Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Everyone agrees the Bears were robbed of compensatory draft picks (Hour 2)
17 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This hour is sponsored by Riverfront Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram. With that timeout, you can still run the ball. To a close, and that's going to be caught for a touchdown by Jalen Waddell. His first catch of the night. That is courtesy of Amazon Prime. This is Rahimi Harrison Brody on 104.3 The Score. And we are connecting with a man who's probably busy because of what you just heard.
News involving Jalen Waddell. Reportedly traded out of Miami to Denver and is going to be a receiver for Bo Nix.
Chapter 2: What recent trade involving Jaylen Waddle is discussed?
Jordan Schultz. The NFL insider, host of the Schultz Report, and co-host of Why Is Draymond Green Talking About Football, working the phones, and he is doing that right now, joins us when he is connected on Twitch, twitch.tv slash TheScoreChicago. You can check us out on YouTube as well. TheScoreChicago is our address there.
And still trying to digest the news regarding the draft pick exchange for Jalen Waddell. This tweet from Robert Mays. All right, you ready for this, Layla? Robert Mays, of course, the host of The Athletic Football Show. No one on the Dolphins is set to make more than $11.3 million against the cap this year, and yet they're currently over the cap.
See, that's the part we were trying to figure out, because if they've got 11 draft picks next month, I'm like, how are they going to pay those guys? They've got some work to do. Like, big work. I see what you did there. Did you try to do it to a pun because he's the $99 million cap hit? It's a problem. I'm glad here in Chicago we don't have those. We have a different set of problems.
We don't have those problems, though. That's it. I mean, that's the one that's wild. 99.2 for one player. It's one thing to be over the cap and be a good team and figure out where you need to cut. It's another thing to be an awful football team and still be over the cap and trying to get better and rebuild. But it is a quick turnaround.
Like, for example, do you know who had the previous record-setting dead cap number of 85 million? None other than Russell Wilson. Let's ride. Where are we riding to again? See there? See there? You can get out of it. Where are we riding to again? I haven't figured that part out yet. I don't think Russell's figured that out either at this stage of his career. Right? Does he have to?
No, he's wealthy. Yeah, and then some. And achieved career goals early enough in his career where he's probably playing with some house money. And he may... So Jordan Schultz is now joining us via our hotline, and like we said, he is on Twitch. And Jordan, I understand you are breaking some news. Thanks for joining us. So what can you tell us? What did you just post?
Well, it's been a busy morning because we had Jalen Waddell go to Denver. Yeah, Denver. And then Hollywood Brown goes to Philly. So two receivers on the move. Interesting that Hollywood Brown goes to Philly because that leads us to ask another question. So what's going on with Hollywood Brown? Do you know the terms yet? It's one year up to six and a half for Hollywood. And...
That's another weapon for Philadelphia as we really start to think about what they're trying to do with that offense. Devontae Smith, A.J. Brown's still there, obviously Saquon. They brought back Dallas Goddard. You know, I mean, it's that offense is going to be humming. Jordan, do you think this could be a precursor to moving A.J. Brown, though? Like, yeah, I'm still not there yet.
I still don't I'm not saying it's not going to happen, but I'm not committed to saying that is going to happen. It's just not I can't say definitively one way or the other at this point. Yeah, I mean, that's because that's something that I think a lot of people are trying to figure out. And I know for you, that's something that you're going to be able to follow along.
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Chapter 3: Why do so many believe the Bears were denied compensatory draft picks?
Remind me. It was a second-round pick, and then they sent back DJ Moore in the fifth rounder. Yeah, so Waddell's younger and makes, I think, less money. I want to say less money. I have to look at it. I guarantee less money. Yeah, his contract is a bit backloaded. So, for example, according to SpotRack, the cap hit for 2026 is 4.9. 2027, it's 27. And then 2028, the cap hit is 30.4.
That's how it currently stands. Yeah, I would say that the DJ Moore trade, though, they still got back a lot of value. Maybe not as much as Jalen Waddell, but that's still really good value for Chicago to get back. Jordan, I want to get your take on what happened with Max Crosby because we haven't had you on since that whole fiasco. Where do you stand on what his future looks like?
And are you at all shocked, surprised that Baltimore did what they did? I was surprised. Yeah, I was very surprised. But I think because he left the first one amicably, he's able to go back the second time amicably. And it seems like both sides are, at least for now, committed to trying to make it work. Yeah.
If they were to move him, they would have to find significant draft capital to do it again, and I don't know if they would be able to do that after what happened in Baltimore. I also want to know if you think that this is something that could be revisited next season. With Crosby, a trade? Yes. I don't think it's ever going to be off the table now, at least for the foreseeable future.
But the Raiders are not going to make a trade for Max Crosby if they're not getting back a ton. And they're not going to want to do a trade that's less than what they got back from Baltimore, two ones. And I don't know if anybody's going to do that. So for the time being, I think he's a Raider. Perhaps in the future, if he has a big year, it's possible.
But I can't speculate that far down the road. Do you feel like the draft this year, considering how everyone's talking about that 2027 draft being so much deeper, so much richer in talent, that teams are more likely to give up 2026 picks, whether it's to move up or to move off a player? I'm trying to figure out what this currency is worth now compared to maybe what a 2027 draft pick looks like.
You always want to get the upcoming draft, although this draft is not anywhere near as talented as next year's draft, especially a quarterback. I think this year's draft, there's a big gap after the first three and a half, four rounds. You're not going to have the depth. A lot of teams are happy to get 2027 picks, but generally you always want the upcoming picks. That's always how it's been.
I think in this particular case, teams are more willing to wait and get 2027 because that is a much better draft. We are talking to NFL insider Jordan Schultz. Breaking news with us here on Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. And I want to go back to a post you posted on X about 20 minutes ago. It says New Dolphins GM John Eric Sullivan inherited a very difficult cap situation.
They believe they have their quarterback in Malik Willis, but need an influx of young and cost-controlled talent. Trading away Jalen Waddell wasn't easy, but acquiring a 1 and a 4 while clearing salary is part of the rebuild plan in Miami.
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Chapter 4: What implications does the Jalen Waddell trade have for the Dolphins?
I'm curious as to who you think had so far a good free agency and who you may be a little disappointed in thinking that they did not come out as winners in this process. Uh, let's see. Let's see. Um, I like what new England did. Draymond Jones. That was a really good move. Um, Romeo Dobbs. I like that a lot. Um, Seattle, I liked what they did bringing back Shahid.
I liked the Chiefs getting Kenneth Walker and Elohi Gilman a lot in the AFC. I thought that was really strong. But I got to look at it. I mean, this stuff, if I don't have it in front of me, I can't. No, no. That's okay. I mean, even what just stands out to you. You know, Justin Fields, for example, gets traded to the Chiefs yesterday. And I know that's an insurance policy for Patrick Mahomes.
What do you think about that? I liked it because we don't know when Mahomes is going to come back. Could be week four, could be week three. We don't know. You're getting a guy who's you're only paying three million dollars, who's still young, could still move the pocket. And they wanted an athlete, an athletic quarterback to back up Mahomes. And to me, it's the perfect move.
The Jets are able to not pay 10. They only pay three. The Chiefs are willing to pay three. To me, that was actually the rare win win when you're talking about a quarterback trade. Can't wait to see what he does with Andy Reid. Justin Fields has had opportunities, but not with someone that good on offense. Guys, I've got to take this one. I'm so sorry. I've got to run.
I appreciate you, and we'll talk soon. It's okay. A very busy Jordan Schultz, and I guess that means we've got to look for his Twitter now. There's a tweet coming. That's what that means. All right, first one to the new Jordan Schultz news that is the result of this phone call gets a gold star. Or at least you get a mention on air.
I mean, if it's a text line, though, we won't say your entire phone number because we don't like to do that. Layla, I love his attempts at multitasking. Like, he's clearly getting new information on his phone. He's talking us through it. But again, as he was coming on the air with us, he's putting out the tweet about Hollywood Brown. Uh, and, and, and that's just the life of it.
I told you off here, I was like, I couldn't do what these dudes do. Cause that's, that's too all consuming, not time consuming, all consuming. Well, and like we get a text from a 312 who's frustrating about what was going on. And this Jordan Schultz has been on our station often over the years. And it's just one of those days where he's breaking some news.
I do think the Hollywood Brown news probably means that the Eagles are more likely to trade A.J. Brown. Yeah, I don't think there's any way you can look at it and say whether they do it or not. That's one thing. But they're definitely now have... a more comfortable feel with moving him because you have another above average receiver on the roster to pair with Devontae.
And I know Jordan is a little more wait and see about it, but Diana Rossini in the athletic newsletter yesterday said that she believed that he had played his last down as an Eagle. That news really does support that idea. I just love how much drama there is right now with that team and A.J. Brown.
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Chapter 5: What insights does Jordan Schultz provide about the NFL's cap situation?
So this is right after the Super Bowl. After a few days, I've had time to reflect on being a champion. I tried to feel how everyone made it seem to be a champion, and unfortunately, it was short-lived. Two days to be exact, LOL. I've never been a champion at the highest level before, but I thought my hard work would be justified by winning it all. It wasn't.
My thrill for this game comes when I dominate. It's the hunt that does it for me. It's when the DB drops his head with surrender because he can't F with me. The intense battles, early mornings, late nights, sacrifices. I love putting smiles on people's faces. Don't get me wrong, but it just wasn't what I thought it would be. It's the journey that I love the most. Back to work.
I was like, this man ain't even enjoying what he's going through. That's anticlimactic. And I was like, I don't know if A.J. Brown's going to be built for this, depending on what that offense looks like the year after. And guess what? Offense didn't look great a year after. Wow. If that's not an indication, like a Super Bowl team, you win the Super Bowl, and that's where you're at.
And he's letting you know how he feels. Yeah, that seems... And then he played another season. That seems like it might be untenable. So I mentioned the athletic newsletter, which I highly recommend just signing up for if you're a subscriber. And nobody's paying me to say this. I just find it interesting.
So much so that they published a stat in this newsletter that I don't think you can get on the website. regarding the group think and how their readers feel about the bears and the compensatory draft picks. They didn't get regarding Ian Cunningham going to Atlanta. You might be surprised at the number of people who have chimed in about this. We'll do that next.
Rahimi Harrison, Grody middays, 10 to two on one Oh four, three, the score. Brian, did you have much, uh, Yeah. I'll see most of you guys at the league meetings and we can talk about that. I'll leave that alone right now. Oh, we will talk about it, Ryan Poles. We have kept that same energy. And yet again, I ask on this St.
Patrick's Day, March 17th, 2026, a Tuesday, hey, the NFL, where are the picks? Keep asking them. You know why? Because it's the only thing we can do. They're up in the tree. Laila, you can't see them? Right next to that pot of gold up in the tree. I'm going to uproot that tree. You get a backhoe, take it down. If you've seen Marshall's shirt on Twitch or YouTube, the score Chicago is our address.
You can see what we're referring to. So like I said, I get the athletic newsletter. I get all of them. They get scoop. I get the bounce. I like them. They provide a lot of information. And sometimes they have a little gem that you can't actually get on the athletic if you check the website. So here's why I think this is important. They surveyed 16,977 subscribers who get the newsletter.
95% of them said the Bears got cheated by the NFL in the survey. I'm sorry, give me that percent. 95% of the athletic newsletter survey. 16,977. And this isn't the Bears newsletter. This is the athletic NFL newsletter. So roughly 17,000 people who subscribe to their Scoop City newsletter, which you know is a quality product, 95%. You know what I call those people who were surveyed? Ball knowers.
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Chapter 6: How do the Bears' compensatory picks relate to the NFL's rules?
Who's the 5%? Ball knowers. Are you in the division? They're the non-ball knowers. That's what we've been trying to figure out is who are the ops in this, right? Because you're not giving up draft picks. Everybody thought that at first, and then you explain, no, they're compensatory. They're free. They come from the clouds and the sky and your heart. They come from an Easter egg that you create.
But really, they come from the NFL enacting rules that they don't actually want to enact. They don't want to come through. It's like hitting the one-up in Super Mario Bros.,
But that stat, for that to be that significant, and 95% really is when you consider the data, that tells you that for everybody who asks the question, who comments on our social media, as I've mentioned, this is a topic that is not only felt passionately about by Bears fans and by people who listen to us, but by 95% of the people who voted in their survey. What does that tell you, though?
Like, I... Here's the thing. I have accepted... I know you'll be shocked to hear this. I have accepted the Bears aren't getting the picks. Martical? Martical? Marshall. I like Martical. Well, that's your radical acceptance name because Marshall practices the therapeutic, the therapy practice, like the actual professional therapy practice of radical acceptance. You are Martical in that way.
I understand what is in my control and what's not. I think the Bears are understanding. I think fans are upset and they have every right to be upset when you understand really how we got here and that... In previous situations, this might not have gone this way. All right, so you scroll down a little bit on the newsletter, and The Athletic is doing God's work here.
In Minnesota, Detroit, and Wisconsin, 848 people disagreed. And then the follow-up sentence says, I'll be monitoring this. I bet you will. Also, let's find the 848 people, and let's convince them. Can I point you to the direction of the Jacob Robinson article in The Athletic? Oh, the actual article? But wait, there's more in the survey. Oh, go ahead. Just to close the loop here.
This is from Reader Jeremiah, who is correct in how he phrases this. Quote, this situation may not meet the exact letter of the rule, but it 100% meets the intent of the rule. And the NFL should honor that. And Jeremiah, I don't know who you are, but you are correct, sir. And you also share the same sentiment as 95% of the 16,977 people. That is statistically significant.
That is a large sample size. It is containing one piece of information. I can submit that in a court of law. Period. Paragraph. 95 is wild, though, because that's not like, you know, even if I said 80%, you'd be like, oh, that's strong. 95 is like, yeah, it was basically a consensus except for the 5% that just don't know any better.
And you know me, I don't apply statistics like that that can be refuted or maybe there's a lot of variables into place and that type of thing. I don't believe in that because I usually think that the data is not collected properly. But in this case... Now, you could argue, oh, well, it's not a true survey of people. You have to go outside.
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Chapter 7: What are the reactions to DJ Moore's trade and its comparison to Waddle's?
Like this. I'm almost scared to read the actual crux of this from Jacob because here's why. If you're mad, it's only going to make you madder. Let's go. And if you're not mad, guess what? It's going to make you mad. Also, guys, keep an eye on Jordan Schultz's post for us because we're kicking over here. All right.
So Matt Ryan himself, you know who he is, the president of football operations, said, quote, the general manager role is going to be exactly the same as what it's been here before, end quote. Now Cunningham reports to the Falcons president, Ryan, his position is identical to that of Terry Fontenot, the GM he is replacing.
Cunningham, of course, nearly two decades of experience in front office jobs with the Ravens, the Eagles, and the Bears. Ryan has a few weeks on the job. Quote, Matt Ryan, I'm not doing the scouting. I'm not running those meetings. I'll be involved in whatever way Ian needs me. He is running the ship. That's the end of that quote. Now, here's the rub, as they say, Layla.
Both Cunningham and the previous guy, Fontenot, are minorities. Hired for the same job by the Falcons. Fontenot was lured from the Saints in 2021, so New Orleans got two third-round picks. At the time, Atlanta's team president and CEO, not president of football, I want to make sure we get that distinction out there, a new position, was its former GM, Rich McKay.
So what changed in 2021 to now in 2026? What changed? Because that is the obvious next question. As recently as 2024, Layla. Fontenot reported to McKay, again, a former football general manager. With a clear org chart reported to somebody else, they still got the draft picks in 2021. This rule was created in 2020. That is also notable to point out as well. So within a year, they made the hire.
The picks went to the Saints. And here's the quote from McKay. The day-to-day operation of the football team is run by the head coach when it comes to all the coaching and all the players and everything he does, and by the general manager when it comes to all of the players, player selection, and all that. They both report to me. Here's the question in the article.
That's not a primary football exec, but Ryan is? So precedent was set in practice with the exact same situation they now say is invalid. And New Orleans got the two picks. They rewarded and honored the rule with the exact same example. And you know that they know this. 95% of roughly 17,000 people surveyed agree that this isn't being applied properly.
That the NFL is not utilizing the spirit of its own law, the intent. Here's why I'm proud of the 95%. Because just when I start believing in the overall dumbing down of America, these people can, with context, read between the proverbial lines. Well, to be fair, they also pay for the athletic subscription and they get a newsletter. They're plugged in.
So they're probably a little more educated than the average person. Yeah, they're not like, no offense, you know, scrolling through Facebook mindlessly and see buzzwords like a bad search engine and connect to those. I earlier had someone tell me. I have an opinion because these words are in front of me. I earlier had a not so smart person tell me that.
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