MichiganCardinal

AJ Brown being worth a 1st round pick after posting 78/1003/7 is probably something of an indictment on Jalen Hurts.

I agree, and I’m sure their fans are also all in on the idea. Will it work out for them? I hope not. But I‘m also not going to pretend like Garrett isn’t likely to be significantly better than Verse in 2026. At the same time, Micah Parsons is exhibit 1 for why one player doesn’t and can’t make a team, and how easy it is for going all in to lead to flaming out in the wildcard round. Really, going all in probably hasn’t worked for a team since the Rams last did it.

I think Tyleik would be the closest comparable. Young defensive lineman on a rookie deal. But Tyleik's value is nowhere near Verse's right now.

This isn't an awful deal for either side. Garrett will be 31 and has cap hits north of $55MM scheduled for his league age 34 and 35 seasons. Maybe he'll be a freak of nature like Julius Peppers into his mid- to late-30s, but it's far from a guarantee. Meanwhile, Verse is very unlikely to ever be a player of Garrett's caliber, but he's a very good player already and only 25. This is the ultimate all-in move for the Rams, who have one, maybe two years left with all their chips. And it's knowing what you have for the Browns, who are still at least a year or two from contention, even if one of their several young QBs works out. I'm not upset we won't see the Rams until at least the playoffs though.

He was a key contributor to the 2024 team, and ironically one of its few healthy pieces by the end of the season. Played in all but two games, started 10 of them including the playoff game, and contributed well as a space eater. Was his stat sheet what you hope to see out of a 2021 second round pick? No. But if he “picks up where he left off” in 2024, he’d definitely make the team and probably see a good deal of playing time rotating in for Tyleik and Alim. Maybe even occasionally for Wonnum/Moore.

This was as non-answer an answer as Campbell will ever give too. It was more like “he looks good but I’m not going to compliment anyone in May.” He was far from declaring that Levi would make the team or contribute.

Some I don't love. Branch and LaPorta "improving" and not practicing is fine and expected. I'd probably like to see more than just "improv[ement]" from Kerby when it's been nearly 8 months and the injury was described as chronic. Maybe it's just load management, they expect him to get X number of miles on his knee this year and they're going to try to use them as efficiently as possible. I'm just not sure what can be expected of him this year, or moving forward.

Some good:

Listening in to Campbell's first presser of the 2026-2027 season. Thought this tidbit was interesting and apparently Birkett did too.

Can’t wait for a Lions-Packers game to decide the division to be moved from Ford Field to Moscow

Rod Wood is literally just the communication guy between the Lions and the NFL. There was not a schedule decision made by Rod Wood in a vacuum. That would be ludicrous.

Don’t like a week six bye, though they should be 4-1 at worst entering it. Playing the Patriots in Munich, the Bucs in Detroit, and then the Bears on Thanksgiving is a brutal 12-day stretch too. Feels like the Lions could be the better team than all three of them and still come out 1-2.

Week one is always fluky. I’m just glad to not be playing a divisional opponent.