Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast on Free Agency, Salary Cap, NFLDraft, Where Are the Raiders at
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fannation Las Vegas Raiders
00:06 Insider Podcast.
00:08 It's absolutely terrific to be with you today.
00:09 Thanks for joining me.
00:11 We have a ton of information to go over with the Raiders today.
00:15 We're going to talk some salary cap, we're going to talk some draft, but 100% Raiders.
00:20 And I think which we always talk 100% Raiders other than the one show that we did about
00:26 Nick Saban.
00:29 But sometimes it's about bigger issues about the NFL and how they impact the Raiders.
00:34 But we're always talking Raiders here and we're going to get into it today in a lot
00:38 of detail.
00:39 Before we get started, I want to remind everybody, you can go to the Facebook page of the San
00:43 Antonio Black Hole chapter.
00:45 I'm going to be there next Tuesday.
00:47 I'll be there next Tuesday.
00:49 So today's Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, five days.
00:52 It's going to be from 6 to 730.
00:54 We want to see you there.
00:56 It's going to be a great time.
00:59 We're going to have Shannon will be with me and Dexter will be with me and we're going
01:03 to be there just to hang out with you.
01:05 It's 100% free event.
01:07 You have to buy your own drinks and food or whatever.
01:09 But from 6 to 730, all Raiders talk with a bunch of Raiders people.
01:14 I'm going to give you my thoughts on Combine.
01:17 I'm going to give you my personal thoughts on what I think is going to happen in the
01:20 draft.
01:21 We're going to go through and kind of talk about the offseason, some things that have
01:26 happened.
01:27 It's going to be a great event.
01:28 I hope you're going to enjoy it.
01:29 At least I hope you're going to enjoy it, but it's going to be great.
01:32 People are coming from a long way.
01:34 So make sure you're there.
01:36 Go to the Black Hole chapter on Facebook or check my social media and you'll be able to
01:42 see all the information you need to know to RSVP.
01:45 But really excited and I hope to see you there.
01:48 Hope that we have a good time hanging out together and again, I would love to see you
01:52 all.
01:53 All right.
01:54 So I need to explain a couple of things because then you're going to understand how everything
01:59 fills out.
02:01 And let's start with, first of all, a salary gap.
02:07 Most people just think it's, I don't know how you do your personal finances.
02:11 Okay.
02:12 I'm a budgeter.
02:14 I know X amount of money is going to go to my mortgage and X amount is going to go to
02:19 insurance and X is going to go to everything that I do.
02:23 I'm a budgeter.
02:27 Then I know when I come in and money reaches my budget or whatever, then I have, you know,
02:32 I budget my savings.
02:34 I budget literally everything that I do.
02:38 To run a salary gap, you have to be able to understand budgeting.
02:46 Now this is the formula that every team I know, and I'm connected to pretty much all
02:53 of them in some way or fashion, but every team who I have information about their salary
02:59 cap, this is how they do it.
03:00 Now I'm going to make some numbers up.
03:03 Don't run off and say, this is what Hondo said the number is because with each team,
03:06 the number's different.
03:08 But let's say that a team says, okay, we're going to allocate 19% of our salary cap to
03:15 the quarterback position.
03:17 Okay.
03:18 Again, making that figure up.
03:20 I'm just giving you numbers and we're going to allocate X percent to safety and X percent
03:28 to defensive back, whatever.
03:30 This is where players that have versatility become incredibly valuable.
03:34 Now you may be going along and say, man, I have 19% at my, as my quarterback, I've got
03:43 a really good backup, which in today's NFL, if you don't have a good backup, you're in
03:48 trouble.
03:49 Got to have a great backup or certainly somebody you think can be a great backup and you're
03:54 trying to develop.
03:58 So you look and you say, okay, I've got to resign my quarterback.
04:06 Do I just stay at 19%?
04:09 Here's what the market bears that he makes.
04:12 I've got to cut a good backup or my third guy, which is, you know, usually a, I would
04:19 say UDFA or somebody you're bringing along.
04:26 Do I, do I cut them?
04:32 So a lot of teams to resign their backup, go and, you know, let a good backup go.
04:41 Before they make the decision.
04:43 All right.
04:44 Normally we want 19%, again, I'm making that figure up at 19% at quarterback.
04:49 So I'm willing to go a little bit more.
04:51 So I'll give it in a great personal example.
04:53 You may be buying a car and your budget, you want to budget 10% of your income for the
05:02 car, but you go and you fall in love with the car and you really, really like this car
05:07 and you decide, okay, you know what?
05:09 I'm willing to cut from other parts of my budget to buy this car.
05:13 That's your choice.
05:14 It's your money.
05:15 Then that's the same way with teams.
05:17 They may make a decision, but we got to resign this guy, but we really need a quality backup
05:23 and we're not willing to let that guy go.
05:25 So we're willing to go over the 19% threshold to bring another guy in.
05:31 Now a lot of times football fans and not because they're bad or not because they're stupid.
05:37 That's ridiculous.
05:38 I understand media treat fans like they're stupid because they're not.
05:45 Whatever you do for a living, maybe you're a fireman or maybe you're a real estate broker
05:49 or doctor or lawyer, whatever you do, doesn't mean that I'm stupid that you know more about
05:55 your field.
05:56 It would be stupid if I acted like you didn't, but it's because that's what you specialize
06:01 in.
06:02 Same exact point.
06:04 These guys specialize in salary cap, so they understand, okay, if I'm going to do too much
06:11 here, I have to come over here and take from somewhere else.
06:16 Now, last season, the Raiders made the decision they were going to pay over $100 million to
06:25 a current offensive roster and Chandler Jones never played, which means they had a defense
06:30 in the $40 million range, which is just unfathomable to me, but they did.
06:39 And look at what the Raiders did.
06:40 They did a tremendous job.
06:41 They rolled the dice and especially under AP, it paid off.
06:46 That's not a winning philosophy long-term.
06:57 Now let's go back to the Patriots for a minute.
07:00 The Patriots always had a young guy they were developing.
07:05 They always had a veteran, which was usually Brian Horner, and they had Tom Brady, who
07:10 always took less than the market.
07:13 And that's why the Patriots would win sometimes with Tom Brady with an offense that could
07:21 have used some more weapons.
07:23 I know many people who were part of the New England organization that were frustrated
07:28 that they struggled at certain offensive positions on a regular basis, but Bill was a defensive
07:34 guy.
07:35 Tom was willing to take less money.
07:37 Bill would invest it in the defense.
07:39 That works if you have a quarterback who is symbiotic with that, but that all really depends
07:44 on your systemology and how you choose to run your organization.
07:49 So the reason I'm laying out how the salary cap works is I want to give you an example.
07:55 Brandon Ayoub, I believe it was his brother, made some social media comments, and he, let's
08:02 say, certainly didn't try to throw water on the fire.
08:06 This would have been earlier this week.
08:11 That night, General Manager of the San Francisco 49ers, John Lynch, is like, "Man, he's a priority.
08:19 We're going to keep him, whatever."
08:20 And I think Lynch is a terrific general manager, by the way.
08:22 So this is not any way of a slam on Lynch.
08:25 I think he's fantastic.
08:27 But what you have to understand is in the cryptic messaging by the Ayoub family, they
08:35 just wasn't mentioned.
08:36 And all of a sudden, people started blowing up about Brandon Ayoub coming to the Raiders.
08:43 Okay.
08:44 Do I think the Raiders have a place for another receiver?
08:48 Absolutely, I do.
08:50 Do I think he's a very, very good receiver?
08:53 Yes, I do.
08:56 Now he's going into his fifth year option.
09:00 So when people are like, "Honda, why are you not writing about this?
09:02 Ayoub's coming to Vegas."
09:03 Well, okay, that's like saying you want to date a girl who doesn't want to date you.
09:11 The Raiders have to look.
09:12 Now, they have a ton of money committed to Devante.
09:16 They paid Jacoby well, not Devante money, I'm not pretending.
09:21 And there's two number ones.
09:24 Two.
09:27 So if you think critically and logically, do you really think Ayoub, who's already mad
09:34 that he only had three passes or whatever it was in the Super Bowl?
09:39 So that's a red flag.
09:42 You can go to your team and voice your concerns, but you don't need to go to social media and
09:46 do it.
09:47 So that's going to be a concern.
09:48 Now, there are some teams that wouldn't care about that.
09:52 Look at the Raiders, they signed Antonio Brown after issues in Pittsburgh.
09:57 They didn't care.
09:58 They paid a price for it.
09:59 Now, there are some guys that you, there were some guys that you, that just are like, "No,
10:12 we don't want troublemakers.
10:13 We're just going to avoid them."
10:14 Okay, now Bill Belichick used to go to those troublemakers and say, "Listen, I'll let you
10:18 rehab your career."
10:19 Ayoub's not in a position of needing rehab, but I'm just saying it all depends on different.
10:24 K. Jack Jones was a guy, great player.
10:28 Antonio Pierce had relationships with him.
10:31 He said, "Listen, we're going to bring you in, but to bring you in, you're going to have
10:36 to X, Y, Z, P, D, and Q."
10:38 And he did.
10:40 And was admirable.
10:43 And I think Jack Jones was a very underrated signing by the Raiders.
10:48 Now, so then you have to look at Ayoub.
10:51 Okay, whatever percentage the Raiders have for wide receiver, a lot of it's taken.
10:57 Now if you're able to get rid of a hundred, does it fill that slot?
11:04 I think Ayoub's going to be looking for a lot more money than that.
11:08 Just going to leave it there, but maybe he would take it.
11:12 So you have to be critically thinking and ask yourself, not just, "Is this a player
11:19 I want?
11:20 Is it a player I can afford?"
11:24 Now again, we're going to be getting to the Raiders team needs and everything.
11:28 So stay with us today.
11:29 I want, but I'm trying to line up and line, precept upon precept, explain to you what
11:34 goes into a salary cap.
11:36 All right.
11:39 John Lynch has already said, "We're going to pay Ayoub.
11:42 We want to keep him."
11:43 He said that to NFL Network, I think it was, or NFL.com on Tuesday evening.
11:54 So why is John Lynch able to have so many stars on San Francisco's team paid a lot of
12:00 money?
12:02 It's because the most expensive position in football is the most important position, and
12:08 that's quarterback.
12:10 Because Brock Purdy is on a UDFA deal, it has allowed the San Francisco 49ers to go
12:18 spend a lot of money and keep a bunch of stars.
12:21 If they had to pay Brock Purdy going rate money, right now Ayoub wouldn't even be an
12:29 issue.
12:30 It wouldn't even be a consideration.
12:31 We're going to exercise the fifth year.
12:33 You could be unhappy, but either that or we're going to trade you.
12:37 So there's a benefit to them having Purdy, a humongous benefit.
12:48 And so it's very important that you understand this is how the whole thing works out, that
13:01 you have to benefit.
13:02 Now, how does this apply to the Raiders?
13:05 I have been saying since the season started, the Raiders need to draft a quarterback.
13:13 Anytime that an article is written or I mention Aiden O'Connell, and certainly he's earned
13:17 the right to compete, you should see the voluminous response it creates.
13:24 People that are either all in on Aiden or people that dis on him and don't want him.
13:32 I don't have that privilege.
13:34 I'm not a fan.
13:36 My job is to analytically tell you, I have not seen from Aiden anything that tells me
13:45 definitively he's the next Ken Stabler or he's the next superstar quarterback.
13:54 In fact, I've seen some things that would make me say, okay, I need to see improvement
14:01 here, here and here.
14:03 At the same time with Aiden O'Connell, who I like personally and professionally as a
14:09 player, is I've not seen anything from him that says to me definitively he's not.
14:18 I've seen a lot from him that says, well, he could be.
14:22 So remember I've told you this before, I had a general manager tell me eight teams in the
14:25 NFL have a quarterback they know can win him a Super Bowl.
14:30 Eight teams in the NFL have a quarterback they hope can win him a Super Bowl.
14:34 Then there are the other 16.
14:35 The other 16, they're like, no.
14:42 If the Raiders go out and sign a Big Ten quarterback, they're able to do that.
14:51 But, and again, I'm going to throw names out.
14:56 And every time you throw a name out, you get the, because people want to just have a take,
15:01 they don't want to listen.
15:04 That's why there's a difference in hearing and listening.
15:10 We can all have people talking around us and we're listening.
15:15 We hear it, but it's like the old Charlie Brown telephone conversation.
15:20 Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
15:24 Don't be a listener, be a hearer.
15:26 So let's say Kirk Cousins, who I think would fit here very well.
15:29 All right.
15:30 But he's going to come with a 40 to $50 million price tag.
15:37 That's a huge price tag.
15:38 And you know, you're going to have a hit with quarterbacks that you're going to release.
15:47 So it's very important to understand and garner where is this at?
15:59 Where is my situation?
16:02 So like Brock Purdy in San Francisco, Aiden O'Connell becomes very, very important for
16:09 salary cap reasons.
16:12 I don't think Aiden O'Connell should be given any job.
16:16 I think the Raiders should go, if you want to go sign a veteran.
16:20 Now, don't forget they have a quarterback on the futures contract already.
16:26 We're going to get into him more later.
16:28 They may say, okay, we like this guy as the third.
16:31 Great.
16:32 You know, they may say, we like another guy.
16:37 What a great, we like this guy, whatever.
16:41 You keep Aiden O'Connell and you go draft a guy.
16:44 All right.
16:46 Aaron Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre and I'm not calling Aiden Brett Favre, but what about
16:52 Patrick Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith?
16:54 So you bring a guy in, if he beats Aiden, you let him start day one.
16:58 Who cares if he's a rookie?
17:01 If he doesn't beat him, then you let him compete with them every week and may the best quarterback
17:07 win.
17:08 Remember the Robert Griffin, Kirk Cousins, same draft.
17:13 That scenario.
17:14 So every decision that's made has to correspond with salary cap.
17:19 How does it impact?
17:20 And sometimes fans will just say, go sign that guy.
17:24 Okay.
17:25 That's, that's great.
17:27 But what about if I'm at my, I've got 12% allocated for that position and I'm already
17:35 at 12 and you may say, how can he be 12?
17:41 Well, maybe you've got a guy you paid and cut and you got to eat some debt money, whatever.
17:48 So it's very important as we enter into the free agency period.
17:53 And as we go into the draft season that you constantly be, be focused on salary cap, constantly
18:00 have your, your thinking about not just who I want, where do they fit?
18:13 So with IU, they're able to, they want to pay him more.
18:18 They want him to stay because of what they have with Brock Purdy and where their salary
18:23 cap is on wide receiver.
18:24 They think it works.
18:26 Now you come back to the Raiders.
18:28 Okay.
18:29 Well, we've already got two number ones and let me tell you, you may not think it matters,
18:36 but a lot of players, you got to think about ego.
18:43 Maybe I would fit, maybe wouldn't, I don't know, but you're already at a thought, a high
18:47 threshold at a position that you need to carry four or five guys.
18:54 So can you afford to have three big stars?
18:57 Now the Raiders did this year, which would go beat by Hunter and whether or not you,
19:03 you could say, well, a hundred in play could all start or a great player last year or the
19:07 year before.
19:08 No, no argument, but his contract was that of a, it was a very good contract for him.
19:15 And that's how you have to look at that.
19:17 So it's all a puzzle piece.
19:19 I'm going to, I'm going to end it with this.
19:22 I had to not end the podcast.
19:23 I'm going to go on and talk about Raider needs and some free agents.
19:30 I had a general manager explaining to me one time like this, he threw some sand in a, he
19:37 said, if you throw some sand in a jar, then throw some big rocks and some medium rocks,
19:45 there's not a whole lot of room for small rock.
19:49 But when you put the big rocks in first and then put the medium rocks and then the small
19:54 rocks and then dump the sand in, shake it down, let it fall down.
19:58 It fits.
19:59 Any of you that ever been on a vacation or you go somewhere, I pack and I like, oh man,
20:05 don't have enough stuff.
20:06 My wife is able to just pack my suitcase and you're like, wow, I don't know how she makes
20:10 it fit.
20:11 Same principle.
20:13 So it's all about not just a player you want, it's a fit.
20:18 Now, so let's go and let's talk about Raider needs.
20:24 And then let's begin to talk about fit and money and all of that.
20:33 So I'm going to give you five big needs on this team.
20:37 They're not the only one.
20:38 I'm not saying they won't draft people at other positions.
20:44 But here are the beats.
20:45 First of all, they're going to do something about quarterback.
20:49 You need at least one.
20:51 At least one.
20:53 Now the decision is made.
20:57 What do you do?
21:02 I briefly touched this yesterday, but I'll touch it again.
21:05 We have been writing and warning about the cost of moving up.
21:12 Here's why.
21:13 It is a no brainer if you feel like a quarterback is a generational franchise quarterback.
21:25 You pay the price and you move up.
21:28 Period.
21:29 It's the most important position.
21:30 It's too valuable.
21:31 It's absolutely too valuable.
21:35 I'll quickly give you an analogy.
21:39 Now we know football is not as important as life and death.
21:43 I'm not trying to pretend that it is.
21:46 But on a football team, that's the most important position.
21:49 So you know what?
21:50 Let's say you have a nice car and a boat and maybe a membership to a country club and something
21:57 happens and your child needs surgery to save their life.
22:00 But it's a surgery in America that's not approved.
22:05 So your insurance isn't going to cover it if you go to Europe or go somewhere else to
22:08 have a surgery done.
22:09 All of a sudden, you sell your boat, you sell your car, you get rid of your country club
22:14 membership.
22:15 Why?
22:16 Because your child is more important.
22:17 And again, I am not equating football to that.
22:21 But on a football team, when you're building a football team, quarterback is that important.
22:28 If you're not 100% sold, you've got the guy, then you constantly keep looking for the guy.
22:34 You can hope somebody develops and becomes the guy until you got him or not.
22:39 That said, then you have to decide, am I willing to move up?
22:46 Am I willing to?
22:50 That's a very big deal.
22:53 Now Mark Davis, to his credit, has allowed Telesco and AP to do whatever they feel like
23:01 they have to do to get this franchise where it's stable and winning and in the playoffs
23:07 every year.
23:10 He deserves big kudos for that.
23:14 Big kudos.
23:15 You can't approach the draft in fear.
23:18 So your decision can't be, I never move up because I'm afraid if it doesn't work, I'll
23:25 lose my job.
23:27 If you lead not to lose your job, you're almost one guarantee you're always going to lose
23:31 your job.
23:32 It's like when people play the Pre-vet, what does it prevent?
23:34 Usually winning.
23:36 So again, you've got to determine, and this is only going to be Telesco and Pierce.
23:44 No one else is going to be able to make this decision, including Mark Davis could say,
23:52 I want that guy.
23:55 I know that above John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco, I was told by somebody directly
24:03 involved that people above them said, we want Trey Lance.
24:09 That's why it didn't crush them as much when Trey got traded and proved not to be who the
24:17 people above them thought he was.
24:19 And man, they were blessed because they had Brock Purdy.
24:23 So they have to make the decision, is one of these guys, our guy?
24:28 Now, we know the top three.
24:32 And when I say top three, excuse me, I do not believe these are the top three quarterbacks
24:38 in the draft.
24:39 I personally don't believe this.
24:41 Okay.
24:42 But a lot of people do.
24:45 Kayla Williams, Drake May, Jaden Daniels.
24:49 Okay.
24:50 So now the Raiders have to make a decision.
24:54 If they figure out one of those guys is generational and let's use Jaden Daniels, I'm going to
24:59 make it very clear.
25:01 I think if the Raiders move up and get a quarterback, Jaden Daniels is the biggest target.
25:08 I want to make that super clear.
25:11 Now, if they move up into that top tier spot.
25:18 So let's say that they determine Jaden Daniels is a generational player.
25:22 Okay.
25:23 You go up and get them.
25:24 Now, here's the problem.
25:25 I mentioned this yesterday.
25:28 I'm hearing number two is not going to be available.
25:32 I'm hearing number one has not made a final decision, but it's pretty close that it may
25:39 not be available.
25:40 So to get it, you're going to have to not just pay what Carolina played to get Bryce
25:45 Young, you're going to have to pay more than that.
25:49 Or three with New England.
25:50 Now they're going through a huge transition because there's been a massive vacuum of leadership
25:58 with Belichick on.
26:00 I believe they want to go quarterback based on people I'm talking to, but I also know
26:07 it's the Patriots and they like to trade back.
26:12 So here's where I'm going with this one.
26:14 If you decide Jaden Daniels is your guy, we want Jaden Daniels.
26:20 There's a very good chance that Washington will take him.
26:26 In fact, if Caleb goes one, great chance that he goes.
26:34 In fact, I would say this, I would be stunned if they took Drake May over Jaden Daniels.
26:44 So if you're going to move before the draft night, then you have to move to one.
26:52 Period.
26:53 Because if you go to three and Jaden Daniels is the only one that you think worthy, can
27:00 you imagine paying that price moving to three and he's not there?
27:03 Now, if you think there are two guys that you think, wow, they're all generational.
27:12 And you know two isn't going to be available.
27:16 And again, I was told two is not available unless somebody does something stupid.
27:23 So maybe you're willing to do that.
27:26 But if you're not, and you know two is not available, then if there's only two guys,
27:32 you can't move to three.
27:33 It's too big of a risk.
27:37 Then you have to wait till draft night.
27:41 Well, here's the problem with draft night.
27:45 The number one pick last year was available.
27:50 Early on, I knew that at the combine.
27:52 The Raiders had already called, Dave Ziegler had already called on the number one pick.
27:58 What's the cost?
27:59 They knew the cost.
28:00 The cost was way too high.
28:02 So they weren't willing to move there.
28:05 Now as it got closer to the draft and things shifted, one was not available.
28:15 And then two, they knew the cost of two, but as they got closer to the draft, some things
28:20 were happening behind the scenes.
28:24 So the closer you get to the draft and you give other teams more time to make their decision
28:33 to interview players, to work them out, to spend time, watch tape, do their research,
28:39 the more that goes into that, then you are risking, if I wait to make the trade till
28:46 draft night, what's the cost going to be then?
28:50 There's a saying in here in Vegas called the price of poker just went up.
28:56 So those are all things that you have to look at with the quarterback position.
28:59 And if you're not convinced one is a generational, or maybe you're convinced other places, for
29:08 example, Michael Penix, great quarterback, but he has a series of injury issues at different
29:15 positions.
29:16 So it's not just one thing you can have your doctor say, yeah, it's great.
29:19 He has shown some injury issues.
29:22 Okay.
29:24 So do you not, if you believe in them, you go get them.
29:29 A lot of teams have questions because of that.
29:33 So they're like, man, we would like to get Penix in the first and the second round just
29:39 because first round draft picks are too valuable and you don't want to waste a pick on a guy
29:44 that's going to be injured.
29:46 Okay.
29:47 The Raiders last year looked at Tyree Wilson, one injury, not an injury history.
29:54 Had their doctors looked at him.
29:56 They were there, they were confident he's going to be fine.
29:59 But with Penix, with multiple and different, that's where the concern comes.
30:03 This isn't me saying I don't think Penix is a good quarterback.
30:05 I think he's a great quarterback, but the best ability is available.
30:09 Then we look at Bo Nix.
30:11 I think Bo Nix is a great quarterback.
30:14 I really liked Bo Nix.
30:17 Didn't have a great senior bull or, you know, the great post-season bulls, not talking about
30:24 actual game, but prep for the draft.
30:28 Okay.
30:30 There's some concern there.
30:32 Okay.
30:33 There's some concern about Nix throwing accuracy, scrambling.
30:38 Okay.
30:39 But still huge completion percentage.
30:42 I think Bo Nix has a shot at being a really good quarterback.
30:46 JJ McCarthy.
30:49 I mean, phenomenal.
30:53 The point is you're going to find warrants on every player.
30:57 And it doesn't matter what you think.
30:58 And it doesn't matter what I think.
30:59 What matters is what is Tom Telesco and Antonio Pearsling?
31:05 And I'm telling you as of today, I believe if they were to move up today, it would be
31:13 for Jaden.
31:16 But long time before the draft, a lot of process to go through.
31:20 So the first position is they've got to get a quarterback.
31:23 Then they've got to look at interior offensive line.
31:26 Okay.
31:27 We know what they have with Dylan Parham.
31:30 He's star.
31:31 He's a super good player.
31:34 So you don't have to worry about Dylan.
31:37 But then you look at Andre James.
31:38 So what do they do?
31:39 Do they move Dylan to center?
31:41 All right.
31:43 Let's look at guard.
31:44 Do you move Thayer into guard?
31:46 Who's a young player, has shown a lot of promise.
31:50 Do you resign Greg Van Roten?
31:53 He played very well.
31:55 Do you get a right tackle, slide the Luminor inside?
32:00 And there are a lot of questions, but they need interior alignment.
32:05 You got, don't forget you have Dalton Wagner on the squad.
32:08 Who's a UDF main from last year.
32:11 Who's a tackle.
32:13 Okay.
32:14 So there's a lot of questions you have to look at.
32:17 Do you go get them a bookend right tackle to go with Colton?
32:23 A lot of people like that idea.
32:26 I'm one of them.
32:29 I'm one of them.
32:31 But what do you do?
32:35 Where are you looking?
32:37 That's a big position of need in the draft.
32:39 Is, you know, they're looking on the defensive line.
32:44 They've got some really good tackles on.
32:46 We do.
32:47 You know what, Jerry Tillery, Adam Butler is there.
32:52 Hankins is there.
32:53 And I know I'm leaving names out too.
32:55 And this is why I hate to name names.
32:58 But they've got some good tackles there.
33:00 And you saw Nesta and you saw young guys not even able to get on the game day because of
33:08 the way the vets were playing.
33:09 Tyree is in there.
33:12 So you know, do you say, okay, we want to go younger at defensive tackle?
33:21 Or because those guys played so well, we're going to resign them.
33:27 That's a Tolesco issues.
33:29 But if you decide to go younger, they need some tackles.
33:33 So that's an issue.
33:34 Next offensive tackle.
33:36 We talked about interior offensive line, but they need another offensive tackle.
33:43 And you say, well, what about Thayer?
33:44 Okay, maybe you've seen enough.
33:46 You say you want Thayer to be your right tackle.
33:49 But Thayer didn't beat out Jermaine Illuminor last year.
33:54 And Jermaine Illuminor is so incredibly valuable because he plays multiple spots.
34:00 So if you're able to put him someplace and leave him there, let's say you go draft a
34:05 right tackle, okay, we're going to use Illuminor there and Thayer is going to be our swing
34:09 guy.
34:10 Then you got Dylan Parham, or do you move him to center?
34:16 Do you resign Andre?
34:17 I mean, all these different questions.
34:19 But offensive line, they've got to draft some offensive line.
34:23 Next is what are they going to do at running back?
34:27 What are they going to do at running back?
34:30 They've got some guys signed.
34:32 Are they convinced that those guys are long-term people?
34:35 You got Zeke?
34:36 What do you do about Josh?
34:40 I believe, based on information that I have today, I believe there is very good chance
34:47 that they'll be bringing Josh back.
34:51 Good chance.
34:54 Not calling it definitively done.
34:56 He wants to be here.
34:58 The Raiders want him.
35:00 But now it all comes down to money.
35:04 It all comes down to money.
35:06 And it's going to be Tom Telesco putting his stamp on it.
35:10 Now, I want to address the Telesco issue.
35:14 A lot of people, to be negative about him, have mentioned the salary cap, or their $40
35:20 million over the cap in Los Angeles with the charge.
35:25 That is a very fair criticism because he's the general manager.
35:29 But ownership handled contracts there.
35:34 Not as much Telesco.
35:36 Telesco has a great team, and the Raiders have a great salary cap team.
35:39 Great salary cap team.
35:40 If you didn't read the article I wrote on Telesco and addressing the salary cap back
35:46 during Super Bowl week, you should go back and read it.
35:49 Very, very powerful article, where he talks about his salary cap team.
35:57 So Telesco now has to go in and look and say, "Okay, I'm not Ziegler.
36:02 Maybe my percentages are different.
36:04 Where is my board?"
36:06 Then he sits down with AP and says, "Okay, here's the board.
36:09 This is where we want to be financially viable."
36:12 AP may say, "Okay, at this position, I want these guys."
36:18 And then Telesco has to make the decision, "Okay, that takes us above the percentage.
36:23 Where do you want to cut?"
36:24 And Telesco may say, "No, I'm not willing to do that."
36:28 Because Telesco has to think, "Okay, what about when Parham's deal comes up?
36:32 We want to keep Parham."
36:33 See, that's where teams that draft really well.
36:39 Let's go to the Eagles for a second.
36:42 They've done a terrific job of drafting, so they're able to let some veterans go because
36:48 they developed young guys behind them.
36:50 This is why sometimes teams will draft players at a position that's not a need because they
36:56 know coming up, "This guy's played so well.
36:58 He's going to get paid big money, and he's not going to fit within our percentages."
37:03 So those are some of the key needs.
37:06 We know there are other needs.
37:08 We know that those aren't the only ones, but those are the ones pressing right now.
37:13 I think if the Raiders could get a number one corner, that would be huge.
37:20 We know Jack Jones, and we know Nate Hobbs.
37:28 You need a lot of corners.
37:32 You've seen a lot from Amik.
37:34 He's a guy, so if you can make the money work, you keep Amik.
37:38 I think you certainly should try.
37:41 And don't forget Jaquorian Bennett.
37:44 This is a young man with humongous upside.
37:48 Humongous.
37:49 So, there's a lot there.
37:52 When you start looking at Amik and you start looking at Jaquorian, Faison's still here.
38:01 You may say, "I don't like Faison."
38:02 But you know what?
38:03 Maybe because of the percentages and where money goes, you're going to have to pay Hobbs
38:06 if you want to keep Hobbs.
38:08 What if there's a...
38:09 You're going to have to pay Jack Jones.
38:11 If he stays on his current trajectory.
38:15 So my first mock draft had them taking Terrion Arnold out of Alabama, and then bam, there
38:23 are your three starting corners.
38:26 Terrion on the outside, probably a boundary, could play field, either one.
38:36 You got Nate in the slot, and Jack Jones.
38:41 I mean, he's good at slot, I mean at field and at boundary, but in the boundary, man,
38:46 he can just do magic.
38:48 Anyways, the point I'm trying to relate to you is, it's all a juxtaposing.
38:59 And so as we're heading into this draft season, as we're heading into free agency, you need
39:05 to understand they're prioritizing who do we want to re-sign, and what do we have to
39:12 go sign, who are free agents, where's the percentages.
39:18 It is a massive chess match.
39:20 It's not just, "Go sign that guy.
39:25 Go sign that guy."
39:27 That's not what it is.
39:28 Now, the Raiders have made it clear, they're not trading Devontae Adams, and I don't think
39:36 they should, unless somebody's willing to be stupid, and then every player not main
39:43 Max Crosby is available, if you're willing to pay something stupid.
39:49 But it's just like selling the team.
39:53 Mark Davis shouldn't sell the team, it's his team, he's done a great job, he's built the
39:56 wealth.
39:57 But somebody comes off with some stupid money, okay, maybe, but he has a very large net worth,
40:06 and he may say, "I'm not interested in selling it no matter what."
40:09 Whatever.
40:11 The point is, Raiders have made that clear.
40:15 So you know they're not in rebuilding mode.
40:20 I have not yet talked about that in the podcast, but this is really important.
40:25 The fact that they've made it clear Devontae is not available is them saying, "We are not
40:29 in rebuild mode.
40:32 Let's go.
40:34 Let's go."
40:35 And I think that is a small nugget that should bring a great joy to a lot of Raiders who
40:44 agree with my assessment that it's not a rebuild.
40:49 Now, somebody comes along and offers something stupid, which I think the Jets could.
40:57 I do.
40:58 I think they could.
41:00 If they come and offer something stupid, and it happens, it doesn't mean they're not in
41:05 a rebuild mode.
41:06 I mean, it doesn't mean that they are in a rebuild mode.
41:09 It just means somebody offered us something stupid.
41:13 So there's where all of the situation falls out.
41:17 An explanation of the salary cap, a looking at team needs, and then you go through, "Is
41:24 there somebody on the roster who can fill this need?
41:29 Is there somebody on another roster that can fill a need either through free agency or
41:32 the draft?
41:36 Is this a position I want to fill in the draft?"
41:39 See, it's not just knowing who's in the draft.
41:43 Do you remember years ago, Ron Wolf was the general manager of the Green Bay Packers,
41:52 and Ron Wolf needed a quarterback desperately.
41:57 Well, he had knowledge of Brett Favre.
42:01 So he goes and gets Brett Favre, and Brett Favre fails the physical, and Ron Wolf says,
42:08 "Pass him.
42:09 I don't care.
42:10 Pass him."
42:11 And Brett Favre goes on to have a Hall of Fame career.
42:17 You don't know that maybe there's a guy Telesco is not aware of.
42:24 This is why you constantly have your pro scouting people, who only their job is to only scout
42:32 every other team.
42:34 So you know everybody in the league, you know the guys who aren't in the league.
42:39 So Telesco may say, "Hey, you know what, guys?
42:42 I know we have the green light from you, Mr. Davis, to go up.
42:45 Here's a guy I'm well aware of, I'm willing to put my future on.
42:50 That's our guy."
42:51 Okay?
42:52 However, it happens.
42:54 So all of this is going on right now.
42:57 And I can tell you as of today, which is February the 15th, no decision has been made yet on
43:06 what the Raiders are doing at their number 13 position with a specific player.
43:15 I think they have a lot of ideas.
43:17 I think they are investigating everyone.
43:21 But I can tell you, no decision has been made yet.
43:24 So what they're doing is, is they're in that information gathering stage.
43:28 Telesco's gone over his salary cap.
43:31 He's in the process of evaluating who's on his roster right now.
43:35 He already knows who's on other people's rosters.
43:40 And they're going through draft, preparing for who do they want to interview at the Combine,
43:43 who are they going to want to bring in.
43:45 That's not even set yet, because there's going to be some guys at the Combine who maybe they
43:49 don't interview, but some Combine numbers are watching film, really intrigues them.
43:54 So they want to bring them in for a visit.
43:55 So a lot going on there.
43:57 And that's where the Raiders are today.
43:59 It's an evaluation.
44:02 And I want to make this clear once again, I am a person who believes they need to draft
44:09 a quarterback every year till you know you have one.
44:12 And then if you're not sure of your backup, you keep drafting one every year until you
44:16 find one in the backup position.
44:19 You constantly want fresh talent at the quarterback spot.
44:23 So there you go, everybody.
44:24 That's just a briefing of where they are coming into draft season, coming into free agency.
44:30 And I hope this allows you to kind of get a mindset of where the Raiders are and what
44:35 they're thinking about.
44:36 It's going to be exciting times.
44:39 Lots of really great stuff coming up.
44:42 Don't forget, if you join me in San Antonio next Tuesday night, go to the Black Hole chapter
44:48 to get all the information that you need.
44:49 Thank you for joining us, the San Antonio Black Hole Facebook page to get all the information
44:54 you need.
44:55 Follow me on IG, HondoSR.
44:57 Follow me on X, formerly known as Twitter, @HondoCarpenter.
45:01 Thank you everybody for joining us.
45:02 Hope that you have a wonderful day.
45:04 Be blessed.
45:05 God bless you.
45:06 And of course, see you tomorrow.