Making a Hall of Fame case to bring Calais Campbell back to Baltimore

Leadership is hard to import but Luke Jones and Nestor both check off on the return of 40-year old Calais Campbell to the Baltimore Ravens defense. The immortal path to Canton for a Hall of Fame hopeful and the rocky rookie weekend in Owings Mills for a group of draft picks and everyone else as head coach Jesse Minter gathers the kids for a welcome to the NFL as spring hopes are eternal.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Baltimore Ravens’ return of Calais Campbell and the upcoming rookie weekend in Owings Mills. Campbell, a 40-year-old defensive lineman with 117 career sacks, is expected to provide leadership and depth, especially if Matt Judon doesn’t return. The conversation also touched on the Ravens’ strategy for the compensatory pick formula and the importance of undrafted free agents. Additionally, Nestor and Luke planned a trip to New York to watch the Orioles sweep the Yankees, with Nestor promising to take Luke if the Orioles win the first three games.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Organize and run the Maryland crab cake tour stop at Pizza John’s this week and the Planet Fitness event in Timonium (coordinate guests, giveaways, and logistics)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Bring Maryland Lottery scratch-offs and Maryland Treasures giveaways and coordinate with GBMC for giveaways at the Planet Fitness/Timonium event
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – If the Orioles sweep the first three games this weekend, take Luke Jones to New York on Monday (arrange travel and game plans)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – If the Orioles sweep, call Jay on Sunday night to find a recommended Italian deli in New York (confirm deli and logistics)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – If the Orioles sweep and the New York trip happens, drive the bus for the Monday trip and handle stops/logistics (confirm departure time and rest stops)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Purchase ‘nasty Nestor’ and ‘I ♥ NY’ shirts on eBay and other shops for the New York trip (search and buy appropriate sizes and souvenirs for family)

Ravens Return of Calais Campbell and Rookie Weekend

• Nestor Aparicio discusses the Maryland crab cake tour, mentioning recent visits to Koco’s, Fayley’s, Costas, and upcoming plans to visit Pizza John’s and Planet Fitness at Timonium.
• Nestor mentions the possibility of Marty Bass making his WNST debut at Planet Fitness and his own doctor’s appointment where he gave blood.
• Nestor and Luke Jones discuss the Ravens’ return of Calais Campbell and the team’s focus on the compensatory pick formula.
• Luke highlights Calais Campbell’s longevity and his impact on the Ravens, noting his recent performances with different teams and his role as a leader in the locker room.

Calais Campbell’s Career and Impact

• Luke Jones recounts Calais Campbell’s career, including his Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2019 and his consistent performance despite his age.
• Nestor and Luke discuss Campbell’s potential Hall of Fame status, noting his 117 career sacks and his inclusion in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s all-decade team for the 2010s.
• Luke emphasizes Campbell’s leadership and character, which are valuable assets for the Ravens, especially with a young coaching staff.
• Nestor shares a personal story about meeting Calais Campbell in the locker room and his positive impression of the player.

Ravens’ Rookie Weekend and Undrafted Free Agents

• Nestor and Luke discuss the upcoming rookie weekend in Owings Mills, where the Ravens will evaluate undrafted free agents and tryout players.
• Luke explains the importance of the weekend for undrafted players, who need to impress the team to secure a spot on the roster.
• Nestor mentions the presence of Dominic DeLuca, a Penn State walk-on, and the significance of the weekend for players like him.
• Luke highlights the Ravens’ history of developing undrafted players, citing examples like Jaylon Ferguson and Jaylon Higgins.

Logistics and Plans for the Orioles-Yankees Series

• Nestor and Luke discuss their plans to attend the Orioles-Yankees series in New York, with Nestor promising to take Luke if the Orioles sweep the first three games.
• Nestor shares his excitement about the trip, including plans to visit Pizza John’s and attend the Kentucky Derby at Timonium.
• Luke and Nestor joke about the logistics of the trip, including the possibility of staying in a hotel in the Bronx and the challenges of getting to the stadium.
• Nestor mentions the possibility of attending a game on Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, and his plans to get a Nestor Cortez shirt as a souvenir.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Ravens return, Calais Campbell, undrafted rookies, rookie weekend, compensatory picks, defensive line, Matt Judon, Hall of Fame, NFL draft, training camp, Baltimore Ravens, football season, Orioles sweep, New York trip, Maryland crab cake tour.
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones

Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S T am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive, positively getting the Maryland crab cake tour back out on the road. We will. We’ve done a lot of great places the last couple of weeks, Koco’s and fayley’s and Costas. We’re going to be pizza John’s this week, and then we’re heading to Planet Fitness at Timonium, because it’s important they do really cool stuff for young people. In the summer, I’m excited to to bring the group back together, put the band back together. Mark Viviano is going to join me in simonium. There’s a rumor that Marty bass may be making his wnst debut at Planet Fitness on Thursday. I will have scratch offs in the Maryland lottery. I have the Maryland treasures to give away, also our friends at GBMC. I Luke, I rolled my sleeve up and took a needle the other day. I had like, a real, honest to God, doctor’s appointment. I gave blood. I’m still waiting on the results. I hope I’m okay, because, I mean, I’m gonna need to do this when I take you to New York on Monday after the Orioles were the first three games of the series. Luke Jones is here. Is all brought to you by our friends at Farnan and Dermer. I did have Zach on earlier this week. I wound up at the Orioles game on Thursday afternoon. Little did I know Coleus Campbell still wants to play football and he’s coming back. The ravens are bringing in a whole bunch of undrafted guys this weekend. Hey, the draft happened last weekend, like they have like real players like this is, I know you want to talk Orioles, and I know you’re already packing your bag for that trip on Monday night to see undisclosed starter complete the four game sweep of the Yankees in the Bronx. Coffee. Always, pizza is really good in you. I mean, I’m gonna have pizza John’s this weekend, but if I take you to New York to my joint Monday afternoon. Abu Danza, Luke, I can just say that, but you’re going to want to talk football with me on the whole the whole bus ride up. I know you are.

Luke Jones 01:49
Well, hey, I always talk about these different checkpoints in the off season and when you get to the draft. And now you know we’re going to be looking at undrafted guys and who’s trying out, who signed all of that. But we know that the ravens, specifically as a team that values their comp picks and the compensatory pick formula, I’m being very cognizant of that it’s become a thing, and very much in recent years, that you can generally look for them to sign a veteran or two right after the draft, when that deadline hits, where you get to the point where you can sign an unrestricted free agent, and it doesn’t count against that comp pick formula, because we know the guys that they lost, headlined by Tyler linderbaum, that they’re in a position to get some pretty attractive comp picks in next year’s draft. So lo and behold, and I can remember, it was probably close to three and a half years ago at this point in time. I remember asking claius Campbell about his football future at that point in time, and the thing that he always said, and claius, the one, it’s not a regret, it’s just the victim of the circumstances at the time, is he arrived. His arrival coincided with covid, so his first couple years as a Baltimore Raven, we were limited to seeing him on the practice field from afar, and he’s a Walter Payton

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Nestor Aparicio 03:13
guy.

Luke Jones 03:14
He did win Walter Payton Man of the Year and in 2019 So, but we didn’t get a chance to really get to know him in the locker room until his last season with the ravens, but he said at the time, and this has kind of been his stock answer, year in and year out, when he’s asked about his future. I mean, this guy’s going to be 40 on September 1 40 as a defensive lineman, not 40 as a quarterback like Joe Flacco or Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady or a kicker at 40, a 40 year old defensive lineman, but he has said, year in and year out, I want to play well enough that I have a choice. I have a decision to make, rather than how it works for most guys, most guys are retired how the phone doesn’t ring. That’s the issue. Why Most guys have their careers end. So in the case of Coleus Campbell, who, since leaving the ravens, has continued to be a good player, you look at 2023 with Atlanta six and a half sacks, 2024 with the dolphins, which, by the way, the Ravens tried to bring him back, if you recall, at that trade deadline, it didn’t work out, but had five sacks that year. Had six and a half sacks for Arizona last year. Has played every game each of the last three years. Now, let’s be realistic. I’m not expecting the same Coleus Campbell that the Ravens had in 2020 or 21 or 22 he it is worth noting that his snap count dropped last year for Arizona, a team that was not good, and he was on more of a pitch count. He became a little more of a situational slash part time kind of guy. But what would the situation be for him? Here a little bit of that. I mean, he’s still, hey, he plays the run really well. So I don’t want to, I wouldn’t pigeonhole him to third downs or anything like that. I just think in terms of his pitch

Nestor Aparicio 05:05
gonna rotate 35 snap, he’s gonna rotate five snap, you

Luke Jones 05:08
know, instead of playing every three out of four, you know, every two out of three, every three out of four defensive series, he might be a little more of a half and half, I think, realistically speaking. And he he still averaged over 30 snaps a game last year for Arizona. I think if he’s a productive 20 to 25 snap guy in your defensive line rotation, you know, probably

Nestor Aparicio 05:31
urban, Brent,

Luke Jones 05:32
urban. You know what? I think it’s, it’s funny. You mentioned that because we don’t know about Matta BK. And I’ve already been asked the question, what does this mean for Matta BK? I think, I think it’s what everything else is we don’t really know yet. I think there’s optimism, based on the reporting from Schefter a couple weeks back and the fact that he had a neck surgery, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be cleared and they have time, and he’s going through the offseason like he’s in the building in terms of working out and things like that. So it’s not like he’s on an island. And in August

Nestor Aparicio 06:03
over, they crossed over. They know each other, Coleus Campbell and Matt, yeah, oh yeah,

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Luke Jones 06:06
absolutely. In fact, I can recall claius Campbell being very complimentary of then Justin Mata VK as ever.

Nestor Aparicio 06:13
But I would also say there’s some real mentoring there that happened sure to make matapiki the player he became, sure,

Luke Jones 06:18
no question about it. So, but whether you’re going to have Nom, nom di Mata BK or not, I think adding colleius Campbell into the mix from still a productive player, you know, so from that standpoint, and also he’s a leader. I mean, this, this guy is good for a locker room, for a consideration that they have to have right now, compared to when John Harbaugh’s in charge, you’ve got a brand new coaching staff, and you’ve got a really young coaching staff in a lot of spots, and I’m even talking about some of the position coaches here and there. So you bring in a 40 year old who has been through it all, who is chasing a ring, but, you know, has made Pro Bowls, has made all Pro has been Walter Payton, Man of the Year. Does community work,

Nestor Aparicio 07:06
going to the Hall of Fame, right?

Luke Jones 07:07
I mean, I it’s a heck of a, it’s a heck of a, it’s an interesting case, because he’s much more the longevity than incredible peak kind of player. But he has 117 sacks in his career Now, granted, that’s over 18 seasons. You know, the player he’s been over the last eight years hasn’t been like someone that would scream Hall of Fame, but you’re up to remember. I mean, this is a guy who had double digit sacks for for Jacksonville

Nestor Aparicio 07:37
when he

Nestor Aparicio 07:38
was 34 before he came to Baltimore, if he quit in 19 I mean,

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Luke Jones 07:41
I don’t know if he’s first ballot or slam dunk, but he’s certainly regardless.

Nestor Aparicio 07:46
I

Nestor Aparicio 07:46
don’t know how these years get held against him in the way that sure you’d all hear you the Mets against him, you know, yeah, like you look at Aaron Rodgers and say, well, he’s running around half assed. Now he was, I mean, dude, I mentioned my wife and I were cooking the other day, and I said, Let nest bake, you know, like, let and I gave her the reference about and I thought about Russell Wilson. I’m like, he might not be a Hall of Famer anymore, because you play yourself out, you know, like, literally, if the last taste isn’t a good taste, you go back and say, you know, like, what did Eli Manning do in the years he didn’t win the Super Bowl, and that’s really where it comes to me, like Steve Smith did himself well, coming here at the end and looking like he did at the end. I don’t know. I’m just throwing that out, and that’s more of a Peter King question, or Yeah, calls, or how those guys rate all of these guys, and putting Suggs in, or not, or whatever. But I’m not going to hold I thought of Coleus Campbell as a Hall of Famer the first time he came here. Fair enough, I have my own clay as Campbell story that I want to tell, because I don’t have a whole lot of player stories anymore, but I have one about

Luke Jones 08:47
him. I will say this. And you know, you kind of put me on the spot, and it’s fine. I mean, it’s a it’s a fair question, it’s a good question. But I would say this, in addition to the Pro Bowls now, he doesn’t have, I think he only has one First Team All Pro selection, so that that probably doesn’t help his case as much. But there he was actually named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s all decade team for the 2010s you know, for the 20 teens. So generally speaking, that’s something that holds a little more weight than people would think. I’m not saying it’s the end all be all, let’s be clear. But that is something I know from hearing different Hall of Fame voters talk over the years. That’s something not to completely ignore. So I think he’s an interesting

Nestor Aparicio 09:30
case. Would call him future Hall of Famer Kalai is Campbell, and that wouldn’t have to say that because Chad steel would make me say that because I’m on the broadcast, yeah, like I think there’s debate. I’m not gonna sit like I wouldn’t be uncomfortable referring to him as that, in the same way that I’m not uncomfortable referring to Terrell Suggs as such, even though he wouldn’t get my vote, you know what I mean? Or Marshall yonda, but I don’t, I don’t think Justin Tucker, I’m not going to refer to him his future all the favor, because I don’t really think he’s going

Luke Jones 09:58
to get in. Well, he’s not now because hit. Him, him putting aside all the scandal and all of that, which you can’t put that aside, really, but

Nestor Aparicio 10:07
lots of people can, well, go ahead, let me rest. And he’s kicking for the fact let me well, he,

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Luke Jones 10:12
he’s not

Nestor Aparicio 10:14
go

Luke Jones 10:14
ahead. He’s his career. I think his career is over at

Nestor Aparicio 10:17
this now, okay, I

Luke Jones 10:17
mean, he, I don’t

Nestor Aparicio 10:18
think you’ve ever said that on the air, but I

Luke Jones 10:20
think it is at this point. I mean, he had some tryouts last year. If you didn’t sign them last year, and no one’s kicking the tires yet, maybe I should hold off on this until training camp. But I’m really wondering a video

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Nestor Aparicio 10:32
of him kicking the ball.

Luke Jones 10:33
You know, I don’t want to get too far off track here. The argument was ready to make, though, is him making the Hall of Fame was always predicated on he’d have to do it for like it was assuming he was going to kick until he’s 42 years old. He’s not, it looks like he’s not going to do that. I mean, I’m really wondering if his career is over at this point. So

Nestor Aparicio 10:57
can. But we all wondered what indicator was over, and to my point, what creates a Hall of Fame player? It’s a guy that wants a Super Bowl ring in his last game. Would probably it would help. He sees that as help. Yes.

Luke Jones 11:11
I mean, I don’t, and I don’t even know, I don’t know if that’s I think he wants to win a Super Bowl ring. But to win a Super Bowl ring, not

Nestor Aparicio 11:19
necessarily, exactly No, no. But my point, if he had fame at this point, like what, you know, he’s not proven anything. Neither is Aaron Rodgers. You know what? I mean, he’s Steve Smith. Maybe came here, had to prove some things, and he still might not get, you know, I right, you never know with how these votes go in all of this. But to your point, Justin Tucker won’t get this chance to put the cherry on the top, on the thing in the way that colleius Campbell clearly was identified here, clearly can and will play. I’m not saying this is stupid or he’s old or whatever. I’m saying they could use a little more character around their building. You know, maybe that’s why they let Mike silver in last weekend.

Luke Jones 11:56
Well, I just think one, they need more depth, and they need more production on the defensive line, especially if you’re not going to have Matt to have Matta BK, not declares Campbell is the same exact player as Matta BK because he’s not, but he can still help you. He he had six and a half sacks last year. He was second on the Arizona Cardinals and quarterback pressures. I mean,

Nestor Aparicio 12:15
this guy now than Brent urban would have been. Yes, yes. I agree with that.

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Luke Jones 12:20
So I think through that lens, it’s pretty easy, and then you take into account the man he is, the character that he has exhibited on and off the field. Again, I’m always, you know, I don’t know him intimately well, but my interactions with him, and a lot of people I know that that have interacted with him think very highly of him. Teammates have thought very highly,

Nestor Aparicio 12:42
very highly of him. Yeah, so yes,

Luke Jones 12:45
but, but he is. He is such a kind of glad you put me on the spot, but I’m kind of glad you brought it up. He is such an interesting case study for the Hall of Fame. He’s kind of the Frank Gore of defensive lineman, right? I mean, Frank Gore. At no point was Frank Gore ever considered the best running back in football, but, my goodness, the longevity has to matter at some point. Harold

Nestor Aparicio 13:05
Baines and Edgar Martinez short on the baseball,

Luke Jones 13:09
sure, sure, but, but it is fascinating because, and not that sacks are everything for him, because he hasn’t. He’s not the conventional edge rusher like Terrell Suggs, right? But he only has two seasons where he eclipsed double digit sacks that said he had at least six sacks in all but six of his seasons to this point in his career, including last year. So you know you’re talking six, six and a half, 789,

Nestor Aparicio 13:39
sacks. You got a sack every three weeks, he’s gonna have a sack.

Luke Jones 13:43
Great Run, Run defender, all that. I mean, so put it this way, I’m not gonna sit here and say, I bet my mortgage that he definitely is a Hall of Famer that said, I’m certainly not going to be offended if someone refers to him as a future Hall of Famer, because I think there’s a I think there’s a really interesting case there. But to bring it back

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Nestor Aparicio 14:02
to I shall refer to him all year when he makes plays on Monday morning, his future all

Luke Jones 14:07
when he makes a great play. It fits then Right? When he when he doesn’t

Nestor Aparicio 14:11
do anything

Nestor Aparicio 14:11
show 16 years ago and didn’t really know how to pronounce his

Nestor Aparicio 14:14
first

Nestor Aparicio 14:15
name, yeah, delays coleus. Is that the Esther? Is that the French Calais, you know. So

Luke Jones 14:24
he’s been, you know, it’s funny, he was the same draft class as Joe Flacco, you know, and he’s

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Nestor Aparicio 14:28
still taking 2000 and he really puts it into, yeah, I mean, that’s what he was. I feel like I had him at the Super Bowl in Miami and nine or 10. So I went years without, and

Luke Jones 14:37
remember, he played at Miami, so that’s

Nestor Aparicio 14:39
right, right?

Nestor Aparicio 14:40
So

Nestor Aparicio 14:41
I went years without seeing him, and the only time I had a press pass was the time that Mike Tomlin left me one in Pittsburgh three years ago at the end of the end, and I went down in the locker room with you, you and I drove up that game. It’s the last time I’ve had a press pass at a football game before Chad steel. Having me black balled in the league, and I didn’t know him at all, and you were working the locker room, and I was there’s a picture of me and Ronnie Stanley that day. I’m trying to think of the people I talked to that day. Certainly didn’t talk to horrible, horrible walked in the room and said, Good to see you, pointed to me, good to see you, like I was invited, or something like that. Creep. But nonetheless, Coleus Campbell, I approached him in the locker room as he was walking here. There were just through the middle of the locker room, and I grabbed him, and I’m like, Hey, man, I’m Nestor. I said, I’m not around much. He’s like, Yeah, man, I was wondering what, it’s pretty good class. I was wondering what’s happening to you, man, I you know, I done your show. I love his voice. I know you. Man, you know that. That’s how I know His voice, right? So he really was like, how you doing? Man, I remember you had your wife at the table. Man, how you doing? You all right? I’m like, yeah, and they won that game. If you remember, there’s a lot of Latin music they were playing that, you know, whatever the Latin song was, was playing in there, booming, so, but nonetheless, I had an experience with him as a media member that had not had a press pass for a couple of years because Chad steel has been busy trying to excommunicate me. And the one guy that I remember that day, he was the last guy I talked to,

Nestor Aparicio 16:21
yeah,

Nestor Aparicio 16:21
I gathered you up. We got in the car at the Taco Bell, and we drove down the hill and stopped in Somerset. I think we got some eating Park cookies, as I remember, and but that was my last interaction with a raven player. Well, Jimmy Smith did come up to me and said, I can’t believe they threw you out, dude, but what the hell’s going on? But Coleus in the locker room? I saw him that day in Pittsburgh. And I like, you know that was a if that’s the end of my media career, and it might be, well, I do have my press pass for the Preakness two weeks.

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Nestor Aparicio 16:49
There you go.

Nestor Aparicio 16:50
So go talk to some horses at the alibi breakfast.

Luke Jones 16:53
They’ll all say no comment.

Nestor Aparicio 16:55
Oh, horses. A horse. Of course. Luke Jones is here. He’s going to New York on Monday. He just doesn’t know it when the Orioles sweep the Yankees the first three games, I have promised to take him to New York this weekend, not only your church obligations and my and my Kentucky Derby obligations, it cost us and Timonium right around 651 on Saturday night, there could be a bunch of players in this weekend in the future the organization. And I must say, Dude, this was one of my favorite weekends, back when I was invited and it felt like a community endeavor. And when all these young guys would come in and they’d have tape over their lockers in the old facility, and I would come out this weekend and meet the future will damps the future priest homes, the future. You know, undrafted guys that I didn’t think I’d ever hear of. But Phil savage would say, Hey, man, this guy, we Scott, we signed that at Penn State, this DeLuca. He’s going to be a special teams guy. You know, you might want to go over and meet him. So this weekend, they have a bunch of guys, including DeLuca. I loved him because it’s like a Dominica de Nucci. And by the way, speaking of Italian, we’re taking lock and forward in New York on Monday too. He doesn’t know it yet, but once they sweep these first three games, I’m calling Jay on Sunday nights. Come on, Jay, I need like, a really good Italian deli and you take show me around New York. So let me dream a little bit that we have big games to go to, you and me, and you could still sit in the press box and they, by the way, they’re having Hispanic Heritage night brought to you by Corona. So they’re doing that. I just, I really want to go to some baseball games that matter, so let me dream that in the middle of a football segment. May, okay,

Luke Jones 18:28
yeah, that’s okay. That’s

Nestor Aparicio 18:29
two

Nestor Aparicio 18:29
sport town around here, you know,

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Luke Jones 18:31
sure, sure. But yeah, interesting weekend for the Ravens. I mean, all the rookies come in. It’s always, it’s always fun getting to see all of these guys that you know. Not only did the Ravens draft, but so many of these names that you know, the draft pundits and those that are draft junkies, you get to see what they look like in a Ravens practice uniform, right? I mean, it’s, it’s fun to see that, but and

Nestor Aparicio 18:52
they decide

Nestor Aparicio 18:52
who they want to bring back for the summer kind of, sort of, too, right? Yeah, yeah. I mean, there’s some guys out in cleats on Monday to say, no, no, we don’t want to have

Luke Jones 18:59
you here. You know, to run around and practice with Lamar Jackson. That’s why I always find it interesting. And I get it. I’m not this isn’t me being critical of it whatsoever, but the rookie free agent signings and reporting and colleges announcing that so and so is signed a deal with this team. There’s always, you always have to take it with a grain of salt, because there are different categories here. Yes, the Ravens draft picks will be out there, Van go. You want a and Zion young on down through, you know, the last seventh round picks that they made, they’re going to be on the field, and they will get the bulk of the attention. But there are always tryout guys, and there are always guys that they will end up signing and are part, officially, part of their rookie free agent class. And there are also guys that they’ll bring out, and they’ll just try out, and they’ll get to wear ravens uniform, and hopefully they get a photo. I’m sure they will, and that’s going

Nestor Aparicio 19:56
to be the end of their back from Morgan State. You happen to be around the court. Corner and they say, Hey, come on out, run around with us this week. I mean, there’s a little

Luke Jones 20:03
bit of that that goes on, but some of these guys this weekend will literally be their last football venture of their life where they’re in a helmet, they’re not in pads, because it’s, you

Nestor Aparicio 20:15
remember the last time you wore a helmet? Because

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Luke Jones 20:17
you do, I do is my I mean, for me, it was easy. I mean, it

Nestor Aparicio 20:21
was my athlete in any way. Would remember the last time they showed something, if it’s, if it was a sport for a high school or college, you know, if it’s a sport that mattered to you, absolutely. I mean, you know, I played basketball when I was younger, and it was never a sport matters, even if you went to mine, sure, it doesn’t matter, right? Yeah, but there will be, there will be individuals on the field trying out, or in some cases, they sign a rookie free agent, and then he doesn’t look very good at rookie camp, and they let him go. Because most of these rookie free agents, other than, you know, you have two or three standout ones that get a little bit more of a bonus. But most these guys, I mean, they’re signing bonus. It’s negligible money for Is there a difference to a tryout contract and an undrafted free agent contract? Because my one of my dearest friends in life, I want to give a shout out to Tom Robinson, who discovered me in 1984 Robbie was my first boss. He was couple years older than me at the news American back in the day. Versig, you know, I talk about all these news American people back in the day, and he went on to become the sports editor of the Scranton paper. He’s from Binghamton, New York, spent his whole life. And really, he got married in my dad’s hometown, Clark Summit, Pennsylvania, and we got pizza in music, M, O, O, S, i, c, you can Google it. And he’s lived his whole life up in the Scranton area, up in that Northeastern and this DeLuca kids a big deal from Wyoming up there, near Messina up in their mid toursville up there in Wyomissing, or, however, the hell you say, all these fun towns that are a little bit north of your Pennsylvania plates. But DeLuca is, like, an interesting guy, right? Because, like, if you’re a Penn State fan, he’s a name, you know, and the Ravens are bringing him in. And Robbie wanted to make sure the story was right, because it was reported both ways. Try out contract, undrafted free agent, contract. I mean, the bottom line is, it’s pay for, you know, sing for your supper in the NFL anyway, if he’s good enough to get invited back, then he’ll be back in July, and he’ll have tape over locker and he’ll get his $1,500 a week or whatever right like to be on the tryout team, but this weekend’s big. You want to come in there. This is a job interview this weekend, big time, right? No,

Luke Jones 22:30
no question about it, especially for the undrafted guys. I mean, if you’re the draft picks, okay, maybe, maybe they exhale a little bit, you know, bingo. You want a can have the worst rookie camp of all time. He’s not being cut, right? I mean, so. But for these tryout guys, or for these undrafted signings, there’s no, I mean, maybe there’s one or two rookie free agents who get enough of a signing bonus where they would be safe, even if they didn’t look great over the weekend. But I can recall plenty of guys that were announced as part of their undrafted rookie signing list. You know, guys that they signed a three year contracts and then they’re gone two weeks later. I mean, it’s that happens quite frequently. So you know Dominic DeLuca as someone who’s watched a good bit of Penn State football in recent years. You know, he’s kind of a good story there. He was a walk on originally. He was like, their special teams ace. You know, I don’t know if that means he’s going to have any great chance of making the roster, but then, then again, Jay Higgins made the roster as an undrafted linebacker last year, right? So you never really know. But well,

Nestor Aparicio 23:33
if they don’t see promise and ever getting you on the field, what’s the point? I mean, part of this is in minor league baseball, they look at guys and they just know, well, and that guy’s never going to get to the big leagues, and he’s just kind of hanging out, you know? And some of that, lot of improvement for you to get to the big leagues, well,

Luke Jones 23:48
and some of that is you need to fill out a roster for to be able to practice over the weekend at rookie camp, right? I mean, a lot of these tryout guys are, I’m not saying this to be disrespectful, it’s just the truth. They’re, they’re warm bodies, because the vets aren’t there for rookie camp. So you need you okay, you have an 11 man draft class. Typically, there are undrafted rookie signing class is somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 to 20 in any given year. So even if you say 20 undrafted rookies, you’re actually signing and 11 draft picks. Well, that still leaves you pretty light in terms of really wanting to be able to run a good full functional practice.

Nestor Aparicio 24:26
These

Nestor Aparicio 24:27
guys are 2223 right? Like, yeah, just that’s the age

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Luke Jones 24:30
and the

Nestor Aparicio 24:30
other

Luke Jones 24:30
so the other interest, so the other interesting dynamic that you have is every once in a while, they will bring in, and it’s yours. When I say a veteran, I don’t mean someone who’s 34 but sometimes they will bring in a couple veteran players who are trying to basically rejuvenate their career, guys that maybe sat out last year, guys who were on, you know, went on sign last year. So

Nestor Aparicio 24:55
playing the Jaguars preseason games last Exactly, right? Yeah, or sometimes, or sometimes. It’s a recognizable name, like someone, there’s these guys ran around Canada, or they ran around the USL. I mean, there’s some of that theater leagues are all there. So it really

Luke Jones 25:08
but it can very much be kind of a motley crew of filling out your rookie camp try out roster, right?

Nestor Aparicio 25:15
Machine, yeah,

Luke Jones 25:16
exactly so. But it’s fun. I mean, it’s not anything that I would make very much of in terms of what you see, but it’s fun to see your draft picks. It’s fun to see the more interesting undrafted rookies. I mean, you know, Dominic DeLuca is one of those guys that okay. He’s well known from Penn State and relatively local ish, so, you know, does he have a chance to stick around and make some noise in the summer. I mean, you know, there, there are 15 or 20 guys right now dreaming of being able to do that. And hey, I would say this much for, for as much as we might be dismissive of undrafted rookies. The ravens are the destination for undrafted rookies, right? I mean, look at their history, if you’re if you go undrafted, short of going to a place where there’s a very clearly a position deficiency in terms of depth, the ravens are like, top of mind of

8

Nestor Aparicio 26:11
the costume about that. And say, Sure, the reason I’m the general manager is that we figured out that if you can play, we’ll identify that, and we develop a and we’re going to coach you, yeah? We’re going to teach you how to get better when we see raw skills, yeah? And after that, that’s who they’ve been, sure, yeah.

Luke Jones 26:30
I mean, is

Nestor Aparicio 26:31
that a raw skills in Lamar Jackson, no one else saw

Luke Jones 26:34
Well, I mean, or others were at least debating, right? Well, they were debating the value,

Nestor Aparicio 26:39
you’re willing to give him a chance.

Luke Jones 26:40
Weren’t weren’t willing to make him a first round pick, at the very least, right? So

Nestor Aparicio 26:44
even

8

Nestor Aparicio 26:44
his name to the wagon, which would be one of the reasons I think Lamar would hang around here, Mr. Eric and Mr. Steve and like all that, you got anything else for this this weekend? Because, I mean, I need you to rest up. We got baseball all weekend. The Orioles are going to sweep the Yankees the first three. You and I are going to be on the you want to do the 420 bus or the 6am listen, if we do the 420 we get in New York earlier, we can have an extra cup of coffee.

Nestor Aparicio 27:07
Yeah, if you

Nestor Aparicio 27:07
walk your ass up the 94th Street for those but then it’s

Luke Jones 27:10
930 it’s 930 in the bottom of the eighth inning, and I’m exhausted at that point in time that night.

Nestor Aparicio 27:16
Look, if I get a room in Midtown, all right, we’ll get some wings, which

Luke Jones 27:20
we’re gonna stay in the Bronx, and we’d see, we’d see our old rat buddy.

Nestor Aparicio 27:26
You got me checking dog, you got me open in my Marriott. And

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Luke Jones 27:31
that, that is one of those stories that sounds like it’s an exaggeration. I kid you not. That was the biggest freaking rat I’ve ever seen. It looked like a small dog that’s six

Nestor Aparicio 27:40
blocks east is a park right by the in the Bronx, where the pizza joint is crazy. And

Luke Jones 27:45
it’s no exaggeration.

Nestor Aparicio 27:46
Back to our hotel room at two o’clock in the morning and and you’re like Peter Angelos was in the locker room tonight, so I was waiting outside like a fanboy waiting for an autograph from Paul O’Neill or something. Luke Jones covers baseball and football better than anybody. Our wnst tech service would prove that to you. If you’re on it, you’ll get it first brought to you by cold roofing and Gordian energy. I don’t think he’s going to be kicking it around with the rookies this weekend. We did make an on air. I made an on air promise. If Jim Palmer can eat a chicken wing, I can drag Luke to New York on Monday, if the Orioles can sweep the first three games of the weekend up in the Bronx. If not, I’ll just be at the bar at Costas on in Timonium on Saturday night for the Kentucky Derby. I’ve had Dick Girardi on talking Preakness this week. I’ve done, I feel like I’ve done a lot of football and baseball with Luke this week, but it has been an unbelievable week. I mean, Jamie Moyer stopped by. John McClane was here. Allen McCallum stopped by. Tim Wendell, author, the writer in residence, stop by as well. Rick Vaughn, the wild thing is going to be here this week. We were talking about Glenn Dave. By the way, Glenn Davis is a councilman in Columbus, Georgia. That’s true that Glenn Davis, that was the first baseman here. So I reached to him, and I hope he comes on. I hope he’s not shy with me, because I would love to catch up with him and tell him how much I enjoyed our our car ride back in 1991 we’re going to have political candidates here. Nick Stewart’s going to be your Sarah. David’s going to be your. John Hoey from the Y my pal, Ethan Giffen, Opie, DJ Opie is going to be here from groove commerce, and we’re going to be doing all that at Pizza, John. So just a wild, wild week here. And I just, I can’t wait for you, and I on a 71 degree day for me to put that Bing Sue about this high up in front of you in K town on 32nd Street at Grace Street. And then we’re going to get, we take the seven right on up into the Bronx. You and me, I didn’t take you to Manhattan when we went to New York. Did I? You didn’t go to Manhattan at all?

Nestor Aparicio 29:42
Did

Nestor Aparicio 29:43
you, I mean, have you

Nestor Aparicio 29:45
ever

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Nestor Aparicio 29:45
been to Manhattan? Yes,

Luke Jones 29:47
yes. I’ve been to Manhattan. I’ve been, I’ve been to New York a few times without you. It’s been, it’s been a minute, but it’s

Nestor Aparicio 29:55
never as much fun as when you go with me. You know this, right?

Luke Jones 29:57
I’m trying. I’m trying to think, I mean. I was so busy just covering base. Remember, it was three straight games like it was that. How many take me to the NBA

Nestor Aparicio 30:06
team store, and I’ll let you get some old school Doctor Joe to you see

Nestor Aparicio 30:12
that

Luke Jones 30:13
overpriced?

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Nestor Aparicio 30:13
You’re just window shopping. It’s New York. You don’t buy anything there. You eat there. But here’s the problem, if I take lock and fora with us, we’re gonna wind up getting mutton chops at Keene Steakhouse, and I’m gonna have $480 on my credit card, so,

Luke Jones 30:29
like, I

Nestor Aparicio 30:29
can’t afford lock and fora, you and me with a slice of you know, I’m happy with pizza, yeah? I mean, you and me. It’s at 28th and Broadway, dude. The girls are gonna be pretty. It’s springtime. The pigeons are going to be flying. Come on, man, the Orioles are going for the sweep on Monday.

Luke Jones 30:46
Big, big stuff, big time stuff, right there.

Nestor Aparicio 30:50
You’re gonna punk out on me after they win three games, right?

Luke Jones 30:53
I know if you want to go Sure, let’s see if they win the opener first. How about that?

Nestor Aparicio 31:03
You know what, dude, we are having a real shoot conversation right now, because that sounds like what you said when I’m like, Dude, the ravens are in the playoffs in Buffalo. Do you want to go? And you’re like, yeah, if you want to shoot, you know? I mean, okay, you

8

Nestor Aparicio 31:16
know,

Luke Jones 31:16
hey, okay. So the full context of that was also,

Nestor Aparicio 31:19
yeah, church event, I think, as I remember,

Luke Jones 31:21
no, no, it wasn’t that. The full context of that was, remember, that was a Sunday, later on Sunday. And you also know, from a radio production standpoint, and the logistics,

Nestor Aparicio 31:34
this has nothing to do with work, even though the Yankees will give you a press Monday night, this just basically has to do with you. And I don’t have enough fun. And if I’m waiting for the next time we go to Kansas City and get our ass swept in the ALCS, or waiting for the next time you get I do miss that Kansas City

Nestor Aparicio 31:49
Barbecue.

Nestor Aparicio 31:50
How many years ago was it that we went to Yankee Stadium?

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Luke Jones 31:52
Yankee Stadium?

Nestor Aparicio 31:55
You don’t think I owe you a Monday with brooms in New York on a 71 degree day in the Bronx? No, I got you with Albert Suarez, my Venezuelan brother

Luke Jones 32:03
on the hill. You threw me under the bus about the buffalo thing. Remember, a big part of that was also when

Nestor Aparicio 32:10
Andrews is going to sniff me at the podium anyway. So, well,

Luke Jones 32:13
well, that that ended up being true too. But if a lot of that had to do with, when are we going to work, how are we going to work? How when are we getting home all of that

Nestor Aparicio 32:22
that the radio would be better at 5:30am with you doing it in Pennsylvania, you’d be doing it in Maryland, and them doing

Nestor Aparicio 32:27
it.

8

Luke Jones 32:27
Yeah, there was some, there was some of that at work. And the thought was, remember, we were going to go to Kansas City if they won that game.

Nestor Aparicio 32:34
So I got to figure this out if you and I are taking

Luke Jones 32:36
because it was also I would see if they lose. In that scenario where they lose, I’m not there for locker clean out day, the next day, or anything. You’re

Nestor Aparicio 32:42
already in my calendar Monday morning anyway. So I mean, you and I just get on the bus. We’ll do the show on the bus on the way up Monday morning.

Luke Jones 32:50
I’m sure everyone else that’s half asleep would love that. Dude.

Nestor Aparicio 32:55
I’ll drive Okay, and we’ll stop. We’ll we’ll stop every time we have to pee. We’ll pee at the Joe Biden, rest stop. Yeah, we’ll do that. And then we’ll take the bridge. We’ll go

Nestor Aparicio 33:06
all

8

Luke Jones 33:06
times. Do you think off to go to the bathroom? It’s only New York. It’s not halfway across the country. Listen,

Nestor Aparicio 33:12
Tuesday is Cinco de Mayo. Okay, I have an interview with Tommy Conwell at noon. I can blow that off. Or we can just, I can do that from like Madison Park. I can do. Well, the Orioles are in Miami on Tuesday. See if I go to New York. We would just go stay another day or two. We can watch that at sport. We’ll watch that it stands Monday night. And listen, if I do go to New York, this is going to be big part of the stick, not if, when. Let’s be positive about the Orioles this weekend, who’s pitching when we go to New York on Monday, I’ve already gone up on the eBay to do this. I really want to get a nasty Nestor shirt. I want to get a nasty Nestor Cortez with the mustache. And I want to go to some of the New York Yankees gift shops around the stadium there, 161 and I want to go into all of those little gift stands, Bobs, owls, all those places, and look in the discount rack in the back, see if I could pull one out for about six bucks in my size.

Luke Jones 34:05
If there are any Nestor Cortez shirts left, they will definitely be on discount. That’s for sure.

Nestor Aparicio 34:12
I’m sure I have a better chance going my wife on safari in Africa and seeing kids in Africa wearing them after they get shipped over there. So I but if anybody’s got one, like a medium or large, I can find the three x’s. I’m not looking for a nasty Nestor tent. I need something that, at least it’s a summertime it’s slimming in New York shirt. Have you seen the irony New York shirt? I R heart and why? That’s the shirt. So I’m gonna get that one, and I’m gonna get the nasty Nestor shirt, and we’ll get something nice for your mom and your sister. We go to New York. All right, get something nice for your nieces.

Luke Jones 34:47
That’s that sounds good. I had to look it up because I was wondering. I didn’t realize Nestor Cortez had arm surgery and back in October, and he’s out for most of this season,

Nestor Aparicio 34:55
all the more reason to get his shirt.

Luke Jones 34:57
There you go.

Nestor Aparicio 34:58
Be there for the comeback. You know. I mean, we could fall. I’m sure we could find one on eBay for pretty cheap. It would not be the first time nasty Nestor has been in the discount rack in the back and overlook. He’s Luke on. Nestor back from war. We’re Baltimore positive. Stay with us.