 What's up everybody and welcome to another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast I'm Scott Bayer here as always with Tori McElaney and Chris Rimm and we just got done talking about how I Wanted to come up with a new introductory phrase and how I couldn't think of it My brain is so hard-wired to saying exactly that Chris Rimm gave the stamp of approval That means everything to me. So I was able to go with what we've always done I wish that my stamp of approval is not on on the list You haven't even said that you want my stamp of approval and now I'm feeling left out I know Chris is honestly between the three of us Chris is definitely like if we're going on like a cool meter Which me even saying the word cool meter means that I'm not even on the meter I think you know what? Fine Everybody's got our thing, you know And we have such a cool topic today fun transition great transition right there Forced laughter Nonetheless, we are gonna talk Falcons football today. I swear it And we're gonna dive into our question of the week Which is Which pertains to the future or Falcons future of one Cordero Patterson somebody who's made No bones about it. He'd like to return to Atlanta for a second year. That's very clear It's not necessarily a guarantee and we're gonna break down the pros and cons and pluses and minuses and Eventually drop a bold prediction on everybody about whether they're going to be able to retain someone that pro football focus recently Designated as the best offensive signing of last offseason the best in the entire league in terms of value It doesn't get much better. It was a one-year deal for three million Right, but three three million dollars. He definitely exceeded that that pay rate and what and I I think I named him the most valuable player For the Falcons because he did so much the guy even played Hail Mary safety and was a kickoff returner for a while of Running back receiver all that type of thing There's no questioning his value. But now as we kind of turn the page here and look forward I guess I'm just curious Chris, I guess we'll start with you Terms of resigning him What are your kind of thoughts on that if you want to play gm, you know How you evaluate Patterson and maybe what type of value that you place on him if you want him back Yeah, what I think with cp I think his it's interesting because his numbers diminished at the end of the season and I think that was partly I don't know if it was really because if you could say like oh teams would figure him out or something like that But for one the Ryan lanes weren't there where they seemed to be earlier in the year and two It seemed like he wasn't used as a receiver as much as he was through the first 12 or 13 games that he was in so that seemed To also play a role in the numbers he had at the end of the season I think the biggest question for me when you think about bringing cp back is do you Does terry fine know and arthur smith believe that he that this year wasn't A one-year wonder do they think that he can recreate this year? If they feel that he can he'll be 31 in march if they think that he can do that then Maybe you find a way to work that out again. There are plenty of needs elsewhere And i'm sure you could definitely feel the production. He had you know talk about calvin Being back other guys especially coming back you could feel that receiving production and you could likely feel that rushing production as well So I think the biggest question is for them. I'm kind of turning your question into a question But for those two Do you think that he can replicate that and if you do then maybe you try to make it work out in a team friendly way Yeah, torre what do you think about what chris is bringing up here? I mean it's lots of valid questions No, I think they're all the right questions and I think that It's really complicated because I feel like you know, a guy like cp in the year He has it should be rewarded But at the exact same time and in the exact same breath it you do wonder is was this just a one hit wonder like What chris is saying or is this something that can be expounded upon in a couple more years? I mean, I think that's where you're at like the falcons as an organization are at this really interesting I think crossroads where they're not exactly Uh, where they're not where they want to be. They're still in the early stages of trying to get The foundation set for where I think arthur smith and terry font. No want to want to go and just I I say this a lot and just kind of looking at the cap and I think that really and truly when you're looking at the cap I think that there's a lot to be said about what the falcons will be able to do in 2023 that they're not yet able to do in 2022 I think if this is a 2023 conversation where we're talking about cp Then I think it's a little different of a conversation. You maybe do have more of an ability to Resign him But in 2022 the falcons are still strapped for cash. They're things aren't easy By any means in regards to the salary cap and and they're really going to have to be very strategic about the money That they're giving to some of these guys And and even though cp had the year that he did and I think it should be rewarded I just don't know if the falcons have the means To give him what he would be asking for which is a pretty significant Number if you're going off of what his market value projections are Yeah, and we're going to dive into all of these questions including Whether they would go Whether the falcons would go for some of these For some of these projected salary numbers We're going to talk about terry fontanel's statement about the best form of free agency is rewarding your own players. We're going to talk about Cordero's social media campaign, which is very interesting I call terry fontanel scary terry. I think yeah At one point and uh, what do you think or what we think is required? To get paterson back in red and black Next year, but before we do all that Big thank you to our sponsor microsoft windows 11 the official operating system of the nfl and the alana falcons The all new windows 11 is here to bring you closer to what you love Including falcons final whistle podcasts learn all about the awesome new features of windows 11 at windows dot com So since we're diving right into this thing We'll get to the social media stuff in a little bit. Let's go into or let's kind of combine The these first top these first couple topics and you can also guys read about Our question of the week on atlanta falcons dot com We have a full round table where where we go over a number of things that uh, tory macklanny brings up She is the question The queen of the questions. I don't know Yeah, okay Let me fix my crown real quick. Maybe I should start wearing a crown while we record these and yeah And i'm just the queen of the questions Obviously, we're gonna have to go to video here. I mean that would involve I agree I completely agree. I think people would love to watch us just stare at each other and laugh Like I think I think people would like that Yeah laughing till i'm literally crying. Um Yeah, and especially if there's any more dating app updates. Those are always good for me I hope not Okay, but nonetheless the terry font now is it has talked about The best form of free agency re-signing your own players Um with with that in mind and i'm just reading tory's question now Where do you Where do you prioritize paterson in regards to the other free agents the other free agents are Younger Russell gauge foyer luikin. There's a number of guys who are in on one year deals. I mean, um And so what do you where do you prioritize? Cordero in that group with some other bigger guys hayden hurst and uh guys like that You go ahead chris. Okay. Yeah, I was gonna say I think he Wait, we both started breathing and talking at the same time. I was like, you're gonna go. Yeah, I was just like, I don't know what's going But I think I would say he's right up there near the top I would I would probably say that foyer Would be the biggest priority if I was deciding who to sign just because of his age And and because I think foyer has a lot of room to grow Like I think he was just scratching the surface of where he could be this season I think You know the the tech people say about the tackles number is what it really means if it's if it means that sure You had a good season or if it means that your you know offensive line wasn't really playing well But regardless still a lot of tackles Um, and I think he had had a good year but with cp Yeah, I think he's right up there around the same level I think with with gauge with his production and what he done what he did He was the teams second either the first or second most, you know, dynamic offensive weapon with kyle He was probably the most consistent up until the end of the season. So I'll put him Right behind foyer on this. I was maybe say on this around the same as gauge. I guess gauge is younger too So maybe maybe right behind gauge Yeah, I I agree with that That's kind of where I put him too and because I I personally think foyer is the number one free agent for the falcons That you're looking to reset on this off season And i'm not going to talk about foyer because I feel like I talk about foyer 24 7 I write about him all the time. I apparently talk about him all the time too So i'm just like not we're not going to go there yet because we're probably going to do a whole another podcast just about foyer But what I will say is that with with cp I I do kind of Put him in the same category as I I put rustle gauge like sure it'd be great to have them back But you know that there are going to be other offensive skill players Elsewhere whether we're talking about the draft whether we're talking about free agency There are going to be guys out there who can produce at the same clip that these guys have in 2021 and honestly you're looking for more production as you move forward into 2022 and 2023 Obviously because you if you're the falcons you're hoping this thing is growing So so I think like with that in mind if you're look if I'm looking at the top three free agents this off season From the falcons being foyer cp and rust I think it's obviously foyer number one and then two three can be interchangeable between cp and rust And and I say that because I think it's more difficult to replace foyer at that mike linebacker position than it is to replace the production of cp and rustle gauge when you have a full complement of Offensive skill players, which I think I don't want to say are interchangeable, but to a certain degree I felt I I do feel like you can get that production In multiple spots and especially if this offense can Improve from 2021 to 2022. So that's kind of just where my mind's at Yeah, they were so reliant on patterson at times during the year It was like if he didn't do a hero a heroic thing the offense was going to sputter I don't want to be that if I if I'm the falcons I don't want to be that reliance on that player, but you can see his Value if things aren't going right at other spots. He can just do a lot of interesting things that That I think would be advantageous and for as much as patterson enjoyed being here The falcons enjoyed having him here that seemed very clear to me that arthur smith really liked him I do think that We talk about prioritizing the the free agents, right? If you put foyer at one and that seems to be our consensus It's about what it's going to take to get that deal done, right? Because you're talking about a finite and a relatively small amount of money that you can play with even if you create more cap space So if it takes Maybe your arm to be twisted a little bit to get foyer, and it's a little uncomfortable Then you have less of a pool for the others, right? So that in my opinion you need to get foyer done before Frazier even hits just get it done So you understand the playing field of where you're at with the guy that you really want to keep I don't know if foyer is going to go along with that but nonetheless Um, since patterson is in that second tier. I think it's important But when you look at this spot track number, right two years 18 million dollars Yeah, that's tough. That is that that's the falcons aren't going to be able to play with that They just aren't like point blank are not going to I don't know if they should be able to play with that And this is no knock on patterson who have covered it at two different teams He's a he's an elite athlete who has some really interesting things But as chris brought up, he's gonna be 31 next year, right? And is it flashing the pan the fact that we are wondering that We're not the only people wondering that right yeah, and and and I think that that kind of plays into it about What kind of what kind of offer what kind of value? Suits him like I I talked about wanting to get foyer done before he hits the open market Maybe some teams go nuts for him, right? I think Maybe you want to let cordero kind of see the market and hope the market is depressed in some way for him And then they can get him at a good value That's a lot Yeah, you know, I was just gonna say too. I think when you look at that evaluation I don't think anyone's going to that number to be completely honest I don't think anyone's paying that number and I think He knows that and that's why he's campaigning the way he is because Perhaps if he does hit the if he does hit the open market Then he might get even less than what maybe the Falcons offer him before he Gets out there before free agency officially starts and teams offer him So I think I think he's aware that like I said before I think to make The I think even to make the money work with tp. There will be tough decisions You know with his best friend on the team with Mike Davis Because I don't think there's a I don't think there's a future where they both are back Then in the backfield Because that that will free up money to give to him And I think my thought too is if if the Falcons were to bring him back I would think it would be a heavily incentivized deal with the front half the first year guaranteed And and I could see something like that working out where you know You would essentially have to outperform what you did this year to earn, you know, six million dollars or whatever amount of money it is Yeah, and I think that's a good way to structure it. It sounds like it's I mean, it's not going to be another one year deal I would assume but you're right If you put all the guarantees out upfront and you can find a way to make that work and to your point That well, I guess In addition to your point that we talk about the wide receiver core the only guys under contractor Calvin Ridley and Frank Darby the only guy under contract in the running back room is Mike Davis and there's no Guarantee that he could be around that The Falcons could be looking at a clean slate. I do think it's an either or situation, right? If you can get cordial, then then you can let Mike go maybe draft A younger runner no matter what happens with with Patterson the Falcons still need a workhorse, right? They still need a guy that can produce and younger is always better at that position, so I think it's gonna be really interesting to see how this thing shakes out. I mean Do you agree Tori that it's gonna have to be like a I mean two years one year At a super high rate. Like I don't know what Patterson might take how much leverage that he has at this point I mean that at all those questions are questions that I think like the CP's agent CP the Falcons are all kind of weighing as we kind of head into Free agency in the next what is it next month? I mean I I just kind of think about it and I'm just like In order for the Falcons to to sign CP CP is gonna have to be willing to play ball a little bit Like you know, he's saying that he wants to stay in Atlanta and Atlanta He's wearing sweatshirts that say Atlanta Georgia changed my life and You know and he's saying he wants to stay in Atlanta. It's like Okay, like if you want to stay in Atlanta The way that you stay in Atlanta is to work with the Falcons because they don't have the money to pay you Everything that you're probably going to be asking for so if you really feel strongly about staying in Atlanta and potentially retiring in Atlanta sometime in the next year or two years You got to essentially work with the organization in order to do that if you're just in it for The paycheck and the money which if that's if that's all it is then that's all it is and that's great Go get your paycheck my guy. Like no one's going to be mad or upset about that But if it's also this like sentimental feeling of wanting to be in Atlanta and to stick with this coaching staff that essentially helped you Kind of like crack a code that in the 10 years that you've been in this league. It hasn't happened yet I mean, I think that's all something you have to weigh And we also have to think about it this way that like this is very much going to be a Negotiation process. I have no doubt that this is going to be a solid negotiation From cps camp to the falcons side of things and it's going to be a lot of talks back and forth of trying to figure out Where this deal could be made and I think there is a possibility that a deal could be made But it really will depend on how much cps willing to play around And play ball with the falcons organization in this And so in that They always say did not negotiate through the media, right? Um, oh, yeah Well, Cordero is not really negotiating necessarily But he's talking a lot about wanting to stay in Atlanta posting a lot of if you guys follow his Uh, his twitter, especially, you know, I see in pictures of him hugging arthur blank and cut the check arthur and you know a photo of him and quote-unquote scary terry and Although an update of his locker and was like locker still here like with the emoji the sunglass emojis or something like that Like so this is someone who's actively campaigning to stay with the falcons Which I find incredibly interesting because I don't think many people do that during free agency Yeah, and it's pretty it's pretty cool too because it I think it puts the front office in It kind of a a tricky situation not really I mean if if they care that much about, you know, the fan base But if you what he said in November when I talked to him was like he already had this on his mind like I try to win your fans over So when it's contract time, they're also rooting for me too. And that's literally happening right now So if they aren't able to come to a deal and then fans say well, this guy really wanted to be here He was campaigning. How many guys do we have who do that and you won't even re-sign up like that You know what I mean? Something like that when it couldn't even have been that way. It could be he's he's behind the scene saying Something completely different. I need this much money, but on the outside It looks like he wants to be here for whatever and y'all couldn't make it work So it is an interesting tactic. I guess it has pros and cons Yeah, Chris has a hand raised. I have my hand raised. We need videos so bad I know we really do. I'm legit like raising my hand in the camera shot. Uh, Chris, didn't you ask Terry if he had seen CP's twitter? Yeah, what did he say? He just started laughing the whole time He said I didn't he just said I don't notice it. He was kind of looking at me like Someone has absolutely screen shot and sent it to scary terry and be like scary terry. What's this about? Yeah, there's no way. Yeah He said I don't notice it man, but you know, it was one of them. I think he notices it Yeah, he's a funny guy Funny guy that scary terry Arthur blank is seeing it. That's what that's what that's a better. That's even a that's a better question. He called him pops Yeah, I think that's his profile pic now, right? It is. Yeah It's a nice shot of them all them giving a last little hug Yeah, it's it's it's definitely an interesting strategy Um, and I think it does work because the fans They want players who want to represent their town and their colors and their logo, right? And paterson is a guy that clearly wants to do that at the same time, you know Who knows if he hits the open market, right? I'm gonna rewind start over Same, right This is a this is an opportunity Maybe the last one to cash in right and I don't know what cash in means. It doesn't mean cash in like You know, like like a true tier a free agent But this is an opportunity for him to go make some money and earn longer. He's been playing on one-year deals for a long time Essentially, so this is that shot If I was in that position just speaking for me. I'm gonna go. Yeah, I'm gonna go get some no doubt We video because I'm sitting here just like the money signs like drop thin dollars like go get your paychecks, man Yeah, and and and kind of do what you got to do to get it now If if it can work out where Atlanta, you know offers that but you know, I would really be trying to say, hey man Look at look 31 other teams. This is what I can do if you know, if I'm still on the open market by march Let's let's uh, let's fill up the dance card. So I think that that plays into it too even though I know how old am I I know it was so funny. I anybody watch bridgerton up in here The dance card I'm reading. I'm currently reading a book. It's called bringing down the the duke and it's essentially like that time period She was talking and it's about uh oxford women's suffrage movement in 1879. Yep. I'm just that old Yeah, that's not bare 1879 Oh my gosh this podcast has run off the rails I did it the first time about 15 seconds in and then it just became an okay thing to do We need we need a quote graphic with that on there the the women's suffrage movement Oh, 100 with Tori on there and like black and white and like nice I'm stopping type font Or like we should just have a series of quotes tori mackley talking about resigning Getting asked about football questions in dating apps and in the next week talking about women's suffrage Oxford university in 1879. Oh god Next thing, you know, you're getting aggregated by oxford magazine or something Hey That's fine. We'll do that Uh tapping into all new elements of search engine optimization. Okay We're trying to get that Never mind. Oh gosh Okay. All right here. We're starting to wind down to the end of this thing here Let's try to put us back on on course. Maybe just maybe uh Two two final questions. Um, what do you think will need to happen for the falcons to resign him? And do you think that he's a falcon next year? ready go I think to resign him To resign him Like I said, I think Mike will have to go and it'll back to be a heavily incentivized deal And then I think I said I think I said earlier when we were writing this I said, yes I think the falcons resign him and I said that it'll be I think partly I said that because, you know Tori said no, so I was trying to I think I've agreed with her in the past couple so I'm just like But my case for yes is that Essentially what Tori was saying earlier. He keeps saying he wants to stay he keeps saying he wants to be here His family lives right down the road. He has young kids and a longtime girlfriend Moving this is 15 and 60 years. I'm sure moving is is not, you know Not the easiest thing to do for all of them starting over so many times So maybe he is really willing to you know retire here and ride off into the sunset take a deal That's maybe not the most he could get but a team friendly one So that's my stance for yes Oh, I'm gonna drop the hammer and make everyone upset Including maybe cp cp if you're listening to this dude mad respect for for all all the all the things Um, and this is not a knock on cp. I want cp to get paid So I'm as a preface my no by saying that I I don't think that Patterson will be a falcon in 2022 And I say that because it's just like the whole idea of like follow the money And I just don't know if the money is going to go to Patterson at this point in time and this where this organization is and and I say that thinking about Terry font no and Arthur Smith looking for players that they can build upon in the future because if you think about it, there are a lot of Old guard guys who are not who their contract is not going to be around in 2024 and so Don't you want to start building something when all of these people are gone and and to be completely honest because of his age Cp is not going to be here in 2024 So why would you not start investing in the people who will be? and I think that in and of itself is kind of where My mind is when I when it comes to do I think if see do I think cp will be a falcon in 2022? and I think no just because of those Reasons simply money wise what I love to see cp back in the falcons uniform 100 i think cp has been really great For this falcons organization and for the fan base But again to for me it's all about the money Yeah, and And I think that even though it's all about the money I think If he is not signed by mark one, I think he will be back and here's why I think the open market for a 31 year old running back Who's new to the position and has a lot to learn? I think that I think that the market won't be as robust As maybe he would like and I think the falcons can offer him A deal that I think allows him to stick around here allows him to thrive here Maybe I really like this Two-year deal concept first year guaranteed the second one gives the falcons some options And I think that that's how they could structure it in a way that is a win-win And maybe in a type of scenario where you take what you were going to pay mike davis And then you combine it with what paterson made last year and maybe you can work something around that So for that reason, I think that he's I think he will be back. I think the deal will be Pretty reasonable even if he doubles his paycheck over the course, you know of 2022 I feel like they I just feel like eventually it will come together I don't think it's going to be quick though I think it's going to be something that there's so many moving so many dominoes have to fall before they get to that point And but I do think eventually they end up with a deal. So for all of those people Going to tory mackalani's in dating apps asking the question which was brought up originally In the front of my cat are they going to resign cp, right? Like that was the original question that you were getting Well, you don't have to go to the dating app anymore. We've answered that Tori's on the record. Yeah, Tori's on the record. So if anybody ever asks again You just say time stamp 23 55. Okay, right? No, I'm gonna just send them the link of the podcast and be like Don't ask me just listen to the podcast and give us a five star rating and thank you There you are That was the key part the five star review Yeah, that was it. Yeah Oh My gosh We generally kind of just meander towards an ending. I think that's a good way to punctuate it, right? I do. I mean, it's a natural it's a natural progression You know, we as storytellers we love a full circle moment and we have now come full circle uh with With the dating app story from the first episode to now here we are answering the question for the men in my DM Thank you everyone and good night And scene that's all we're done