ESPN Insider Adam Schefter joins the show!
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00:00And the man in command, the guy that you turn to for all of your big news all throughout the NFL season,
00:05very happy to be introducing him, reintroducing him, I should say, to the WEI audience.
00:10I'm talking, of course, about the great Adam Schefter of ESPN.
00:12Schefter, how you doing, buddy?
00:14Christian, Andy, happy to be with you, happy week one, and hello, Boston.
00:19Nice to have you. It's great to have you back on these airwaves.
00:22We want to go ahead and start with the Patriots, obviously, as they get ready for the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend.
00:29Jamar Chase back out on the practice field.
00:31I feel like a lot of guys in Vegas are scrambling to reset that line back to nine and a half or whatever it was a couple of days ago.
00:38What do you have for us on the situation there in Cincy?
00:42Well, here's the deal. Basically, this is Jamar's decision about how he wants to handle this, right?
00:47And so he's back out there today.
00:50I don't know that as of right now that they've made a lot of progress towards a new deal.
00:57But we're at the point here where these types of instances and situations where one little gesture can help turn things the way that somebody wants.
01:07And maybe the Bengals view this as a goodwill gesture.
01:12And maybe that's the difference in these two sides coming together and bridging their differences.
01:16But again, I don't know that they've been a whole lot closer, but we are also at a critical juncture at the NFL season.
01:24A lot is on the line.
01:26We know the stakes. If he's going to play Sunday at all, you can't not practice this week.
01:32You can't not practice today. So he's out there.
01:34Now, I have not heard a full report yet of exactly what he's doing because he really hasn't had a football practice all summer.
01:40He's gone through a couple of individual drills or practices,
01:43but he hasn't really practiced the way you would need to to play in a game.
01:48And so he's going to have a big decision here. Either you're going to take a deal that may not be exactly what you want,
01:54or you're going to bet on yourself, or you're going to go rogue and tough it out.
01:58That's up to Jamar Chase. And again, we'll see how it all plays out.
02:02But I don't think it's settled just yet. It's obviously an encouraging sign for the Bengals that he's back.
02:07But I think we've seen this go in many different directions to proclaim that it's safe
02:12and sound that he's going to be out there at this time just yet.
02:15Certainly today is a positive step, but we've seen positive steps before only to go, only to see it go the other way.
02:22Adam, you know, in the Boston market, we microanalyze everything that happens, every word that's said,
02:27and we've done that for eight months now with Gerard Mayo,
02:31since he had that press conference with Thunder at Gillette Stadium
02:34and straight on through his most recent press conferences, you know, anointing Jacoby Brissett the starter.
02:39I'm wondering, all the people you talk to throughout the league,
02:43what has the sort of reaction or temperature been in terms of teams just sort of observing
02:50the first offseason of the Gerard Mayo tenure here in New England?
02:55Well, I think there's a lot more attention in New England, in the Boston area, on what he's doing than there is across the league.
03:00I don't think that teams around the league are focused in and concentrating on what he's doing
03:05until they start playing and until they start winning games.
03:08And then you start noticing everything that somebody does, like Bill Belichick,
03:12and on to Cincinnati, and him joining Instagram today.
03:15Like, that's when you know the world is on Instagram.
03:19But that is, in fact, the case.
03:21Again, I think it's the community there, the city there is a lot more dialed in to his business,
03:30Gerard Mayo's business, than the world at large,
03:33because it's more important to the people in Boston than it is to people in Jacksonville or San Francisco or Denver.
03:42They're not worried about that right now.
03:44They're worried about their own problems.
03:45So they're not focused in on that right now.
03:48They want to see how the team plays, and I think then we'll get some commentary about how the head coach is performing.
03:53Well, the quarterback decision was a big one here that we were obviously micro-analyzing.
03:58It was considered a not very well-kept secret.
04:01From your perspective, how well was that secret kept that it was going to be Jacoby Brissett going forward,
04:06as you were one of the first to break the story?
04:09Well, again, to me, it was just interesting that he even opened the door on Drake May,
04:15competing for that job, into training camp.
04:18Like, everybody expected all along that it was going to be Jacoby Brissett's job,
04:24that when the announcement came that it was a foregone conclusion that Brissett would start on opening day.
04:29And all of a sudden, Gerard Mayo's calling it a competition, saying both guys are competing.
04:34Now, the great part about that is, if you're rooting for the Patriots,
04:38you have to feel encouraged about what Drake May has shown the team this summer
04:44to get the head coach to even put them in the same sentence at that time,
04:47when everybody expected it was going to be Jacoby Brissett.
04:50But that's what happened, and Drake May competed.
04:54Again, I don't think anybody ever thought that with a road game being the first game,
04:57that Drake May was going to be the starter.
04:59But certainly, he seemed to have impressed the organization, seemed to have closed ground,
05:05seemed to be further along than people thought.
05:08And I think the fact that it's Brissett, that's not a surprise to anybody right now.
05:14Adam, the NFL gets underway on Thursday.
05:16Then on Friday, we have that Brazil game, where Darius Slay has been expressing his desire
05:22to not go to Brazil and not have his family in Brazil.
05:25How much does Roger Goodell, the NFL owners, take into account what players want moving forward
05:32in terms of international games and these kinds of security concerns,
05:36when we all know that in the end, it's a rising tide of dollars that lifts all boats?
05:42Well, that's the whole thing, right?
05:44Like, these plans were made a long time ago, and I'm sure there are some players that have,
05:48as you said, voiced their displeasure and unhappiness about going.
05:52And I'm sure the league will consider that in the future.
05:56But the fact of the matter is, it committed to Brazil a long time ago,
06:00just like it's committed to other cities to the future.
06:04So somebody may not like playing in Germany, or somebody might not like playing when they get
06:08to playing in wherever they do, but the league is going to go forward with those plans
06:13because it's a priority to the league right now to play international games
06:19and to grow the brand across the world and the globe.
06:22And that's what the league is determined to do.
06:24So, look, the players get paid.
06:28And there are times, sometimes, when a Monday night game, when we're doing Monday night captain,
06:32I may be in the outdoors of a cold city, and I may not be thrilled about that, but that's what it is.
06:37What am I going to tell you?
06:38I've had to do games internationally.
06:40I might not be thrilled, but the check clears every week.
06:44So you're a player.
06:46You're going to go.
06:47That's it.
06:48And if you listen to the rules and hang with Big Dom from the Eagles security team,
06:53you're going to be just fine, no issues.
06:54All right.
06:55Adam, before we let you go here, Brandon Ayuk was someone that was on the Patriots' radar
06:59to try and make a trade.
07:00We got details then on the offer that was made.
07:02Seemed like a good offer.
07:03Seemed like a lot of money.
07:04Is New England a place that players do not want to come to?
07:08No, I don't think it was that at all.
07:10Again, they're at a different stage, their program, than other people.
07:15If I could tell you this, how quickly did it turn around in Houston to where that's now a destination, right?
07:22A year or two ago, there wasn't anybody that willingly wanted to go play in Houston.
07:28And now, I'm sure there are people who want to sign up and go there.
07:32And that's what happens with franchises.
07:35Again, was it an issue in New England when Tom Brady was playing there when they were winning?
07:38Did people want to come to New England then?
07:41Yes.
07:41Yes, they did.
07:43Okay.
07:44So here's what I would say.
07:46If Drake May turns out to be the quarterback they hope and think he can,
07:49and if Gerard Mayo turns out to be the coach that they hope and think he can,
07:53and if this team gets back on the winning track the way that they hope and think they can,
07:57then there'll be players that want to come there.
07:59Now, do I think that New England was a top choice for Brennan?
08:02No, it was not.
08:03No, it was not.
08:05But that's to be expected at this point for where the organization's at.
08:10All right, we'll leave it right there then.
08:12Adam Schefter, great talking with you.
08:13We look forward to talking with you all football season, and we'll talk to you again next week.