Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast on Free Agency, the NFL Draft, and More
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast and
00:07 old Uncle Hondo is your beat writer covering the Las Vegas Raiders for Sports Illustrated's
00:12 Fan Nation Raiders today.
00:13 It's great to have you.
00:15 Thank you for joining us.
00:16 I've got a lot to dig in with you today.
00:20 Before I do it, just a couple of things.
00:21 I want to once again thank you.
00:24 Record numbers growing exponentially and that's all because of you guys.
00:28 Thank you for liking, for sharing, for hitting the notification buttons, everything that
00:34 you do.
00:35 I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but thank you for it.
00:38 I appreciate it.
00:39 We try to keep all of our content, and it is, I say we try, it is 100% free and just
00:46 bringing you as much information as we can bring you about your beloved Las Vegas Raiders.
00:51 Thank you so much.
00:53 It is an honor and a privilege to serve you and I just want you to know that we appreciate
00:57 you.
00:58 You can find us on Instagram @HondoSR on X, formerly known as Twitter.
01:02 When you go to @HondoCarpenter and of course, si.com/NFL/Raiders.
01:10 Thank you for being with us.
01:12 Got a lot to get in with you today.
01:14 I'm going to be answering some emails that have come in, including an email that I consider
01:20 probably one of the best I've ever gotten asking me about the process of reporting information.
01:25 I think it's one that you'll really enjoy.
01:28 But first I want to start before we get to all the email, I want to start with what are
01:33 my expectations of the Raiders for the week?
01:37 And then going back and looking at last week, what do I think of how the process all went
01:41 down?
01:42 Again, we're going to talk about expectations for this week and going back and reflecting
01:49 on last week after a essentially a week of free agency.
01:53 I know the first couple of days where you couldn't sign anybody, it was legal tampering.
01:59 I thought the Raiders this week did a lot of what I expected them to do.
02:06 They were very active, which you may say, wait a minute, how can they be very active?
02:10 They signed Andre Sims.
02:12 They signed a couple of free agents.
02:16 I keep saying Andre Sims.
02:18 I know it's Andre James.
02:19 I have a friend named Andre Sims who played wide receiver in college.
02:22 I mean, Andre James, Andre Sims who played wide receiver in college.
02:27 So I apologize about that.
02:30 But they re-signed Andre James, which was a deal that they made him a very good offer.
02:37 And then when they got the sense that there were going to be multiple teams encased around
02:45 them, then they went back and said, okay, did we read the tea leaves right?
02:50 Is what we think the market really the market?
02:54 You know, if one or two teams wants to overpay from you, that doesn't determine the market.
02:59 But if you start to get a multiplicity of teams that want to pay more than you, then
03:03 you do have to reevaluate the market.
03:06 So they look at it, they make their offer more in line with what the market is and Andre
03:12 wants to stay, re-signed.
03:16 Then they make offers to Adam Butler and John Jenkins, very good, very fair offers.
03:23 You may remember I talked about Tom Telesco is going to be frugal, but not cheap.
03:28 If you're worth 10, he's going to offer you 10, not 10, five and not seven, five.
03:33 It's going to offer you 10.
03:35 So they go and they get deals done with Adam Butler and John Jenkins who were two very
03:39 high priority guys.
03:42 When you add them to Christian Wilkins, I want you to think about this for a minute.
03:46 So you've already got a young defensive end, I say young, relatively young, who played
03:52 pretty well, was signed late in the season.
03:55 Then you bring, you already had Tyree Wilson, who's finally healthy, who plays inside.
04:00 He can slide outside, that's his natural position prior, but he still needs to get that work
04:05 on his hands.
04:06 You've got Kuntz, you've got Max Crosby, you've got Adam Butler and John Jenkins who are arguably
04:13 two of your best tackles last year.
04:16 And then you add, like I said, Christian Wilkins.
04:18 So you start looking now, you got Max, Kuntz, Tyree, another young defensive end, Wilkins,
04:32 Butler, Jenkins.
04:36 There's already seven and I told you I thought they would carry 10, maybe 11, but I don't
04:40 think 11.
04:42 I think there's a maybe there.
04:44 I was told that maybe 11.
04:46 I just don't see it.
04:47 In fact, I would think they would want to be a little bit lower than 10, but we'll see
04:53 because Antonio Pierce's philosophy is it's the lines, it's the lines, it's the lines.
05:00 So I think that's going to be very, very interesting.
05:06 Next as you look at how it's gone, they go sign Harrison a tight end, a very good tight
05:15 end for what they want to do.
05:17 Not a sexy pick.
05:20 There were probably some other guys that were better that they could have gotten, but it
05:25 wasn't at the price that they have slotted and they like his upside.
05:30 So they felt like, okay, this is the price we're willing to pay him.
05:34 We like his upside.
05:36 We think he's shown some flashes.
05:38 Are there guys that maybe at this point would be a little bit more sexier, but going to
05:42 cost more?
05:43 Yeah.
05:44 And we're not so sure that they're going to develop into what we think he can develop
05:47 in.
05:48 And I'm using their voice.
05:49 I'm not saying we, as if I'm implying I am the Raiders, I'm speaking from their voice.
05:56 So okay.
05:57 He may not be as sexy of a get, but he's also not as expensive.
06:00 And we think he has a massive upside and fits what we want to do.
06:05 They already have Cole Fotheringham, which is a guy that showed a lot of flashes last
06:09 year in the preseason.
06:11 This is a young man that I think is a player in this league.
06:16 I think Cole Fotheringham has a future in this league.
06:19 And we know what they think of Michael Merritt.
06:23 Then they go and get Gardner, who they pay more than a backup, but his job is to come
06:30 in and compete.
06:33 Now they go get Gardner and weren't able to get Justin.
06:37 And then the price drops on Justin immensely.
06:42 But all of a sudden now Justin isn't all as excited about coming to the Raiders because
06:47 now he's got to beat out two people, both relatively young.
06:51 And the Raiders were not all that excited about adding him because of that fifth year
06:56 option, what it will cost.
06:58 And if he's got to beat out two other people, how do you know you're going to get a good
07:02 enough look at him before you have to exercise that option?
07:05 Again, frugal, not cheap.
07:09 And again, I still think there's a chance and it's very small that they sign another
07:13 veteran.
07:14 I think they're going to get that person in the draft.
07:18 But so overall, were there sexier names that the Raiders could have gotten?
07:24 Absolutely.
07:25 Were there names that the Raiders could have went out and gotten in their fan base going
07:31 wild?
07:32 Absolutely.
07:33 Were there trades that they could have executed?
07:38 Absolutely.
07:39 But again, frugal, not cheap.
07:42 They stayed very salary cap discipline.
07:46 Remember Tom Telesco had a front row seat to a lack of salary cap discipline with the
07:53 Bulls.
07:54 It wasn't his fault.
07:55 That was the family.
07:57 But still he had a front row seat to what it does.
08:00 Look what's going on in Dallas.
08:01 Look what's going on in Buffalo and other places and in Los Angeles with the Bulls.
08:10 There are some teams in salary cap hell.
08:14 There are some teams that went extremely backward that were relatively decent teams.
08:22 There's a lack of salary cap discipline.
08:23 I know none of that is sexy.
08:25 So overall for the week, I'm going to give the Raiders a very solid B plus.
08:31 I thought they did exactly what they should have done.
08:35 And they exercised great restraint.
08:37 They were willing to pay.
08:40 Still are.
08:41 Now, let's look ahead to this week.
08:43 There are still players that have offers on the table.
08:47 I can tell you right now, I don't think by any stretch of the imagination, they're done
08:51 with free agency.
08:53 But free agency can go literally all the way through camp.
08:56 Remember how late Marcus Peters was signed last year.
08:59 But I think with each signing with the Raiders, you're going to see extreme discipline.
09:08 They like the team that they have.
09:12 Now they want competition everywhere.
09:14 They want Max competing.
09:17 You say, well, there's no way anybody beats out Max.
09:19 I 100% agree.
09:21 But let's keep adding talent.
09:24 The best NFL teams.
09:26 I'll share this with you.
09:27 I had a NFL general manager tell me this one time.
09:31 He said, I know that I have done my job when we're cutting people.
09:36 And the moment our guys are getting cut, other teams are signing them.
09:42 I know I did my job when people are coming to our practice squad and signing guys.
09:48 He said, that's my job.
09:49 My job is to accumulate talent.
09:51 It's my coach's job to develop talent.
09:53 I thought that was a really brilliant analysis.
09:56 And so what I would say to you is, I thought they had a very good week last week.
10:03 I think there's things that they could have done.
10:04 But I mean, I've only been covering the Raiders for five years.
10:07 But if there's one thing I've noticed in years with the Raiders, it's, wow, let's win a press
10:11 conference.
10:13 Well, I think Raider Nation's tired of winning press conference.
10:17 I think they just want to win ballgames.
10:21 So I think people who are a little frustrated, I don't think their frustration is towards
10:28 Antonio or towards Tom.
10:31 I think their frustration is towards losing.
10:34 And guess what?
10:35 If this team comes out next year, and they went eight and nine this year, and they go
10:39 10 and seven, or they go nine and eight, but get in the playoffs, Raider Nation's going
10:45 to be excited.
10:46 They're going to get on board.
10:49 I said this before.
10:50 I think that people, somebody once asked me, why do you think so many Raider fans hated
10:54 Derek Carr?
10:56 I think there were a segment that hated Derek.
10:59 I just think there were a lot of them that associated him with years of losing.
11:03 So let's make a change.
11:06 I really sincerely don't.
11:08 Because when I talked to some of those people, and I said, what did you hate about?
11:14 Some it was personal.
11:16 But most it was the losing.
11:18 And winning covers a multitude of sins.
11:22 And so in the National Football League.
11:24 So I think I understand that frustration.
11:30 But I also mean, I had a fan tear me up last night in an email for click baiting and trying
11:36 to get fans because I talked about a trade.
11:38 Well, I talked about trades, but made it clear nothing was imminent, because they were kicking
11:43 the tires and I had learned about it.
11:45 So I'm going to pass that on to you.
11:46 Now, if I said, oh, it's super close, it's coming, it's coming.
11:49 Okay, that would have been another thing.
11:51 But I didn't.
11:52 I said nothing's imminent.
11:54 And I don't take that stuff personal.
11:56 That doesn't bother me.
11:59 But it's understanding they're being disciplined.
12:02 Tom Telesco isn't building a team thinking, oh, my God, I'm going to get fired next year.
12:08 He's building a team for the next five years.
12:11 And I think Tom's done a terrific job.
12:13 And remember, people say, well, Hondos, I don't get one dime from the Raiders.
12:19 Not one.
12:20 I don't work for them.
12:23 I don't get paid by them.
12:27 And I have been willing to say when I think that people at the Raiders have not done a
12:31 good job.
12:32 I think they've done a good job.
12:33 And I think you owe it to them to be fair.
12:36 That's my job.
12:37 See, I don't get to look at it from a fan perspective of, man, we didn't get enough
12:40 sexy stuff.
12:41 We didn't do enough sexy stuff.
12:42 Tom Telesco sucks.
12:43 I don't get that privilege.
12:46 And if Tom had overpaid, I would have been critical.
12:50 If they had lost Andre James, I would have been critical because of the amounts of teams
12:53 that were interested.
12:56 There were several teams that were interested in Germain Illuminor, but not at the price
13:01 of what the Raiders had offered.
13:04 And the Giants were, so they go.
13:06 So you know what?
13:07 That's an understanding.
13:08 Giants need him.
13:09 He's got relationship with Carmen Brasillo.
13:11 They pay a little bit more.
13:12 I get it.
13:13 Okay.
13:14 Same thing with Josh Jacobs.
13:16 I really like Josh.
13:18 I think Josh is a really good kid.
13:21 And I think he's a tremendous running back when he's available.
13:25 But you can't go pay the money, the guarantee that Green Bay got on a guy that you don't
13:33 know if he's going to miss 25% of the games.
13:36 It's just too much money.
13:38 And so when you look at the big money deals that people get, it's usually guys that have
13:45 a proven ability to stay healthy and to produce.
13:49 That's how you get the big jack in this business.
13:52 So again, that's how, now looking forward this week, I know there are offers on the
13:56 table.
13:57 So I fully anticipate that the Raiders will sign some.
14:01 Couple of them, they may still continue to wait and see.
14:04 Now they run a risk too.
14:06 Because the Raiders are continuing to evaluate the market.
14:09 And maybe there's somebody that they didn't make an initial offer to, that maybe they
14:15 overvalued a little bit.
14:18 And now they're like, okay, we've been waiting on this guy for this.
14:22 This guy's values come down a little bit, man, we'll pounce.
14:25 So I think some people need to be careful there too.
14:28 But I do expect that there'll be some signings this week.
14:30 And I think the Raiders just continue now.
14:32 I would say, well, I'll get into that later in the week.
14:37 But I think now there's clarity coming to the draft.
14:45 There's still pro days and some chance to meet.
14:48 There's the official visits.
14:49 I don't think all of the draft board is quite settled, but I think it's starting to get
14:54 settled.
14:55 And then I think the Raiders can look at holes and needs.
14:58 So let's get to some of these emails.
15:00 First one I want to get to is from Cassandra.
15:04 I love your name, Cassandra, my little girl's name.
15:07 Well, she's not little anymore, but my daughter's name is Sandra.
15:10 So I love that after my mom.
15:12 So let's get going.
15:13 Cassandra says to me, "Hondo, I am very interested in the Raiders and then the draft process.
15:26 Do you think they know right now who they're picking?"
15:29 No.
15:31 You can't because you're at 13.
15:35 So that means you'd have to be able to read the minds of the 12 people ahead of you.
15:39 So no, I think right now they have a group that they're considering.
15:47 And I think as free agency continues to evolve, as the special visits to the facility evolve,
15:56 road days, interviews, Zoom meetings, as all of that continues to evolve, Cassandra, I
16:02 think that more clarity will come.
16:04 But no, I do not.
16:05 In fact, I know they have not made a decision on what they're going to do yet.
16:11 That would have been as of yesterday.
16:15 When I, yeah, that would have been as of yesterday.
16:17 So we'll find out.
16:19 Next comes from Brett A. Brett says, "Hey, Hondo, you mentioned talking to league executives
16:24 a lot.
16:25 Have you ever been used to spread false information about draft picks or free agent to affect
16:31 a player's value?
16:33 Did you know you were being used?
16:37 Not know, but suspect you were being used.
16:41 Your thoughts.
16:42 Thanks for all the insight on the Raiders.
16:45 Love it.
16:46 Brett A."
16:47 Brett, first of all, let me say this is one of the best email questions I've ever gotten.
16:51 So let me tell you what goes into my gathering of information and then how I disseminate
17:00 information.
17:02 So first of all, if a person is a proven source to me, proven to be correct, and they've proven
17:11 it over time, I completely trust them.
17:14 Completely trust them.
17:16 If it's a new source, so let me give you an example.
17:19 I have a new source that has come to me because of my relationship with someone else.
17:27 So I called them for information.
17:28 They said, "Hey, let me call this guy.
17:30 He's one of my best friends.
17:31 I'll tell him about you."
17:34 The guy knew who I was, but didn't know me.
17:38 So I called him and he gave me some information.
17:43 Now, his friend was somebody that I trust, but I still don't know him.
17:49 So I reported the information simply as, "I'm hearing this as a possibility."
17:57 I didn't report it as, "This is what I believe," or "This is what..."
18:01 I didn't report it with being definitive.
18:07 I just reported, "This is another thing that I'm hearing I don't know."
18:10 Turned out to be correct.
18:12 Since this person, and it's a relatively new source, it started last year, two or three
18:19 things they've told me and everything's come out correctly.
18:22 So I hold them in a different spot.
18:24 Still probably wouldn't run with just what they say, but they're certainly carrying weight
18:30 with me.
18:32 Then there are times that I had an agent one time call me, "Oh my gosh, the Raiders better
18:38 do this.
18:39 A lot of people after my guy."
18:41 He mentioned to me, I said, "Really?
18:43 Give me some names of some teams."
18:44 He mentioned three teams to me.
18:46 Well, two of those teams, I have people on that team that I'm very close with.
18:51 So I call him, say, "Hey, I'm hearing you have interest in this player."
18:56 They're like, "No."
19:00 Then one guy even said, "Oh, you talked to his agent."
19:02 I said, "How do you...
19:03 What would make you think that?"
19:04 "Oh, he called us and talked about how Raiders are all over him."
19:08 So no, yes, there are times I certainly do suspect that.
19:13 So I'm very careful how I do it.
19:15 I'm very, very careful.
19:18 Now sometimes I'll get something from somebody and I'll say, "Okay, I'll report that.
19:25 But do you understand if it comes out to not be accurate, I'm going to expose that you're
19:31 my source."
19:32 "Yeah, no problem.
19:33 Great.
19:34 I'll give you a great one, Brett."
19:37 So I was covering a team one time and I heard from a player that one of his teammates had
19:43 threatened to beat up a coach in the weight room.
19:47 That was a player that I had a relationship with, but had never given me information,
19:52 never asked for information.
19:56 So I reached out to a couple other players and they're like, "Man, how did you get that?"
20:01 "Yes, that happened."
20:04 Then I reported it.
20:06 But I'll tell you another story.
20:10 So I'm covering a team and I had an executive come to me and say, "I'm going to give you
20:16 a story and I want you to run it at 12 noon, exactly 12 noon."
20:23 I said, "Okay."
20:24 Now this was not the Raiders.
20:27 And I said, "But do you understand this story is big?"
20:35 I said, "If you deny it or anything else, or it turns out to not be true, I'm exposing
20:40 you as a source.
20:41 No problem."
20:42 And they looked at me and said, "Under no circumstances will we deny it.
20:45 It's 100% true."
20:46 I said, "Okay."
20:47 So I reported the story.
20:52 The story went viral.
20:54 I mean viral.
20:57 That afternoon, they called a press conference.
21:01 Media's all there.
21:03 First question, media member asks is about my reporting.
21:09 And the person who gave me the information, remember they promised never to deny it, gets
21:13 up and says, "You know, I think it's ridiculous that we walk out of a meeting and what was
21:20 talked about in the meeting is already reported.
21:24 Maybe I need to take phones from people.
21:29 Maybe I need to look at phones."
21:31 And they went on, and I'm literally sitting there trying not to laugh.
21:36 So finally someone says, "But is it true?"
21:38 "Yes, it's true, but I don't appreciate it."
21:41 And the whole time, they're the ones that was the leak.
21:45 So yes, but I think you have to be very, very savvy, Brett.
21:48 You got to be super careful.
21:52 And then sometimes you get information that isn't wrong, but it's from a viewpoint.
21:59 So let me give you an example.
22:02 I think when you're emotionally involved in something, you have to be extremely careful,
22:09 extremely careful to not let your personal bias get in.
22:14 You have to be super careful with that.
22:18 So I am a Spartan.
22:23 Tom Izzo, the Michigan State basketball coach is a dear friend of mine.
22:26 I love Tom.
22:28 And invariably I get calls over the last five years covering the Raiders and people saying,
22:34 or the last man interviews, "Are your Spartans going to make the NCAA tournament?"
22:37 And I always tell them, "As long as Tom Izzo is a coach there, they're going to make it."
22:41 And they've made 26 years in a row now.
22:44 Phenomenal what Tom's done at Michigan State.
22:49 But there are a lot of times that was a very fair question, but because I know Tom, I know
22:56 how Tom runs his program, I know how he builds his program.
22:58 No, he's going to make it.
23:00 And he always does.
23:01 I probably did 15 or 20 interviews around the country where they know I'm a Spartan.
23:06 And after talking Raiders, they'd say, "Last question, is Izzo going to get these guys
23:09 in the tournament?"
23:10 And I always say, "Yeah, you always bet on Izzo."
23:13 So you got to be careful because sometimes personal bias can get in.
23:20 Now one more quick story, because I think it's important.
23:22 I really want to answer your question thoroughly because it was a great question that you asked.
23:28 You may remember a few years ago, I wrote a story about inside the divorce between the
23:32 Raiders and Derek Carr.
23:34 Okay.
23:36 Derek, regardless of what people say, was very much loved by his teammates and highly
23:44 respected.
23:45 They loved him and they respected him.
23:48 Okay.
23:50 But I wrote some things about Derek and the Josh McDaniels relationship that had it come
23:56 from players that I felt like had an agenda, I probably wouldn't have written it.
24:02 And I got some information.
24:03 So I specifically went to some players that I knew that he had a relationship with outside
24:08 of the building and said, "Hey, I've been told this about the Derek and Josh dynamic
24:14 and what didn't work."
24:16 And you may remember I had one of them in the story that I said was a friend of Derek's
24:20 tell me, "Yeah, it's true."
24:24 They didn't have an agenda against Derek.
24:26 They loved him.
24:29 You know, I think some people approach with animus things.
24:34 I mean, I look at some of the reporting on Derek and I think a lot of it was very, very
24:40 fair, but some of it was just vitriol.
24:44 And I'm like, "Where does that come from?"
24:49 I mean, I think there were things that you were absolutely fair to be critical of Derek
24:54 of and I was, but the vitriol made no sense to me.
24:58 Why people come from an emotional place.
25:01 And so I think it's very important.
25:04 He's no longer with the team.
25:06 Okay.
25:07 So I'm close with Brian Hoyer.
25:09 I genuinely love and care for him, his beautiful family, wife, children, his mom and dad are
25:15 personal friends of mine.
25:16 His brothers and sisters are personal friends of mine.
25:18 I was at his grandma's funeral.
25:20 I mean, we're close.
25:23 Okay.
25:25 So Brian and I made it very clear at the beginning, when we talk, we're talking family, friends,
25:36 whatever.
25:38 The only time that we talked, that was Raider specific as if the camera was on.
25:44 But I would mention my relationship with Brian because I felt like you as fans deserve to
25:49 know when I did discuss him, I could possibly become and come in place of bias.
25:55 Now I said he wasn't a starter.
25:58 I told you why the Raiders wanted him.
26:01 None of that came from personal bias.
26:03 It's what they thought, it's what they told me.
26:06 And I was the first to report right after the season, he's not coming back.
26:10 So I did that.
26:12 And I had said, look, and I'm just trying to brag about relationship with players.
26:16 No, I was trying to be transparent in telling you, Hey, I could be coming from that place.
26:23 I don't think that I am.
26:24 So Brett, that's how the whole thing works.
26:28 I hope that helps you.
26:29 I hope that answers your question.
26:31 I hope I answered it thoroughly.
26:32 And that was a great one.
26:33 So good job on you.
26:35 Next one comes to us from Hungary, not hangry.
26:40 And if you're from another country, sometimes people ask me what's that mean?
26:44 Hangry is a term we use in the United States when somebody's hungry, so they get angry.
26:48 But this is some of the actual country of hangry, hangry, hungry.
26:53 Sorry about that.
26:54 Dear Hondo, I'm writing you from Hungary.
26:57 My name is Zolt, Z-O-L-T, and then L is his last initial, Zolt L. I don't miss any of
27:05 your pods.
27:06 I'm able to much more understand the whole of the Raiders.
27:10 So a huge fan.
27:11 Just keep up the extraordinary job you and your team are doing.
27:15 Now he asked me four questions and since he, I usually only answer one, but since he's
27:20 some Hungary, I'm at one times old.
27:23 I'll answer all four of your questions.
27:25 Number one, do you think JJ McCarty would be a good choice for the Raiders?
27:29 Absolutely.
27:30 Absolutely.
27:31 I think there's a couple, but I think he is one of the best options in this draft.
27:38 I think JJ would be a great one for the Raiders.
27:41 Number two, how much would it cost Tom Telesco and the team to move up to eighth or ninth
27:49 pick for JJ McCarty in front of the Vikings and the Broncos if he still would be on the
27:57 board?
27:58 Don't know that.
28:01 That would be a draft night decision.
28:03 And I'm going to tell you something.
28:04 If JJ goes eight or ninth, I'm going to be shocked.
28:08 I will be shocked.
28:10 If JJ is sitting there at eight or nine, especially nine, and you're the Raiders, you got to go
28:18 up in my opinion.
28:22 But I, you may remember my first mock draft that I did Zolt.
28:28 I had JJ McCarty going first pick of the Raiders in the second round.
28:35 But I quoted an executive who said, if the draft were today, this is where he'd go.
28:42 But he's going to go a lot higher in the first round.
28:44 And many of the teams that I like and respect as good quarterback drafting teams have him
28:52 as their number one quarterback.
28:53 I'll be shocked if JJ is on the board past six.
28:59 Shocked.
29:00 And I wouldn't be shocked if he's three.
29:05 I don't think he's going to be one or two.
29:08 I think that's Caleb and Jaden.
29:12 But I'd be shocked if he wasn't the third quarterback.
29:18 Now Zolt wants to know, how about a trade with the Bears and the Falcons and still keep
29:23 the 13th pick?
29:25 Is such a move possible?
29:28 Possible?
29:30 Yes.
29:32 Probable?
29:34 No.
29:36 No.
29:38 Number four, do you think Robert Spillane will have an even bigger year now that the
29:42 D-line got improved with the new signing and the re-signs?
29:48 Okay, that is a very fair question.
29:52 I think Robert is going to have a better year, but I don't know that it's going to show statistically
29:59 as a better year.
30:02 I think as Christian Wilkins comes and offers something, as Tyree Wilson continues to grow,
30:08 Malcolm Koontz continues to do what Malcolm does.
30:11 I mean, that's a guy I'm telling, everybody's talking about the offseason, Malcolm Koontz
30:15 is having, everybody, every single person I talk to.
30:22 Has talked about Malcolm Koontz.
30:25 Okay.
30:26 And then by time you, you know, you got Jenkins and Butler back, let's see what happens with
30:33 Nesta.
30:35 Yeah, I think he could have a less statistical year and have a better year.
30:42 But I thought Spillane was a game changer from the moment they signed.
30:45 All right, next one.
30:47 During your podcast, you mentioned talking with executives of teams that do well drafting
30:52 quarterbacks.
30:53 You have pointed out that some are not enamored with Caleb Williams and have a different value
31:00 with regards to top QBs in this year's draft.
31:04 Have you discussed with them their thoughts on Justin Fields' future and lack of interest
31:09 around the league?
31:11 This may give Raider Nation more insight into why Justin Fields' trade for Las Vegas did
31:17 not materialize.
31:19 Love the podcast.
31:20 It's calming my nerves during my drive.
31:22 And this is from Fireman Frank.
31:23 First of all, thanks, Fireman Frank.
31:26 Appreciate your service to our country as a fireman.
31:29 Couple of things.
31:30 There was a lot of interest in Justin Fields.
31:33 You may remember I wrote about this prior to the combine and wrote even at the combine.
31:40 But the bears were, I mean, one day there's going to be a book written about how the bears
31:47 screwed up the trading of Justin Fields.
31:51 It's insane.
31:55 I have no animus against the leadership, talking about the general manager of the bears, but
32:02 the handling of Justin Fields should have gotten him fired already.
32:05 If I was the owner, he'd be gone.
32:07 Just gone.
32:08 And then it drug up, drug out, drug out.
32:13 So teams were able to address needs.
32:15 I mean, Atlanta desperately wanted him.
32:18 The Raiders were certainly interested.
32:20 But then you go get Gardner and then all of a sudden Justin looks at, man, in Pittsburgh,
32:27 I only got to compete with one guy.
32:29 He's older.
32:30 If I go to Raiders, there's two young guys there.
32:35 Just a total flop.
32:37 There were a lot of teams that were interested in Justin.
32:39 There were several teams that called.
32:40 In fact, I can tell you, I know five teams specifically that were interested in Justin.
32:47 The price was too high.
32:49 Then by the time the bears had to adjust, people were just low-balling, low-balling,
32:53 low-balling, low-balling.
32:55 And then there were some teams that were completely out, nope, not interested.
32:59 So yeah, I did talk to them.
33:01 I think there was a lot of people that felt Justin's fifth year option was going to be
33:05 very expensive.
33:07 And so you go get him on a cheat fourth year.
33:11 And he is a very high-character kid like CJ Stroud.
33:16 He's very low.
33:17 I mean, listen, the Bears got issues now in their locker room because that locker room
33:21 wanted Justin.
33:24 So your general manager, by letting it drag on, it's created drama.
33:32 I have some really good friends that are very good Bear fans.
33:35 In fact, you may remember I told you about them, a school teacher and a doctor in Texas.
33:42 And when the Bears play the Raiders, of course, they go to that game.
33:47 I just told them, I said, "Your general manager's handling of this has been atrocious."
33:52 So anyways, I think there'll be books, if not books, there's going to be a ton of discussion
33:57 for years to come on how not to handle a situation.
34:00 And let me tell you, that's not what you want associated with your name is how not to handle
34:05 something.
34:06 So yeah, I think there absolutely was a market.
34:10 I think a lot of people, they tried to make Justin Fields be something that he wasn't.
34:17 It frustrated him and it should have.
34:21 And I think there are a lot of people that felt high-character young man, a lot of skill,
34:27 let him kind of be him.
34:30 And he has a monster upside, a lot of people.
34:32 But now you're getting to the end of that four-year deal and that fifth-year option
34:36 is so expensive.
34:39 It just put the whole thing in a...
34:41 Again, it was the Bears mishandling of their situation.
34:46 So there you go.
34:47 I hope that answers your question.
34:50 And again, that was Fireman Frank.
34:53 Next one comes to us from Michael B. in Charlotte, North Carolina.
34:57 "Hope you're well with the Pittsburgh Steelers having Russ and Jordan," he put Jordan, but
35:03 I know he meant Justin Fields.
35:05 "Their QBs, as their QBs, are the Raiders still trying to trade up in the coming draft?"
35:11 Well, first of all, you say, are they still trying to trade up?
35:18 I would take umbrage with that assertion, Michael.
35:25 They certainly made all the phone calls on what's it going to cost to move up.
35:29 I talked to you well before the combine on that.
35:32 To move to one at one point, it was going to be three ones and three twos.
35:36 They had checked every place.
35:39 I don't know that I would use the word trying because they understood until they knew if
35:44 there was more than one quarterback, they were willing to pay at one.
35:49 If there were two, then you would try to go to two, but Washington doesn't want to trade.
35:53 If there were three, you'd be willing to trade to three, but New England, I think they would
36:00 trade, but I think the cost would just be so incredibly high and I don't think they
36:04 want to trade.
36:05 When a team doesn't want to trade, the price is going to be outlandish.
36:13 Here is where they find themselves.
36:16 Do they know what the cost is to trade up?
36:19 Yes.
36:20 I believe now if there's going to be a trade, it's going to come on draft night.
36:25 I don't know that I would say they're trying to move up.
36:27 I think they're constantly evaluating the cost and as the thing falls out, I would tell
36:35 you this, I will be stunned.
36:39 I don't think that all they ... I would be stunned if they moved up into the top three
36:46 because that means they are going to pay a massive price because all three of those teams,
36:53 Chicago's not trading.
36:55 I'm told by people who are part of the commanders, they're not trading and I'm told by people
37:00 in the Patriots, the same people that told me that Bill Belichick, if he didn't make
37:03 the playoffs, was not going to be back this year, that told me that last year at the beginning
37:06 of the year, are the ones telling me I don't see any way we trade that bet.
37:15 I don't know that I would use the word trying.
37:17 I would certainly say evaluating the market with potential, but I think every day.
37:23 Now, if a J.J. McCarthy falls, could they?
37:28 Absolutely.
37:30 Absolutely.
37:32 Absolutely.
37:34 This one comes to us from Felicity G. That's a beautiful name, Felicity.
37:42 She says, "Hondo, I know how much Jim Harbaugh loves J.J. McCarthy.
37:47 Do you think there's a chance that he would trade Justin Herbert to us and take J.J. McCarthy?"
37:54 Well, you never say never.
38:00 But that one, I've had several people email me on Felicity.
38:06 That one, I would never say never, but I would put the chance low.
38:15 Now, I'm going to tell you a couple of reasons why, and you may think I'm nuts for this.
38:21 I'm not sold on Justin Herbert.
38:24 If you go back and look when Aiden O'Connell started at Los Angeles this year, had all
38:31 those turnovers, statistically, he outplayed Herbert, and Josh McDaniels did nothing to
38:39 help him.
38:41 Nothing.
38:43 I don't think in any way Herbert's a bad quarterback, but I'm sorry, I've not seen enough from him
38:52 yet to call Herbert.
38:55 I've shared this story with you many times, and I apologize for being repetitive.
39:00 Had a GM tell me one time, in the NFL there are eight teams that know they have a quarterback
39:05 that can go win them a Super Bowl.
39:08 There are eight teams that think they have it, and six teams that know that they don't.
39:14 I would say to you, I put Justin Herbert in the "Maybe he can go win me a Super Bowl."
39:22 Maybe.
39:27 So if I'm the Raiders, and Tom Telesco knows them better than anybody else, that would
39:37 be interesting to see.
39:40 I've had a lot of people email about it, and I've even seen it discussed nationally, so
39:44 I'm not ruling it out, but that one would be hard for me.
39:47 But I know that you're absolutely right.
39:49 I know for a fact Jimmy loves JJ.
39:55 So possibility.
39:58 Good question, Felicity.
39:59 Next comes from Mike from Texas.
40:13 Just listening to your podcast while rehabbing a leg injury, Hondo, I don't miss a pod no
40:19 matter what.
40:21 Thank you for them.
40:22 My question, where does Devante stand on our QB situation?
40:29 Does he trust Minshew if it isn't A04 starting?
40:34 Could this spur a trade request?
40:37 How does the rest of the league view A04's game, and do they view him as a starting caliber
40:43 player?
40:44 It seems like a lack of franchise quarterback potential on our roster has to be alarming
40:49 to Devante, as alarming as it is to us fans.
40:53 We are in a dude drought, need someone with the potential to be a 10-year franchise guy.
41:01 We sort of feel like we're in QB purgatory, pending a big swing on a young guy with upside.
41:11 God bless, Hondo.
41:12 Mike from Texas.
41:13 Great question.
41:14 So a couple of things I want to address there.
41:17 First of all, 10-year franchise guys don't grow on trees.
41:21 And there is zero guarantee that you're going to trade up and get one in the first round.
41:27 Zero guarantee.
41:28 In fact, 60% of first-round quarterbacks fail.
41:34 So I agree with you, the Raiders have been in a drought on a 10-year franchise guy to
41:42 get him to a Super Bowl.
41:44 But I would also tell you, what about Jim Plunkett and Rich Gannon?
41:52 They were some guys that did a lot for the Raiders.
41:55 A lot.
41:57 And they weren't necessarily considered 10-year franchise guys.
42:03 There are a lot of people in Raider Nation that when those two got signed were like,
42:08 "Why?"
42:09 We live in a society now that it's our way right away.
42:13 Everything is instantaneous.
42:16 I'm an old-school guy.
42:17 I like to write a card.
42:21 My birthday was recent, so I sat down and wrote cards for the people that either gave
42:27 me a present or sent me a card.
42:30 Just "Hey, thank you."
42:31 Why?
42:32 Because I think it shows something.
42:33 Rich Passaccia, my friend.
42:35 When Rich, his last game, the early in the morning before his last game, in fact, started
42:42 the night before, he wrote letters to all the guys on the team thanking them for playing
42:47 for him the way they did.
42:50 I like that.
42:52 I'm old-school.
42:53 And to me, sometimes you've got to develop guys.
42:59 People forget Brady was not a first-round guy.
43:02 There's a lot of great quarterbacks that weren't.
43:05 Now, there's a lot that were.
43:07 There's a lot that were.
43:10 But for every Patrick Mahomes, there's two or three Ryan Leafs.
43:18 And so, do I think the team presently right now does not have a proven 10-year franchise
43:25 Super Bowl-caliber winning quarterback?
43:27 I agree with that, Mike.
43:30 But I also think you don't throw people away.
43:35 And Aiden O'Connell has shown a lot of reasons to think he could be that guy.
43:45 He has not shown anywhere near the number of reasons that he can't.
43:49 When you forget that he had no OTAs, mini-camp, training camp, with a new system.
43:58 He's down two offensive coaches.
44:03 And he takes over in the middle of the year.
44:05 And I'm going to throw his first start out because Josh did nothing to help him, wouldn't
44:09 change the game plan to call things around him that work.
44:13 And look at what he did going down the stretch.
44:15 Eight touchdowns, no interceptions, last four games.
44:18 Nine touchdowns, one interception, last five games.
44:20 You can't just throw that out.
44:23 You also can't throw out there were scoreless.
44:26 There was the scoreless game.
44:29 Or not being able to score enough at other points.
44:32 I agree.
44:33 But to talk about that and not talk about they weren't running their system, down two
44:37 coaches, no OTAs, no mini-camps, no training camp, that's not fair either.
44:42 So and here's the other one.
44:45 So you trade up and go get a guy just because you traded up.
44:48 It don't mean that he's a franchise guy.
44:50 You still got to give him a couple years.
44:54 Do you know there were people calling for Jordan Love to be benched after the Raider
45:00 game up in Green Bay?
45:04 Now the talk of the offseason is they found their next Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre.
45:10 I understand that we live in a society of right now, right away.
45:16 I get that.
45:18 But sometimes it's not reality.
45:21 I want to share a story with you.
45:24 And I do not remember this man's name and if he would email me, I would love to do a
45:28 story on him.
45:31 But I love going out into the Raiders parking lots where they tailgated Allegiant Stadium
45:37 now.
45:38 I love it.
45:39 It's fun.
45:40 Great people.
45:41 And you see people in those parking lots from other teams.
45:45 You see children from other teams wearing jerseys, playing with kids wearing Raiders.
45:51 It's just one of the most wonderful environments.
45:54 I've told this story many, many times.
45:57 Here at Allegiant, Green Bay at Lambeau and Pittsburgh and Kansas City, not even Dallas
46:10 as much, although Dallas some, but not to the extent of those, are like college towns.
46:17 It's like college tailgating.
46:20 And I'm told the Raider tailgates back in Oakland, which I never attended, I went to
46:25 games there, but never attended any of those, were even more lit.
46:29 And if you're wondering, lit is it, I'm not trying to sound hip and cool.
46:33 Lit is a term young kids use today to now mean it was really good.
46:38 Or even more lit.
46:42 But when you go down there, it's awesome.
46:45 So I met a guy last year, I don't remember what game it was.
46:47 I think I only went to the last two, so it was one of those.
46:51 And he comes up, shakes my hand, and we visited, he watches the podcast, great guy.
46:57 And so I like to ask people, "How long have you been a Raider fan?"
47:01 Usually with Raider fans, you don't even have to ask.
47:04 I remember when I first started doing this and you people would email me, "Hey Hondo,
47:08 been a Raider fan since '64."
47:10 "Hey Hondo, been a Raider fan since '76."
47:12 "Hey Hondo, I've been a Raider fan since this game or that game."
47:16 Whatever.
47:21 And so I meet this guy.
47:24 And the guy says to me, "How long have you been a Raider fan?"
47:27 He goes, "I've been a Raider fan my whole life."
47:29 And he tells a story, I don't remember if he said he was in jail or prison.
47:32 I think it was jail, but it may have been prison.
47:36 But he'd gotten in trouble, was in trouble there.
47:40 So he goes in to see his counselor or whatever you call that person that he went to see.
47:44 And they start asking, "What's most important in your life?"
47:47 And he talked about the Raiders.
47:51 And so he talked about how his counselor just kept saying to him, "Do you want to keep getting
47:55 in trouble and spend the rest of your life here?
47:58 Don't you want to go out and see what it's like to be at a Raider game?"
48:02 And he talked about how he used the Raiders and it motivated him to change his life.
48:12 And now he's productive.
48:13 I don't remember what he said he did for a living, but I know he told me what he did.
48:18 Now he's a productive, contributing member of society with that team.
48:24 I mean, in life.
48:26 I'm not willing to throw him away because he was young and made some mistakes.
48:31 He's valuable.
48:33 Sometimes there is a rush among fans to throw people away, to throw people away, to throw
48:42 young quarterbacks away without letting them develop.
48:45 Well, guess what?
48:46 A lot of people would want to trade for Jordan Love today, but just a few months ago, Packer
48:50 Fan was ready to throw him away.
48:54 You got to let people develop a little bit.
48:57 I remember back in Detroit, there were people that said, "Oh, Matthew Stafford sucks.
49:00 He's never going to win."
49:01 Bam.
49:05 Once you've seen enough to make a decision.
49:07 Now you may have seen enough and said, "No, Aiden's not the guy.
49:09 Get rid of him."
49:10 I disagree with that opinion, but that still is fair.
49:13 It's yours.
49:15 But sometimes people just act like moving up is automatically a guarantee when it's
49:19 a 60% fail rate.
49:22 And sometimes it's like, "Okay, we're just going to make this decision right now."
49:25 We don't know that CJ Stroud is a franchise quarterback.
49:28 He looked the best, but we don't know it.
49:34 There were people that said Peyton Manning was a waste after year one.
49:40 "Oh, he's an interception machine.
49:41 He'll never make the adjustment to the NFL."
49:43 Oh yeah, they said that.
49:45 People said that about Colton Miller.
49:48 So what I would say to you is this.
49:51 I have been an advocate.
49:53 You sign a veteran and go draft a rookie and let everybody compete.
49:57 I agree.
49:58 I have not seen enough of Maiden to label him QB1 forever, but I still haven't seen
50:04 enough to throw him out.
50:05 So you got to create that atmosphere to let them all compete.
50:08 I think you still go draft a guy.
50:10 I think you still go sign a veteran.
50:14 But I just don't think people sometimes understand in such a fast society.
50:19 Now we can go buy some and it's on our porch by that night.
50:23 We go to restaurants, want it our way, right away, whatever.
50:26 Everything is so fast and so that sometimes you miss the process.
50:29 I end with this real quick.
50:31 I was talking one time on an airplane with a police officer.
50:34 He was a forensic police officer, an investigator.
50:38 And I talked about, you know, you got to have a really cool job.
50:40 I like watching NCIS when it had Gibbs.
50:44 Not so much anymore, but when I had Gibbs and he's like, no, those shows, Law and Order,
50:49 make our job hell.
50:50 I'm like, why?
50:51 And he says, because it makes it look like you can solve every crime quickly.
50:56 And you know, sometimes it just doesn't work.
50:58 Sometimes there just aren't cameras that you can sneak in and that kind of stuff.
51:03 He goes, it makes it difficult.
51:04 People don't understand the process of law enforcement.
51:07 Same way sometimes in development quarterbacks.
51:09 It's called development for a reason.
51:11 Listen, appreciate y'all.
51:13 Follow us on IG @HondoSR.
51:15 Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, when you go to @HondoCarpenter.