Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast: on preparing Raider Nation for NFL Free Agency, important inside analysis
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas
00:06 Raiders Insider Podcast coming to you today here from beautiful Cabo San Lucas where I'm
00:12 literally sitting on a porch, but it's not a porch of my friend.
00:16 It's gorgeous.
00:17 It's a portico, but glad to be here.
00:19 My wife, Shannon, of course, Dexter's here and our friends and our son Noah is here.
00:25 And I asked Shannon to join me.
00:27 She said, "No way, no shower, no makeup."
00:30 Homie don't play that.
00:31 Shannon, do you want to say anything to the crowd?
00:33 Of course I do.
00:34 Raiders!
00:35 That's really, that's all you're going to say?
00:39 Okay, great.
00:40 So, like you know, my wife's a big fan and she just demonstrated it yet again.
00:44 So got a lot to talk to you about today.
00:46 A ton going on, even though I'm here in Cabo still working.
00:50 Just got off the phones, working and texting and getting some great information for today's
00:55 podcast for you.
00:58 So let me, first of all, I don't even know if you can see it, but at the oceans back
01:02 there, it's beautiful.
01:03 I want to take a second and thank all of you for listening, for reading, for commenting.
01:09 Our growth is exponential and it's just phenomenal.
01:13 And it's all because of you guys, nothing to do with me.
01:16 So again, we appreciate you.
01:18 We're grateful.
01:19 Thank you for following on Instagram @hondoSR.
01:22 Thank you for calling on X, formerly known as Twitter, when it's @hondoparpenter.
01:29 And again, si.com/NFL/raiders.
01:33 When you're there, sorry, the sun moves and goes a little bit and I go in and out, but
01:37 when you're there, if you click the upper right hand corner, it says newsletter.
01:41 If you sign up, there's no spamming and we don't sell your information, but three days
01:46 a week we'll send you an email with our best stories.
01:48 Let's start, of course, with the obvious yesterday.
01:51 We've been telling you since almost the moment the season ended, Brian Hoyer was going to
01:56 be released.
01:57 We have maintained that and said it.
01:59 And although the Raiders didn't release an announcement on Friday about it, Adam Schefter
02:06 did report it as well.
02:08 So again, there you go.
02:10 That's Brian Hoyer not coming back as a Raider, but to all of you, that's no secret.
02:16 Second of all, Amir Abdullah re-signed.
02:19 I think that surprised some of you looking at social media and the reactions on social
02:24 media, but for the cost and what he brings for his work ethic, for his contribution in
02:29 the locker room, the re-signing of Amir Abdullah is a very, very big deal for the Raiders.
02:36 I think sometimes you look maybe at productivity, you say, "Oh, gee, but what about getting
02:42 another rookie?"
02:43 Well, you're already going to be young and Josh Jacobs is testing the market.
02:46 And I think you bring in a veteran presence that does it right, and he is an absolute
02:52 dog on special teams.
02:55 So when you add all of that into what Amir Abdullah does, this is a great re-signing
03:00 for the Raiders.
03:01 It's one we told you that we expected, and it's very, very good.
03:05 So let's get to some things that are coming up important.
03:08 On Monday, it's very important you remember this, starting at noon Eastern, teams can
03:14 legally begin to talk to free agents and discussing terms of deals.
03:19 They can even come to agreement, but nothing can be signed.
03:22 So that player A can go to a team and make a commitment on Monday and then Tuesday before
03:28 the deadline, before he's signing, change his mind.
03:31 There's nothing binding.
03:33 That's number one, but that does start Monday at noon and Eastern.
03:36 And I'm going to begin to get into a lot of stuff with you about what we're hearing, what
03:40 about expectations are, and how I think the Raiders are going to approach free agency.
03:44 We'll get to all that in a minute.
03:46 Second of all, then on Wednesday at four o'clock Eastern is when they can begin to sign everyone.
03:51 So a lot going on here, a lot happening, and now let's begin to look at what we can expect
03:58 from the Raiders.
03:59 There are several things.
04:00 First of all, they let three offensive linemen go to free agency and three defensive linemen
04:07 go to free agency.
04:09 That is a big deal.
04:11 The reason that's a big deal is because you hear Tom Telesco talking about prioritizing
04:17 of re-signing their own free agents, and he's absolutely right.
04:21 But I had some people emailing and asking, "Hondo, was Tom lying to us?"
04:27 No, he does prioritize and does believe we should pay you well.
04:32 If you're already a Raider, you're already here, you already know the system, that's
04:35 a priority value.
04:37 But sometimes players want to investigate a little bit because they want to find out
04:43 what if where the Raiders think is the top of the market value or the top of their value,
04:49 how does all of that weigh in?
04:52 How does all of that figure in?
04:54 Now the Raiders have zero issues with the salary cap, zero, none.
05:02 And that's very important for you to know.
05:04 In fact, I'm going to get very more specific with salary cap numbers coming on Monday,
05:08 but you need to know the Raiders are, and this is one of the few times, and this is
05:13 where people still owe Dave Ziegler a really big thank you because he left the Raiders
05:18 in much better financial position than he found them.
05:22 And so the Raiders are buyers now.
05:25 Now they want to keep some of that money, obviously, for during the season.
05:28 They're going to want to keep some of that money for re-signing of their own guys.
05:32 I think that I, although I am not reporting it as imminent, I do believe that there's
05:38 a good chance that they'll restructure Devante Adams and Max Crosby.
05:42 I think that's certainly in play.
05:46 I've heard it discussed, people close to the situation.
05:51 So I think that's definitely in play, which can bring up even more money.
05:56 The cutting of Hoyer money, Hunter Renfroe's contract going away with the release.
06:02 So there's going to be money released there as a big deal.
06:06 So there's a lot of money for the Raiders to play.
06:10 Now Antonio Pierce believes, and let me go back and say this, we are all molded by something.
06:21 If you're a person who was raised by an abuser, you maybe take a very different approach to
06:29 parenting than people who weren't.
06:33 You see, there are some people who had a husband and wife that weren't, I mean, a mom and dad
06:38 that weren't good examples.
06:41 So maybe that's all they know about marriage, whatever the situation might be.
06:45 You may have grown up in a home that ate bratwurst every Friday night.
06:49 And then somebody else woke up on a Friday night and it was tacos every Friday night.
06:53 So you just carry it on to your adult.
06:55 We're all molded by something.
06:58 Antonio Pierce got molded.
07:01 It was indemnified in his brain when he won his Super Bowl with the New York Giants.
07:09 Let me go back because some of you are young, some of you are new and have not heard me
07:13 tell you this story.
07:15 So the Giants are playing an undefeated New England Patriot team led by Tom Brady.
07:24 And Antonio Pierce, watching the film, noticed several critical tendencies of Tom Brady.
07:34 He goes to the New York coaching staff, they adapt it.
07:38 I've been told by a person on that team, not Pierce, but someone on that team and others
07:43 who worked for that team, that Antonio Pierce was the MVP of that game with his film watching,
07:53 his analytical skills and everything else.
07:55 He watched the New York Giants with four down linemen who could get pressure on the quarterback
08:03 so they didn't have to blitz.
08:06 He saw them then put seven men into pass coverage so Tom Brady couldn't pick people apart.
08:15 It was fascinating.
08:17 And so if you listen closely to AP, you'll hear him often say, "I know what a championship
08:23 team looks like.
08:25 I know what a championship team is."
08:29 And so what he's referring to is he's watched a New York Giant team beat an undefeated team
08:36 because they were able to get pressure with four and use seven men in coverage.
08:41 So you may say then, if that's so important, building of the lines, why is Pierce and Telesco
08:48 letting three guys, three offensive linemen, three defensive linemen test free agency?
08:52 Here's why.
08:55 They need to go find out, this is what the Raiders think the market is, the top of the
09:00 market is for me, it's what they're offering.
09:03 Is anybody else think I'm worth more?
09:05 So let me go back to Nelson Aguilar a few years ago.
09:09 Nelson Aguilar had a great season for the Raiders.
09:12 He was phenomenal.
09:13 He was not good.
09:14 He was phenomenal.
09:15 The Raiders wanted to pay him and they were willing to pay him actually top of the market.
09:21 But Bill Belichick knew that his job was under fire and they had for the first time in a
09:26 long time, a ton of salary cap and Bill Belichick went and overpaid for a bunch of free agents
09:33 and it didn't work.
09:35 Well, Nelson Aguilar was one of the few that did pretty good, but somebody came along,
09:41 he was willing to pay money that didn't make sense in this scheme with the Las Vegas Raiders.
09:48 It is the same principle with where they are now.
09:52 They would like to resign a lot of those guys, but it has to be, not even to Raider friendly
09:59 deals, but you know what?
10:00 Let those guys go out and find out what the free market.
10:04 Maybe somebody does offer a little bit more and the Raiders are like, yeah, we'll match
10:07 that and the guy wants to stay.
10:11 But that's what's going on right now.
10:13 But what you need to know now as we move into this free agency period, the Raiders absolutely
10:21 are going for dogs, as Pat McAfee would say, in the defensive line.
10:28 There are a couple of names that I'm hearing.
10:31 Now, I want to say a couple of things to you.
10:39 There are superstars and the way I consider someone a superstar is they are the best at
10:44 their position in the NFL.
10:46 Max Crosby, superstar.
10:50 Devante Adams, superstar.
10:53 Patrick Mahomes, superstar.
10:56 All those things are legit.
10:58 All of those are 100% accurate.
11:02 There are a lot of dogs, some big names on the defensive line that the Raiders are going
11:09 to contact and see what they can do.
11:12 I would not be shocked if the defensive line next year for the Raiders is seven or eight
11:22 deep with dogs.
11:23 Now, I'm going to tell you right now, Max is a superstar.
11:28 I think Hoontz showed us he's a dog.
11:31 I think Tyree Wilson, the way he ended, showed us he's a dog.
11:35 So they already got three.
11:37 Okay.
11:38 I think there could be three more, but there's also some guys in that roster that did not
11:44 play poorly at all last year.
11:47 So again, I think they could be as many, not saying it'll be eight, but as many as seven
11:53 dogs on that defensive line.
11:55 They're going to go after dogs.
11:56 Now, one thing you need to know with Telesco, he is not going to be stupid with the salary
12:02 cap.
12:03 It's not, "Oh my God, I got to have that player so bad that I'm willing to just overpay and
12:09 screw the franchise going down the road."
12:11 That's not how he is.
12:12 In fact, I was told by someone who works for the Bolt, the family, I've shared this with
12:18 him many times, handled the contracts for the Bolt and that it caused great consternation
12:25 for Tom Telesco and some of their salary cap decisions.
12:32 And then when he got fired, a personal friend that Tom and I share told me that they believed
12:40 that there was great consternation on Telesco.
12:42 He may not get another job because of the salary cap situation of the Bolts, which wasn't
12:47 his fault.
12:48 That's not him.
12:51 He is disciplined.
12:53 He knows what he's willing to pay.
12:55 So you let three offensive, three defensive, you let a Josh Jacobs go, go find out what
13:00 the market is.
13:01 And if it's like Aguilar, yeah, sorry guys, love you, but can't spend it.
13:05 Or maybe they come back and find out, "Gee, my market isn't as valuable as I thought.
13:10 I should probably take the Raiders offer."
13:13 Or maybe they come back that they're so close, they're able to make it happen.
13:17 So don't be discouraged by that.
13:20 I wouldn't read into that.
13:21 I would not see that as a negative.
13:23 Could one of those guys get poached?
13:25 Uh-huh.
13:26 There's going to be interest in most of those guys.
13:30 And somebody I'm sure is going to make an offer over what the Raiders deem as market
13:35 value.
13:36 I don't expect all seven of those people to come back.
13:39 But it doesn't mean, it means the Raiders were being disciplined.
13:44 So keep your eye on that.
13:46 So there, I know some names and on Monday, I'm going to begin talking about some of those
13:50 names.
13:51 So stay tuned for Monday's podcast.
13:53 Obviously on Sunday, I've got some other things I'm going to be discussing, but they're going
13:57 to be going for some dogs.
13:59 They're going to be looking, and this is how you know how they view a signing.
14:08 Is it a two-year fully guaranteed deal?
14:11 That's a big deal.
14:13 Is it a two-year, but really only one deal is guaranteed?
14:16 Okay, that tells you that they're probably looking at this guy as a potential stopgap.
14:21 One-year deal, prove it.
14:23 Three-year deal tells you, whoa, they are playing ball and they're playing ball for
14:28 a while.
14:30 Now I think I know some guys that I believe they're approaching that will be a one, a
14:36 two, and a three, or when one that very well could be a four.
14:39 That's a burgeoning superstar coming off a first contract.
14:44 So these are all super important things.
14:47 Now, a couple of other things I'm hearing is that Tom Telesco is really, I told you
14:52 all along, he's doing a great job listening to Antonio Pierce, but he's listening to the
14:57 entire staff.
14:58 Now nobody's going around Antonio, but if Patrick Graham has coached some guys in his
15:03 past that he believes are dogs, that he already knows their work ethic, he's willing to vouch
15:09 for them and goes to Pierce, "Hey, this is a guy I think would fit."
15:13 And Pierce says, "Okay, great.
15:14 I'm all right with that.
15:16 Let's run that up the flagpole with Telesco."
15:18 If gets, he says, "Hey, I think this, this, and this, great.
15:21 I'm on board.
15:22 Let's send it up the flag, the pole to Telesco to try to get done."
15:27 You cannot definitively say what the Raiders are going to do in the draft because free
15:31 agency is so vital.
15:34 There's one particular player of which I'm thinking about that if they're able to sign
15:37 him it would take a several players off the board in the first two rounds of the draft.
15:47 So it's a matter of understanding how they're going to approach free agency.
15:55 What are they going to do with free agency?
15:57 And then after free agency, what does it look like holistically going into the draft?
16:06 Now there are other things you need to be mindful of this too.
16:09 Last year you may remember the Raiders were not really all that excited about signing
16:14 Marcus, but they waited and waited and they felt like the defensive backs just weren't
16:21 coming the way they wanted, so they did.
16:24 Now he ended up getting booted, but the point was is they know there's going to be guys
16:29 who don't get signed now.
16:31 Maybe they want a little too much money.
16:33 Okay, that's fair, but guess what?
16:36 You get into training camp, you have a big injury, you get into training camp or OTAs
16:39 and mini camp, you don't think certain positions are playing out right.
16:43 All right, this guy that we thought earlier was charging too much, now he's worth it because
16:48 we need him.
16:51 So that's where the Raiders are approaching everything right now.
16:54 Someone asked me on a national radio show yesterday, do you think, would you describe
16:59 the Raiders are going to be buyers or sellers?
17:02 And I thought that was a great question, but a few years ago when Bill Belichick had a
17:06 full checkbook, he was a buyer.
17:08 They overspent on several guys that failed.
17:12 To me, a buyer is like my wife at Kohl's with my credit card.
17:16 My wife will come home with stuff we don't even need.
17:18 She goes, look at, I bought this sweater for a German shepherd and it was 70% off.
17:23 Okay, that's great, babe, but we don't own a German shepherd, but it was 70% off.
17:29 My point is that's a buyer, somebody who just wantonly throws money.
17:35 I would say to you that the Raiders are going to be frugal, but not cheap.
17:40 I hope you understand that.
17:43 They're looking for proven guys.
17:45 So somebody's proven, yeah, we'll get the checkbook.
17:47 I would not be shocked if the Raiders were to, especially a couple of players that I'm
17:52 hearing about, would give monster contracts, monster contracts.
18:00 But how monster is going to be determined on the player and who else is involved?
18:08 So that's a big deal.
18:09 I mean, I had to overpay to get my wife, but the bidding war was so high because millions
18:14 of men were involved.
18:15 And I'm kidding, but should have been, if there'd have been a bidding war, I'd have
18:19 been out.
18:20 Her value is beyond money.
18:23 But the principle I'm saying is I think the Raiders are going to be frugal, but not cheap
18:29 buyers.
18:31 Guys have to fit system, they have to hit scheme.
18:33 Now I'm going to tell you another thing that I have been told now by four people.
18:39 And so when you begin to hear it from different people at different times, you begin to pick
18:43 up, okay, this is a theme is that they are looking for people that have to fit the locker
18:49 room.
18:51 Antonio Pierce loves his locker room, loves it.
18:55 He loves the mood of the players.
18:57 He likes the way they work.
18:58 He likes the fact so many are already in there every single day.
19:02 He likes the way they watch film.
19:03 He likes the way they interact together.
19:06 So they're going to be very closely monitoring almost as much as money.
19:13 How does this guy fit?
19:14 Now there's one free agent I've seen a lot of people advertising that they think he's
19:18 going to be a Raider.
19:20 I can 100% I'm not going to mention the guy right now, but I can tell you that guy is
19:27 not going to be a Raider because they don't think he would fit the locker room in the
19:30 least bit.
19:32 Think he could be a problem.
19:33 Now let's go back to Jack Jones for a minute.
19:36 A lot of people left Jack Jones alone after the New England Patriots got rid of him, said
19:43 he'd be a cancer on the team.
19:44 AP's like, "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
19:49 he's not a cancer at all."
19:51 And AP knew how to control him.
19:53 AP knew his locker room and he knew the respect that Jack Jones had for him.
19:59 Remember when Randy Moss, a lot of people thought Randy Moss is going to be a cancer
20:02 in the locker room.
20:03 Then he gets to Tampa Bay and he was phenomenal.
20:06 Why?
20:07 The locker room expectations.
20:09 So don't assume that a guy with no track record of being a problem would automatically fit
20:16 in this locker room.
20:17 And don't assume that somebody who has had issues in the past, I mean, Jack Jones was
20:23 a Saint when he got to the Raiders.
20:24 Say, "Well, what about the time AP walked out on the field?"
20:28 Yeah, that happens.
20:31 But his teammates love him.
20:34 I can tell you Jack Jones is loved in the Las Vegas Raiders locker room.
20:38 They respect him and they love him.
20:40 And the cool part was the Raiders showed him love before he ever made a play.
20:45 And that meant something to Jack.
20:48 You know what?
20:50 You're not a doubting Thomas.
20:51 You believed without seeing.
20:54 And then they saw and it just confirmed what they believe.
20:59 And he loves that locker room because they believed in him before he did anything.
21:05 So a lot of people, "Oh, you shouldn't sign Jack Jones."
21:07 Jack Jones was a great hire.
21:08 And by the way, for people that say Jack Jones is not a good kid, I can thoroughly attest
21:13 to you.
21:16 Wonderful young man.
21:17 I genuinely really like him.
21:19 Good kid.
21:20 Good kid.
21:21 You know what?
21:22 Has he had problems?
21:23 He has.
21:24 But he's a good kid.
21:26 And I think he's a good kid.
21:28 And I think he's making right choices to get his life back on track.
21:33 And for all of you that aren't willing to be people of second chances, I hope you're
21:38 perfect because I'm not.
21:42 I say all the time, I don't talk about God because I'm trying to preach at you because
21:46 I think you're bad.
21:48 I'm sure you're wonderful.
21:49 I know I'm bad.
21:51 I know I need him.
21:53 And I get undeserved grace.
21:55 I'm a grace addict.
21:56 And so to me, when someone's willing to pick up those pieces and change their life, I love
22:01 that.
22:02 Years ago, a man I know from Michigan State, Waseem Mohamed, was playing at Michigan State
22:09 and got in a lot of trouble.
22:10 And Nick Saban was the coach.
22:11 And everyone, not everyone, but a lot of people wanted him kicked out of school.
22:15 A lot of the media, a lot of the fans.
22:19 And he goes on, he graduates, has a bunch of children.
22:21 His daughter gets her doctorate from an Ivy League school.
22:27 He owns businesses.
22:29 He's just a wonderful dad, very successful man, and played in the NFL for a long, long
22:34 time.
22:35 And Saban was reflecting back on Waseem Mohamed when he was at Alabama, when we had a player
22:42 get in trouble.
22:43 And he goes, and he tells the story of Waseem, and he said, "What would you have wanted me
22:47 to do?
22:49 If I'd have thrown Moosin back, you think you'd be contributing to society like he is
22:53 today?"
22:55 I want you to know, I'm not a guy that doesn't believe in second chances.
22:59 If people are willing to toe the line, you let them toe the line.
23:06 God's heart is restoration, but I hope most people's is.
23:09 Now, there are some things people do, you don't get a second shot.
23:16 Doesn't mean you're a bad guy, but playing in the NFL is a privilege.
23:21 You're not entitled to it.
23:23 A lot of people have an entitlement mentality, and that's not the real world.
23:28 That's why I hate this, everybody gets a trophy culture.
23:33 I'll tell you what, sometimes, I remember losing, and I didn't get a trophy back when
23:39 I was a kid.
23:41 I remember back in 1979, playing for my Little League team at Bates Scout Park, Langsburg,
23:50 Michigan.
23:51 We lost the championship in the last game.
23:55 That hurt, still hurts today.
23:57 All these years later, what is it, 45 years later, I still remember it.
24:02 Why?
24:03 Because it's a great story that reminds us sometimes you learn by losing.
24:08 A lot of people think they're entitled because they've never been allowed to fail.
24:16 Look for that.
24:17 Look for, there's going to be some players maybe looked at that are going to a little
24:20 bit surprise you.
24:21 Doesn't mean they're going to sign, but be looked at.
24:23 We're going to get, they're going to know a lot about the Raiders coming forth, which
24:28 knowing the direction and where they're going and what they're doing.
24:32 Wednesday is a big deal at noon, Wednesday's at noon Eastern, Wednesday, nine o'clock back
24:38 in Vegas.
24:40 And then of course, four o'clock Eastern, one o'clock in Vegas on Wednesday is when
24:44 deals can start being signed.
24:46 Again, expecting the Raiders to be buyers and to be frugal, but not cheap.
24:55 And I'm going to tell you, get your popcorn ready because there's going to be a lot going
25:00 on, a lot discussed.
25:03 Keep it at si.com/nfl/raiders.
25:07 We're going to be bringing you massive amounts of information the moment we hear it, letting
25:12 you know the Raiders are talking to this guy, Raiders are in on this guy, Raiders talking
25:16 to this guy.
25:17 We're also going to kind of give you a flow chart of where everything's going.
25:21 But I think if you're a Las Vegas Raider, this should be really exciting.
25:25 I think there's a good chance that there's some players on the radar that maybe people
25:30 aren't talking about.
25:33 And that could be a very, very big deal.
25:35 So from Cabo San Lucas, which by the way, today we went fishing.
25:38 I want to brag on my son, Noah.
25:42 Caught a beautiful, gorgeous tuna.
25:45 Great job.
25:46 Guy's got a broken wrist in a cast.
25:49 He's fighting the fish with a broken wrist in a cast.
25:55 He did it like a rock star.
25:56 So proud of you, Noah.
25:58 And what a great kid.
26:00 So blessed to have you in my life.
26:02 I'm proud of you.
26:03 Dexter got to watch his brother.
26:04 He did it with world-class intensity, like we expect from Dexter, Ernest Wayne Carpenter.
26:10 And also follow me on Instagram @HondoSR.
26:14 Follow me on X, formerly known as Twitter @HondoCarpenter.
26:18 I appreciate you all.
26:20 If you haven't been to Cabo, it's my first time.
26:23 Been to Mexico many, many times.
26:24 It's beautiful.
26:25 The food is amazing.
26:29 I know you're looking at me saying, "Come on, anywhere you go, you like the food."
26:32 Trust me.
26:33 The food has been amazing.
26:36 The weather is perfect.
26:38 The friends we've been with are out of this world.
26:41 It's just been a great time from parasailing to fishing to eating to all of it.
26:47 If you get a chance to come to Cabo, don't miss it.
26:49 And we all know this.
26:52 I've traveled all over the world and met so many wonderful people, but is there any
26:57 people warmer than the Mexican people?
27:01 They're just so wonderful, so warm, so welcoming, so kind, so willing to please, just great.
27:09 I met a lady today at the marina who was selling, I don't even know what she was selling.
27:15 I think somebody, I don't remember who.
27:17 Honey, was she selling like toy iguanas?
27:19 I had no idea what they were.
27:21 I'm sure my wife doesn't even remember.
27:23 I think somebody, maybe it must've been Nora or someone else told me, but they were toy
27:26 iguanas.
27:28 And just the most precious little lady.
27:31 And I mean, she was four foot nothing.
27:35 And I bet you she weighed 70 pounds.
27:36 I ate more shrimp this week than she weighed.
27:41 And I gave this lady a great big hug, just the sweetest, warmest person in the whole
27:44 world.
27:45 If you get a chance to come to Mexico, you get a chance to go to Cabo, do it.
27:48 Precious people.
27:49 It's a great place to be.
27:51 But we're going to be covered.
27:52 I'll be back before all the free agencies start.
27:55 I'm getting back Sunday, but we'll be back again tomorrow with another podcast from here
27:59 in Cabo.
28:00 Keep your eyes tuned.
28:02 Get excited, Raider Nation.
28:04 Christmas in March is about to commence on the silver and black.
28:09 You're literally going to experience Christmas in March.
28:13 Oh yes.
28:14 The ooey gooey, chewy goodness of the Christmas holiday now coming three months later, preceded
28:23 by six weeks later, the NFL draft.
28:27 If you are not excited about NFL football, if you're not excited about Raider football,
28:32 I'm sorry, but if your fire ain't going, your wood's wet because you got a lot to be excited
28:37 about.
28:38 Tom Tulesko and Antonio Pierce are about to take off.
28:46 It is about to be Tom Tulesko and Antonio Pierce's wild caravan of NFL franchise building.
28:56 And Uncle Hondo has a front row seat to tell you all about it.
28:59 Can't believe it.
29:00 I'm so blessed.
29:01 Thank you for being part of my life, my family's life, from Shannon and I and Dexter and Noah
29:04 and all of our friends.
29:06 We just greatly appreciate you.
29:08 God bless y'all.
29:09 Hope you have a great day.
29:10 We'll see you again tomorrow.
29:11 And as you can tell with the sun in my back, I'm trying to figure out how to turn this
29:14 thing off.
29:15 So give me a second.
29:16 Give me an old man second here.