Hey, guys, this is Greg Rosenthal for NFL Daily. You'll notice no intro. What's going on? It's because we already tape the intro. We tape the whole show. We tape three different parts of the show. I got Jordan Rodriegge coming up. I got nick Shook coming up. I got Stacey Dales talking about the bears. But I am growing increasingly insane, wanting to get every bit of news possible into this show. And we had breaking news on CeeDee Lamb not reporting for Dallas Cowboys training camp. He did not get on the Cowboys' plane on Tuesday. Over to the West Coast in Oxnard, he is not showing up, and I wanted to make sure that was in the show. Cowboys can't be surprised letting it get this close. They've been here before, by the way. Zack Martin held out a couple of years ago. Ezequiel Elliott had a really long holdout, you'll remember, in 2019. That didn't end until the season almost started. It doesn't seem like this CeeDee Lamb contract is particularly close at this point, but he will not be there. It is not devastating for the the Cowboys to be missing a wide receiver during training camp.

It is not the same as if Matthew Stafford had missed training camp for the Rams. We'll get to that later in the show. But it is still a reminder of how much work this Cowboys team has to do in the next couple of weeks between Lamb, maybe Dack. Michael Parsons is going to need a contract extension wasn't all financially related in terms of how the conversations unfolded. He made some allusions and references to previous situations, and he even talked about previous failures that he had gone through. I wondered for a minute if that was potentially talking about some of the lack of communication that is very much on the record about having happened between himself and Jared Goff before he traded Jared off. And so I think wanting to avoid that this time around, this situation dragged on. Obviously, they weren't ever talking about that drastic of a move. But in terms of this contract adjustment, wanting to make sure that even on something that you would think is relatively simple like this, that you're communicating very clearly. And there were just, I think, some things that they needed to hammer out and clear up. I think that you have two people who are similar in age and in status and importance in that building in terms of what they feel they contribute and what they feel is necessary and how to have that ecosystem work.I also think that one of them is revisiting his career in a way where he's thinking, I'm going to be a coach for a lot longer now. And another one is really thinking about, Okay, how much longer am I going to do this? And my impression from the very jump of this in April when Ian Rappaport was first to report that Matthew Stafford was looking for more guarantees on his existing contract, which Sean McFay confirmed that that reporting was accurate. To me, it was a signal, almost. Matthew felt so good. This is my opinion and me reading the tea leaves, not just of Sean wanting to make sure he didn't let past failures and communication lapses sneak into current and existing relationships. But also on the other side of it, Matthew Stafford may be sending a signal out there saying, I'm going to be that dude for more years than all the rest of you, not just Ram's, but the rest of the league maybe thinks I'm going to be because of the year that he had was a part of the mission, but also clearing up some of the language around that was probably part of the mission as well when Sean McVay was addressing communication errors and just different types of things and clearing up. He said that he didn't want to think that people were not accurate, but things did need to be cleared up between the narrative around this entire situation, which I found to be very cryptic.I'm not that clear. If it's not finances, what is it? Is it their relationship? I thought it was just interesting that you said that maybe it's a signal to the league, not just the Rams, but also the Rams, that he believes he can get play at a high level for a long time, and maybe he did not want to be in this year-to-year situation. But the contract That's the contract that he got, guaranteeing 15 million in 2025, that's slicing it down the middle where I don't think that- To be clear, that was the previous contract.So the point of this is that the new will should, according to everything I've heard so far, we don't have the official details. That's how frenetic this came together when they realized they didn't actually know. A lot of the people in the building didn't actually know whether he was going to show up. This we're recording this on Tuesday morning. They didn't know whether he was going to show up to camp or not or whether he could potentially actually have been committing to a holdout. And so getting this done... Sean McFay was scheduled to talk at 9:30 this morning to the point where the social team even started playing the livestream of the lectern, and he just wasn't there. And so then obviously, that's when I texted you, Greg, and I was like, Hey, we're going to get Rans news today.Yeah, and he didn't show up for three more hours, and it did have a happy ending. And I guess because of the guaranteed money, it seems that he would be there in 2025, barring anything crazy. But he has had an injury history, and that hangs over all of this as well.It's a commitment thing, too. 2026, previously not having Now you're being a great mentor to me, Greg, because I totally just cut you off. Just know. That's great.If it's the right time for it, don't wait.That 2026, previously having no guaranteed money, specifically in 2026, of a $26 million base salary, that's like a mercenary type of vibe there. If you think you're going to be playing till near 40 and maybe even beyond that, and that's just, again, that's the tea leaves I'm reading from this whole thing, wanting that guaranteed money, then you're not going to be wanting to play on a mercenary type of deal. I mean, that's basically one year, nothing guaranteed. And then you want commitment from the team that has previously positioned you as the star, the franchise quarterback who made a documentary about you in the offseason. I mean, it just feels like some of the things that Sean McVay was commenting on a bit openly about the nonfinancials had to do more so of communicating needs and wants in a very simple and straightforward way, frankly.Does it change? And we'll wrap on this. I do appreciate you coming on how you think about Stafford's future with the Rams? Because that to me, it wasn't the takeaway from today, but it was just like, Oh, this is something to watch maybe even a little more than I thought. Thought the Dak Prescott could be out there next year. Who knows? Does this just put the Stafford and Ram's relationship a little bit more on your radar, ironically, on a day where they're committing to him financially more?I think if he would have held out, then that would have been a significantly more dramatic story because there are roster casualties that happen all across the ecosystem. If a quarterback who does lift the roster as much as Matthew does, holds out, then you can't get your offense off the ground. And they don't have reliable backup play because Jimmy Garoppolo would be suspended for the first two games of the season if the holdout potentially extended. So I would have probably been more concerned or more flagged about that. I just think that it's really interesting that Sean McVay, again, reiterated the importance of communication and said he thinks... And the other thing that I flagged a little bit was that he thinks that he and Matthew's relationship is better for having undertaken this situation. But again, I can't emphasize enough. All of this happened Tuesday morning over the course of three hours. Again, so it's like the deadline, they seem to, at that point, very much take the deadline seriously and potentially avoided a fracture down the line because they're able to get in a room and talk about, again, simple wants and needs. And just wanted I did just wanted to clarify, too.Adjusted contract means adjusted contract. I don't really know what it's going to look like in terms of year-over-year guarantees, but it does seem like some of the existing guarantees and then maybe a bump in some of those existing guarantees, will be moved and reallocated over different courses of the contract.Okay, we will look for that. Yeah, just a little surprise, little extra something on this first day.Look at you getting spicy, too, Greg, throwing out a name, throwing out another name in the mix here.Why not? I've been saying it on this podcast. Let's get a little more NBA-like. We can spend half the season if staff or the team is struggling a little bit, I could see it. It's like Paul George and Clippers Will he leave? Will he not? We need more of that, I feel like, in the NFL, and there's no bigger names than you could have. Then Dack and Stafford, maybe they could flip spots. I don't think it's going to happen, but just a little fun addition to our Our Tuesday show. Thank you, Jordan. Little extra, Jordan, on this week. Yeah, you're off and running now. Training camp is training camping.I'm off and sweating, actually, is more like it, so it's good. I think the longer, the more I'm awake, the bigger my hair expands.I love it. All right, we'll see you next time in the studio. After the break, I talk to the great Stacey Dales about the Chicago bears back after this. Welcome back to NFL Daily. It's Olympics week. And so we brought on the only Olympian I know personally. Stacey Dales, former Number three overall pick in the WNBA, Oklahoma Hall of Famer. Does it disgust you, Stacey, to work with so many people that are so much less athletic than you, like myself?I Disgust is a strong word, Greg. I don't think I would go there, but you're also aging me a little bit. So thank you for that.How did I do that?As my dogs come in the room.How did I age you? I did not say when you played in the Olympics. I did not say when you were the number three overall pick. I just pointed out that you are an athlete covering great athletes, and then you got to talk to someone like myself, supposedly on an equal And if I were you, I would just be thinking, give me a break. I was big time. Come on.Yeah, I set the standard. What else can I say? No, I think it's because of all the injuries that I've had post-career from all those years ago. But It was incredible. Olympic Week is amazing. It's amazing because there's no greater galvanizing global experience uniformly that is so positive than the Olympics, and it's the best of the best. For me, it's incredible, and it was incredible, and it's an incredible week to watch and follow.Yeah, that must have been... Of all the things you've done in your career, that has to be up there just as a cool experience. It's a really cool experience for me to just have you on this show. We're going to talk about bears, and I will point out for anyone that's watching on YouTube that it's not just your dog Rudy now back there on the couch. You got both Both dogs. We got both dogs hanging out, and they're beautiful.I got more during the pandemic, Greg. Okay, so Blue, she's 80 pounds, 80 plus, and she likes to take over the bench, and they're sisters. Ruby is the oldest to her. I have another one who's older. But people liked my dogs more during the pandemic because of the whole home camera thing than my actual NFL reporting. So go figure.Why not both? The eye candy and then the info. And you had it. You were at Bear's Camp on Tuesday as we're recording this, and you've gotten to see one of the most fascinating teams in the NFL. I finally am happy. I'm sure you are, too, as someone that lives nearby that the bears are actually as interesting as the amount of attention that they get nationally because they always get attention. They always get primetime games. But now with Caleb Williams and a lot of optimism, what is your feel? And you've spent time with them this offseason about how Caleb's adapting. We're about four days into camp for them. They have not started practicing in pads yet. And then more specifically, what they're building for him, what offense and what they want to accomplish with him in his rookie year.Yeah, Greg. So by the way, kudos to the bears for sending Jonathan Owens. Well, not sending him, but you mentioned to start this thing off, the Olympics, to watch his wife, Simone Biles, which is... I'm Canadian and American, so I'm rooting for her.Congrats, by the way. A new American citizen doing that.Yes. And she's the greatest of all time. So that's just a cool storyline. But there's so many with the bears, Greg. It's the best roster we've seen in totality in Chicago at a point where I can't actually remember. I mean, the last time they had a total... Think about the offense alone, Greg. The last time they had a total top five, I think it was, scoring offense, and top five total offense was in the Jay Collar days in, I think, 2013.That was a good team. That was a decent team. It was. They had the conference finals.It was. They had a couple of good receivers, a good running back, and Cuddy could throw the ball a little bit. This is different, though. There's a positivity being at practice. There's an energy. I really think this defense is the the best part of the whole group. They are spectacular. And I say that hesitantly because the receiving core is spectacular. To watch the ball come out of Caleb's hands. He was so good today. You talk about one day, they're not in pads. He can change his platform in a moment's notice, the way he's with his arm angles. And that, coupled with his eyes and his ability to see the field in the The amount of time a quarterback snaps a football, it's unbelievable what they're able to do. That's why your offensive line has to be really the stall word of what you do, right, Greg? But you're talking three seconds, maybe four, if you're lucky, to really figure out and navigate where your reads are. One, two, three, boom, boom, boom, and then find the right one. He'll take the check down. He'll hit the long down, as I would say. I mean, he's going to do it all.Yeah. To me, his tape was so fascinating to watch because I think he more mature than people gave him credit for, for all the big playmaking that he tried to do in this last season, keeping up with a bad defense and overcoming a bad offensive line, maybe really not great skill position players either. He barely put the ball in harm's way. There were not many interceptions. There were not many near-interceptions. He made good decisions. It actually makes me think, and I don't know how much RPO stuff they're doing here at camp. They did a lot of RPOs in college. He's so good throwing to the left. I can't remember a prospect or almost any quarterback, a right-hand, or being able to throw to the left. And you're right, he has that great feel that he almost reminds me a little bit of a tennis player. Sometimes tennis players, like a Roger Federer is a good example. Anz Jabbour would be another one. When they have so many tricks in their bag, when they have so many different things they can do, it can actually take them a little while to figure out what they should focus on and when to use what trick or what club in the bag.And I do wonder with him, do you get a feel from him or the bears? What are the focuses for this rookie season?Yeah, I think you're going to see a lot of motion, and that's going to be part of his development. The number one thing they tried to figure out this offseason with him is the cadence in delivering the play call and getting the play call and delivering it to the huddle because he didn't have to do that in college. I mean, he wasn't required to be in command of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, X, Y, and Z. All of that goes into one call to make sure everybody's on the same page he's now having to do. I can tell you that when he left from the mini camp phase to now the training camp phase, so what is that roughly a month?That's six weeks.There's palpable improvement. And everybody said that and told me that, and everybody publicly denoted that, including head coach Matt Iberflus. When you mentioned the RPO and stuff. I watched him today. Just, again, call it on air. We're not in pads, but just a simple play action walk through routine drill that they were doing. The way he contorts his body and is able to change on an angle. So he comes, like you're saying, to the left, Greg. He comes out to the left, he rolls out to the left, and he's able to just side on that thing and get his body in a very controlled, yet contorted position. And that is important stuff. That's a great combo. So you're going over. I don't know. I'm thinking like eight and nine, but they are somehow better than that. You know what I mean? They're a better team than they were a year ago, but it just takes a little more.I'm quick to pump the brakes at this time of year and picking wins because- Okay.You're a reporter, anyways. That's putting you in. Well, no.When I think about just this division, I think about the receiving core and who's going to throw them the football in Minnesota. That shoot, Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson, that is a dynamic duo right there. The offense Detroit had was one of the best in the league last year. What is Green Bay going to look like with Jeff Hathley? Under Joe Berry, I love Joe Berry, but they're going to cut it loose under Hathley, and he is very defensive back friendly. He coached D-backs for a long time, a long part of his career, and wants to unleash those guys. And they're going to come after you up front, I think, a little bit differently. So it's a brutal division, not unlike how brutal the AFC North is.I think they're the two best divisions. You could convince me either way, but I almost.I would say gruesome divisions. I think they're pound for pound. They're just so gruesome. You know what I mean? Look at the AFC West. They just float the ball all over the place in that division with Mahomes and Herbert, and we'll see what happens in Denver. But I don't know.I love it. I love it. I love that Bear's Packers, which is always a Sunday night It's like when Stafford got to Detroit, I was so happy that the Thanksgiving games were just better for me because the bears are always on, and I'm always getting sold a bill of goods, but now it's for real. This kid is for real. I can't wait. You are for real. Again, the only Olympian I know. So when Canada and the US go against each other, I mean, in women's basketball, that's not much of a competition. I don't even know if Canada made the... I'm I'm just saying right now, the USA hasn't lost. I'm just saying, when was the last time? They literally have never lost in the Olympics. I'm saying, who do you root for here? They're pretty good. Men's basketball, that could be risky.That's a good question. I'm going to bleed the fifth on it because I just became a US citizen.That's pretty cool. Well, it's a treat to have you on, Stacey, and I hope to do it again throughout the season. One of your dogs is leaving the frame. That means it's time for us to go. That is it for NFL Daily. Looking forward to Thursday's show. We're going to talk some fantasy with Pat Dardy, and we'll also get you caught up on all the news of the day. Until then for nick Shook and Stacey Dails. See you next time.

wasn't all financially related in terms of how the conversations unfolded. He made some allusions and references to previous situations, and he even talked about previous failures that he had gone through. I wondered for a minute if that was potentially talking about some of the lack of communication that is very much on the record about having happened between himself and Jared Goff before he traded Jared off. And so I think wanting to avoid that this time around, this situation dragged on. Obviously, they weren't ever talking about that drastic of a move. But in terms of this contract adjustment, wanting to make sure that even on something that you would think is relatively simple like this, that you're communicating very clearly. And there were just, I think, some things that they needed to hammer out and clear up. I think that you have two people who are similar in age and in status and importance in that building in terms of what they feel they contribute and what they feel is necessary and how to have that ecosystem work.

I also think that one of them is revisiting his career in a way where he's thinking, I'm going to be a coach for a lot longer now. And another one is really thinking about, Okay, how much longer am I going to do this? And my impression from the very jump of this in April when Ian Rappaport was first to report that Matthew Stafford was looking for more guarantees on his existing contract, which Sean McFay confirmed that that reporting was accurate. To me, it was a signal, almost. Matthew felt so good. This is my opinion and me reading the tea leaves, not just of Sean wanting to make sure he didn't let past failures and communication lapses sneak into current and existing relationships. But also on the other side of it, Matthew Stafford may be sending a signal out there saying, I'm going to be that dude for more years than all the rest of you, not just Ram's, but the rest of the league maybe thinks I'm going to be because of the year that he had was a part of the mission, but also clearing up some of the language around that was probably part of the mission as well when Sean McVay was addressing communication errors and just different types of things and clearing up. He said that he didn't want to think that people were not accurate, but things did need to be cleared up between the narrative around this entire situation, which I found to be very cryptic.I'm not that clear. If it's not finances, what is it? Is it their relationship? I thought it was just interesting that you said that maybe it's a signal to the league, not just the Rams, but also the Rams, that he believes he can get play at a high level for a long time, and maybe he did not want to be in this year-to-year situation. But the contract That's the contract that he got, guaranteeing 15 million in 2025, that's slicing it down the middle where I don't think that- To be clear, that was the previous contract.So the point of this is that the new will should, according to everything I've heard so far, we don't have the official details. That's how frenetic this came together when they realized they didn't actually know. A lot of the people in the building didn't actually know whether he was going to show up. This we're recording this on Tuesday morning. They didn't know whether he was going to show up to camp or not or whether he could potentially actually have been committing to a holdout. And so getting this done... Sean McFay was scheduled to talk at 9:30 this morning to the point where the social team even started playing the livestream of the lectern, and he just wasn't there. And so then obviously, that's when I texted you, Greg, and I was like, Hey, we're going to get Rans news today.Yeah, and he didn't show up for three more hours, and it did have a happy ending. And I guess because of the guaranteed money, it seems that he would be there in 2025, barring anything crazy. But he has had an injury history, and that hangs over all of this as well.It's a commitment thing, too. 2026, previously not having Now you're being a great mentor to me, Greg, because I totally just cut you off. Just know. That's great.If it's the right time for it, don't wait.That 2026, previously having no guaranteed money, specifically in 2026, of a $26 million base salary, that's like a mercenary type of vibe there. If you think you're going to be playing till near 40 and maybe even beyond that, and that's just, again, that's the tea leaves I'm reading from this whole thing, wanting that guaranteed money, then you're not going to be wanting to play on a mercenary type of deal. I mean, that's basically one year, nothing guaranteed. And then you want commitment from the team that has previously positioned you as the star, the franchise quarterback who made a documentary about you in the offseason. I mean, it just feels like some of the things that Sean McVay was commenting on a bit openly about the nonfinancials had to do more so of communicating needs and wants in a very simple and straightforward way, frankly.Does it change? And we'll wrap on this. I do appreciate you coming on how you think about Stafford's future with the Rams? Because that to me, it wasn't the takeaway from today, but it was just like, Oh, this is something to watch maybe even a little more than I thought. Thought the Dak Prescott could be out there next year. Who knows? Does this just put the Stafford and Ram's relationship a little bit more on your radar, ironically, on a day where they're committing to him financially more?I think if he would have held out, then that would have been a significantly more dramatic story because there are roster casualties that happen all across the ecosystem. If a quarterback who does lift the roster as much as Matthew does, holds out, then you can't get your offense off the ground. And they don't have reliable backup play because Jimmy Garoppolo would be suspended for the first two games of the season if the holdout potentially extended. So I would have probably been more concerned or more flagged about that. I just think that it's really interesting that Sean McVay, again, reiterated the importance of communication and said he thinks... And the other thing that I flagged a little bit was that he thinks that he and Matthew's relationship is better for having undertaken this situation. But again, I can't emphasize enough. All of this happened Tuesday morning over the course of three hours. Again, so it's like the deadline, they seem to, at that point, very much take the deadline seriously and potentially avoided a fracture down the line because they're able to get in a room and talk about, again, simple wants and needs. And just wanted I did just wanted to clarify, too.Adjusted contract means adjusted contract. I don't really know what it's going to look like in terms of year-over-year guarantees, but it does seem like some of the existing guarantees and then maybe a bump in some of those existing guarantees, will be moved and reallocated over different courses of the contract.Okay, we will look for that. Yeah, just a little surprise, little extra something on this first day.Look at you getting spicy, too, Greg, throwing out a name, throwing out another name in the mix here.Why not? I've been saying it on this podcast. Let's get a little more NBA-like. We can spend half the season if staff or the team is struggling a little bit, I could see it. It's like Paul George and Clippers Will he leave? Will he not? We need more of that, I feel like, in the NFL, and there's no bigger names than you could have. Then Dack and Stafford, maybe they could flip spots. I don't think it's going to happen, but just a little fun addition to our Our Tuesday show. Thank you, Jordan. Little extra, Jordan, on this week. Yeah, you're off and running now. Training camp is training camping.I'm off and sweating, actually, is more like it, so it's good. I think the longer, the more I'm awake, the bigger my hair expands.I love it. All right, we'll see you next time in the studio. After the break, I talk to the great Stacey Dales about the Chicago bears back after this. Welcome back to NFL Daily. It's Olympics week. And so we brought on the only Olympian I know personally. Stacey Dales, former Number three overall pick in the WNBA, Oklahoma Hall of Famer. Does it disgust you, Stacey, to work with so many people that are so much less athletic than you, like myself?I Disgust is a strong word, Greg. I don't think I would go there, but you're also aging me a little bit. So thank you for that.How did I do that?As my dogs come in the room.How did I age you? I did not say when you played in the Olympics. I did not say when you were the number three overall pick. I just pointed out that you are an athlete covering great athletes, and then you got to talk to someone like myself, supposedly on an equal And if I were you, I would just be thinking, give me a break. I was big time. Come on.Yeah, I set the standard. What else can I say? No, I think it's because of all the injuries that I've had post-career from all those years ago. But It was incredible. Olympic Week is amazing. It's amazing because there's no greater galvanizing global experience uniformly that is so positive than the Olympics, and it's the best of the best. For me, it's incredible, and it was incredible, and it's an incredible week to watch and follow.Yeah, that must have been... Of all the things you've done in your career, that has to be up there just as a cool experience. It's a really cool experience for me to just have you on this show. We're going to talk about bears, and I will point out for anyone that's watching on YouTube that it's not just your dog Rudy now back there on the couch. You got both Both dogs. We got both dogs hanging out, and they're beautiful.I got more during the pandemic, Greg. Okay, so Blue, she's 80 pounds, 80 plus, and she likes to take over the bench, and they're sisters. Ruby is the oldest to her. I have another one who's older. But people liked my dogs more during the pandemic because of the whole home camera thing than my actual NFL reporting. So go figure.Why not both? The eye candy and then the info. And you had it. You were at Bear's Camp on Tuesday as we're recording this, and you've gotten to see one of the most fascinating teams in the NFL. I finally am happy. I'm sure you are, too, as someone that lives nearby that the bears are actually as interesting as the amount of attention that they get nationally because they always get attention. They always get primetime games. But now with Caleb Williams and a lot of optimism, what is your feel? And you've spent time with them this offseason about how Caleb's adapting. We're about four days into camp for them. They have not started practicing in pads yet. And then more specifically, what they're building for him, what offense and what they want to accomplish with him in his rookie year.Yeah, Greg. So by the way, kudos to the bears for sending Jonathan Owens. Well, not sending him, but you mentioned to start this thing off, the Olympics, to watch his wife, Simone Biles, which is... I'm Canadian and American, so I'm rooting for her.Congrats, by the way. A new American citizen doing that.Yes. And she's the greatest of all time. So that's just a cool storyline. But there's so many with the bears, Greg. It's the best roster we've seen in totality in Chicago at a point where I can't actually remember. I mean, the last time they had a total... Think about the offense alone, Greg. The last time they had a total top five, I think it was, scoring offense, and top five total offense was in the Jay Collar days in, I think, 2013.That was a good team. That was a decent team. It was. They had the conference finals.It was. They had a couple of good receivers, a good running back, and Cuddy could throw the ball a little bit. This is different, though. There's a positivity being at practice. There's an energy. I really think this defense is the the best part of the whole group. They are spectacular. And I say that hesitantly because the receiving core is spectacular. To watch the ball come out of Caleb's hands. He was so good today. You talk about one day, they're not in pads. He can change his platform in a moment's notice, the way he's with his arm angles. And that, coupled with his eyes and his ability to see the field in the The amount of time a quarterback snaps a football, it's unbelievable what they're able to do. That's why your offensive line has to be really the stall word of what you do, right, Greg? But you're talking three seconds, maybe four, if you're lucky, to really figure out and navigate where your reads are. One, two, three, boom, boom, boom, and then find the right one. He'll take the check down. He'll hit the long down, as I would say. I mean, he's going to do it all.Yeah. To me, his tape was so fascinating to watch because I think he more mature than people gave him credit for, for all the big playmaking that he tried to do in this last season, keeping up with a bad defense and overcoming a bad offensive line, maybe really not great skill position players either. He barely put the ball in harm's way. There were not many interceptions. There were not many near-interceptions. He made good decisions. It actually makes me think, and I don't know how much RPO stuff they're doing here at camp. They did a lot of RPOs in college. He's so good throwing to the left. I can't remember a prospect or almost any quarterback, a right-hand, or being able to throw to the left. And you're right, he has that great feel that he almost reminds me a little bit of a tennis player. Sometimes tennis players, like a Roger Federer is a good example. Anz Jabbour would be another one. When they have so many tricks in their bag, when they have so many different things they can do, it can actually take them a little while to figure out what they should focus on and when to use what trick or what club in the bag.And I do wonder with him, do you get a feel from him or the bears? What are the focuses for this rookie season?Yeah, I think you're going to see a lot of motion, and that's going to be part of his development. The number one thing they tried to figure out this offseason with him is the cadence in delivering the play call and getting the play call and delivering it to the huddle because he didn't have to do that in college. I mean, he wasn't required to be in command of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, X, Y, and Z. All of that goes into one call to make sure everybody's on the same page he's now having to do. I can tell you that when he left from the mini camp phase to now the training camp phase, so what is that roughly a month?That's six weeks.There's palpable improvement. And everybody said that and told me that, and everybody publicly denoted that, including head coach Matt Iberflus. When you mentioned the RPO and stuff. I watched him today. Just, again, call it on air. We're not in pads, but just a simple play action walk through routine drill that they were doing. The way he contorts his body and is able to change on an angle. So he comes, like you're saying, to the left, Greg. He comes out to the left, he rolls out to the left, and he's able to just side on that thing and get his body in a very controlled, yet contorted position. And that is important stuff. That's a great combo. So you're going over. I don't know. I'm thinking like eight and nine, but they are somehow better than that. You know what I mean? They're a better team than they were a year ago, but it just takes a little more.I'm quick to pump the brakes at this time of year and picking wins because- Okay.You're a reporter, anyways. That's putting you in. Well, no.When I think about just this division, I think about the receiving core and who's going to throw them the football in Minnesota. That shoot, Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson, that is a dynamic duo right there. The offense Detroit had was one of the best in the league last year. What is Green Bay going to look like with Jeff Hathley? Under Joe Berry, I love Joe Berry, but they're going to cut it loose under Hathley, and he is very defensive back friendly. He coached D-backs for a long time, a long part of his career, and wants to unleash those guys. And they're going to come after you up front, I think, a little bit differently. So it's a brutal division, not unlike how brutal the AFC North is.I think they're the two best divisions. You could convince me either way, but I almost.I would say gruesome divisions. I think they're pound for pound. They're just so gruesome. You know what I mean? Look at the AFC West. They just float the ball all over the place in that division with Mahomes and Herbert, and we'll see what happens in Denver. But I don't know.I love it. I love it. I love that Bear's Packers, which is always a Sunday night It's like when Stafford got to Detroit, I was so happy that the Thanksgiving games were just better for me because the bears are always on, and I'm always getting sold a bill of goods, but now it's for real. This kid is for real. I can't wait. You are for real. Again, the only Olympian I know. So when Canada and the US go against each other, I mean, in women's basketball, that's not much of a competition. I don't even know if Canada made the... I'm I'm just saying right now, the USA hasn't lost. I'm just saying, when was the last time? They literally have never lost in the Olympics. I'm saying, who do you root for here? They're pretty good. Men's basketball, that could be risky.That's a good question. I'm going to bleed the fifth on it because I just became a US citizen.That's pretty cool. Well, it's a treat to have you on, Stacey, and I hope to do it again throughout the season. One of your dogs is leaving the frame. That means it's time for us to go. That is it for NFL Daily. Looking forward to Thursday's show. We're going to talk some fantasy with Pat Dardy, and we'll also get you caught up on all the news of the day. Until then for nick Shook and Stacey Dails. See you next time.

was a part of the mission, but also clearing up some of the language around that was probably part of the mission as well when Sean McVay was addressing communication errors and just different types of things and clearing up. He said that he didn't want to think that people were not accurate, but things did need to be cleared up between the narrative around this entire situation, which I found to be very cryptic.

I'm not that clear. If it's not finances, what is it? Is it their relationship? I thought it was just interesting that you said that maybe it's a signal to the league, not just the Rams, but also the Rams, that he believes he can get play at a high level for a long time, and maybe he did not want to be in this year-to-year situation. But the contract That's the contract that he got, guaranteeing 15 million in 2025, that's slicing it down the middle where I don't think that- To be clear, that was the previous contract.

So the point of this is that the new will should, according to everything I've heard so far, we don't have the official details. That's how frenetic this came together when they realized they didn't actually know. A lot of the people in the building didn't actually know whether he was going to show up. This we're recording this on Tuesday morning. They didn't know whether he was going to show up to camp or not or whether he could potentially actually have been committing to a holdout. And so getting this done... Sean McFay was scheduled to talk at 9:30 this morning to the point where the social team even started playing the livestream of the lectern, and he just wasn't there. And so then obviously, that's when I texted you, Greg, and I was like, Hey, we're going to get Rans news today.

Yeah, and he didn't show up for three more hours, and it did have a happy ending. And I guess because of the guaranteed money, it seems that he would be there in 2025, barring anything crazy. But he has had an injury history, and that hangs over all of this as well.

It's a commitment thing, too. 2026, previously not having Now you're being a great mentor to me, Greg, because I totally just cut you off. Just know. That's great.

If it's the right time for it, don't wait.

That 2026, previously having no guaranteed money, specifically in 2026, of a $26 million base salary, that's like a mercenary type of vibe there. If you think you're going to be playing till near 40 and maybe even beyond that, and that's just, again, that's the tea leaves I'm reading from this whole thing, wanting that guaranteed money, then you're not going to be wanting to play on a mercenary type of deal. I mean, that's basically one year, nothing guaranteed. And then you want commitment from the team that has previously positioned you as the star, the franchise quarterback who made a documentary about you in the offseason. I mean, it just feels like some of the things that Sean McVay was commenting on a bit openly about the nonfinancials had to do more so of communicating needs and wants in a very simple and straightforward way, frankly.

Does it change? And we'll wrap on this. I do appreciate you coming on how you think about Stafford's future with the Rams? Because that to me, it wasn't the takeaway from today, but it was just like, Oh, this is something to watch maybe even a little more than I thought. Thought the Dak Prescott could be out there next year. Who knows? Does this just put the Stafford and Ram's relationship a little bit more on your radar, ironically, on a day where they're committing to him financially more?

I think if he would have held out, then that would have been a significantly more dramatic story because there are roster casualties that happen all across the ecosystem. If a quarterback who does lift the roster as much as Matthew does, holds out, then you can't get your offense off the ground. And they don't have reliable backup play because Jimmy Garoppolo would be suspended for the first two games of the season if the holdout potentially extended. So I would have probably been more concerned or more flagged about that. I just think that it's really interesting that Sean McVay, again, reiterated the importance of communication and said he thinks... And the other thing that I flagged a little bit was that he thinks that he and Matthew's relationship is better for having undertaken this situation. But again, I can't emphasize enough. All of this happened Tuesday morning over the course of three hours. Again, so it's like the deadline, they seem to, at that point, very much take the deadline seriously and potentially avoided a fracture down the line because they're able to get in a room and talk about, again, simple wants and needs. And just wanted I did just wanted to clarify, too.

Adjusted contract means adjusted contract. I don't really know what it's going to look like in terms of year-over-year guarantees, but it does seem like some of the existing guarantees and then maybe a bump in some of those existing guarantees, will be moved and reallocated over different courses of the contract.

Okay, we will look for that. Yeah, just a little surprise, little extra something on this first day.

Look at you getting spicy, too, Greg, throwing out a name, throwing out another name in the mix here.

Why not? I've been saying it on this podcast. Let's get a little more NBA-like. We can spend half the season if staff or the team is struggling a little bit, I could see it. It's like Paul George and Clippers Will he leave? Will he not? We need more of that, I feel like, in the NFL, and there's no bigger names than you could have. Then Dack and Stafford, maybe they could flip spots. I don't think it's going to happen, but just a little fun addition to our Our Tuesday show. Thank you, Jordan. Little extra, Jordan, on this week. Yeah, you're off and running now. Training camp is training camping.

I'm off and sweating, actually, is more like it, so it's good. I think the longer, the more I'm awake, the bigger my hair expands.

I love it. All right, we'll see you next time in the studio. After the break, I talk to the great Stacey Dales about the Chicago bears back after this. Welcome back to NFL Daily. It's Olympics week. And so we brought on the only Olympian I know personally. Stacey Dales, former Number three overall pick in the WNBA, Oklahoma Hall of Famer. Does it disgust you, Stacey, to work with so many people that are so much less athletic than you, like myself?

I Disgust is a strong word, Greg. I don't think I would go there, but you're also aging me a little bit. So thank you for that.

How did I do that?

As my dogs come in the room.

How did I age you? I did not say when you played in the Olympics. I did not say when you were the number three overall pick. I just pointed out that you are an athlete covering great athletes, and then you got to talk to someone like myself, supposedly on an equal And if I were you, I would just be thinking, give me a break. I was big time. Come on.

Yeah, I set the standard. What else can I say? No, I think it's because of all the injuries that I've had post-career from all those years ago. But It was incredible. Olympic Week is amazing. It's amazing because there's no greater galvanizing global experience uniformly that is so positive than the Olympics, and it's the best of the best. For me, it's incredible, and it was incredible, and it's an incredible week to watch and follow.

Yeah, that must have been... Of all the things you've done in your career, that has to be up there just as a cool experience. It's a really cool experience for me to just have you on this show. We're going to talk about bears, and I will point out for anyone that's watching on YouTube that it's not just your dog Rudy now back there on the couch. You got both Both dogs. We got both dogs hanging out, and they're beautiful.

I got more during the pandemic, Greg. Okay, so Blue, she's 80 pounds, 80 plus, and she likes to take over the bench, and they're sisters. Ruby is the oldest to her. I have another one who's older. But people liked my dogs more during the pandemic because of the whole home camera thing than my actual NFL reporting. So go figure.

Why not both? The eye candy and then the info. And you had it. You were at Bear's Camp on Tuesday as we're recording this, and you've gotten to see one of the most fascinating teams in the NFL. I finally am happy. I'm sure you are, too, as someone that lives nearby that the bears are actually as interesting as the amount of attention that they get nationally because they always get attention. They always get primetime games. But now with Caleb Williams and a lot of optimism, what is your feel? And you've spent time with them this offseason about how Caleb's adapting. We're about four days into camp for them. They have not started practicing in pads yet. And then more specifically, what they're building for him, what offense and what they want to accomplish with him in his rookie year.

Yeah, Greg. So by the way, kudos to the bears for sending Jonathan Owens. Well, not sending him, but you mentioned to start this thing off, the Olympics, to watch his wife, Simone Biles, which is... I'm Canadian and American, so I'm rooting for her.

Congrats, by the way. A new American citizen doing that.

Yes. And she's the greatest of all time. So that's just a cool storyline. But there's so many with the bears, Greg. It's the best roster we've seen in totality in Chicago at a point where I can't actually remember. I mean, the last time they had a total... Think about the offense alone, Greg. The last time they had a total top five, I think it was, scoring offense, and top five total offense was in the Jay Collar days in, I think, 2013.

That was a good team. That was a decent team. It was. They had the conference finals.

It was. They had a couple of good receivers, a good running back, and Cuddy could throw the ball a little bit. This is different, though. There's a positivity being at practice. There's an energy. I really think this defense is the the best part of the whole group. They are spectacular. And I say that hesitantly because the receiving core is spectacular. To watch the ball come out of Caleb's hands. He was so good today. You talk about one day, they're not in pads. He can change his platform in a moment's notice, the way he's with his arm angles. And that, coupled with his eyes and his ability to see the field in the The amount of time a quarterback snaps a football, it's unbelievable what they're able to do. That's why your offensive line has to be really the stall word of what you do, right, Greg? But you're talking three seconds, maybe four, if you're lucky, to really figure out and navigate where your reads are. One, two, three, boom, boom, boom, and then find the right one. He'll take the check down. He'll hit the long down, as I would say. I mean, he's going to do it all.

Yeah. To me, his tape was so fascinating to watch because I think he more mature than people gave him credit for, for all the big playmaking that he tried to do in this last season, keeping up with a bad defense and overcoming a bad offensive line, maybe really not great skill position players either. He barely put the ball in harm's way. There were not many interceptions. There were not many near-interceptions. He made good decisions. It actually makes me think, and I don't know how much RPO stuff they're doing here at camp. They did a lot of RPOs in college. He's so good throwing to the left. I can't remember a prospect or almost any quarterback, a right-hand, or being able to throw to the left. And you're right, he has that great feel that he almost reminds me a little bit of a tennis player. Sometimes tennis players, like a Roger Federer is a good example. Anz Jabbour would be another one. When they have so many tricks in their bag, when they have so many different things they can do, it can actually take them a little while to figure out what they should focus on and when to use what trick or what club in the bag.

And I do wonder with him, do you get a feel from him or the bears? What are the focuses for this rookie season?

Yeah, I think you're going to see a lot of motion, and that's going to be part of his development. The number one thing they tried to figure out this offseason with him is the cadence in delivering the play call and getting the play call and delivering it to the huddle because he didn't have to do that in college. I mean, he wasn't required to be in command of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, X, Y, and Z. All of that goes into one call to make sure everybody's on the same page he's now having to do. I can tell you that when he left from the mini camp phase to now the training camp phase, so what is that roughly a month?

That's six weeks.

There's palpable improvement. And everybody said that and told me that, and everybody publicly denoted that, including head coach Matt Iberflus. When you mentioned the RPO and stuff. I watched him today. Just, again, call it on air. We're not in pads, but just a simple play action walk through routine drill that they were doing. The way he contorts his body and is able to change on an angle. So he comes, like you're saying, to the left, Greg. He comes out to the left, he rolls out to the left, and he's able to just side on that thing and get his body in a very controlled, yet contorted position. And that is important stuff. That's a great combo. So you're going over. I don't know. I'm thinking like eight and nine, but they are somehow better than that. You know what I mean? They're a better team than they were a year ago, but it just takes a little more.I'm quick to pump the brakes at this time of year and picking wins because- Okay.You're a reporter, anyways. That's putting you in. Well, no.When I think about just this division, I think about the receiving core and who's going to throw them the football in Minnesota. That shoot, Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson, that is a dynamic duo right there. The offense Detroit had was one of the best in the league last year. What is Green Bay going to look like with Jeff Hathley? Under Joe Berry, I love Joe Berry, but they're going to cut it loose under Hathley, and he is very defensive back friendly. He coached D-backs for a long time, a long part of his career, and wants to unleash those guys. And they're going to come after you up front, I think, a little bit differently. So it's a brutal division, not unlike how brutal the AFC North is.I think they're the two best divisions. You could convince me either way, but I almost.I would say gruesome divisions. I think they're pound for pound. They're just so gruesome. You know what I mean? Look at the AFC West. They just float the ball all over the place in that division with Mahomes and Herbert, and we'll see what happens in Denver. But I don't know.I love it. I love it. I love that Bear's Packers, which is always a Sunday night It's like when Stafford got to Detroit, I was so happy that the Thanksgiving games were just better for me because the bears are always on, and I'm always getting sold a bill of goods, but now it's for real. This kid is for real. I can't wait. You are for real. Again, the only Olympian I know. So when Canada and the US go against each other, I mean, in women's basketball, that's not much of a competition. I don't even know if Canada made the... I'm I'm just saying right now, the USA hasn't lost. I'm just saying, when was the last time? They literally have never lost in the Olympics. I'm saying, who do you root for here? They're pretty good. Men's basketball, that could be risky.That's a good question. I'm going to bleed the fifth on it because I just became a US citizen.That's pretty cool. Well, it's a treat to have you on, Stacey, and I hope to do it again throughout the season. One of your dogs is leaving the frame. That means it's time for us to go. That is it for NFL Daily. Looking forward to Thursday's show. We're going to talk some fantasy with Pat Dardy, and we'll also get you caught up on all the news of the day. Until then for nick Shook and Stacey Dails. See you next time.

That's a great combo. So you're going over. I don't know. I'm thinking like eight and nine, but they are somehow better than that. You know what I mean? They're a better team than they were a year ago, but it just takes a little more.

I'm quick to pump the brakes at this time of year and picking wins because- Okay.

You're a reporter, anyways. That's putting you in. Well, no.

When I think about just this division, I think about the receiving core and who's going to throw them the football in Minnesota. That shoot, Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson, that is a dynamic duo right there. The offense Detroit had was one of the best in the league last year. What is Green Bay going to look like with Jeff Hathley? Under Joe Berry, I love Joe Berry, but they're going to cut it loose under Hathley, and he is very defensive back friendly. He coached D-backs for a long time, a long part of his career, and wants to unleash those guys. And they're going to come after you up front, I think, a little bit differently. So it's a brutal division, not unlike how brutal the AFC North is.

I think they're the two best divisions. You could convince me either way, but I almost.

I would say gruesome divisions. I think they're pound for pound. They're just so gruesome. You know what I mean? Look at the AFC West. They just float the ball all over the place in that division with Mahomes and Herbert, and we'll see what happens in Denver. But I don't know.

I love it. I love it. I love that Bear's Packers, which is always a Sunday night It's like when Stafford got to Detroit, I was so happy that the Thanksgiving games were just better for me because the bears are always on, and I'm always getting sold a bill of goods, but now it's for real. This kid is for real. I can't wait. You are for real. Again, the only Olympian I know. So when Canada and the US go against each other, I mean, in women's basketball, that's not much of a competition. I don't even know if Canada made the... I'm I'm just saying right now, the USA hasn't lost. I'm just saying, when was the last time? They literally have never lost in the Olympics. I'm saying, who do you root for here? They're pretty good. Men's basketball, that could be risky.

That's a good question. I'm going to bleed the fifth on it because I just became a US citizen.

That's pretty cool. Well, it's a treat to have you on, Stacey, and I hope to do it again throughout the season. One of your dogs is leaving the frame. That means it's time for us to go. That is it for NFL Daily. Looking forward to Thursday's show. We're going to talk some fantasy with Pat Dardy, and we'll also get you caught up on all the news of the day. Until then for nick Shook and Stacey Dails. See you next time.