Analyze this quote from Mike MacDonald

Sounds like someone who is being honest. So many variables at play. Most new coaches like to find their own “guy”. He will likely be in John’s ear up to the draft to see if there is someone worth shooting for. Regardless, I imagine competition will be wide open. Geno won’t just be handed the starting job.

Exciting times ahead kiddies! Buckle up!

He's being honest. He's mentioned several times he's not going to try and be someone he isn't. He's not a liar, clearly. It's nice to see someone who doesn't sugar coat stuff.
I won't miss the golly gee stuff with Pete.

PS…I love Levine. A true fan and consummate professional.

I'd say it's up to JS and Ryan Grubb to decide who fits the plan
if both or one does or possibly neither one.
It's a new era and I think this is a reset year, it may take 2 years
to do most of what's coming.
In all honesty I really think MM is hands off on the offense.
I'm ok with that.

Why give away your draft plans by answering such a silly question

Nothing to interpet. I would expect nothing more or less.

What's he supposed to say,,,,no? A lot of things have to happen before anybody know's the answer and that includes Macdonald himself.

Still great to hear. He could have said we're looking forward to what the future holds with Geno as our starting qb, yada yada, and he didn't do that. So, it's wide open at this point, as it should be. Excellent.

Yeah, it's an honest answer, and a careful one. There's a lot of work left to do to plan the future of the position. And they certainly don't want to tip their hand.

We have an entirely new offense under an entirely new coordinator. Geno's past performance (whatever you think of it) is irrelevant. Having a QB competition is the ONLY good way to pick the starter.

re-sign Drew, draft a QB later in the draft and throw him in the mix. May the best man win.

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think teams are allowed to be in contact with agents yet?

I think he would give the same answer for any position either way, so this is an absolute nothing answer

Yeah, not much to see there. New staff, new team, draft coming up. Would be stupid to give anything away regarding future plans, plans that probably aren't finalized yet anyway. Important thing is that they're talking to the guys, letting them know what's up. No need to extend that out of house.

Good answer. Everything should be on the table right now.

Whether it's not tipping your hand pre-draft, or just an honest answer.

I like it. Always Compete. Where the F that went, who knows. I'm just glad to see some colder analysis done. Let's do what makes some sense instead of driving down roads for 'popularity' sake.

I like it alot. Now let's clean Fing house. On all fronts. Could name names, but would probably get blasted for it - there's some people who throw props to a bunch of players that have become, if not puffballs, prima donnas at least.

Anyhow, nice. Been up to my ass at work, and haven't been following BigMac as much as I should - but first real concrete indication that it's not gonna be the same ol' bullshit on his watch.

bigcc said:

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think teams are allowed to be in contact with agents yet?

I think he would give the same answer for any position either way, so this is an absolute nothing answer

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Teams can talk to their own players of course, like restructuring Geno's contract.

NFL free agency will officially begin on March 13, 2024, at 4 p.m. ET. This is the period where players can officially sign new contracts with other teams. This is also the beginning of the new league year.

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The legal tampering period for NFL free agency is from March 11 at 12 p.m. to March 13 at 4 p.m. ET. At this time, teams are allowed to speak with unrestricted free agents. While no official signings can be made, deals and agreements often occur."

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What I'm not sure about is unrestricted free agents from your own team - are they considered off limits as well? I would assume so. So no talking with Drew until March 11. I'm sure he will test the waters elsewhere even if the Seahawks are interested in bringing him back. The question is whether other teams are more interested than us.

Torc said:

Teams can talk to their own players of course, like restructuring Geno's contract.





What I'm not sure about is unrestricted free agents from your own team - are they considered off limits as well? I would assume so. So no talking with Drew until March 11. I'm sure he will test the waters elsewhere even if the Seahawks are interested in bringing him back. The question is whether other teams are more interested than us.

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Thanks for clarification, yes I meant for ufa's, I'm also unsure on geno, did the team actually need his permission to switch from roster to signing bonus? I honestly don't know.

Here's a bit of clarification on free agents though, also has the official NFLPA rules there if anyone wants some light reading (456 pages, a lot of interesting stuff though if you pick out the right sections)


Teams are allowed to negotiate with the agents of upcoming unrestricted free agents during the "Two Day Negotiating Period," a window prior to the start of free agency (in 2023: from noon ET on March 13 until 4 p.m. ET on March 15). Self-represented players ("Unrepresented Player") can also speak with members of team front offices (but not coaching staffs) during this period; this was previously prohibited.

The dates are all a day off I think, but you get the gist, rules have been consistent with the cba since 2020

I find it very difficult to believe that teams don't find ways to work around it for their own guys (risk tampering and losing picks if another team), but gives you an idea.

There's still time to potentially tag leonard, but outside of that we're going to be empty on news until FA officially begins

I liked Lock fine as a backup but let’s be honest here they didn’t hire Macdonald to stick with the status quo. Lock had 2 years to unseat Geno and couldn’t do it. New staff tells me it’s time for new blood to push Geno in camp this year. I’d be disappointed if they roll with the same 1-2 qb duo. I will add though that if Lock came back on a non guaranteed contract to earn a spot I’d be ok with that but we still need fresh blood. I also don’t see Lock coming back for no guaranteed money.

I think it's an unusual and surprising answer. One guy is under contract for quite a bit so a standard answer would be "We look forward to having Geno in camp . . ." The other is a free agent so a standard answer would be "We hope to resign Drew . . ." I don't there's a clear message. It's just perplexing and leads me to think all possibilities remain open. That implies Geno is available for trade if we get the right offer but coming back to compete if we don't. It also implies we'll try to sign Drew and give him a chance to compete too unless he goes elsewhere. Lastly it implies we're open to yet other possibilities, which could include drafting a QB.

Very different than what Pete would have said. He would have given a very clear, "Geno's our guy" answer and would have opined about how wonderful he is. Geno's main backer is no longer in the house. That doesn't mean he's necessarily gone. But he's not being protected; I think that much is clear.

Mike isn't the GM, this is Schnieders show, I'm sure they work together but at this point it's also about assembling the puzzle and how much we can afford to pay. Back up QB is important, but, so are starting LB's and DT's.