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00:00One of the realities of football, in the National Football League, during training camp and in preseason games, there is always the risk of injury.
00:09You never want it to impact your significant players, certainly not a rookie quarterback about to begin his NFL career.
00:16That was the case yesterday with the Vikings.
00:19J.J. McCarthy has a torn meniscus that he suffered at some point in the preseason debut against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday afternoon.
00:29The timetable is a little bit precarious as well.
00:33As J.J. McCarthy will undergo surgery this week, and while on the operating table, the surgeons will determine if it needs to be a full repair,
00:43which would sideline J.J. McCarthy for the entirety of this rookie season, probably prolonging his debut until 2025,
00:51or if it is just a simple trimming of the torn meniscus, which would allow J.J. McCarthy, it appears, to return at some point in 2024.
01:01Yeah, and look, it's not do or die, as we said for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, but you would like to gauge this season.
01:08It's not really wins and losses.
01:10Typically, when you have a rookie quarterback, as we state so many times, at the end of the year, you realize,
01:14oh, I think we got our franchise quarterback played well down the stretch, picked up a couple wins.
01:18Yes, we didn't make the playoffs, but the bigger picture is we got our guy.
01:22You're not going to have that now.
01:23It sort of feels like the Indianapolis Colts, Ben, right?
01:25You watched last year with how talented Anthony Richardson is.
01:28He's starting this year, but he didn't get very many games last year, so the jury is still out whether or not you think he can be your franchise guy.
01:35You're hoping he looks the part and certainly can play that part.
01:37We get that same vibes because bringing Sam Darnold from day number one never made sense to me,
01:42not in the fact that he didn't think he was going to start.
01:44He had free agency in the draft.
01:45I understand how it works out.
01:46But once McCarthy gets to camp and you draft him high in the first round, he's your franchise guy.
01:51And if he's in somewhat the same ballpark as Sam Darnold, you would like to see him start week number one.
01:56Now, there are different ways to bring along young quarterbacks.
01:58We've seen it so many times, and some teams don't have the luxury of having a very good backup quarterback that's been around the block.
02:04And some people might even say, Don, what are you talking about Sam Darnold?
02:06He's a capable guy in a good offense with a very good offensive coordinator.
02:11He should be fine week number one.
02:13But it's just a shame because you look forward to those young franchise guys getting their feet wet, even if it's like, OK, you're not going to start the season.
02:19We might bring into a package during the game just to get you ready because it's five, six and seven.
02:23Maybe that's the landing target for the young guy.
02:25But he played so well in that preseason game.
02:27We were actually thinking game number two in the preseason might be another showcase for J.J. McCarthy.
02:33It's just a shame the way it went down.
02:35Hopefully it's not the long term one.
02:37It's the short term one.
02:38Because even as you say that, he might not start the week eight, nine or ten at this point if it is the short term injury.
02:44But at least he's taking reps in practice.
02:46He's around the team.
02:47He's engaged.
02:48He's working out.
02:49If you go on to the I.R.
02:50What people don't know about the NFL, sometimes, Ben, you can't practice with the team.
02:53So, hey, throw him in the I.R. by week four.
02:55Be practicing.
02:56He's not allowed to practice at that point.
02:57You hope it's not the long term scenario for the maturation process of the young quarterback.
03:02And I think that's the important part as well.
03:05A winner at Michigan.
03:06A 27-1 win-loss record as a quarterback.
03:10The best we have seen with at least 25 starts in FBS college football in the last half century.
03:17But there was a thought that based on the college production, it was a projection to draft him in the top ten.
03:25Could he excel on this next level under Kevin O'Connell?
03:29Who, after the off-season program, the head coach of the Vikings said that Sam Darnold had earned the right to be the starting quarterback as they returned for training camp.
03:37In the initial depth chart released by Minnesota last week, ahead of the preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sam Darnold was listed as quarterback number one.
03:46So, J.J. McCarthy was in that quarterback competition hoping to earn the starting job to begin his rookie year.
03:52You would think DRS with the performance on Saturday afternoon against Las Vegas, the tide was maybe starting to turn in Minneapolis.
04:00And again, that's part of this as well.
04:03A promising debut.
04:04J.J. McCarthy played six offensive possessions for Minnesota on Saturday against the Raiders.
04:09He threw a pick on his opening drive.
04:12He has learned Harbaugh-isms from his college head coach.
04:16Head coach said after the game, what was your thought process, J.J., after throwing the opening INT?
04:21His response, what a great opportunity.
04:24Pretty much allowing him an opportunity to bounce back and show his resolve, and he did from that point on.
04:30And in the game overall, 11-17 for 188 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in his preseason debut.
04:38Justin Jefferson was hyped on the sideline watching his rookie quarterback perform in a stellar way in his preseason debut.
04:47But it would seem, as of right now for Minnesota, it is Sam Darnold's show.
04:52Signed this offseason, one year, $10 million deal.
04:56Six years in the National Football League.
04:58First three, of course, with the New York Jets after being taken third overall by gangrene.
05:03Then two years in Carolina.
05:05Last year as the backup in San Francisco under Kyle Shanahan.
05:09Played in 10 games for San Fran.
05:11Started Week 18 as they rested their starters.
05:15Now he's going to be the guy, at least at the very start of 2024, for the Vikings.
05:21And just one final point from me, DRS, as we tie everything into the odds.
05:24When you have a quarterback injury, oftentimes, even if it's a guy that could be the starter for your franchise, it's going to move the odds.
05:32But just to show you the odds outlook for Minnesota, the win total was 7.5 for 2024.
05:38The under had the juice.
05:39It's still 7.5.
05:41The under has the juice at minus 168.
05:43A couple of more cents on the under, perhaps.
05:46But not much dramatic movement after the news of the J.J. McCarthy torn meniscus.
05:51And even take a look at Week 1 at the Fanslue Sportsbook, Ben.
05:54This line originally opened up as a minus one point favorite, plus 104 for Minnesota.
05:58It now sits today a minus one and a half point favorite at a minus 105 price.
06:03Because we're not looking at J.J. McCarthy.
06:05Week 1 necessarily is an upgrade over Sam Darnold.
06:08And also, from a betting perspective here, I think this is actually a very good thing if you're looking at an opportunity to bet the Minnesota Vikings.
06:14No longer do you have the quarterback that's going to be fighting time in camp, 50-50.
06:18Nobody knows who's starting.
06:20You know who's going to be the guaranteed starter on Week 1, barring injury to himself?
06:23It's Sam Darnold.
06:24Every application of that playbook now will be specific.
06:27The specificities, nice word right there, will be used for Sam Darnold, as opposed to maybe making up some of that game plan for J.J. McCarthy.
06:35So for me, my warped mind, I go like this.
06:37Ooh, over one and a half touchdown passes, Week 1 for Darnold?
06:40Sign me up, baby.
06:41I think he's going to have a good day against the Giants.
06:43I mean, he's back in Met life in his former hallowed home, where at times it seemed a little bit haunted for one Sammy D.
06:52But he is familiar, at least, with the landscape.
06:55Again, the Vikings still remain a favorite in that football game against the New York Giants.
07:01It might be more condemning for the G-Men than anything happening for Minnesota after the news of the J.J. McCarthy injury.
07:09Unlike some of the other fellow rookie quarterbacks that were taken in 2024, McCarthy did not have a season-long passing yards.
07:18Will he play in San Francisco?
07:22Won't he play by the bay?
07:24Perhaps might he play at another NFL organization in 2024?
07:30Those are the questions that need to be asked as it pertains to San Francisco's wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk.
07:37There has been a lot of offseason drama between Aiyuk and the 49ers front office.
07:42He wants a new deal at a time San Francisco was unwilling to give him a new deal.
07:47Brandon Aiyuk was unhappy.
07:49He officially requested a formal trade from San Francisco.
07:53The Niners, to start off training camp, said, we are not trading you.
07:57And then about a week ago, they said, you know what?
07:59If somebody presents an enticing enough trade package, maybe we will listen.
08:04Here is the update as of yesterday on Brandon Aiyuk.
08:09This from Ian Rappaport of the NFL Network.
08:11The Steelers and 49ers have a deal on a potential trade and Pitt is in a good place on an Aiyuk contract,
08:18which means they would be able to give him the contract extension that he so desires.
08:23If San Francisco gives the final sign-off, it's a done deal.
08:27But also, San Francisco has an offer out to Brandon Aiyuk on a reworked long-term contract for him to stay in San Fran.
08:35Aiyuk has not signed the dotted line as of this moment.
08:40TRS, what's going on with Aiyuk and San Francisco?
08:43The charade is awesome.
08:45We're seeing in other cities as well where you avoid not getting fined by just showing up in a T-shirt and shorts and not participating in anything.
08:54So eventually, I guess you can show up and say, you know what, 49ers practice.
08:57I'll come out for 5 to 10 minutes.
08:59I'll go back inside, hang out, play some video games, be on my phone, eat some lunch, check into the meeting, say hello,
09:04and then go home so I don't get fined here.
09:06That's interesting to say the least.
09:08But the other part of it is you have to understand the way the NFL works now.
09:12They've been going over contract negotiations probably for the last year in anticipation of Aiyuk getting an extension,
09:17and it's not working out for them between them.
09:19So, OK, I want to get a deal done.
09:21I want to seek a trade.
09:22OK, seek one out here.
09:24But everybody has to know that we have been talking about this Aiyuk contract situation not just with the 49ers.
09:29Let's just say around the NFL heading into training camp for weeks now where other teams are like, you know what,
09:34we could use a solid young wide receiver and make him our number one and pay him accordingly
09:38because that's what he's looking forward to.
09:40So it was the New England Patriots, it was the Cleveland Browns, and it is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
09:45All have come to terms with, hey, San Francisco, we'll pay you this amount,
09:49and also we have contracts in place that Aiyuk is going to pay more.
09:52We're going to pay him more than what you will.
09:54So Aiyuk and his agent, always wanting more money, sit back and go, OK, we've got a bidding war between three teams.
10:00Let's just drag this out for what reason?
10:02That bidding war should have taken one hour by saying, what are your best and final offers?
10:07The guy that makes the best offer will be on a plane today and sign that dotted line
10:12and he'll be in the new organization, whether, again, it's the Patriots, the Steelers, or the Browns.
10:16It's gotten to the point now, if you are the Steelers, you're looking like you're going to probably wind up with a little bit of egg on your face
10:21because, number one, you're telling your wide receiver room in Pittsburgh, you're not good enough here.
10:25We really need this Aiyuk guy, and we're hanging on for dear life, hoping we get him.
10:29But also, at the same time, going like, we offered him more money
10:32and the chance to come here and be that number one right away,
10:35and why is it taking 36, 48 hours, three or four days to decide on this?
10:40What are you deciding?
10:41So all they're doing is taking that contract right here and going, you know what?
10:44San Francisco, if you match this, I'm coming back here.
10:47And still, the Steelers are hanging on because what we already saw, Ben, by the way, the New England Patriots,
10:52yeah, they saw the charade and like, we're out.
10:54Like, the Patriots are probably offering more money than any one of these teams
10:57because they just need talent and they're like, hold on now.
11:00With this deal that we have in place, you haven't said yes in over a week, yeah, we're out of here at this point.
11:04Same way when you get like, I'm pulling my name out of the coaching race for another institution,
11:07knowing that he's actually never coming there and neither that coach as well.
11:11I hate the charade in San Francisco, but you can start to see it play out now.
11:14He's going to be a 49er.
11:17Yeah, I would say that Brandon Aiyuk remains in San Francisco.
11:20What the actual contract looked like, what the figures are for Aiyuk, that remains to be seen.
11:27Brandon Aiyuk, a first-round selection in 2020, the same draft class as one Justin Jefferson,
11:33one CeeDee Lamb in that opening round as well.
11:37He's not going to make J-Jet money.
11:39Could he be one of the four wide receivers at this current point that make more than $30 million per year?
11:45There are the five highest-paid wide receivers.
11:48That includes Jalen Waddell, who got the offseason extension earlier this offseason,
11:53who makes more than $28 million per year.
11:57We don't know what the contract looks like at this moment.
12:00What we do know, though, is that Brandon Aiyuk was San Francisco's best pure wide receiver last year,
12:06more than 1,300 receiving yards, his career high.
12:09He had more than 1,000 receiving yards the year prior in 2021.
12:13His only 100-yard game in 2022, excuse me, came with Brock Purdy as the quarterback.
12:20He was the top target last year for the 49ers, 105 targets.
12:25George Kittle second most with 90.
12:28There's a lot of offensive pieces that we know in San Francisco that require a lot of talent.
12:34But Brandon Aiyuk is actually the number one wide receiver.
12:37As strange as that might be to say.
12:39More NFL news next.
12:40More NFL news and notes from around training camp.
12:43It's that time of year, and we enjoy bringing you all the information you need to have.
12:49Even, yeah, this is a good one.
12:51This is a very good one.
12:52Very exciting stuff.
12:53Couple of great quote tweets of this tweet and this quote yesterday.
12:58Not sure if you've ever seen the Peaky Blinders, but there's a scene where Tommy Shelby,
13:02that's played by Killian Murphy, is walking around his house,
13:05and he tells all of his brothers, the guys that are a part of the Blinders,
13:08to not do anything, to not be in any fights.
13:11Oh, it's good stuff.
13:12And what we're referring to is the Patriots' new head coach, Gerard Mayo.
13:16As the Patriots get ready for some joint practices this week,
13:19ahead of their preseason week number two contest tomorrow night in Foxboro
13:24against the Philadelphia Eagles.
13:26This was Gerard Mayo yesterday meeting with the media
13:29and the message that he gave to his New England team about keeping practice civil.
13:36No fights.
13:37Look, you don't fight in a real game.
13:39When you fight in a real game, you get fined, you get kicked out.
13:41It's the same thing here.
13:42And look, my message to the players, if you get in a fight out here,
13:46if you're a starter, you're going to play the whole preseason game.
13:49If you're not a starter, you won't play at all.
13:51And so that's kind of my mindset with that.
13:54All right, a little bit of discipline,
13:56a little bit of what Gerard Mayo is bringing to this New England team.
14:01There will be consequences for your actions,
14:04even if it's not a fine or a penalty like it might be during a real game.
14:09DRS, what do you make of Gerard Mayo's potential response
14:12to any joint practice fights?
14:14I'm trying to log into the FanDuel Sportsbook right now,
14:17make my way around to the Patriots,
14:19and fire my entire bank account on the under for the New England Patriots.
14:22I want to like Gerard Mayo.
14:24He seems like a nice guy.
14:25You have got to, first of all,
14:27the team is probably the least talented team in the NFL.
14:30But are we being honest when we're saying if we get into a scrap
14:33that if I am a starter, let's just say I'm Matthew Judon,
14:36let's just say he's out there throwing punches.
14:38Hey, Matt, you're going to play that whole number two.
14:40And he is.
14:41Yeah, exactly.
14:42And have, let's just say, a left tackle
14:44that's not going to make the team continuously cut you
14:47throughout the entire game and not really understanding how to,
14:49oh, I lost my balance and fell on my knee.
14:52And also, players that are trying to make this team,
14:55you know, get a little scrappy in practice.
14:57Hey, by the way, Ken, I know you're a fourth-round pick.
14:59You can make this team.
15:00You're just not going to play in the preseason.
15:02I have no idea where this even comes from.
15:03There's rules in place by the collective bargaining agreement.
15:06Yes, if you fight in practice, I'm throwing you out of that practice
15:09and I'm going to fine you $15,000 and away you go.
15:12You can come back tomorrow at that point.
15:14Like it sounds like, and I know people have not played this sport before.
15:17Oh, that makes sense.
15:18That's going to stop fighting.
15:19How asinine it actually sounds where if you are throwing punches as a starter,
15:23your punishment is to play the entire game,
15:25which means you're probably going to get injured.
15:28If you do get injured, that means to the detriment of the team.
15:31It sounds like a great soundbite here, but when you think about it,
15:34it's one of the more asinine policies you can actually have as a head coach.
15:38It makes no sense and it's actually a detriment to your team.
15:41Like, hey, if I throw punches, I have to play Friday night.
15:44Stop the madness.
15:45So the jokes were floating around Twitter and social media going,
15:47man, if I'm a backup quarterback, I am launching bombs at everybody
15:51so no other quarterback can play.
15:53And you know what I'm going to do the next week?
15:54I'm going to do the same thing.
15:55So I can be a backup fourth string quarterback and play the entire game
15:59because that's stupid rule.
16:00Come on, Gerard Mayo, knock it off.
16:03Also, when you look at the quarterback room,
16:05New England played all four of their quarterbacks
16:07in their preseason opener against Carolina.
16:09Jacoby Brissett right now is in line to be the week one starter for New England.
16:14So if Drake May, the young rookie, were to go out there and get into a fight,
16:20would he not play or would he play the whole game because of the fact
16:25that he is in line potentially to compete for that starting spot?
16:29I love the idea that Jabril Peppers,
16:31who just signed a contract extension with New England,
16:33that he might throw a punch and he's like, all right, get out there.
16:36We just paid you $20 million a year.
16:38Go play the entire game against the Eagles.
16:40Speaking of Matthew Judon, by the way, he is not happy,
16:43much like Hassan Redick, the edge rusher for New England,
16:46with his contract status.
16:48He is out there legitimately fighting people,
16:51trying to get paid or dealt to another team.
16:56DeRon Mayo's first year in Foxborough seems to be off to a tremendous start.
17:01And Donnie, you said you wanted to go to the FanDuel Sportsbook,
17:03bet the house on the under of the Patriots' win total of 4.5.
17:07It is the lowest win total in the National Football League.
17:10The under has lost money, maybe some even alternate win totals or just this.
17:15The Patriots are the favorites or at least have the shortest price,
17:19however you want to categorize it,
17:21to have the worst regular season record around the National Football League
17:24at a 3-1 number.
17:26Yeah, I look at the Patriots too at that 3-1, which is actually hilarious
17:29because you had 25 years of the most dominant football strides
17:32that you could possibly have for any franchise that we might ever see,
17:35the Bill Belichick and the Tom Brady era,
17:37to now fall so far behind where you're by far the least talented team in the NFL
17:42and the expectations are so low at this point
17:45that you sort of get a chuckle out of it.
17:47And also, if you are the Patriots, why don't you go down and say,
17:50you know what, we're going to take the team for a trip
17:52because Bill Belichick used to love the military.
17:54Let's go to Army and Navy.
17:56And they say, well, coach, why are we going there?
17:57Because this is the offense we're going to run
17:59because we just can't compete and have a drop back pass
18:01with literally no wide receivers, average running backs,
18:03and an average quarterback here.
18:05If they went wing T, I bet you their number would actually go higher
18:08so they won't have to be the worst team in the NFL
18:10and at least be able to compete.
18:11Run the clock all game long, three yards in a cloud of dust.
18:14Maybe that's the way the Patriots can compete in 2024 here, Beth.
18:18Yeah, we shall see exactly what they do this season.
18:22We'll see who the starting quarterback is going to be,
18:25but I would not be overly optimistic on the Pats.
18:28Somehow, someway, one of my favorite betting quirks entering 2024
18:32here in the preseason around the NFL,
18:35the Pats have the lowest win total, 4.5.
18:38The Over does have the juice at minus 150.
18:40The Patriots have the longest price of any team
18:43to win any of the eight divisions around the NFL.
18:46They play in a highly competitive AFC East
18:49and still somehow, someway, have a shorter Super Bowl price
18:52than that of the Carolina Panthers at 300-1.
18:57Let's go elsewhere around the National Football League
19:00and some injury updates.
19:02Donnie, it's always hard to ascertain
19:04when some player gets injured during preseason or training camp,
19:09what exactly the severity of that injury is,
19:12if there's a timeline for return, if he's going to practice,
19:15or if he is not going to play.
19:17That is the story in New York for the Giants rookie wideout Malik Nabors.
19:21Said he's feeling good despite dealing with an ankle injury.
19:25When asked if there was any doubt he would be ready for week number one,
19:29he replied simply, quote, no doubt, end quote.
19:33So he should be out there for that week one opener again
19:36as the Giants get ready to host the Minnesota Vikings in MetLife.
19:39Yeah, he should be fine.
19:41But again, the secrecy of coaches in preseason never ceases to amaze me
19:45when, imagine if you shared an update that said,
19:47yes, I talked to the trainer, we're getting tests done a little bit later today,
19:50I'll have an answer for you tomorrow.
19:52And they always just try to go talk right over your head.
19:54Ah, I really don't know about it, we'll check in and we'll see how long it takes.
19:57Then they ask the press, ask them for an update the next day.
20:00You haven't checked in.
20:01I'm feeling full well the minute that guy left there.
20:03He's probably at the best hospital place slash in the world,
20:06getting MRIs from 15 team doctors around him
20:09with an instant update for the head coach within minutes.
20:11He's like, hey, you know, I'll get around to checking on my best player here.
20:14Neighbors will be fine.
20:15I expect him to have a solid season.
20:17But then again, it's Daniel Jones and it's the Giants,
20:19so let's temper those expectations.
20:22Malik Neighbors, a regular season long receiving yards prop of 875.5,
20:30second most for the rookie wideouts, only behind Marvin Harrison Jr.,
20:34whose number for Arizona is 1,050.
20:37And a hook.
20:38Malik Neighbors, the sixth overall draft pick by New York in 2024 out of LSU.
20:44$10 billion for the Dallas Cowboys, America's team.
20:50The Cowboys now valued at $10.32 billion,
20:54the most valuable sports franchise in the world,
20:56in the first to ever crack 10-bill.
20:59So the immediate response should not be a congratulatory salute to one Jerry Jones.
21:05It should be, why in the world haven't you paid Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb?
21:10That's the best part about it here.
21:12If you're Jerry Jones, you probably want to get a hold of the editor
21:14that put that information out and probably paid him a little bit of money
21:16or took him out to a steak dinner and said,
21:18our valuation actually went down this year.
21:20Because I'm telling you right now, when you're trying to get paid
21:22and you're in a negotiation where the Dallas Cowboys are crying wolf somehow
21:26and it comes out that they are the most valuable franchise in the history of sports on this planet
21:31and to see CeeDee Lamb sit back there and say,
21:33hey, we're not under any obligations to sign you, any urgency at all, buddy.
21:37Stay at home, we'll find him.
21:38This has to burn those guys up when they see that.
21:41But Jerry can say it to a camera and with a microphone in front of his face,
21:46CeeDee, you will miss.
21:48Not miss that much because you're not paying him at this moment.