The NFL Report: Browns Name Deshaun Watson Starting QB and Preseason Game Recaps
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
29 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 25, 2026
Published
Tue, August 25, 2026
12
Player insights
11
Players mentioned
Topics
Ty SimpsonCam WardCarnell TateChristian McCaffreyDeshaun WatsonFernando MendozaGeorge KittleJeremiyah LoveMalik NabersMichael Penix Jr.Nick Chubb
Player analysis
Player insights
Cam Ward
NegativeProjection22:08
Cam Ward has struggled in the preseason, failing to complete a pass over seven air yards in two games; while he is in a new offense under Brian Daboll, there is a need for more production soon.
Insight pageCarnell Tate
PositiveUsage21:16
Despite not catching a pass in two preseason games, there is no reason to panic on Carnell Tate; he has been dazzling in practice, and his lack of production is attributed to quarterback play rather than his own ability, with expectations that he will produce down the line.
Insight pageChristian McCaffrey
PositiveInjury9:48
Christian McCaffrey returned to practice after a two-week absence. He clarified that the time off was for maintenance and part of a planned ramp-up schedule to ensure he is fresh for the season, rather than related to his contract.
Insight pageDeshaun Watson
PositiveRole3:58
Todd Monken has officially named Deshaun Watson the starting quarterback for the Browns. Bucky Brooks notes that the plan was always to start the veteran to get the offense going, and he believes Watson's talent fits well within the scheme's air-raid and spread concepts. Watson is supported by a better offensive line, playmakers, and running game than in his previous appearances.
Insight pageFernando Mendoza
NegativeProjection18:00
Bucky Brooks gave Fernando Mendoza a 'C' grade for his second preseason performance, noting he struggled against a better defense, had difficulty with tight-window throws, and threw a pick-six. While he is expected to graduate to the regular season, he is not anticipated to be the immediate starter over Kirk Cousins.
Insight pageGeorge Kittle
PositiveInjury10:22
George Kittle has been officially activated from the PUP list by the 49ers as he continues his recovery from a torn Achilles sustained in the playoffs last January.
Insight pageJeremiyah Love
NegativeInjury11:04
Jeremiah Love will miss another week of practice due to an ankle sprain suffered in the preseason opener. He will not participate in the upcoming joint practice with the Packers.
Insight pageMalik Nabers
PositiveInjury23:28
Malik Nabers is expected to play in Week 1, barring any setbacks, as he has returned to the practice field and shed his non-contact jersey.
Insight pageMichael Penix Jr.
NegativeInjury8:48
Michael Penix returned to 11-on-11 team work for the first time since his torn ACL last November. Head coach Stefanski is evaluating his status for the upcoming preseason game against Miami, noting that Penix has been eager to practice despite the transition from non-contact reps to full team drills.
Insight pageNick Chubb
Ty Simpson
PositiveBreakout19:27
Ty Simpson is competing for the Rams' QB2 job against Stetson Bennett. Bucky Brooks notes that while Bennett is currently favored, Simpson has been impressive, showing a strong understanding of the system and mechanics. Brooks believes Simpson is a long-term prospect who will benefit from Sean McVay's coaching.
Insight pagePositiveBreakout20:38
Ty Simpson has looked impressive in the preseason, with the offense under Sean McVay helping him look like he is conducting a clinic from the pocket; his previous lack of experience was his biggest hurdle, but he is now performing well.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
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1:01The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted.
1:05There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
1:08I'm JJ Zachary Eason, host of the award-winning Late Round Podcast.
1:12Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.
1:19Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:25Let's dive in to the NFL report. Deshaun Watson is QB1, how he won the job and what is next now for Shador Sanders in Cleveland.
1:33We have that story. Plus, Fernando Mendoza is QB2.
1:36For now, in Vegas, can Ty Simpson win the same job in LA?
1:40And how does Carnell Tate look in Nashville? We are handing out rookie report cards because it is time to go back to school.
1:48And it is the final countdown. Bucky Brooks tells you who should be number one in the top 100.
1:54It is now on the NFL report. This is going to be fun.
1:58I promise you we are going to have fun.
2:00Welcome to a brand new show. This is the NFL report.
2:04We are here at 7 p.m. Eastern time every single day on this.
2:08This is the NFL channel free streaming in your smart TV.
2:11We are also on YouTube and because it's 2026, we are also a podcast so you can listen to or watch this
2:18show whenever you want to later wherever you get your podcasts.
2:22My name is Andrew Siciliano in the transfer portal and happy to be back with you and thrilled that you are here with us.
2:29We have any and everything you need to know about the National Football League again 7 p.m.
2:35Eastern time Monday through Friday. Here is what is news to me.
2:38Let's call it that. Our latest headlines and we begin in Cleveland where Deshaun Watson is QB1.
2:44Todd Munkin made that call Monday morning after saying yesterday that he would not factor Watson's Saturday postgame comments about getting booed into his decision.
2:51There's a number of things I'm not going to get into, but ultimately we felt over the course of training camp and
2:58the offseason that he was ahead of Shador. Shador has closed that gap.
3:02I mean for sure. And that's a credit to him.
3:05And we look forward to again Shador continuing to grow as a player, but ultimately we're about week one.
3:11First off, I want to address the comments from Saturday after the game.
3:15I think just human nature, just myself being very emotional, putting a lot of time these last two years to get back
3:22and spend time in this facility, in the city, meeting a lot of different people in the community.
3:28You know, I thought I was going to get a little different response, but you know, I think, you know, my emotions got the best of me.
3:36And knowing that I have teammates in the locker room that support me, knowing that I have a coaching staff that support
3:43me, knowing that I have an organization that support me.
3:46You know, all the other stuff got to take care of itself on the field.
3:51And now it's my job to be able to show that, you know, I'm capable of putting points in the board and getting W's.
3:59And I think that, you know, if we can do that, then I can earn the respect and loyalty to the rest of the fan base.
4:07And that's what I got to do, because again, you know, it was a big investment and we haven't got the, you
4:14know, product out of that investment just so far.
4:16And I have, you know, I have another shot.
4:19I have another chance. So I want to make sure I take full of responsibility of this opportunity.
4:25All right. We could probably do an hour on this story.
4:28Bucky Brooks, I promise you only going to do like three or four minutes, by the way.
4:34Great to see you here. Yeah, it's been brought.
4:36Looking forward to it. Thank you. It's good to be back.
4:40Bucky's my wingman today, as he will be a lot of the time.
4:44Deshaun Watson, Bucky, first regular season action when we see him week one.
4:48We're both going to be there since week seven, 2024, the first torn Achilles.
4:52I think this is always the way we've been trending, but it's jarring for a lot of people to hear the announcement.
4:59What do you think? Look, I think this is what the plan was always going to be.
5:05Deshaun Watson being the starting quarterback. Todd Munkin wants a veteran.
5:08He wants someone that can get this team up and going, this offense up and going.
5:13And I think we have to be careful making too much of the free season.
5:18The free season is different than the regular season.
5:21The defenses, the people that you're facing, the game plans, all that is vanilla.
5:25Now we can get to building a game plan that's tailored specifically towards Deshaun Watson.
5:30And it's been a long time since he's played at their Pro Bowl level.
5:34But I know this. Todd Munkin really stuck his neck out there by saying Deshaun Watson will be his quarterback.
5:40I think he's going to give number four the best chance to kind of get back to being that Pro Bowl player that we saw.
5:48All right, you say long time. It's been since week 10, 2023.
5:52Long time. Since we saw him as a Pro Bowl player.
5:55That was the second half in Baltimore. They're down three scores.
5:59He goes 14 to 14 of the second half.
6:02Greg Newsome gets a pick six. They win the game.
6:05And then he goes on IR later that week with an ankle and a shoulder.
6:09So it has been nearly three years since we saw that guy.
6:13Look, it's been a long time. But sometimes we talk about an evaluation fit in scheme.
6:18How does the player's talent fit within the scheme?
6:21And I believe that Deshaun Watson's talent fits very well within this scheme.
6:25We think about some of the air rate concepts, some of the spread concepts that he did really well.
6:31Not only at Clemson, but for the Houston Texans when he was a multiple time Pro Bowl.
6:36I had two 4,000 yard seasons. They want to get back to finding the best of Deshaun Watson.
6:42I think they'll do that. But also, the supporting cast is much better than the one that trotted out the last time that we saw him play.
6:50From the offensive line to the playmakers to the running game.
6:54All of this is better. Now it's about the play caller and the quarterback being on the same page.
7:00Munkin firmly believes that Deshaun Watson gives them the best chance to win.
7:04They are week one in Jacksonville, week two in Tampa, week three at home against Carolina.
7:09Shador Sanders for now is QB2. Now, Munkin says that he told them both, Watson first and then Sanders second in his office on Monday morning.
7:17And that he said Shador totally understood and they made a smile on his face the entire time.
7:23Because Munkin says he understands the long game. So what's next for Shador?
7:27I think he continues to go to work. You think he plays this year?
7:31Absolutely. I think he has an opportunity to play either through performance or through an injury that provides him with an opportunity.
7:38Here's what we can say about Shador Sanders. He's made tremendous strides as a passer, throwing the ball more on time, more
7:45on target, understands how to have full command of this offense.
7:48He just wasn't able to wrestle the job away from Watson.
7:52And part of that is it's easier to start the veteran and then hand the keys to the offense to Shador Sanders.
7:59If you start with Sanders, then it goes awry.
8:01The energy is just different if Watson is coming off the bench.
8:05To me, Shador Sanders has to continue to do what he's done, focus on what he can control, preparation, be ready when
8:12his number is called, and when he gets that chance, just go and kill it.
8:17Look, in year 10, there's no question Deshaun Watson is better operationally getting out of the huddle, getting to the line, getting
8:24the play snapped, play called everything, than Shador. But Shador is getting closer.
8:28And the question is, will Deshaun's play be good enough to keep Shador on the bench?
8:33Because Shador outplayed him, there's no other way to say it, this past Saturday.
8:37And he had the first team and Deshaun had the third team, but you go the week before, it was the other way around.
8:45All right, Bucky, stay there. You could argue the only other real quarterback battle right now is in Atlanta.
8:50Michael Penix tagged into the ring today. He did his first 11 on 11 teamwork since last November's torn ACL.
8:57The Falcons wrap up the preseason Friday in Miami.
9:00I'll talk through the play time later in the week, Daniel, but we will play our starters in this game.
9:06Is Mike included in that? You know, I want to get through today.
9:10You know, obviously it's Mike's first time back out there.
9:13Excited for him, obviously, to do 11 on 11.
9:16But we'll work through that. How hard is the curve to be from where he's been all offseason to being in 11 on 11 now?
9:24Like what's the hardest part about that? I think it's a good question for Mike to probably answer better than I could.
9:31Other than to say, obviously, he's had a bunch of reps without the pass rush in the pocket.
9:36That type of thing. But I think he's more than eager to get out there and practice.
9:41So that was Stefanski before Penix took the field on Monday.
9:45Back on the field on Sunday, Christian McCaffrey, he had not practiced in two weeks.
9:50McCaffrey says, by the way, his absence was in no way contract related, as some had speculated.
9:55It was about maintenance and getting ready for the new season.
9:58You know, obviously, when you don't practice, you know, the way the media works now is firestorm.
10:04But, you know, this was kind of part of the plan from the jump was to ramp up pretty big, get nine,
10:11ten practices in, kind of come back down and then ramp back up.
10:15So we're fresh for the duration. So, you know, our staff's done a great job of kind of coming up with specific plans.
10:22And, you know, again, I feel great. So George Kittle on the field with him Sunday in Santa Clara officially activated from the PUP list by the 49ers.
10:31Is he going to play in 16 days? That's how close we are in Australia.
10:35No clue. No one wants to say. But this is the next step on a path to getting back on the field
10:42from a torn Achilles, which happened in the playoffs back in January.
10:46Meantime, in Vegas, the Raiders got a scare. Austin Gentey, or beg your pardon, Ashton Gentey helped off the field with an ankle injury.
10:53And then the good news. Ian Rapoport, NFL Network insider, friend of the program.
10:58Ian Rapoport says it is not considered a long term injury for the second year running back out of Boise State.
11:04Also not considered long term in Arizona for Jeremiah Love.
11:07But it's going to be another week without the rookie at Notre Dame on the practice field.
11:13Mike LaFleur says Love won't practice either in Arizona this week nor in Green Bay.
11:17They're doing a joint practice Wednesday with the Packers.
11:20Love sprained his ankle in the Cardinals preseason opener with a heavy workload.
11:24You thought Kayshawn Booty might get traded. Well, it finally did happen.
11:28The Texans called and the Patriots said yes. Booty to Houston for a 2028.
11:32A 2028 seventh round pick and a safety. Jalen reads in that deal.
11:37Remember the Texans lost Jaden Higgins last week to a torn ACL.
11:40If you're watching the game last night, the Seahawks and the Titans in Nashville.
11:45You saw it early. This one's tough here. Bud Clark, the second year safety at a TCU.
11:50Maybe this year's Nick Eman war in that Mike McDonald defense.
11:53He's going to be gone for a long time.
11:56It is a broken ankle. Mike McDonald didn't hide it when he went to the podium yesterday.
12:02He says McDonald does that. Clark is going to be out multiple months.
12:0649ers under Jed York was arrested over the weekend in East Palestine, Ohio.
12:10Court records show York pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools.
12:15He was released Monday after posting a $5,000 bond.
12:18The Niners with the following statement, quote, as this is a legal matter which has been resolved, we will not be providing any further comment at this time.
12:27A league spokesman in New York says, quote, we are aware of the matter which will be reviewed under the personal conduct policy.
12:34All right, we're just getting started here on the NFL report.
12:37Comment up on our very first show. He was good week one, not so good week two.
12:43When is Fernando Mendoza going to take the stage in Vegas?
12:46Bucky Brooks back on the stage with that coming up.
12:49This episode sponsored by Apollo. Still moving deals forward from your desk?
12:53With Apollo, you can go to market on the go.
12:56Find leads, research accounts and launch outreach right inside Claude and ChatGPT.
13:00You can even make calls or research leads from Gmail, your CRM or company websites.
13:04So whether you're at the airport or on a coffee run, Apollo works where you work.
13:09No more switching tabs or devices. Grow boldly with Apollo, the revenue engine trusted by over 3 million teams.
13:15Visit Apollo.io slash anywhere and start free today. That's Apollo.io slash anywhere.
13:19You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft and the entire room groans because they wanted that player.
13:26Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in prime time.
13:33There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
13:36I'm JJ Zachary Eason, host of the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast.
13:39Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.
13:47We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends and the strategies that separate winners from the rest.
13:51And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers and the mailbag
13:58data-driven, quick hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy.
14:02Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
14:08You're watching the brand new show, the NFL Report.
14:11Thank you for watching. Let's do some highlights here because I enjoy doing highlights.
14:15We go back to a prime time affair late last week, the Cowboys and the Cardinals.
14:20This was in Arizona. And this is Joe Milton.
14:23I mean, he is the king of preseason football.
14:26Jonathan Mingo, remember him, the former Panther? I'm sure you remember the trade if you're a Cowboy fan.
14:31And that is a 53-yard touchdown and it is 14 to nothing.
14:35Fast forward into the second quarter. Milton on the run, fighting preseason hero Camden Brown.
14:40Part of his issue in the draft process was the speed he cannot make it to the end zone.
14:46Oh, he got lucky there. That did not go out the back of the end zone.
14:51It rolled backwards to the one. Camden Brown, 70 yards on that to set up the Joe Milton scramble.
14:57Joe Milton, a touchdown run. And the Cowboys take it to the Cardinals.
15:01Dallas wins in Arizona, 34 to 13. All right, that's part of the story.
15:05The score obviously means something here. But honestly, for my money, this was the best thing I saw this weekend.
15:11This is Shiaz Pete. He is the first member of the Navajo Nation, which is the largest Native American reservation in the
15:18United States, to sign and now play for an NFL team.
15:22Arizona, by the way, also has the largest Navajo population in the U.S.
15:26Check out the locker room. Well, that was an incredible win.
15:29I am very fortunate to be amongst you and to play in the same field with the same star holding on our chest.
15:36And I'm proud of us. I'm proud of how far we've come.
15:40Oh, man. This game, fate, brought us here as strangers.
15:43But this game, this star, this team will make us brothers.
15:47All right, I'm not crying. You're crying. I mean, that got me.
15:51That was the best speech. That was the best moment of preseason week two.
15:55Preseason week two ended with a Sunday night affair.
15:58Sunday night football, not on NBC, but on Fox.
16:01But it was a game regardless with the Seahawks and the Titans in Nashville.
16:05That is Elijah Arroyo from Drew Locke, a 36 yard touchdown.
16:08And the defending Super Bowl champions look pretty good early.
16:11Cam Ward has not looked great really in the preseason.
16:15But Tony Pollard pads the stats here as he takes it downfield on the little check down.
16:20Ward has yet to complete a passive beyond seven air yards in the preseason.
16:24But, hey, that was good. This is not good for the Tennessee run defense.
16:29Jeffrey Simmons on the field for this. It's not as if this was the second or third team.
16:34This is Jakartia Wright, a 69 yard touchdown. Titans win 19 to 60.
16:38The Bud Clark injury really the big thing in this one.
16:42Not in any way good. All right, more highlights.
16:45Let's go to more primetime football. This is Friday, the Jets and the Steelers.
16:49This is in Pittsburgh. And this is Gino Smith.
16:52Gino looks low key good so far. Remember Jelani Woods, the billboard size tight end from Virginia, the former Colt.
16:58There's a 13 yard touchdown. Gino seven for seven or something like that on this drive.
17:03Drew Aller looked great last week. Will Howard, not so great this week.
17:07That is not Aaron Glenn sacking him, but it's the guy wearing his coach's old jersey.
17:12David Bailey, the number two overall pick. He gets a sack.
17:16And here is Will Howard getting picked off by Andre Cisco.
17:19Bucky loves him because he's a former Jaguar. I love him because he's a former orange man.
17:24And the Jets beat the Steelers here. 17 to nothing preseason fun.
17:28It's always fun to check out Chad Ryder's rookie grades.
17:31We like handing out report cards because your kids are back in school this week.
17:36Find them on NFL.com. Here are some of your grades from week number two.
17:40Austin Barber goes from tackle to guard and he gets an A.
17:44Monroe Freeling gets an A. There are a lot of A's.
17:48There are some grades that are not so good.
17:50Last week, the number one overall pick for Fernando Mendoza got a B plus from Chad.
17:55I thought he deserved an A. He was pretty good last week.
17:59However, not nearly as good when we saw him on Thursday night.
18:03He threw a pick six early on. Bucky Brooks back with me.
18:07The B plus, night number one. Bucky, I know you're not named Chad Ryder, but if I asked you to give a
18:13grade for the second week on the field for Fernando Mendoza, what do you think?
18:18Oh, Fernando Mendoza. C's get degrees. So we'll give him a C.
18:22We'll give him a C plus if you want to.
18:25The performance was not up to standard in terms of what he displayed versus the Cardinals.
18:30And part of it is he's playing a much better defense.
18:33Tighter coverage on the outside. They challenged him to make tight window throws.
18:38He had a difficult time with that. His guys weren't uncovering.
18:41And then he had to pick six. Ball was a little behind.
18:45Gave up a touchdown. So these are things where Fernando will continue to learn.
18:49He'll continue to learn how to throw with the anticipation and touch that he needs to against these better defenses.
18:55But right now, he's going to graduate, but he's not going to graduate without us.
19:00Yeah. Real quick here. Clint Kubiak is playing coy.
19:03He keeps saying this is still a competition. It's going to be Kirk Cousins.
19:07Oh, 100%. I mean, look, Tom Brady has been on multiple podcasts, broadcasts, talking about the developmental problem with quarterbacks.
19:14And so I cannot anticipate Fernando Mendoza being the starter right away.
19:17But maybe by the middle of the season, Fernando may get a little time.
19:22Okay. Week one, his hometown team. It's the Dolphins coming to Vegas for whatever it's worth.
19:27Ty Simpson, by the way, week one, also amazing for the Rams, 21 to 25.
19:31Week two, a little bit different. He did not start.
19:34Stetson Bennett did. He played the second half. Simpson did with the Rams.
19:39Let him on one scoring drive. Right now, Sean McVay says the number two job is up in the air between Bennett and Simpson.
19:46You think Simpson's got a shot? No, I think I think Stetson Bennett is going to get it.
19:52He's looked really, really good and comfortable running the offense.
19:55But I will say Ty Simpson has been very impressive.
19:58Considering the lack of starts that he had as a collegian, he looks like he understands the game.
20:04He knows exactly what he's doing within the system.
20:06And then the Rams make it easy. Sean McVay has been able to elevate every quarterback that he's touched.
20:12Ty Simpson looks like he's going to be the beneficiary of some of that magic.
20:17I like how he's progressing. I like how he's trending.
20:20But there's no need to rush him onto the field.
20:23I think we're talking about a year or two before we see Ty Simpson really play.
20:28But I think right now, position at QB three is a nice spot for him.
20:33All right. I know it is only the preseason and the preseason is a liar.
20:38Week one is very often a liar. For everyone who thought that Ty Simpson was a third round pick, what do you say now?
20:45Well, look, I thought he was a second round pick.
20:48I mean, we look, we got to say. But second round picks can also look good in the preseason.
20:54They can look good. Okay. Sean McVay makes him look really, really good.
20:58Now Ty Simpson has always been the guy that looks like he's conducting a clinic when it comes from the pocket and the mechanics.
21:06The experience, the lack thereof, that was the biggest issue when it came to him.
21:11But in this offense, the way Sean McVay is doing it, yeah, he's going to look great.
21:16Let's get back to last night's game. Should I be concerned, if I'm a Titans fan, that Carnell Tate has yet to catch a pass in two games?
21:25No. Don't panic. It's fine. He'll be okay. I remember, it might have been a few years ago, Jamar Chase was having a tough time in preseason.
21:33He was dropping things. Not getting targets. Marcus only had one catch.
21:37We thought about him being busted. He just went on to be what he's become.
21:41Even Ted Arroyo McMillan, last year only had two catches in the preseason.
21:46This is fine. This is kind of par for the course when you think about top ten receivers not getting a lot of touches.
21:53Carnell Tate has been dazzling in practice. It hasn't carried over to the preseason game.
21:58But some of that is not him. Some of that is on his quarterback.
22:02They'll eventually get on the same page and he'll put up the numbers that everyone expects down the line.
22:08Yeah, I was going to say that. I am not ready to panic on Cam Ward.
22:13I'm not a Titans fan. I would never panic regardless.
22:16But when I tell you that he has yet to complete a pass over seven air yards in two preseason games.
22:23New offense. Brian Dayball is there, right? Show him some grace.
22:26A little bit. But at some point we've got to have some completions.
22:30Those uniforms. You're not doing those uniforms justice. The uniforms are clean.
22:34We've got to have some production. I love those uniforms.
22:37I mean, those are nice uniforms. They pop. They're great.
22:40You know why he loves them by the way?
22:43They're Carolina blue. I mean, they're different. They love you, but it's different.
22:47Right, I'm wearing the same thing. It's Bucky's a Tar Heel.
22:51Anyway, let's move on here. You're watching the NFL Report here.
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23:21They always do. Let's do some quick hits. Some other headlines we didn't get to you earlier in the show.
23:28We're going to begin in New York where John Harbaugh, the new head coach of the Giants says it's quote, reasonable to
23:34assume his words and quote here that Malik neighbors is going to play week one.
23:39That is the caveat, barring an injury, neighbors lost the red no contact jersey today back on the practice field.
23:45He tore an ACL a year ago. It has been a long road back.
23:50A lot of news out of Pittsburgh today in the secondary.
23:53First and foremost, the veteran DB Jalen Ramsey. He's a safety.
23:57He's a corner. He's a star while he's active again off the PUP list.
24:01So he is back. But, and this is the tricky one.
24:04Joey Porter Jr. is still on the PUP list and Mike McCarthy admits that they are at an impasse.
24:10It's a back injury. Reportedly, allegedly Porter would like a new contract.
24:14They're at an impasse over the contract. He was the 32nd overall pick three years ago, but that was a second round pick.
24:21So only as a four year deal, there is no fifth year option.
24:25Just contract complication there. Joey Porter wants to get paid as other corners like Devin Witherspoon and Denzel Ward have now been paid.
24:33All right. We're in the final countdown for the top 100.
24:3610 a.m. Eastern time every day. The next nine days, we will reveal the final 10.
24:41Bucky Brooks back with me. You get to pick any NFL player.
24:45There's like 3,000 of them. Who's going to be number one in nine days?
24:49Oh, this is easy. I mean, like the single season sack leader, Myles Garrett, is number one.
24:54When you go and you look at any metric where we talked about last year, where the 23 sacks doing it on
25:01a losing team where you don't have the opportunities that most pass rushers would have.
25:06If your team is playing from ahead, that speaks volumes about how he's been able to dominate the game.
25:12But then over the last nine seasons, eight of those, he's had at least double digit sacks.
25:17He's a dominant player, continues to dominate. And now we're talking about going to L.A.
25:22where he may have a chance to play with the GOAT.
25:25Aaron Donald. Yeah, I mean, this is number one.
25:28This is an easy conversation. All right. So here is how I describe Myles Garrett.
25:33And I'm with you, by the way. For my money, he is the greatest non-thrower of the football in the NFL right now.
25:40Does that work? Yeah. Yeah. He's not a quarterback.
25:43He's not Josh Allen. He's not Lamar. He's not Mahomes.
25:46Guys that don't throw the football, he's the best.
25:49I mean, I've never seen anybody to be able to do the things that he's consistently able to do when everyone knows.
25:56He's the number one pass rusher. They rarely play with the lead, but yet he's still able to get to the quarterback.
26:03It's kind of like Barry Bonds. Limited opportunities, but when he does get one and they throw a fat one over the
26:10pitch, he sends it out to you. All right.
26:12The difference is, unlike Barry Bonds, his hat fits.
26:15I mean, I mean, like, have you seen Barry?
26:18Barry slender now. I meant back in the day.
26:21Skinny Barry. Skinny Barry we're seeing. Also back in the day, we used to do something called one more thing.
26:27Just one more thing before we go. So let's do that.
26:30One more thing before we go. Tip of the cap to the great Nick Chubb, one of my favorite people who retired
26:37on Friday, he retired in the same way he played.
26:40He handed the football back to the referee. Nick Chubb retired with a very quiet, very understated Instagram post at eight o'clock on Friday night.
26:48There was no video. Right. There was no music.
26:51There was no dancing. No. There was no, there was no pose in a studio.
26:56There was just something he wrote on IG. He typed it out.
27:00He hit send and then he went to play golf with Sony Michelle today.
27:04Oh, that's Nick Chubb. That is Nick Chubb. And how about Nick Chubb being the last of those great Georgia backs?
27:11You have Todd Gurley, Sony Michelle, and now Nick Chubb, three great running backs who all retired before they were 30.
27:17My favorite Nick Chubb story years ago, the Browns mic'd him up for in-house content like, hey, we're going to mic up Nick Chubb today.
27:25He didn't say a word, not a word, until like a minute was left and they're going to take a knee.
27:31And then he said, hey, we won. That's Nick Chubb.
27:35He handed the football back to the referee every single time he got in the end zone and that is how he retired.
27:42By the way, we now hand it back to you.
27:45We thank you for watching. We're going to take a knee, but we're here every single day, 7 p.m.
27:51Eastern time. It is the NFL Report on the NFL channel.
27:54We will see you tomorrow. Listen to the NFL Report podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
28:02This episode sponsored by Apollo. Still moving deals forward from your desk?
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28:32The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted.
28:36There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
28:39I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the award-winning Late Round Podcast.
28:42Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.
28:49Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
28:55This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. We're talking about performance here today.
28:59Their home.
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