2 Pros and a Cup of JoeToday on 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe, the Tournament tips off, while fans across the country find excuses to get out of work. Aaron Rodgers is at the bar with the Vikings, Steelers and Giants, but who’s taking him home? TheMMQB, Albert Breer talks Rodgers landing spots, the Bengals working with Trey Hendrickson, rule changes and more!
Is the best of two pros and a couple Joe with Lamar Aarings and rating Win and Jonas Knox on radio.
Well, let me be the first to say, happy the sectomy recovery day.
Everybody? What?
What?
What?
Yes?
What?
Yes?
You did? You got it done?
Well?
No?
Not me?
I oh no, no, I'm married. There's no need. Yeah, no, not me. I'm you're saying.
I'm saying, that's what is that a lot of people want to stay home from work. They go get a visectmy and they got to recover and they can watch the tournament.
How many times can you do that to watch the tournament? Yeah? Good point?
You know, can you do it every can they reverse? They can? They can? Yeah, That's what I'm saying. So is it worth the like an oil change? Stay home for March Madness?
It's like an oil change. It's been three hundred and sixty five.
I heard.
I heard it's the equivalent of getting kicked in the balls. Now, I've never been kicked in the balls, but I've been hitting the balls before, and that really, really is a very very very very painful thing. When I was setting a pick in high school and a dude ran into me and and need me and am I and the balls.
This is the last time you've been kicked in the balls?
Yeah?
High school, buddy.
I mean I picked up my six year old daughter the other day and you know how they somebody got excited. They started like flipping their feet. She crushed me on the way up. Yeah, she's like getting that tall now.
I gave her a hug. I like put her down.
I was like, okay, got hit and in my place. I gotten hit there you know since then, But I mean I'm talking like like pain of another like like the the pain pain of somebody running into your balls that way.
It's been high school like.
I've been hit like accidentally or you know, like you know, all right, I got need like you know, buy my kid or or somebody was you know, plopped down or got up off of the couch. Oh, use me to get up, Like I get it. But but hit hit like did it? Like have you when you got hit by your daughter? Have you ever been hit in your balls?
Like?
Yes, and it felt the same.
Buddy to me, it's all the same.
Sensitive you half sensitive, You're you're sensitive balls man.
See I'm more of an industrial strength balls man.
That's what it sounds like right now with this, Why do I come over there, I'll give a good flick.
And I'm gonna give you a punch and we're gonna say what we're gonna do.
Making.
I am not making the wild accusation that you are making right now because I'm acknowledging that all men in this department are the same.
It doesn't take much.
I mean, Jonas told me a stiff breeze in Chicago and he's going down to one.
That's it was that hawk, right, the hawk, The blows through your blows through your body. I got a whiffle ball straight to the balls like two weeks ago for my son.
So see, now that's different.
That's the I mean, there's I feel like I feel like there's levels of pain in that area, you know. I just feel like there's levels of pain, Like like if I got hit by a grown man there versus getting hit by my daughter. Yes, they're both going to hurt, but one is going to hurt way more like dude.
I mean, I played catch when I was a kid.
Like, Here's the thing I never understood about wearing a cup either is you'd get hit and it's still hurt. Like maybe it was less than a little bit of what it feels like, but it almost felt like the cup provided a short space environment for it to bounce around and like and become more painful, Like there's more trauma because they were confined to a tight space that would rattle around if they got hit.
I was never comfortable. Do people in like, I know boxers do it, but do people in sports still wear cups?
Like if you're a.
Summer or like a lacrosse goalie, you don't.
You are nuts, You're not gonna be able to have kids.
But but you'm.
Actually a lacrosse goalie not wearing one, or like, I mean, hockey players are pretty padded.
Up, but what about what about football players? Though?
Do you think any football players still wear cups? I know they still wear jocks, which is that's still funny to me too.
If you're playing against Pete Priska, you got you.
Yeah, he's a squeezer, right.
Yeah, Remember he told that story he said he made that kid scream a little.
Grabbing twist, Like, I don't think I would have it in me to do that.
I used to do that in Oh yeah, I was a dirty player. I wasn't what you would consider the cleanest player. I definitely played dirty only if they were playing dirty, though I did start it, but I would get it. I definitely would get involved. That's like a Midwest East Coast thing. I don't I don't think they do that in the South or out west, you know. I think in california're like, no, Bro, what are you doing?
Bro?
No?
Bro plays over? Make it up, Let's go back to the huddle.
Come on, Bro, we were, we were cold blooded. What what's your problem? Coop? That guy? I don't like the California guy impression.
Bro.
The guy tried to grab my jug. Bro, tried to grab my jug? What are you doing?
Bro?
Hey?
Bro plays over whistle Blue, go back to your go back to your huddle.
Hey, hackey sack, not my he sack. Bro, Come on, we were we were stone cold.
I know that we stepped on hands, like, stepped on ankles, legs. If it was that type of game, Like it wasn't always that way, but if it was that type of game, like when North Hills played North Allegheny it was it was bad. When North Hills played Butler, it was bad. Those two teams. It was really really bad. Like it was. It was bad like if it was a pile up, you hear people get out, get out the stuff like that, and it generally was me in there. It's me, you know who taught me that That message to do shouts out to Jason Brazen.
His nickname was Bozo.
He would hit but a locker before like he hit but hisself to to blood before the war, before the game. It was crazy dude with his nickname was Boso.
So it was LeVar Grabbington, Grabbington.
I mean, you could have called me that because if you if you hurt me, if you did some crazy stuff to me when you were tackling me and stuff like that, if I got a pile up, and here's the thing, it wasn't even the person that that started it that ended up being the recipient of the retaliation. It was always like a teammate more often than not, because in the pile up, you don't know, I just saw see a darker pair of colored pants. Let's go get it. Like it's not like that's the right person. But you're on the other team, so you gotta deal with what took place with the guy who stepped on my hand. So you gotta deal with this squeeze. And I mean it was a squeeze, like get up in there, you know what I mean. Yeah, I'd be sitting there laughing like you can't do too much because you'll get caught. So but I'd be laughing like crazy, like they'd be.
Like, get up, right, get up, get up, get up, get up? All right, there you go.
Well, somebody for text, somebody for Texas did did also get kneed in the groin last night for when it's worth with the second.
Tournament here, congratulations to Xavier.
Oh yeah, good, Xavier proved that they actually belong in there instead of a what Texas go nineteen fifteen?
Like you know, fourteenth in the sec you have.
But Texas is back hook the baby.
I just you know, people have conspiracy theories that this was about the TV ratings and and I don't know, I'm not a TV expert. If more people were going to tune in that matchup because Texas a part of it, I get it.
They've got a.
Big following, big alumni base. But I mean, ultimately there were there not more deserving teams. I kind of keep going back to West Virginia, which talk about get kicking the nuts. Not only do you not get in the tournament and then the coach leaves to take the Indiana jobs.
By the way, it sounds like that deal was done during the season.
Like it's been a tough seventy two hours there, I think for West Virginia at this point, or I guess I should say the last week, but.
I mean, I don't know, Like that's what bothers me about.
And then again we can argue resumes and all that kind of stuff. And I know North Carolina showed out they were another team.
That was on the bubble. But I just I look at this and I go, I mean, this is part of the fun of it.
But at the same time, if we're just gonna push out some of these smaller teams that in the world of basketball, I mean, Xavier is a great job, Marquette's a great job. You know, those are jobs that are coveted by a lot of basketball coaches for a number of reasons.
But like when it comes down to play against.
Like a blue blood like a Texas for example, if you've ben considering that in basketball, or at least a big brand, I just people think it's like bigger of a disadvantage And I know there's a lot of resources in the SEC for college basketball, but there's a lot of that too that's directed towards Xavier when that's your biggest sport at your school, Like that's what carries everything. So I don't know, I was glad to see Xavier win. It felt like that was a.
Little bit bit.
Isn't that where Dwayne Wade went to school?
Marquette Mark Marquette.
Is where he went.
Yeah, yeah, Marquette.
Zovers have some players thought you got Duke winning yours? Who you got win in yours? You got Duke? Why are you looking at my bracket? I mean, why are you hustle in my back? Mind your own stall? Okay, Like you don't need to worry about my bracket, all right.
And you put your picks in. It doesn't matter now you can't change them.
Yeah, listen, my final four set. I was actually I was about to talk.
You guys have as your final four.
Oh, I've had a log on real quick. I know I've got Florida, I've got Duke. I don't have in the Houston bracket. I think I've got someone else coming through there. And then who's the one seed in Auburn, Auburn Florida duke. And then I've got like kind of an upset, like someone making a run on that side of the bracket.
I got Michigan State. You cool o, Yukon Alabama and Kentucky.
Man, I hope, I hope you cont does just a listener.
Michigan State. Yeah, Michigan. I got Michigan State winning it?
Do you really?
I do you love his he is a good coach man me go ahead, make sure?
Now what do you got, Jonas? What do you got? You got crap out?
Okay?
I mean I look at Michigan in Michigan State's path to get there.
Oh what am I doing?
I've got I feel like it's it's a pretty.
Like it's like pulling up somebody else's bracket. Right.
Oh yeah, that Kentucky is my other team. Yeah, that's a good one.
On a second, I guess we'll see.
I think Alabama's going to surprise a lot of people, though. I think Alabama make it pretty.
Final four yep, Texas A and m versus Saint John's Duke versus Houston and I got Duke over Saint John's in the final.
Wow, look at.
You and by the way, that that second round matchup, the potential of Saint John's taking on Arkansas is awesome.
Man, Well, forget the Italians.
A lot of the pie Zons will be happy, or you know a lot of the hot Peppa's and all that stuff showing out there.
But what I'm saying is just.
Two of the best coaches in Kentucky basketball history. And you know, obviously you moved on from coach cal which mind you set.
A or did Coach Kyle move on from them? I don't know.
I hope they kind of moved on.
I literally sent one of my buddies, the meat Wagon a highlight of Oakland, you know, beating Kentucky.
That was that last year? Was last year when when as a goal here, how do you pronounce this? Last night? The white guy who lit Lexington on fire?
I mean, case in point for the NCAA tournament, why it's so hard to win because you can get some white guy that just absolutely lights you up, that probably is going to be playing at a Rex side of the rest of his life. He's like that guy that's like stealing everyone's money or winning like the men's Under forty League.
He walked into the lock or he walked in to the basketball court like that's him right there, He's the one that beat Arkansas.
But you've got like the guy who just laughed and the guy you maybe should have thought about bringing back, you know, scoring offers one another.
But it'll be fun. Yeah, it's it's gonna be a good time. And I also I was thinking about this, how many wins does North Carolina have to have and tournament to justify them getting in because they already got one in the plan.
No, they got to get one. They need one more.
They need to be official, all right, because I got them beating Ole Miss.
I know that I got I got them beat I I got All Miss winning that one. So that's uh, I got them. I got them, Yeah, they I got them beating out with State.
You know, they say because today's the first day of the tournament, and they say this on average eight upsets. I think in the is the first round or first second. I think it was first round. I have to go back and look at what I was researching. But that's on average about what you get, which is I don't know if that's more than you guys think or less than you think.
It feels kind of just about right.
But let me see how many upsets I have. I got Auburn winning, I got Louisville winning. I got Michigan State or Michigan winning. So there's there's a wait, who's Michigan playing Creighton? No, No, they're playing.
You see playing at UC San Dieg.
Yeah, that's not an upset Texas any and that's not an upset. I don't have very many upsets, to be honest. I got New Mexico beating Marquette. I got Liberty over Oregon twelve five.
Do you really?
Yeah?
I got what else I got here? I have high Point beating Purdue.
Oh no, it happened.
Yeah, And then I've got that's not.
What a what a beautiful school. If you guys haven't looked at the high Point, that place is amazing, you know. I think with their meal plan they get like unlimited free ice cream. It's like an ice cream truck. They just can go to anytime and get it.
Really.
Yeah, there's there's a steakhouse I think they can go to once a month. It's a nice steakhouse and they get to eat at it for free, and it's part of their education, like teaching them how to have like proper managers, etceter.
A, going like a nice restaurant.
Yeah, it's a place is incredible in North Carolina.
I got Baylor Mississippi State.
There you go that a way, var Yeah, I got away for.
In Mississippi State. That's that's an upset.
My wife did her bracket. She's got Baylor winning at least a couple of games just because of Fixer Upper, because of Chip and Joanna like that. That's like, that's the problem with this. Like it's it's fun and all, but that's the problem.
Well, it's also a religious school institution.
So oh, well you are you know what her final is, don't you. It's St. Mary Catholic School on there Sat Mary Saint John's.
And I'm not making that up, Like I could have sworn she was gonna take New Mexico just for the name.
But you know, she went.
She didn't went like a Zaga or like another program.
It's a bit more proven maybe in basketball.
Does she know it's a Jesuit school.
God forbid, God forbid, my daughter.
Goes to a Jesuit school.
It's a great education.
Man.
Yeah, I got like three or four upsets. I got three or four on here.
Well I do know this, whoever's listening right now, I mean, if you are laughing to yourself, like you guys have that pick, You guys have that pick, why don't you come get some of this smoke. Why don't you step across that line in the sand and come get dusted, Okay, because you can still be a part of our Fox Sports Radio Bracket Challenge. So, just like in basketball, Tractor Supply knows that a winning season takes practice, teamwork, and a can do attitude. So it is Bracket Challenge season. The Fox Sports Radio Bracket Challenge is live right now, so come on down and get that ass worked over by anybody on this show during.
The entirety of the attorney.
So be sure to complete your bracket at foxsports Radio dot com right now. The winning bracket in the Fox Sports Radio Bracket Challenge will win a twenty five hundred dollars gift card a Tractor Supply, and a perfect bracket will win you one million dollars. So fill out your bracket now and until this morning later this morning before the games begin, so visit Foxsports Radio dot com to register, to get rules and to fill out your bracket. It's all sponsored by Tractor Supply for life out here.
We can win a million dollars.
Perfect bracket. It's all takes. It's all takes.
Cool mind you. So the four playing games, I just want you to know.
Four for four.
Eat that? All right?
Eat that?
Shonas Oh you picked the playing games? Yeah yeah, some of us actually got the extra step over here. We picked the playing games to palin. My wife had Texas last night, I had Xavier. There was a lot on the line, all right, and I'm not talking about money, all right.
Yeah oh yeah, oh yeah, hey bro, oh yeah, so this needs to be National vaseectomy Day for you for for for real, for real. Q we got five bro. That was a picture though yesterday. Like, it's nothing like having boys, man, Like I love my daughters and there's nothing like that. Daughters hit differently too, but man, you have your boys, like those are those are your hanging buddies when you get older?
Man.
Well see that's the thing is I'm like really looking for that forward to it because I like listening to you.
I'm like, man, that's me neat.
But I'm in this phase where I'm just like carrying a baby and kind of cuddling deal with like the two year old tantrums.
I didn't like either one of them for about fifteen sixteen years kidding yeah, but but once you get to that fifteen sixteen year mark, man, it's it's it's great. Once they can become d D that's like, hey, I, hey, bro, we so I talked to my I talked to my boys all day.
That's who I talked to.
That That's why I like if I'm on the phone, like outside of business, that's who I'm on the phone with. And we just talk about like life and talk about being motivated and what are we doing and what's the plan?
Da da da? Like my son's man like he's crazy.
I talked to Man about football and what he's got going on, talk to Keno about what he's doing in business. It's like it's really uh, it's really cool. Man, Like they they become your guys, like when he was when Man was home on spring break, like that's all we play. And I don't even play video games, but just so I could sit and hang with him and he wouldn't walk off and go to his room. I was like, just bring your game up here, just play it on here. So we were playing Mortal Kombat and we were playing NCAA four. He was whipping my ass in NCAA football. But we're just having great conversations.
Man.
It's like the coolest thing because you could just be all the way real with them, cuz that's that's you. You made them. It's just the wildest thing. Like you're looking at this grown ass man and it's like you're my guy, Like I made you, bro, Like you came from right there, like boom, right there, buddy, right now, look at right there, like what we talked about at the beginning of the segment.
It's crazy, man. But AQ, you got two man beautiful dudes. Man.
Yeah, you know, try to like them more than I like mine all the way up to the teams. But I'm just telling you, bro, once you get to like that sixteen seventeen age like it's it's it's it's official, man, I'm telling you, you'd be sitting there like, yeah, it's my dudes right here, like like we go take over for another prize, we take a whole village out with these three right here.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally there. You go.
Be sure to catch live editions of two pros and a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Errington, and Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern, three am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio.
App The Aaron Rodgers' latest.
Apparently he's in quote unquote no rush at all to make a decision, and you know, he's just kind of after finding out that the Minnesota Vikings are apparently going to be moving on to JJ McCarthy, they're still looking to add a veteran. From the Rogers standpoint, he's just kind of waiting around, according to reports, and not really in any sort of a rush or hurry now to figure out where he lands. And obviously the Steelers and the Giants have been speculated and rumored. But that is the latest on the Aaron Rodgers front when it comes to his interest huhm, and taking another look at this whole thing. So I don't know how that lands with anybody, but it feels to me like he had a preference. Maybe that preference and that door is still open, and you know, the Giants and the Steelers can wait a little bit.
Isn't this a conflicting report from Schefter compared to what was said after the season.
I thought after the season or maybe the.
Super Bowl, there was a report that came out that he wasn't gonna wait, he was gonna make a decision sooner than later.
Am I mistaken for that?
No?
That was and that was the Was it the Jets who also said it or somebody like, yeah, that it was going to be that it wasn't going to drag out?
Was well, the Jets did drag it out, right? Or was that his decision just to play in general?
That might have been the play. Okay, I think it was the play. But but the Jets did not drag it out. You know, they came in, they got their new coach, the new coach, you know, talk to them that it came out that they were saying, you know, what they were expecting of them, and then they released them, you know, and which you're giving a guy the opportunity to test the market out at the beginning, which is to me, in some ways a lot of ways, that's admirable, you know, for for a team to do that, because they could be petty and hold on to you and say, well, we're gonna wait da this and that and the other, and they could wait until you know, you get to a point of where you know, those roster spots are are filled up, and and so he's had the opportunity to have multiple several conversations. It sounds like uh with with teams about the possibility of playing. But again, like I said, I go back to this. If the two things that you're saying are one, I want to play for Minnesota and two if I'm not, if I'm not doing that, I might possibly retire. I'm just telling you, and I'm a double down on it. When a player starts saying retirement, like that's a part of the options that they're they're putting out there. They're already close to retiring, and do you want that on your team. Guys that are close to retirement handle things much differently than guys that are still trying to play. It's just known. It's just natural. You're almost done, like you're at the end, Like you handle things in a way where something that might have mattered more before it doesn't matter as much now, you know, and even your approach may be a little bit different. Maybe you know, maybe it isn't. For some they just work hard, they do what they need to do, and it is what it is some people that I mean, you're already thinking about what you're going to do post career more more intensely. So to me, that's a red flag. It's a red flag if I'm not Minnesota, and it's a red flag if you're saying retirement. And so if I'm one of these other teams, I really am measuring out seriously. If I'm the Pittsburgh Steelers, do you want to bring in Aaron Rodgers and deal with what comes with Aaron Rodgers, especially the longer the drags out. If it doesn't work out, you have a lot of scrutiny and a lot of criticism come in your way because you know what, the first thing the media is going to say, he didn't even want to be here anyway, and he was close to retirement.
New York Giants.
I don't know how much that matters because they're not really been very very competitive, But you're going back into the same media market if you're Aaron Rodgers, and that could be problematic.
Well in your house is still there and all that, Maybe that plays a factor. I don't know.
May be I do have some questions though, you know, for starters, does the waiting game ultimately tell him which team really wants him because they waited, Like does that factor in?
You know?
I I it just it seems.
Like the decision and should be somewhat easy to make at this point. But maybe it's not for this reason, because you know, if you go back to last year, did we expect the Atlanta Falcons to take Michael Pennox after they signed Kirk Cousins to a one hundred million.
Dollar guaranteed deal. That was a surprise.
So I wonder if he's looking at the Giants who are in striking distance of a quarterback.
Or even you say, we want about the Steelers.
You know they're drafting what twenty first whatever it is, you know, or you know they could still have a team drop to them or excuse me, a quarterback drop to them and where they surprise him and then it's like here we go again. Maybe there's an element of him saying, Hey, if I'm going to be here, I want to make sure that I'm not worried about like things not going well, and then saying, well, let's put the young guy in. Or I don't want to have to worry about being a mentor to a young guy. I just want to be here when I play, try to win a super Bowl, and that's how I want to finish my career.
Why would be where would that place exist? I don't think that exists any where You're going You're ultimately looking to replace Aaron Rodgers.
How long are you going to have them? Sure?
Sure, but that's on that that's on the organization to make right, Like you can question whatever organization that is. That could be Pittsburgh, could be Norrick whoever I'm talking from. I'm talking from Rogers perspective. You know, Is he waiting because he doesn't want to get with a team that then is going to draft the guy and then he's like, well, here we go again. Right, So that's that's one question. Maybe it's that's one of the reasons why it's taking this long. And then maybe he's just not sure if he wants to do this, Like I do wonder about the toll that the Jets past two seasons have taken on him. Are there elements of not wanting to to taint like his experience with football, you know, and and say like I don't want to feel negative about it because of how things ended.
You know, It's it's so much easier.
To end on top when you're John Elway, when you went back to back Super Bowls and you can right off into the sunset, and when you come back to the sport, you can do it in an executive capacity. I mean, another kick to the nuts is, you know, apparently there's not many TV networks who are interested in him, at least based on reports we've seen.
Now.
I find that hard to believe, only because.
Of you know how obviously the Pat McAfee show is done with a lot of those interviews that that Rogers has kind of brought about. But you know, if you're looking at it from that standpoint, you're saying, well, you know, maybe there's not really a desire for that to go into the TV realm.
But wasn't he supposed to do Jeopardy? Wasn't he supposed to be like a finalist for being like the host of Jeopardy at suit point?
Sure, but that's kind of a different realm too, right, Like you're not you're not doing football, you're doing more.
Sure, it's TV, but it's different.
It's like, Okay, if I went from this time slot was filled by someone who went from sports to politics, you can say, it's TV.
They're kind of two different worlds.
Though, yeah, right, we're not talking about getting kicked in the nuts like we were the first segment, you know, probably you know throughout the show, you're talking about more more serious topics. But again going back to the general point, like was his time with New York so damaging that he looks at it and says, I don't if I can't have the perfect situation that I want to go to, And maybe Minnesota was that I don't want to, like, I don't want to go into this, I mean, and I also I also go back to the comment of yesterday about how they said we're not interested in interested in him at this time. Once the thing that the Vikings get through OTA's and Mini Camp and they're watching McCarthy, they're.
Like, oh, hey, no, he's not ready.
You know.
I wonder that if they'd be willing to say, let's bring Rogers in and see where things go from there.
And he might still be available at that point in time. I just to me, I look at Aaron Rodgers, and I say, if he's looking at it from the perspective of I don't want somebody drafting a quarterback or anything like that. That's that's a tad bit delusional, you know, because how much more am I going to get out of you? I just don't know, Like you have to have immediate contingency plan in play. If you're bringing Aaron Rodgers in the first season with the Jets, he gets a season ending injury. The second year with the Jets, he has a pretty decent year, but then ends up getting let go from the team. I mean, that's not the best two years to say, Okay, let's make a major investment in this guy and let's see if we can get like a three to four year runout of them. I think that you're looking at it at face value. We'll bring you in, see how you play. If you can play out a high level and help our team, that's great. But make no mistake about it. We are looking towards the future for what it is that we're going to do, and that could be now, it could be the present. If I'm Minnesota, I'm still looking at JJ McCarthy and I've already told you as much. We're looking at JJ McCarthy to beat a guy by our actions. Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones gone both gone, You're not clearing that up out to bring somebody in to be the starter. You're clearing that out for JJ McCarthy to be the starter. So if you're thinking that Minnesota is your perfect opportunity to go be a starter, I think that you're misjudging and mismeasuring what's taking place in Minnesota. Your best bet is to go to Pittsburgh. That's your best bet because that's the better team of the teams that you have left outside of Minnesota.
So Kevin Seaffer of ESPN reported that the Vikings decision is to give JJ McCarthy as many reps this spring as possible, and if Aaron Rodgers is needed later for some reason and is available, then he will be revisited.
And when I see that, I go That doesn't say elite. That doesn't scream elite. Are I tell you that?
Yeah, But it also doesn't scream that they're totally confident that he got time. It also doesn't scream that they're totally confident in JJ McCarthy. Look they According to reports, there at least was an offer made to Sam Darnold. According to reports, there was at least a decision Daniel Jones had to make because they did make him an offer as well too, And now they've at the very least had a conversation with Aaron Rodgers and would be open to another conversation with him later. This sounds to me like maybe there's some doubt about JJ McCarthy as a whole, because that's three different times you had an opportunity to just shut the door, and still the door's not shut.
I don't think it's one or the other though, right, It's like, maybe you do have doubt and and JJ McCarthy in terms of what he may bring to.
The table because he hasn't done it hasn't done anything yet.
Right, But you're but you're also maybe having doubt on do we bring in Aaron Rodgers. There could be I don't think either one has one has to be true for the other one to be true or the other one to be false. I think that it could be both. This is a city who highlighted Prince. I mean there very accepting.
I mean of all sorts of different I'm just saying, like the Prince is amazing. I think Rogers can go and do whatever he wants in the offseason and they'll be very accepting of him coming to lead their team.
I just I think I think the Steelers is an interesting scenario because they yeah, I heard him. I just I just think they got to jump out there and and declare like, either you want to be a stealer, and I feel like it should go in the media like what Hayward did, like either you want to come play for this team, or you don't if you want to keep measuring and weighing it out and waiting and this, that and the other, like we're good, man, we're good. We'll move on, We'll figure it out and go from there. But you're already setting a tone. I just think that Aaron Rodgers, if he's going to continue to play, he has to be very careful of what the reputation that has kind of been created for him in some aspects, which is that there's a lot that comes with having Aaron Rodgers on your team. Where's a lot that comes with dealing with Aaron Rodgers. You gotta you gotta be mindful of that because this is now, you are now in.
A free agent pool.
Your talent is un you know, is undisputable, but dealing with what comes along with the talent is disputable and to me, you got to be very careful on that.
Minnesota is the perfect spot. Kirk Cousins didn't get vexed. I mean, jeez, so like, why wouldn't he wait around for Minnesota? That to Brady's point, that is a very accepting city and a very accepting franchise.
Is us as Minnesota hired a shaman yet, I mean, maybe that would help entice things.
And then just I don't know, they lure them in with a camel, like hey, listens.
But the way the way LeVar is portraying this, it's almost like Aaron's the low hanging fruit at the bar at the end of the night and they're like, well, I want to see how my prospects go with this over here. And then it's like, uh, kind I'm not really sure about this, but I know over at the bar, I got the guaranteed thing. You know, that's just that last he got called. That's what I'm saying. You think Minnesota is gonna wait till the last call?
Is that you're saying here, that's what it looks like, is this and I'm really gonna do this situation? Yeah, it could be, No, it could be it could do not compare Aaron Rodgers to it could be going to do that.
I'm really going to do this. Yeah, come on, it could be that's not I think I think he's signed by now.
If if he's not, everybody is.
I know one team would have signed him right now if he had made a decision.
But I'm talking about Minnesota. If you're looking at Minnesota and you're saying Minnesota's at the bar, and they're like JJ McCarthy is the one that they're spending their money on the drinks for, Like da Aaron. Aaron Rodgers came up and was like, hey, hi, you saw Aaron.
Hey, I know you. Hey, how are you doing? Good? All right? Good? All right, keep it moving.
You know, at the end of the day, if JJ McCarthy doesn't work out and doesn't pan out for them, you're looking around the bar like dang, like uh oh oh, well you're still there and you're alone, like what's going on?
Like, let's talk about it. So what time are we taught? Like if we're doing the bar analogy and we're doing the comparison, like, is it what like around nine o'clock right now, so it's not even close to closing time. They have to make a call.
It's got to be a little bit later than nine o'clock maybe, Like, I don't know when does the club close.
Thirty the club closes at ten thirty.
Well, like the club closes, it to where we at on the clock when it comes to this situation. For Rogers, you got about two hours left, right, so it's about eleven approaching eleven o'clock. Yeah, well it's a lot of time.
That's a lot of time, and that's why you still have the Steelers and the Giant's still there.
Lee. It's a lot of time left in the bar. That's why I think it's the opposite way.
Like Rodgers is trying to get the Vikings to go home with him, trying to go home with the Vikings, and if he's left in the dirt, then he's going to go to New York.
Yeah, but he could have already done that. No, that's yeah, if you're well.
That's the sure thing that he could wait till two am and he'll still be able to go.
To New York.
But I think the point is, I don't know that that's true. I think the point is in this analogy is that Aaron Rodgers isn't the guy at the bar trying to pick up the person. It's the teams. It's the teams that are are at the bar that are looking.
At Aaron Rodgers more accurately portray this for everyone. Yeah, here's the deal is everyone's at the bar, all.
Right, everybody is at the bar.
But there the Giants are there and they're all looking you know, they're looking at what they got, and the Vikings are looking at JJ McCarthy. The Steelers don't have anything, so they're like, well, what the hell I mean, We're we're looking squarely at Rogers waiting for him to make it. They're sitting at the bar over in the corner, and the Giants are sitting there, and there's somewhere in the middle, you know, they're like in the middle of there, near the dance floor. They're near the bar, but they're sitting the saying to themselves, well, we could draft one, but we feel like we need to win and we need a veteran in here, and if it's not Rogers, then we feel like there's maybe a drop off to some of the other veterans. Whether you have to sign Russell or trade for for cousins so they're also Iron Aaron Rodgers at the bar as well. It's but that's the thing is Rogers iron Minnesota, you know. So he's kind of sitting there waiting to Minnesota make their decision. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's in the corner, you know, the giants over by the dance floor. They're kind of flirting, you know, trying to figure out what the hell they want to do. I mean, you got a whole entire you know, ordeal going on. I mean, this is kind of like Bill Bellamy's How to Be a Player.
Meanwhile, it's yeah, Meanwhile, Russell Wilson's in the parking lot, swiping on bumble going come on, anybody in there.
Russ is at the bar too, But they're sitting there on the dance floor.
He's no, he's showing his moves. He's trying to make sure they see Like what I still got it.
I just felt like nobody's buying them drinks, Like he's he's showing them his goodies.
He had the bar.
Nobody's behind drinks like, oh there go rus Like Aaron Rodgers getting drinks, you know what I mean, he's getting courted, but you know, he's getting.
Some ynglings and dang, he's getting still are sending over some ynglings.
The giants are setting them over.
Some uh you know, some some nice uh you know, martinis. And then you got Minnesota. They've got some peote or something and they're just like that're to keep it for ourselves.
I mean, if we are on that that analogy, though, I mean, you got to think to yourself at some point, if Minnesota is holding Aaron Rodgers' attention at the bar for this amount of time while I'm sitting here trying to buy you a drink and start conversation with you and have a good conversation with you, and you don't want to have it, do I walk away with hard feelings? Again, if I'm the city and I'm the fan base, I don't want to be looking at the fact that we brought Aaron Rodgers in as a late, sloppy second, like this is what we brought If he plays well, it plays out okay. Sam Darnald was a sloppy second. Sam Donald was brought in to be a backup. Though this is a very different situation than when Sam Donald went to went to Minnesota.
Minnesota's had a lot of sloppy seconds, whether it was case Keenum, whether it was Josh Dobbs. For a minute, it was circumstantial for Sam Donald to end up in the situation that he ended up in. JJ McCarthy looked as though he was going to end up being the starting quarterback.
It's an injury that that slowed down what he was going to do.
And the Minnesota Vikings, you have a great year from Sam Donald, boom, unexpected, he raises his value and now he's not there anymore. So they clearly are looking at JJ McCarthy as that's who they want to go with. So I think it's very different circumstances surrounding Sam Donald being a sloppy second. He was a second, He was a he was a backup. He was coming in to be a backup. I just think it's good that people still meeting bars. That that's that's just really good about this.
Do they? Yeah?
I mean not everybody's, uh the way we're breaking it down, Not everybody's you know, going dating app route. You know, so this is good. At some point we're gonna get a dating app.
It's more relatable, you know to people listening out there, right, wouldn't you say that. I mean, Lee, you tell me you know you're well, maybe you're not out there dating.
I'm not really sure.
No, Mary, I mean anyone, no.
No, but I've been there and I you know now it's definitely more relatable. We'll be on the apps, right, is it?
Well?
Yeah, maybe not for you guys, but oh Mary said, gives the thumbs down.
It's so easy.
Well, if Sarah Rodgers is on a dating app, he was swiping left, was a swipe left, swipe swipe right or whatever he was swiping to the next person, if it was the Steelers or the Giants, and then he came to the Minnesota Vikings and he swiped the other way or whatever it is. I don't know how that works, but it's something into that effect. Right, he's trying to choose Minnesota ailely.
How great was it that when you woke up in the morning and he saw that little bmo ji?
Say, don't you got to wait for them to accept that you chose that person that you were wiping off?
So oh boy.
But then you're also wondering which one is it You're where?
Like, man, I did a lot of swiping last night.
Don't you want to get like, don't you wonder what you're really getting in real life?
Like?
And that's a lot of what is connected to Aaron Rodgers, Like I'm gonna choose Aaron Rodgers. Boom you you accept it? But what am I getting like when I see you in person? Is am I getting a person that I hope that was getting right? And now how dating apps for?
It would be amazing If you signed with the team and then immediately took off on another trip, it was gone for that would be all times.
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Arrington and Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three am Pacific.
It is a Thursday tradition.
He is Albert Breer Amazon NFL on Prime Insider, the star of the program. He's also a senior NFL reporter lead content strategist at the MMQB.
You can get him on X.
At Albert Breer AB. Happy turny Day to you and yours. How are we feeling.
Happy turny Day? I probably can name about a dozen players in the entire tournaments, So there you go.
Oh stop, You know, if Ohio State was in it, you'd be all, let's go books.
You know.
Yeah, I mean I can't name more than three or four guys on Ohio State's team either.
Crazy really No, I just like I don't know why, but like over the last like five six, I'm just and I'm sure over the next couple of days, I'll watch a bunch, you know what I mean. But it's maybe it's like the.
Lack of storylines or the lack of NBA guys in it, but it's just it's gotten harder for me to to really lock in. Bro, I'm gonna give it. I'm gonna give it my best shot today, have it.
I got the I got the strength in my office.
So I'll have all the games on the screens in my office and we'll see if I can, if I could walk in a little.
Bit, So you're not going to be uh licking the lid, so to speak, taking in the first day of attorney or No.
I wish I still could. I used to love that part of it, for sure. I actually had my bachelor party over I think it was, you know, the first weekend of the tournament in thirteen, and we we all went to Austin for that, so that was fantastic. I used to I used to love I used to love corn to the bar on on Thursday and Fariday attorney week. But uh, well the first weekend of the attorney But but yeah, those days are those those days are in the past.
Yeah, all right, So where do we now? Where do you now?
Listen, you know, we're all we're all there. Where do we stand on the Aaron Rodgers front? Because there's been a lot of reports, a lot of conflicting reports. Uh, he's gonna wait patiently. Maybe he wants to play, maybe he doesn't. Maybe the door is still open in Minnesota. What can you tell us from your vantage point?
Yeah, I mean I think like the the interest in Minnesota I think was sort of more of a two way thing than it was, you know, one side pursuing the other, you know, in other words, like the Feelers and Giants are pursuing Aaron Rodgers. I think, you know, like there was sort of a mutual curiosity, you know, with the Minnesota thing when the fighting is struck out on keeping Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones, and it is something that they very seriously discussed, you know, And I think a part of this of course is where they're at with JJ McCarthy right now. And you know we've talked about that over the last few weeks. We don't have to go over every detail, but you know, he did lose weight, he lost four months of development time. Now he's getting himself back to to his fighting weight. But you know, they've they've got a fourteen win team and they've got veterans in that locker room, and you know, I think for the guys in charge there, it's about giving the team the best shot they possibly can to win at the highest level well as a quarterback position. This is not a rebuilding team that can sink a year into quarterback development, you know. So you know, the Vikings ultimately, I think, make this decision to do what they did because you know, Donald or Jones, I think you would have at least had a legitimate competition, like Donald probably comes in, comes back as a starter. But there's a scenario in that, you know, and there's a scenario there where McCarthy beats him out maybe the middle of the year, and Jones comes back as in a competition for the job with McCarthy. If you're bringing Rogers in, it's in a completely different context where you're jamming the pause button on the JJ McCarthy era. What sort of effect does that have on JJ?
How does he take that?
Like? Where does where does that leave the Vikings in their young quarterback? I think that's sort of why in the end, Yeah, they made the decision at least for now, to go forward with JJ because it was different than the Darnold situation. It was different than the Jones situation. But I still think they're going to add a viable veteran quarterback there. And and that leaves the that leaves Aaron Rodgers with three options. Now it's it's the Steelers, it's the Giants, or it's retirement.
Well do you I was just going to say, what do you mean by what? What's your interpretation of them saying for now? Like are they expecting him to just stay on the free agency block?
I mean if you did? I mean, like, so all right, like let's say, if you want to gain this out, LeVar, Like, let's just say Aaron decides he's going to do it. Far did right like where if you remember like farv let the whole thing play out forever, right like and and and and I I can remember that like what that was, what what that was like to those few summers where it was he is he coming back? Is he not? You know? So like if if Aaron decides like you know what, like I'm not ready to make a decision right now, I'm going to make the decision in June, well then you know, in that scenario, the Vikings would have a chance to get J. J. McCarthy in for their off season program, see him and OTAs, get a sense for where he's at, and then if it doesn't look good, they could turn around and go and get a good you know, go and and and and press that button. Obviously, if he's obviously, if he's off the market, that's that's not on the table anymore. So that's what I mean when I say like for now, Like if Aaron for some reason made the decision that he was going to just hang out on the market for the next three months, you know, things can materially change over the course of time.
And if it's not Rogers, I mean, I feel like Pittsburgh is the one that's in a really interesting spot because Russell Wilson's the next guy. But do they they think I can I mean the toothpastes out of them.
If he I mean, I don't know, is he.
Well, don't give me the Mason Rudolph stuff, like who is it Joe Fla then.
Like I mean, is like, I'm I'm being serious. He is Joe Flacco.
You know about Joe Flacco is the one that's the most interesting a because he's been obviously won a super Bowl in Baltimore. He did he took the Browns of the playoffs. Why not go ahead and hit the third team and he'd be a great fit. I think for what they probably want to do. It's just like, is that gonna work? Like if you're Mike Tomlin, because it feels like with the moves they're making this offseason, this is kind of an all in year.
Is that the direction you want to go?
Like?
Is Joe Flacco at this age now better than Brussell Wilson?
I mean, I don't know. I I like, you're the quarterback. You can answer that, like what do you think?
I really don't think there's a drastic difference between the two. I mean, I know Russell Wilson's play teetered off at the end of the season, but from you know, watching Flacco with the Colts, and granted they don't have as much as I think now the Steelers do.
I don't know, it kind of feels like a bit of a wash a little bit.
Yeah, I mean, but I think you have to like remember too, like how that didn't end great between Wilson and the Steelers, and there was stuff that came out during Super Bowl Week that like, I mean, like look like we can we can tell where that was coming from about the way that it ended, right like, and so like if you are, if you're the Steelers, do you look at that and say, you know, no, we don't want to introduce that like and have that history coming into our coming back here, like we better, we'd be better off just you know, like going on the low drama route and bringing in Joe Bloco. I mean, I like, it's just it's just an idea. But I mean I I think, like, I think what you say, what you're saying, Bill Brady is correct, which is they have set themselves up now where they are all in, you know, and and look I think like for for the most part, like if you look at the Rockster, they really could have gone one or two one or two ways. This offseason, Like, I think there was a scenario you could look at there and say, are they ever going to be Are they going to be good enough at quarterbacks? Fast enough to be able to maximize TJ. Watt at thirty one? Make a Fitzpatrick at twenty nine? What they've got with Cam Haywood, what he's got left right like some of these core guys there, or is this the time for them to rip the band aid off? Right? Like? And so because and by training for DK Metcalf, they sort of doubled down on being all in, right because he's a third contract guy who's been beat up as well. So, like you know, now, I think what you're offering Aaron Rodgers is like you're coming in here and we're not asking you to lift everybody up the way the Jets did and the way the Giants are sort of asking you to do it with the franchise that's been down for a while. You're jumping on a moving train here and we can offer you the opportunity to come and play with a bunch of guys. We're in the same situation you are where it could be over soon for them as well. And so like we're going to be all in on you the same way we're all in on TJ. Watt and make it Fitzpatrick and Cam Hayward and let's go after it. You know, I think that's why by Aaron Rodgers, I think that's why it matches up, you know, Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, and we'll see what happens.
He is Albert Brier joining us here on Fox Sports Radio. AB Where do we stand on the Trey Hendrickson conversation? Obviously the Bengals got the receiver deals done. Are they going to be able to go three for three this offseason?
Yeah?
It's interesting because like I, you know, I think with every day that it doesn't happen, you get like new deals that sort of can change the context. Obviously, Miles Scare is going to have an effect on it because he plays the same position now Trey Henderson Isn't Miles Scare not saying that, but like just having a guy at that position lifts the ball raised the bar think has an effect on it, you know. And then you know Daniel Hunter doing his one year extension that has an effect on it as well. You know, Daniel Hunter coming in just over what what Max Crosby got like that's going to have an effect on it too. So like I think if you look at the totality of it, you look at you know, where where where they're at, Like it's it's going to be on the Bengals to do what they did with t Higgins and and and Jamar Chase, and they broke some precedents and doing those deals, and they broke some other policies about guaranteeing future years. You're gonna have to if you're the Bengals, go to a bigger number and you know, give him the market correction that he's been asking for for a while, and you're probably gonna have to guarantee a lot of it too. And you know, again this is sort of the last piece of the puzzle for them, you know, and in that they you know, this was what Joe Burrow asked for. And the guys that he mentioned by name, there were four of them, it was, it was Chase, Higgins, Kasicki, and Hendrickson. Hendrickson is the last one that's not signed, and he's also the oldest of the of the group. So we'll see what they do. It's it's a complicated situation because this has been ongoing for a couple of years for them.
Albert, want to ask you about some of the rule changes as we were kind of discussing earlier.
Uh, I mean the touch push thing, don't.
I don't know if there's a ton of people pushing forward outside of Green Bay. I mean, maybe you can get us, give us a better sense for some of the teams that are flying under the radar, who are.
Like, yes, threw those guys. We want to get this side of the league.
But also we talked about the Detroit Lions proposal to do away with division winners hosting.
Home playoff games. We kind of talked about this.
Year to two thirds of the teams that were in that situation who had better overall records, but they had a team with a lesser record hosting, you know, lost and then then who knows how that would have worked out otherwise. So I guess on that front, with those two specific rules, do you see any potential chance that.
Changes the touch push?
I'd say no, Like I actually, like me personally, I don't. I don't like the rule change because I like it'ld be one thing if like everybody was doing it, you know what I mean? If the cheat code for everybody. I just don't love the idea, and I think we've talked about this in the show, right, Like, I don't I don't love the idea of changing the rule, which just because one team's really good at it, you know, at this one thing, it just it feels to me like kind of non competitive, I don't know, you know. And then the second thing, like you know, the Lions proposal, I I I. I also think that that's probably unlikely, but it could be one of those things where you start the discussion now and the rule changes two years from now. I will say one thing that the owners really like is the idea that that pass to having a home playoff game is in front of them at the start of every season, and like, it's not complicated. You win your division, you get a home playoff game, you know, and so.
You know, can I uncomplicated for you? Can I uncomplicated for you? Yeah?
Yeah.
So obviously outside of the buy the next three highest you know, best win total teams, they host like, like, you winning a division, should you should automatically qualify you for the playoffs, especially in the year where you.
Can have an eight to nine team that makes it in.
But if you're playing like a fourteen and three team, it's just it's ridiculous to me that scenario and I and.
I and that fourteen and three team wind up losing right like they lost. The Vikings lost to the Rams last year, right on the way the Fires. But yeah, like here and you would you could argue very easily argue that the Vikings very much earned the right to to host the playoff game with how they played all year. You know. The flip side of that, of that is because of the schedule inequities, you know, And this is one thing that I think is I think this is a fair argument. The scheduling for formula, for people who don't know, is done by division, and so like, really the app the closest thing to apples to apples when it comes to scheduling are the other teams in your division. They're the ones that are playing closest to the same schedule as you. So I team in the NFC East isn't playing in the same sort of you know, under the same sort of context as a team in the NFC West. So like the argument would go, well, you know, if one team has a really tough draw, one year and the champion of that division has you know, two fewer wins than a wildcard in another division, but had a much tougher schedule, Well, then there should be a bonus for that, you know, But can.
We make the same argument about weaker I mean, look at both AFC NFC South, and usually those teams, especially if they finish with a poor record, they're supposed to at least have an easier record the next season. Usually you're penalized for how well you do the following season.
With the sketch players.
And that's and that's fair.
But because of like because of.
The way that the schedule works, like I'm talking about playing you play the whole division, you know what I mean? Like so, like I don't know, like, so I will the toughest division football, maybe it's the AFC North right now, right, Like, the AFC North is a really difficult division. So if you're in the NFC South, then you have to play the AFC North and then say you have to play the NFC West, right, Well, that's tougher than maybe somebody who has to play both East divisions, right like, so like that that that's how much that what percent of your schedule is that that's that's eight games, you know what I mean, that's almost half your schedule is in that context, in a much tougher context than maybe somebody else is playing in. So that would be the argument, you know, And again I think there.
Are you still have versus easier opponents, right, could you make it?
Could you make it? Could you make it? But could you make it like where I don't know if a team is two games or three games better? Where it gets ridiculous? Could you make a provision for that? Like like, I don't know the answer to this, but because of the scheduling and equity, I think it does make it a little bit more difficult to have a cut and dry answer. And again, like I I'm just telling you, like and the owners, they love their money, right, they love the gate, they love having home playoff games, and I think that that easy path to the home playoff games. I think a lot of owners want to hold onto that.
I got one last question for you this this whole quarterback thing. Shador And and Ward cam are pretty much you know, have identical stat lines from this this season, and they've been looked at as the top guys. And then Dart is thrown in there as the third guy, and I look at at the you know, it's pro pro Day season and and we're obviously seeing that that mill Row ran an amazing forty time. Is there the chance that that a guy like Jaylen Milroe can you know, have a performance at his pro day that puts him in the conversation to add one more to the three that are being discussed, Is there any chance for him to be able to gain ground on those that are considered to be the three main prospects at quarterback?
I mean, yeah, I think like running the forty, which was actually like in the midst four fours, I mean that that two schools always put out like faster times. It was I that I talked to four teams that have him. I think three of them had him at four four five and had him at which is still yeah, fat, like for a quarterback two hundred and sixteen pounds. I think this is going to come down to fit. And I actually think like that really is the case for you know, the quarterbacks outside of cam Ward. Like cam Ward, there's a ceiling there where, like I think you look at it, you know, I think most teams would look at him and say like, Okay, we can develop him into something, whereas with I think that the next group of guys is all going to come down to fit. That goes for Shador, that goes come that, that that goes for a Dart, and that goes for for Jalen Milroe. And you know, I would go back to the example of the guy that he's compared to the most, which is Jalen Hurts. Right Like, there were a lot of teams, you know, five years ago that looked at Jalen Hurts and said he shouldn't go in the first two days of the draft like he did Day three guys. But the Eagles saw a guy who was a really good fit for for for what they wanted to do, and identified, you know, him as a guy who was going to work to get better and had and better I'm going from Alabama to Oklahoma and and just saw something other teams didn't and took him in the second round. And you know, two months ago he won the Super Bowl. So I don't know, I think, like I think with a guy like Melroe is going to come down to sit, which I think is the case with a lot of quarterbacks in this year's class. So he's not alone in that, but I think it's going to take somebody having a vision for him, the same way the Eagles had a vision for Jalen Hurts.
Get him on x at. Albert Breer, Senior NFL reporter, lead content strategist at the MMQB, Amazon NFL on Prime Insider ab Enjoy the tournament, Enjoy the weekend. We'll do it again next week.
All right, thanks guys.
There he is the great. Alba Breer with us here on Fox Sports Radio
