Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast on Today's Start of NFL Free Agency
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:07 As you know, we're pounding out articles and bringing in information from Sports Illustrated's
00:11 Fan Nation Raiders today.
00:14 I want to encourage you now, today's the day.
00:16 Christmas has begun for football fans across the NFL where everybody starts afresh.
00:25 All of a sudden now we begin the illegal tampering time until Wednesday when they can officially
00:31 sign players.
00:33 A lot going on.
00:34 And also it's very pertinent that I remind you, a deal agreed to now with a free agent
00:41 doesn't become official until Wednesday.
00:43 So you can enter into an agreement with somebody and all of a sudden somebody come along and
00:48 offer a lot more money and then bail without any repercussions.
00:52 Very important to remember.
00:53 I want to thank you all for joining us at HondoSR on IG @HondoSR and on ex-formerly
01:02 known as Twitter @HondoCarpenter.
01:08 And additionally, thank you for going to SI.com/NFL/Raiders for all of our articles and information.
01:16 It is imperative to dig in today and be very specific and talk about some issues surrounding
01:24 free agency.
01:26 A couple of things that I want to remind you of as we get into this process.
01:32 I have been telling you for weeks that Antonio Pierce saw what a championship football team
01:40 looked like when he beat Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.
01:43 I expect the Raiders to be very aggressive when it comes to the offensive and defensive
01:48 line.
01:49 However, and there is a caveat, I expect them to be frugal but not cheap.
01:56 So I want to go to the signing of Andre Sims yesterday.
02:01 And this is why this is so important.
02:04 Tom Telesco has made it very clear he prioritizes re-signing his free agents.
02:11 Now obviously he doesn't prioritize re-signing a free agent if he can get a better player.
02:18 But he's just not going to take the "boy you're a really good player" and let you walk stance.
02:24 So here's what happened with Andre James.
02:27 They and you can go back and look.
02:29 I think it was four days ago, five days ago, we reported the parameters of what a contract
02:36 would look like if he were to re-sign and nailed it.
02:44 And what happened was, is Andre had a lot of teams that were going to be very interested
02:49 in him.
02:50 There was going to be a market, a good market.
02:52 In fact, I know of a few teams that were going to make a play for Andre James because a couple
02:58 of them, I had some friends who work for that organization ask me, "What do you think of
03:01 this guy?
03:04 What's his personality?"
03:05 And all that kind of stuff.
03:06 And let me just tell you, Andre James is just salt of the earth.
03:10 Just a wonderful guy.
03:11 He's great in the locker room.
03:13 His teammates love him.
03:15 His players love him.
03:16 I mean, yes, teammates love him.
03:18 His coaches, nobody doesn't like Andre James, the man.
03:24 But it got down to, okay, here's kind of where the two parties were and they were able to
03:29 come to an agreement.
03:30 Now that was very vital for Tom Telesco for two reasons.
03:34 You personally may not like it and that's fine, but I want to tell you why it was vital
03:39 for Tom Telesco because it was a demonstration to his locker room that, "Hey, I do what I
03:47 say I'm going to do.
03:49 I told you I want to re-sign our guys.
03:51 I'm going to prioritize that.
03:53 Here's one where maybe Andre didn't get everything he wanted.
03:57 We didn't get everything we wanted, but we were able to get a deal done and Andre James
04:00 is back."
04:01 So, let's look very quick at the Raiders offensive line.
04:04 You got Colton, you got Dylan, you got Andre.
04:09 Those are going to be three locked starters.
04:12 Okay, and again, I say this all the time, Dylan Parham continues to be so vastly underrated
04:18 by Raider Nation.
04:19 I know a lot of you have great respect, but I'm talking about in totality, that young
04:24 man, he's special.
04:27 He is very, very special, both as a human and a player.
04:31 He's a terrific guy.
04:32 And so, that settled.
04:34 But it doesn't mean there isn't some other positions to fill.
04:40 They're going to be looking at a lot of different places.
04:42 Now, as this falls out, then they're going to understand their draft strategy better.
04:48 Now, I expect them to be big players on the defensive line as well.
04:54 Big, big players.
04:57 They're going after some, to quote Pat McAfee, "dogs."
05:03 Just they're looking and they're searching, they're doing a ton of research.
05:10 They're going to be players when it comes to defensive tackles.
05:15 And possibly some other positions, defensive end, keep your eye out there.
05:20 I will also tell you, watch teams that are in salary cap hell.
05:30 If a player just is like, "You know, I'm not willing to restructure," or whatever, watch
05:35 that closely.
05:39 Not saying anything is imminent.
05:42 I am saying, though, watch that closely, because I believe the Raiders would be ready to pounce
05:47 on a couple of guys immediately that could be huge impact players.
05:55 Now, when it comes to a trade, how much is left on the deal?
05:59 How's the player playing?
06:02 It's got to be smart, because the Raiders, Telesco and AP, are joined at the hip in their
06:07 philosophy, a lot like Dave Ziegler believes, that you have to think long-term, and draft
06:14 picks are precious.
06:15 So, if you give up a draft pick, that's nothing wrong with that, but you've got to be able
06:23 to have contract conditions and everything else equal to that.
06:28 They're not going to just make a trade and make a trade and be stupid and mortgage the
06:31 future by giving up draft picks.
06:34 So again, I had a couple of people email me again yesterday.
06:38 By the way, I know this podcast got out a little late.
06:40 I don't know when you're listening to it, but I was traveling last night, coming back
06:44 from out of the country.
06:45 I had to be, not had to, I wanted to be back for today with free agency, but saying, "Hey,
06:51 I just read the Raiders have decided on X."
06:58 No decisions been made.
07:00 None, no definitive decision.
07:02 So I'd be looking at trades, and I'd be looking, of course, at free agents that are available,
07:09 because all of it, all of a sudden, you got a spot over here you didn't think that you'd
07:13 plug in free agency, but somebody unexpected becomes available.
07:17 Maybe they want to take a little bit less money than you think, that you think their
07:21 value is a little bit lower than other teams.
07:25 So bam, you're able to grab that guy, you plug and play him, and then you don't need
07:28 him in the draft anymore.
07:30 You don't need to go address that position in the draft anymore, excuse me, is what I
07:33 mean.
07:34 So that's how all of this is built.
07:36 No decision has been made definitively.
07:38 Now I think it's very important to discuss a couple issues.
07:43 For several weeks, in fact, over a month, I've been talking to you.
07:47 I told you originally the cost for the Raiders to move up to the Bears was three ones and
07:51 three twos.
07:52 It was a very astronomical cost.
07:56 A lot of people were saying, "Yeah, but what about when San Francisco moved up to get Trey?
08:03 They went from 12 to three."
08:06 Raiders would be going from 13 to one.
08:09 And when they moved up for Trey, it was three ones, and I think it was one two.
08:14 But to move up from the Raiders to there, it would be three ones and three twos.
08:20 Huge cost.
08:22 But I told you, remember last year, Dave Ziegler had looked and looked at cost.
08:31 And they knew what the cost was to go to one and to two.
08:37 They knew all of those.
08:38 And there was a window when they could have traded to any of those.
08:42 I don't know that I would say win at all of them, but certainly some top spot.
08:48 I know at one for sure, again, some other places that they could have.
08:54 But I said, as long as the process goes out, teams begin to definitively know what they
09:00 want to do, and then they're not going to move.
09:03 So a few weeks, I told you, the Bears hadn't made a decision.
09:07 They know that Justin Fields is very popular in their locker room, very popular.
09:14 But three ones, three twos is what would get it.
09:19 Okay, now they've solidified.
09:22 They're not going to trade their pick.
09:23 It's not available.
09:25 Two is not available.
09:26 And three is not available.
09:28 Now, you may remember that I said to you that I had heard Washington really liked Jaden
09:38 Daniels and Caleb Williams.
09:39 Those were their two guys.
09:41 Okay, I stand by that.
09:44 I don't think Jaden Williams now is going to go past two.
09:49 Maybe from this process and some pro days, maybe Drake May or JJ McCarthy.
09:54 And listen, I was the first to tell you before anyone else that JJ McCarthy was going to
10:00 skyrocket up boards, and he is.
10:02 He's in play.
10:05 I talked to someone just a few moments ago before taping this, because we had texted
10:10 a little bit when I was out of the country and just told him I was going to call him
10:14 quick this morning.
10:16 And I asked him, I said, "I know several teams have JJ McCarthy as the number one
10:21 quarterback in this draft."
10:25 And they told me they're not picking, but if they were sitting there at one in Chicago
10:33 and the owner said, "We want a quarterback," or the GM said, "We want a quarterback,"
10:39 he told me it would be JJ McCarthy for us.
10:42 So now all of a sudden it looks like those three spots aren't available for trade.
10:50 I would highly doubt, although I don't think it's impossible, the cost to go to four with
10:59 Arizona is going to be very, very high.
11:03 Super high.
11:04 They want Marvin Harrison.
11:06 Now, could another receiver move up and bump Marvin Harrison off?
11:12 I'm hearing another one could possibly.
11:14 We'll get into more of that next week.
11:16 Today's not the day for that.
11:19 So as it's beginning to fall out, I've been telling you for weeks, the Raiders have looked
11:24 at everything.
11:27 So I also want to tell you, don't be so sure if the quarterbacks are gone that they don't
11:35 want, that they won't move up.
11:40 Now you may remember I told you that I believe there's going to be 10 offensive linemen selected
11:45 in the first round this year.
11:46 10.
11:47 I think it's going to be a draft.
11:49 I think the draft record's five.
11:50 I think there's going to be 10.
11:53 After I reported that on this podcast, I had another NFL executive who saw it send me an
11:59 email or maybe it was a text, but just sent me something real quick saying, "I think you're
12:03 wrong.
12:04 I think you're 11 or maybe 12."
12:06 Those are astronomical numbers.
12:08 There's some really good foundational bookend players on that offensive line in this draft.
12:17 So I would not preclude if I were you that if the Raiders were to move up, and I'm not
12:26 reporting that today, a lot of this is going to depend on how free agency and everything
12:30 else pops out or as they define their plan, they're going to ... I would not be shocked
12:41 if the Raiders moved up and didn't take a quarterback.
12:46 If the cost of one, two, three, and four is brutally high, and let's say your guy's Jaden
12:52 Daniels or J.J. McCarthy, and you know they're not there, they're not just going to move
12:58 up to move up unless there's a specific window.
13:03 So let's say there are two guys that they love.
13:05 Let's say J.J. McCarthy and whomever, just whomever.
13:16 Let's use J.C.
13:17 Latham, and I don't think they're moving up to five to take J.C.
13:19 Latham, so don't hear it.
13:20 I'm just using this as an example.
13:23 Okay, we know at five, we're going to be able to get one of those two.
13:27 You're fine there.
13:28 So I'm just saying to you, if they were to move up prior to the draft, it would be because
13:35 of there was a conglomeration of players that any one of those, they would be fine getting.
13:41 So I think that's a very, very big deal.
13:43 J.J. McCarthy, a couple things in talking to this guy this morning I wanted to share
13:48 with you.
13:49 I've already hit this, but this is coming now from, again, another NFL executive.
13:54 Of all the quarterbacks in the draft, he's the only one that ran a pro set offense.
13:58 I thought that was very, very big.
14:00 And he also said to me, and I thought this was important, every one of the other quarterbacks
14:08 ran some semblance of an offense that they're not going to run in the pros.
14:16 And so you're asking a player who was very good in one system to be something that they're
14:23 not in the pros.
14:25 And nobody knows what that projection is.
14:30 So I just thought that was very interesting.
14:33 One thing that sets J.J. McCarthy apart from every other quarterback in this draft, and
14:39 let me tell you, I'm reporting to you what I'm being told.
14:45 This is not a Hondo opinion, is that there's no quarterback in this draft considered among
14:50 the top seven.
14:52 And when I say that, understand the top seven is not universal among NFL executives.
14:58 I'm just talking about when you read in the media, the top seven quarterbacks in no particular
15:03 order, Spencer Rattler, Bo Nix, Michael Penix, J.J. McCarthy, Drake May, Caleb Williams,
15:10 and Jaden Daniels.
15:14 That among those seven, it is universally accepted that J.J. makes the best pre-snap
15:20 read.
15:21 And I want to make you ad nauseum about that.
15:24 How in the NFL, where everybody's fast and the game is significantly faster, you've heard
15:29 that talked about.
15:30 I'm not the only one to tell you that.
15:32 I know that you guys are prolific football fanatics.
15:36 So you know that the game gets faster at this level.
15:39 So the pre-snap read becomes very, very important.
15:44 In college, if you run a wide open offense or a spread or whatever, you go up and you
15:50 know who your main read is, or you know, I got to get the ball to this spot on the field.
15:54 J.J. McCarthy was able to come to the line of scrimmage, look over the receivers, look
16:00 over all the formations.
16:02 He knows them well.
16:03 In fact, it stunned people at the combine.
16:08 More than one team told me they were stunned at his ability to read defenses.
16:13 They were stunned by it.
16:15 And more than one person used that word, by the way.
16:19 And so he comes in, bam, makes his read.
16:22 So he says, OK, it looks like I'm in cover three or it looks like I've got to, you know,
16:26 over under custom coverage over here.
16:28 This guy's showing blitz, but I know in the film, whatever, makes the read.
16:33 So it's going to put him prolifically farther ahead.
16:36 It doesn't mean that I don't, that there couldn't be another great quarterback or a person who
16:44 makes the adjustment.
16:45 I'm just saying those are some things that has had may has made J.J. McCarthy.
16:51 You may remember when I did my first mock draft, my very first one, I had the Raiders
16:57 taking J.J. McCarthy in the second round.
17:00 And I put in there one NFL scout told me or NFL executive, if the draft were today, this
17:06 is where you would get J.J.
17:08 But it isn't where you're going to get him when the actual draft comes, because the more
17:12 people dig, the more they're going to find out there's no blemishes, no warts.
17:16 He is just very well rounded.
17:19 And so as the Raiders look, OK, are we willing to move up?
17:25 I think it will not just be for a player.
17:28 It will be for a conglomeration.
17:30 Now I want to get to the quarterback position because this will have a big deal.
17:36 I told you two weeks ago and then I told you a week ago that last week, ending with yesterday,
17:43 Sunday, that the Bears really needed to get rid of Justin Fields because his market value
17:50 was dropping because teams know he's available.
17:56 Teams know it was just like with Derek Carr and the Raiders.
17:59 The Raiders wanted to trade him, but everybody knew he was going to get caught.
18:05 So there was literally no value for Derek.
18:07 Now Derek's critics say Derek has no value in the NFL.
18:14 OK, then the people that praise Derek say, look at Derek for negotiating this deal.
18:19 I don't think it was either one.
18:22 Teams just knew that there's no reason.
18:27 The lack of people trying to trade for Derek had nothing to do with his value.
18:33 It had to do with how the situation unfolded and how it all happened.
18:37 So don't rule Justin Fields out.
18:42 I have said and I maintain the Raiders are going to add two quarterbacks.
18:46 I told you right after the season, Brian Hart, Jimmy Garoppolo won't be here.
18:50 They're going to need to add two quarterbacks.
18:52 So I believe, ideally, the Raiders would like to draft a quarterback and get a veteran.
19:00 That's what I believe that they want, because that'll give them two young quarterbacks and
19:05 a veteran and Aiden O'Connell would be the first.
19:08 Is your starter going into OTAs, mini camps and all of that?
19:14 So do I think that there's a shot at Justin Fields, who's young, but he still is a veteran
19:18 presence?
19:19 Absolutely.
19:20 Absolutely.
19:21 Do not in any way think that door is shut.
19:26 So keep an eye there.
19:29 But watch, watch closely now how everything goes because these next few days and then
19:35 remember in free agency, there are waves.
19:38 So you're going to get a wave starting today, going through Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
19:42 probably somewhere in that.
19:44 And then it'd be a little bit of a slow off.
19:46 Doesn't mean you won't see any other signings, but then you're going to see it begin to pick
19:50 up as the market readjust.
19:52 Be a ton of money spun first couple days and then the market settles and goes up again.
19:58 Remember, it's just like the regular stock market.
20:00 It goes up and up.
20:01 And so there is an adjustment period.
20:04 I want to very quickly talk to you about Jermaine Illuminor.
20:07 I know for a fact there are multiple teams interested in Jermaine Illuminor.
20:12 And while I know that Raider Nation, not all by any stretch, but some have had their issues
20:21 with Jermaine.
20:23 He's sought after.
20:26 He's a guy that is so versatile, offers you so many different things that he's there.
20:33 Someone asked me this one.
20:35 They may have asked me the other day.
20:36 I just read the email this morning.
20:37 I should have printed it.
20:39 I apologize about that.
20:40 But they asked me, do you think the door's closed on Jermaine coming back to the Raiders?
20:47 No, no, not reporting it's imminent either.
20:51 But that's just what's going on within those parameters.
20:57 So big stuff.
21:02 If there are any agreements reached today, I will come back and of course address all
21:09 of those with you.
21:11 But I think it's going to be an interesting day in Raider Nation.
21:14 Not just today.
21:15 I say today.
21:16 I think today is the beginning of an interesting era in Raider Nation.
21:20 If you are a diehard and you love to follow every single move, I'd get a pen and paper
21:27 and start identifying what the needs are on the roster.
21:31 And then watching free agent contracts.
21:34 Are they four year deals, three year deals, two year deals, one year deal, both guaranteed.
21:38 What kind of guaranteed money?
21:40 So Andre's deal was you're going to be here long term.
21:44 They gave him a big deal, lots of guarantee and good for Andre.
21:51 And it's now solidified the center position for the Raiders.
21:55 So again, watch defensive lines, watch potential teams with salary cap issues.
22:07 Not reporting any deal imminent at all.
22:11 Not even saying a deal will happen.
22:15 But I'll just say I found out yesterday that there was a team who was over the cap.
22:23 And so the Raiders reached out, "Hey, is this particular player available?"
22:27 "No."
22:28 "Okay."
22:29 "But they've made it clear there are some guys we're interested in that could be cap
22:34 casualties.
22:35 So, hey, if you need some help, we may be players."
22:41 So just keep our eyes on all of that.
22:43 Remember this could be Christmas.
22:45 Well, this is Christmas in March for sports fans.
22:48 So pay attention to all that if you would.
22:50 We're going to have a lot coming.
22:52 A lot of information flowing your way.
22:55 Look forward to sharing it with you.
22:57 Thank you for joining us.
22:59 And remember, here we go.
23:01 Now I want to tackle two other issues.
23:03 One other issue, excuse me.
23:07 You may remember when Seattle traded Russell Wilson to the Broncos, everybody was talking
23:16 about all that Bronco defense with Russell Wilson.
23:21 They're going to unseat Kansas City.
23:22 You go back, you can look at what I wrote.
23:24 You can look at social media.
23:26 I said at the time, I really personally like Russell Wilson.
23:30 And I do.
23:31 If you've not met him, terrific kid.
23:34 And I know he's not a kid, but to me he is because I'm old.
23:38 But I also send to you, he's got a rookie coach.
23:44 It's a team that's going to have to adjust to him.
23:46 They're going to have to change everything.
23:49 And he hadn't been the Russell Wilson of old.
23:51 In fact, prior to him being injured, before he got traded, he wasn't playing well.
23:58 Okay.
23:59 So then it comes and whatever.
24:04 I am hearing, and I got a bunch of interview requests and I limited them last week because
24:09 I was out of the country, from people wanting to talk about, are the Chargers now with Jim
24:15 Harbaugh instant competitors with the Kansas City Chiefs?
24:23 No.
24:25 No.
24:27 No.
24:29 First of all, I mean, they're so over the cap and unlike our federal government, they
24:38 just can't go print money.
24:41 That was not a political statement at all.
24:44 Promise.
24:45 Just a fact.
24:46 I mean, we've got trillions of dollars in debt.
24:49 That's not how the NFL works.
24:50 It's a hard cap.
24:53 So there's a, they're going to be a team that's going to be, there's always an adjustment
24:58 when Jim Harbaugh goes to a team.
25:00 He just does things different.
25:04 I don't, and I'm sorry, I may be the only one.
25:09 I think Justin Herbert is a really good guy, but if you go back and look at the stat lines
25:14 when he played Aiden O'Connell and Aiden had all those interceptions last year in his
25:20 first start when Josh McDaniels would not change the offense, even numerically, I thought
25:26 Aiden outplayed him.
25:29 Do I think Justin Herbert in the right system, in the Michigan system that they ran last
25:35 year will be better?
25:36 Oh, I think Herbert's going to be exponentially better as a quarterback under Jim Harbaugh
25:42 because Jim's system fits Justin perfectly.
25:46 But I just want to tell people, tap the brakes a little bit.
25:50 The same people telling you that Russell Wilson and Nathaniel Hackett were going to take down
26:00 the Chiefs are probably the same people telling you, look out, here come the Bolt.
26:09 I think this is, the Chiefs are clearly the big dog in the East.
26:12 Let's give them all the respect in the world and they deserve it.
26:18 AP's coming.
26:22 And remember, they are the team, the Raiders, that went into era ahead, won Christmas, national
26:34 audience, Taylor Swift in the stands, and took care of business.
26:40 Don't forget it.
26:43 Your Raider team at the end of this week, now hear me Raider Nation, take some of Uncle
26:52 Hondo's Viagra for the soul.
26:57 Your Raiders are going to be exponentially better a week from today.
27:07 And then I think they'll be even better the day before the draft because I think it'll
27:13 slow down a little bit and then there'll be more signings because Tom Telesco is going
27:16 to be very frugal, but not cheap.
27:20 And then after the draft, you're going to be better.
27:25 Better and you're the last team to beat the Super Bowl champions.
27:31 Come on now.
27:34 You want to talk about the Bolts?
27:43 Let the games begin.
27:45 NFL free agency is upon us, ladies and gentlemen.
27:51 Now let us partake of the goodness of the league.
27:55 Enjoy this, have fun.
27:56 We're going to have all the analysis in the world.
27:59 We'll fill you in.
28:00 I think it's going to be great.
28:01 Keep your eyes open.
28:02 Pay attention, watch what's going on.
28:04 We'll see you all later.
28:05 Have a great day.
28:06 God bless you all.