0:03

For the first time since the start a free agency,

0:05

we hear from both the GM and the head

0:08

coach. Welcome Bird Gang. On today's

0:10

show, Danny Surrek joins me. Eight days

0:12

ago free agency officially began,

0:14

and the Cardinals did not waste any time.

0:16

In fact, the team has continued to stay

0:19

busy to dates a total of

0:21

nine new signings plus one

0:23

trade. How do the pieces all fit?

0:25

Well? We got a little insight stress the

0:27

word little earlier on Wednesday

0:30

at Cardinals Cover two, Episode seven

0:32

thirty seven, and it starts now.

0:37

Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.

0:40

Who to Baker? What Heart?

0:42

What rent? This guy's unbelievable.

0:44

Cardinals Cover two is presented by

0:47

Hyundai, proud partner of the Arizona

0:49

Cardinals and by Arizona

0:52

Cardinals Podcast. Visit Azycardinals

0:55

dot Com slash podcast.

0:56

He's ad the ten half of five. He's it again?

1:00

Are Hurry Magic Wow?

1:02

Here's Craig trailer.

1:07

So before we get into what Monty Austin

1:10

Ford's and Jonathan Gannon had to say,

1:12

I want to say, and let's hope Paul Calvicy

1:15

isn't listening though he really should be.

1:18

I have in my Handburg Gang. Thanks

1:21

to Danny, one of the highly

1:23

coveted sought after Paul

1:26

Bingo cards, and for the first

1:28

time, Danny, I played earlier on

1:30

Wednesday. And I gotta say I'm

1:32

a good position after just one episode

1:35

of Cardinals Underground.

1:36

I mean, you never know what Paul's gonna say, so

1:40

doesn't really surprise me.

1:41

Now I do have a question. And again,

1:43

you can follow along on all our Cardinals

1:46

podcasts. He's a Cardinals Forward Slash podcast.

1:48

The discussion about UFOs

1:53

doesn't counts, okay.

1:56

I just I had to get a clarification because

1:58

if that was one from this week's

2:00

episode, then I'm just I'm

2:02

one square away.

2:03

You need to make the Bingos the cards bigger

2:05

instead of three by three. Paul says a lot.

2:07

Of things he did.

2:09

I got Isaiah maybe next time.

2:11

Crossa Calvic calBC dog.

2:14

Yeah, the new dog that his family rescued. Yeah, Cardinal's

2:16

underground, all right. I never know what you're gonna hear.

2:20

Very entertaining. And the fact that the two of

2:22

you are in on it, and Paul is now aware

2:24

of it but doesn't play it, and

2:26

you two are sitting there.

2:27

I can't give my card I haven't I haven't made a Bingo

2:29

card in months, something I did last year.

2:32

After talking about it for a while, brought

2:34

it back.

2:35

Well, I appreciate it. I feel fortunate

2:37

to be included.

2:38

You should not many people outside of Darren

2:40

and myself and then Cody and

2:42

oh well on the other side of the glass at one.

2:44

It's good, pretty confident.

2:46

What's going to happen later on this offseason?

2:49

All right? As I mentioned, MANI

2:51

and JG speaking to the media really

2:54

well, not really for the first time since

2:56

the scouting combine, first time this free

2:59

agency period ahead of the draft.

3:01

I do think we'll hear from them again right

3:03

before the draft, maybe a week or two ahead

3:06

of time, but specifically about the

3:08

free agency and the approach to free

3:10

agency this year versus

3:13

last year. At the scouting combine,

3:15

MANI use the words strike aggressive,

3:19

and then you followed up in your sit down

3:22

asking him exactly what that looked

3:24

like, and he identified

3:26

and went further into it and says, Okay, it's

3:28

more about the preparation, does the player

3:30

fit, and then what's the market

3:33

for that player? Because we did see this team

3:36

be aggressive on Day one of

3:38

free agency, and we also saw them

3:40

spend some money that was not spent

3:43

a year ago. But, as Mani

3:46

and JG both mentioned on Wednesday, much

3:48

different position that they are in their

3:51

jobs and knowing what the Cardinals want

3:53

to do moving forward, that

3:55

they are taking a different approach and

3:58

not hitting the ground running

4:01

or as a on a treadmill. As Mani mentioned

4:04

that this offseason timeline

4:06

is still there, but they're more comfortable in

4:08

what the timeline is and how

4:10

they've gone about things right.

4:12

They're not playing catch up. I mean this time

4:14

last year, Gannon had been the head coach

4:16

for maybe a month, I mean awesome

4:19

for two months. So that's obviously

4:21

going to make things a lot easier now as having

4:23

that time, the schedule that awesome Fort

4:25

likes to have for his staff, for the coaching

4:27

staff and Gannon as well on that front

4:30

and making sure that everybody

4:32

is on the same page. They were prepared

4:34

early for free agency and talks

4:37

about draft prospects, what

4:39

they're looking for in terms of a player and

4:41

a person. Now,

4:43

after seeing this first wave of free

4:45

agency and then thinking back to Awesome for

4:47

it using the word aggressive and how he was going to

4:49

approach this part of the off season, something

4:52

I didn't think about before that. I noticed

4:54

now are the contracts

4:56

and the lengths and last

4:58

off season which made of Austin for coming

5:01

in trying to get his footing of what

5:03

was on the roster. What was he going to

5:05

need to do short term to reach those

5:07

long term goals. We saw a lot of one

5:10

year deals, handful of two. This

5:12

time around, there is a lot more three year deals,

5:15

a few one and some two year deals, but

5:18

three year deals that we did not see last year.

5:20

Now that they have an understanding and a foundation

5:22

for this roster, they have the

5:24

cap space and you're not so much so

5:27

much and maybe what could be seen as kind of

5:29

a scramble, let's figure out what we have year

5:31

one. You're truly in that transition

5:34

phase now of let's have a little

5:36

bit of consistency. Now that we know what we have

5:38

in our coaching staff, what we want in players,

5:40

what we have and the players already here, give

5:42

out some longer deals that they can afford and

5:45

have some consistency moving forward.

5:47

Five players received three year

5:49

contracts. Justin Nichols, Blall Nichols,

5:51

just excuse me, Justin Jones, Blall Nichols,

5:54

Sean Murphy, Bunteing, Mac Wilson and DJ

5:56

Dallas. To your point, there were zero players

5:59

either resign or signed in the offseason

6:01

that received three year contracts a year

6:03

ago. There's also a lot more guaranteed

6:06

money being handed out. Kaiser White was

6:08

the single highest player as far as guaranteed

6:10

money a year ago at six million.

6:13

Four different players already this offseason

6:16

is to say five players have already

6:18

exceeded that amount,

6:20

and four of them in

6:23

double digits. As far as guaranteed money

6:25

is concerned, and why people focus

6:27

on guaranteed money as well. That's the money that you

6:29

get your first year or at signing.

6:32

But it does show you how a team

6:34

thinks of you and your role on

6:37

that team. You're not giving Justin Nichols

6:39

almost twenty million guaranteed to

6:42

be a backup or only get twenty

6:44

five to thirty five snaps a game. He's

6:46

going to start, and he is going to play

6:49

forty forty five to fifty snaps on

6:51

that defensive line, still be a part of that

6:53

rotation, but he's going to have a major role

6:56

on this team.

6:56

I mean, it's business. If you want players

6:59

to come sign here free agency when they are likely

7:01

having other offers. You got to get them to sign

7:03

here, and that's all the money. Now, you

7:06

have to find the sweet spot of where

7:08

the player and their agent are

7:11

happy with the number and you feel happy

7:13

as a team and an organization of what you're getting

7:15

from that player, Right, How are you going to utilize

7:18

them? How much are you paying them? There's obviously

7:20

a fine line there, but I mean when it comes to guarantee

7:22

money, I mean that's you got to get the

7:24

players to want to sign here. And as

7:27

much as culture and staff

7:29

and competitiveness and all of

7:31

those things play a role, money's

7:33

what talks.

7:34

Jonah Williams got nineteen million guaranteed

7:37

on a two year deal. Now, the question

7:39

is which side of the line of scrimmage left

7:41

tackle don't the right tackle? I

7:43

tried, I asked the question to you.

7:46

You went further and asked the question

7:48

to the head coach and the general

7:50

man and the general manager, and we only

7:53

got we'll see we've got response

7:56

from both. All right, MANI actually

7:58

did give you an answer saying it is quote

8:00

a good problem to have. And

8:03

then JG stepped in and

8:05

basically shut down all questions

8:08

about that and maybe all questions

8:10

about any player about position.

8:12

Will let me clarify because I

8:14

know well enough after a year with Manni

8:16

austin Ford as a general manager or a

8:18

head coach Jonathan Gannon in

8:20

their respect to to ask straight up of which

8:23

side is this player going to play? I know they're

8:25

not going to tell me that. Which coach or GM

8:27

would very few. I phrased

8:30

my question to awesome for it as

8:33

when you are signing a virstatile offensive

8:35

lineman, I e. Jonah Williams.

8:38

Is that already the discussion throughout that

8:40

process of knowing which side you're going to want

8:43

him on and which side you're going to want

8:45

Paris Johnston Junior on to players with versatility

8:47

on the left and the right side to book in the offensive

8:49

line or is that something that comes

8:52

later? So that was my question. I wasn't straight

8:54

at asking which side because that would be silly

8:56

on my end knowing they weren't going to answer.

8:58

But it is a fair question.

9:00

It is a fair question. Austin

9:02

Ford didn't really give me a straight

9:05

answer about how much

9:07

of that comes in discussion with the process

9:09

of signing Williams, but

9:12

did talk about the versatility and how it's a good problem

9:14

to have, and pretty much that they're not

9:16

going to know until they see both well,

9:18

the whole offensive line. Really it's not

9:21

just Paris and Joanah

9:23

Williams, but until

9:25

you see them both out on the grass, which

9:27

to a certain extent I can understand.

9:30

Now. I don't believe that they

9:32

don't have an idea of where they want Williams when

9:34

you sign him. Williams spent

9:36

most of his career as the left tackle,

9:39

and the Bengals brought in someone else last year.

9:42

At first, it was reported he didn't want to play on the right

9:44

side, ended up sticking out that year playing

9:46

as the right tackle, starting in Cincinnati

9:48

last year. I

9:51

find it hard to believe that you sign an

9:53

offensive lineman that has that versatility

9:55

and you already have another versatile offensive

9:57

lineman on your roster, you have an empty hole at

9:59

life tackle after releasing DJ Humphries.

10:02

I believe that that discussion has already

10:04

been had, even if it's not with Williams and his team,

10:07

at least internally within the Cardinals

10:09

organization. Gannon did step

10:11

up and pretty much say, hey, I just want

10:13

to get ahead of this. Don't ask

10:15

me who was starting, who was starting where,

10:17

because I'm not gonna know until the Friday before

10:20

our regular season opener, and that's when I'll

10:22

let you know again. Do I buy that?

10:25

No?

10:26

Do I buy that's when he's gonna tell the media.

10:28

Yes. And even then, I don't even think he's gonna

10:31

tell the media. I think it's gonna be You're gonna have to wait and see

10:33

Sunday and see how we line up for the first

10:35

time. That was my long way around of saying,

10:37

we don't know which side Joana Williams or Paris

10:39

Johnson Junior are going to play on the offensive

10:41

line. But I tried, and.

10:43

I applaud you for that. We will

10:45

get an idea because training

10:48

camp, I think even before

10:50

that. Now I'll go

10:52

back.

10:52

To like one on ones and OTA's and stuff.

10:55

I'll go back a year ago and

10:57

Paris Johnson Jr. What do you do

10:59

with him? Is he a left tackle supplanting

11:02

DJ Humphries and you're moving Humphreys to right

11:04

side? Or do you put Johnson

11:07

at right tackle? A lot of discussion, Well,

11:10

rookie mini camp, what happened?

11:13

Well, there were two offensive linemen that

11:15

were drafted a year ago, John

11:18

Gains Paris Johnson, and

11:20

they worked a lot together. Well,

11:22

I noticed where was Paris Johnson

11:24

lined up next to John

11:27

Gaines. Wasn't left of him, It

11:29

was to the right of him. And

11:31

that stayed the entire offseason

11:34

when you only had a handful of linemen

11:36

and you weren't going five across. Paris

11:39

Johnson Junior was always to the right

11:42

of whoever was playing center. Now,

11:45

was there a large enough gap between the center

11:47

and where Johnson was for

11:50

that guard position? Hard to tell

11:52

from our vantage point out on that football field,

11:54

but you'll get an idea this offseason when they start

11:56

lining up, even though it's not eleven

11:59

on eleven or seven on seven, but pay

12:01

attention to where players within their position

12:03

group, especially on the line of scrimmage

12:06

are lining up, especially if you have

12:08

a center out on that football field,

12:11

Well, where's the guard lined up? Which side?

12:14

And Paris was always to the left of

12:17

john Games.

12:18

It'll be a little later, since neither of them are rookies,

12:20

they're getting that. I think it'll be interesting,

12:23

which we don't have to go in full discussion about,

12:25

but kind of a residual move

12:28

possibly is if you want

12:30

to move Paris from the right to the left side,

12:32

do you move Will Hernandez from your right

12:34

guard to your left guard. He has experience

12:37

there. He has experience next

12:39

to Paris, and if that's something the two of them feel

12:41

comfortable with and confident

12:43

about, I don't think you really

12:45

have a true starting left guard at the moment. You've got

12:47

some depth. I mean, the Cardinals just signed

12:49

a center and Evan Brown, who was

12:51

most recently with Seattle as a center, he

12:54

has experience as a right guard.

12:57

I don't know if that signing

12:59

specifically to bring in competition

13:01

for Yell Deferholt as your starting center.

13:04

We don't know yet what this staff

13:07

likes out of John Gaines because he

13:09

didn't have an opportunity past the preseason

13:12

suffering a season ending knee

13:14

injury. So there's questions there. But

13:16

I'm wondering if there's

13:19

going to be a trickle down effect of

13:21

if Paris moves from the right to the left side,

13:23

maybe he's not the only one making a side

13:26

change.

13:26

Typically, offensive line coaches,

13:29

if you're going to move pieces, the

13:31

less pieces you can move the better,

13:34

because then it just kind of throws your entire

13:36

continuity out the window. But I

13:38

it is an interesting conversation or

13:40

something to discuss. Pay

13:43

attention to because you do have

13:45

an addition to Brown, but you have Elijah

13:48

Wilkinson was brought back, Tristan

13:50

Cologne who was brought back. Don't forget

13:52

Dennis Daly is still under contracts

13:54

on a two year deal, the second of a two year

13:56

deal. A number of different routes

13:59

this team can go.

14:00

Oh all before the draft.

14:01

Yeah, and then depending on what happens

14:04

at pick number four or

14:06

twenty seven or thirty five,

14:08

are you adding another body

14:11

in that room? And it's

14:13

all on Clayton Adams and the rest of

14:15

the coaching staff to figure out where these pieces

14:17

fit, what works better on the left side

14:19

or the right side. I'll say this though, Evan

14:22

Brown, signing officially on Wednesday,

14:24

told Azcardinals dot Com something

14:26

that we have heard repeatedly from

14:28

these new players, and we talk about the price

14:31

of admission Jonathan Gannon's favorite phrase,

14:33

price of admission. Do you have the passion

14:36

for the game and will you put team

14:38

first? And Evan Brown

14:41

telling Azcardinals dot Com, I believe

14:43

it was Darren Urban who got it. Quote. I am

14:45

willing to contribute to the team in any way

14:47

they see fit for me and help

14:50

them win. End quote.

14:53

The same thing from Jonah Williams, I'm

14:56

here, excuse me. I know what

14:58

I'm bringing to this team, and it's great tackle

15:00

play. When asked if he had a preference

15:03

left tackle or right tackle, heard

15:05

that from Sean Murphy bunting. I

15:09

prefer to play on the outside. Yeah,

15:12

but I'm looking forward to just being

15:14

a piece that they can use and utilize

15:16

in every way and really help me reach my ceiling

15:18

end quote.

15:19

I take all that kind of with a grain of salt because kind

15:21

of like, what else is the player gonna

15:23

say, right like? As opposed to like, Hey, I'm

15:25

going to come in and wherever they need me. Like I'm like, of

15:27

course, right like.

15:28

But if they were but if you'd have that discussion as

15:30

far as okay, we want to sign you, and you have that discussion

15:32

where they brought me in to play outside corner. Now

15:36

which side of the outside corner are they brought me in

15:38

to play slot corner? If

15:40

I'm sitting on that podium, I got no, what

15:43

doesn't hurt me to say what I was told? Yeah,

15:47

open up that door a little bit.

15:48

Yeah, I just I couldn't imagine Jonah

15:50

Williams coming and saying I only want to

15:52

play on the left, Like I don't you

15:54

know what I mean. I just I personally take all those

15:57

that's great to hear, that's what you want to hear, you

15:59

want I have a team first mentality.

16:02

I just personally kind of take all the those

16:04

specificings when somebody is signing and they don't

16:06

they don't know where they're going to end up or anything

16:09

yet, I just I personally kind of take all those with

16:11

a grain of salt, because.

16:12

What else are you going to say beats the alternative?

16:16

Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's

16:18

not like many players are coming and saying I only want

16:20

to play in this role, on this

16:22

spot, in this position.

16:25

You had a chance to sit down with six

16:28

of the free agents on what was a busy

16:30

what was it a week ago Thursday, hearing

16:34

them and then hearing their press conferences

16:37

on Wednesday. I

16:39

got a different feeling because I was

16:41

gone last week from AFAR. Just reading

16:44

these names and seeing some quotes

16:46

on a piece of paper, it

16:49

read differently than when I

16:51

listened to it and watched it

16:54

on the Arizona Cardinals official YouTube channel,

16:56

that there is a passion

16:58

to play this game. And I did get a

17:00

sense that these players were genuine

17:03

in wanting the team to

17:05

win. Yes, money matters, maybe

17:07

most of all, but bottom line

17:10

is put me in a position that has us,

17:12

has me succeed and it has us as

17:14

a team succeed as well.

17:16

Yeah. And for the most part, with the exception of

17:19

likely really like running back

17:22

DJ Dallas, most of these

17:24

free agents, the situation,

17:26

whether or not they knew it before signing or not, is

17:28

a lot of them are coming in to be

17:30

a starter and having the competition

17:33

of where this roster stands right

17:36

now, you get the feeling you are a

17:38

starter and that's what you're competing is to keep

17:40

that job. As a veteran,

17:43

it was very interesting to hear from

17:45

every single free agent that's not an exaggeration,

17:48

talking about how something special

17:50

is brewing here in Arizona, in

17:52

the culture, the competitiveness, that

17:54

team first mentality

17:56

that people have picked up around the league,

17:59

whether that's watching film or

18:01

talking to other players or playing against

18:03

the Cardinals. And that's something that they see

18:05

from Jonathan Gannon, which yes, is a big hand

18:07

in that, but even further up comes

18:10

from Manti Austin Ford and that was the big buzzword

18:12

when they were both hired roughly a year ago. Was

18:14

culture and not having an ego, that

18:17

team first mentality and the

18:19

way we had talked about all last year of seeing

18:22

that in the character of the rookies, you can continue

18:24

to see that character in the free agents that are

18:26

being brought on. That was something awesome for it. Talked

18:28

about at the podium Wednesday was all

18:30

of these signings are very intentional and not

18:33

just one dimensionally but multifaceted.

18:36

And why they are intentional and

18:38

the players you are bringing in these

18:42

free agents are veterans. They

18:44

are veterans who have starting

18:46

experience, who are durable, who

18:48

have lasted not just one

18:51

season, some of them two, three or four

18:53

seasons of playing every single game.

18:55

That's not something the Cardinals had last year,

18:57

especially on defense and the linebackers

19:00

room, in the defensive line room, and when

19:02

you're looking at the signings of Balon Nichols,

19:04

Justin Jones, the linebacker Mac

19:06

Wilson Senior, that's what stands

19:09

out. That's something awesome for it. Talked about, Yes, that was

19:11

something we looked at with these free agents

19:13

was durability. Are you available

19:15

on game days?

19:17

Might not be big names, household

19:19

names, but the reason

19:21

they were brought in these players specific

19:25

reason you use the word intentional.

19:28

Why were you brought in? Are

19:30

you durable? Bottom line

19:32

is first and foremost can you play? And

19:35

then are you able to

19:37

play? Meaning are you available on

19:39

Sunday. All nine of these new

19:41

editions on free agents have

19:43

played a year ago at least fourteen

19:45

games, and most started

19:48

all seventeen games. Evan Brown's

19:50

played sixteen of the seventeen. The one

19:52

game he did miss was the first meeting against the Cardinals

19:55

in Seattle. But yeah, that matters

19:58

because you don't want guys who

20:00

aren't going to be around yet.

20:02

Their tape looks great,

20:05

but it's only in eight game twelve

20:07

game sample size. Now. The exception to

20:09

this is LJ. Collier and

20:11

the question that you asked, what did

20:13

you see in him? Even though

20:16

it was less than one full game, But

20:18

obviously enough was seen in

20:20

the offseason training camp, preseason

20:23

games where all right, bad

20:26

luck, tear your bicep, all right, rehab,

20:28

we want you to return. Carlos Watkins

20:31

was in the same boat. He hasn't been

20:33

brought back yet, maybe he will be. But

20:35

there was a reason why Collier was signed on

20:37

the Friday before the new league

20:39

year began the intention we

20:42

want LJ. Collier back in the room. We believe

20:44

in him, even though he got hurt.

20:47

In Week one, Gannon said the vision

20:49

we have for Collier is a good one

20:51

and talked about the

20:54

passion and the violence he has when it comes

20:56

to stopping the run and rushing

20:58

the quarterback. I think you did see

21:01

good things from Callier throughout training

21:03

camp and the preseason. In that first game

21:06

out in Washington and getting

21:08

his hand up there and deflecting

21:10

a couple of passes, and you got a

21:13

short but good glimpse of what

21:15

he could possibly bring as a former first

21:17

round draft pick back to the Seahawks.

21:20

I think it does say a lot, whether

21:22

that's more so to LJ. Collier

21:25

or more so to Carlos Watkins at

21:27

this point, you're right, I mean free agency, we've got months

21:29

ahead of that for us. But

21:32

it is a good sign that you want to bring back

21:34

Collier and you don't want him to truly

21:36

test the market and end up elsewhere, and that you

21:38

can see him likely from

21:41

where you were to look at the roster right now as

21:44

a starter, likely with LJ. Collier,

21:46

Bolon Nichols and Justin.

21:47

Jones, and on defense, especially

21:50

that D line, you need depth, and you also

21:52

need depth at the quarterback position.

21:55

And this was another question that

21:57

I had going into the offseason,

21:59

before the start of free agency. What were you gonna

22:01

do? Hopefully you don't need a backup

22:04

quarterback. Hopefully kyleer Murray plays all

22:06

seventeen games and it doesn't matter who's behind

22:08

him. But we saw a year ago sixty

22:11

six different starting quarterbacks.

22:14

Dan, that's to a

22:16

team with at

22:19

least two different starting quarterbacks

22:21

on average. And the question was,

22:23

all right, well, what are you gonna do? Are

22:25

you comfortable with Clayton tuone after just the one start

22:27

in Cleveland? Obviously they're

22:30

not. And specifically, when

22:32

Monni asen Ford was asked about the acquisition

22:35

of Desmond Ritter, it was Mani who

22:37

brought up the experience and the seventeen

22:39

starts that Ritter has. Yeah, only

22:42

two years in the league, and this will be tunes

22:44

second year in the league. But

22:46

the starting experience matters,

22:50

maybe for a half, maybe for one game,

22:52

maybe for a handful of games, but you

22:54

need a backup plan. And I'm

22:57

more comfortable now than I was

22:59

two weeks ago. As far as that plan

23:01

behind Kyler Murray. Again, you hope to never

23:04

see your number two quarterback, but

23:06

you better have a plan b if something should happen.

23:09

Agreed. I think when you look at a

23:11

good backup quarterback, I mean not to sound

23:13

harsh, but there's a reason they're backup quarterback.

23:16

So it's important to not get well.

23:18

Yes, it is important to look at

23:21

the tape and the experience that desma Ritter

23:23

had in Atlanta. I

23:25

wouldn't get too caught up on the fact of oh,

23:27

but he lost his starting role.

23:30

But the thing is you're not bringing him in

23:32

to compete against Kyler Murray.

23:34

You're bringing him into in

23:37

worst case scenario, hopefully only used

23:39

in a small handful of situations,

23:42

and then if you have to, you could reassess from there.

23:45

I like the trade sending wide

23:47

receiver Ronda Moore to Atlanta to get

23:49

Riddter in return. This staff

23:51

very clearly likes big

23:54

receivers. They

23:57

had too many small ones. I don't think there

23:59

was a good scenario

24:02

which you had both Greg Dortch and

24:04

Rondel Moore out on the field with similar

24:07

skill sets. They liked what they saw

24:09

in dorts because they tendered him

24:11

to sign in the future

24:14

in return this season. I

24:18

think it was hard with this staff and

24:20

with the previous staff of finding the

24:22

best way to use Ronde Moore. It seemed

24:24

like the best way was to use him out

24:26

of the backfield and maybe on a few deep

24:28

shots, but that wasn't consistent

24:31

enough. So I like the

24:33

fact that, Okay, if you're seeing as a

24:35

Cardinal staff, you're probably not going to get

24:37

a lot of use out of Ronde Moore. Maybe

24:40

there was a chance he wouldn't

24:42

have even made the roster the start of the

24:44

regular season. You looked at that

24:46

trade value and you took advantage of it.

24:49

I would have liked to have seen Hollywood Brown

24:51

return, who signed a one year deal with the Chiefs,

24:54

and we don't know if the Cardinals

24:56

were giving

24:58

out their own offer trying to counter

25:00

whatever Kansas City ended up giving him.

25:04

I can't sit here and say that I would blame Hollywood

25:06

of if you have the opportunity to go play with one of

25:08

the greatest quarterbacks of all time and Patrick

25:10

Mahomes, who has proven that he can win with

25:13

very little receiver help, and you can go out

25:15

there and be that guy for him, I can't sit

25:17

here and say that I would blame Hollywood if

25:20

even if he wanted to come back to Arizona,

25:22

so wish him the best. The

25:25

fact, I still like the trade

25:27

though, of getting a backup quarterback who

25:29

you trust, because from what

25:31

we saw in Cleveland last year with Clayton

25:33

Tune, even if he took monumental

25:36

strides this offseason, heading into year

25:38

two, I feel a lot more comfortable

25:41

immediately with dozen Ritters the backup than I

25:43

would.

25:43

With Clayton Tune, especially if you want to stay

25:45

in that playoff chase December

25:48

January, and for whatever reason, you

25:50

don't have Kyleler on the football

25:52

field. You bring up the wide

25:54

receiver position, and specifically Hollywood

25:56

put yourself in his position. Cardinals

25:59

projected mocked to draft

26:01

one of these generational talents

26:03

at the wide receiver position. You have Michael

26:05

Wilson, you have Trey McBride. Despite

26:08

the fact that Kyler and Hollywood are good friends,

26:10

there's a better opportunity

26:13

in Kansas City quarterback

26:15

aside. Yeah, you got Travis Kelcey,

26:17

but really, who else

26:20

do you have as far as a major weapon

26:23

pass catcher. I think this is great

26:26

for Hollywood and I

26:28

wish him well too, would have loved to have seen

26:31

him here, but I just don't think. I think

26:33

Mani has a type when it comes to wide

26:35

receiver and these three, whether

26:38

it's Marvin Harrison, Malik Neighbors, rom

26:40

adonsay, they're all

26:42

big receivers six

26:44

foot plus two hundred pounds

26:47

and they get open, they catch

26:49

the ball. Do they block in the run

26:51

game? That's something I think the

26:54

Cardinals coaches really need

26:56

to figure out because that's

26:58

valuable in this offense. Because

27:00

I do think it's a run first offense. The

27:03

wide receivers need to compliment the

27:05

run game. We still don't

27:07

have an answer as far as where this team

27:09

is looking at when it comes to the draft, because,

27:12

as Moni said, wide receivers

27:14

come in different shapes and sizes. They come from big

27:16

schools and small schools. And

27:18

that was basically the extent when he was asked to not

27:22

evaluate, but discuss the

27:25

depth and the talent in this wide receiver

27:27

class. And it's not a surprise that he went that direction.

27:30

I was hoping for a little bit more, a

27:32

little bit more about each of those three wives.

27:34

Theres no way he would ever name drop

27:37

any.

27:37

Prospect, discuss the

27:39

three different wide receivers, not to

27:41

compare and contrast, but just what he likes

27:43

and what he knows.

27:44

I could

27:47

see him talking up all three.

27:50

No, No, I think

27:52

that that comes off from

27:54

what we've gathered of how little we get of because

27:58

everything he wore a top

28:00

receivers. These are the three I'm going to mention. I'm

28:02

not going to mention the others. This is where

28:04

they are projected to be drafted.

28:06

So these are the teams that I am discussing

28:09

a possible trade with. Yet I don't think we would

28:11

ever get him to name drop. I

28:13

will say, based on being

28:15

at the combine in Indianapolis and talking with

28:18

a good handful of draft analysts,

28:20

it's it's similar

28:23

to what we've heard of. It's pretty much pick

28:25

your poison. Do you prefer A

28:28

B and C or X, Y and Z in a receiver?

28:31

A lot of those things could probably overlap. It's

28:33

just your preference of what you

28:35

are wanting from the projected top three

28:37

receivers.

28:38

Now a lot of questions about the draft

28:40

on Wednesday because Marvin

28:42

Harrison Junior did not I

28:45

don't know if he attended, but he did not participate

28:48

in Ohio State's pro day on Wednesday,

28:51

skipping the workouts, much like he did at the scouting

28:53

Combine. Big deal, not a

28:55

big deal. Moni was asked about it, said, it's

28:57

the player's personal choice, something

28:59

he echoed back in

29:02

Indianapolis at the scouting Combine when Marvin

29:04

a handful of other players did not

29:06

participate. Certainly selfishly,

29:09

you'd like to see it. But at the end of the day, if

29:12

you're that top tier talent,

29:14

top five pick, top ten pick, a

29:16

pro day is not going to help you any It can only

29:18

hurt you. Plus, it's not football.

29:21

You're playing catch? Can you

29:23

play football? What does the tape say? And

29:25

I don't think you needed to see if you're the Cardinals Marvin

29:28

Harrison Junior out on that football field on

29:30

Wednesday.

29:31

Harrison did do interviews at the Combine.

29:34

I believe he did medicals. Yes

29:36

as well, says we can't say that about every

29:38

prospect of quarterback Caleb Williams,

29:40

who is participating in his

29:42

pro day out at USC. It's

29:44

interesting what this will

29:47

do to the future of draft

29:49

prospects of players

29:53

that are going to be generational talents

29:55

or players who think they are and aren't, and just

29:57

kind of how this is going to change the landscape a

30:00

couple of years of players, those those top

30:02

players not participating in combine

30:05

drills because they are not as

30:08

contained as

30:11

or controllable as a pro day is, where

30:14

really a quarterback is throwing

30:16

to receivers that he knows, he

30:18

trusts, he has practiced those routes with

30:20

the timing and all of that down so you

30:22

look better at your pro day, not

30:25

just with Marvin Harrison Junior, but even Caleb Williams.

30:27

I mean not doing medicals and only doing

30:29

medicals with the teams that you're going to visit,

30:32

and my pin like wasting

30:34

precious time because you're having to do medicals

30:36

at every single team and the fact that if it

30:39

doesn't work out and you're looking for another contract

30:41

and another team outside of whichever

30:44

team you're going on these draft visits

30:46

pre draft visits to you

30:49

know, I'm talking three four years down the road. Now, these other

30:51

teams don't have whatever your medicals

30:53

were. That's my side, rent that I should

30:55

get off. I just think it will be interesting

30:57

how the landscape changes, because it clear

31:00

is moving forward of these players putting

31:05

more of a priority of training for football

31:07

rather than training for drills. Training

31:09

for combine drills, training for pro days,

31:12

and doing all of that.

31:13

I don't mind skipping the workouts because

31:15

you're not playing football. You're training

31:17

for drills that you're never going to run, and I don't care.

31:20

You're forty times when you're not in full

31:23

uniform in cleats and someone's in your way.

31:25

And there's so much technology too to when

31:28

when you're out at practice or you're training or whatever

31:31

it is, the teams can track your speed

31:33

and they can do all of that as well.

31:35

Now for those that might want to skip

31:37

some of the medical or some of the interviews, I

31:39

think it's a handful, maybe

31:42

only two or three prospects a year. If

31:44

that I mean you have to be the

31:46

elite of the elite. But where it might

31:49

cost these players if they are

31:51

elite coming out of college, well,

31:53

if it doesn't work out and all

31:55

of a sudden, after

31:58

one, two, three years, you're

32:00

looking for a job. Now, all of a sudden,

32:02

you've hurt yourself because you didn't do the

32:04

medicals, the interviews three

32:07

years earlier at the scouting

32:09

combine because you thought I

32:11

don't needed to worry about team

32:13

number twelve. I got no shot of every

32:15

plane for them. Baker

32:17

Mayfield's a perfect example. Number

32:20

one overall pick didn't quite work

32:22

out in Cleveland. Well, I'm sure the Tampa

32:24

Bay Buccaneers had all their notes from his scouting

32:26

combine work, interviews and medicals.

32:30

Sometimes it's the second or third

32:32

team, especially for a quarterback. I

32:34

guarantee you, Danny, not all these top three

32:36

quarterbacks, these four or five six quarterbacks

32:39

that everyone projects to go in the first round,

32:41

not all they're going to hit.

32:42

Look at all those the twenty twenty one quarterbacks.

32:45

Trevor Lawrence is the last one standing in his original

32:47

team justin Fields.

32:48

Another great example, Lamar Jackson

32:51

was the last quarterback selected

32:53

in his draft class in the first round, and

32:56

he's a two time MVP. So

32:59

there's no guarantee, but you

33:01

have to trust in those that are

33:03

making the decision. And

33:05

do you trust Manti Austin Ford and company

33:08

based off of one off season one

33:10

draft? I do. Now we

33:12

just have to wait and see, wait and see.

33:14

Also if the Cardinals end up picking at for I

33:17

know the phones have started ringing a

33:19

little bit, won't really pick up until

33:21

pro days are finished and draft boards are

33:24

more finalized, and you get

33:26

a little bit further in free agency and you can

33:28

kind of figure out, okay, Awesoin Ford. It

33:30

said maybe a week leading up to the draft or when those

33:32

talks really start to get serious. But his

33:35

phone's ringing. And if I'm a

33:37

GM for another team, and I saw

33:39

what mania Austin Ford did year

33:41

one with the Cardinals. Three months on the

33:43

job, I am calling him every

33:45

week for a checkup, seeing how he's doing,

33:48

what's going on with his family, how golf

33:50

is, how his boards. I want to be

33:52

in his ear. I want to constantly

33:55

be a name that if

33:57

Austin Ford wants to go crazy

33:59

again a good way and work his magic

34:02

want I want to be one of the teams he wants to call.

34:04

And these phone calls right now, it's all

34:07

prep. It's nothing

34:09

going. I don't think anything's going

34:11

to materialize. If the Cardinals

34:13

do tray out at number four. It's not happening before

34:15

the Cardinals are on the clock with that fourth overall

34:18

pick. But it is going

34:21

to get louder. As far as those conversations,

34:23

I think that's all it is right now. It's conversations.

34:26

Hey, if this happens, then

34:28

this plan a b CD.

34:31

Because even though you're picking number four right now,

34:34

you still don't know what might happen

34:36

ahead of you. You think you know, but

34:39

are the Patriots really going to take a quarterback?

34:41

What quarterback? They don't take the quarterback?

34:44

You think? Is there a team that's gonna

34:46

jump up to number four because that quarterback

34:49

that everyone assumed was going to be available or

34:51

not available is now available.

34:54

Or if one of these scenarios were Minnesota

34:56

who desperately needs a quarterback at eleven, If there's

34:58

a thought that the Vikings could make

35:00

a trade up with the Cardinals to four, is

35:03

there another team so desperate that

35:05

they would be willing to make a trade with the

35:07

Patriots and New England drops

35:09

down a couple spots. I mean there's there's

35:11

a lot of scenarios. I agree. I mean

35:15

there's no way you make a trade

35:17

before the draft and before you

35:19

see how one, two, and three shakes

35:21

out. If you're Arizona, I will say I do

35:23

have a problem, not that you asked. I

35:25

try to do a mock draft simulator. I talked about

35:27

this on Cardinals Underground. I try to do a mock draft

35:30

simulator. After seeing Daniel Jeremiah's

35:32

mock draft three point zero where the Cardinals did

35:34

trade down to eleven with the Vikings and they

35:37

got pick number twenty three, so Arizona

35:39

ended up with three first round picks.

35:43

On my mock draft simulator, I tried to do

35:45

the exact same trade. I wasn't trying

35:47

to go crazy, given up four, getting

35:49

eleven and twenty three, and Minnesota

35:52

kept rejecting my trade, and

35:54

I was not happy about it.

35:57

Don't want to see Danny madd

36:00

I'll say this, though, I don't know why the Vikings

36:02

weren't happy with it. Should have been you as a general

36:04

manager, not happy that you were getting enough.

36:07

Maybe I should have been asking for more, and that's why

36:09

I kept getting rejected.

36:10

Because I love that

36:12

mock Daniel Jeremiah's three

36:14

point zero. What you're getting in

36:17

a edge rusher, a

36:20

wide receiver, and a defensive tackle.

36:22

Now, what it's going to take for the Cardinals

36:24

to go from four to eleven has to

36:26

be more than just eleven.

36:28

And especially for a franchise quarterback.

36:30

Yes, as they say, there's a quarterback tax

36:33

when it comes to draft trades.

36:35

I said this to Paul and Darren after

36:38

seeing that mock draft. One of my first

36:40

thoughts was if this happens in real life,

36:43

the chaos that the following

36:45

day Friday will be when all of these draft picks

36:48

come and we do all of this content and all

36:50

these shows will be mayhem.

36:53

And that was one of my first thoughts as a team.

36:55

Employee, selfishly, because

36:57

you know that's sometimes you have to be a little

36:59

sell fish. And if not all three of

37:01

those first round draft picks are in Detroit,

37:04

then Cardinals have got to go pick

37:06

them up, and that could delay the start of things

37:08

on Friday. And remember Friday, the draft starts

37:10

at four pm.

37:12

We are going to have things before

37:14

four pm for Cardinals fans to tune into

37:17

a lot of.

37:17

Time between now and the

37:19

draft. Although I think it's thirty five

37:22

days before the first

37:24

round.

37:24

Begins Thursday, I believe it's April twenty

37:27

fifth, Yes, twenty four, twenty fifth.

37:29

So it's good math done here.

37:32

Well, that's not so much math, that's just looking ahead at

37:34

a calendar. But thank you.

37:35

One final thought from what Mani and

37:38

JG had to say on Wednesday, and

37:40

I do think you got to peek behind the scenes.

37:43

When the question was asked about DJ Humphries and

37:46

Moni's tone changed and

37:49

I do think he was very genuine in saying

37:51

quote it was brutal and

37:53

acknowledging how difficult it was

37:55

to release DJ, who would be on

37:58

this roster if not for turning his ACL late

38:00

in the season. I fully believe that.

38:02

I just think based off of the injury,

38:05

when is he going to be available, if he's going

38:08

to be available, the cap hit

38:10

that you have for a player who might

38:12

not even be on the football field, all

38:15

of that played against Humphreys

38:17

being released. Though many

38:20

did open the door for Humphries

38:22

to come back at some point

38:25

down the road, it's not like the door

38:27

is closed, and it really shouldn't because everyone

38:29

loves DJ Humphreys the player,

38:32

but more so DJ Humphries the person.

38:36

It is really unfortunate the

38:39

timing of the injury and kind

38:41

of forcing the Cardinals hands. I

38:43

think it's an interesting topic because

38:47

there was already going to be so much discussion around

38:49

it of if now was going to

38:51

be the time to draft

38:55

a left tackle when you're looking at how deep this

38:57

draft class is and the capitol and the position

38:59

that the Cardinals are in, or

39:01

if you want it, now's the time to move Paris Johnson,

39:03

Junior from the right to the left. I mean that was a

39:06

discussion when Paris was drafted a year ago.

39:08

Was he has a lot of experience

39:10

on the left side. Is that

39:12

what the plan is to be DJ Humphrey's

39:15

replacement down the line. There's

39:18

just so many options, and it's I

39:20

mean, we've talked about this. It's unfortunate on a personal

39:22

standpoint that this is the

39:25

business side of things coming out of Humphreys

39:28

played well. Is he a

39:31

first ballot Hall of Fame left tackle? No,

39:33

No one's saying that. But he has played well

39:35

and he has been consistent as

39:37

the blind side protector on this offensive

39:39

line for many, many years. He

39:41

has been a leader in the locker room. He

39:44

was great with the media, and I don't just mean

39:47

his incredible sound bites, which there are

39:49

plenty when things

39:51

were difficult, whether

39:54

that is how the team was performing, off

39:57

field, problems going on around the team,

39:59

or with the co which is as

40:01

a media as the media, you could count

40:03

on DJ to talk with you and

40:05

to be honest with you. So

40:08

I can absolutely believe that it was a brutal

40:10

decision by MANI

40:12

awesome Fort to have to release Hump

40:15

and move forward in whatever

40:17

decision that's going to be if that is

40:19

with Jonah Williams or with Paris or

40:22

a draft picked. It'll

40:24

be interesting what the future holds.

40:26

I don't depending on his

40:28

rehab. I don't know that DJ comes

40:30

back next year because you're gonna have

40:33

depth, You're gonna have players that are going

40:35

to be more experienced in

40:37

terms of practice reps and being out here. But maybe

40:40

next offseason. I mean, who knows

40:42

what will come of that. What

40:44

was interesting was the

40:46

follow up question of if it's a similar

40:48

situation for defensive lineman Jonathan

40:51

Ledbetter, who also suffered a very late

40:53

season ACL injury, and

40:55

Austin Ford said yes.

40:57

That also played a role in that, which tells

40:59

me without straight up telling me that it

41:01

doesn't seem like the Cardinals are going to bring.

41:04

Back lead Better as

41:06

a restricted free agent he

41:09

needed to be tender to contract. He was

41:11

not, so now he's an unrestricted

41:13

free agent, he's available on the open market.

41:15

But again, it's whin do injuries happen, and

41:17

if they're late in the season, and that factors into

41:20

when you might be available the following season.

41:22

So it's the business of

41:24

the sport. It's the ugly side

41:27

of it when you like a player,

41:29

because how good of a person they are,

41:32

and you have to make those difficult to run

41:34

the word of money a brutal

41:36

decision as far as letting go hump and

41:39

saying right now is not the right time

41:41

for Jonathan Ledbetter.

41:43

Yeah, but look, these are decisions

41:45

that have to be made. You have to be able to put

41:47

the personal side to

41:49

the side, the personal side of things, and that's

41:52

what this front office is doing. And I think

41:54

if you're a Cardinals fan and

41:56

you see that objectivity and kind

41:58

of having the clear

42:01

eyes and the vision, then that's

42:03

what you would want out of a general manager.

42:05

Anything else stand out from the more

42:08

than what twenty five minute press conference

42:10

on Wednesday from Mani and JG.

42:12

Outside of how the press conference began

42:15

with a shout out to you,

42:17

Danny from the head.

42:18

Coach related birthday message that was

42:21

very kind of him, I don't think

42:23

anything else stands out. I mean, it's on our YouTube

42:25

channel if you want to go check it out.

42:27

Twenty five plus minutes. Let's see, I'm gonna

42:29

try to looking at my log here almost twenty

42:31

seven twenty seven minutes fly bye.

42:34

Yeah, Well, there's a lot lots

42:36

happened in the last week and a half.

42:38

That's true.

42:39

Was still several weeks to go before maybe

42:41

as many eleven new players are added

42:44

once the draft hits.

42:45

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, go check it out. Go listen

42:47

to head coach and GM talk at the podium.

42:50

Good to hear from the decision

42:52

makers on Wednesday, and always

42:54

good to hear from our decision maker here on

42:56

Cardinals cover too. Danny Surrek whoa.

42:59

Clip that code? Have

43:01

that live in infamy?

43:05

Yeah?

43:06

Okay, it was a little sarcastic, but

43:08

that's fine.

43:10

Sarcasm for me.

43:11

Who are you doing? Who are you picking for?

43:13

I haven't even looked.

43:15

You don't even know what I'm gonna ask you go ahead and

43:17

ask from your march madness.

43:19

I haven't even looked.

43:22

Syracuse isn't playing. He is not

43:24

playing? Is no Arizona

43:26

is a su is not.

43:28

We're gonna have to do like a

43:30

departments wide no money.

43:33

Let's make that clear.

43:35

College basketball. Who doesn't not bet?

43:37

I don't know. I don't know. Here's the thing is, I don't

43:39

know anything about college basketball. And then I

43:42

get so intense about my bracket

43:44

and I get upset when I'm wrong,

43:46

as if I have any true knowledge

43:49

whatsoever. And so then I get frustrated

43:51

with myself because I care, but I don't care

43:53

enough about college basketball.

43:54

You start yelling at these young kids for.

43:56

Not No, I'm not like that. I'm not that

43:59

kind of Okay, but

44:01

a Final Fours and Phoenix, that'll be fun.

44:04

First weekend of April. Yes,

44:07

it'd be fun. Yeah, maybe we

44:09

shall all go.

44:11

If you're buying my ticket, I'll be there. Wow.

44:14

I don't know if that's happening. My schedule

44:18

I praying, so I got some work

44:20

to do. On that note,

44:22

we'll put a lit on this edition of Cardinals

44:24

Cover two, presented by Hyundai, probably partner of

44:26

the Arizona Cardinals, before Danny

44:28

costs me any more money here on this Wednesday

44:31

special. Thanks as always to our executive

44:34

producer Jim Mamahadra, our associate

44:36

producer Coddy Fincher. For Danny Serek, I'm

44:38

Craig Real Lou. We'll talk to you next time here on

44:40

Cardinals Cover two