Cowboying up the preparations for fake football in Dallas

With some roster depth issues for preseason football, Luke Jones and Nestor discuss Ravens’ real depth chart and leadership prepping for another season of huge expectations in Owings Mills.

Luke Jones and Nestor Aparicio discussed the Baltimore Ravens’ preseason depth and leadership. The Ravens are dealing with injuries, including Bilal Koon and Robert Longerbeam, who were placed on IR. Jair Alexander, a new cornerback, is making a positive impact, with players like Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters praising his influence. The team is also managing the health of key players like Woozy Adebayo and Jair Alexander, aiming for a balance of performance and injury prevention. The conversation also touched on the NFL’s preseason format, suggesting a rebranding to improve fan engagement and player safety.

• [ ] Analyze the preseason depth and leadership of the Ravens.
• [ ] Discuss potential changes to the preseason format to make it more engaging for fans.
• [ ] Assess the leadership and personalities on the Ravens’ defense, especially the addition of Jaire Alexander.

Ravens Preseason Depth and Injuries

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the show and mentions various upcoming events and sponsorships.
• Luke Jones discusses the Ravens’ running back situation, noting that key players like Derrick Henry and Justice Hill are not playing in preseason games.
• Luke mentions minor injuries to Keaton Mitchell and Marcus Major, and the addition of Ernest Johnson and Miles Gaskin to the roster.
• Luke talks about the injury to Bilal Kone and the placement of Robert Longerbeam on injured reserve, noting John Harbaugh’s vague explanation.

Cornerback Depth and Jair Alexander’s Impact

• Luke Jones discusses the impact of Jair Alexander’s signing and the potential depth at the cornerback position.
• Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones talk about the importance of preseason games for young players trying to make the team or develop.
• Luke mentions the need for healthy bodies at the back end of the roster and the recent signings of defensive backs and running backs.
• Luke highlights the importance of preseason games for players like Keaton Mitchell and Cooper Rush to show their worth.

Preseason Game Strategy and Injury Concerns

• Luke Jones and Nestor Aparicio discuss the NFL’s preseason game problem and potential solutions, such as rebranding preseason games as showcases.
• Luke suggests a model where starters play in controlled scrimmages and a 30-minute game to balance risk and development.
• Luke mentions the importance of keeping players healthy, especially starters like Lamar Jackson, and the subjective nature of preseason game strategies.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the Ravens’ history with injuries and the need for depth and versatility in the roster.

Leadership and Personality on the Ravens Team

• Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discuss the leadership and personality on the Ravens team, mentioning players like Marlon Humphrey, Roquan Smith, and Jair Alexander.
• Luke notes that Jair Alexander is still in the honeymoon phase but has been positive and well-received by teammates.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the importance of leadership and the various personalities on the team, including Lamar Jackson and the new Hall of Fame wide receiver.
• Luke mentions Jair Alexander’s charity work and his positive impact on the team, despite his injury history.

Jair Alexander’s Role and Team Dynamics

• Luke Jones discusses Jair Alexander’s role and the potential platoon system with Woozy Adebayo at the cornerback position.
• Nestor Aparicio and Luke talk about the financial commitment to Jair Alexander and the expectations for his performance.
• Luke mentions the importance of having one or both cornerbacks available throughout the season, especially in January.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the depth at safety and the potential for players like Malachi Starks and Sanusi Kane to step up.

Final Thoughts and Upcoming Games

• Luke Jones and Nestor Aparicio wrap up the discussion, noting the importance of the upcoming preseason games and the need for healthy players.
• Luke mentions the Ravens’ practice schedule and the upcoming game against Dallas, highlighting the importance of these games for young players.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the overall health of the team and the potential for a strong season, despite the challenges of preseason.
• The conversation ends with a focus on the Ravens’ upcoming games and the importance of maintaining a balanced and healthy roster.

Luke Jones and Nestor discuss …er season of huge expectations

Mon, Aug 11, 2025 8:52AM • 29:44

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Ravens preseason, depth, leadership, injuries, Jair Alexander, Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, roster, practice squad, training camp, Buffalo game, preseason games, defensive backs, starters, health.

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SPEAKERS

Luke Jones, Speaker 1, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T AM, 1570 tasks of Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. It is our 27th anniversary. Some point, Jessica gave me our new logo. I just haven’t put it up, and I got to change the the orange skies to purple skies over, over the football stadium after our takedown of the Orioles here this week, but I’m going to be taking down, you know, probably some good food this month, but also some Ocean City Maryland this weekend. We’re going to be down on the convention center floor at Mako later on in the week, and then we’re just getting going with crab cake tours. We’re going to be everywhere beginning next week. Going to be Cooper’s going to be Coco is going to be fade leaves going to be pizza. John’s going to be cost this up in Timonium as well. And we’re going to have Maryland lottery scratch on Wally last lucky sevens doublers for our 27th anniversary as well as the pressure locks. I’ll have the Whammy out. We put the whammy on the Orioles here. We’re going to get to the Ravens. Luke Jones is joining us now. It is another long week of not so hot kind of weather has been kind of like, holding up. Okay? They’re going to go down to Dallas this week, and it’s August, and they’re like, they’re out of running backs. Explain all this to me, Luke, oh, they’re

Luke Jones  01:10

not out of running backs. They’re just out of running backs that they want to use in preseason. You don’t you don’t want to play Derrick, Henry, you don’t want to play Justice Hill, Keaton Mitchell, I think after the way he looked on Thursday night, you probably didn’t want to play him anyway, but dealing with a little bit of a minor injury right now, which I don’t think is a major concern. I mean, he was out on the practice field observing the other day, so whatever this is, it’s a couple days. I don’t think it’s like anything serious, but it’s led them to a position where you say, okay, rashina Ali, fine, but we also have had Marcus major in camp, a rookie who had a concussion, and he’s back practicing now. So they brought into Ernest Johnson last week, which, if you remember, he actually was a decent running back for the Browns for five minutes, and they added miles Gaskin over the weekend. So we’re going to see a lot of those two guys, I think, against Dallas on Saturday night. So So you have that the other position, we talked about this, obviously, with Bilal Kone, who injured his knee, ugly injury in the preseason game. Well, come to find out, their other six round cornerback, Robert longer beam, they put on injured reserve. On Sunday, John Harbaugh was very this was weird. And look, I know we make we’ve poked a lot of fun and at times, had frustration. And as far as John Harbaugh not exactly being forthcoming with injuries, but this one was weird because it’s, it’s a six round corner. He’s out for the year. And John just said, that’s a really long story that I couldn’t even get into if I wanted to. It almost makes you wonder if it’s like, I don’t want to lie, because we’re stashing this guy because we didn’t really think he was going to play much this year anyway. And he’s a six round pick and kind of a developmental guy. But the answer, if that were the answer. And I don’t know that that’s purely me, just, you know, my conjecture, but when you when you’re that vague about it, then people ask questions about it. So But long story short, there are two six rounds,

Nestor Aparicio  03:11

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John, why so much that I just almost stopped paying attention? Because it doesn’t. It’s like a Trump press conference. It doesn’t have any value to me. But this

Luke Jones  03:19

was a little bit different in the sense that, you know, this isn’t he’s out for the year. He was a six round pick that wasn’t really going to do much this year, other than maybe be on special teams, right? I mean, that’s kind of what the realistic best case scenario is for a six round corner. But so it’s just strange on that front, but it really speaks to, I remember when the Ravens signed Jair Alexander, not so much, you and I, because we know how this works, in the sense that all it takes is a couple of injuries. But when they signed Jair Alexander, there was this thought of, do they have too many corners? How are they going to fit all these guys on the roster? What does this mean for Jalen armor Davis? What’s this mean for TJ Tampa? Well, Jalen Jalen armor Davis, if he can stay healthy, which has obviously been the story of his career. To me, he’s gone from being on the bubble and maybe the wrong side of the bubble to he’s a lock now to be on the roster if he’s healthy. And now I wonder if you know a guy that I’ve mentioned to you as far as an undrafted rookie that I like you know, not that I’m ready to put on the roster yet, but Ruben Lowry had an interception in practice again on Sunday. He’s played some corner, he’s played some nickel. He’s played a lot of safety this summer, after he played a lot of corner back in the spring, when you talk about these two six round draft picks now being on IR and out for the year, does that open the door for a Ruben Lowry, who has some versatility, albeit developmentally. Does that create a path for him to sneak on the roster as the 53rd guy? I don’t know. We’ll see, but it is unfortunate, just from the standpoint of those six round guys, you also miss out on a year apart. Practice for those guys. I mean, you’d like to have them go through the practice year, even if you end up waving them and putting them on practice on the practice squad. You like them having a full year on the field. And now these guys are going to miss out on that because they have knee

Nestor Aparicio  05:12

injuries. But that’s where TJ Tampa was, and some of these other guys too,

Luke Jones  05:15

right? I mean, that’s what TJ Tampa, or I said this to you after, after we talked about it, but now that I saw the exact snap count. He played all 80 defensive snaps, and I think he also played, I think was 15 or 16 special team snaps. They gave him a vet day on Saturday, like he’s not a vet. They gave him a day because he played an entire football game on Thursday night. But it’s one reason I asked John Harbaugh about him after the game. He needed that because he was injured last year, missed just about all of training camp, or, I think, all but, like, maybe the last week and a half, two weeks something like that, had another injury during the season, was a healthy scratch quite often, didn’t really get a chance, even in some of their blowout wins, to really play that much defensively.

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Nestor Aparicio  05:59

Yeah, I mean, these reps

Speaker 1  05:59

have to be for somebody in these these games, right? Literally, somebody’s got to play. I’m the first, almost like the Orioles bullpen. I am the first guy to admit, I mean, I call it fake football. I’m the first guy to say I have no interest in seeing the starters play. There is still value to preseason for guys like that, right? Young guys that are either trying to make the team, young guys that are trying to develop at the next level. I mean, Keaton Mitchell trying to show he can go do it. Keaton Mitchell showing, hey, I’m I’m back to being the guy. Or Cooper rush, showing that maybe

Nestor Aparicio  06:31

this needs to get better, the

Luke Jones  06:32

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quarterback. I mean, Cooper Rush was one thing Leary. I mean, John Harbaugh was still talking about that a couple days later. Well, I

Nestor Aparicio  06:39

mean, you mentioned already, they’ve already cut the other kicker, right? Because it is like now, but you know, we immediately make it to a preseason game. They weren’t cut it in kicks in the preseason games. Why haven’t there

Luke Jones  06:49

was that, and there was also, they needed the roster spots because they had enough back end guys that were banged up that look, you can rest the guys you want to rest, but to your point, you still have to play the game. You still need enough young guys to go out there and play, and you don’t want to be in a position where guys are needing to play the entire football game, right? I mean, they’ve had some years. I think they had this happened last year. They were so banged up on their defensive line. They had CJ Ravenel, who was on their practice squad and made a couple nice plays on Thursday night, you know, probably you know he’s on I’d say he’s on the bubble, but I think on the wrong side of the bubble at this point, he’s at least on the radar, I’d say. But last year, they had him playing like edge rusher because they were so banged up and they didn’t want to play their starters. So you need to have healthy bodies at the back end of that roster to get through these next couple games. So that’s why they signed the Ernest Johnson and Miles Gaskin at running back. That’s why they’ve signed, you know, they they just brought in a defensive back over the weekend, you know, back end roster guy, but those are the guys that need to play and and for those guys, it’s a great opportunity. They’re going to get a chance to put some for in their mind, hopefully some good play on tape that you can catch on somewhere if you don’t catch on with the Ravens practice squad. So, so that’s kind of where we are. But here’s the good news for you, as you and I are, you know, coming out of the weekend and the Ravens practiced over the weekend, relatively uneventful. You know that, like we said, a couple guys banged up right now, the rookie six round corners, but overall, not any major headline per se, but Sunday talking August 10 marked four weeks until we are now under four weeks until the Buffalo game. So we’re finally inching ever closer to, you know that that’s starting to be, you know, it’s this whole hurry up and wait mindset that you have once training camp starts. You know, we’re past the midway point of what you would consider training camp, and we’re starting to get closer. You know, John horrible. He was asked over the weekend he didn’t completely dismiss the idea of playing a couple more veterans in the preseason. I don’t see it. I just don’t we’re seeing too many guys. I mean, look at the Chargers. They lost their left tackle to a patellar tendon tear. The Eagles may have lost their pro bowl guard on Sunday. That was a stadium practice. I mean, guys get hurt in practices. You really want to throw them out there in the preseason and risk some of your best players for what I mean, I hear it. I hear it. I’ll hear and I agree the Ravens need to start faster. But my question is, what exactly is this imagined threshold, as far as the number of plays that you would play in the preseason that is going to avoid that problem, right? I mean, is it is it is it two series? Is it three series? Did they need to play an entire half? I mean, like it’s, it’s so subjective like that, to me, like that kind of argument falls into the self fulfilling prophecy as much as anything, because there’s only one outcome I can control with these preseason games. You. It is, I can guarantee that Lamar Jackson does not get hurt in a preseason game by doing what, not playing Lamar Jackson in a preseason game. I cannot guarantee that Lamar or any any player, and I just use Lamar as an example, because he’s the most important player, I cannot. There’s nothing I can do that truly ensures that I’m going to get the value out of playing in the preseason. I mean, it’s, it’s purely subjective, right? Some and every team feels differently. Andy Reid plays his starters. Maybe that’s enough argument in someone’s mind that the Ravens should play their starters. I don’t know, but hey, the Ravens played their starters three years ago, and JK Dobbins tore up his knee on the opening drive down at Landover, right? So, you know, I have no problem with how the Ravens do this. I mean, I really don’t. On that front,

Nestor Aparicio  10:52

they sell tickets that, you know, they probably should.

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Luke Jones  10:55

That’s a league. That’s a leak. I’ve said this the NFL, I think they could absolutely fix their preseason game problem. You need to rebrand the preseason as preseason showcases. You can still sell tickets, you know, tie in some charity connections too, you know, it’ll make them, you know, the perception of it looks better, but this is what you do. They love these joint practices now they they have these joint practices with the team. They then play in a preseason game two or three days later at the stadium, you have a preseason showcase all of your starters. They do a controlled scrimmage that way, and they wear their game jerseys that way. You still get to see like if you’re someone who hasn’t gone out to Owings Mills, you pay for a ticket and maybe the RAM sign autographs when they’re in town, right? But, but at the very least, you get to see Lamar Jackson and the starters suit up for a scrimmage. Lamar wears a red jersey so he doesn’t get sacked, doesn’t get hit. You decrease the risk of an injury there. And then what you do after you’ve done that, you then play a 30 minute game. You play a half, and coaches can play whoever the heck they want in the in that 30 minute game, to me, that would be the best of both worlds, and it would absolutely sweeten up the value. It would be a little It sounds weird. I get it. It’s not like a convention

Nestor Aparicio  12:18

all time low to play, and you turn it into a festival, and you make it 10 bucks to get in, and everybody can bring their family down, maybe get 35,000 people there. Maybe it looks like something that doesn’t look like what it looked like the other night. Because I don’t even like that for 20 years. And it took like that for 50 years in the NFL. I mean, we had our moment here where, like, the preseason games were actually fun for a little while here in the Billick era, when they could

Luke Jones  12:45

get me, I don’t even, I don’t even think you need to look I’m all in favor of making preseason or making any game, as affordable and as cheap as possible for fans, understanding that people have disposable income. Only so much disposable income. I’m not even talking about lowering the price. I’m saying keep even if you want to keep the tickets as they are, you just you rebrand it as a scrimmage that, hey, healthy starters are going to play in a scrimmage in the same way that they do in a joint practice. But because that’s how, that’s how teams like the ravens are getting their veteran players ready for the season. These joint practices have essentially become preseason are

Nestor Aparicio  13:26

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they doing one of those in Dallas this week? No, but I didn’t think they were right.

Luke Jones  13:30

They’re doing one down with the Redskins. Excuse me, the commanders, yes, yeah, yeah, so, but you just take that to the stadium for what used to be the preseason game, and then you still play a half of a game, and that’s where you can play anyone you want, including, hey, if Andy Reid wants to play Patrick mahomes and his starters, and that they can play a series in that. So I just that’s what I would do. Like, if you were asking me, what’s the fix, other than just getting rid of preseason games entirely, like if you’re saying, we still want to have a a model where there’s three preseason tickets that we’re selling. That’s what you do. You do it that way, because at the very least you could sell to your fans. Hey, you’re going to get to see Lamar Jackson actually do something rather than Lamar. And really, all it is, it is now is he goes through pregame warm ups, and doesn’t even go through all the pregame warmups. He, you know, throw some passes, does a little bit of that. But then once they break into their 11 on 11 warm up, it’s Cooper rush and the guys that are actually going to play in the game. So that’s what I would do with that. But hey, we’re getting closer, at least. We’re under four weeks. You know, the Ravens we’ve already seen. You know, the injuries, you know, with likely, obviously, ardarius Washington in the spring, they already have been bitten by the injury bug, probably more than they were last year. You know, if we’re kind of being honest, they have more car wrecks last year than they had injury bugs, right? Yeah. I mean, once they got, once they got to the season, I mean, they didn’t, you know what Michael Pierce went on IR for, what six weeks, I think it was. I mean, that. Is the most notable, other than the timing of zay flowers at the very end of the year. I mean, he had a three week knee injury, and was the worst three weeks. They didn’t even

Nestor Aparicio  15:08

have a lot of guys last year that played poorly. Marcus Williams, I mean, Brandon Stevens. Maybe you know for sure the off ball linebacker position was a problem for them. But by and large, you know, the starting 22 positions, you know, they they had 15, you know, plus performers and five guys and a couple of other guys that they wanted to improve the position, maybe file lately, although it feels like they might be in love with him. But, you know, Thursday night. Yeah, deep, depth and their you know, the what the roster has been for them has allowed for them to these preseason games don’t mean much. The preseason doesn’t mean much they know in May who all their starters are going to be, minus an edge rusher or a veteran. Speaking of that, JR Alexander, seeing, you know, lot of talk, lot of mouth, lot of this, lot of that, lot of leadership. He’s bringing guys over. He wants to step in and be the alpha dog and be all of that. What are you what are you getting from that? Because we spent an hour talking about the Orioles having no leadership right now. I mean, I first off what I think about Marlon Humphries as well as well worn but the roquan Smith thing and the Kyle Hamilton thing and the grown up thing and Malachi Starks thing and Lamar being Lamar, and them importing this hall of fame wide receiver to be a part of this, and just the tight end with a lot to prove, there’s just a lot of personality, I think, going on with the team in a general sense that was already here. A lot of guys have lost a lot of playoff games here. You know what I mean? And I mean, like even Bateman is a guy we don’t talk about him much. He’s a first round pick that is sort of better this that, but we talk about zay more than we talk about him. And certainly they’ve had enough high profile Johnny Bravo wide receivers here the last couple of years, going to the Hall of somewhere that we’ve it hasn’t been oxygen for him, but there’s a lot of personality on this team. It’s not Ed Reed and Ray Lewis and that. It’s not like that, but, but certainly to try to come in, and as Paul Stanley once said to me about Vinnie Vincent, you don’t step into the cockpit of the 747, and tell the pilot you know how to fly the plane. I don’t know, but he, he has taken up some oxygen, correct?

Luke Jones  17:47

Yeah, you know what? And look, I’m always very I think people know this by now, and it probably just comes across even as not caring about it. And that’s not the case, but it’s having the proper perspective about it. He’s still in the honeymoon phase. Jair Alexander, right? I mean, they haven’t played a game yet. You know, as far as what their plans are, as far as how much he’s going to play, compared to a woozy a compared to Marlin, compared to Nate Wiggins, right? But it’s been positive. It really has been like you can tell when, when you’ve been at enough of those podium sessions, you can kind of tell what’s real and what’s kind of coach, speak, player speak, PR speak and all of that. He’s the guy that when, when you’re seeing players, even wide receivers, you know, even when Lamar, and obviously Lamar has a relationship with Him. They played together at Louisville. That’s one of the reasons why Jair Alexander came here for $4 million other than his injury history, but he’s one of those guys that, when you ask one of the other players about him, their face kind of lights up a little bit. They smile. It’s been very positive. He’s definitely he is a an interesting personality, and I mean that in a positive way, he would have been a good barn guest. Yeah, oh, yeah. He’s interesting. I mean, it was the other day. I forget who was at the podium. It might have been Mada BK, and he came up, and he kind of blended in with the reporters, and he fired a question to Matt abika. He’s like, why did you ask for Jair Alexander’s autograph the other day? And you know, it’s just a funny little moment. You know, it’s 20 seconds, but you know, another thing I’ll throw out, he, he just had it back to school. Then in Baltimore, like he, he’s already started up his his and, you know, these guys have foundations that, you know, they can start up relatively quickly for as long as they’re in any given city that they’re playing in which they’re playing, but he just had it back to school. Then, I mean, he’s been here on the field. He’s literally been a raven for less than two months. He was signed in mid June, and he just had a, you know, he just had a nice charity event. I mean, that’s impressive. I mean, regardless of how involved, you know, how hands on someone is with their charity, or do they have someone that handles

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Nestor Aparicio  19:56

all of it for them, he’s also a guy that’s amazing guy, right? He’s made 50 mil. Million. He’s

Luke Jones  20:00

made a lot of money, right? I mean, he wants to make more, and that’s one reason why this is a one year prove it deal for him, whether it’s going to be in Baltimore or signing a big deal else, big deal elsewhere, if he can stay healthy. But it’s been a positive. I think one thing I would say for their defense and their defense recovered to play at a very high level over the last seven weeks. Last year, their defense was arguably the best in football two years ago, right? I mean, led the league in scoring defense, takeaways, sacks, by the way, I’m way off. He’s made 72 million. Yeah, he’s made a lot. Oh, but yeah, you said, What’d you say? 60. I said 50. Oh, yeah. Way off, yeah. Oh. Point is, he’s made a lot of good money in the NF,

Nestor Aparicio  20:42

and he wants to do something good with it. That’s awesome. Yeah, exactly. We think of him as a new guy around here. I just want to put it into perspective that the guy’s made $72 million already. That’s awesome that you know, he’s not a rookie

Luke Jones  20:54

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here. He wasn’t, let’s make that. Let’s break this down in very simple terms. He was the Packers, Marlon Humphrey, I mean, that that’s, you know, in terms of, like, that kind of 100 million dollar contract kind of guy, so, you know, so I think he’s, he’s done a nice job, as far as being one of the guys, you know, he certainly feels a certain way, and has a personality and is competitive and is in the weight room early with the other guys that come in at 6am and lift and

Nestor Aparicio  21:29

seven years he’s a pro, right, like literally,

Luke Jones  21:31

and he’s someone who, let’s face it, has been very injured over the last five years, even even though he’s played at a high level when he’s been healthy, that’s something that I’m sure has. He has some motivation for. He hasn’t been to a Super Bowl, right? He’s in the same spot as these, many of these ravens players. Think about it. Now, I’m not talking about the Packers the last couple years, sans Aaron Rodgers, but think back to like the earlier in his career. He was with Aaron Rodgers, when Aaron Rodgers was playing at an MVP level. And what did the Packers do? They came up short getting to getting through the NFC bracket and getting to a Super Bowl. So, so he’s kind of been, he has some experiences that are not exactly the same as the Ravens players that kind of are in that group, but are similar, right? He’s had some playoff shortcomings. So I think it’s interesting, again, it’s still the honeymoon phase. You never know. I mean, I Marcus Peters was someone who was absolutely loved and was a very positive had a very positive influence on the Ravens when he arrived in season in 2019 we also know how Marcus Peters how it ended, or what, three years later, right? So guys like this, can there be a shelf life for it? Can there be a time where at some point, you know, the relationship isn’t as jovial and as fruitful as it is as it is right now? Sure, but in the meantime, it’s gone well, and he seems to be really happy to be here, and everyone, players and coaches, seem to be really happy to have him, especially on a $4 million price tag. And he’s 28 years old, and came here with Lamar to win, right? He has a little bit of a swagger that I would say the other leaders on their defense, and this is not me saying they don’t have leaders on their defense, let me be clear. But when you think about Mada, BK, Ro Kwan, is he more of a rah rah guy than the other guys that I’m going to mention here? Sure, but he’s not rah rah to the Ray Lewis degree, right? And in fact, like, you know, this past season, you saw some of their defensive players like they would rotate, who gave the the breaking down the pregame huddle speech, you know, for for years. I mean, that was Ray Lewis. Like there was never even a question. If, unless Ray wasn’t healthy, and even times when Ray was hurt, he would still do it. There was no question about that. Whereas last year, they kind of rotated that. So, you know, Hamilton, very, absolutely a leader, but much more the lead by example guy. He’s not as vocal. So you kind of look at those guys, Jair Alexander, and don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he’s going to be doing the Ray Lewis, what time is it any dogs at the house routine? But he’s got some swagger, like he’s got some, he’s got some of that, you know, almost, you know, he didn’t, he didn’t go to Miami, but almost that, you swagger to him a little bit that does remind you a little bit of Ed Reed and Ray Lewis and, you know, McGahee or Dwayne Starks, you know, guys that played at Miami in their glory days. So, you know, I think it’s, it’s an, it’s been an interesting fit like, and I mean that in a good way. But again, how does this play out? How many

Nestor Aparicio  24:42

snaps they want to get out of him? What, what role they’re going to use, right?

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Luke Jones  24:47

Yeah, I mean, I look, he’s had a good camp. He’s been, they’ve given him a couple days, but he’s practiced most days, right? But I think they’re going

Nestor Aparicio  24:54

to treat him like ginger, not like Marianne, right? I mean, they’re gonna he, he’s gonna be a guy they. They think they’re getting 25 to 40 snaps a game out of he’s not going to be a 70 snap defensive player. I

Luke Jones  25:05

mean, I don’t know if it’ll be 25 but I think they’re I think they want to be judicial for one thing, let me be clear. Go, look at should go be a wuzia like and he’s in the same boat as Alexander in terms of some injuries, but when he was at his best playing for Cincinnati, like he was a fringe Pro Bowl corner, like he was really good. So I think they like him too. And I think they would not say it this plainly, Nestor, but I think it’s this simple, if you’re Eric to Costa and you’re John Harbaugh and you’re the rest of the brain trust, kind of talking about this roster, and this goes back to when they signed abusier, back earlier in the off season, and when they signed Alexander, when he when he shook free from Green Bay, and there was the Lamar connection, and he wanted to come here because he knew it was a chance he had to win here and all that. I think the mentality is, look ideally, Woozi and Alexander would both play stay healthy, just like you want all your guys to stay healthy, right? But we also know we have to be realistic here, I think in their mind, if they can have one or the other healthy at all times throughout the year, right? So, and you know that I don’t mean so literally that one guy plays nine games and the other guy plays eight games, but you understand the gist of what I’m saying here. If you have one or the other, at least one or the other on the field at all times, then you’ll take that considering.

Nestor Aparicio  26:32

8

And if you get 14 games out of one and 12 out of the other, you probably did okay. Then you’re looking

Luke Jones  26:36

especially and the big key, and this goes to what you were just saying. You want them available in January.

Nestor Aparicio  26:42

So we also paid him 4 million bucks. So, you know, not expecting him to play like a $15 million corner, but he might.

Luke Jones  26:48

He might, he might, he might play like a $20 million corner, right? I mean, that’s the kind of ability he has, so but, but that’s just like

8

Nestor Aparicio  26:56

Tyler O’Neill might hit 40 Yeah,

26:59

yeah, 48

Nestor Aparicio  27:01

I’m just saying, Yeah,

Luke Jones  27:03

8

I hear you. See the difference here is the Ravens didn’t sign Alexander to a three year $49.5 million somewhere.

Nestor Aparicio  27:10

Brandon Hyde is saying your potential got me fire, but I’m a better man for it. So,

Luke Jones  27:15

yeah, hey, as you said, Brandon, I told you, Brandon Hyde would have the best summer out of anyone, and that’s absolutely,

Nestor Aparicio  27:20

I think Alan McCallum also said that, yeah, anyway,

8

Luke Jones  27:23

but, but that’s again, you go back to the financial commitment. I mean, awsier was like a vet minimum guy, and Alexander $4 million now incentives are built in, yes, if he plays more, yes, he should make money, because chances are he’s going to play it up at a way higher level than a $4 million corner. So I think you view those two guys almost like one player, and if you can get that platoon, and look, I actually think they will platoon a little bit in terms of, you might see one guy play two series, and then the next guy plays the next series. And, you know, you give Alexander a break, and he only plays 50 snaps, as opposed to 75 right? I mean, that might be how it works, but I think if they can get enough production out of those two together to be one corner that you can rely on opposite Nate Wiggins on the outside and Marlon Humphrey being able to play almost exclusively at the nickel now, I think that puts you in position to have a really, really good secondary, if, and we’ll save this for another day, but if you have enough depth at safety, which I think that’s still a question, Hamilton and Starks, they feel great about obviously, you know, they really like Malachi Starks. I don’t think they’re to this point. I don’t think there are any concerns about him, other than just, hey, he’s a rookie, he’ll he’ll make a mistake here or there, but we really like him, and he’s mature and he’s a great athlete, and he’s smart and he’s ready to play. I think they absolutely feel that way. Do they have a third safety? Is Sanusi Kane going to be that guy? Or do we still see them? They just worked out a safety recently, you know, over the weekend, a veteran safety. So you know, we’re going to see how that plays out. But long, long answer to your question, they are really happy with what they’ve gotten from Jair Alexander on the field, off the field, and, yeah, some of that personality, and, you know, little bit of not the leader, but one of many leaders, and his own brand of sprinkled into the mix. They got

Nestor Aparicio  29:23

Chuck pagano on the back end. So he’s no stranger to you. And I would say, if Chuck would hear you’d say, 65 snaps. You think we’re going to give up that many first downs? He is Luke. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S, T am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking. Football, with really awful baseball stick around. You’ll love it. You.