 What's up everybody and welcome to another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast. I'm Scott bear inside The Atlanta Falcons headquarters and flowery We're back people back together No joke guys the Atlanta Falcons cafeteria legit fan Services, they know what they're doing. We had some queso today for lunch full epic Fiesta really yeah, I know you all came on to listen to us talk about queso, but you know And we're back off the rails in one minute again God that was 30 seconds like a tradition But nonetheless it was Chris this time. It was he started talking about fancy food and it was delicious Enjoyed it. Anyway, we didn't come on just to give you a food review. I could yo, yeah, for sure And they'd get several stars probably five But nonetheless we are here to talk about the news of the week Yeah, really the what happened on Monday afternoon that Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been suspended indefinitely at least through the 2022 season for violating the NFL's gambling policy Nonetheless, he's gonna be unavailable to the Falcons for the 2022 season and that's what the focus of this podcast is gonna be We already know what happened now The discussion is what happens next how does this impact the Falcons how has it impacted the Falcons? It's been a crazy turn of events for how long have Has Calvin really been the topic of are they gonna trade him or are they not going to a trade him now? they're obviously definitely not going to to trade him and They're left with Somebody who is still with the team, but again suspended and unavailable To the team going into 2022 it all happened in a whirlwind Tori You know over the course of a Monday afternoon Maybe it broke the internet. I don't know it definitely felt that way because we're in this little micro Yeah, also, I just hit my head on the back of a cabinet So if I start talking crazy, that's great. That's it But no I went into yesterday Thinking we're recording this podcast on Tuesday. So the Calvin stuff happened on Monday I went into Monday thinking that I'm coming back from the combine. I'm gonna eat healthy Maybe eat something green like a salad maybe and I the Calvin news drops and breaks And I end up eating a pint of ice cream for lunch shout out Ben and Jerry's milk and cookies sponsor me at Tori underscore Macalini But no on a serious note. This was really really big news in terms of where the Falcons are At this point in the 2022 off season and where they're going just kind of looking at The salary cap, which is something that I've been looking at gosh every single day for the last month and a half The main thing you need to know about how this affects the cap is that Calvin really was on the books for 11.1 million in 2022 That was his cap hit and essentially with him suspended for the 2022 season that money tolls Which also ultimately means that that 11.1? Million dollars is off of the Falcons books So if you were to go on places like over the cap or spot rack right now Whereas the Falcons before this news broke were seven million dollars over the cap They now have three point three seven five million in cap space And we've got a week until the start of the league year and that's kind of where they are and how this has Changed things for them just in in that scope if we're just talking money and in terms of the Uncertainty at the wide receiver spot. It was always there, right Chris It weren't very many guys under contract You wouldn't know if Calvin was going to be here or not in terms of the the trade speculation that was going all over the place but receivers There aren't very many under contract at this point. No, yeah, the receiving core is in dire need It's baron and Tory story actually just made me remember that I forgot to take my chicken breast off the freezer But you know, that's I guess for a different day for dinner tonight. I'm just kind of kicking myself right now But let's stay on topic but I just had to say that a lot because I was kicking myself, but Yeah, the Falcons only have Frank Darby on Contract next year as a past catcher who as a guy who caught a pass in 2021 They have a lot of day a lot of days the key is who's a restricted free agent and I'm as you know Restricted meaning, you know, you give him a tender and he was undrafted So the Scott pointed to me yesterday my story that when you're an undrafted free agent You can you can do the tender for the original round But you wouldn't get any compensation if the key is is signed and then there are a couple guys who the falcon signed to futures contracts who have had who one who's had a stint in the NFL and Others who others who played on special teams and another in the Canadian football football league So it's safe to say the Falcons receiving core is it looks very different than what it did two and a half three years ago And it might be you know right now as it looks amongst the bottom of the bottom of the league in terms of the players Quite Baron quite Baron quite not good, but I think that I think the way to look at it, too is kind of like Regardless of what happened with the Calvin situation, there were always reports that that he might have been On the way out at right regardless. So yeah, you would think that that Arthur Smith and Terry Fautner were prepared for The possibility of him not being here not in this situation, but the possibility of not being here So while the receiver room was completely different like we said is baron Obviously, there might be the worst in the league at the at the moment They have a lot of time to figure things out. Yeah And hopefully we'll have a bit of cap space to do it with you know If you think you can extend the right guys restructure the right guys You hope that you have that kind of money to be able to rebuild it the way you want to at least over the course of the next Two years right and yep for sure, and I don't want to go into what we might get in later But yeah, yeah, so we're gonna over the course of this Podcast we're gonna kind of go over how the Calvin Ridley news Changes the outlook of the 2022 offseason whether it does or not What this might mean for the possibility of Russell gauge returning to the Falcons increase decrease remain the same and in light of the news How high are you drafts and wide receiver? There's some mock drafts out there that take number eight could be used on a past catcher Falcons have used past the first round draft picks on past catchers Quite a few times. Yeah, they've landed a lot of pretty talented guys. Yep. I haven't really missed Yeah, it's a long it's almost the opposite of past rusher. It seems lately Yeah, a good point a bunch of star quality type of guys But anyway, we are gonna get into all those topics But before we do a big thank you to our sponsor Microsoft Windows 11 the official operating system of the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons The all-new Windows 11 is here to bring you closer to what you love including amazing super-duper awesome sauce Podcasts like this one Atlanta Falcons final whistle learn all about the awesome new features of Windows 11 at windows Com so let's dive into the first topic and it's the most general of all of them How does this change the outlook of the 2022 offseason or does it? Maybe that's another amendment. Yeah. Yeah. No first off the way you said so this question's a little general Right at no dagger dagger to the heart Scott. I think it's a good broad question to launch. Okay conversation It was a compliment. I don't know. Maybe it was backhanded. This is stuff to tell Here's the thing Chris and I yeah, I saw the look Coming after my question I'm trying to get you in a good argumentative place. Okay. That is true Scott and I are gonna fight on a pot on a podcast sooner or later. I keep trying to provoke you and you just won't He does he does keep trying to provoke me. Um, he was like just trash talk me a little bit And I'm like I don't operate like that. I let my work to the trash Any who okay, so you're looking at like how this idea of Calvin this Calvin situation Changes the outlook of the 2022 offseason, which is the general question that I wrote I think there are two schools of thought here. I think there's one school of thought here where you're like, okay It's really not that bad kind of going back to what Chris was saying You already knew going into this 2022 offseason that regardless of what was gonna happen with Calvin Ridley You had to bring in wide receivers to a certain degree and and we know that the we've talked about this before the Yak bros like we've been talking on this podcast and in these roundtables how the Falcons need some guys who can Just run over some people and so you're already thinking that this organization is already out on the ground Whether it's at the combine or talking when we get to free agency talking to free agents who kind of fit this mold of Rebuilding this wide receiver room and then you also think about well, okay Well, Calvin Ridley Provided you cap relief, you know, you have eleven point one million dollars. That's now off the books and that I mean That's gonna help you regardless the other school of thought here is that Oh my gosh, it sucks Because you do not get draft capital from what's going on with Calvin Ridley right now I fully believe that if there was a trade setup for Calvin Ridley that he would be worth I definitely think a second round pick. I think a team would have been a but would have been willing to Take Calvin Ridley and give up a second round pick for him that is off the table now and so it's like At the exact same time of saying like, oh, you got the cap relief The Falcons were already in this position where they were looking for wide receivers at the exact same time It's like But you could have had all of that And draft capital which at this point in time Is really important to this organization. It's gold right it is and I think that that's the if you're looking at how What changes is that they might have lost a third Second round pick right and that's a major factor considering They already have whatever three in the top 58 four in the top 70 ish or something like that adding another Person that that could possibly step in and make an immediate impact or help Flesh out that this depth chart with that many high picks you you could go Twice at wide receiver you could go twice at ed rush, right? I think that that is a major loss with this turn of events Right because we didn't know if if he was going to come back But losing that asset especially when it was it was very possible that they could have either ended up with a Valuable trade asset or as last time that we talked about Calvin I said then an excellent football player among all everything the uncertainty and like and the speculation a guy who Is a real talent. So from that side of it It's a disappointment that through all of this The Falcons won't get anything additional from it outside of the cap relief Now the cap relief isn't nothing because they're now cap compliant at least and there still moves to be made But uh, I think if you're the Falcons this kind of everything was out of their control He was not on this team. He was on a non football injury And uh, that is the that's the loss that you couldn't really factor into this whole thing Yeah, I guess I'm I'm wondering in terms of of their outlook is like How are they going to look to rebuild the the wide receiving core because like you said Calvin is not Like Calvin is really good. Really good. There's a hard and hard to It's not a long list of guys better than than playing receiver than than Calvin really or Julio before him Right or Julio before him. So are you looking to Sign someone in free agency. Are you looking to to build through the draft? And I think like you mentioned with with Calvin before too with the second round pick. I think I think even uh, you see the the For example, the eagles for example We have three first round picks this year and one of their first round picks is because carcel went's played 75 of his snaps The Falcons could have very likely been in a situation where they they traded Calvin for a second round pick That could have turned into a first based off of playing time because of this year So it even could have became that so it's really it's really a you know hurt hurts you on that sense too And also I think it hurts you because When you come back to 2023 and let's say Calvin really gets reinstated in 2023 And he's back on the books for 11.1 million in 2023 and you have that fifth year option still intact at the Falcons want to hit the trade market with Calvin as a candidate I don't know if you're getting the same of what I doubt you're getting the same Offers as what you would at this point in time. Right. Yeah, and I and I think My thought too is having that That guy that lamborghini That at least must tell me about that. I always talk about having that number one guy Who? Draws attention from from kyle who helps who helps your running game that guy out there that forces defenses to think twice About how they play you who that's my thought who is going to be that guy I don't know if that guy can be Like a rustle gauge, right if he is that guy that makes defense think twice about what they're doing In coverage, maybe he can become that guy Maybe other people think he is but is that going to be through the draft or yeah Are you going to try to get a young guy through the draft or maybe sign one? That's how I look at it What are they going to do there? It's and it's tough because while there are Jamar chases a great example of somebody that can step in and wow right away And justin jefferson is another one. That's not altogether frequent That's pretty rare to get somebody who can come in and be the game changer a kyle pits type of player That that doesn't always happen even with the good ones. So can you be reliant on a rookie? Um to come in and be somebody who can take legitimate who's respected enough to take legitimate pressure off of kyle pits and So yeah, there's a lot of factors in there. Um, and I think but in terms of it radically changing That monday radically changed the falcons outlook I as much as I want to debate. I don't think that we can hear it. It's not a complete Paradigm shift or whatever. Yeah So it's just a matter of how they restock this wide receiver core what they do with that extra space 11 million could be not one Uh receiver but two. Um, just as we kind of transition here We're recording this on a tuesday afternoon There's been a lot of activity in the receiver market in that chris godwin and Devante atoms have been tagged mic williams has been signed to the tune of three for 60 40 ish guaranteed Not like the falcons were going to be in play for those players But what it does is mic williams establish is The market and an early market you take two a players Maybe you didn't expect them to be on the market anyway, but the market keeps shrinking, right? So those next tier players just got a little bit more valuable is all i'm trying to say so When when you're trying to find that guy in free agency this person that we're talking about You know, it gets a little complicated and is just re-signing russell gauge. Is that the answer? So the next question is does This change the desire or the need to re-sign russell gauge um I'll say it does and here's why if they go into next off season with Nobody except frank darby who has any experience in the system No one to teach other people whether it's a veteran import or a young draft pick Nobody to explain the intricacies of it now everybody just learned the offense last year So it's possible, but i'm just saying that i think feel like that's a little bit of a setback because receiver is complicated Arthur smiths moves people everywhere rus could be that that type of player to at least be that peer who can lead this position group lead this um Because there's a new you know that uh I just think that that would be a pro to signing him back. He's a really good third down receiver So in terms of trust You matt ryan trusts him he goes to rus on third down a lot at the same time Is he like straight up yak bro? Does he maybe fit a mold of what you think of when you think of a j brown or you think of some of the Physicality that the titans played with under arthur smith. I don't know But that's that's my vote for why i think it's more important to sign him than it was yesterday Yeah, no, I I agree that it does change your outlook And I think it puts more weight on the on that decision of what you do with wrestle gauge I also think Just to throw another curveball in there. I also think that it changes the way that you view cordial patterson As a free agent. I think you look at both the situation of cordial patterson and wrestle gauge And you're like In the exact same breath kind of being like these are two guys that meant a lot to our offense last year The market value is not going to be Astronomically high and we can make this work if you're the falcons like I don't see why not Um, and I I even was just thinking I think it honestly for me Even though you're looking at a wide receiver room, we know the impact that cordial patterson had on this offensive unit He's a pass catcher too and I think that both of those guys It almost enhances their chances of being brought back when you have one some cap relief and two your wide receiver number one from Training camp 2021 is no longer around and I don't know. I do think it changes the outlook of Both of them. I really do. Yeah, I think I think it changes it And I think all the the reasons that you point out are valid in terms of having a guy in there Who knows the system and understands the locker room and she understands what's good in the food corridor things like that But I mean, I think at the end of the day, you know, it's the NFL So right you can you can bring someone in here who's gonna gonna adjust to a new system who can who can play Who can play here who can adjust it's their professionals Yeah, I I do I just think with with russ. I think it comes down to what do you value more? Is it do you value the trust factor? Do you value or do you want to just clean house and try to bring in Guys that you want. Yeah. I just want this is an opportunity where you could say right now We're just gonna clean house. Yeah, and all all guys that we want. I think I think it depends on where they see russ' talent I agree how they how good do they think rustle gauge is and if they think that it can be replicated Like do you think that you can replicate rustle gauges production with somebody who's cheaper? I personally think you can Like I think you could go out and find someone who can do what he did Yeah, it's it's a matter of where his market value sits and For as much as we're talking about that some that there are difficulties in reshaping this position group There are also opportunities here that they don't have any contractual burdens From the previous regime about what type of receivers that that group liked versus this group So you can go out and you can get maybe some mid-level guys You can take they're not going to spend that 11 million dollars from really on too whiteouts But you can split it in half and get two quality players or right You can go use that money on somebody that better fits your system and to that point you think all right Well, if if they're going to clean house and they're going to start fresh Then I how many times have I said a manual sanders on these podcasts? But I think like a player like that who can come in and Steady a room, you know a good You know kind of culture fit who can establish and set a tone even if he's not going to catch 1,100 yards Um, I think all those things are interesting. So my first thought and I still kind of stand by it is hey look rusk has a lot of Plusses there, but I do see Chris's point too that it's a really unique You know that you can go out and get guys of skill sets that you want right and kind of start over in that regard And I'm and also I'm trying to say that maybe they don't want rusk. He might be a guy that they do Oh, yeah, sure. Yeah, but again, this is opportunity to do that. Yeah, so these are all hypothetical conversations For sure. So another hypothetical here is that here we go When you have transition transition I'm just gonna say that right. Yeah, just transition transition. Uh, that's what scott puts in my articles when I need to transition He just rides in all caps transition When you look at The nfl draft And what they might do there I think it's pretty obvious. They're gonna draft somebody right, but you would hope wouldn't you a player draft a player Okay, let me draft chris ram with the number eight overall pick. I have a real I have a real problem just in my general life of talking about things that i'm thinking about in my head And I clue no one into what's going on. This is true. I just did that Sometimes scott just starts talking and I'm like, I don't know. I have no idea where you're at What's going on well, let's get more specific at number eight overall Increase decrease remain the same Taking a wide receiver at that spot I don't think it changed as much of anything in terms of I mean, I'm still team taking a cornerback And that is I am after going to the combine. I feel good about taking a cornerback at number eight I like sauce sauce. I like sauce. I'm not sure he's gonna be there I know I don't think he's gonna be there after the combine. That's the problem. So if sauce isn't there I know, uh, I just recently read, uh, the athletics dane, uh, brugglers, uh, number His third mock draft and he had cal hamilton going to the falcons at number eight But he did add a sentence at the end where he said that at number eight He could also see ohio state scarott wilson making a lot of sense for the falcons and it's like Okay, that's interesting too, but I'm I'm not I'm I can't get past Like I can't look at the first round of this draft and not go defense for the falcons I just can't um as as I think we've talked about before in other other ideas I think The falcons have four picks in the top 75. So you got eight was it 43 58 74? I think and so I think you can come out of that and you can get you can get a good receiver in that in those four picks Not even just receiver there. I think most mock drafts have like eight to nine edge rushers or linebackers in the top In their top in their first 32 for and not all those guys are going to go First round so you might get some of those guys sex or if you want to go a receiver if you want to go If you want to go edge rusher, I don't know about quarterback I don't know. Yeah, but if you go receiver or edge rusher, I think you could you know T Higgins was drafted in the second round. I think you can get You can especially you saw what nine guys run sub 4 4 Yeah, these guys are this is a good crop of of receiver. So they're deep But I do think That when you look at someone we go talk about yak bros and some like that you look at trailing berks It's like this is uh, this seems like a yak bro Also, you got to think about it too. How keen are the falcons on Moving up or moving down, right, you know, like if they need more Capital or they want or they have a guy that they know they want Who's to say they don't move up or move down or move into the first round with those Yeah for for a second for a second Especially because if they're in the late 20s, let's say berks is I don't know somehow floating around there And they can get in late 20s that that team is really only dropping A few picks because the falcons have a relatively early second round pick plus picking up something else of of great value I'm always of the belief that when you're in this position as a roster, you want as many swings as possible But it's just an option. It's it's an option that having these assets gets going back to the Looping back to the start of this thing man, and like yet another asset Would have been obviously beneficial here. Um, I just think this is in general the the draft for The falcons right now is uh Not a position that I think Most people would Would it be like right the situation that there? Yeah, no is a difficult position like what even as I'm talking about it I say one thing and I'm thinking like well, I don't know any other way That's the thing is there are so many freaking needs on this 2022 roster They have so many needs that it's like you could go any which way shape or form and I'm like, okay There's a solid argument for doing that. Exactly. So I don't know. I mean I I think me personally right now as I'm sitting here I would say no to drafting a receiver at number eight But I'm not saying no to drafting a receiver with either of those two second round picks Right or or going up, you know one late. Yeah, or moving on the draft board to get what you want Uh with with this Russell Wilson to Denver news I think it makes the This is more draft talk But it makes that number eight spot in terms of trading down because before you'd want to get above Denver to get a quarterback now they have theirs that need isn't quite as strong anymore But that's a topic for another podcast. We're gonna have quite a few of these Moving forward so you head towards the free agency and the draft So, you know stay tuned Rate review subscribe all that fun stuff And we will talk to you guys gosh the next time we do it. It's gonna be knocking on free agencies door Yeah, that that'll be what we talk about. I'm sure All of next pod. Yeah, man. I'll talk to you guys next week