Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast recaps day No. 1 of NFL Free Agency
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00:00 Hi everybody.
00:03 This is Uncle Hondo from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:08 Great to be with you today.
00:09 We're recapping day one of NFL free agency and there could be an additional signing tonight.
00:18 Although I mean agreement tonight, although I disagree with it, we are taping this at
00:23 five o'clock Vegas time.
00:26 And so we're getting into just a brief rundown of what happened today.
00:32 Now we've been reporting to you we expected the Raiders to sign a superstar, to go look
00:37 for some dogs on the defensive line.
00:41 We were very open about that and something that we had been hearing potentially brewing
00:46 happened nearly immediately.
00:49 The Raiders go get the number one defensive tackle in free agency, a man that some believe
00:54 was the best defensive player in Christian Wilkins.
00:58 They signed him for four years, $110 million, $84.7 million guaranteed.
01:08 And Tom Telesco sent a message to the entire NFL, "We're going to pay what we got to pay
01:15 to get the guys that we want to get."
01:17 Was a great signing.
01:18 This guy instantly becomes, he's a Max Crosby player at a different position.
01:25 He's high energy, the way he's going to compete in practice, like Max.
01:30 Now a couple of things, he's not as talkative as Max.
01:35 So I would not expect him to be as talkative as Max.
01:45 I think we'll just leave it right there.
01:47 It's not because he's a mean guy.
01:48 It's not that he's not a good guy.
01:50 It doesn't mean he's not a locker room guy.
01:53 I'll go back and Jerry Tillery.
01:55 Jerry was a guy who I had a very good relationship with.
02:01 He did not enjoy doing media at all, but yet he and I had an excellent relationship.
02:07 And I would always go up and just remind him, "I'm not asking you for an interview because
02:12 I know you don't enjoy it."
02:14 And he would do it if I would ask.
02:16 But I just want you to know, if you ever want to talk, I'm always ready because I want to
02:21 talk to you.
02:22 And he would always appreciate it.
02:24 And there'd be two or three times a year, he'd just say, "H, come on over."
02:29 That's Wilkins.
02:30 So I don't want you to expect me, and this is a guy that's going to like blow up press
02:33 conferences and he's not a bad guy at all.
02:37 Just doesn't enjoy doing that.
02:38 That doesn't make him bad in the least bit.
02:41 But he's a leader in that locker room.
02:43 He'll lead men.
02:45 And I've used the example many times.
02:47 Antonio Pierce wants a defensive line that like those giants that won the Super Bowl
02:55 against the undefeated Tom Brady.
02:57 Now you've got Malcolm and Max, who for all the games that Antonio was head coach, the
03:03 number one defensive end duo in the National Football League.
03:07 You got Tyree Wilson, who was coming on.
03:10 Now you got Christian Wilkins.
03:13 There is another dog.
03:15 Now you know, I'm quoting Pat McAfee, I'm not trying to make it sound like I made that
03:19 up, but a dog.
03:21 And here's a superstar to me is a guy that is, if he's not, I mean, you can make an argument,
03:28 he's the best.
03:29 I think Christian Wilkins, excuse me, I think Christian Wilkins is, if he's not the best
03:42 defensive tackle, he's 1B, him and Aaron Donald.
03:46 And so you go get a high impact motor guy, three down guy, he's there for pass rush,
03:51 he's there for run stoppage.
03:54 He's a leader, he's going to be in great shape.
03:55 He's not going to be trouble.
03:57 Boom.
03:58 Then you add Tyree Wilson, who's coming.
04:01 And so I think you've got Christian, who's a superstar.
04:07 Max, who's a superstar.
04:10 Hoons, dog.
04:13 And then you've got Tyree Wilson, who, remember, a lot of teams had him as a dude last year.
04:21 He's a guy coming on strong.
04:22 I think next year when we're having this conversation, we're talking about Tyree Wilson as a dog.
04:28 There's one other player who is a dog.
04:32 I think if there's a top line of Aaron Donald and Christian Wilkins, he's right in that
04:36 second group.
04:38 I don't think Tyree's there yet, but I think he's coming.
04:42 This guy is.
04:43 And I think he's a potential on the defensive line.
04:46 Not saying if it's a tackle and end or where it is, because they want to have a massive
04:50 amount of defensive tackles.
04:52 I would not be shocked if they carried 10 or even 11.
04:55 I think 11's too high, but I think 10 is possible, defensive line.
05:03 And I still think they're going to draft somebody.
05:08 So we'll keep that up.
05:09 But great signing by Christian Wilkins.
05:11 This is not a surprise.
05:13 This is one that we anticipated.
05:15 Now I also told you, been telling you for a couple days, I reiterated it this morning
05:22 that there is a potential guy out there that could be a trade who is a superstar.
05:33 Not saying anything is imminent whatsoever.
05:36 They put a bunch of jack up for Christian Wilkins, but you don't know what position
05:40 he is.
05:41 They're looking at some other guys.
05:44 There's a lot coming on.
05:45 The Raiders are far from done in free agency.
05:48 So just hold on to your hat, enjoy the ride.
05:51 Now remember, free agency goes in waves a little bit.
05:55 So you may remember the year that they signed Devante Adams after the first day they did
05:59 not, I mean, the year they signed Devante Adams after the first day, everyone's, why
06:02 are we doing nothing?
06:03 And I kept saying, relax, people, there are things going on behind the scene.
06:07 Oh, Hunter doesn't know what he's talking about.
06:08 Well, guess what?
06:09 I knew they were working out a deal for Devante.
06:14 So it's going to go in waves, but they're not done.
06:19 And there's still some dogs and then some really good role players.
06:23 And you've got to have those guys.
06:25 So let's talk about a couple of other things.
06:27 Jermaine Illuminor.
06:31 He goes to the Giants, he signs to stay with Carmen Bracillo.
06:36 Great move by the Giants.
06:38 He loves Carmen.
06:39 Now listen, he wanted to be a Raider, but the Raiders knew what they thought his budget
06:46 was.
06:51 They've got Thayer Mumford.
06:53 They've got some other guys, the draft's coming.
06:57 I believe they're going to dedicate a good draft pick to the offensive line.
07:05 So he signs for two years, 14 million with the G-men.
07:09 Bilal Nichols.
07:10 This is a guy that played really good for the Raiders.
07:14 This is a guy that was consistent for the Raiders.
07:16 He gets a three year, $21 million deal, 14.4 million guaranteed.
07:24 Gardner Minchu.
07:27 This is a guy the Raiders signed.
07:28 I've been telling you for weeks, expect them to sign a veteran and still draft a guy in
07:36 the quarterback.
07:37 I laughed.
07:38 I told you guys right after the season, Brian Hoyer wasn't coming back.
07:41 Neither was Jimmy Garoppolo.
07:44 Then a couple of weeks ago, some people reported, people were like, "Well, this is new, new,
07:47 new."
07:48 It wasn't new news.
07:49 We told you that and told you all along.
07:50 We expect a veteran signing and a rookie.
07:53 That's still where we stand today.
07:56 But Gardner Minchu, two years, 25 million, 15 million guaranteed.
08:01 He's going to get every chance to compete with Aiden O'Connell, but it's Aiden's job.
08:07 Minchu's going to have to take it from him and that's okay.
08:10 Minchu's a scrappy ... First of all, I like Gardner, so this is not a slam, but the Raiders
08:18 watched him with Indianapolis do well and beat him.
08:26 Aiden had a good game that day, but Raiders saw Minchu, so they like it.
08:33 He's scrappy, going to go out there and battle.
08:37 To me, I thought this was a great pick.
08:38 They far from overpaid.
08:41 After one year, he's easy to move on from.
08:45 If he wins the job, you got him for a second year, cheap money for a starting NFL quarterback.
08:51 This was a really, really ... This was an excellent deal.
08:55 That's one thing I hope you're noticing about Tom Telesco.
08:57 I told you, frugal, not cheap.
09:00 Let's look at Josh Jacobs for a minute.
09:03 Four years, 48 million, he goes to the pack.
09:06 Not all of that's guaranteed.
09:08 Don't know the particulars yet, but I know for a fact it's not all guaranteed.
09:12 He loves Rich Bisaccia.
09:14 Now, it does not mean he didn't love Antonio and didn't want to be a Raider.
09:18 He did, just like Jermaine Illuminor, just like Bilal Nichols.
09:25 The business standpoint, the Raiders, I wouldn't call $110 million, $84.7 million guaranteed
09:33 to Wilkins cheap.
09:35 I wouldn't call Gardner Minchu 15 million guaranteed cheap, but it was frugal.
09:40 It's understanding with what we want to do to build this team, we have to have salary
09:46 cap discipline.
09:49 I'm going to tell you, in my opinion, when you look at Jermaine to the G-men, Bilal moves
09:57 on, Christian Wilkins comes in, Gardner Minchu comes in, Josh Jacobs moves on.
10:03 I'm going to tell you who I thought was the star of day one of free agency, and that's
10:09 Tom Telesco and his staff.
10:13 Let's look at Christian Wilkins for a minute.
10:17 I've been talking to you for several days, because I had an idea about some things, about
10:22 no income tax in Nevada.
10:24 I'm not talking politics, so just take that out of your mind.
10:32 We know what the Kansas City Chiefs just signed for their defensive tackle, the biggest deal
10:39 ever.
10:40 You give Christian Wilkins less money, but because of no state Nevada income tax, he's
10:47 actually going to make a little bit more.
10:51 The Raiders were able to sell that.
10:53 They saved salary cap room.
10:56 It was just brilliant the way the Raiders just maneuvered through all of this.
11:02 I'm going to have more on this later, but the way that they convinced Gardner Minchu,
11:06 you've wanted your chance to compete and get a legitimate real shot.
11:13 Come take it.
11:16 Come take it from Aiden O'Connell.
11:18 If you get it, great.
11:21 Guess what?
11:22 Aiden knows that, and Aiden's great with it.
11:26 They're going to draft a rookie, and it's still Aiden's job, but somebody's got to beat
11:30 him.
11:31 Guess what?
11:32 He's beat everybody now.
11:37 There's an old saying called, "The proof of the pudding's in the eating," meaning y'all
11:42 can brag about how good your pudding is, but put it up there.
11:49 Let's go.
11:50 Let people taste it.
11:52 The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
11:55 I'm getting a call right here.
11:56 I got to make sure.
11:57 Okay, hang on.
11:58 Let me make sure I'm in the middle of a podcast, that this is not something I can report.
12:02 Hey, brother, I'm in the middle of a podcast.
12:04 How can I help you?
12:13 Can I call you back?
12:14 All right.
12:15 That's something I'll be probably talking to you about tomorrow.
12:19 I apologize, but if I could have broken it right then, I would have, so I apologize.
12:24 Let's get right back on this, but this is up to the minute.
12:30 What I think you saw today is you saw Tom Telesco exercise what I've been preparing
12:35 you for, frugal, not cheap.
12:38 Hey, we don't want to spend a dime more than we have to.
12:41 We don't need to pay you more than what Kansas City paid their defensive tackle, because
12:45 guess what?
12:46 Here in Nevada, we can pay you a little less and you're still going to make more.
12:50 Get the way going out and selling Minshew, understanding, yeah, we want Josh Jacobs,
12:58 but we also have to understand we want to resign our guys.
13:02 Now guys, I'm going to go back and say this, and I like Josh and I have a great relationship
13:06 with Josh, but listen to me, please.
13:11 This is important.
13:14 His first three years, he couldn't stay healthy, even though he played well.
13:19 I came out and said, they should not give him the fifth year option.
13:23 He hasn't stayed healthy.
13:25 Year four, fantastic.
13:28 Best running back in the NFL bar none.
13:31 Then last year, missed a bunch of games on the franchise tag.
13:35 You were paying him a ton of money.
13:36 Now, did he want to play?
13:38 Yes.
13:39 He wasn't being a wimp, not at all, but his best, but you want to make this kind of money,
13:45 you got to play.
13:46 You got to play.
13:49 The Raiders were fiscally disciplined and they said, listen, we want to pay you.
13:58 Christian Wilkins is available.
14:02 We want to pay you, but if you're going to get the top Jack, if you want to get the big
14:08 cheese, then you got to be available and you're not.
14:13 This is what we're willing to pay.
14:14 This is what we think you're worth.
14:15 Go out and explore the market.
14:16 If you find more, nobody's mad.
14:18 Nobody hates you.
14:19 God bless you.
14:20 But guess what?
14:21 We got Zemir waiting in the wings.
14:26 He's earned his turn.
14:28 Next man up.
14:31 I fully expect them to draft a running back.
14:37 This is a very, very deep market.
14:39 Now there's a couple of guys that I think they could sign depending on how some things
14:44 fall out.
14:45 But at this point, if I had to guess right now, this taping, which is five o'clock on
14:53 Monday, I would say they're probably going to draft.
14:57 But that is very flexible and can change.
15:01 So I think what I would say to you, day one conclusion, there's still time.
15:04 Obviously, people can negotiate well into the night.
15:08 But at this point, what I would say to you is this, that you saw Tom Telesco make a statement
15:14 to the NFL.
15:15 But Dave Ziegler started, I'm continuing.
15:19 We're going to be frugal, which means frugal, not overpaying.
15:25 But we're not cheap.
15:27 If you're worth 10, we're going to pay you 10.
15:29 Not going to pay you 12.
15:31 We ain't going to pay you eight.
15:34 Unless you ask for it.
15:37 You're worth 10, you'll get 10.
15:39 Don't ask for 10, five, and I'm not coming at you with eight.
15:46 That should excite you, Raider Nation.
15:48 Listen, you're already exponentially better.
15:53 Blow that out of the water.
15:55 And you're going to get better.
15:57 Some things brewing.
16:01 Right now, you're not only exponentially better, but you're watching the long-term vision of
16:09 your franchise come into focus.
16:12 We're now going to be run like what Dave Ziegler started.
16:18 Fiscally responsible, frugal and not cheap.
16:22 Taking care of it.
16:23 Wait, we're not afraid to pay whatever it takes.
16:26 And we're going to have the flexibility because we are salary cap disciplined.
16:35 Great day for the Raiders.
16:37 For a lot of different reasons, great day.
16:41 And I want to say something.
16:43 When you look at Jermaine's deal, Bilal's deal, and JJ, Josh Jacobs' deal, all were
16:52 guys the Raiders were wanting back.
16:58 All deals that other teams had to go overpay to get.
17:08 And good for them.
17:10 I love Bilal Nichols, love Jermaine Illuminor, and love JJ.
17:15 Three terrific guys.
17:17 And I root for good people and I will be rooting for them.
17:23 Send them messages.
17:25 Good luck.
17:26 Thank the world of you.
17:27 Great guys.
17:30 But let's also remember, those teams hurt themselves because they weren't frugal.
17:40 I told you years ago covering the Detroit Lions, they had to overpay for every free
17:44 agent.
17:45 The franchise was not the best franchise.
17:47 There wasn't a lot of reasons people wanted to go to the Lions.
17:53 You're watching the G-Men and others.
17:58 No.
17:59 Hackers, that signing at that amount of money to me was just unbelievable.
18:06 And we don't know how much is guaranteed.
18:09 So it's not unbelievable until we know the guarantee.
18:12 But they needed Josh Jacobs.
18:14 The Ravens wanted Josh.
18:16 Matter of fact, I tweeted out earlier about the Ravens.
18:20 And I had heard about the Packers, but I was told the Ravens were going to come in and
18:27 make a huge splash after Josh.
18:31 So when you're frugal but not cheap, when you're...
18:34 Hey, they didn't overpay for Christian Wilkins one bit.
18:40 Go back to Nick Kwiatkowski and some of the other deals that the Raiders have done before
18:46 where they overpaid.
18:52 And so when you do it the way they're doing it right now, it shows a long-term vision.
18:58 It shows salary cap discipline.
19:02 It shows if you're our guy, we're coming.
19:07 Imagine Koonce, Crosby, Wilkins, Tyree, maybe someone else.
19:25 Never know.
19:26 A lot can happen, but your Raiders are better.
19:31 And someone may sign tonight.
19:32 And if they do, I'll talk about it tomorrow on the podcast.
19:35 But listen, I appreciate you.
19:36 Day one is in the books.
19:39 I hope that you had a wonderful day.
19:41 I hope you enjoyed it.
19:42 I appreciate you.
19:44 I've got interviews and podcasts lined up tonight all over the country.
19:47 I'm going to be busy, busy, busy.
19:49 But I appreciate you all.
19:51 Thank you for tuning in.
19:52 I just want you to know how important you are to me.
19:55 Thank you.
19:56 By the way, going to have two podcasts tomorrow, maybe even three.
19:59 So be checking it out.
20:00 Let's rock and roll, everybody.
20:01 Let's have a good time.
20:02 All right.
20:03 And a big shout out to all of you, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's
20:06 Fandation Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
20:08 Follow me on ex-formerly known as Twitter when you go to @HondoCarpenter on IG, when
20:13 you go to HondoSR, and absolutely positively, don't forget, si.com/NFL/Raiders for all the
20:20 latest information and articles.
20:22 Don't miss it.