?
Like, we’re in training camp. We’re trying to get better.
What’s what’s the one thing that
you’re looking to improve on? Oh really? My depth and roots.
These display being consistent.
Yeah yeah just especially for Dak. You know what I mean. And
then the plays are way
different. Way better. You got more air profile offense. You
got me. So like definitely my
depth depth and being consistent for Dak. And that works for your
relationship. That’s awesome
because I know that if the ball is coming your way that’s not
that’s the last thing we have to
worry about is you’re going to find a way to grab it. Oh, one
last one for you here George.
Just talk about the leadership of your head coach, Brian
Schottenheimer. Oh, he’s he’s
great. I can’t really express it enough. Like, he looks like he
cares for you. Yeah. Like the
last coach I had, like, that was probably like high school, you
know, like someone who really
cares. He wants the energy. Like I said, that’s why we ran after
everybody got to fight and
stuff. Because he has the energy. He wants us to be on
edge, but not over. You know
what I mean? So I feel like he’s a great coach, to be honest.
Well, high expectations for you
and this team this season. We’re excited that you were able to
join us. Congrats on everything.
I’m glad to be here. We can’t wait to watch you. I’m glad to
be here. Thanks for joining us
bro. Appreciate you bro. Coming up, we head to Denver where Bo
Nix looking to build off a
strong rookie campaign. What is the next step for number ten?
Well at least for today it was
talking to NFL network. Hear from Nix coming up on the
insiders. Chase something. Let’s
go. More than just a flag. it? Get NFL RedZone now. Broncos
coming off a playoff appearance
in their first year with that guy as their starting
quarterback. A strong start for
Bo Nix who caught up today with our Colleen Wolfe. And I don’t
know, some other guy. We have Bo
right here with us after a pretty good practice, Sean
Payton said. It was a nice,
energetic one out there today. But for you coming off a
historic rookie year for this
franchise, now you’re not learning the playbook. You’re
not just coming in meeting
people for the first time. You’re running the huddle.
You’re you’re up tempo ING
things. You’re getting praise from Sean Payton. Not to mention
you’re getting praise from other
players around the league. I was just at Eagles training camp
this week. Lane Johnson is
talking about you unprompted. To meet Zach Bond is telling me
complimenting you as well. gone from a year where people
were not sure what to expect to
now this is your team. Well, that’s pretty awesome. To be
acknowledged by your peers is
always a good sign of respect means you’re doing the right
thing, but it also is not going
to just last one season. So you got to continue to work every
year and do better the next
year. So I know that there’s a lot to be done. There’s a lot
that I need to work on, a lot
that our offense can get better at, and a lot that our team can
get better at. But we’re working
right now to get those things accomplished, and we’re excited
for this upcoming season because
of the kind of season you guys had. And I think it’s fair to
say you won more games than
really anyone expected. You guys have a little bit of a target
now, and you know that defensive
coordinators are going to come after you. Now. You can also
respond to that, like, how is
this offense going to be a little different? How are you
going to be a little different
this year? Well the expectations are definitely higher. But we
like that. That means you’re a
good football team. That means you have something to play for.
And you know, we’ve put together
a really good football team. We’ve added some pieces on both
sides of the football. We really
feel like in all three phases of the game, we’ve got better this
off season, so we’re excited to
really start playing, you know, other teams and it’s fun to
compete against each other at
practice, but you never really know until you start the season.
But the expectations are
definitely higher. But that’s a good thing. That means you’re
doing something right. What’s it
like playing for Sean Payton? Every time he talks about you,
he absolutely lights up. So what
is it like for you knowing that you could have gone anywhere,
played for any coach, but you
ended up here with Sean Payton? One of the things that I really
wanted during the draft process
was to be drafted by a team that had coaches that were just
extremely experienced, knew so
much to give to me, very knowledgeable, been around the
game for a long time, have seen
how the game has changed over time, and that’s exactly what I
got. I was fortunate to be
drafted by the Broncos, and Coach Payton and Coach Lombardi.
You know, with their offensive
scheme. And then you know, Davis Webb, my quarterback coach, has
done an outstanding job of
getting me ready for practices, getting me ready for games,
getting me ready for the season.
And so I’ve just coached really well. And you know, it starts at
the top. So Coach Payton has had
a history of coaching really good quarterbacks. And I’m
excited to just continue to
learn and grow under him and just be that quarterback that,
you know, he likes to put out on
the football field and can go play for him. You got a couple
new targets this year. You got
Evan Ingram obviously the veteran you know one of your
bigger signings on offense. You
got RJ Harvey drafted guy. You got JK Dobbins who has been
really impressive when he has
been on the field. Talk about some of your new weapons and
what you’ve seen from them on
this field behind us. Well, you’re exactly right. I mean,
every every name you just named
was, you know, an added bonus for us. We got better at, you
know, just the guys like the
guys you bring in, you don’t want them to be knuckleheads.
And those guys are good
teammates. Those guys are good players. They add something more
than just talent to our team.
They add, you know, that form of leadership, the veteran
leadership that you need for
each offense. And then they just add, you know a spark. And Evan
you know like you said he he’s
going to add a dynamic to the tight end room that we didn’t
necessarily have. The two
running backs got some juice. They’re going to be really good
on the field. And then just
overall we were able to get better. Within a year. We didn’t
lose anybody. So the other guys
were allowed to just grow and develop in our scheme. And you
know, it’s nice playing with the
same guys each year. I know you spent some time with Drew Brees
in the off season, but did you
do anything just fun outside of football? That could be fun. I
know that’s fun. That was fun,
but can be true at once. To your point, to your point. When I got
away from football, me and my
wife, we got to take our parents to Italy this offseason. That
was the first time going to
Europe, so that was a fun trip, not one that you get all the
time. It was really our first
offseason together to where we had time to, you know, travel
and it was just us. So it was
fun and, you know, looking forward to this season. The off
season it draws out you know,
goes a long time. And then you realize that football is just
around the corner. So between
the training and the OTAs and summer you know it’s finally
here and it feels like football
season again. Got it. That’s the best. You come out here and you
see pads popping and you see
some nine on seven and it’s like all right. Exactly. You guys
also added some pieces on
defense that you’re facing every day from the fungus and Dre
Greenlaw and Barron who sounds
like sounds like Barron crushed it in his rookie. Did a good job
at his rookie night. Give a good
job. Give the people a little idea of what we’re talking about
here. So every rookie we all
we’ve all been through it. You have to get up on stage during a
team meeting and you have to do
something that’s entertaining. Most of the time it’s singing a
song. It’s, you know, singing
the lyrics to a song. Sometimes guys can do a skit. We can, you
know, some guys get up there and
they make the crowd laugh, but they got up there and sang two
songs and he took the crowd. So
he did a really good job. Dreams and nightmares. Was that one of
them? Yeah. So he got up there
and sang two. And I mean to say he knew the words to both songs,
it was it was a very good
performance. Very good performance. Well, a very good
first impression. That’s exactly
what you gave everyone last year, your rookie year. We’ll
let you get out of here. Thanks
so much for stopping by and best of luck this year out on the
field. Thank you very much.
Still more to come on the insiders. Let’s check in next in
Florham Park where Justin Fields
came back from. You know that thing where everyone thought he
was out for the season? It
turned out his toe just hurt a little bit. He’s on the field.
He’s practicing. Let’s go inside
their practice coming up right after this. On the inside. At
your service here to help you
save hundreds by customizing like to accept help. Welcome
back to the insiders. That is
Mike Garafolo. This is Judy Battista. I am Tom Pelissero. We
are here in Latrobe,
Pennsylvania. Got a peek at the Steelers earlier today with
their new quarterback Aaron
Rodgers. Week one. They open up against one of the quarterbacks
that they actually tried to
bring back before turning to Aaron Rodgers. And that is
number seven Justin Fields. Now
a member of the week one opponent the New York Jets. I
was at their practice yesterday
Judy. Justin Fields, if you didn’t know that he had a Toe
issue, you wouldn’t have any
idea. He is wearing like a plastic kind of a toe cap on his
shoe just so he doesn’t get
stepped on again. But for all the furor over his status here,
he’s out there moving along.
Well, now it’s on to everything else they got to accomplish.
Yeah, I was there on Saturday
for Back Together Saturday, and that’s when he showed up in
seven on seven sort of
unexpectedly and looks just fine. So yes, I think that
crisis, if it ever really was a
crisis has passed. Now it is about how he can perform.
Certainly one thing in his
corner, one person in his corner is Garrett Wilson, his old
college teammate who is just
coming off getting a big contract extension and is one of
the premier young wide receivers
in the NFL. He is very excited to have Justin Fields there, and
certainly the offense is also
going to have a strong running attack. Aaron Glenn wants to
have a physical football team
they are tackling in practice, which is not something you’ve
seen at the Jets in recent
years. He is running tough practices. He wants a physical,
smart team. This is a disciple
of Bill Parcells. He sounds like Bill Parcells. When he talks to
the media, he looks like Bill
Parcells on the field. He never stops moving around and he wants
his team to play like those old
Parcells teams that Aaron Glenn played for at the New York Jets.
As Glenn told me when I talked
to him on Saturday when he first got to the Jets. The Jets were
not very good. Bill Parcells
came in, had a few draft classes, turned it around, got
it all the way to the AFC
Championship game. He said he wants to bring that to this Jets
team. He wants these players to
know what that feels like. I mean, certainly from a defensive
standpoint, you’re going to
feel, oh, that was a loud horn. You’re going to feel the Jets
because you felt this defense
the last couple of years. And I know listen there’s Jets fans
out there that are watching
probably my neighbors probably watching right now. He’s going
to knock on the door any second
now. He’s going to be like stop pumping this defense. It wasn’t
as good as no. I watched this
team. The offense was so bad the last couple of years that this
defense, like, would keep them
in games, keep them in games, and eventually the dam’s going
to break because the offense is
doing nothing like you can’t hold another team down the
entire game, and they’ve got a
lot of that turnover. Still, Quincy Williams is still there.
Quinnen Williams is still there.
Will McDonald is still there. Jamie and Sherwood is back after
signing an extension. So it just
it’s got that the personnel is there mixed with the mentality
of Aaron Glenn. I certainly
still expect this defense to be one that you don’t want to see
on Sundays, 39 days away from
the Jets Los Angeles Chargers taking on
the Detroit Lions under the
lights in canton, Ohio. Catch every snap at 8 p.m. Eastern on
NBC and Peacock. Real strength
isn’t pushing through pain. It’s been delayed another hour. Yeah.
NFL plus, keep the NFL in reach
MVP. Football tomorrow night. Yes. Tomorrow night it is the
Chargers and the Lions playing
in the Hall of Fame game. Kicking off what should be a fun
weekend as always in canton,
Ohio. Friend of the insiders Don Henley I’m sure will enjoy that
trip as the Chargers posted
today. See you in canton. Welcome back to the insiders,
Tom Pelissero, Judy Battista,
and Mike Garafolo. What are you most looking forward to in this
game? Football. I’m looking
forward to an actual football game, Mike. I’m looking forward
to Mike Tirico on the call. It’s
going to feel like a Sunday Night Football game. We saw
Tirico the other day in Detroit.
He was doing his legwork. I’m like, this is one where you
could probably. Oh, actually,
no. This is the hardest one for a play by play, because a lot of
these guys you’re not familiar
with. So he was there doing his legwork. I’ll give him his props
for that. You don’t want
somebody going off and you got no notes or nothing about the
guy. So Tirico was there getting
that done. All aboard the Trey Lance hype train after this one.
Maybe he gets the start for the
Chargers tomorrow night. We will be live inside training camp
live. Noon to seven eastern time
tomorrow. So a full day of football leading up to that
game. I’m on to Cincinnati Joe
Burrow Zac Taylor going to join me. That will be on the show.
Take a step.