#605: Minnesota Vikings PAID Aaron Jones, Daniel Jones to Colts? Aaron Rodgers is LEAKING INFORMATION

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome into this show today. Thank you for making this
podcast a part of your day. I'm not sure what
the bigger joke is the NFL legal tampering window, when players'
agents have been discussing contracts for days, or Angel Reese

(00:28):
threatening to set out WNBA games if they aren't played.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
More when the WNBA.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Has not made a single dollar in the twenty something
years that they've been in league, it's ridiculous. Big deal though,
for the Vikings, big splash yesterday to retain one of
their top running backs, Aaron Jones. He's back on a

(01:00):
two year deal worth twenty million dollars, thirteen million of
that's guaranteed. A lot of reaction coming via social media
from the insiders and then people talking about it, and
most of them have said the number is a little high.
I'm surprised if it's thirteen million guaranteed, But to me,

(01:22):
the number doesn't really bother me. I'm not affected by
how much Aaron Jones is getting paid. The Vikings have
money to spend when they're rookie quarterbacks on such a
small contract. In Sam Donald's not coming back, so there's
room to grow and money to spend.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Because having Aaron Jones on.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
The Vikings roster next year is going to be an
integra part of the Vikings winning football games and an
integra part of the development of jaj McCarthy. From the
Viking standpoint, the last thing that you want is Jajon

(02:03):
McCarthy stepping out onto the field and having a rookie
running back next to him. Aaron Jones is a stabilizing
force for the rookie quarterback that has experience that can
pass off knowledge that can tell him to calm down
and McCarthy can believe it. He's not going to be

(02:24):
a deer in headlights that's trying to build McCarthy up.
This guy's been there, he's done that, and he's going
into his ninth NFL season, so there's lots of experience there.
So from the Viking standpoint, that's priority number one is

(02:45):
having a guy that's a stabilizing force that's also a
good player, that was healthy last season, played in every
single game for.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
The first time in two years.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
And that's really another unknowing part about the reputation behind
Jones because you look at his career and going into
the Vikings, everyone's like, oh, his injury history oh my gosh, Like,
should we be concerned that he's gonna play. He's getting
up there in age. He was thirty years old last year.

(03:24):
And you look at his history with the Packers. Two
years ago he played every game. Last year.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
He played eleven games, so he missed a few.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
Four years ago, he played fifteen games of sixteen bauz.
Five years ago he played fourteen games of sixteen games.
Twenty nineteen, he played all of sixteen games. So this
reputation about Aaron Jones having an injury history really isn't

(04:03):
accurate at all. Yeah, he missed a few games in
twenty twenty three, five games or six games, But twenty
twenty two he played every game. Twenty twenty one he
only missed one, twenty twenty he only missed two, twenty
nineteen he missed zero, and last year for the Vikings,

(04:25):
he missed zero, and he had his best overall rushing
season in terms of yards and his second best receiving
season in terms of yards. He rushed four eleven hundred
and thirty eight yards last year for the Vikings, and
he caught four hundred and eight passes worth of yards,

(04:51):
and he caught fifty one passes for four hundred and
eight yards. Aaron Jones is the type of back that's
best for McCarthy because if he's having a wild possession
of the Vikings can calm it down in russ it.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
But if McCarthy's feeling.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
Himself, Aaron Jones has shown a history throughout his entire
career that he can catch passes out of the backfield,
and that is a very valuable asset if you are
the Vikings and Kevin O'Connell. When you are putting in

(05:31):
McCarthy for the first time in his career, he is
the stabilizing force the Vikings need. Additionally, the Vikings have
the lowest draft capital entering the NFL Draft. Now, they
could trade down and acquire some more second round picks
or whatever the case may be, but as it stands

(05:53):
right now, the Vikings have the lowest draft capital, which
means you do not want to spend your first round
pick on a running back in a running back deep
class when you have several needs elsewhere if you can
bring back Aaron Jones. So bringing back Jones also allows

(06:14):
the Vikings to be more flexible in the NFL draft.
Now they can target offensive lineman defensive tackles and secondary
players before they need to target a top high end
running back in the draft. You know, maybe they'll still
explore the idea of drafting a running back because who's

(06:38):
their backup right now? Ty Chandler hasn't really developed Cam Akers.
Who knows what team he's going to be on next year.
The Vikers will probably trade for a midseason, but it
would be good to have a young rookie quarterback behind
the Aaron Jones so that he can take some of
that load off Aaron Jones.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
And that's what he saw last year.

Speaker 1 (06:59):
The Vikings were very selective and how they used Aaron Jones.
They used them a lot, but they didn't use them
on every play. They didn't use them on every posision
because they wanted him healthy for the entire season. And
that's going to be the plan this year as well
as Aaron Jones ages. He's going to be thirty one
years old next year. You know, while I'm taking as

(07:20):
many rushing attempts or having as many possessions on the
field as he did last year, because you want to
preserve him and you want him to be healthy at
the most important part of the season and that's playoff
time if the Vikings are good enough to get that far.

(07:40):
So this move makes sense from multiple perspectives. From Jaj
McCarthy's perspective, a stabilizing force and experienced running back that
can do it all, block, run, catch, and it also
makes sense from a draft perspective. Now the Vikings can
target they're more specific needs first and they don't have

(08:04):
to worry about drafting the Boise State running back in
the first round or trading up to get that guy
because now they've got a good running back back there,
and now they can select a running back in the
third or fourth round when this running back class is
as deep as it is. So big move for the Vikings,
and it's an exciting day for the Vikings because with

(08:26):
the legal tampering period opening up in just a few hours,
Sam Darnold will be with the Pittsburgh Steelers or the
Seattle Seahawks. The McCarthy regime is upon us, and the
next domino to fall is Daniel Jones. Will Daniel Jones
return to the Vikings or will he side with the

(08:51):
Indianapolis Colts. That's the decision Daniel Jones needs to make today.
And if I was Daniel Jones. From his perspective, Kevin O'Connell,
Shane Stike, and both the offensive head coaches, it's kind
of a wash. But you look at the Colts quarterback room,

(09:11):
Anthony Richardson, that's who you're competing with for the QB
one spot. And even if you lose the QB one
spot to Anthony Richardson, you are more likely to see
Anthony richardson bench next season than Jaj McCarthy benched. So,

(09:34):
from Daniel Jones's perspective, I would be signing with the
Colts today because of the opportunity that lies ahead. And
this next year is probably going to be a one
year deal. This is Daniel Jones's opportunity to make a splash,

(09:56):
to have a splashy season and to prove himself to
the the rest of the NFL and say, hey, I
did what Sam Darnold did. Give me a three year,
one hundred million dollar contract. And this is his opportunity
to prove just how dysfunctional the Giants organization was and

(10:18):
to be like, hey, it wasn't my fault, it was them,
not me.

Speaker 2 (10:23):
So if he signs with.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
The Colts or the Vikings, the Vikings he'll hardly.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
Be given an opportunity.

Speaker 1 (10:31):
I mean, I'm sure the Vikings will say it's a
competition in training camp, but McCarthy would win that job.
And from the colt's perspective, like Anthony Richardson, he got
bench for Joe Flacco last year, why would you not
go there instead? There's a greater opportunity. They have good
wide receivers, they have a good offensive line, they have

(10:53):
a good running back, and they've got an offensive minded
head coach and they play in a weaker division Texans Jaguars, Titans.
Really sounds like a great opportunity to prove yourself as
an NFL player. So if I was Daniel Jones, that's

(11:13):
where I would go. We'll see what he decides to do.
An interesting story came out yesterday. It was a saucy story.
Sauce Gardner, one of the best corners in the league.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
Jets corner quote tweeted a Jordan Schultz tweet.

Speaker 1 (11:36):
Jordan Schultz with the Seahawks targeting Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers,
whom the Giants have shown interest in, becomes a possibility
for the Vikings as well as Mike Garafollo also noted
I wonder if Ian Rappaport noted that if Jordan Schultz
would have tagged Ian probably not Sauce. Sauce quote tweets

(12:03):
it and says, if Aaron goes to the Vikings, he
might be number one in all QB stats. Now, from
the Vikings perspective, I don't know why they would be
interested in Aaron Rodgers's services. They're ready to move on
to the McCarthy regime. However, from the Aaron Rodgers perspective,

(12:28):
he is probably trying to do everything in his power
to land with the Vikings before he signs with the Giants,
because why wouldn't you if you thought things were bad
for the Jets, why would things be any better with
the Giants? For this reason and for this reason alone. Sure,
they have Malik Neighbors and an offensive minded head coach

(12:52):
and Brian Dable, But look at the division.

Speaker 2 (12:55):
Okay, the Eagles.

Speaker 1 (12:56):
Twice, you play the Commanders twice, and the Cowboys they're
the Cowboys. Do you really want to end your career
playing two teams in your division four times that just
played in the NFC Championship Game. Sounds like a recipe

(13:18):
for a disaster with the roster that's orchestrated around the Giants.
It's not like you're stepping into an organization that's stacked
and then you're playing in a good division like the
Vikings perspective. You know, if you step into the Vikings perspective,
it can really look good with the wide outs and

(13:39):
running back and money they have this offseason to spend
on offensive linemen and secondary players and defensive tackles. If
you're Aaron Rodgers, you are doing everything in your power
to land with the Vikings because of the roster, because
the Giants stink, because of the division that both of

(14:01):
those teams play in. Yeah, the Vikings playing a great
division and everyone's just getting better, but the Vikings are
also good.

Speaker 2 (14:08):
The Giants also play in a great division and they suck.
Why would you want to go there?

Speaker 1 (14:15):
So maybe this is what the league is coming from.
The league is not coming from the Vikings perspective. The
league is not saying the Vikings want Rogers. The league
is coming from Rogers wanting to land with the Vikings.
Because you'd also want to needle the Packers too.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
Why not. It's a part of it.

Speaker 1 (14:38):
There's multiple reasons why Rogers wants to land with the Vikings,
the division, the talent, the coach, and why not needle
the Packers while you're at it.

Speaker 2 (14:53):
Rogers wants to be a Viking this offseason.

Speaker 1 (14:56):
However, the problem with Rogers is in is that I
don't think the Vikings want Rogers. Why would they also
from Rogers respectives? But I could beatut McCarthy one year.
He's only twenty three years old, you know, I could
wait one more year. Rogers wants to be a Viking,

(15:18):
but the Minnesota Vikings don't want Rogers. So that's why
this story is becoming a story because Rogers' side is
leaking this information to the media, trying to draw interest
from the Vikings. So that's where this one is coming from.

Speaker 2 (15:37):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
One more quick story, and this is the dumbest rule
in all of sports right here. Saint Thomas Tommy's they
transferred to Division one a few years ago, and they
have a good basketball team from Division three to Division one,

(15:59):
and they made it to the conference tournament. I don't
know if they want it, but they cannot make the
March Madness Tournament even if they win the conference tournament.
The NCAA teams transitioning from Division three to Division one
must wait four seasons for postseason eligibility. The NCAA shortened

(16:24):
term from five years to four with ruling change.

Speaker 2 (16:31):
In January. Why is this a rule?

Speaker 1 (16:38):
Saint Thomas will be eligible next season if they reach.

Speaker 2 (16:40):
All requirements by June.

Speaker 1 (16:44):
So you're going to take a team that is being
willing to join Division one from Division three, and regardless
of how good they are, they're climbing up hill, they
have every disadvantage in the world. Regardless of how good
they are, you are going to force them to wait

(17:07):
four years to make the March Madness Tournament. Why would
it be an appeal to programs for programs that are
kind of on the hinge of like should we go
Division win or should we stay Division three? What is

(17:29):
the motivation to go Division one if you have to
wait years and years to be eligible for the March
Madness Tournament. It's one of the dumbest rules I think
I've ever seen. Because Saint Thomas has proved themselves worthy

(17:52):
to be a March Madness basketball team, to play in
the biggest arena in college basketball, the biggest weekend of
basketball of the year. There's nothing like the slate of
games on Thursday, Friday, Saturday Sunday. In college basketball, it is,
without a doubt, the best basketball days of the year.

Speaker 2 (18:15):
Final four is not better. The NBA Championship is not better.

Speaker 1 (18:18):
Thursday, Friday, Saturday Sunday is the best week of basketball
of the year. There's nothing else that compares. And you
are going to require Saint Thomas to wait four years
to be eligible even though they've proven themselves to be

(18:38):
worthy of one of those March Madness spots. The NCAA
has been stupid forever as long as I can remember.
Some rules they put in place in some different things
that they do. It's like, what are you doing?

Speaker 2 (18:57):
Who in the.

Speaker 1 (18:57):
Right mind would put together rules like this for a
team that's transferring from Division three to Division one.

Speaker 2 (19:09):
I don't get it.

Speaker 1 (19:11):
You know, the Minnesota State High School League and the
NCAA are two of the dumbest organizations I think I've
ever seen, based on decision making that they make, the
rules that they put in place, and the restrictions and

(19:31):
the requirements to to do certain things, those two are
right now. Those two organizations are right now and a
running for the dumbest organizations in sports. Stupid, say damas
deserves to be there, and they got to wait another year.

(19:53):
All right, everyone, thank you for watching this episode and
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