PodcastFrom NFL: The Insiders
The Insiders Podcast: The Vikings Quarterback Battle, Patrick Mahomes' Recovery, and Bears Tight End Cole Kmet Joins the Insiders
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Jun 10, 2026
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Wed, June 10, 2026
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Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. On the Insiders, 17 teams in action for mandatory minicamp.
0:05We're on site at multiple locations. One of those being the Minnesota Vikings.
0:09The new quarterback Kyler Murray provides some insight into one thing that might give his teammate J.J.
0:14McCarthy a bit of an edge in the quarterback competition.
0:17And head coach Brian Schottenheimer says he knows exactly where George Pickens is going to be next week.
0:23We're glad to have you with us on the inside of the team.
0:27On this edition of the Insiders. Hey everybody, welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Insiders.
0:31Patrick Claiborne here in the NFL LA newsroom alongside Tom Pellicero who's at home fresh off of a great opportunity at the Minnesota Vikings facility.
0:39And then Mike Garofalo joining us from home as well.
0:42Gentlemen, let's start with the defending Super Bowl champions.
0:45They had mandatory minicamp today. Sam Darnold, they're taking pictures, getting set for all those headshots that we're going to see.
0:51In this upcoming attempt for them to repeat as the champions, including that point as well.
0:56The team they beat in the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots celebrating their opportunity to acquire A.J.
1:01Brown. You see there Drake May throwing A.J. Brown.
1:04His head coach, Mike Vrabel, proud of the growth that Drake May has shown this season.
1:09Yeah, I think we've seen growth in a lot of players and especially some of the younger ones, which I would consider
1:15Drake, you know, going into his third year, one of the younger players.
1:19And I think that Josh and Ashton have given him some really positive things to work on, some areas of focus and,
1:26you know, being able to, you know, try to try to limit mistakes at the line of scrimmage.
1:31Get us in the best play and not that, you know, we're going to be perfect, but being able to to use
1:38every resource that we have to get us into the right play and be able to give us an option to have a positive play.
1:46And, you know, whether they're pressuring or they're in a look that, you know, isn't advantageous to the play.
1:51And, you know, we don't want to be tentative, you know, so there's a fine line of that.
1:57But I think expanding some of that into the second year of the system has been good to see here in the spring.
2:04After the Eagles were Super Bowl runners up, they bounced back to win the Super Bowl after the 2024 season.
2:10They have started their mandatory minicamp today. They will have it again tomorrow.
2:14And Nick Sirianni, after the trade of A.J. Brown, still with an opportunity to answer questions about A.J.
2:19Brown. There was a lot of good years here, right?
2:22And done a lot of good things with when when with A.J.
2:26here two times in the Super Bowl. I think he was all pro multiple times, Pro Bowl multiple times.
2:31And so I would say it was a great it was a good run.
2:36But really excited about that room that we have.
2:38You know, Devontae Smith has had a really good offseason, has had five good years of being an Eagle as well.
2:45Very, very productive and excited that, you know, he's going to get extra opportunities that he worked so hard to that people convert that.
2:52You know, I'm really excited about Makai and where he is this offseason and just has ability to catch the football as his toughness.
2:59I think that's a great addition to that room.
3:02So taking from that, Mike, we've got two teams that are both excited about the A.J.
3:07Brown trade, especially those Philadelphia Eagles and all the opportunity in that room.
3:11Well, they're excited about everything that they've got. Otherwise, you're right.
3:14I think this is the year that Devontae Smith at least nationally announces to people what he means to that team.
3:20Locally, they certainly understand that they're not happy that A.J.
3:23Brown is gone, though. I mean, there's still a lot of love for him in that building.
3:28It was just the situation that he couldn't coexist with Jalen Hurts.
3:32And it had to end and it did end.
3:35And it ended with a trade that netted them the first round pick.
3:39Yeah, they've got to wait a couple of years to get it.
3:42But netted them that first round pick. So they got a good return.
3:46They're happy about that part of it. But Brown was in there last week to gather his final belongings and say his goodbye.
3:53Goodbyes to some folks. He was in there on Thursday of last week.
3:57And I mentioned this on Good Morning Football. They have them, all the Pro Bowlers, sign their pictures in the hallway.
4:03He signed it. And then he wrote, the best ever play here.
4:07Always open. And yeah, maybe he was the best wide receiver.
4:10I mean, there's a Hall of Famer in Harold Carmichael.
4:13Mike Quick was really good in his own right.
4:16Terrell Owens is a fantastic receiver. He was only there briefly.
4:19So we can have that discussion elsewhere. But A.J.
4:22Brown was a fantastic wide receiver for the Eagles.
4:25And a guy that a lot of people appreciated.
4:28Now it's like Jalen Hurts in this new offense, Tom, has to really show out and prove that all these other guys
4:34they were excited about, I can have the same success with them.
4:38That's the fascinating thing here, Mike, to me, which is we look at A.J.
4:42Brown. Everyone wants to talk about the frustration, not getting the ball enough.
4:46He was a volume player the entire time in Philadelphia.
4:49Even last season, he still has over 1,000 yards.
4:52He still has seven touchdowns. He had over 120 targets.
4:55The question in my mind is, as you move into this new offense here with Sean Manning coming in as a first-time
5:01offensive coordinator, where does that volume go? All the focus is going to be on Jalen Hurts, but he's got a bunch
5:08of guys around him besides Devontae Smith, who he has not played with before.
5:12It is McKay Lemon and Dontavian Wicks coming in in a trade from Green Bay.
5:17It's Hollywood Brown coming in as a free agent.
5:19You know what the last time was that a wide receiver on the Packers had 120-plus targets?
5:25It was Devontae Adams who was traded to the Raiders like five years ago.
5:29This is going to be a different style of offense.
5:32Somebody's going to have to pick up the slack.
5:35And based on the nature of Patrick or how they want to play, it may be spread across a bunch of different people.
5:42Yeah, you mentioned the slack. On third and 10 or more, they targeted A.J.
5:46Brown 11 times last season. He caught eight of them.
5:4972% of those were successful. Somebody is going to have to fill that role.
5:53You talk about being focused on the quarterback position.
5:56All eyes are on the quarterback position, including the camera lens there, Carson Wentz, Kyler Murray, as well as J.J.
6:02McCarthy, a quarterback competition in Minnesota. In fact, let's hear from the parties involved, including the head coach, Kevin O'Connell.
6:08It's a learning, teaching phase. You're really not getting the full extent of, you know, full practices, teams, you know, second days where everything's full speed.
6:16And you can really be grading, you know, that razor-thin margin of error that comes with playing the quarterback position.
6:22But what you can take a long look at and ask these guys to do is, you know, install, you know, try
6:28to stress them as much as possible above the neck mentally so that you can find out, you know, where guys are
6:35at in their individual aspects of the quarterback position because that makes your whole offense go.
6:40Being uncomfortable for me, I've, you know, I've kind of just went with, you know, full head of steam and embraced the part of being uncomfortable.
6:48You know, like I said, I haven't been in this position much, but now being in it, you know, why not?
6:54Why not make the most of it? Obviously, you know, there's times I'm out there thinking and stuff like that where I
7:01wouldn't be thinking usually, but it's part of the process, like I said.
7:04And this is the time where, you know, we're all getting better.
7:08Does this continue to feel like a legitimate competition, like you're both vying for the starting job through now?
7:14It feels like the same thing every day. I mean, even last year, I'm just competing with myself to be the best
7:20kind of person I am for this team and best kind of quarterback.
7:24And at the end of the day, you know, the more we do that, rising tide lifts all ships and we'll be
7:31in a good spot by the end of it.
7:34We got metaphorical JJ McCarthy there, Tom. You were there experiencing this quarterback competition firsthand.
7:38Your thoughts on things going on in Minnesota. Well, Patrick, I would say if you are trying to find clues in the
7:45rotation or the division of reps, this was not the day to find those clues.
7:49And it really follows the pattern of what Kevin O'Connell has done throughout the spring, which is try to divide this thing
7:56evenly, continue to develop JJ McCarthy while also giving Kyler Murray that opportunity to assimilate into the offense.
8:02I saw JJ McCarthy hit a ball down the sideline to Justin Jefferson today.
8:06I saw many times where Kyler Murray was out there and running the ones as well.
8:11Having said all that, I do not believe that this is a competition that is going to need the entire preseason, three games to sort this thing out.
8:19I would say by the end of this week, before the summer break, the coaches are going to have a pretty good
8:26idea of what direction you want this to go.
8:28I don't believe that this is a world where they're going to divide the reps evenly into training camp because you need
8:35time to build that rhythm and timing and tempo that is essential into an NFL passing offense.
8:40Whoever is going to be the starting quarterback is going to need more time on task with those wide receivers.
8:46Certainly there has been a belief that Kyler Murray is going to end up being that guy.
8:51I would also tell you, Mike, just talking to people around the program, JJ McCarthy has tried to do everything right in this off season.
8:59There was some story last week where he left the practice field quickly.
9:03And why did he do that? He was going to play golf with his offensive lineman.
9:08He's continuing to proceed as if he is the quarterback, a very unique situation here as Minnesota tries to find that guy moving forward.
9:15I'm actually leaving early tonight to go play golf here, Tom.
9:18I forgot to tell everybody that. I'm checking out in a couple minutes.
9:22You can go now. Yeah. Night golf. When it comes to Kyler Murray, the impression that I'm getting out of Minnesota is they love his arm.
9:30That arm is live. Its arm has always been live, right?
9:33They love what he's been doing from a study standpoint, right?
9:37That was some of the question in Arizona. I mean, to the point where they had to write it into his contract that he had to study.
9:45This is a whole different situation. This is not starting with what he was familiar with already when he and Cliff Kingsbury were teaming up there.
9:53So this is a whole new deal. And so far, he's done everything he possibly needs to do there.
9:58You heard him there saying, hey, sometimes I'm thinking through things like I haven't had to think through things in the past.
10:05Kyler, that's a good thing. And then when it comes to where the ball needs to go during practice, again, as Kevin
10:12O'Connell said, this is the teaching time of year.
10:14There are no pads on right now. There's no defense.
10:17There are no live 11 on 11 drills. There will be in training camp.
10:21So that point will be more important, obviously, for Kyler Murray.
10:25But everything he's done up to this point is everything he needs to do to win this job and put himself in the position to do it.
10:33We'll just have to wait and see as time goes on.
10:36Time is a big part of everything. We got sunset at 828.
10:40If you're concerned about Mike's twilight hours, he's still good.
10:43He's got plenty of time. Yeah. It's great. Lower rates as well.
10:47Let's get to the Indianapolis Colts, who were so hot at the start of the season with a healthy Daniel Jones.
10:53He had Achilles surgery in December. Jones very open and honest during his availability today, talking about his return and where he currently stands.
11:00You're not going to go 11 on 11, but did you ask?
11:04I know you. Yeah. I mean, I asked, but yeah, I think right now it's a 7 on 7.
11:09Yeah. I mean, do you feel like you just yet?
11:12Or are you closer to people like you? Yeah, I think I'm closer.
11:16I think there's still work to be done. I wouldn't say I'm all the way there at this point, you know?
11:23So, yeah. I mean, I feel good about where I am and kind of where the rehab's taken me to this point.
11:29So, like I said, still work to do. I've still got to make some progress.
11:34But I feel like I'm in a good spot.
11:37Pretty intense surgery, Mike. Late last year, he's been dealing with a lot of injuries other than his Achilles, but all positive
11:43signs, it seems, for the Indianapolis Colts. Now, there's no great rush on this one.
11:48I mean, remember, there was a competition last year with Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson, a competition, like we've said with Minnesota
11:54when we use the air quotes for Kyler Murray.
11:57But there's no rush at this point. But it sounds like for the bulk of training camp, at the very least, Daniel
12:04Jones is going to be in a good position to do everything he needs to do and everything the team needs him to do.
12:11Why push it now? Why push it at this point?
12:14You're going to get a nice six-week layoff right after the spring is finally completed.
12:19And that's going to be huge for him to feel like he's at or close to 100% and ready to go for the start of training camp.
12:27That's my expectation and understanding of where Daniel Jones is right now.
12:30Yeah, I would also expect, too, you're monitoring now when you're coming off of an Achilles like Daniel Jones had here.
12:37It may not be every single day you're taking every single rep, which also then puts the spotlight on the back of quarterback battle.
12:44You mentioned Anthony Richardson last year. Shane Steichen said today, right now it's 50-50 with Richardson and Riley Leonard, which you wouldn't
12:51have thought several months ago when Anthony Richardson wanted to be traded.
12:54He wasn't there for the start of the off-season program.
12:57But it sounds like since he's been back in the building, he's had the right mindset.
13:02You also have a situation where Alec Pierce, their top wide receiver, who is coming off of a massive contract, essentially got
13:09back in the spring, also had his ankle cleaned up.
13:12He may not be ready, Steichen said, for the start of training camp.
13:16So some moving parts for a Colts team that, of course, the second half of the last season was a mess of injuries.
13:23The full goal here, obviously, is to get to week one and have these guys ready to roll, Patrick.
13:28So much promise. Also got the off-season deal with Alec Pierce.
13:32I'm looking forward to the Colts in 2026. Hopefully a healthy return for Daniel Jones.
13:36We'll have both the insiders back when we come back before Mike gets out there with the glow in the dark and golf balls.
13:43We also got big news with Joe Burrow. It's a restructure on his contract with Cincinnati Bengals, moving things around to make things work for 2026.
13:51And the Bears had their most exciting best season in decades.
13:54Stacey Dales was there for one of the biggest moments in Bears history.
13:58So get a chance to relive that later on the show.
14:02But next, we have a live report from Stacey Dales with the Bears.
14:06That's coming up on the inside. Back here on the insiders, back at work, the defending NFC North champion Chicago Bears holding mandatory minicamp today through Thursday.
14:14There is the cover star of Madden NFL 27, Caleb Williams.
14:17And joining us now, Stacey Dales, who's been at the Bears team facility all day on behalf of the insiders.
14:23Stacey, good to see you. It's year two for Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams.
14:27What's their relationship like right now after that most successful season in Chicago in decades?
14:32Yeah. Hey, Patrick. Today, maybe Ben was a little ticked off because Caleb threw a couple of picks to Jalen Johnson.
14:38But aside from that, it is outstanding. It is blossoming.
14:41It is evolving, just as we saw last season.
14:44And the trust is there, right? When you lead the league in fourth quarter comebacks, which Caleb Williams did with six of
14:51those in the NFL last season, that trust just continued to grow towards the end of last year.
14:56But as Ben Johnson told us today and talked about today, they've got their core principles, their foundational pieces offensively, but he is so unpredictable.
15:04And that's where his explosiveness just continues to come alive.
15:07As we saw last season, they meet every single day, spend time together one on one.
15:11And as Ben has talked about recently, they're seeing the game through the same lens.
15:16I asked Ben about it today, what those meetings look like.
15:19And he said, Caleb Williams is not what he calls a reps guy.
15:23He doesn't need multiple reps. You tell him one time, you show him on tape and he goes out and executes it, which happens at practice.
15:31It happens in games as we saw manifest and get better and better last season.
15:36And it has shown up this spring. So there is a lot of promise and it all starts there with the play caller and the quarterback.
15:43Yeah. One of the best parts of it, especially late last season was the work from those dynamic tight end groups they have in Chicago.
15:51What's the plan to maximize Cole Komet and Colston Loveland this season?
15:55And Sam Rausch, you're exactly right, Patrick. This is what could be a very dynamic group.
15:59And we saw them in 12 and 13 personnel for our viewers, 12 personnel, two tight ends, 13 personnel, three tight ends.
16:06And the bears had the fifth highest 13 personnel rate in the NFL next gen stats last season.
16:11They were sixth in terms of 12 personnel. What does that mean?
16:15It means they were on the field a lot together.
16:18And with the guys on the screen that you're seeing in Colston Loveland year two, Cole Komet, the veteran and Sam Rausch,
16:25the rookie as Cole Komet told me, this is such a promising group.
16:29And by the way, our one-on-one interview is coming up and we may have relived the division around touchdown, just saying from last season.
16:36And we possibly discussed that you'll want to tune into it, but Colston Loveland also talked today.
16:41And if you want to pulse Patrick on just how motivated these guys are, Colston essentially said, what I did last year,
16:48it was great as a rookie and he was outstanding, but he said, you can't go into your second year and do what you did as a rookie.
16:56It's got to be better. It's not going to be good enough.
17:00What I did a season ago, it's got to improve.
17:03And so just an idea, an illustration of how motivated these guys are and how important they are in Ben Johnson's offense.
17:09And certainly as buffers for Caleb Williams, not just in the run game, but in the past game as well.
17:15Yeah. And also, as you pointed out, looking forward to your interview with Cole Komet, because you said we relived.
17:21That was a moment that you guys shared and can't wait to see specifically how you relive that moment coming up later
17:28on in this edition of the insider. Stacey Dales reporting live from the headquarters of the Chicago Bears.
17:34Let's go elsewhere in the division to a team that Ben Johnson, with his introductory news conference, said he would like to beat multiple times.
17:41The Green Bay Packers began their mandatory minicamp today.
17:44A lot of changes, a lot of departures at wide receiver, but with Christian Watson still there, Matt LaFleur feels good about this group.
17:51We're definitely excited about just that whole nucleus, you know, of having them around.
17:55For a while. MG, hopefully get, you know, obviously Tucker's coming up soon.
17:59So all those guys just to build around Jordan, I think is critical.
18:03The Dallas Cowboys at their OTAs at the moment.
18:06Head coach Brian Schottenheimer expects franchise tag wide receiver George Pickens to be there once mandatory minicamp starts next week.
18:12In fact, he expects some leadership from George Pickens as well.
18:15But he spoke this week about how they will manage him during his time when minicamp begins.
18:20Yeah, we'll be smart. I have no questions. He's working.
18:23But, you know, what you don't want to do is put a guy in here that you don't know exactly where he's at, Todd.
18:31Because let's be honest, we don't truly know how much running he's doing.
18:34And he's obviously a great athlete. But we'll be smart.
18:37But there's plenty of things he can do from the mocks to the walkthroughs and get them back into the system.
18:44But again, if we're cautious, it's just because we want to be cautious.
18:48It's not because we don't think he's not working.
18:50We think he's putting in the work and preparing to have a hell of a year.
18:55Here's what's new today coming into the NFL LA newsroom.
18:58How about the coalition of Ian Rapford, Adam Schefter tag team, and the fact that Joe Burrow got a contract restructure that's
19:05going to convert $10 million into a bonus to free up some cap space for the Cincinnati Bengals this year.
19:11For more on that, let's welcome back NFL Network insider Mike Garofalo.
19:15Mike, it's Joe Burrow gets some money now instead of later.
19:18What's this do for the Bengals and why do it now?
19:21He gets all his money. When you say restructure, it's not a pay cut.
19:25Nor would it ever be for a number one quarterback or franchise quarterback, I should say here.
19:31So this is just about the cap space that the Bengals needed after the Dexter Lawrence trade.
19:36They were a little bit tight to the cap.
19:38So this gives them a little bit more breathing room.
19:41You need some cap space to operate as you get throughout the season.
19:45Now, Burrow signed an extension a couple of years ago, and there could be some movement on that in the next couple of years here.
19:53Obviously, he'll have another contract coming after this. So that helps to smooth out cap hits over the next couple of years as well.
20:00But for now, the Bengals just a minor tinker here as they create some salary cap space and then signed at least one of their draft picks today.
20:09So again, you just need that room to operate here.
20:12It doesn't mean anything big is coming to Cincinnati by any stretch.
20:15Egalitarian of Joe Burrow to accept this very kind offer.
20:18We'll be back with Mike as we continue here on the Insiders.
20:22Insiders says we run through a little bit of the quarterback news.
20:25Again, Daniel Jones, who had surgery on that Achilles tendon in his right leg back in December, says he's progressing well enough to play some seven on seven.
20:34Not quite 11 on 11 just yet. Josh Allen and the Bills start mandatory minicamp today.
20:39The quarterback saying he's trying to get adjusted to the new routine.
20:42It often changes. You know, you go from getting married, now he's a dad, and trying to balance being one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.
20:51Similar routine. Spending a little bit more time on the body, working out, and just trying to continue to hone in on the mechanic side of things.
20:59I feel like I'm in a good spot right now and can still be better.
21:03So I'm going to continue to find ways that I can do that.
21:07But obviously having a baby now, sticking around the house a little bit more and trying to balance, you know, being a
21:14dad and going out there and getting my work done too.
21:17So it's still awesome though. The number one overall pick, Fernando Mendoza in mandatory minicamp.
21:22His very first in the NFL. Got some great slow-mo video from the Raiders on Twitter there from that first minicamp.
21:28Fernando says he's come a very long way just in the past couple months.
21:32Well, I think there's always a transition, especially from the college level to the NFL level.
21:37And it's having those positive stressors and that growing period.
21:40And there's going to be some growing pains. And luckily I feel confident that I'm able to see the field well and
21:47that my growing pains are coming from, hey, I got to time up my footwork a little better with the routes and intricacies here and there.
21:54And I'm really working hard with the coaching staff who's pushing me and have done a phenomenal job of relaying and communicating the information needed.
22:02And it's up to me to take full advantage of that.
22:05And I feel like I've been growing every day from the first day of OTAs to then today, minicamp.
22:11I feel like I'm leaps and bounds ahead of where I was.
22:15All right, so we get leaps and bounds there.
22:17We'll bring Mike Garofalo and Tom Pelissero back in because the great news, he's leaps and bounds ahead, Mike.
22:23But Clint Kubiak said, don't count out Aiden O'Connell in this quarterback competition.
22:27Are we competition maxing or what's going on in the desert?
22:30I mean, I think you just want to see how all your quarterbacks respond when you give them that opportunity.
22:36That would stun me. It would surprise me if Fernando starts week one.
22:40If Aiden O'Connell starts week one, barring something else going catastrophically wrong with the other two guys, that would stun me.
22:47That being said, it is a competition between Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins.
22:51Now, Kubiak has made it clear he would prefer a quarterback to sit to start his NFL career, even if he's the number one overall pick.
22:58And the fact that Cousins is there tells you, number one, the contract was really strong, but also that he saw and
23:05was communicated the opportunity that he'll likely be the starter week one.
23:09Now, I can't rule it out, though, because if Fernando Mendoza has the camp of all camps and lights it up in
23:15the preseason and they go, we just can't wait.
23:18I've seen it happen before. I saw it happen in Seattle with Russell Wilson and Matt Flynn, even though he was a third-round pick.
23:25I saw it happen in Philadelphia with Carson Wentz when they traded Sam Bradford.
23:30So I can't even, and nobody can, predict that that could be the possibility.
23:34So it is a true competition, but Mendoza's got an uphill battle to unseat Kirk Cousins in this one, in my mind, Tom.
23:41The thing everybody has to remember here is Fernando Mendoza comes from an offense that bears little to no resemblance to what
23:47he's going to be running in Las Vegas. It was shotgun, RPO, you're throwing into wide open windows, and he did it at a really, really high level.
23:56He earned that number one draft slot. However, the way that Clint Kubiak operates is an offense that Kirk Cousins has spent essentially his entire adult life in.
24:04Kirk could coach the system tomorrow. He is the perfect guy to have ahead of Fernando Mendoza show him the path forward.
24:11Now, how long does that last? Is it through week one?
24:14Is it the entire season? We'll see. But you have a motivated, finally fully healthy Kirk Cousins coming in with the full expectation.
24:21He is the guy out of the gate. God bless Aiden O'Connell if somehow he can get himself into the mix here.
24:28Probably the best case scenario here, Patrick, is Aiden O'Connell, who has played under Josh McDaniels, and he's played under Chip Kelly.
24:34He's been exposed to these different systems. Maybe he shows you something.
24:38He's a big guy with a big arm. Maybe he shows you enough in camp.
24:43There's a trade possibility out there, and Aiden O'Connell gets himself into a better spot than sitting behind a multiple-time Pro Bowl quarterback at the number one pick.
24:51Yeah, and an opportunity for Aiden O'Connell to get the, like, I shocked Mike Garofalo t-shirt as he comes out there and starts for the Raiders.
24:59Stunned. I'm not sure. Stunned than shock. Oh, yeah, stunned.
25:02Which is, there's two things. You could be shocked and stunned simultaneously.
25:05We'll be back with the Insiders as we continue.
25:08More news as there's Aaron Rodgers at mandatory minicamp, which was, has already passed.
25:12He's not there at OTAs because it's not mandatory, and this is going to be season 22 for Aaron Rodgers.
25:18He does not expect head coach Mike McCarthy to have Aaron Rodgers there for the remainder of OTAs.
25:24Let's go to the Cleveland Browns, where the head coach Todd Munkin says a starting quarterback decision is unlikely even after mandatory minicamp.
25:31So we could be waiting for an announcement on the Browns' starting quarterback, Shador Sanders, Deshaun Watson, for some time.
25:37But let's keep it in Cleveland, where Joel Batonio has kept it for 12 seasons, including a stretch of 102 consecutive games
25:43played at guard for the Cleveland Browns. He has decided to call it a career.
25:48A long message from Joel, a big thank you coming out from the Cleveland Browns on Twitter today.
25:53Congratulations, a great career for Joel Batonio. New head coach Jeff Halfley there in Miami, excited for what he's seen from Malik Willis.
26:00Again, those two very familiar, spent time together in Green Bay last year.
26:04Halfley speaking today says he likes this version maybe even more.
26:08I've seen the confidence grow. And, you know, even the conversation I had with Malik today walking down the hallway, you can
26:14just see, you know, he's more comfortable. And he understands the answers that are being provided for him on each play.
26:21And I just, I think he looks as good as he's looked since I've known him.
26:25I think they've all done a really good job in that room.
26:29And he will be excited to really ramp him up when we get to training camp.
26:34We'll come back here on the Insiders. The Chiefs missed their first playoff appearance of the entire Patrick Mahomes era.
26:40So back comes Eric Biennemi. What does his re-addition to Andy Reid and this coaching staff mean for the Chiefs?
26:46We'll hear in a live report from Jeff Jadilla next on the Insider.
26:50The Kansas City Chiefs started their mandatory minicamp this week, once again, after they missed their first postseason of the entire Patrick Mahomes era.
26:57But they have reloaded, trying to make a bounce back.
27:00They start week one against the Denver Broncos. And now let's welcome in Jeffrey Jadilla, who covers the Chiefs.
27:06And we have an opportunity now to see the Kansas City Chiefs.
27:09With Eric Biennemi back, you were there for the first day of mandatory minicamp.
27:14What does his return as offensive coordinator do for KC?
27:17Well, it means it's going to be louder and more aggressive and more and more accountability in practice.
27:22Because you could hear him all over the field today, Patrick.
27:25He is a big personality. And they need this back in this offense.
27:29This is an offense that has not cracked the top 10 in the league in the last three years.
27:35And so Eric Biennemi is coming back, trying to bring more accountability, which Patrick Mahomes, their quarterback, loves.
27:41But Biennemi is all about the small things, the details, the fundamentals.
27:44And that's been a big problem for this team the last couple of years, not being as good at those things as they should be.
27:52And so it's going to be a big year for this team as far as trying to get back on top.
27:58And Eric Biennemi and Patrick Mahomes, his offense, have to play a huge role in that.
28:03And over on the other side of the ball, where they've had a lot of success with Steve Spagnuolo's defense, half of
28:10the secondary depart, they're going to play for the Los Angeles Rams next season.
28:14But they get LeJarious Sneed back. What does his return say about the secondary at this stage of the All-Seas?
28:20It says that it's going to be some concerns there early on as far as growing pains and trying to figure out
28:26who the right people on the field should be.
28:29Because LeJarious Sneed, when he left the Chiefs and went to the Titans, was a big part of their success.
28:35But he only played 12 games the last couple of years with knee problems.
28:39And so bringing him back is an indication that some of the people in the room have to really up their game.
28:46You're talking about a first-round pick that they're really excited about and Mansour Delaney.
28:50But after that, Noel Williams, Christian Fulton, Kyer Elam, all these guys have to get better.
28:55And Noel Williams said today there's a big burden on this group to get better fast.
29:00We'll see how things go. Of course, LeJarious Sneed, a part of those Super Bowl runs and making some of the key
29:07plays, including that Zay Flowers fumble, which I know a lot of Ravens fans did not like to see.
29:12That is Jeffrey Chadea reporting on the Kansas City Chiefs.
29:15Back here on the Insiders, Cole Komet and the Chicago Bears, having their mandatory minicamp started today, runs all the way through
29:22Thursday, year seven for the Chicago Bears. But he has one moment that will live in Bears history forever.
29:28And he relived that moment with Stacey Dale. We are delighted, as always, to have tight end of the Chicago Bears.
29:34Cole Komet join us, spokesman. Seven years. Spokesman for this group.
29:37Before we jump into this next chapter, Cole had to kind of revisit last year's chapter.
29:42I know it didn't end the way you wanted to in the divisional round game, but we had to do it.
29:48We had to pull it up. I took the video.
29:51I don't know how this happened, but I need you to take us through this, my friend.
29:57This viral moment. Yeah, I mean, as I was coming in motion, I knew that there might be a chance that our primary guy might not be open.
30:05And you can always rely on Caleb to do the crazy things.
30:09And next thing I know, I'm looking at you with the camera.
30:12How did this happen? How did this? Why me?
30:15Why was I the chosen one? I was like, well, it was funny.
30:19It was like, you were just right there. And when I get to the sideline, everything kind of calms down.
30:25I kind of just, in the back of my head, I'm thinking, oh, Stacey was right there for the day.
30:31Stacey got a good shot of that. A good shot.
30:34I didn't flinch because I know your body control.
30:37Yeah. I just want to know, where did you hit it?
30:40You're a great baseball player. Left field, right field, right down the pipes.
30:44I think right down center field. Right down center field.
30:47Yeah, right down center field. Outstanding swing. And that throw from Caleb.
30:51I mean, again, it's not how you wanted it to end, but what a launching pad, Cole, for your group.
30:57And thank you for that viral moment. It went nuts.
31:00Credit to you and this team. Yeah. The launching pad, that moment created, or just the run in the playoffs for your group.
31:07Yeah. I know. I think, well, I know a lot of people on the outside, I think, look at it as a launching pad.
31:14I think the reality of it is that everything starts over, you know?
31:18And unfortunately, things that we did last year don't necessarily carry over to this upcoming year.
31:23You know, you hope there's things that we did from last year specifically that we can build upon.
31:28But, you know, it's up to us, especially this time of year and going into camp, to make sure those things come alive.
31:35Caleb came alive towards the end of last season.
31:38What did you see in him? How is the ball flying off his hands and the verbiage, his knowledge base?
31:44Well, I think it's more the verbiage and knowledge base.
31:47The ball was always flying off his hands. I think that goes back to his high school days.
31:52And you saw so many clips of him having plays like those back in high school.
31:57So the arm talent has always jumped for him.
32:00And I think for him, it was always just about the mental side of it and it slowing down for him.
32:06And I think you really saw that down the stretch there.
32:09And, you know, him and Ben got into a good groove of knowing one another.
32:14And, you know, obviously, you know, Ben does a great job calling it.
32:18And then Caleb just continued to master and master the offense.
32:21And I know he's made it a point of his going into this year to take even a further step with it.
32:28So we're excited about it. What is the artistry in Ben Johnson and how he coaches?
32:33Oh, man. Well, I think he's just a true football coach.
32:36You know, I think I've been around a lot of guys that they love their pass game.
32:41They love their pass schemes and they love the ball in the air.
32:45At the end of the day, Ben loves the run game and that's his baby.
32:49And I've never been around a play caller, let alone a head coach, that will do the run install.
32:55Usually that's the offensive line coach or the run game coordinator, whoever it might be.
33:00But, you know, Ben takes a lot of pride in it.
33:03And he wants to make sure everybody's on the same page when it comes to the run game.
33:08You guys were top five rushing attack. What does good, better, best?
33:12How does good, better, best sit with you now as you reflect back?
33:16Yeah, well, at first I thought it was super cheesy.
33:19But now it's hard not to totally buy into the mantra of it all.
33:23So I think, guys, we continue to buy into it as we kept winning.
33:27And, you know, the message of it is great.
33:30You know, even though you might get the result you want on a given day, you have to keep getting better from
33:37it or you just won't get to where you want to go.
33:40Offensive line, fantastic. Center cog in all of this.
33:43Yeah. An incredible tight end room. I think you guys, like, were top five in 13 personnel usage last year.
33:49Maybe six in 12 personnel. Y'all were on the field a bunch.
33:53Colston, Sam, Roush, and the great Cole Komet. What does this group look like?
33:57Yeah, well, I think it's a really promising group going into this year.
34:01I think we're, you know, Colston and I specifically built going into year two of the offense.
34:06We're excited to take another step forward with it.
34:09I think we really saw ourselves kind of come alive with playing as a tandem towards the back end of the season.
34:15And I think with Sam joining us, it just adds another element that is going to be really hard for defenses to take account for.
34:23And you mentioned the run game. But it's such a dynamic receiver group.
34:27And then in the backfield, Swifty and Kyle are back.
34:30So many good, you know, faces are back for you guys.
34:33How explosive can this offense be? I think pretty explosive.
34:36I think we've got a lot of guys that just, we complement each other's game so well.
34:41I think that each guy kind of brings something to the table that's really unique to the offense.
34:47And, you know, going back to Ben, you've got to give him a lot of credit for putting us in positions that
34:53we can all really succeed in and excel in.
34:56And, you know, he never really puts a guy in a spot that he's not going to be great at.
35:02So he asks a lot of us for sure.
35:05But he's always asking us things that we're all very good at and all very capable of doing.
35:10You just came off the practice field. What's the standard?
35:13What's the Chicago Bears standard? Wow. It goes good, better, best, I guess.
35:17Right? I know. But it's, I mean, I think it starts with physicality for us.
35:22I think we're a group that is physical at the point of attack.
35:26And we pride ourselves on that. We pride ourselves on how we practice.
35:30And it's definitely not easy. It's definitely not for everybody.
35:33But it's something that we take a lot of pride in.
35:36We understand that the way we practice is going to help us show up on game days the way we want to.
35:43They say, as we get set to wrap up here, the best teams are player-led teams.
35:47What is the leadership? How do you lead these men?
35:50How do you hold each other accountable in this locker room?
35:54Yeah, well, I think it's pretty simple. We all watch our film.
35:57And we all see what it looks like. And, you know, the leaders and the guys, the older guys, the vets, and
36:04the top players in the locker room, they're all the guys finishing to the football.
36:09And when you throw on our tape and, you know, you're going to see Colston Loveland running the football every play.
36:15You're going to see Joe Tooney running the football every play.
36:18You're going to see all the guys on the back end running across the field to get a touch on the football on defense.
36:25So I think it's kind of led by example that way.
36:29And if you're not the one doing that, it's pretty glaring up.
36:32And how many of y'all want to get in on the Madden highlights next year?
36:37Yeah, we got to talk to Caleb about that one.
36:40Yeah. Yeah. Well, we know he's going to spray it around.
36:43We appreciate you always. You're one of the best.
36:46All right. Thank you so much. Appreciate it, Cole.
36:49Yeah. Great stuff with Cole and with Stacey. And now to get to ranks for nothing because we're just going to make it full on bear.
36:57It's time to talk. Out of rank. Little on the insiders.
37:00Little bear-centric. Good seeing Cole come at right there.
37:03By the way, everybody, we're not trading Cole come at.
37:06There's no reason to it. Stacey was talking about.
37:08How much 13 personnel the Bears run. There's no reason to trade them.
37:12Okay. They don't want to maximize value. Let's not get into that.
37:16Okay. Be good at the thing you're good at.
37:19I'm trying to teach you a thing or two because right now it's time for the five things that I learned over the weekend.
37:26And number five, New York is cursed. Yes. As we start this week, I realize it's a little bit of a dead
37:32time here in the NFL world, but huge for the NBA Finals on Monday.
37:37The biggest news wasn't about the players at Madison Square Garden, but one of the spectators.
37:42Now, listen, I don't want to get in the middle of these culture wars.
37:46I don't want to take sides. I like both sides.
37:49But I'm going to come right out and say it.
37:52I was happy to see Dan Housen was able to make it to the game.
37:56Yes. The Knicks were undefeated since he uncursed them weeks ago.
38:00But for the first time in a long time, the Knicks lost a game.
38:04Why? Draw your own conclusions, Patrick. I don't know.
38:07But can he undo the curse again? I don't know.
38:10Listen, I'm up here looking like Ozempic Triple H.
38:12You think I wasn't going to have a Dan Housen reference?
38:16Be real, everybody. Let's move on to number four.
38:18Brandon Ayuk is alive. But is he well? In a rambling, somewhat incoherent rant on IG this week, Brandon Ayuk called the 49th.
38:25Can I say this? Bleep boys told him to not be female dogs nor kitty cats.
38:30And with the self-blossing and referring to himself as BA, it reminded me, Patrick, of The Rock cutting a promo during the
38:37WWE PG era where The Rock's still trying to be edgy.
38:40Like, oh, you female. We get it. We get what you're trying to do.
38:44But the biggest takeaway that I had from all of this is that BA has a better chance of being in the
38:51next Moana movie than he does for playing for the 49ers next season.
38:55Well, can you say except you're welcome? We can do that now because of our corporate overlords are allowing us to sing your welcome.
39:02Oh, it's going to be a fun year on NFL Fantasy Live.
39:06The hype train is going to be lit. Anyways, number three.
39:09Let's move on. College football has lost its mind.
39:12Hey, remember when Reggie Bush lost his Heisman Trophy and USC was stripped of the natty because Reggie had the audacity of providing a house for his family.
39:20Now, Brendan Sorsby is being granted a 90th year of eligibility after betting on college football games because some Lubbock judge said it was okay.
39:28He it's not even alleged. He admitted that he bet.
39:31Listen, not only does this ruin the integrity of college football, this ruins the premise of the longest yard.
39:36Paul crew was in a Texas sweat box because he was gambling.
39:40Now he's the quarterback of Texas Tech. What is going on there?
39:44By the way, Courtney Cox was in that movie.
39:46Oh, she was famous. She was in my high school.
39:49But she was also on Friends. But yes. Oh, she was on Friends.
39:53I know you would never know that. You would never know that.
39:57All right. Number two. Number two. Micah Parsons is a smart, smart man.
40:01Yes. Numerous NFL players were asked who is the best player in the NFL right now in the run up to the NFL's top 100.
40:08Micah Parsons knows what's up. Let's take a listen.
40:11Who do you think will be number one on the list this year?
40:15That's tough. Number one. The number one player in the NFL is Josh Allen.
40:19I'm going to go with Pat. My brother, Miles.
40:22I'm going to say 10. Number nine, Matthew Stafford.
40:25Yeah, Iceman. No, don't just take my word for it.
40:28No, listen, haters. You're like, oh, you think he's better than Jayden Gaines?
40:32I don't know. Micah Parsons does. But you know that you can check out the NFL top 100, which kicks off on X.
40:39On June 22nd. And moving on to number one, there was some great football in Chicago this weekend.
40:44And I will say one of the best footballers in the world scored at Soldier Field on Saturday.
40:49Caleb Nell. I'm talking about Kai Havertz, who scored on a header in the opening minutes of a friendly between Germany and the USA.
40:57And I'm not going to lie. I cheered when he did it.
41:00Who am I? Listen, not only was it on a set piece, but he is also one of my favorite footballers in the world.
41:08And you know what? People might ask, why are you rooting against the USA?
41:12Oh, I don't know. Someday I might be rooting for an NFL team that plays its game in Indiana.
41:18Why should I let a line on a map determine who I support?
41:21And listen, we go deep into this. We go deep into this in the latest edition of the Sick Podcast with Adam Rank.
41:28I understand we can sing. You're welcome now. There's some contractual things with podcasts that are a little hot right now.
41:35I'm going to avoid you promoting your podcast on this program.
41:38Et tu, Patrick? Yeah. I expected this from Jeezy.
41:41I am a shield robot, as it's said numerous times.
41:44Now I got some mouse ears on that. Folks, check out the Insiders Monday through Friday, 7 p.m.
41:49Eastern. You're doing it right now. Get the podcast version wherever you get your podcasts.
41:54This is the podcast. Of this one we can promote?
41:57This is the podcast that we will promote on this program because it's about family.
42:01Back here on the Insiders, congratulations to Drake. London got a new contract, but Drake not just wanted to celebrate that.
42:08Says he has other goals than getting paid. I know that's a lot of money, and I got to prove it still.
42:14And that's what my mindset is right now. Two, I've always thought that it would be so sick to win a Super Bowl in Atlanta.
42:22I know we've been so close. And then on the other aspect of that, you will be the first to do it.
42:28So regardless of who you are, where you're at on the team, how much impact you had, you are going down as a legend in Atlanta.
42:36And being legendary is a big goal of mine.
42:39Wants to ingratiate himself to that community. Tom, a nice payday for Drake London.
42:43No question. Yes, they have been close. Patrick, you may remember.
42:47Were the Falcons close to winning a Super Bowl?
42:49I can't totally remember, Mike. Do you remember where you were when they were close to winning a Super Bowl?
42:55I was in the green room watching with a couple of former Patriots screaming their heads off and calling out plays.
43:02It was a great scene. As for Drake London getting paid, congratulations to him.
43:06It's a fantastic contract. Falcons now got to figure out when and how they get B.
43:11John Robinson done. That is the big business of the offseason for them.
43:15Running back deals is a lot harder to do than wide receiver deals.
43:19See how that goes. Our business tomorrow will be live from Seahawks minicamp.
43:22As the defending champs, get back to work. For Tom Pellicero, Mike Garofalo, I'm Patrick Lampon.
43:27Thanks for watching this edition of The Insiders. We'll see you tomorrow.
43:31This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
