Steelers, Jalen Carter Trade Makes Perfect Sense!

[00:00:00]Let's talk some Pittsburgh Steelers football and let's get things kicking here with a little Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle trade idea.

[00:00:11]For those of you floating around the internet for the last couple of days, you've noticed that a lot of contract extensions are being signed. The NFL is in contract extension season as mini camp comes to a halt, the break between mini camp and training camp begins and teams are looking to get deals done. And the one guy who hasn't signed a deal yet and who isn't expected to sign a deal is good old Jalen Carter. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Philadelphia Eagles are hesitant to pay Jalen Carter. He says, quote, "Philadelphia is telling you what you need to know with its actions. The Eagles have always been aggressive paying their own in large part because they know that the earlier you do the deal, the better the price you'll get.

[00:00:56]It's a strategy that takes commitment from ownership which Philly clearly has and has deserved or and has served the team very well over the years. Jalen Carter may be on the block for any team that is interested and I will make a very strong statement to kick this things off this thing off. The Pittsburgh Steelers should be in. They should be making phone calls because it makes too much sense to replace Cam Heyward which you're planning to do right now with Keeanu Benton with a significantly better player in Jalen Carter. Yes, you'll have to pay him.

[00:01:35]Yes, you'll have to pay Keeanu Benton.

[00:01:37]No, you're not undervaluing Keeanu Benton. You're paying him defensive tackle money. It doesn't make much of a difference in terms of finances. To me, you could get a trade done. You do get a trade done and if the Philadelphia Eagles are not looking to keep him then they may get rid of them for almost nothing.

[00:01:59]What's your thoughts?

[00:02:00]>> Well, you know, two things to kind of start things off. Perhaps the Philadelphia Eagles are are not looking to speed into any sort of contract extension with Jalen Carter. Maybe it's just a matter of time because as you as you put it, they do tend to take care of their own. I would liken them to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sense that when they draft and develop and put some time into their players, they often times will reward those guys that they established to be foundational players.

[00:02:25]You would think 24-year-old Jalen Carter who's been maybe there's been some up and ups and downs during his couple of years with the Philadelphia Eagles, but by all intents and purposes, by all accounts, is a very good young defensive lineman. If the Pittsburgh Steelers can open up a line of communication with Howie Roseman, somebody's going to get one over on the old Philadelphia Eagles.

[00:02:45]It seems like they have won every single trade and then some over the past few years of they as they have ascended into Super Bowl uh status.

[00:02:54]Someone's going to eventually take a player from them that the Eagles were too eager to give up that they shouldn't have been. Maybe this is the situation that this develops. The Pittsburgh Steelers would be better with Jalen Carter, obviously. The question that pops up for me right off the bat is, okay, you have to package either Keanu Benton and a draft pick to get him or a Wyatt black and a draft pick to get him.

[00:03:17]>> Total sound bite.

[00:03:17]>> Are you Yeah, are you okay with that if you're No, I'm straight fine with it.

[00:03:20]Are the Pittsburgh Steelers okay with it? I guess is is my question.

[00:03:24]>> I don't know why they wouldn't be. Why would you not be fine with either of those guys? It's not like this is Derrick Harmon we're talking about where you're saying, we're giving up a first-round pick for a guy that comes with some concerns and is going to want a lot of money. No, you're giving up Keanu Benton, a guy that we're not even certain the Pittsburgh Steelers is going to sign right now. And are we expecting them to? Yes, but we're expecting them to sign them to 15 to 20 million dollars in that price range, which is a lot of money for a guy that is really just a pass rusher and is not as good as Jalen Carter, just flat out. [laughter] So, to me, if you're replacing him with a Jalen Carter, if you're just trading him for nothing, it's a different conversation.

[00:04:08]If you're trading Keeanu Benton or Wyatt Black for a wide receiver, quarterback, corner, safety, whatever, different conversation. But, just to straight-up replace him, why wouldn't you?

[00:04:21]To me, I don't think the Steelers would have any issues. And I don't think Wyatt Black is very valuable, but I think Keeanu Benton is. I think if the Philadelphia Eagles are thinking about re-signing somebody, but they don't want to invest $30 million, which is what Albert Breer says the price might be for a Jalen Carter >> per year?

[00:04:37]>> per year, which is a lot of money. I would expect that to be high.

[00:04:41]I would expect them imagine that keep paying Keeanu Benton 20 would be absolutely no issue. And if Keeanu could go there, replace Jalen Carter, the Steelers get Jalen Carter, they're willing to take the risk on him, cool. I think that's what it comes down to more is are the Steelers or the Eagles willing to take the risk on Jalen Carter?

[00:05:02]And who's willing to take him more? And I think Pittsburgh should be. I want to give a shout-out to PrizePicks, America's number one sports picks app, and the best place to win cash while watching sports. It's easy. Just pick your players, set your lineups, and watch. You'll pick more or less on individual stats for each player, or you could pick winner spreads or totals on any major game, or you could get creative like we do here and pick on certain mentions. Plus, PrizePicks operates in most states, including California, Texas, and Florida. Got a fun one for this weekend. What will the announcers say during the Andre Lima versus Kevin Borjas UFC fight? And there is a ton that could come out during this, but I'm going to be honest, I'm a I'm a big shoot for the stars guy, and we're going to shoot for the stars here. I'm going to go with a knockout, because why not? Using my promo code HMA or by clicking the link below, new users who play $5 get $50 in lineups. Just download the app using the promo code and the link. Can't wait to hear your lineups. Pittsburgh should be They They should be willing to take the risk in almost any situation because there is not a lot that you can tell me about this team that isn't trying to be all in by their actions and by their coaching staff decisions. So, they should be the team taking the risk in a lot of these situations. If a talented player with some concerns pops up, they should be the first team making a call. I'm not saying they have to do it. I again, I I'm the one who brings up this logjam idea at the defensive line. And I'm also a guy who believes in when you draft players like Yaya Black, when you draft players like Keanu Benton, I'm more patient with them than I am willing to go use them as trade bait whenever you see the potential, especially when it's also been productive on the field. Bit of a digression. The Steelers should be aggressive in this, [laughter] for sure.

[00:06:47]And I think if they're not, it's because they have too much faith and trust in the group that they already have in the room.

[00:06:53]I I feel the same way. If they weren't aggressive in this situation, it's because they have a lot of faith in the team that they have in front of them.

[00:07:01]But if that's the case, sign Keanu. And sign Keanu immediately. Like why are we having even this debate or conversation?

[00:07:08]If you're all in on Keanu, be all in on Keanu. If you're not, though, that's where it gets very interesting.

[00:07:14]Just like you said. If the Steelers have 50% chance of re-signing Keanu Benton, trade him.

[00:07:20]Why Why wouldn't you just look to get rid of him for somebody who can come in here and replace? That's the biggest part of this. It's not just get rid of him. You're not trading him for a fifth-round pick. You're trading him for a a guy who upgrades the position. And truthfully, they should be anyways. Yaya Black, I don't think I'd put on the table. But I don't think the Eagles would be all in on him Yaya Black anyways. I think that that would cost more, but what realistically would it cost for Jalen Carter?

[00:07:47]>> I mean, if the Pittsburgh Steelers were willing to dangle Keanu Benton, I don't think it would take much more in addition to him to get the job done.

[00:07:55]>> Okay.

[00:07:55]>> Cuz listen, Keanu Benton's a good player in the right system, he becomes a great player. Maybe that's with Pittsburgh, maybe that's outside of the organization. I'm not 100% sure, but Keanu Benton has a great reputation around the NFL. Not This is not just a situation where maybe the team that currently has the player has a a higher valuation of him than the rest of the league. I think it's probably the opposite if anything. The rest of the NFL sees Keanu Benton as a very talented interior defensive lineman. The Eagles would take him and they'd finagle a third round pick or something crazy like that. But if you're the Pittsburgh Steelers, you probably feel like you win that deal and maybe you just do, but the Eagles also again, until someone definitively beats them on a trade, makes them look downright silly on a trade, I will always suspect that they are going to be the winners of any deal they're involved with.

[00:08:44]>> [laughter] >> Yeah, me too. Me too. However, I agree with you if if Jalen Carter works well and you sign him and there are no issues, then you did win the trade.

[00:08:55]Well, unless the Eagles end up with Keanu Benton becoming an all pro and whoever they use as the third round pick becomes a pro bowler. I mean, you got a guy who is a pro bowler, who is very good, who's only I believe 24, 25 years old.

[00:09:10]>> turned 25.

[00:09:10]>> Just turned 25 years old. This dude's got his whole career ahead of him.

[00:09:13]You're going to sign him to a four-year deal. He's going to be 29 when it's all over.

[00:09:18]Would you sign him to $30 million?

[00:09:21]>> Well, if if possibly, because there is there is this hypothetical situation where you were to send out Keanu Benton, you bring in Jalen Carter, then you know you have your you know, your heir to Cam Heyward waiting to take over. And that's right now I think he's making what like 18 20 million dollars this year Cam Heyward is. So you put that with Keanu Benton's expected raise.

[00:09:45]That's more than you probably would be giving to Jalen Carter in a 30 million APY deal. So it's it's a little rich for my taste because you know last year was his worst statistical season. He also had the whole you know the whole DAC thing.

[00:09:59]>> on a guy. He missed a game.

[00:10:01]>> this is not the first character thing.

[00:10:03]You know there's been some vroom vroom stuff.

[00:10:05]>> That has been some vroom vroom.

[00:10:06]>> You know he went to Georgia dude.

[00:10:07]Everybody's got some vroom vroom stuff.

[00:10:08]>> That is fun fact of the day.

[00:10:11]>> It's very true.

[00:10:12]>> 15 driving related violations happened to University of Georgia football players or coaching staff in the calendar year of 2023.

[00:10:20]>> [laughter] >> Just the calendar year.

[00:10:23]Unreal.

[00:10:24]>> kind of funny but terrible.

[00:10:26]>> Yeah, you know poor decisions. So is the character we've talked a lot about character recently and what is new new look Steelers team thinks of character and where the priority ranks. Is Jalen Carter a high character guy that you want to give 30 million dollars a year to? Probably not. Is he market value worth probably 25 to 30 million dollars for his next contract? I think so.

[00:10:49]>> Dude, somebody's going to pay Jalen Carter 30 million dollars. Whoever it is is going to get a very good player. The Pittsburgh Steelers should make that happen and if all it costs is Keanu Benton and a third round pick, I'm going to do it immediately. I'm not even thinking about it honestly. That would be the perfect It's the best trade idea the Pittsburgh Steelers could have all off season is to go and upgrade at defensive tackle and get a Jalen Carter and make that line absolutely ridiculous with no holes because right now there is a hole. It's nose tackle. You still talk about it. You still bring it up every time.

[00:11:22]I don't know if Jalen Carter plays nose tackle consistently, but I'm willing to find out. I'm definitely definitely willing to find out. All right.