We’ve got an update on Brandon Iu, Adam Sher, reporting that the Patriots have decided to pass on the receiver after exploring a trade.

They were one of three teams, with the Browns and Steelers, who were talking to the 49ers.

Auk wants a new deal or a trade, and Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t tipping his hand on their PL.

He spoke about it earlier today.

It’s new on Sports Center.

Actually, look mad, do that part of your dep chart?

Or uh, you know, I’ll let you guys speculate on that short, sweet and to the point, Adam Schfer, here with us now.

And initially the Steelers were in on iuk.

Then the talks stalled and now the latest development is that they have re-engaged in trade talks for the receiver.

Jefy.

Where does everything stand right now?

Well, I mea, let’s do our job as Mike Tomlin requested, and let’s speculate on it right now.

And essentially, any acquiring team, if it were the Pittsburgh Steelers, would have to meet the 49ers price and Brandon Aug’s price for a new contract.

It would be hard to meet the conditions of just one of those parties, because if Brandon iuk was unwilling to sign a contract, then the team wouldn’t be willing to give up the assets to get him in return.

Now, Pittsburgh is a place that he has openly talked about on social media.

He likes the idea of playing with Mike Talman.

The issue there might be that there is not a wide receiver on the Steelers roster.

That would work for the 49ers, and so what then would be the compensation involved?

It’s not ideal for the 49ers, even if Pittsburgh might be ideal for Brandon iuk, and so the weight goes on.

This is the type of situation that could result in a trade as early as today, or there could be no trade at all, and the 49ers could decide to hold on to Brandon iuk, where he scheduled to make just over $14 million, at a time when there are teams out there willing to at least double his salary at the very minimum.

Yeah, everyone on Brandon iuk watch right now.

Adam Sher, with the latest, don’t go anywhere.

We’ll hear from you in just a few more minutes.

Jets camp today.

Jj, what’s the latest on auk?

On the trade block, we’re all waiting for Brandon auk to ultimately become a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Uh, the Steelers are by far.

Uh, the leader in the clubhouse.

Why are they the leader in the clubhouse?

Because that’s where Brandon auk ultimately wants to go.

He’s in a unique situation where he does own a little bit more leverage than a typical wide receiver.

On the fifth year option.

No, he does not have a no trade clause.

But if a team is going to deal for Brandon auk, they are absolutely going to have to sign him and want to sign him to a long-term contract extension.

So now the pen is in Brandon auk’s hand and he has to sign it in order for the trade to be done.

Well, uh, the New England Patriots had a pretty nice package-

Uh, that they were ready to send to the San Francisco 49ers, and a very nice contract that would put Brandon auk on one of those Graphics that we always show of top paid, highest wide receivers in the Nfl.

He doesn’t want to go to New England.

And then the Cleveland Browns- I know that they have been talked about as a potential Suitor.

Uh, it’s my understanding that they had an even better trade package to send to the San Francisco 49ers and an even better contract to give to Brandon auk, and he is not wanting to be a Cleveland Brown.

What has been understood the last several months, frankly, is that Brandon iuk wanted to go to the Pittsburgh Steelers to play for head coach Mike Tomlin or he wanted to go to the Washington commanders and play with his longtime friend, quarterback Jaden Daniels.

Uh, the Washington commanders do not appear, and have not appeared, particularly interested in trading whatever San Francisco would ultimately demand in order to get auk

And then perhaps pay him that contract extension.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, as I understand it, are not at the point- or at least they were not this morning- with a comparable or acceptable trade package to send to San Francisco and they may not also be, uh, there with the money with Brandon I, but that’s where he wants to go.

And you can say, Chris, well, gosh, wouldn’t you want to go play for two-time Coach of the Year, Kevin Stefansky?

Uh, with the Cleveland Browns and make more money, perhaps?

Uh, why would you want to leave Kyle Shanahan in a team that is, uh, maybe going back to the Super Bowl?

The answer is money.

Why do you want to go to the Pittsburgh Steelers and play, uh, for with a quarterback that you don’t know if it’s going to be Justin Fields or Russell Wilson, and a system you’re not particularly familiar with in Arthur Smith System, the answer is Mike Tomlin.

So that is where we stand right now, where we have a, a player who does have some leverage.

Who’s using that leverage?

And right now the ners have to get the best deal that they can from the Pittsburgh Steelers in order to finalize this trade.

Interesting stuff, Brandon iuk, still a member of the Niners, but, uh, sounds like he wants to go to Pittsburgh and that might be where he ends up.

According to our Jonathan Jones, if they can work something out time to put your money where your mouth is, Bac, because we have your playoff predictions today and in the Afc is where we’re going to start.

You love that Afc North.

You love your Steelers to get into the postseason, as we know, who’s the one team in that division that you do not have in the postseason?

There you have it.

There, you have it right there, Chris.

The one team from the Afc North that will not get into the playoffs, that will not make the playoffs, is the Cincinnati Bengals, and I know, I know I hear it.

I’m hearing it right now.

What are you talking about?

They got Joe Cool back.

Uh, you look at Jamar chase.

You got T Higgins back in the lineup as well.

Yes, yes, that that that’s, that’s, that’s likable.

But when you look at the Afc North, I think this will be the most competitive Afc North Division that Joe burrow will see so far in his professional career here being a part of the Afc North.

So I have the Bengals not making the playoffs because of two major reasons.

Number one: Joe Bur has struggled against Afc North opponents in his outstanding professional career.

He is seven and 11, Chris, against Afc North opponents.

I like that Trend to continue, especially knowing and understanding, anticipating a very, very difficult Afc North, uh, uh, uh uh, teams division once again.

And then, when you factor in the health, can Joe Bur stay healthy?

I mean you look at playing in the National Football League four years.

He’s only been healthy two years and we know all about the season ending injuries that happened the other two years as well.

So those are two major concerns for me.

When you talk about Cincinnati, a very, very difficult competitive division, a division that has had the best out of your star quarterback in, Joe burrow, so can’t, and also, can he stay healthy enough to be able to do what he’s been called to do?

So when you factor all that to the equation, that’s why I have Cincinnati not making the playoffs solely because of the tough Afc North.

And, like I said, those Afc North teams have done fairly well against Joe Burough.

Well, we are with a couple of those.

Uh good Afc teams today, including the Bengals, including the Jets, who you have winning the Afc East.

You have the chiefs number one.

We’re going to circle back for your uh, Super Bowl predictions in just a little bit.

But let’s go over to the Nfc.

And we had the first episode of Hard Knocks with the Bears last night and you have the Bears making the postseason with Caleb Williams in their first season with that.

Uh, franchise quarterback, why do you believe this team is ready to make the playoff?

Well, a year ago we saw the Chicago Bears, Chris.

They won seven ball games, seven ball games, and they also had an opportunity to win four more.

You talk about some of the close losses they sustained.

I mean this was a team.

If they were able to finish certain ball games, they probably would have won double digit games, but they won seven games a year ago.

This team right now, roster wise, they’re much improved.

They’re better on either side of the football than the team that we saw in 2023, along with better coaching, better coaching.

So, yes, you have a young rookie quarterback under the saddle there for for the Chicago Bears, but based on all the high level players that are surrounding him.

You don’t need him to go out and win ball games.

I think their defense will be an extremely Stout, consistent group, similar to what we saw in the latter part of 2023.

I think this offense will be well balanced.

When you look at running the football and all the pass catches, they have surrounded Caleb Williams.

So this is going this.

This will be an entertaining year, Bing, a great slate of Health.

A good slate of Health.

I have the Chicago Bears getting into the playoffs.

Based on all the key components that I mentioned: outstanding cast of offensive guys surrounding your Young quarterback and, and when they acquir Montz S, their defense changed dramatically.

I think we will cons continue to see the same things in 2024 for their defense.

And because of that, yes, I got the bears bear down getting into the playoffs and you saw the odds: the Bears minus money to get into the playoffs: minus 110.

But how about a team that’s plus money, almost two to one to get in?

Why do you like the Seattle Seahawks so much under Mike Mcdonald, who came over from Baltimore as the Dc?

Well, you talk about plus money, Chris.

There’s a lot of juice in that orange man and the reason why I like Seattle to potentially get back into the playoffs is because they have a very, very talented roster, a roster that a lot of people were not talking about.

Of course, when you look at when they play in the playoffs in 2022, a lot of their key components on the offensive side were rookies: Kenneth Walker, Charles Cr, Abraham Lucas, all young players, T reek Woodland.

On the defensive side, all young players.

They missed the playoffs a year ago.

But if you factor in having more experience on the offensive side, not to mention, look at the talent they have when you talk about Tyler Lockett, uh, Jackson Smith, Igba, Dk, Metat, Noah F, Kenneth Walker, a very, very experienced offensive line compared to years ago, along with a healthy Geno Smith just managing the system- I think this is a team that could sneak into the playoffs, similar to what we saw with the Rams in 2023.

Remember, no one really thought the Rams could get into the playoffs, but they, they, they, they found their stride at the right time and guess what they found: a seat in the tournament.

I think the same things could happen for the Seattle Seahawks.

And lastly for me, Mike Mcdonald is the new coach for the Seattle Seahawks, if you know anything about his coaching defense, defense defense.

They’re going to be an attacking unit similar to what we saw with him while in Baltimore.

I think the same things were factored into the Seahawks defense and making them become very, very successful, along with the all the nice Personnel pieces they have in place.

So yes, plus money.

Right now I really like to see how chances, especially like I said, being healthy, I think they have the Personnel to do so, along with the coaching.

All right, let’s get to the teams that you don’t have in the teams that many expect to be in.

We already hit on the Bengals.

There were no dolphins in the Afc and in the Nfc.

We just saw Eagles win the division.

You think no, Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs.

Why are you so low on?

The Cowboys, who are are bringing back basically the same team they had last year.

Well, they’re not totally bringing back the same team from a year ago.

Offenses on the the offensive side.

Yes, most of the guys are returning, but they’re losing some pieces on the defensive side, and that’s why I have the cowboy Boys missing the Playoffs, because the team a year ago, I think they they were a better team personnel-wise than what they currently have in 2024.

When you look at the offseason moves or the lack thereof, every other team in the division got better.

Best case scenario for the Dallas Cowboys there’s.

They’re a stagnant team.

When you look at Personnel- best case Scenario- I feel like they took a step back, if you asking me.

But then, when you look at some of the distractions, they’re dealing with money, money, money, so many money.

Distractions is circulating this ball Club.

I think that will play into the on the football field success or the lack thereof.

When will Cd Lamb get into Camp?

Will he miss any significant time?

And when he gets into Camp, how long will it take for him to get acclimated to this offense?

How long, even though it’s the same offense, how long will it take for him to get acclimated to being on the field with the guys and get it in football shape?

I think those things could factor into the equation when it comes to the postseason expectations for the Dallas Cowboys.

I think this is a talented team, but, to my point earlier, when you look at the team they had a year ago, I think that team in 2023 was better, not to mention you had Dan Quinn, who was orchestrating the defense- very, very opportunistic defense that was creating Havoc to opposing offense and, most importantly, creating turnovers.

So I think this could be that year where we don’t we, where we won’t see the Cowboys in the playoffs, and if that’s the case, it’s going to a lot of pieces being moved, it’s safe to say, in Dallas- could be a total C change there.

If that happens, Tony Pard, a big name on offense, that’s no longer there with the Titans now.

So let’s get to your Super Bowl matchup now.

You had the Chiefs as the one seed in the Afc.

You had the ners as the one seed in the Nfc, but we-

We played your video with Evan wasburn there saying that you believe in Trends and, like in 2008, you think, since the Celtics won the Nba Ba championship and we had the Summer Olympics, that the Steelers are going to be there are.

Are you going to back that up here or are you going to shy away?

Well, you know what, for sake of argument, it’s about entertainment, right?

So I’m not going to be.

I won’t be predictable when it comes to this segment.

Chris, I know you, I know you think you know me.

You know where I’m going.

No, I’m not turning right, I’m turning left.

So, with that being said, for sake of argument, I have the Houston Texans getting to the Super Bowl to represent the Afc.

Yeah, Yes, I have the Houston Texas.

I don’t know exactly what their odds are when it comes to plus money or minus money, whatever the case may be, but I have the Houston Texas.

And here’s why I think right now, Chris, offensively, the Houston Texans- they have the most talented roster in the in the Afc hands down, offensively led by second-year quarterback in Cj stra.

You talk about adding in, bringing in Stefon Diggs along with what they already had in place with Theo Collins, tank, Dell, t D, Dton Schultz, and then you add a feature, running back into the equation as well, with Joe Mixon, I mean it was difficult to really slow their offense down a year ago and they didn’t really have.

They didn’t really have a a reliable running game.

But if you provide that element to this offense, good luck in trying to slow them down.

And then, defensively, they have big time contributors on the defensive side, guys that can put pressure on the quarterback.

That and because of that they can make make life a little easier for the guys in the back end.

So I have the Houston Texans.

Man it it

It’s going to feel like it’s the rodeo in Houston, because so many people will be fired up about what’s going on when it comes to December football and January football.

But no, it’s not because of the rodeo, it’s because of what the Houston Texas are doing on the football field.

That will lead to a fired up City when it comes to their fan base in the great state of Texas, there in Houston.

So yes, I’m not going the direction you think I’m going.

Yes, I know what I said with Pittsburgh

And I do believe it.

But for sake of argument, let me throw a wrench into this conversation.

And if, if, if, if the wrench is the Houston Texans man, that’s a great wrench to have at your disposal.

Well, the way you had it laid out, they they would have to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the postseason and you would have the Texans winning that.

And then going all the way to the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl, a splash pick from Bryant mcfaden here, one month and one day away from our season opener, on E, for what spe for might my hatte keep me for for, for come more f, foree, m, e for e, hat no.