[SPEAKER_00]: The autumn wind is a pirate, blustering in from sea, with a rolling song he speaks along, swaggering voicelessly.
[SPEAKER_02]: Let's go.
[SPEAKER_00]: His face is webbing.
[SPEAKER_00]: He wears a hooded sash.
[SPEAKER_00]: With a silver hat about his hair.
[SPEAKER_00]: and a bristling black moustache.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
[SPEAKER_00]: He grows as he storms the country.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
[SPEAKER_00]: A villain big and bold.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mm-hmm.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the trees all shake and quiver and quake.
[SPEAKER_00]: As he robs them of their gold.
[SPEAKER_00]: The autumn wind is a radar.
[SPEAKER_00]: Pillaging just for fun.
[SPEAKER_00]: He'll knock you round and upside down and laugh when he's conquered and won.
[SPEAKER_01]: The autumn wind is a rator, and so is Kurt Cousins.
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm your host, Kyle's going to well.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's right, Kirk Cousins is a lost Vegas Raider.
[SPEAKER_02]: What a day.
[SPEAKER_02]: What a day to celebrate.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's so fun from the depths of darkness, last fall, to the heights of today.
[SPEAKER_02]: What an absolute treat this is.
[SPEAKER_02]: So many thoughts on this, but from just a personal perspective here, it's so cool to have my friend playing football again.
[SPEAKER_02]: We're back.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's fun to see him being talked about again.
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, these are the kinds of things that I was nervous.
[SPEAKER_02]: We weren't gonna have anymore.
[SPEAKER_02]: And yet, here we are Friday, April three, and we're back.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kurt Cousins signs a five-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
[SPEAKER_02]: Now, I gotta tell you.
[SPEAKER_02]: The whole time that Kirk and I were talking about what he was going to do over the last month or so, it was never a five-year discussion, it was one maybe two-year discussion.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so I was playing golf on Thursday morning, April 2.
[SPEAKER_02]: I knew that Kirk had signed the contract already, but the news hadn't been made public yet and I was playing golf and all of a sudden I get some tax.
[SPEAKER_02]: My phone starts blowing up and the image of a 5 year 172 million dollar
[SPEAKER_02]: That picture that people were texting me from Adam Shefter.
[SPEAKER_02]: I literally had to respond to my friends.
[SPEAKER_02]: Wait, is that real?
[SPEAKER_02]: Never once in these discussions with Kirk that he mentioned that they were gonna spread it out over five years.
[SPEAKER_02]: So the initial sticker shock, I'm sure is gonna blow people's mind because there's gonna be people that just immediately start talking about him robbing teams and getting a bag.
[SPEAKER_02]: The reality is it's a one year, $20 million deal.
[SPEAKER_02]: which is still a win and I'm going to explain why it's a win for all parties involved, but I'm not going to lie when you saw that text.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's like, holy crap, what happened?
[SPEAKER_02]: That's not what it is.
[SPEAKER_02]: One year, $20 million and then we'll see from there.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a really exciting time.
[SPEAKER_02]: Y'all, this is really exciting.
[SPEAKER_02]: So I want to give some background on this for a quick second.
[SPEAKER_02]: First of all, on the contract front, the way this structure is that Atlanta has offset language.
[SPEAKER_02]: So Atlanta owes Kirk $10 million more dollars.
[SPEAKER_02]: But if the Raiders had paid Kirk $10 million this season, then Atlanta would get off the hook for the bill.
[SPEAKER_02]: So in order to make sure Atlanta pays their part of the contract, they had to maneuver the contract in such a way.
[SPEAKER_02]: So what's happening is today, Atlanta pays him $8.7 million, and the Raiders pay him the league minimum, 1.3 million for 2026.
[SPEAKER_02]: However, the Raiders also tacked on an additional $10 million that Kirk will get next March, so that that is a loophole around the offset language from Atlanta,
[SPEAKER_02]: but that 10 million next year is fully guaranteed and will count against the 2027 cap for the Raiders.
[SPEAKER_02]: So basically the Raiders are kind of paying him a one year, 11.3 million dollar deal, knowing that he's gonna also get 8.7 from Atlanta.
[SPEAKER_02]: And then essentially, the numbers after that are all bogus just to help with the cap stuff.
[SPEAKER_02]: and he can either be traded if it goes really well.
[SPEAKER_02]: He can be cut if it doesn't or just goes fine and they want to move on to Mendoza and he can be a free agent again next year.
[SPEAKER_02]: That was always part of the plan.
[SPEAKER_02]: So ignore all the rest of the numbers.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a one year, 20 million dollar deal and then we'll see where we are at at that moment.
[SPEAKER_02]: This has been a long time coming.
[SPEAKER_02]: He had a few
[SPEAKER_02]: but the draw to Clint Kubiak is so strong.
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think everyone knows how successful Kirk and Clint were together in Minnesota.
[SPEAKER_02]: I think people know at this point that Clint was a coordinator there for one year with Kirk, but also quarterback coach for two.
[SPEAKER_02]: People know that.
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think they know how well it went.
[SPEAKER_02]: Clint then went on to New Orleans and then Seattle and then in Seattle, he won the Super Bowl as the offensive coordinator.
[SPEAKER_02]: But here's the thing about Clint joining the Raiders.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk has such a good relationship with Clint.
[SPEAKER_02]: Clint is such a good dude, soft spoken, lower energy, but just a good dude.
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of substance, not much flash if any, but a lot of substance there.
[SPEAKER_02]: But the Raiders aren't just getting Clint.
[SPEAKER_02]: They're getting his dad, Gary Kubiak, multiple times Super Bowl winner.
[SPEAKER_02]: As like an advisor, you're getting Rick Denison, one of Kirk's favorite offensive line coaches coming over to be the offensive line coach in Vegas.
[SPEAKER_02]: He just want to Super Bowl as well in Seattle and you're getting Andrew Jenoko as your offensive coordinator.
[SPEAKER_02]: He's not calling plays.
[SPEAKER_02]: Andrew Jenoko was Kirk's quarterback coach.
[SPEAKER_02]: some of those years in Minnesota.
[SPEAKER_02]: So it's kind of a reunion on a lot of fronts, not just Clint.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so that draw was just too strong from the get go.
[SPEAKER_02]: Clint and the Raiders had kind of circled Kirk to come on over to Las Vegas.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk explored some other options.
[SPEAKER_02]: Obviously, check with some stuff.
[SPEAKER_02]: But the draw to Clint was just too strong.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so we've been feeling like this could happen for a while.
[SPEAKER_02]: This is really exciting.
[SPEAKER_02]: It kind of happened exactly how we wanted it to happen.
[SPEAKER_02]: I know what everyone's thinking.
[SPEAKER_02]: The next question is, what about Mendoza?
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_02]: When the Raider's draftman does, I think Kirk will be helpful to him.
[SPEAKER_02]: I think he'll be a great mentor to him.
[SPEAKER_02]: What I think the average person is missing and what I've seen from some of the media coverage.
[SPEAKER_02]: Now, a lot of the media coverage has been overwhelmingly positive for the Raiders.
[SPEAKER_02]: Like this is a great deal for them.
[SPEAKER_02]: They have insurance.
[SPEAKER_02]: They don't have to rush Mendoza on the field.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk can start until Mendoza's truly ready.
[SPEAKER_02]: You only pay in Kirk 11.3 million dollars.
[SPEAKER_02]: So it's a great insurance policy.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think all of that is true.
[SPEAKER_02]: Bravo to the Raiders and to Kirk for figuring this out.
[SPEAKER_02]: What I think people are missing and I think what's going to shock people is that I think Kirk's going there to be the starter.
[SPEAKER_02]: Now, obviously, I think Kirk playing all 17 games is probably not the highest chance of happening, as soon as the Raiders fall out of contention.
[SPEAKER_02]: So let's say they're six and eight, and they're gonna miss the playoffs.
[SPEAKER_02]: I could totally see, obviously, at that point, Mendoza getting on the field.
[SPEAKER_02]: They may say to Kirk, look, you're playing well, but we're out of contention.
[SPEAKER_02]: You're not gonna be here next year.
[SPEAKER_02]: He is, let's see what he's got.
[SPEAKER_02]: That makes total sense, and I think that could very well and probably will happen.
[SPEAKER_02]: But I think people don't realize, though, is Mendoza's not starting week one.
[SPEAKER_02]: Yo, you don't pay somebody $20 million or in this case, $11.3 million to sit around all day.
[SPEAKER_02]: He's not starting week one.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk is gonna start.
[SPEAKER_02]: People don't realize that Kirk is still very, very, very, really, quite good.
[SPEAKER_02]: I believe that Kirk is still a top 15 starter.
[SPEAKER_02]: I believe that Kirk is going to prove he's still a top 15 starter.
[SPEAKER_02]: I believe that Clint Kubiak and Tom Brady still think Kirk is a top 15 starter.
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think this deal gets done if Kirk has no shot at playing.
[SPEAKER_02]: He's going to start, he's going to play and he's going to look better than Mendoza and Camp.
[SPEAKER_02]: that's what's so funny.
[SPEAKER_02]: People consistently underestimate where Kirk is valued.
[SPEAKER_02]: They consistently undervalue him and yet the league consistently does not undervalue him despite all these media people saying, oh, well, this is still Mendoza's team for week one.
[SPEAKER_02]: He's going to start.
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, Mendoza's the future.
[SPEAKER_02]: It makes sense.
[SPEAKER_02]: He ain't starting week one.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk freaking Daniel cousins is starting week one and you're all gonna like it and the Raiders are gonna win 10 games this year and you're gonna be stunned and you're gonna think Kyle how could you possibly say that?
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I'm sitting here on April 3 every single year every year there is a team that goes from last to first in their division.
[SPEAKER_02]: Every single year there is a team that is sitting here right now in April that went to the playoffs and was very good That is going to fall off a cliff
[SPEAKER_02]: It happens every year.
[SPEAKER_02]: There is turnover in the playoffs every year.
[SPEAKER_02]: Do you remember when the Texans drafted CJ Straud?
[SPEAKER_02]: They were one of the worst teams in the league.
[SPEAKER_02]: They made the playoffs the next year.
[SPEAKER_02]: Jayden Daniels joined the commanders.
[SPEAKER_02]: One of the worst teams in the league.
[SPEAKER_02]: Made the NFC championship.
[SPEAKER_02]: The Chicago Bears went into the playoffs this year.
[SPEAKER_02]: At the time, if you had picked those teams, if you had picked the C-Ox, if you'd picked the Patriots,
[SPEAKER_02]: I think they had three or four wins.
[SPEAKER_02]: People would have thought you were crazy and yet it happens every year.
[SPEAKER_02]: Why not the Raiders?
[SPEAKER_02]: I challenge you right now.
[SPEAKER_02]: Go look up Kirk Cousin Statistics in Minnesota when Clint Kubiak was involved.
[SPEAKER_02]: Right now, I'm not joking.
[SPEAKER_02]: Pause the podcast, Google it.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll do it right now.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk Cousin's stats,
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk believes that his best footballies ever played was an over a year stretch from the middle of 2020 through 2021.
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it would blow people's minds if they knew how well he played.
[SPEAKER_02]: In 2019,
[SPEAKER_02]: Gary Kubiak was involved and was calling the plays.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's when Kirk through 26 touchdowns to just six interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 117.4.
[SPEAKER_02]: Do people realize how high of a pass rating I said quarterback rating?
[SPEAKER_02]: How high a passer rating of 107.4 is?
[SPEAKER_02]: That would be one of the highest of all time if you could sustain that.
[SPEAKER_02]: Only through six interceptions.
[SPEAKER_02]: won a playoff game on the road against a 13 win, Drew Breeze led New Orleans Saints.
[SPEAKER_02]: Then in 2020, a super weird COVID year.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk got off to a little bit of a slow start.
[SPEAKER_02]: He bounces back with 35 touchdowns to 13 picks and 105 passer rating.
[SPEAKER_02]: Clint Kubiak is now the full-time play caller in 2021, 33 touchdowns to seven interceptions, 103 pass rating.
[SPEAKER_02]: So for a three-year stretch, we're talking over three or four to one touchdown interception ratio and pass ratings well over 100.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's higher than Aaron Rogers career pass rating for three seasons in a row when Kirk was with Clint Kubiak.
[SPEAKER_02]: That was the draw to Las Vegas, right there.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's Kirk a little bit older, sure.
[SPEAKER_02]: But as Clint evolved a little bit, assuming Lee better than he was then, probably.
[SPEAKER_02]: So this is really exciting.
[SPEAKER_02]: This is not a podcast where I can speak on Fernando Mendoza and what the future's gonna be for him.
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know very much about him.
[SPEAKER_02]: Seems like a great dude.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I know that Kirk will be very helpful to him and Kirk will be kind and it's gonna work out great.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a great move for the Raiders.
[SPEAKER_02]: But I think you're undervaluing how much, it's a great move for the 26 Raiders as well.
[SPEAKER_02]: Watch out.
[SPEAKER_02]: Don't let us get hot.
[SPEAKER_02]: Don't let the autumn wind start rolling in.
[SPEAKER_02]: The Las Vegas Raiders.
[SPEAKER_02]: Your boy already placed a bet on their over of five and a half wins.
[SPEAKER_02]: We're going over five and a half wins Vegas.
[SPEAKER_02]: So exciting.
[SPEAKER_02]: Clint Kubiak and that staff being the main draw.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm excited to see the football that Kirk has left in the tank.
[SPEAKER_02]: the contract worked out on a personal level.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's exciting.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to be going out to Vegas a bunch of this offseason.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk had some other options.
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how much of that I should disclose, but there were conversations that were happening.
[SPEAKER_02]: One of the big draws this was public was the idea of going to the Rams and being a backup.
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, it was very desirable, Sean McVay is one of Kirk's favorite coaches as well.
[SPEAKER_02]: Sean McVay has been public about his desire to have Kirk come be the backup in Los Angeles and then maybe take over as the starter when Matthew Stafford retired.
[SPEAKER_02]: but even Sean McVeigh told Kirk, if you wanna play, you should go to Vegas because I want you here really badly, but you're still a starter in this league.
[SPEAKER_02]: And if that's, if you've a starting opportunity, go take that and Kirk ultimately wanted to play.
[SPEAKER_02]: He wanted to play.
[SPEAKER_02]: We're not gonna sit around and be a backup.
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, so this is very exciting.
[SPEAKER_02]: Like I said, I think when that once they fall out of contention, it's totally possible that it's not even totally possible.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's going to happen that he'll sit down if they fall out of contention.
[SPEAKER_02]: So my hope is that yeah, Kirk can look really sharp and camp, and then can look good enough, uh, the first, whatever, six, seven, eight weeks that they can stay in contention for a long time.
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it'd be really fun to surprise people.
[SPEAKER_02]: That's one thing that's really refreshing about this.
[SPEAKER_02]: Obviously, the goal is winning a Super Bowl.
[SPEAKER_02]: Chances are the Las Vegas Raiders are not winning a Super Bowl this season.
[SPEAKER_02]: However, every time Kirk has joined a team, like in 2018 with the Minnesota Vikings and the 2022 with the Atlanta Falcons, there were a lot of expectations.
[SPEAKER_02]: He was joining in already decent to winning team and they were looking for that team to then get over the hump and win a Super Bowl.
[SPEAKER_02]: That never happened.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm disappointed about it.
[SPEAKER_02]: There's so many things that go into that.
[SPEAKER_02]: But now it's a little bit refreshing to be joining a 2, 3, 4 win team and see if you can take them to 10 wins.
[SPEAKER_02]: If Kirk wins 10 games in Las Vegas, it's going to feel like a miracle.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's going to be awesome and I think it'd be an incredibly fun season to be a part of.
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's refreshing, too.
[SPEAKER_02]: The autumn win.
[SPEAKER_02]: The Raiders.
[SPEAKER_02]: The Raidas.
[SPEAKER_02]: Not to mention their owner, Al Davis just crushes PF Changs after Raiders losses.
[SPEAKER_02]: How cool is that?
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe we can all go to a PF Changs with Al Davis after a Raiders game.
[SPEAKER_02]: Can you imagine?
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so this is really exciting.
[SPEAKER_02]: I need to dive a lot deeper into their roster.
[SPEAKER_02]: There's a lot that I don't know about the Raiders.
[SPEAKER_02]: They obviously are an under-talented roster.
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they're picking first for a reason.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's probably the least talented roster Kirk Cousins has ever been a part of.
[SPEAKER_02]: But I've loved what they've done this off season to improve.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think the coaching, as I've said so many times on this podcast, friends from football makes such a big difference way more than the average person thinks.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so I think it's absolutely possible that Rick Dennis is able to take one of the worst offensive lines and make it an average offensive line.
[SPEAKER_02]: He just did that in Seattle, by the way.
[SPEAKER_02]: So I think that's totally doable, especially with them signing Tyler Lindembaum from the Ravens, the highest paid center in the league.
[SPEAKER_02]: I think that's going to go a long ways to help.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think that's going to be surprising to people how how quickly the scheme and the coaching can affect the overall results more than even the players they have.
[SPEAKER_02]: That being said, you obviously would like to bolso the offensive line and they need some weapons.
[SPEAKER_02]: Brock Bowers is awesome and I'm so excited for that relationship to develop.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk also knows Jalen Taylor from the Minnesota years and he's also a Michigan state player, which is kind of fun.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm kind of hoping that in round two or three they can draft a receiver, a stud receiver, and maybe still spend a little bit of money in free agency on another receiver.
[SPEAKER_02]: The defense, I don't know what ton about, I'm going to be spending the next few months getting to know the whole roster, getting to know the Las Vegas area a little bit more.
[SPEAKER_02]: but I've liked what they've done so far.
[SPEAKER_02]: And everything that Kirk has heard from the Raiders, the entire organization, the people he's talked to, has been really impressive and really encouraging.
[SPEAKER_02]: The Raiders as an organization scored really, really high on the NFLPA report card, which was kind of fun.
[SPEAKER_02]: So I think all of the other kind of off the field stuff is going to be really easy, treatment of family, the facilities, the stadium, the nutrition, the coaching staff, all of that scored really high with the Raiders.
[SPEAKER_02]: So we're looking forward to that as well.
[SPEAKER_02]: Just like it was with the Vikings.
[SPEAKER_02]: So that'll be another positive.
[SPEAKER_02]: The golf out in Vegas is so good.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm excited about that.
[SPEAKER_02]: For whatever reason, back when I used to do some gigs for the PGA tour, I kind of became the Vegas guy for PGA tour radio.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so I went to Vegas like five out of six years in a row and got very familiar with the area.
[SPEAKER_02]: Sometimes staying out there for a week or two.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so I have played a lot of golf out there and I love it.
[SPEAKER_02]: I love the golf there.
[SPEAKER_02]: So excited to get out there and do that.
[SPEAKER_02]: I can be sharing some of those pictures and golf
[SPEAKER_02]: Descriptions and what not as well on this podcast, but yeah, it's just overall the takeaway from today is it's an exciting time Sure, it could implode sure.
[SPEAKER_02]: I just Ultimately, I don't think so.
[SPEAKER_02]: I just don't think you can ever fault a guy for going with his gut and His gut my gut says get with people you know and trust and like and believe in and that's Clint and Rick and Andrew
[SPEAKER_02]: So, Raiders fans, today's a really good day.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm joining your ranks.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm about to learn all about the Raiders history.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm gonna learn about the autumn win.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm gonna learn about PF Changs and Al Davis and Allegiant Stadium.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's gonna be an absolute blast.
[SPEAKER_02]: and look, it's going to be a challenge as well for him.
[SPEAKER_02]: Today is a fun day to celebrate because he has another opportunity, absolutely.
[SPEAKER_02]: But now he starts a grind of eight to nine months of just working every day, already heading out to Vegas soon.
[SPEAKER_02]: If you're listening to this probably in the next few days.
[SPEAKER_02]: and just you start this grind.
[SPEAKER_02]: A grind on your body, a grind on your mind, his family might not be out there every weekend, so you're flying back to Atlanta, a five hour flight every single weekend during training camp.
[SPEAKER_02]: You have to get to know the equipment staff,
[SPEAKER_02]: create new relationships, gets to know your teammates like it's a whole journey.
[SPEAKER_02]: And Kirk's really good at that stuff.
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think I'm probably most excited about that aspect that he's going to be totally free to lead in a way like the coaching staff's going to encourage him to lead.
[SPEAKER_02]: And so I think he's going to be free to beat Kirk cousins, the Kirk that I know.
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's another thing I'm very excited about.
[SPEAKER_02]: But it is a challenge still.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's an uphill battle.
[SPEAKER_02]: Like I said, it's an under-talented roster.
[SPEAKER_02]: that he's going to have to develop and these relationships are going to take time to cultivate.
[SPEAKER_02]: So hopefully we can fast track that all so that 2026 is a really fun year.
[SPEAKER_02]: But it is going to be a challenge.
[SPEAKER_02]: I want to end today's episode by manifesting something.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to manifest something that isn't going to happen, but that's what manifesting is.
[SPEAKER_02]: The chance of this happening are incredibly unlikely.
[SPEAKER_02]: In fact, they're almost zero.
[SPEAKER_02]: And yet I'm going to end the episode by speaking this into the world so that we can start making it happen.
[SPEAKER_02]: Imagine you're sitting on your couch at home, diet, cooking hand, chips, maybe some salt vinegar chips.
[SPEAKER_02]: You're watching the draft.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's made April.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's the 2026 NFL draft.
[SPEAKER_02]: You pop your legs up on the chair, the lazy boy.
[SPEAKER_02]: You're having a good time.
[SPEAKER_02]: All right,
[SPEAKER_02]: All the hype, the Raiders are on the clock, the Las Vegas Raiders are on the clock.
[SPEAKER_02]: Here we go.
[SPEAKER_02]: And then all of a sudden you see on your screen.
[SPEAKER_02]: The Las Vegas Raiders have traded out of the pick.
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, your mind is blown.
[SPEAKER_02]: What?
[SPEAKER_02]: Are you kidding me?
[SPEAKER_02]: They've been flagged for taking Fernando Mendoza for months.
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe for a year.
[SPEAKER_02]: How could this be?
[SPEAKER_02]: Las Vegas has traded out of the pick.
[SPEAKER_02]: They received three first round picks from somebody else.
[SPEAKER_02]: Let's say Arizona and all of a sudden, you start wondering, how could they do that?
[SPEAKER_02]: And you realize Kirk has been bawling so much at camp that they're sitting there watching Kirk going, what?
[SPEAKER_02]: This is not a guy on his last legs.
[SPEAKER_02]: This guy's not washed.
[SPEAKER_02]: What are we in a rush to draft somebody for?
[SPEAKER_02]: And all of a sudden, it's reverse karma.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's divine intervention.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's redemption that the exact same thing that happened to Kirk two years ago in Atlanta and kind of set that on the wrong footing and mess the whole situation up, the inverse of that happens.
[SPEAKER_02]: The Raiders don't draft men, Dosa.
[SPEAKER_02]: They take those three extra first round picks.
[SPEAKER_02]: They draft the pass rusher.
[SPEAKER_02]: They draft an offense alignment like a left tackle and they draft a stud receiver.
[SPEAKER_02]: and all of a sudden they're loading up to build behind Kirk O'Chains.
[SPEAKER_02]: And this is no longer a one-year experiment.
[SPEAKER_02]: This is a three or four-year deal where Kirk leads the Las Vegas Raiders to a Super Bowl, and I'm going to be there.
[SPEAKER_02]: Boom!
[SPEAKER_02]: Now it's been manifested.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm just saying, is that going to happen?
[SPEAKER_02]: No, there's no way, but if it happens, you heard it here first on April 3.
[SPEAKER_02]: Wouldn't that be just the craziest ending to this story?
[SPEAKER_02]: I am giddy with excitement if that could happen.
[SPEAKER_02]: It's not gonna happen, but you heard it here first.
[SPEAKER_02]: I do think, like I said, I don't think they're gonna pass up on Windows up, but I think they're very serious about letting them sit.
[SPEAKER_02]: Tom Brady had to sit.
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of good quarterbacks had to sit for most of the year.
[SPEAKER_02]: I think they're very serious about that.
[SPEAKER_02]: From what I've heard from Clint, publicly and from Kirk, I think this is no joke.
[SPEAKER_02]: Like Kirk is going to play.
[SPEAKER_02]: Now, maybe Mendosa blows, Kirk out of the water and training camp, but that's just not gonna happen.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk's feeling good and you are not gonna beat Kirk's mind.
[SPEAKER_02]: Nobody is better in the NFL from the pocket than Kirk cousins and that's what Clint wants to do.
[SPEAKER_02]: Clint Kubiak called 51% of his plays in Seattle as a play caller from under center.
[SPEAKER_02]: Do you know how many times Fernando Mendoza was under center in his entire college career?
[SPEAKER_02]: How many times do you think?
[SPEAKER_02]: Five.
[SPEAKER_02]: There's going to be a learning curve there.
[SPEAKER_02]: Guys, this is not a Fernando Mendoza starting week one thing.
[SPEAKER_02]: And yes, I realize all of this episode could be on freezing cold takes if I'm wrong.
[SPEAKER_02]: Come September.
[SPEAKER_02]: What is it?
[SPEAKER_02]: 7?
[SPEAKER_02]: Whatever it is.
[SPEAKER_02]: I could be wrong, but I'm not.
[SPEAKER_02]: Kirk is gonna be playing for a while there, and shock a lot of people.
[SPEAKER_02]: Thanks for listening to Friends From Football.
[SPEAKER_02]: Be sure to check out all we have going on on Friends From Work, Friends From Work Plus, Screen Savor, and here on Friends From Football.
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll see you next time, hopefully with a draft episode, or a depth chart, Raiders episode, or a look around the league episode here on Friends From Football.