Trade DJ Moore? Tyson Bagent? Going Through Bears’ Tough Decisions with Nate Tice

coming up on Hogan Johns. We are live at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, and our buddy Nate Tice is going to join us. Got a lot to talk about from yesterday. Ryan Poles, Ben Johnson, meeting the media, and we always like talking to Nate. So it's all coming up right now on Hogan Johns. Hahaha! Anyway Welcome in Hogan Johns with you on a live edition, at least on YouTube, presented by Old National Bank and live at the NFL Combine. Every play matters, whether it's on the field or in your financial life. The best teams win by delivering excellence at every level. Old National Bank, where relationships and results matter. Member FDIC. Johnsy, another Hogan Johns episode from Indy. We're not in the hotel rooms, though. Yeah, we've come a long way. We have an actual sub. We have a backdrop. Our Carmen's roaming around with coffee and sheets of paper in his hand. Somebody help him. Yeah, someone needs to tell him. Defensive linemen and linebackers, I believe, are talking on the other side of that curtain right now. Yeah. Or soon. Yeah, Braggs was probably lined up at 6 a.m. Ready to go for somebody. And we'll probably have, we'll probably touch on prospects a little bit more with Nate a little bit later on and then probably even more so on our second episode later in the week. But welcome in because we got a lot to talk about with the Bears. Nate will join us in about 15 minutes. Just a lot to get through. Yeah. Comp picks, Tyson Bajan's future, DJ Moore's future, Tremaine Edmonds' future. Where do you want to begin? Let's start with DJ Moore. Okay. I know you asked the questions yesterday to Ryan polls. There was a lot of talk about DJ more. And I think the common theme yesterday with, with polls was the doors kind of open on everything. Like they're not, they're not really committing, but you got to kind of sort through how he answered. What about which player? Cause like when Cole commits name comes up, it wasn't so open. It was, we feel good about him being on the team. Yeah. So it, you know, You could still kind of read between the lines on some of this stuff, which is why we're here. But yeah, let's start with what Ryan Poles had to say about DJ Moore yesterday. Because this was a perfect example of kind of floating some stuff out there and doing so in a way where I do believe them that they like DJ Moore. But might still be open for business. So here's what Poles had to say. Yeah, I got to have conversations and kind of see what, like I said, the best combination of players we can bring in. We want him here. We think highly of him. He's a great teammate. He's been productive pretty consistently over the last couple of years that he's been here. So I have nothing but great things to say about him. But this is the time now where we have to look at all the different scenarios and see what can make what can allow us to put the best team out there. And I've talked about this before. It's just, you know, there's relationships there. There's a lot there that make it really, really difficult. But he's a guy we want here, but we have to look at all different scenarios. Okay, so DJ Moore is the only player on the roster signed through the 20-29 season. I don't think a restructure is a possibility here. I don't think the Bears really want to trade DJ Moore, but they have to consider it because it is in the best interest of the long-term health of this team. Yeah, but it's a tough situation because I don't... The Bears are better with DJ Moore. They're a better team. Ben Johnson, later, going through how he knows every single receiver position, he was durable, that matters in the long term of a 17-game season. All that's important context. It is, and trading him means somebody else is taking that contract. And so what are you going to get in return? And you're still eating dead money on the, on the signing bonus. So I don't think trading him is the easiest thing. Well, that contract, I would also argue probably limits the amount of trade partners that come your way. Right. Exactly. So, I mean, I get the conversation. I get why this keeps coming up, but it's, it's, it's, I don't think it's easy to trade them. And I don't think it's a, you're certainly not just going to cut them. So, so. Well, you can't. The contract prevents that. And I, and I, I, right. And the other side of this then is, if the contract's already a problem, then, I mean, obviously he's not, I get what they're trying to say. They love DJ more, but there's that, the production isn't where they want it then, as much as they're saying that. See, I don't think they have a problem with the actual production. I think their problem is trying to project where everybody fits, not only in 2026, but 2027. When you hear them with the messaging about having sustainability, how Ben Johnson wants sustained success, how Caleb Williams wants to be known as one of the all-time greats, which means sustained success. How do they sustain that success? Tough decisions come with it. And this is one right now on top of the Bears list. I think train Edmonds is a tougher decision than even we have debated before. And I want to get to that in a little bit, but I don't think the Bears want to make this move. But it's almost one they have to make to set themselves up for more flexibility come 2027, come 2028, knowing that DJ Moore's chondriac probably prohibits them from doing a few different things. Yeah, well, it's in. Edmonds is another one. This is a weird situation because I think this is a more fluid offseason with players that are on the team currently than – and I think that comes with just being farther along in what they've built here and having some success in last season. But I don't really remember it being this fluid with so many – you know, a handful of players. You know what I mean? Like, there's – and I felt like yesterday they were trying to float out the idea too of like, hey, they're open. Is anybody interested in Jermaine Evans? But that's another one that I don't think that that contract is going to get a bunch of people lining up to trade for him when it's more likely in those situations, those type of veterans just get released, and then you can sign them. They're free to go. Yeah. Are you surprised that Evans is still on the roster right now? A little bit. A little bit, but only because of the track record, which Poles was asked about yesterday, too, about his history of letting, you know, making some of those roster moves before the combine even happens. And that's not what they did in Edmund's case. You know, they did release a linebacker last week, but it was not Edmund's. And that is an indication that I at least think there's a door open to him. I think this is more nuanced than we've debated or has been talked publicly. I think Ryan Poles revealed a little bit. It was Greg Greggs, our colleague, who asked the question about the injuries that linebacker. And I thought polls had a very open answer. He described it as difficult. What did you say? We spent a lot of time working through that process. There are some unknowns there. There's some projections just in terms of return time. So that's TJ Edwards, Noah Sewell. Noah Sewell may not be ready at all this season. Seriously. So that's something the Bears have to project. DeMarco Jackson is a free agent. Kermaine Edmonds is only 27 years old too. well and by the way DeMarco Jackson being a free agent might be one of the reasons why it's still fluid with with Edmonds yes because they might be trying to re-sign DeMarco Jackson and if they don't feel like they're going to then maybe they like do you add a year or two to trade like I wouldn't be opposed for first for such a thing would you um add two years to Tremaine Emman's deal. By the end of it, he'll be 29 years old. Yeah. I mean, I'm not completely against it. I just, I would have to imagine he's taking a sizable pay cut for whatever's being added on those next couple of years. You know what I mean? And if I'm him, you got a way. Can I get more on the open market versus, and here's another aspect of this whole thing too. How many of these guys want to be back because of what they built last season. I mean, I think there's part of that, too. There's, you know, money always talks in this league, especially when it comes to free agency. But I also, I get the sense that there's guys that, you know, aren't in a hurry to get out of Chicago like some of the past years. I would put Trey, Jermaine Evans in that category. Team leader, wants to win, was on a winning team in Buffalo, went through some tough times here initially with the Bears, and now they're a playoff winner. Right. Making the divisional round. So this conversation about short-term versus long-term, a lot of, because that's an example too. Like if you're going to extend Edmonds, I always go back to how Belichick used to always like to get rid of a guy a year too early rather than a year too late. And a lot of that impacts your future flexibility to make more moves, which is obviously something the Bears are worried about right now. So Ben Johnson talked about that idea of short-term versus long-term decisions. Are we ready for that clip? Here's what Ben Johnson had to say on that topic. Yeah, no, I think that's a balancing act, and that's where Ryan and Matt Feinstein, Jeff King, those guys, they do a great job keeping the big picture in mind of what we're trying to do, short-term and long-term, and balancing act. And so you might have an off-the-wall idea, and you kind of got to talk it through of what the consequences might be if you went down that road. And so that's this time of year. You know, you're trying to, as I've been saying all day long, trying to accumulate the best 90-man roster you possibly can. We need to be as competitive as it's ever been so that we take the next step. And I know Ryan and I see our current roster, the guys that are under contract, very much in the same lens. And we're totally committed to whatever it takes to get better. So when I heard that at the end, his last comments about seeing the roster in the same lens, I immediately thought about what Ryan Pohl said about Cole Komet and DeAndre Swift, like how they're going to be on this or they feel good about them being on this roster, although there's some debate whether or not releasing them is cap savings you need. Again, the Bears are a better team with Cole Komet and DeAndre Swift on their roster. You could argue about the value of running backs, but at the same time, if you don't know his replacement yet, I don't think you can move on him yet. Right, which is why I think a lot of this is still fluid. for sure. You know, I think that's what's, and that's part of the situation that you've gotten here. And I think one of the reasons why it makes this offseason so interesting for the Bears, because, I mean, I'll speak for myself. Like, I don't know a lot. Like, I mean, I know we come down here to try to find these things and get these hints, and we'll continue to do that during the week. But I don't really see a lot of just clear black and white decisions for the Bears. Like, I think this is going to be extremely fluid based on exactly what Ben just talked about there, what you just talked about there. Like they're trying to just, and we were having this discussion yesterday in terms of, and I know we're going to have Nate join us here in a few minutes and talk a little bit more about Tyson Bajan since he's our quarterback guy on the show. But, you know, how, even if we're going to talk like a potential Max Crosby trade, Carmen and I were arguing, because I don't necessarily think like each trade is its own thing. Like, yes, they're kind of made individually, but if you look at it more like the sum of the parts, like maybe you can stomach giving up extra for Max Crosby. If you know right now, talking to some people here in Indy, and I'm talking about Ryan Poles right now, who has these conversations and sets the groundwork for some of these trades. If you get, if you leave Indy with the sense that maybe Tyson Beijing can get you a second round pick, well, that might open up the door more towards a Max Crosby trade. Cause you know, you're getting, And same thing with the Ian Cunningham conversation yesterday with the comp picks. You don't think they want to know if they're going to have a third-round pick or not? Because every piece of draft capital gives you more flexibility to make more moves, regardless of what those moves end up being. So one thing leads to the next, is what you're saying. And I think DJ Moore fits in that conversation. So Moore, if we had to predict today, on or off the roster in 2026? I would say on. Okay. Yeah. I would say Jermaine Edmonds on or off the roster in 2020. I would still lean off. Okay. But that's based not on me thinking me personally thinking, oh no, they got to get rid of them or me or the bears not liking him or anything. I think it's the opposite of that. I just think the math and that's how I worded it to Ryan polls yesterday. When I asked him about it, it's like the salary cap math would suggest you might make this move. Okay. Tyson Bajan on or off the roster. 2026. I would still lean on, but yesterday, I'm going back and forth on it. You threw me on the spot here yesterday. I fell off, but now I want to say I'm because I still think there's immense value and the Bears believe in that value. Not only having a good backup quarterback, but just his place on the roster overall. But what I will say is it sounds like they're more open to trading him than I thought they would be. Because this conversation has come up. um you know there was the rumor last week from Arizona and um you know we just because Bajan gets talked a lot about CHCO Bears it comes off and he does seem he does appear to at some point be a trade asset that you have um but every time we talked about it Johns I was like it seems like a move you make next year because he still has value he like this two-year contract extension is just kicking in now, you know, like, and so you, by next year, when there's just one year left on his deal, that would be like the right timing to me to move on from him. So that's why I was kind of, I'll be honest with you. I didn't expect that to even come up yesterday, you know, amongst the list of questions, I wasn't necessarily going to ask about trading Tyson Bajan. So when I'm sitting on the other side of, you know, in this room and are standing there and all of a sudden that's a conversation and polls gave the answer that he did. It kind of surprised me a little bit. I guess like if you're Ryan polls and by Saturday you're, you're going home Sunday, you're driving home and you realize there's a market for Tyson. Again, in terms of acting in the best interest of your team, like you have to have those conversations. Like you have, if you're getting a potential day to pick, even if it's like one of the first picks of the third round, that is seriously something you have to entertain for the best interest of your franchise. Yeah. Especially if you know he's not going to be your starting quarterback. Well, I want to talk more to Nate. Nate's going to sit down with us, and I know he has some thoughts on Beijing because we talked about it off the air yesterday. So we'll bring in Nate and hear what his thoughts are in terms of what he thinks the value for Tyson Beijing should be at this point. So all of that is coming up. Don't go anywhere. 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Download the GameTime app. Create an account. use code chgo for 20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account redeem code chgo for 20 off download the game time app today all right keeping things going here on hogan johns presented by old national bank in indianapolis at the nh i just called nhl combine i've never been doing it did you ever go to the nhl combine no no no okay different life ago i was the nba combines in chicago yeah okay mlb combine okay i actually i don't know where that one is i guess it's like in arizona i think this is the best of all combines though because we run into we get to run it like this yeah i know every time it's great i mean that's the thing you guys come to the super bowl too like that's and that's like nice because friendly faces during that week because it's just you guys get it especially wednesday and thursday and it's just like just I feel like just a pinball there. And I see you guys. It's like, oh, friendly water. There's a friendly port. Okay, I can just hang over here. I know I can stand over here for a little bit. Even the Eagles guys because there's some friends of mine too. And so it's like, yeah, from the athletic. Yeah, back in the day. But no, great to see you guys. Yeah, so we were just discussing Tyson Bajan and some of the trade talk that came up yesterday publicly. So I want your perspective because it's an interesting thing because I think there's just not a lot of tape on him out there. and he's been, but he's been in the league for three years, and Ben Johnson obviously loves the dude. So it's kind of hard to figure out what his trade value would actually be. And, well, there's a lot of desperate teams, and I think that's where it starts. And then that's why there's a market for him because they're looking for any warm body. But Tyson's way more than just a warm body, and he's a guy that's grown on me because, I guess, my exposure to him is, like, when he comes in, he had the camp stuff, and then he played for a little bit. I was with Fields, correct? Yeah. For some reason, the Saints game comes to mind. I don't even remember if he was in that game. No, he was because he was good. That's the game that comes to mind to me for some reason. Well, that's because he threw the interceptions. Okay, but that's my first maybe exposure to him, but that's the one. But I remember watching him preseason, and I actually was going to tweet about him this preseason, but I knew what was kind of going on with Caleb, and I was like, I'm not going to dip my toes into this. I'm going to let this play out. You learn quickly. Yeah, and I get it as an outsider. I'm like, okay, I've seen this time and time again. this a loka kid or some backup like in minnesota we had todd bauman the backup that like everybody loves and yada yada i was a backup quarterback i totally get it but then i watched him this this preseason and i was like oh well this is interesting oh and he had really more than even just traits because i'm always gonna look at traits he had really good pre-snap control of everything um some bike points some changing some stuff very calm and then you could just see he's got good size which is obvious and everything but also can move a little bit has good juice on the arm so to me i was gonna like say something and then i said this to you yesterday and i was like then they extended them and it was a weird time for an extension i was like okay that's okay i'm gonna put a pin in that and here we are six months later i'm like oh okay okay it wasn't just that preseason tape there he was showing something um so i understand why he has a market but we did a quarterback landing spot show on football 301 uh a few weeks ago and i brought tanner mckee um spencer rattler and i think these guys and even you know anthony richardson of course is another one but like these guys that are backups and you see how many teams need some answer whether it's a bridge guy whether just get them through this year whether a long-term option and to me the most interesting ones are McKee Rattler and and Bajan because it's not Kirk Cousins it's not Rodgers we know what we're getting there there you know but at least there's kind of a mystery here but I also think all three of them have actually some solid play to them already so to me that's how you when I say Colossus erodes it. We have one foot in the present, one maybe into the future, straddle it a little bit. That's why he has a market because it could be cheap, cost controlled for a little bit, get a little dart throw. If it doesn't work out, whatever. Okay, cool. We gave up a mid-round pick or whatever we gave up, and then next year's draft we can maybe address it. That's why he has a market. We've heard Ben Johnson early in the year, he's getting his extension, and he's describing Tyson Bajan of someone of a similar mindset. Like we see the game the same way. It prays his work ethic, everything behind the scenes. And then yesterday here, just right over there, he describes him as one of 32 quarterbacks, in his opinion, who should start in this league. He's calling him a starter. How would you view that if you're running the Raiders, running the Cardinals? Like how far does Ben Johnson's endorsement of Tyson Beijing go? It's great. I mean, and they're going to have private conversations too and like say all that, but it's, I mean, The public stuff is just kind of the tip of the iceberg, what happens behind the scenes. So it's obvious there's something there. I mean, that's a fuse of praise. That's not just like, oh, yeah, he's good. He's really worked hard. It's like he has the same brain as me. He's one of 32. So it's obviously, and even if it is some whatever you want to call him. He's like joking and coughing up. They're like, no, I don't want to trade him. Stuff like that. It's something. It absolutely is, especially considering the personality, too, of Ben Johnson. For him to kind of be that over the top with it, that does say something. And when you look at the teams you brought, like, so, like, the Raiders, like, they have a path to have a quarterback. Mendoza, boom. But teams like the Jets, Steelers, Cardinals, I mean, Cardinals were just like, I actually don't mind their offseason so far, but they're going to be so far behind everybody else. But, like, those teams, it's like, all right, you need some option. There's only one quarterback, and do you really want to go with, in this draft class, too, this is what helps the trade market, is that Ty Simpson, to me, is more of a round three guy. Garrett Nussmeyer is more of a round three guy. they are they both aren't very big um they have a lot of red flags or stuff that can be a little alarming quarterbacks i've had seen plenty of guys i've graded around three guys going around one jackson dart was one last year uh kenny pickett was another one if one team likes you and those are coaches kids they might rise up i think if you want to have a trademark for bajan you'll be like no no those are definitely round three guys round four guys you really want my guy tyson's like but that's that's why the market's so cool in the nfl because it's not just the draft It's not just for agency and multiple teams have now said that the trade market is going to be more active. And there's multiple reports nationally. People don't like the trade markets to be a lot more active than I think people realize that. I think that includes quarterbacks. Yeah. And I, and I, that's a great way to think about it because if you are a quarterback needy team, you're, you're looking at all the options, whether that's free agency, the draft or, or trade. And I think that's, I think that's why, because before you came on, what we were talking about is just like how we kind of thought this was more of a thing that they'd want to do a year from now. Because it is very, very valuable to have a quarterback. And I think what really matters in this is how much Ben Johnson loves Baygent is maybe the best attribute he has. Because all these coaches, they're so scared to coach young quarterbacks that they can't trust. And yet I think that we would vouch for this too. Like the one, I don't know if Bajan's going to go be a great starter somewhere. What I do know is wherever he goes, he's going to know the offense. He's going to know the system. The coaches are going to be able to trust him. It goes a long way. And so when you stack that up with like whatever all these other options are, whether that's like third round flyers and a young rookie quarterback, which probably would give a head coach nightmares right now, I think Bajan's going to have value just because of that trust. No, absolutely. And that's going to, I mean, you see time and time again, it's not even just quarterback. It's any young player. Like running backs won't play if they can't pass protect. And it's like, you know, there's countless examples of that. Guys, an edge doesn't know how to drop into coverage. Okay, well, we can't play him. So like, okay, so snaps get limited. But same with quarterback. And these coaches talk. And Ben Johnson's going to be a guy that talks too. He has friends in the league. And if they're going to ask him, and that's the thing too, is even if it's coded and he's just like, he actually doesn't like him and he's trying to like, you know, pump him up a little bit. people know over time you can kind of like okay this guy's lying full of crap but that's the thing is like no i think this is very real how much he likes him and for a team like i'll just bring up the cardinals again because it's just like a cardinals and jets would say for example for them next year's draft class might be really loaded so 2027 i i'm arch is the guy i think is just incredible lenore sellers don't they more um there's at least five guys that that have would be battling for qb2 in this class and be like first rounders if they did declare which is so crazy you think arch could would maybe go ahead of mendoza this year yeah i think so i think so too yeah just uh especially how he closed it but just it's it's a traits league and what's everyone keeps knocking mendoza like oh you know he doesn't have high end stuff and i still think he's good i really like he's good kirk cousins yeah kirk cousins golf matt ryan i say is the high end comparison if like you want to say like that which i would think was ideal for a number one pick that's great um but arch has just traits it's he's i keep saying this about arch he's not peyton's nephew i mean he is peyton's nephew and eli's nephew he's archie's grandson and i mean that anyone go look at you how he plays yes and watch archie manning play football and then there's arch and he's kind of like a polished version of that and his dad cooper was a receiver so why i'm saying that he's a plus plus athlete he's not just like oh pretty fast i get it manning not gonna be a fast he's fast as hell and on top of it his great mechanics great puck yeah he's he would have got one because especially as this process warmed up and how it goes and then i think a lot of other teams are probably unhappy like the jets could just say oh we got mendoza we're good right sweet but no arch would have gone one if he came out so if you're the bears if you're gm ryan poles and you're trying to maximize your leverage in this situation and project all this so you're already saying like next year's 2027 better draft class weaker draft class this year not a long list of good free agent quarterbacks like so is is this the year where if you're going to move baygent where you probably have more leverage you could probably get more in return yes is that how you're approaching this i would and that makes sense because when we did that quarterback landing spot show i didn't include baygent because of the contract because it's tan mckee's expiring you know as they say in like nba terms but it's the last year of his deal and so that one makes sense okay get out when we're not going to get anything for him next year, maybe a comp pick or something like that if I were the Eagles. So I didn't really consider Bayesian because of the contract stuff, but that's also appealing for some teams. Like, oh, I get two years in Wigg. For almost nothing. Yeah. I would say that makes him more appealing than some of the other. Exactly. And the fact that the Bears are going, oh, no, we're actually okay with this. I mean, and then you got to look at the 49ers with Mac Jones. That's another trade candidate. And they've already indicated, oh, no, I think we're okay. but then you also see other kind of rumors or contacts or stuff reported where they're like well they're kind of keeping them because purdy did get banged up and after next year they might just do the the joker broken pool cue so what mac jones and brock purdy but not but like that's actually appealing again for the bears is that like okay there's another quarterback that's not in this market and then like rogers might narrow down hit where he goes to pittsburgh or minnesota um cousins might only want to play for a former coach that he played with so it's limited limited you You know, every spot gets more limited. And I think that makes you got to trade it when it's hot. And his film was good in the preseason. So it's like you want to dangle that out for other teams. So to me, this is one. Like if a team offers you a day to pick, like I'm not saying like a high second round or like early third round. Like you have to entertain this conversation. The backup quarterback trades have been Matt Shaw, who went first, a second. um uh kevin cobb from i went from the eagles to the cardinals actually for a second and then uh there's one other one jimmy grapple for jimmy g for a second second round pick that's why i think a second is actually realistic the last three backup quarterback trades have been second second second or at least not including the bradford injury trade to the vikings you know like after teddy and all that like uh not that that was a first that was that was a weird circumstances but backup quarterbacks can trade it second round is has been the market since 2008 and that's where And I don't know that they will get a second. But what I would say if I'm the Bears, that's where I draw the line. Honestly, I would say if you're willing to give us a second, okay, let's talk. But anything, even a third, I think I'd hang on to them. Because I just think the value. And that's the battle you're going to have to. Especially Caleb hasn't been hurt yet. He's thick-filled and everything. But you just never know. Even if it's two games. And I've seen teams that have won the Super Bowl that it's like just because they had a confident backup, it got them through it. I mean, the Eagles, they've made some runs. He hurts, wasn't playing. But they had Gardner, Minshew. or tanner mckee and they just got them through the games and we're good so yeah i think second round like there's not a first round at like because i brought up tanner mckee now for a year and eagles fans just keep hating me for it they hate hate me anyways but it's whatever uh but it's like i keep going oh no day two picking they're like oh how he's getting a first round i'm all right well here's the history of quarterback trades it's second round for a good one and shaw was probably the and jimmy g a little bit i guess but jimmy g had to get paid that was another thing too and still went for a second and he had four games a game tape all that stuff uh coming from the patriots but like look at the shop like that's the one that stands out to me pre-season tape was just hung around for a little bit that and like could maybe enter in as a a solid starter right away in the right system that's like the trade i keep coming comes to mind so i want to go over a couple of the offensive coordinator moves shuffling and what you just what you think so let's start with the ravens hiring declan doyle from the bears what do you think about that hire and that fit right now with what the ravens are trying to do with lamar jackson and In a more macro sense, it's interesting that the Ben Johnson, Sean Payton trees are the ones now getting plucked because that's been kind of my thing. All right, the Shannon tree is dry. We've got to replenish a little bit, and then now teams can kind of pluck that. So I was curious where these owners are going to look and GMs are going to look. Because also when all these guys were getting fired, I was kind of going like, all right, there's not a lot of names out there that I would want calling plays. So I figured a guy like Doyle would get the shot. I really like it because this is where the football kind of meta is going right now, is that offensive style is best to attack what defenses are doing. And that's why I probably just went after him in Baltimore. But I really liked it. I also just think the personnel kind of actually matches decently for it. Like Lamar actually is a much better pocket passer than ever gets credit for. Like he actually has a throwing style and pocket style more like Stafford than anybody. He just also runs a 4-4. But he has a – why I'm bringing that up, though, he's always been willing to throw it over the middle. Some of his best throws are digs. And, I mean, look at what the Bears have been doing with Caleb and eating that out over the season, and that's become a true weapon. You look at Jared Goff in Detroit. Bo Nix is not as comfortable with it in Denver but old shell paint offenses that was Drew Brees made a living on those So to me that was like no that a throwing style That great They need some personnel additions I think they need some size at receiver and everything. But I really like what the Ravens do this offseason. They also added an offensive line coach, Ledford, from Atlanta. It was fantastic. The Ravens really nailed this offseason so far, so we'll see kind of where it goes from here. But I like that hire a lot, and I like kind of anyone that's plucking from these trees because I think that's where football's going. Suppressed Taylor is now part of that tree. We weren't surprised by his promotion, but I'm curious as someone who's followed him in Jacksonville, obviously know his upbringing. What do you make of his promotion? He's kind of does what's always going to be a bad show. So, yeah, it's more – it's going to be a situational probably guy, and that's what I think he actually presses best at. And in Jacksonville, he had some, I think, third down and red zone stuff. I could be wrong. But I think in Jacksonville, they got kind of – everybody on that staff got Doug Peterson. in the sense that Doug seemed like he just wanted to go golfing as opposed to coaching. So it's hard those last couple of years. I know. I know. The spur of your life. I love that. No, no. The last kind of couple of years there was kind of, I don't know how to grade it. You know, I haven't graded fully because it's just kind of like, no one feels like wants to be there. It was kind of a mess. But like Prest's stuff is just, I think that's where it's the situational stuff is going to be good. And I think that's what kind of came along last year. um i thought some third downs got better as far as designs getting comfortable with what caleb's comfortable with a lot of zacchaeus early they kind of went away from that um what burden kind of got going so i think that i mean you want to kind of keep that language in the building if that makes sense all right so now we're not going to have a okay now third downs are gonna be totally crazy because we got a totally new guy in there that's what kind of like detroit went through yeah this guy's from the same scheme last year uh morton yeah oh he's from the same scheme okay it'll be fine the language will be fine and then it came in it was like no we totally rocked the boat personality wise press isn't going to do that and again it's ben johnson's show so you need it's more of an auxiliary role organizer role and i think press actually so the lions were actually the next team i was going to ask you about because you know our uh it was an interesting year with the cardinals and drew petzing and you know our friends at phnx were losing their minds rightly so for a while it was it was kind of interesting that petzing i thought wasn't fired um you know in the season and then everybody just ended up losing their jobs um what do you think about that fit in detroit because i don't know why it just it was kind of it it kind of surprised me that that's where dan campbell went yeah better than i think i like i however i think described pets and hire is like the lions got on base they didn't hit a home run but they got on base whether you want to call it a sickle a single or they legged it out to a double like you know you kind of figure that out um pettings offensive you know dogma is very kind of traditional um and actually i think that's what an appeal to the lions because they have there's some similarities to what ben johnson was doing and what sean payne was doing but it's kind of its own thing him and uh petting and stefanski they're kind of like their own little thing right now uh and so it's a very traditional offense a lot of under center a lot of throwing over the middle kyler was not a great fit they they got kyler i'll give pets and credit the 2024 season that's the best kyler ever played quarterback from the pocket working from that and making checks all that stuff but then this year you kind of saw the warts because that offense and whether it's passing's issue whether it was kyler like you know one of those things where it's like all right passing are you asking him to do this or is it a camp versus won't kind of situation so something i'm trying to figure out i always kind of thought passing was solid um a lot of credit goes to clayton adams who's now with the Cowboys. It was his old line coach in Arizona. He's now the OC in Dallas. He's going to be a head coach soon. He's awesome. And so it's kind of like that's the run game really fell off this year, but they're also on their fifth string running back. The offensive line fell off a little bit. They hired an offensive line coach from Ohio State. I think they took about a teardrop there. But the thing, the counter argument to that is now Petsing's going to Detroit where he has Hank Fraley. So it's like, okay, if that's your worry, now he has somebody that's shore up those edges kind of thing. But I do think that this is I understood why the Lions went after it, because I do think what Petsing wants to do matches Goff, matches this personnel. Trey McBride got a lot of touches in that offense, but also like Marvin Harrison Jr. were going to have to run a lot of dig routes, a lot of in-breakers, and he wasn't getting the ball a lot because Kyler doesn't throw those. You know who throws the crap out of dig routes? Jared Goff. So it's like I actually like that pairing a lot better than other people because I think the Cardinals just became such a mess last year. So many injuries, so much stuff. happened there two years ago they were 11th in dboa i think on offense and over the last three years they've been like they've had a top five run game i think as far as success rate top three in explosive play rate the um often success or passing success rates like 12th 14th ish so it's been a above average offenses it's just that arizona was such a mess what do you think the atlanta falcons now with ian cunningham do with their quarterback situation oh geez i i hope they probably think they should tank like i i hope they like they realize that because that one's weird to me because petzing isn't a great fit for or petzing uh penix isn't a great fit for that offense again because you can't really play under center and then you're already getting so you're already getting to the same limitations that the last offense had was zach robinson and also i think with penix is that he doesn't really he's not he'll throw over the mill he's not accurate whatsoever he's late to a lot of stuff i i wasn't very high on him coming out i another guy that had a third round grade on that ended up going top 10 see this is how the quarterback i had a third round grade rally leonard he goes into six round like the spray of that kind of grade but i think there are options for us just get through this year to me it's like don't over invest for future years it's kind of like you just get through this year see what we all got okay all right now now we can actually start making the moves we want to so when ryan poles talks to you in the in the bar hear later about like Tyson Bajan, Ian Cunningham, ignore that conversation. Oh, that's actually a good. No, but I think that because I think Cunningham likes Bajan and that's an interesting thought though. Yeah. But the problem is I actually don't know all their draft capital on top of my head, but they traded the first round pick. They don't have much. So they don't have that. And then so if they were to give up their second round, I don't know if they have more than one second round pick. Yeah. And I think they're missing another date. I think they're missing a third round or two. And they're they're in capital. It's pretty it's pretty messy in Atlanta right now. But it would be it would be. So you might want a quarterback for two years. No, that's actually a market I didn't even think about for Bajan. Because, yeah, even if Penix were healthy, now he's coming off another knee surgery. He's already older. That's the other thing about older quarterbacks. He might be older than Bajan. We'll look that up right now. You keep talking. I think they're about the same age. But that's another thing. I don't think there's much to improve on. And he has to be in an offense that he has to be in, like, a Bruce Arians offense, where it's just launch stuff down the field over and over, not these types of offenses. So I think they're just going to see what they got. I've seen that like, oh, they might bring her cousins back. I was like, no, that's I think that ship sailed and everything. But yeah, no, that's an actually an appealing option. They're the same age. They're the same age. Yeah. I think it gives you a little bit of an out to on Penix because, you know, if he's not ready to go and hey, we got to show up this position somehow. And the Bajan plays well. It's an easy excuse to keep playing him and not, you know, because that you always want to avoid those pr quarterback controversies as much as possible and also well that's the other thing too is that none of this building or at least the power brokers they they're all new so they have no attachment to panics they have no attachment to kyle pitts you know they tagged them um any of that those that kind of old crop of guys that's like you should be building around but like panics to me was always like i don't know it was i was a little too rich i think in the moment and especially their process to get there uh but i do think i I understand like that actually being a market there. Like I, they're over when totals right now, it's six and a half. And I'm like, just like, I hope they see that. Like, that's what I keep on. I don't say to like some of these teams, it's like, if you're a new regime, you just have Matt Ryan, hopefully is chill about it. Like it would just be a feisty five win team next year. Like maybe get a couple upsets, like as opposed to like, we're going to push it for seven, eight wins. Oh shoot. Now we're right, right back in the middle again. Like, you know, they, it's kind of one or the other. It's like either go all in or kind of crap off. So we're talking a ton about DJ Moore because obviously Ryan Poles opened the door for potential. Well, a move there. Doesn't want to do it. Loves him on the roster, but knows what the contract situation is and knows what Bears salary cap situation is. What did you think of DJ Moore's season and what would you do if you're the Bears? It was telling to me about when the burden started getting more touches. And I think that's where's the football going. and I think DJ is one of these guys that's I understand a lot of frustrations maybe fans have with him and there's some the effort stuff last year was so on like disheartening you know I guess far as like the the Arizona game actually that game but just so this when I say last year I mean 2024 um that stuff was just like not what you want to see from a vet that's supposed to shore everything up so he's still explosive he's still I think his play style has always been like like underneath stuff yak stuff and then i actually think his vertical ability has always been a little bit underrated but i think too is that they want in june's day to be a thing and then they definitely want burden to be a thing and then you got loveland um who is a star in every sense of the word so it's kind of one of these things where he's the odd man out and if you don't absolutely fully love him okay well let's get a market going for him i mean i think that's just football business um to me the dj more situation situation is a win-win if we keep them great what's our skill positions if we don't we can get some trade capital for him that's how i kind of view and i think they maybe view it the same way like not don't give them up for a penny right but like okay all right hey this is a decent offer okay maybe we can part with them because i i just it's very telling to me how they started using burden um that they're like no we want to make this a thing and that's what obviously they drafted him this regime drafted him um as far as coaching staff and everything i know polls traded for more and whatnot stuff as well uh but That's just something I just think that's just where the rapture started going. Yeah, I get you. Yeah. Well, we'll see what happens there because I tend to agree with you. I don't think that they necessarily know what they want to do with DJ more yet. Because I even answered it. I think I saw the quote. It was like, oh, the door, like every path or every door is available or something like that. Different scenarios to explore. And again, these guys all say word salad, but it's like there's still clues to how they say things. And that to me is more like, hey, options are open. Like, hey, we're no, no, we're not decided on anything right now. That's how I write that. The Bears are in such a unique spot that Cale Williams is on his rookie contract. DJ Moore has the largest cap. You want to go win now, but that long-term sustainability, to use their own words, sustainability, it's a thing. Ben Johnson talked about it. Ryan Poles talked about it. It's a tough predicament to be in. What are they going to do with Swift? He's staying, right? He's staying, yes. Okay. DeAndre Swift, no player. I think I said this last time I was on no player has done a one more of a 180 for me than DeAndre Swift's one of my least favorite running backs not as a guy just as a runner and then the second half of last year or really since their bye week last year it was like what I got into you like just like but I I was just always curious about that because that originally to me was going to be an offseason need and it's turned into like oh we can go through yeah we can wait a year until we have to address this with a new fresh blood or something like that but I actually think that's appealing to me because now it's just left tackle and then defense, the defensive spine, I guess. The only thing I would say though on that is like, and I know it's not the strongest running back class, right? But if we saw this last year when burden fell to the bears, right? And it's like, like I feel like if there is a, is a guy in the draft that Ben Johnson really likes, it feels like has that extra juice, that extra gear that maybe DeAndre Swift doesn't have. I could still see them taking a swing on one in the draft if they really feel like it's a difference maker and then maybe a year later well not even a year later I mean sometimes you see guys cut after the draft it does happen yeah with a bad kind of thing so I mean I'm not I'm not I just think it is something that it could be on the table not necessarily on purpose just but because if you know the cards fall a certain way yeah well that um I did a show yesterday and we were talking about jeremiah love you know easy running back one noradame all that um and we were talking about how the chiefs actually lined up to take him but like then the discussion became more about the chiefs have a lot of needs a lot more than you think at first realize and then it was like okay well then he's gonna go early who's the next landing spot and then you just look and it's like they already have a starter they paid a guy they just drafted a guy they paid a guy they drafted a guy that guy's a starter he's in trench and you just go all the way down and then it's not until like the bears or like the texans so it's like love's range is like nine or like the bottom of the first i mean obviously trades happen right now like as we sit today and i think that's just that's why mock drafts can actually be valuable because then you start looking going like well actually his range is a little different than i was expecting because it's like not trying to plan a pipe dream here or anything but it's like that's more of a possibility than i think people realize because it's not about the talent it's just about the need there's no like okay we're gonna draft a running back for a reason in the first round but there's not like a lot of teams and the teens or early 20s to actually have that desperate need for a running back, which I actually hadn't really thought about until yesterday. Right. And Ben Johnson was part of the Lions when they took Jameer Gibbs. So I just – that would all surprise me, but I don't think it can be taken off the table. Yeah, I also think their draft is set up perfect for D-tackle or left tackle for them. They're in the perfect spot for the two positions I think they need the best. What do you think of the left tackle class? I like it because it's better than I think people were realizing a couple months ago because some guys really rose at the end of the year. Monroe Freeling from Georgia. I'm a big fan of his. A guy that first half the year I thought stunk. And then the second half the year, the last month, I was like, oh, wow. Former basketball player. But also just like he just got stronger. I mean, that's literally what happened. His hands got stronger. His anchor got stronger. But he moves like a former basketball player with some pop. To me, I think he's going to end up going top 20. on my next big board. He'll be top 20. And I think the league likes him as well. There's some other guys. Caleb Lomu from Utah. I'm very high on him. He's been battling for OT1 for me for this whole process. People prefer his teammate, Fano, who, I don't know, I don't really see it as high as other people do. I would rather take a chance on Lomu because I just think his skill set's a true left tackle and he's great pass protection. He just has to add strength, but it's one of these things. He's coming out as a redshirt sophomore. If he was a redshirt senior and needed strength, I'd be a little worried. But he's young, very young, especially for a guy coming out. So Lomo's a guy that I'm higher on than I think the league is. I look at Daniel Jeremiah. I look at Dane's stuff just to go like, because they talk to a lot more sources than I do. I'm just kind of like, how does the league kind of think of these guys? I'm like, oh, okay, because Lomo to me is a top 15, top 16 guy. The league views him as a back half of the first round guy. That's a guy I think is ideal for the Bears. And just add the strength. Can be a great blindside pass protector. kind of just what you kind of want to do with room to grow. Those are the kind of names that come out to me right now as far as just the left tackle spot. There's Max Ahannesher from Arizona State, but he's a right tackle. But really, really fun tape and a guy that really came up in the senior bowl. He was a JUCO guy. Didn't start playing football until I think like senior of high school kind of guy. But I think if he tests real well, I view him as a first-rounder, but I think if he tests well this week, then it's just like the stock's going to keep shooting through the roof. Adam has been waiting for you to say this guy from Northwestern. oh yeah just say it let's get it over because i'm about to ask you i like him too um some i think i like him in the second round yes he's a day two guy him in um indiana uh why am i blanking on his name now uh fisher i think yeah um uh from indiana i view them kind of very similarly like pretty solid like fisher might the indiana guy might be a guard um when it's all said and done but like i like him as just technician type zone types which again matches that that's why i like low-mo too it's like if strengths to kind of your deficiency with these guys or at zone running scheme actually really helps that out yeah because you're using more movement ability than anything um no i actually for day two and yeah actually where the bears are picking that's exactly the range for those guys as well i just think right now receivers are getting a lot of hype with this draft class because i think some other positions are down um but i think more tackles are going to go earlier than i think people are realizing right now So if you the Bears and the top five or six pass rushers are off the board you're looking at maybe the second or third defensive tackle and you got these offensive tackle or defensive tackle. Some of those guys are gone and you're looking at offensive tackles. Do you think Ben would be comfortable with a veteran line putting a rookie left tackle in there because you got joe tuning next to him that really helps that that's it's it's never perfect you never want to start well it helped this year like there was evidence of that like they survived they got through it yeah like that's the thing they got through it it was never a thing where you watch these other teams they put a backup left tackle and the whole plan is nuked as soon because they have no way to chip help them no way like they just are like oh my god and they adjust as the game goes along i never had that moment with the bears where i was like wow there there It was never that, like, when my dad was the line coach, when they played the 49ers or the Giants in those night games where it was just like, oh, my God, like, no one can block anyone. Like, the tackle's getting beat over and over. The only moment was when we came to where you live in Vegas and the Raiders game. But everybody, when they – That game was a mess for them for some reason, yeah. Well, so they – but that's the game where they were playing Braxton Jones at left tackle and Darnell Wright was out. Yes. And Dio was playing right tackle. and everybody was focused on the fact that Theo was struggling with Max Crosby. But in Ben's eyes, which I thought this was a fascinating – if you're paying attention, I thought this was a great way to learn about Ben Johnson because at that point it's still week four of the season. We're getting – but the adjustment wasn't, oh, no, Theo can't block Max. We got to – it was take Braxton out because they couldn't run the ball. They're trying to run the ball away from Max, and they were struggling to do so. So they moved Theo to the left side. They run the ball better, and they just survived with Ozzie Trapillo at right tackle the rest of that game. I thought that was just a fascinating in-game solution for them to survive through a game and ultimately get a crazy win. Yeah, for some reason that game stands out to me a lot. I remember there was some runs early in the front to the left because I remember even Tuney trying to recover on a couple, and it was just like because the left tackle botched. He's trying to help out, like to shore it up. So that actually stands out to me. No, and that's, I think, again, you're never comfortable playing a rookie, but that's the NFL. You're going to be playing rookies. So might as well get your guy. And I think what the Bears do offensively and the situation as far as Tooney being there, other vets being there, even Dolman being a vet at center, so always point-wise they're going to be okay, is that they're going to make it as easy as possible for that. That's why, to me, the Bears are a great landing spot for some of these more projecty types as opposed to other teams that's like we need like the texans if they had to take a guy not maybe that left tackle but like a guard it's like this guy's a project it's like oh god no not you guys you know these teams that really need a lot of help out of the line to me the bears are just a left tackle away from having one of the best if not one of the best offensive line in the league um but that's it's a great situation to drop a young guy a young talented guy i originally still think that defensive tackle lines up well for them there that's kind of 25 But, yeah. We both took deep tackles in our first mock-up. Caden McDonald, probably, from Ohio State. Like, that's the guy to beat it. I took Banks from Florida. Banks from Florida. And what Dennis Allen likes in guys, you kind of just go, all right, who has arms? Who has long arms? Okay, these are your guys you're going to go after. Yeah, but they, again, it's a good defensive tackle class, but it's not like there's a bunch of top 10 guys. There's just a lot of guys that are more in that 15 to 45 range, and that's perfect. That's exactly what the Bears are selecting. Again, the Bears are lined up for the two glaring positions of need to me, which is run-stopping, defensive tackle, and a left tackle. I told you this, though. I even addressed this on Football 3-1. I was wondering why so many people were asking me left tackle Bears questions because in my head, I don't know why. I was like, oh, he has an MCL. I was like, he'll be fine by camp. We're good. And I didn't realize the extent of the injury. So I was like, oh, this is why you guys are asking me about this. Ryan Pohl said yesterday he basically expects him to be out the full year. Did he not say that? Most of the year? Most of the year. Yeah, so it's a possibility he returned. But you still don't know. Yeah, Josh Simmons from Chiefs, he came back at like nine months, but that was also, from what I've seen, that was a partial tear. That changes also the prognosis all out. It's a serious injury. Like, that's one that's like, ooh. It's like that and Achilles. Yeah. Like, they're not as bad as – like, ACL is not as bad as those now, and MCL is not as bad as those. Those are two of the ones that are like, oh, shoot, because it could be altering. So you're just hoping that the rehab goes well and everything and they don't rush it. It still amazes me that he was able to run off the field when that happened. That's probably why you thought it was an MCL. I did. Because I don't know why. It was like, in my head, that's what it was. I was like, he got hurt. I remember he got hurt because Tune had to play left. I remember all that. And then I was like, but it wasn't bad. In my head, it was just like, it wasn't bad. Because he hopped off the field. Yeah. And it was late in the game, right? Yeah. Otherwise, they would have to burn a timeout. It was insane that he got off the field. I know. And he got so much better this year, too. I love that pick for them because it was like, oh, that's a fun kind of a, like, he can play both sides, got good size. Like, is he ideal? No. But like, okay, you can really work with him. And I thought that he was coming along, too, which is kind of more disappointing. Do you have any more draft questions before I shift gears for a second? No, I was going to spring them. All right, last question then. As someone who lives in Vegas, works in Vegas, what's your read on this Max Crosby situation future? Did Caleb Williams go on his show? Does that change any interest conversation? I think he is. If I were a betting man, which I am, I think he I think he's gone because. All right. So we had Jay Glazer on a on a Yahoo show. Yahoo. Yahoo Sports Daily. And we were it was at the Super Bowl. We're doing from the Yahoo offices. Jay Glazer comes on the show and I think he was just got off the plane. And so he was just kind of like kind of like a loopy motor wherever. He just starts talking. he's like oh yeah max is gone the max is gone and ever since then he's been kind of like resending it but what are you always like yeah first words out yeah it's the kind of thing it's like oh that's interesting to me like i was like oh i'm like sitting there waiting for my show and i'm like texting and just like what'd you say this is on air right i was like i was like this is in between right and i was like and they just kept going and kept going i talked to spy tech like look it up like it it's it's on youtube somewhere um uh on the yahoo on the yahoo channel uh but no uh like he's like oh i talked to spy tech and we're trying to rekindle i was like i don't think you're supposed to be saying this jay but all right keep going keep going keep going so to me though it's like i mean just these watching every step of this it seems like he's trying to get out right maybe they rekindle it and just go like oh mendoza's coming everything's great kubiak you know this is gonna be great all that but i really just it seems like he's headstrong and getting out of there um posting the videos on instagram and everything and to me like yeah it seemed like the bears or something that wants to go after him like yeah totally get it because he plays freaking hard he's great against the run he's great against the pass and you got right now he's got a decent contract too so it's like i totally get the interest in him but i if i had if i had a bet i would say he's gone i don't know where but i do think he is yeah that was my big takeaway of the podcast he did with caleb was like i have no idea if the bears will trade for him but i think he wants to play for the bears i thought he made it very clear that he would love to play football on same team as Caleb Williams that's uh yeah teammates love him I mean he's like everything he like everything you think about his personas is like it's very real he's very himself it's like kind of a very refreshing story in some ways too like here you talk about you know his drug issues and everything like that and overcoming alcohol issues um overcoming that and like it's been kind of cool he's like uh Matt Harmon who I do uh football 301 with he talked about at the Pro Bowl no I'm sorry Charles McDonald talked about this at the Pro Bowl there's talking to all the players are you disappointed not playing no no this is great i love playing dodgeball and max crosby was pissed that he didn't actually get to play real football he was like no this is why we're here like get the pads on let's go and he was actually like actually mad he was like talking to people was like we got to talk to the league and talk to him about this we got to get the game back and all the players are like no we don't this is great he just wants to play ball again but again that's kind of his uh his persona i guess and i think it's very real yeah uh well thanks so much for for giving us so much of your time. Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. We always love talking football with you. I know, this was the best. I know. I mean, I'm glad you guys come to these because then we can talk. It's awesome. So I'll see you probably, what, right after the draft or something of that sort? No, we'll see you tonight at the JW. Yeah, yeah. High velocity. I couldn't do it last night. Like, I was, because I'm staying at Hampton Inn, which is across town, and a couple people were walking that way, and I was just, no. No, I'm going to bed. But thanks for having me on, guys. It's great. All right, Nate Tice, always appreciate having him here. We got a couple more things we got to do before we close out the show. We did have Ryan Poles' – what he actually said about the left tackle. Let's run that as Nate gets up. What Ryan Poles had to say about the left tackle position yesterday, here was the Bears general manager. Yeah, I think the tackle position is pretty healthy this year. Not sure sometimes, you know, there's years where there's a run, where they're all gone. There's a lot of them. Sometimes there's a couple guys that are sitting there waiting for you. so we'll see how it shakes out but yeah that's a unique situation for us trying to determine how to fill that space with what we have I know we want to keep Darnell and Jonah together, we've got a really cool right side so then there's draft, there's free agency, what's the cost of free agency, there's resounding your own with Braxton and then you have Theo's development we've yet to put a whole offseason together with Karan but he showed promise at times. So a lot of different factors that are a little bit difficult to figure out. Well, this is our big takeaway presented by Xfinity. Imagine that. And as much as that was about the left tackle, my big takeaway from what Ryan Poles had to say there was he actually answered some big questions that could have been on the table for discussion more this offseason that I think he pretty much put to bet. Very clearly said they want to keep Darnell right with Jonah Jackson on the right side. Like that's a big off season question that just sort of got answered there because it's always sort of been lingering that they could move Darnell right to left tackle. So it doesn't sound like that's going to happen. And then the same thing with Tooney and this one I expected to be the case, but you know, Joe Tooney playing left tackle is not the long-term solution for next season. Emergency button. As he said, in a pinch, that's how the question was phrased. That's how, how he put it. So it does sound like my big takeaway there is that from left guard, to right tackle. They want to keep that continuity. They had those guys all season, except for the one game that Darnell Wright missed. And so it just becomes finding who that left tackle will be, whether that's through the draft or, you know, you know, one year veteran option. I, I don't, it sounds like the 49ers are going to try to keep Trey Williams. That would be probably a more pricier option, but that suddenly came up yesterday. Like he could be somebody who's release if they can't figure out his contract so you just never really know what's going to happen but at some point they're going to have to just bring in a left tackle for at least this season to plug in with those other four guys they know they have my big takeaway is that this is a priority for the bears for as much as we talk about adding to the defensive line finding a defensive tackle improving that pass rush signing a safety because there's not one on the contract left tackle might be above them all yeah because of caleb williams because of ben johnson because of how important that function is, that position is, to everything the Bears want to do. As Nate said, could they survive with a rookie in there? Absolutely. Could they survive with a free agent in there for when you're – I'm sure, but at the same time, balancing short-term, long-term, if you could find someone to lock that position down for four or five years, even longer, you're going to have the best offensive line in football. That's my big takeaway. It's already one of the best lines. That spot this year, you're talking about the Chicago Bears having the best offensive line in football. Not one of the best. The best offensive line in football. Yeah. I see somebody in the comments saying, I'm not worried about left tackle. I'm not really worried about it either. It just feels like with those other four guys, and as we were just talking to Nate, you can survive, especially when you've got Joe Tooney next to whoever that person is. It's kind of crazy to say. I know. Ryan Poles is worried about it. I don't think worried is the right word. I think they're confident they will have a solution for this season. And I think you can feel that way when you have those other four guys that played so well this past season. So that was the big takeaway presented by Xfinity. Imagine that. It's time for us to wrap up. Any final thoughts before we get out of here? We will have another show from Indy later on in the week. And, of course, we have you covered daily on CHGO Bears. Yeah, I know there's a lot going on here. The comp pick thing has come up. I would think the league would do the right thing and reward those picks to the bears. Hopefully we hear about that. I don't know here, but before the NFL annual meeting in Arizona, I'm sure it'll come up, uh, the stadium stuff. I know you're working on it. Yeah. That's still left to be discussed. Maybe we'll have more clarity and, or more want to talk about on our later podcast. Well, I'm going to say the same thing I said last Wednesday, because it's kind of a, it, it, the easiest way to put it is the bears and the state of Illinois get a redo on what happened last week the same it the same thing it's wednesday they're talking tomorrow morning is that committee hearing whether or not they get to the point that they feel like a bill can be brought to that committee and actually called on and discussed that's the big question between now and i think what 8 a.m tomorrow morning central time so 9 a.m here in indianapolis and then meanwhile across the street at the state capitol here in indy the house did pass there's a signature just waiting and then so that's got to go to the senate uh as i the last i checked this morning before i walked over here to the convention center that was not on the schedule today for the senate side so maybe that's tomorrow but that's all got to get figured out by the end of the week too so it um there will definitely be just like last week and hopefully it goes a little bit smoother and i do think there has been progress made in Illinois this week. I think last weekend ended up being a huge wake-up call. And we'll see between now and probably by the time we do another show on Friday is what sounds like we're going to do our next show Friday, I think, before we get out of here. Friday morning, probably. We'll have a little bit more to talk about on that side. My Xfinity big takeaway on that in Illinois, can just cooler heads just prevail here and just come together and get some productive conversations and deal-making done? Yes. I think the heads are getting a little cooler, but there's still some semantics and posturing and certainly politics because it is politics involved. Again, more on that a little bit later on in the week, we will have a live CHCO bear show for you again, as always at one o'clock today, 1 PM central time. And I'll be at this point, even surprised. I don't know what we're, what we're doing, But I'm sure Braggs and Carmen were running around for hours. So I'm sure we're just here. Braggs is in a suit. Yeah. See, he did go suit. It's like a blazer. No, the pants, the suit pants are on. It's the giveaway, Steven. He's got to see his show shirt. Norton's wearing a turtleneck again. He said he packed three of them. Four. Four. Four turtlenecks. Waiting for the orange one. Four turtlenecks. If he wears an orange one, he's definitely coming on the show on Friday. Oh, we just, I didn't even realize. Sponsored by Roback. You know, when I put this on this morning, I was worried that he was going to be wearing the same thing. At least it's a different color. Yeah. All right. Well, shout out to Roback. All right. We are out of here. Appreciate Nate Tice joining. Thank you for everybody watching, listening, everybody watching live on YouTube. Please rate and review the pod as well, wherever you listen to it. Thanks to our producer, Katie Langan, for producing as always, and Stephen Nicholas for helping out today, as well as we are on site at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. talk to you in a couple days see ya