- 1 day ago
Ben Standig joins The Kevin Sheehan Show to talk about Brandon Aiyuk’s posts over the weekend going back and forth with Jayden Daniels, and what the implications could be.
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00:00Ben's with us as he is every Monday and Friday on this show.
00:07Didn't really talk to you over the weekend.
00:09I'm getting a little bit tired by all of it,
00:12but there was a new wrinkle, I guess,
00:14which was Jaden Daniels participating via social media
00:20with Brandon Ayuk over the weekend.
00:23I've already kind of summed up how I feel about the whole thing.
00:26What about you?
00:27In terms of today, subject to change, of course.
00:31Yeah, by the way, I don't know if you just saw,
00:32there's a little bit of breaking news here.
00:34They just added a cornerback.
00:36Yep, Russell Douglas.
00:37I was going to get to that with you here in a moment.
00:39Okay, just making sure.
00:41Look, I don't know.
00:42I'm too old to understand half the conversation that takes place on social media,
00:47and I don't know what is real anymore,
00:49but it appears that Brandon Ayuk didn't love Jaden.
00:55Jaden was laughing when some 49ers fan shouted expletives at him regarding Brandon Ayuk.
01:03And then, what, Ayuk says something.
01:05Jaden responds back with his Kevin Durant picture,
01:08which we're to infer with a thumbs down,
01:10which is to infer being upset they've unfollowed each other on Instagram.
01:15Look, the only thing that seemed to matter in any of this,
01:19or the only logical point to why he would be coming here
01:21and why they would still be interested, is the quarterback.
01:24So, if you're telling me that that relationship is fractured,
01:28then I don't see how Ayuk would come here at all.
01:33But, again...
01:33That assumes that they were legitimately, you know,
01:36beefing rather than just trolling everybody.
01:39Yeah, I mean, yes, again, that's part of what this is all confusing.
01:44Now, I will say that I was on Twitter last night
01:49when I noticed that Grant Cone, who you had on as a guest,
01:53I believe, out in San Francisco 49ers, thinker, talker,
01:57tweeted something about Jaden,
02:00because Ayuk mentioned Jaden Daniels' mother,
02:04and Grant Cone puts up some tweet
02:07of mentioning Jaden Daniels' mother not being thrilled with everything,
02:11and she then retweeted it.
02:13Then, like, a minute or two later, un-retweeted it.
02:17So, I mean...
02:18Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on.
02:21Grant Cone, 49ers beat reporter, blogger, podcaster,
02:27he tweeted something out.
02:29What did he tweet out?
02:31Some video he put together that the tag says
02:35that Jaden Daniels' mother not happy with Ayuk,
02:38something to that effect.
02:39Okay, and then she retweeted that.
02:43Yeah, and then she un-retweeted it, like, two minutes later,
02:46but she did retweet it initially, so...
02:49All right, and they caught the retweet.
02:52Like, yeah.
02:53All right, okay, so maybe that,
02:55does that, in your mind's eye,
02:57lend some legitimacy to the idea
03:00that this was a real argument
03:04between the two friends, supposed friends?
03:07I don't know.
03:09I mean, it would seem like it
03:10if we're talking about normal things,
03:14but...
03:14Yeah.
03:15Rather than try to adjudicate, if you will,
03:22the Jaden Daniels' involvement
03:25with Brandon Ayuk on social media over the weekend,
03:28I think the more...
03:30Because I don't know if we're going to...
03:32If anybody knows for sure,
03:33except for the people involved
03:34and the people close to them.
03:36The better question,
03:38or the better thing to discuss is,
03:40as a Washington fan,
03:42do you want your quarterback
03:43participating in this Brandon Ayuk
03:46month-long, you know,
03:48social media video barrage
03:51of, you know,
03:53insulting his current employer
03:55in an effort, he believes,
03:56to try to get to a new employer?
03:58Do you like that Jaden was involved or not?
04:01No, I mean, I think if this is a troll job,
04:04this would be a bad look
04:07for the quarterback.
04:08You know, again, I guess we sort of have
04:11this sort of collective trust
04:13that, like, you know,
04:14other than, like, an April Fool's joke,
04:16you know, he's not going to lead us down
04:19some stray path,
04:19especially when it's the way this is going.
04:22So I can't comprehend
04:23that he is actually trolling us.
04:25That would just seem to be,
04:27you know, what's the upside?
04:30You're going to piss off
04:31a whole bunch of people?
04:32For what?
04:33Right.
04:34So that's why it's hard for me
04:35to see what that's the case.
04:37Now, again, has it fractured
04:39to the point where
04:40he wouldn't want Ayuk around?
04:41That's the part I don't know.
04:43You know, to what degree
04:44is he, like, annoyed,
04:46but not understood.
04:49The one part of what Ayuk had to say,
04:52and again, I'm not an expert here
04:54in interpreting all these things,
04:55but he seemed to suggest
04:57that Jaden Daniels had texted him
04:59and said something to the effect of,
05:02hey, you know,
05:04if you're going to come here,
05:05you've got to chill out a little bit
05:06or something like that,
05:07and then Ayuk responded,
05:09you know, basically,
05:10who are you to kind of tell me,
05:12and that's when the mom gets mentioned
05:13and all that.
05:14So, you know, I don't know.
05:17I mean, if that's happened,
05:19then bottom line is,
05:21if Ayuk has pissed off Jaden Daniels,
05:23then this is over.
05:24If it's not,
05:25then we'll just have to wait and see.
05:27I mean, the general sense I have
05:29is that this does not seem good
05:31for those wanting Ayuk here,
05:33but we'll see.
05:35Yeah, I mean,
05:36I did kind of a pros...
05:40Like, there's so much about this
05:42that is, A, subjective,
05:44and, B, it's subjective in part
05:47because we just don't have enough information.
05:50You know, remember the days, Ben,
05:53when you said his own agent can't find him.
05:57Nobody even knows where he is.
05:58How would anybody know?
05:59And now we've gotten plenty of data points
06:04on this guy.
06:05But it's...
06:05To me, there are, like, certain things
06:07that are not really debatable at this point
06:10based on the last, you know, six months.
06:12Number one is, like,
06:14if you're doing a pros and cons list,
06:16he's talented, the team needs a receiver.
06:19Okay, that's the pros list.
06:20Can you think of anything else
06:22to put on the pros list?
06:23He's talented,
06:24and they have a need
06:24for another playmaker on offense.
06:29I mean, if you want to court
06:31attention and controversy, sure.
06:32There's a pro.
06:33But I don't think they do.
06:34I mean, but no, I...
06:36Those are the two pros.
06:38So here's the cons list, right?
06:40Let's just stick with the football part.
06:42He hasn't played in two years.
06:44I'm only with you for another 20 minutes.
06:47I don't know if you're going to be able
06:47to run through the cons list.
06:49It's a long list.
06:50He hasn't played in two years.
06:52He's coming off a serious injury
06:53that could, could impact his ability
06:56to be the player that he was in 2023.
06:58Then we get to the stuff
06:59that we've learned
07:00over the last six months.
07:01He's immature.
07:03He's self-destructive.
07:04That's not even debatable.
07:06You know, he has cost himself
07:0830-plus million dollars
07:10by not adhering to his contract.
07:12By the way, I love the people
07:13that said and took the bait
07:16on him saying,
07:17I didn't have to do my rehab
07:19with the 49ers.
07:20Yeah, no kidding.
07:21We all know that if we're paying attention,
07:23if you're paying attention,
07:24it's that you didn't allow them
07:26to monitor your rehab.
07:27That's why you got
07:28your contract dollars voided.
07:32You know, he videotaped himself
07:34going 100 miles per hour,
07:35breaking the law,
07:36and then posted it to social media,
07:38which led to an arrest warrant.
07:40He is self-destructive.
07:41That is not debatable.
07:43You also know that
07:45if the relationship with him
07:48turns even remotely
07:51towards adverse,
07:53you know,
07:54like he doesn't get enough targets
07:56in a big game,
07:57he's not allowed to wear
07:59different practice gear
08:00than the other players
08:01and is called out for it,
08:03you know,
08:04and a list of things,
08:06he's probably going to go
08:08straight scorched earth nuclear
08:10on you publicly.
08:12Like, these are the cons.
08:14I'm sure I left some out.
08:16Those are the cons.
08:17At this point, for me,
08:20they would weigh heavily
08:21along with my gut
08:23that tells me
08:24he's not a serious person.
08:25He hasn't done anything
08:26to help himself
08:27in this thing
08:28from an action standpoint.
08:30He's been all mouth.
08:31All mouth.
08:32All meme.
08:34All, you know,
08:35video and social media.
08:37Not one action
08:38has he taken
08:39that would actually
08:40impact the outcome
08:42he's looking for.
08:43So, I would lean heavily
08:45no at this point.
08:47By the way,
08:48subject to change,
08:49he could go on
08:49an apology tour.
08:50He could try to repair
08:52his image
08:53just enough
08:54where a team might buy it.
08:56I don't know.
08:56But did I miss anything
08:58from the pros or cons list?
09:01Like you said,
09:02it's possible you did,
09:03but I didn't hear it.
09:04I mean,
09:04it seemed like you hit it out.
09:05You know,
09:05he touched all the bases.
09:06Like the non-debatable
09:07part of the cons list.
09:09Like, this isn't...
09:10Even the biggest supporters
09:12supporters of IU
09:13could not say
09:14with a straight face
09:15that he isn't self-destructive.
09:18Yeah, I mean,
09:19you know,
09:20I don't...
09:20I haven't understood
09:21how anybody
09:22was defending
09:23his side of this
09:25up until June 1st,
09:27which is when
09:28this all really started
09:30to explode with him
09:31on social media.
09:32Prior to that,
09:32this story was,
09:33hey, where is he?
09:34We haven't heard from him.
09:35You know,
09:35nobody seems to know
09:36what's going on.
09:37At that point,
09:38once he started
09:39the Instagram stuff,
09:40I just don't understand
09:40how anybody
09:41was remotely
09:44defending him.
09:45I mean,
09:45even before that,
09:46again,
09:46the 49ers
09:48felt that they were justified
09:49to take away
09:50over $20 million
09:51worth of guarantees
09:52to which IUK
09:53and the NFLPA
09:54did not fight.
09:56So,
09:56automatically,
09:57you're like,
09:58what's going on here?
09:58And now,
09:59it's just gotten,
10:00you know,
10:00more...
10:01I hate to say
10:02the word unhinged,
10:03but that's kind of
10:04the way it looks like
10:04from the outside.
10:05So, you know,
10:06I don't know
10:07what's going on
10:07with him,
10:08but the unstable element
10:11just does not seem
10:12like a move
10:12you'd want to make.
10:13And again,
10:14even beyond the
10:14Jaden Daniels part,
10:15you know,
10:15you got a first-time
10:18offensive coordinator here.
10:19Is this really something
10:20you want him to have
10:20to deal with
10:21on top of
10:22everything else?
10:24So, yeah,
10:25this would be
10:26much more surprising
10:27to me if he does show up.
10:28But, like I said,
10:30throughout this whole saga,
10:31I don't know
10:33what's going on.
10:33I mean,
10:34until Adam Peters
10:34says something,
10:35you know,
10:36even if it's no,
10:37then, you know,
10:38it's hard to know
10:38exactly what's happening.
10:39Yeah, by the way,
10:40the other obvious con
10:43at this point is
10:45you now have to consider
10:47after the last month,
10:48do you have the stomach
10:50for the public criticism
10:52that will come
10:53from many corners
10:55of your own fan base
10:57when you're still trying
10:59to re-attract
11:00many fans
11:02with the signing
11:04of him
11:04if you decide
11:05to move forward.
11:05That's where
11:06he's not helped
11:07any future employer
11:10over the last month
11:11because when he was
11:12just missing
11:13MIA,
11:15at least he was
11:16laying low
11:16and a lot wasn't
11:18being revealed
11:19about him
11:20personally.
11:21Now,
11:22there's a lot
11:23that's been revealed
11:23about him
11:24personally.
11:25All right.
11:26And by the way,
11:26like we talk about
11:27him going after
11:28the 49ers,
11:30he has a little
11:32bit milder tone,
11:33but he has still
11:33also gone after
11:34the NFLPA
11:36for the idea
11:37that the agent
11:39was still on his account.
11:41Now,
11:42technically,
11:42that is now different
11:43that he's not being
11:44represented by
11:45the same agent
11:46that was listed
11:47for all the time,
11:48but he's even
11:49going after the people
11:50who would,
11:52in theory,
11:52be the ones
11:52helping him the most.
11:54So,
11:55take that for what
11:55it's worth.
11:57All right.
11:57Tell everybody
11:58who Washington
11:59just signed
12:00and any sort
12:01of significance
12:02attached to it.
12:04Yeah.
12:04Rasul Douglas
12:05is a guy
12:05who's been a
12:06quarterback.
12:07He's played
12:07for a bunch
12:08of different teams
12:09and the Eagles
12:09started,
12:10I think,
12:11about 13 games
12:11last year
12:12for the Dolphins.
12:13You know,
12:14this is not
12:14bringing in
12:16prime Daryl Green
12:17or anything like that,
12:18but I wrote
12:19the other day,
12:20I did a mailbag,
12:21like,
12:21for all the talk
12:22about the receivers,
12:23you know,
12:24that they need
12:24more help,
12:26the cornerback
12:27room to me
12:28is the most
12:29concerning.
12:30When you look
12:31at the group
12:31that they have,
12:32considering that,
12:33you know,
12:33Trey Amos is
12:35going into a second
12:36year,
12:36coming off a
12:36fractured fibula,
12:37hasn't practiced,
12:38you know,
12:39since that injury.
12:41Mikey Sanders
12:42still very up and down
12:43last year,
12:44maybe better on the
12:44outside,
12:45but he's also giving
12:45up a ton of size.
12:47Amik Robertson,
12:48I guess,
12:48is the third corner,
12:49but he's best
12:51in the slot,
12:51and I don't know
12:52how much they're
12:53going to use the
12:53slot,
12:54considering they
12:55plan to be in,
12:55we think they
12:56plan to be in base
12:58most of the time,
12:59and the depth
13:00behind those guys
13:01is,
13:02you know,
13:02a combination of
13:04older vets who
13:05aren't roster locks
13:06or kind of random
13:10guys that either
13:10have been in the
13:11league for a minute
13:11or undrafted free
13:12agents,
13:13you know,
13:13so you're,
13:14you know,
13:14one injury away
13:15from having even
13:15more concern on the
13:17outside,
13:18so they had to do
13:18something.
13:19Again,
13:20I don't think
13:20Douglas isn't going
13:21to be the answer
13:21to all their
13:22problems,
13:22but,
13:23you know,
13:23it wouldn't even
13:24stun me if he
13:24ends up starting
13:25at some point
13:25because,
13:26again,
13:26he's played in
13:27the league,
13:27he's a quality
13:28guy,
13:28and now they
13:29have,
13:29at a minimum,
13:30they have a
13:30little bit more
13:31depth.
13:32Yeah,
13:32I mean,
13:32I think,
13:33you know,
13:34ultimately,
13:35they might say,
13:37first of all,
13:37our best corner is
13:38coming back off
13:39injury,
13:39we feel good
13:40about Trey Amos,
13:41but most importantly,
13:43what we really had
13:44to fix more than
13:45anything else was
13:46our ability on
13:47first down to
13:48stop the run
13:48and our ability
13:49on pass downs
13:50to get pressure,
13:51and with that,
13:53we got a shot
13:54to be pretty good
13:55on the back end
13:56because they haven't
13:57had either one
13:58of those two
13:58things for two
13:59years.
14:01Yeah,
14:01no,
14:01I mean,
14:02again,
14:02I think their
14:02off-season
14:03priorities were
14:05very logical,
14:06made a lot of
14:07sense,
14:08you know,
14:09it's a,
14:09you know,
14:10cart before the
14:11horse bit,
14:11you know,
14:11you got to have
14:12the pass rush,
14:13I know everything
14:13works in tandem,
14:14but the pass rush,
14:15I believe,
14:16you know,
14:17people in the league
14:18do as well,
14:19that the pass rush
14:20helps the secondary
14:20more than necessarily
14:22the other way around,
14:24and so,
14:25you know,
14:25look,
14:25the fact that,
14:26again,
14:26they are probably
14:26going to be a lot
14:27more base also meant
14:28they could de-emphasize
14:29sort of the corner room
14:31to an extent,
14:32obviously,
14:32there's high hopes
14:33that Trey Amos,
14:34based on what we saw
14:34last year,
14:35second-round pick,
14:36eventually emerges
14:37as a clear number one,
14:39I don't think we're
14:40there yet,
14:40and then,
14:41you know,
14:42Mikey Sanders still
14:43great instincts
14:46on passes thrown
14:47his way,
14:47he had half of their
14:48interceptions last year,
14:49but,
14:50you know,
14:50it was a tough ride
14:52for him in the slot,
14:53and on the outside,
14:55you know,
14:55he's feisty,
14:56but he gives up
14:56a lot of size,
14:57so,
14:58it definitely,
15:00to me,
15:00it's pretty obvious
15:01that the pass rush
15:02isn't there,
15:03then teams are going
15:03to have a good time
15:05throwing against
15:07Washington's corners,
15:07it's given enough time,
15:09so,
15:09yeah,
15:10it's all worked
15:10hand-in-hand,
15:11but they,
15:11at a minimum,
15:12needed more depth,
15:13and now,
15:14they at least have that.
15:16Ben covers the team
15:17via his sub-stack
15:19called Last Man Standing,
15:20I would urge everybody
15:22to subscribe,
15:23it's a couple of bucks
15:24a month,
15:24it's totally worth it,
15:26you can link to it
15:27on Ben's X account,
15:30at Ben Standing,
15:31he also has a podcast
15:32by the same name,
15:34you wrote about this,
15:38TJ Morim Yonga,
15:41sort of that pathway,
15:42that player pathway,
15:45you know,
15:46current guy on the team,
15:48that this is somebody
15:50who we should keep an eye on
15:53when we get to training camp,
15:54tell us why.
15:57Yeah,
15:58I mean,
15:58look,
15:58we've seen these players
15:59that,
16:00you know,
16:00the league has
16:00international pathway programs
16:02and athletes from
16:03around the globe,
16:04if they were so inclined
16:06to want to give football a try
16:07and the NFL people think
16:09there's something worthy
16:10here to develop,
16:11they get a chance
16:12to do just that
16:13with an organization
16:13without counting against
16:15the roster,
16:17Washington's done this now
16:18for a bit,
16:19you had David Bada
16:21was in that group,
16:22Samus Reyes graduated
16:23from that
16:24to being part
16:25of the actual roster,
16:27F.A. Obata,
16:28who was probably
16:29the most famous person
16:30to come through that
16:31along with
16:34oh crap,
16:35the Eagles,
16:36Jordan Maialata
16:37with the Eagles
16:38and so
16:39they get TJ,
16:41he was a rugby player,
16:42he's from Zimbabwe,
16:43he was playing professional rugby
16:44in France,
16:45in France's top league,
16:46he had never played football
16:48but he was familiar with it,
16:49he said,
16:50he told me he watched it
16:51a lot over there,
16:52Ray Lewis was his guy,
16:53things like that
16:54and he decided
16:55to give it a shot
16:57and the fact that
17:00he looks like
17:01a crazy athlete
17:02which is sort of the point,
17:036'4", 222,
17:05the rugby gives him
17:07a lot of the ability
17:08you need
17:09to rush a passer,
17:11the bend is pretty impressive,
17:12things like that,
17:13that doesn't mean
17:14you're going to be ready
17:15to go
17:15and they actually
17:16used him in a game
17:17last year
17:17in the regular season
17:18which I was stunned by
17:19the Broncos
17:21game where they lost,
17:22he only played 11 snaps
17:23but just putting him
17:24in the game
17:25said a lot
17:26and then
17:27fast forward
17:28to the end
17:29of minicamp,
17:30I don't know
17:30that any of us
17:31have asked about
17:32this guy
17:32to Dan Quinn
17:33in the two years
17:35or the year plus
17:35he's been here
17:36but Dan Quinn
17:37when saying
17:38which player
17:38stood out to him
17:40during the offseason
17:41program,
17:41not talking about
17:42Jaden Daniels
17:43or McLaurin
17:43but like,
17:44you know,
17:44some of the guys
17:45deeper cut on the roster,
17:46the first name
17:47he mentioned
17:47is TJ
17:49and,
17:50you know,
17:51there's a crowded room
17:52on the edge
17:53in the defensive line,
17:54there may not be
17:55an opening for him
17:56and because they can
17:57keep him
17:58on the IPP
18:00with that exemption,
18:01maybe that's the plan
18:02but he played
18:04in the game last year,
18:05he's got a really
18:05impressive athleticism
18:06and Dan Quinn
18:07mentioned him,
18:08I think that's worthy
18:09of keeping an eye on
18:10for sure.
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