LA Chargers Derwin James Becomes the Highest Paid Safety in NFL History

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST: MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcast INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivot TWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivot TIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivot FACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcast FOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydad FIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/find Keeping up with our NFL Training Camp Tour bringing you some of the best football conversations around the league, we were able to sit down with Derwin James of the LA Chargers as he prepared to become the highest paid player at his position in NFL history. With several safeties around the league receiving big contracts of late, Derwin wasn't worried where he would fall in the pack and always remained confident that his on the field play would speak for itself when it came time for numbers. Putting his trust in agent David Mulugheta, the Chargers Safety stayed out of the negotiations and conversations between his team and representative knowing that he was in a good situation. Despite not signing a new deal before training Camp, Derwin showed up to support his team and partake in team activities, just didn't participate in practice. Ignoring the noise that he is injury prone and hasn't done enough to prove his consistent skill level, Derwin says it comes with territories and doesn't allow others opinions to affect how he approaches the game or his relationship with his organization, knowing fully that when he is on the field and playing- he believes he is the best safety in the NFL. Fred related to that notion as he dealt with some of that affecting his career and contracts while he played too. With full confidence in his quarterback Justin Herbert at the helm, Derwin believes the Chargers are not only the best team in the AFC West but a Super Bowl contender. "The more we get the ball to #10, we are going to win way more than we will lose". The Safety admits that it would be a letdown to get anywhere less than the big dance in February because he knows the talent on his team and what they are capable of this season, In a surprising response to Ryan's match up questions, Derwin says that Hunter Renfro is a guy they watch and believe is one of the better on offense that they face. Channing asks how he has avoided the pitfalls of being a star first in college and now in the NFL and what are some of the choices he made to rise above those situations that often derail young careers. Of course, no conversation is complete without Channing being Channing as he shares his thoughts on guys who use poor excuses of becoming fathers unexpectedly, and as usual it's a must listen! Growing up in Florida, Derwin talks about how he got his work ethic from his parents and watched his mom work out constantly as they were growing up so he adapted and did the same. As a father of his own little girl now, Derwin understands how this contract is not only life changing for him and his family but generational change too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:30Fred Taylor?

  Hey, my sophomore year, we lost in the game before state to Hain City.

• 0:34Speaker 02

  To Hain City? What year you came out?

• 0:36Fred Taylor?

  I came out, that was in 93 when we lost.

• 0:39Speaker 02

  You lost in 93?

• 0:40Fred Taylor?

  94 I came out, but in 92, 93, we lost to Hain City.

• 0:44Speaker 02

  Fred played my world.

• 0:45Fred Taylor?

  Nigga was playing off the graveyard, ain't this a graveyard?

• 0:48Speaker 02

  That's a graveyard right there, cemetery. Cemetery right next to them, they say he gonna bury you right there.

• 0:52Fred Taylor?

  Bruh.

• 0:53Channing Crowder?

  Nah, Freddie T.

• 0:54Fred Taylor?

  I remember that.

• 0:54Channing Crowder?

  Was that, was that Buckets really good, like playing with him on the same field?

• 1:00Channing Crowder?

  Nitrate lane, boy said Fred, Fred a hundred and thirteen years old.

• 1:05Fred Taylor?

  See, but the thing is, I don't claim to be cute, but I'm sexier than you. You know what I'm saying?

• 1:11Channing Crowder?

  They be sleeping on me, they be sleeping on me.

• 1:13Fred Taylor?

  I didn't sleep on you, man.

• 1:15Channing Crowder?

  They see it, they see it. Yeah, I've been fighting my whole life.

• 1:18Fred Taylor?

  He start, he meat, then he turn into a man, like, look at it, he, he, he got sexy.

• 1:26Speaker 02

  That boy really is, man.

• 1:50Ryan Clark?

  Hey, man, welcome to the pivot, bro, we excited to have you. OG Freddie T, Channing, I'm RC. Listeners, man, subscribe, like YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, we're there. But more importantly, we bringing you the best show anybody's bringing to you on all of these platforms. Different guests, it's gonna always be diverse, but today, what you?

• 2:12Fred Taylor?

  He talking like a Pittsburgh Steeler today.

• 2:14Ryan Clark?

  Oh, no, I'm just saying.

• 2:16Fred Taylor?

  What is going on, bro?

• 2:18Ryan Clark?

  Hey, listen, anytime, anytime I get a great safety on the set with me, man, it just make me feel at home, you know? I had Sean Taylor, one of my closest friends, Troy Palamalu, and Derwin James is doing a lot of the same things in Los Angeles, man. But it's so crazy, I hear so many stories about you, and most of those stories talk about the dude you are. You know, it's like, we all understand athletes. Should I watch you play DN and Flip Cats as a freshman at Florida State? But everybody talks about the leader. When I met you at the opening, though, everybody talked about the high school Derwin James, how much of a dog he was, how much of a leader he was, an alpha male. Where do you feel like all those things? Because he always ask about being dogs. Where do you feel like all those things started for you?

• 3:00Speaker 02

  I feel like it started for me with my moms and pops, just watching how my dad grinded and how my mom go to work every day, and then just still managed to go to gym and just make me go with her. We used to go to like Gold's Gym all the time. Like, I was coming up in middle school, growing up, and I just used to like, I used to have to find time while she worked just to do stuff. And it was like, they had all the machines in there, so I'm just learning new exercises, doing different stuff just to get it right, man. And I always just had that work ethic just to work hard. Like, I felt like God blessed me with all the talent and stuff, but I just feel like my work ethic was really just, you feel me? What made me go.

• 3:33Channing Crowder?

  Like you say, that dog, like, it's good players that I respect, and it's dudes that's dogs, like, and I feel as if dudes that's out there, like, you look at them like, I don't want to run across him. And you one of them dudes, dudes don't want to, they don't want to catch that ink cut if they know you sitting there. Like, where did that come from? Like, what, the question I always ask, what made Derwin James?

• 3:54Speaker 02

  I just say the neighborhood where I come from, just playing sideline bus on the street, on the road, wherever we playing, just how I grew up, man, it's always been like competition. And I feel like being able to compete against like everybody that I grew up with, it was more people talented than me where I grew up, like, but they just, you know, they didn't use the same opportunity, or they may have got in trouble, but just like I say, playing those everyday battles, trying to stay out before the streetlights come on, like, just grinding, don't want to go home every day, just trying to just stay busy, man, and just stay basketball, football, no matter what it is, I wanted to win. And like, when you want to win and when you want to do something, like, nothing going to stop you. And then that's how I just developed that and just, you know, it just stayed with me.

• 4:32Fred Taylor?

  It's in your name, though, James. Mike James went to U M, your cousin, right? Edrin James, everybody knows EJ, second cousin, or something like that. So it's in your lineage. Why did you choose? They chose University of Miami.

• 4:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, for real.

• 4:48Fred Taylor?

  How did you escape following in their footsteps to go to Uni- I mean Florida State University?

• 4:54Speaker 02

  It's crazy, everybody asks me that. Like my pops, he a UN fan too, and my mom, she liked the Gators kinda, low key. But me, I was just like, I always like, man, for some reason, I liked that horse at Florida State. It always got my attention as a kid, and I'm like, man, they got some five colors. And then just that war tent, where I'm like, all the players, you know, that was coming out from Deion, all the great players that played at Florida State, I'm like, man, I really like their swag. And then I used to always, like, I wasn't never a guy that wanna like something just cuz somebody else liked something. You're like, I always wanted to do something because I wanted to do it. And I'm like, I liked it that, and I used to talk trash to them boys, like the Mike and all that. I'm like, see, I'm going to Florida State.

• 5:29Fred Taylor?

  So along those lines, you mentioned Deion Sanders. You have other greats like Samari Rowe, when he was there, there were Terrell Buckley's of the world. You know, Florida State, they have so many defenders at the defensive back position that are great. Not just in college, but in the next level. How much of that played into your decision making when you chose to go to Florida State?

• 5:50Speaker 02

  It played a lot, tradition, I'm big on tradition. Like I say, even LSU got a great, y'all know what tradition y'all got, man. But it's just from Cromartie and Deion and all those guys, just seeing that legacy. And like, when I committed my freshman year of high school, I was like, Jalen Ramsey was already there. And like, you know, it already had, still had that swag, like Lamarcus Jordan, like a lot of guys that was already there. So I'm like, I wanna go in and ball, I don't care who there, like, I'm gonna commit, I'm gonna go there, and like, that's who I'm gonna be. And then from there, it just took off.

• 6:18Ryan Clark?

  You know, you mentioned committing as a freshman. You said it right. One, cats don't commit as freshmen and stay with those schools a lot of times. A lot of times, it's that overwhelming, oh my God, I can't believe my dream school wants me. And then you commit, and then you start seeing other things, going different places. So the fact that you knew that's where you wanted to go so young is crazy. But the other thing is, you were a star right away. You know what I mean? Like you come right on the campus and you fit right in. Everyone understood how good of a player you are. Like I mentioned, you know, you played DN sometimes in Rush. How was it to acclimate so fast to the college game? And was it overwhelming at any point?

• 6:59Speaker 02

  I always like, when I played ball, like my coaches I had growing up and stuff, they always told me like, give a reason, give a coach a reason to play you. And like, you know what I mean? And I always like, felt like no matter how old you is, age limit don't never got no age on plan. So like, I always looked at it as no matter where I'm going from Park Warner to high school, high school to college, college to NFL, at the end of the day, it's football. Like, we all know what ability we got, like, we all know what we can do. So I never really like, tried to look at it as like, oh, it's college, oh, it's high school. Like, I always just took it as, okay, my body, this is what I gotta do next. I just got, this the next level, this the next step. And then like, it's just like I say, my work ethic. I just feel like, I always prepared myself to be ready, so I ain't have to get ready really. So that's, that's really what I stuck to.

• 7:41Channing Crowder?

  Have you stay out of trouble, man? Cause I, I jumped in Florida, you know, first year rookie, rookie, you know, freshman All-American and all that, and then I started feeling myself. They started locking my ass up. You know what I'm saying?

• 7:53Ryan Clark?

  Wait, he not talking about like, not playing well?

• 7:57Channing Crowder?

  In the streets.

• 7:57Speaker 02

  No, that's what I'm saying. No, of course, like, like, I don't got, I had fun, like, but I always said, man, like...

• 8:34Speaker 02

  Don't never let none you do outweigh the main thing, like what you trying to get. I had a good time, I hung out, but like I say, I just was blessed, man, to be around the right people. Like they say, like sometimes you don't even gotta be doing nothing wrong, or you could be in the wrong situation. But I was fortunate enough to, you know, be in the right situations and just grind, man.

• 8:51Channing Crowder?

  Was it vets? Cause when I look back as a grown man, I look back and I ain't really have no... I had them in the league.

• 8:56Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 8:56Channing Crowder?

  And I ain't getting nothing in the league, cause I had my OGs that would check me.

• 8:59Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:00Channing Crowder?

  But at college, you know what I'm saying, not even bad mouthing the time I was at Florida, the vets at Florida, but I ain't really had no vet that would check me. Was that... You had a dude at FSU that would tell you, "Hey, bruh."

• 9:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, man, we had leaders on the team. Like I say, Jalen was a great guy, cause like Jalen really never really went out ever. Like Jalen didn't really do nothing, he straight ball, man. Like literally, I tell you, like, he just straight football. And like, just seeing how he worked, bro, every day, he... Like he knew he was going to the league, junior year, just how he like grinded it out, bro, just kept the main thing, the main thing. I really seen that as a freshman, you know, I was coming in, he was a junior freshman. So I'm like, "Man, I'm trying to get to what he get, like all this here." Like, don't get me wrong, I wanna be over here, I got a foot over here, but I... Like, honestly, like this don't outweigh, this don't outweigh that, so you feel me? I'mma put more into this, and like, that's what I did.

• 9:44Ryan Clark?

  You know, even with that, though, you have a great freshman year. You faced some adversity with injury.

• 9:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:51Ryan Clark?

  Um, in college. And you know how it is, man. It's different when you live with the same people all the time, you go to class with them, you see them walking around. How difficult was it for you to know that you're supposed to be here? The talent I have, the work that I put in, the things I've already done on the field, you just trying to climb every year to get to that point, to be drafted where you wanna go? How hard was it to deal with those injuries and not being able to be out there with your boys, with your brothers, and go win football games?

• 10:21Speaker 02

  Man, that was so tough, cause like, like you say, I grew up playing the game, but I never had been in... Like me, me in college was like my first real injury where I had to get like surgery. Anything, so I ain't really know what to expect. So like, when I got my first, when I had my first surgery, it was just like, it was new to me because I had never knew. And then, man, I just like, not being out there, bro, it killed me. I ain't even know what to do because I was like, like you said, I always like, got a routine. You know, you get into a routine where you just work. You know what you gonna do, you know you gonna work out, you gonna go to class. But I went mobile, I couldn't do what I needed to do, so it kind of hit me like, damn, like, I'm in the moment, I'm like, man, really, like, this happening, I gotta really, like, get right. And my team really needed me, like, that year we was loaded, it was me, like, Dow, we had a lot of, like, we had a lot of guys, so it was just like, man, not being out there, it made me more a student

• 11:06Speaker 02

  of a game, but like, nothing outweighs playing, man, you know, like, you want to be out there.

• 11:11Fred Taylor?

  So, you mean to tell me, all the adversity that you've been faced with, you have an opportunity to change your entire structure of your family's background, your history of your family. Minka Fitzpatrick just got a four-year extension, seventy-four million. But that's your money. That's in the same ballpark of your money. Not necessarily your money. Do you, do, do those stars come to mind when you see someone your same caliber get a big payday?

• 11:41Speaker 02

  Yeah, it come to mind, just seeing all the guys, like, come to mind. Like, you know what type, like I say, you know what type of player you is, you know what you have to offer. Like, I always, like I say, I always believe in myself, and I, I feel like, my work gonna show, you know, whatever I deserve, whatever that number is, my work, whatever I put in, like, it's, it's gonna, it's gonna take care of itself, so like, I, I, I look at it, but I don't really, like, like, I honestly, really don't, I let it take care of itself, because I know, when I play, what it look like, and I know, like, what type of dude I am, what type of leader I am, you feel me? So, I don't really.

• 12:10Channing Crowder?

  The two years that you played, it was a different time. You were all pro. Then the two years that you was injured.

• 12:17Speaker 02

  Yeah, it just didn't show.

• 12:18Channing Crowder?

  It wasn't there.

• 12:19Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 12:20Channing Crowder?

  We know you can ball, but do you think that that's why I brought up Fred? Because they called him fragile Freddie. He was on the field, Freddie was a dog. Freddie was gonna go get a hundred fifty easy. But there was a lot of times Freddie wasn't on the field. So it's kind of like y'all have, you know, rise up now, people are looking at you like that. Do you ever think about that? Like, do you have to justify that to people?

• 12:40Speaker 02

  Nah, I'm trying to change that narrative for sure. The only thing I could do is like, I can't speed time up to show people that. So me, like I say, like, I'mma, I'mma get that off my back. I ain't worried about not being injured because I know what type of dude I am. Like, that shit was fluid. Like, everything I've been through, I feel like it happened for a reason. So I know what type of work I put in, I know what type of body I got. Like, I don't really let that really bother me like that.

• 13:01Fred Taylor?

  Speaking on that, because I had to do a few things different. Once, you know, the, the titles started and the labels started to follow me, I said, all right, what am I doing? You know, I knew I was on South Beach too much. I was in club bed. I was everywhere, five, six days a week, and it caught up with me. I didn't think it would, but it naturally caught up with me. So I had to change a few things, nutrition, rest, etc. What are those things? We talked about you looking leaner, still big and ripped.

• 13:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure.

• 13:28Fred Taylor?

  What are those things that you're doing different to make sure you're available seventeen games throughout for the upcoming season?

• 13:35Speaker 02

  Well, like you said, man, the diet, that's the number one thing, man. Making sure I'm eating the right thing. Because like, like you said, that's the, that's the gas, that's the oil to my engine, man. And like I say, making sure I'm resting. And also, man, just making sure I ain't overworking myself. Because I feel like I was just, I was really like screaming. I only know one way. You guys, I got hurt in practice, but like, literally like, you feel me, screaming like, but I ain't gonna do it no other way. But I just learned how to work smarter, you know, from being a young guy. And like, really just, it wasn't really much that I needed to change. Like, because I, I feel like, you know, once I made those, the eating and just like how to, how to train and not overtrain, I feel like it helped.

• 14:09Fred Taylor?

  Well, I can tell you this, just because of experience, right? You're a You're on a second leg outside of your rookie deal. But the team know, they know your value. They know your worth. Otherwise, they would have been shopping you around, trying to get you out of there. Same thing with me and Jacksonville. Because you're still there, in spite of those injuries, you have time. But don't, don't discount that.

• 14:36Speaker 02

  For sure.

• 14:36Fred Taylor?

  Because we have to always understand how valuable the moment is. You know what I mean? Because that's, that, that costs more than anything in life. They know it's the next man up. There's plenty of other guys out there that they can bring in. But because of your ability and your talent, they see that. They can't let, you're a generational talent. They're banking that you have, that those are put beside you. So don't ever get discouraged. Just keep grinding, keep working.

• 15:03Speaker 02

  Appreciate that.

• 15:04Fred Taylor?

  And all that shit gonna come.

• 15:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's why I say, like, that's why I was saying, I can't wait till I, you know, like I said, get more time to prove, like, you know, what I, what I can do. I know what I can do. So I don't really be tripping, like, I don't panic, bro.

• 15:14Ryan Clark?

  It's funny, like, all these things always tie in. We get an opportunity to sit down, uh, great players, but also great people. You know, Freddie mentioned being able to change your, your family's life, right? The, the dynamic. And we often, the, the, the conversation of generational wealth has popped up on our show more recently than I think it, it really ever has. But as soon as you got to the league, man, you kept a promise to your mom about, you know, being able to get her a house. What was that moment? I mean, listening to you say, my mom would go to Gold's Gym, and then I would have to find places to work out while she's working out. And then for that to be full circle of you getting an opportunity to, to do that for her, what was that like?

• 15:55Speaker 02

  Man, I ain't gonna lie, I had a lot of proud moments. That was probably one, like, one of the proudest moments, just handing her that key and, like, seeing my sister, my little brother. You know, everybody's just happy, like, because I got a little brother that live in the house currently right now. He coming up. But just seeing her smile, seeing her cry, like, that, that emotion she had, it's just like, it made me, like, think, like, dang, like, watching her over the years, like, put food on the table, go to work, like, this how, this like, how I can pay her back. This how I can show her, like, all her work, like, didn't go unnoticed. So that's, like, when I got the opportunity, like, I kept, that was the first thing, literally, like, that was literally the first thing, like. I was like, man, I had the people already looking before, like, she need her house, like. So like, that's what I wanted to do and keep that promise, though.

• 16:37Ryan Clark?

  And, and, you know, now, you, you go full circle from. Being able to do that for your mom to your son's first birthday was was recently. And now we're talking about being able to take care of people who have taken care of us to taking care of the people God has charged us with.

• 16:55Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 16:56Ryan Clark?

  Right, that that that we are given the blessing and opportunity to raise. When listening to you talk about your contract situation with Fred and it's like so much goes into it. Because you're thinking about the responsibilities I have, how do I do best by them? And those negotiations get ugly. Like I wasn't you, I wasn't you. Like some of us get, don't get drafted at all. Some of us get drafted in third round. You guys are both first rounder, you would have gone higher without injury. And they start to say some ugly things. You know, you might be in there, well, Ryan, you not this. Or Freddie, you weren't this, Channing, you weren't this, Derwin, you weren't this. How involved are you in those conversations? Or do you try to take yourself out and let that business be handled by David Mulligetta and Los Angeles Chargers?

• 17:38Speaker 02

  I feel like I got the best guy doing that. Like, I feel like nobody ain't messing with David Mulligetta when it come to that. And I feel like he gonna take care of whatever. Like, he ain't gonna leave no stone unturned. I feel like that's why you pick guys like that and build a relationship. And I feel like he gonna take care of that. So I always try to lead, lead at where it's at. And I don't really like try to pay too much attention.

• 17:58Channing Crowder?

  It's funny, because you asked about the Minka Fitzpatrick.

• 18:01Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 18:02Channing Crowder?

  Nomas, that's stupid.

• 18:03Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 18:03Channing Crowder?

  So my, my contract was up. Uh, Ehrlich had just got, just hit him for 10 million a year. Middle linebacker making 10 million a year. My contract's up. I literally whited out Ehrlich's name and put my name on there. No one good and well, I wasn't Brian Ehrlich. But I just had to try him. You know what I'm saying? So you, do you sit back, like, and now, and the money's stupid now. The money's stupid now compared to when we played. Do you sit back and look at the Minka, look at them dudes and be like, oh, they gave me 70?

• 18:31Ryan Clark?

  You got Mika, Jamal, like, there's a lot of guys. Justin Simmons.

• 18:34Speaker 02

  Man, I'd be lying to y'all if I said I didn't, man. Like, honestly, we competitors. Like, like I said, we, we, like, we play the game for the love of the game. But like I said, everybody know, like, what they, what they deserve and what they feel like they worth. So I feel like, man, always just, just showing up and just working hard, that gonna take care of itself.

• 18:49Fred Taylor?

  When we talked to Jalen, I mean, I was, uh, in awe. You know, of the young guys, and I think we talked to someone

• 18:57Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 18:57Fred Taylor?

  That said athletes now are smarter and more engaged. They're more engaged in, you know, their sport and the financial part of it and all of that. But talking to Jalen, you know, he said, look, if such and such didn't reset the market, then we looking at him like, man, what the you just did? You know, is that a mindset you guys have or is that something coming from David? Like, how many conversations or what are the conversations like that you have with your agent, your representation, where he's laying out everything and all the different possibilities for you through complete transparency, which is, I'm sure, one of the reasons you hire him. Not only that, he's one of the best, but what are those conversations like when it's, you know,

• 19:42Fred Taylor?

  uh, contract time?

• 19:44Speaker 02

  I feel like, first of all, the group of guys that David and guys we got, I feel like we got the best group of guys if you look around the league. I mean, we got all the DBs really that you can think of. And like you say, man, we always telling each other, man, we wanna see each one of, we, like you say, we wanna see each of us reset the market. Cause all that's doing is just helping each other family. That's all like, that's helping everybody. So like the conversation we have with each other is just like, man, it's your turn to eat. Go, go do it. Like, don't bullshit it. Go do it. Like, you know what I mean? And like, having David to, you know, be able to represent us and, you know, be that voice for us, you know what I mean? I feel like there's nobody better. That's why I say we all a team. Like, you see the shirt, family ties, like, it really mean more. It's more than just, you feel me, a family. It's really like a relationship, you feel me?

• 20:28Fred Taylor?

  So you're a hundred percent confident that you got a, a bulldog that's gonna walk in those doors with your best interests at heart and say, look, I ain't got nothing to worry about. Just call me when we good.

• 20:39Speaker 02

  Man, it could be, uh, man, a million percent of him. It can be going there to get a pair of outfit. It don't gotta be money. It could be going there to get me an outfit. I believe in my God.

• 20:47Fred Taylor?

  Complete trust. I love it.

• 20:48Speaker 02

  I believe in him.

• 20:49Fred Taylor?

  I love it.

• 20:49Channing Crowder?

  Did y'all talk about money with y'all teammates? Not really, no. Did you talk, I, we ain't talk money. Y'all young boy, y'all talk money, contract with y'all teammate.

• 20:57Speaker 02

  No, not with our teammate. This with the guy.

• 20:59Fred Taylor?

  Talking about with his agent.

• 21:00Speaker 02

  No, not our teammates, bro. We just on the grind and play.

• 21:03Channing Crowder?

  Like all the dudes that, he locked in with the same.

• 21:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, not like that, bro.

• 21:06Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, cause everybody know when your contract up, then they knew your contract up.

• 21:10Fred Taylor?

  You was talking something else. He was talking Tootsie's in South Beach.

• 21:14Channing Crowder?

  No, no, no.

• 21:14Fred Taylor?

  That's him talking crazy.

• 21:16Channing Crowder?

  Even the contract stuff, like, everybody know when your contract up. It was never time of somebody would pull me to side and be like, hey.

• 21:22Ryan Clark?

  You know, you know, say you got to do this for the next generation to do that like.

• 21:25Fred Taylor?

  Already understood.

• 21:26Ryan Clark?

  What DJ talking about right now, it's crazy that you are still playing young player. He played for four years and you understand that like Freddie just said.

• 21:33Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 21:34Ryan Clark?

  When I was your age, it didn't click. I don't know how y'all feel about it. That didn't click to me. I was just out there playing ball. I didn't talk to nobody about money.

• 21:40Fred Taylor?

  We weren't as smart as them. DC said it. Like, they have those conversations. It's as transparent, I think, now than it's ever been because the agenda is go play ball, have fun, but also get paid. You guys understand that. We did not have those conversations. There were a lot of them were uncomfortable conversations.

• 22:00Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 22:01Fred Taylor?

  Becomes, so a lot of guys felt animosity towards certain guys if they got the check. Nowadays, everybody getting 30, 40, 50 million. So I don't see why, you know, anybody would think, oh, he don't deserve that, or he don't deserve that. That's, that's just not.

• 22:16Ryan Clark?

  I think, I think too. But you also have to realize the unique position that David Mulligetta guys are in.

• 22:25Fred Taylor?

  Very unique.

• 22:25Ryan Clark?

  In the unique position of everybody gets rich.

• 22:28Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 22:29Ryan Clark?

  Right? You know, it's not, it's not like having a conversation with your homeboy, who is going to be middle of the pack come contract time. If I'm talking to Casey Hayward, I'm talking to Landon Collins, who at one point set the market. If I'm talking to Earl Thomas, who at one point set the market. I'm talking to Kevin Byard, who at one point set the market. All these folks are being represented by the same dude. You know what I mean? So it's not that uncomfortable conversation of I'm sitting at this table you can't sit in. Eventually we'll all be here. So I think that's the, the difference in it. And also, how do you feel social media plays a part? Because immediately when somebody signs, when Minka Fitzpatrick signed this contract, you got to see it right now. You didn't have to wait. You didn't have to guess on numbers.

• 23:09Ryan Clark?

  You didn't have to do all those things. Do you think that breeds more competition amongst players? Because you understand and know what those dudes are getting and you don't have to guess. And you also sit back and say, I've watched the film. Like, I see what he's done. It's not more than what I've done.

• 23:26Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, for sure.

• 23:26Ryan Clark?

  You start to get that feeling?

• 23:27Fred Taylor?

  For sure, for sure. Like I said, I respect all the guys out there in the league, of course. But like you said, when you're looking at those deals, like I, I feel like I know what I deserve. I feel like, like I'm the best agent in the league. So I don't, I don't like look at like, oh, this what he doing, this what he doing. I feel like, okay, that's what he doing. I know where I'm at. I know where I stand. I know what I can offer. I know what I can do. So that's how I look at it. Growing up in Haynes City, Florida. Man, you should have went to UF, but that's another thing. You're a five-star recruit.

• 23:57Fred Taylor?

  Grew up in Hanes City, right in the middle of the state. I was just telling you a second ago, in 1993, I think. Um, my high school, we played there in Hanes City.

• 24:08Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer. It's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 24:36Fred Taylor?

  And the game before the state championship, they beat us. But the spookiest part, the craziest part about all of it is a graveyard. This is the football field and a graveyard was right next to it.

• 24:50Speaker 02

  It's a football.

• 24:51Fred Taylor?

  Football graveyard. Football graveyard.

• 24:56Speaker 02

  Ain't no other setup.

• 24:57Fred Taylor?

  And what's coming from the graveyard that isn't coming from the football field? Fog and smog. I'm like, that shit is spooky. That shit was crazy. What was it like growing up in Hanes City?

• 25:09Speaker 02

  Uh, man, so I got to spend Hanes City like, um, from all the way up to about fifth grade. Um, man, it was just, man, it was amazing. Like I said, it was competitive, man. It's like everybody know everybody, everybody click tight. When you cross the railroad tracks, it's like, it's one family, man. And like, like I say, in the neighborhood as kids, we just wanted to be the best. Like we wanted, we wanted the opportunity to know, get out and like one day play NFL like. And, and like I say, like, I always just tried to work hard to just stay away. It was always stuff here that I, like I always say, I never wanted to be here and be stuck there. I always wanted to keep, just keep going. You know what I mean?

• 25:43Fred Taylor?

  You mentioned being here and being stuck there. I'm from a small town. We had a lot of great players that have come through.

• 25:49Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 25:50Fred Taylor?

  But unfortunately, due to grades or the ACT, SAT, they didn't make it to that next level. And we always go back and we call that a All-Star U on the street. The street university.

• 26:01Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 26:01Fred Taylor?

  You know, they're part of that. Are there any guys that you came up with back in Hayneside or Arundel that were very good players or just as good as you?

• 26:11Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 26:11Fred Taylor?

  That didn't make it to the next level?

• 26:13Speaker 02

  I tell all the guy right now, his name DJ Law. He played with me at Hayneside High School. He was a running back. He basically played everything I played, linebacker, safety. One of y'all could pull his film up after this, but he, man, I'm talking about every time he got the ball, like literally it was a touchdown. People standing up like one of the most exciting players like you ever seen like. And I, I feel like he supposed to be here on this level where I'm at. You know what I mean? He didn't get the same cards dealt to him that I got, you know? It was, his role was a little different, but I just feel like he was another example of just like, you know, one of the guys that was just super talented, man, that just, I feel like I know that can be on the roster, in the Pro Bowl, all types of stuff.

• 26:49Fred Taylor?

  And what sense? Because we all have experienced it, right? And what sense that he didn't get the same cards dealt that you got? Because a lot of times we can go back and say, we had the same opportunity.

• 27:02Speaker 02

  I tell you this, like, you know, I mean, he, his opportunity was different. He already had three kids, two, three kids in high school. We in high school, you know what I mean? It was a way different situation than myself. I went home to my mom and dad, you feel me? I got a whole different, that's why I say it was a whole different situation that was presented. You know what I mean? I, I feel like he didn't get the same like, you know, I mean, the same, same opportunity.

• 27:22Fred Taylor?

  He had more on his plate.

• 27:23Speaker 02

  Yeah, he had more on his plate to deal with, you know what I mean? And I, and I, and I feel like he just took it from there.

• 27:27Fred Taylor?

  And, and I only say that, and I bring it up simply because, you know, we, we want to see, especially on this show, we try to go stand, put positivity out in front of anything we drop, right?

• 27:40Speaker 02

  For sure.

• 27:40Fred Taylor?

  And it's also a teach tape.

• 27:42Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:43Fred Taylor?

  Whatever we talk about through these conversations, our experiences, we want some, we want the viewers to come back and take whatever they can from it.

• 27:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:52Fred Taylor?

  Right? A lot of times in our communities, those are the things that happen.

• 27:56Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:56Fred Taylor?

  You have guys as gifted and as talented as can be, but you know, because of maturation or the lack of, they make certain decisions and I don't want to call them mistakes, especially when it come to children and family, because that's what you're dealt, you gotta. You gotta dig deep and go take care of yours. But if we can try and circumvent certain things, certain aspects, to allow guys an opportunity to go and fulfill their dreams. We talk about it. And I'm sure the people out there, they like to hear about it. So when you go and you engage the next generation of potentially great players, then they say, all right, I'm gonna wrap that thing up. This is his line. This is where he comes in. I'm gonna put a hat on it.

• 28:41Fred Taylor?

  I ain't gonna be as freaky as I can be. I'm gonna go and focus and concentrate on what I need to focus on. Because my dreams is here. And those things happen. Guys get tied down and then next thing you know.

• 28:53Speaker 02

  It's different, because you gotta think, we seventeen.

• 28:55Fred Taylor?

  Seventeen.

• 28:56Speaker 02

  We seventeen, you know, like we look, we kids as ourselves, you know what I mean? So it's like, that's a lot, that's a lot of responsibility. Like me having a slum right now, in the position I'm in, just being in the NFL is like, it's a lot, you know what I mean? And I can only imagine, bro, we in high school, like we ain't even, you know, I mean, we ain't even live college. We went to college, you know what I mean? It's way different, that's why I say.

• 29:16Ryan Clark?

  When you, when you look at, when you look at situations like that, and I think Channing even mentioned earlier about not being caught up. I tell the story all the time. There's a guy that delivers mail in my parents' neighborhood. And he saw my mom and he was like, Michelle? You know, and he asked about me. And walking away, he tells my mom, I should have been right. Right? And he was, like when we were little, he was bigger than me and he was faster than me. And he was stronger than me. And so we all have, we all have these stories. And there are times where certain cards are dealt. And there are also certain times where we play our cards a certain way. You know, and we've talked on this show a lot of times about accountability and responsibility and, and understanding what we have to do to succeed. When you think about where you come from, you know, how you were raised and those things.

• 30:01Ryan Clark?

  How did you avoid certain pitfalls and certain opportunities? And I'm gonna say for myself, because I don't, I don't think we ever say it enough. It's a lot of stuff that I just ain't get caught doing.

• 30:11Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure.

• 30:12Ryan Clark?

  I'm just gonna be real.

• 30:13Speaker 02

  For sure.

• 30:13Ryan Clark?

  It's a lot of opportunities where I wasn't smart and didn't protect myself. And it just didn't happen to me that day. There's a lot of opportunity. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and nobody happened to be. You know what I'm saying? Different things like that. So how did you avoid some of those pitfalls that are easy to get into?

• 30:29Speaker 02

  Well, like you say, I ain't up here like I'm just an angel. Like I ain't have fun. Like you say, I ain't never go through the same road. But like, like you say, I never, I never really put myself in a position where it can, it can really hurt me. Like where I got in trouble with the law, where I had to really like get it out there all over the media, all over the internet. Like, you know, I mean, I never really, I never had to deal with that. So I just tried to, like I say, man, just stay focused on what I need to stay focused on.

• 30:54Channing Crowder?

  And one thing, I brought up the babies. It's not hard to put a condom on.

• 30:59Ryan Clark?

  Nah.

• 30:59Channing Crowder?

  I'd have been locked up. Like you know what raw feels like and you know what rubber feels like. So all that stuff, ah, the condom broke now. When it breaks, as soon as that thing breaks, you say, oh, that feels too good. Let me slide up out of there and grab me another one. So like the kid thing, man, it's real stuff, bro. I respect what y'all saying, but yeah, man. Listen, party all, party hall, had a good time.

• 31:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure.

• 31:23Channing Crowder?

  But I know what raw and I know what rubber is. And everybody out there, come on now.

• 31:29Ryan Clark?

  You know, you know what meet to meet feel like? You know what meet to meet feel like?

• 31:33Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 31:34Ryan Clark?

  It's different.

• 31:35Channing Crowder?

  Oh. Whoa, Nelly. Holy macro.

• 31:44Channing Crowder?

  Holy macro.

• 31:47Speaker 02

  You gotta deal with it.

• 31:48Ryan Clark?

  Okay, hold on.

• 31:50Channing Crowder?

  We gotta pivot on back.

• 31:51Ryan Clark?

  Pivot on back. But you know, so let's fast forward to now, man.

• 31:54Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 31:55Ryan Clark?

  Chan mentioned earlier, the two years you've played, it's been undeniable. I tweeted and said all the time, I think you're the best safety in football.

• 32:02Speaker 02

  Appreciate it.

• 32:02Ryan Clark?

  Like even, man, watching the, the cool training camp videos where Keenan killing people and then you go do one on ones as a safety and locking up one of the best wide receivers in the league, at least going back and forth with him. You know, you look at your team now, you were asked to do a lot last year. Now you go out, you get J C. Young Zonk coming back, coming back at corner. You add Khalil Mack. I was talking to Brandon Stanley at LSU's pro day, and I'm thinking he gonna be talking to me about Justin. He just keeps talking about you. You know, if you could build around a great quarterback, why can't you build around a great safety? We just need Derwin to be able to do what Derwin does, this and this. When you think about this year, your division and the opportunities that you guys have to compete, where do you see the Los Angeles Chargers?

• 32:47Speaker 02

  I see us on top. Like, I ain't, I don't see nothing else. If we, like, we understand the mission. Everybody that came in, whether you're a new guy, an old guy that already been in his system, like, we all know what the mission is. We all know what the goal is. So it's us trying to come together, you know, and not just try to be a team just on paper or just got talent or like, we ain't trying to be that. We wanna come in and really do something. And I feel like I'm gonna be one of the guys that really, you know, try to help that go, you know, especially being a leader on the defense and just being more free, just being more free out there on defense and getting the ball to Justin, because we know, we got a great quarterback, bro. And you got a quarterback in this league, you could do anything. Y'all, everybody knows how everybody plays. So the more we can get the ball to number 10, we gonna, we gonna win, we gonna win more than we lose. I can promise you that.

• 33:31Ryan Clark?

  Can you play different when you got Bosa and Mack coming off the edge?

• 33:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, can you play different than you had that?

• 33:37Ryan Clark?

  Yes.

• 33:37Speaker 02

  Okay then.

• 33:38Ryan Clark?

  Like, but what?

• 33:39Speaker 02

  Okay then, okay then. Okay, yeah, I'm ready now. It gotta come out.

• 33:43Ryan Clark?

  It's coming out.

• 33:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, I'm going first mind, let's go.

• 33:46Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 33:47Speaker 02

  First mind, ain't no guessing, let's go.

• 33:48Fred Taylor?

  So knowing that Bosa, Mack, yourself, Young Zonk, you know, just pieces on defense, then you flip to the offense.

• 33:57Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 33:58Fred Taylor?

  You know, you got Keenan Allen.

• 33:59Ryan Clark?

  Mike.

• 34:00Fred Taylor?

  Mike, you know, you got the QB. Like, you guys got everything you need to make a run. Will it be a letdown if you, if you don't make a playoff?

• 34:11Speaker 02

  It for sure be a letdown if we don't make the playoffs, because I feel like, just looking at the guys we have around our building and like the competition we got on the east side of the bar, ain't no, ain't no reason why we shouldn't be playing it. I feel like we supposed to been in the playoffs last year. We took care of the games we were supposed to take care of, but... It ain't no reason we shouldn't be in the playoffs next year.

• 34:29Fred Taylor?

  Is it a letdown if you're not in Super Bowl, whatever number it is? I don't know.

• 34:35Speaker 02

  To me, it is.

• 34:36Fred Taylor?

  Like 78,000.

• 34:37Speaker 02

  Nah, I don't know.

• 34:38Ryan Clark?

  Nah, because the one I won a few years back.

• 34:41Fred Taylor?

  Get out of here, man.

• 34:42Ryan Clark?

  It was just.

• 34:43Speaker 02

  He always got a chip though.

• 34:45Ryan Clark?

  Nah, nah, nah.

• 34:46Speaker 02

  He a champ now.

• 34:47Fred Taylor?

  We always show R.C. love.

• 34:49Speaker 02

  He a champ now.

• 34:49Fred Taylor?

  Look, we. Pivot merch on sale right now.

• 34:53Speaker 02

  He was a big part of that too. He was a big part of that too. This is, this what we had to do to get him on the pivot?

• 35:00Fred Taylor?

  We had to go black and yellow.

• 35:03Speaker 02

  No, I ain't be that. I ain't be that.

• 35:06Fred Taylor?

  That was part of his contract.

• 35:08Ryan Clark?

  That's part of my deal. That's part of my deal, dawg.

• 35:10Fred Taylor?

  Not put on some real shit. Merchandise live right now, everybody.

• 35:14Ryan Clark?

  You know, I got, I'm the one that, you know, got a little asshole in me. That AFC West. That AFC West a bitch now.

• 35:22Speaker 02

  Man, it was, like I say, the games we played last year already came down to one possession. What's gonna be different? I mean, it's gonna come down to one possession. Like, we gotta come out and play, we gotta dominate. And like, like I say, the team we got, I feel like there's no reason we shouldn't do what we wanna do. And me being the person I am, the goals I set for myself and the team, I feel like we wanna be in the Super Bowl. And we gonna see ourself in there.

• 35:44Ryan Clark?

  You talk about those games and doing one-possession games, Raiders, right? Kansas City.

• 35:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, one-possession.

• 35:52Ryan Clark?

  One-possession games. What says that y'all close those games out this year? Closing is a habit. You know what I mean? Like, learning how to close games out, it's a habit. It's about a feel, you know? We did a show the other day and Chan was just talking about, nah, when the game's on the line, who gonna drop they nuts? Like, what dudes you looking at like, hey, man, we got it? When you think about yourself as a leader defensively, Justin Herbert as a leader offensively. Y'all got what it takes to close this year? Because that's all it was about last year.

• 36:21Speaker 02

  Yeah, I definitely feel like we got what it closed. Because like you said, man, giving up those, you play defense. The most frustrating thing when those third and 17s, when they get those first downs, those third and 15s, them third and 1s, like, just all that, man, that third down alone, I feel like that's gonna make our team so much better. When you add a guy like Mac, where you got a chip, it's three-man routes now. He ain't guarding as many, he ain't five-out no more, you know what I mean? So it's like, it's more, it's helping everybody. Add a guy like J.C. out there that can guard number one guys, like, it's gonna help everybody, like, you know what I mean? Each, so I feel like as a team, getting the ball to Justin Moore is only gonna help us.

• 36:53Ryan Clark?

  Well, so here's my question. You know, and I need, I need the honest Durwood answer, you know what I'm saying? From Haynes, what is it, Haynes City?

• 37:00Speaker 02

  Haynes City, baby.

• 37:01Ryan Clark?

  With the graveyard next, I wouldn't play that either. I went to a Catholic school, they probably wouldn't let us go.

• 37:06Speaker 02

  They were gonna, they were gonna bury my father.

• 37:09Ryan Clark?

  They probably would.

• 37:10Channing Crowder?

  No, Ryan, you can't go there.

• 37:12Speaker 02

  They were gonna bury your whole team right next to the field.

• 37:15Ryan Clark?

  First off, I was on that team.

• 37:16Speaker 02

  Yeah, they were gonna bury all that.

• 37:18Ryan Clark?

  That was good, Fred.

• 37:18Speaker 02

  Nah, Haynes City, we in Florida. I don't know, I ain't act like that.

• 37:22Ryan Clark?

  So, you know, what was happening in your division? The Raiders go out and get Devante, they get Devante because they got Derrick, right? And they love their quarterback. Obviously, we know what that boy in Kansas City is. We know what Justin Herbert is. The Denver Broncos, they go out and get Russell Wilson. And I think everybody in that division is looking like, hey, man, when the Kansas City Chiefs are dominating with that dude playing quarterback, you gotta have one. If you don't have one, you have no chance. You look at those four guys, how do you rank them?

• 37:53Speaker 02

  Number one, my guy, for sure. I'll take him out of 10 over anybody. Then I'd probably say Mahomes, you gotta go two. And then three, Russell, four, Carr.

• 38:02Ryan Clark?

  And so now you, you getting in those games, are you, can you have the opportunity on the sideline with Patrick Mahomes? When you go on the field, you go say, hey, look, we about to go out here and stop him. We gonna get this football to number 10. And you believe in that, that y'all gonna win a ring that way?

• 38:17Speaker 02

  I really, a hundred, brother, I ain't, I wouldn't tell you I wouldn't be up here bullshitting. I a hundred percent believe that. We get this ball to number 10, y'all gonna see something in year three with him. I promise y'all that.

• 38:58Channing Crowder?

  The funny thing, everybody highlighted Patrick Mahomes highlights. You know what I'm saying, that running this way, throwing behind his goddamn head and hitting people over there. Do you think about that playing him? Because it's not like playing another quarterback.

• 39:09Speaker 02

  Man.

• 39:09Channing Crowder?

  It's goddamn Patrick Mahomes, like, is it a difference in playing him where he can make all them cross body throws?

• 39:14Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's definitely different playing that boy than any other quarterback you're gonna face because, man, he at his best when he outside that pocket. When he moving on the run and like you say, when he looking his way, throwing that way, like, that's when he at his best. So I feel like he a lot more different than a, like a Russell Wilson or a Derek Carr, you know what I mean? So, it's a lot different.

• 39:31Channing Crowder?

  And I got to ask about the tight ends, because you was bringing up.

• 39:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, bring him up, yeah.

• 39:35Channing Crowder?

  That's what clicked in my mind. That's what clicked in my mind, because I was playing against Gates and Tony Gonzalez and them boys back in the day. Bro, in your division, you got Darren Waller who was on the show. That motherfucker is gigantic.

• 39:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure.

• 39:48Channing Crowder?

  Bro, he was walking down the hallway and the lights was going off as he walked past. Like Candyman. Yeah. But then you got Kelsey there too. You know what I'm saying? Who, who, because you on the tight end right over him. Is it one of them, who the baddest tight end in the league right now?

• 40:03Speaker 02

  I gotta go with Kelsey.

• 40:04Channing Crowder?

  Kelsey better.

• 40:04Speaker 02

  I practiced against Kittle too, I like Kittle a lot.

• 40:06Channing Crowder?

  Give him a compliment, yeah.

• 40:07Speaker 02

  I like, I like Kittle a lot, but I gotta go with Kelsey because, I feel like what made Kelsey so much different than Waller is just like, him being more creative, like, outside of the route tree. Like, you know what I mean, when Pat move and like, Kelsey working to get open, you gotta cover him twice, it ain't just covering him one time. So like, I feel like that's what make him so like, different than, than Waller. Waller's speed, big, like you say, like, you know, he, Kelsey a little more, like you say, more wiggly, more jiggle to him.

• 40:33Fred Taylor?

  I think it's safe to say that the AFC West is the best division in football. But the quarterbacks we named, I think all those guys are deservedly, uh, top eight, all of them.

• 40:45Channing Crowder?

  One percent.

• 40:46Fred Taylor?

  Top 10.

• 40:47Channing Crowder?

  Derrick, Derrick.

• 40:47Speaker 02

  Derrick go there too, we underrated.

• 40:49Channing Crowder?

  Derrick would have to be the guy you probably have questions about, but, yeah, like, all those guys hang around the top 10 for sure.

• 40:56Fred Taylor?

  I mean, you got a lot, you gotta play, you gotta play regardless. Is there ever a time being that you're LA Chargers? The big team is LA Rams, they just won the bowl. You know, and everybody, we don't need all these teams back in LA.

• 41:10Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 41:10Fred Taylor?

  All that other stuff.

• 41:11Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 41:12Fred Taylor?

  Do you guys ever feel that you don't get the same love that they get?

• 41:16Speaker 02

  Man.

• 41:16Fred Taylor?

  Like stepchild?

• 41:17Speaker 02

  Nah, heck nah. We don't look at it as stepchild. And it's crazy because. Nah, Jalen, Jalen, Jalen come at me with the same thing, like literally Jalen.

• 41:24Fred Taylor?

  Little brother.

• 41:25Speaker 02

  Jalen always try to little brother me, like try to little brother my team. I'm happy we played them this year, New Year's too. So like he always like, we was just talking about this, he was like, man, we just, you know, we just won a bowl. He just told me, you know, we finna repeat. I don't care who y'all added. So he be trying, like little stuff like that. Like you saying, little stuff like that for sure, like. But like I said, we gotta, we gotta earn our stripes, man.

• 41:45Fred Taylor?

  So there's a reason for you guys to have a chip on your shoulder, being tired here.

• 41:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure. Cause I, I feel like we gotta earn our stripes, man. We, our franchise, we never won a bowl. We gotta earn our stripes, we gotta get a bowl. You know, they used to always talk trash about our state and we ain't got no fans, but like I said, we got number 10, we got a great team. There gonna be a lot of bandwagon fans come too, so.

• 42:04Ryan Clark?

  What are we saying? What, what am I saying at the end of this season about the Los Angeles Chargers? Because unlike any other year throughout your career, y'all got expectations now. When you get number 10 and he ends up being better than people picked in front of him, it's like, oh, they got to do. Right? Dewayne James was, was healthy all year. You've now added those pieces. Brandon Staley, one of the brightest young coaches in football. With, with those expectations, are we saying at the end of the year, you have lived up to them? And if we aren't, if we aren't, if we're saying the Los Angeles Chargers fell short again, what could be that reason?

• 42:45Speaker 02

  Man, I say, I'll start with that last question you asked me. I'll just say, if we don't reach the full potential, it, it gotta be from us not coming together, team, playing in one. And like, like you say, everybody gotta stay healthy, everybody gotta go out there, everybody gotta be out there at the game. Like they, we gonna keep it a hundred, like, you know what I mean? So if everybody out there, everybody doing what they doing, well, win everybody out there. We know what it gonna look like. And I feel like we gonna meet those expectations.

• 43:11Fred Taylor?

  So it has to be some excitement circling, not just within the community, but the players itself. What type of conversations have you had in this past offseason with the addition of J.C. and Khalil Mack and those type of players, the players of that caliber? What are those conversations like?

• 43:29Speaker 02

  First of all, all on from Florida, what you just named. So it's already. It's a different vibe. It's a different vibe.

• 43:35Ryan Clark?

  You love that, huh?

• 43:36Speaker 02

  Like Zut from Florida, even Joey Bosa from Florida. So like, just having that swag on defense. Like, we all know what we here for, man. And when you know what you here for, and when you know, like, I gotta play my part. I feel like that's what is gonna take care of itself. And we all know, man.

• 43:54Ryan Clark?

  Like, I love getting you guys on here, because like, I watch the film and I'm doing rankings and I'm talking about people. I'm saying, well, I think this guy's this, this guy's that. But, you know, it's almost one of those things, like with Fred. Obviously Fred was a Pro Bowler and all those things. But you come ask me, who'd you hate playing against? I'm like, oh, I hated playing against him. Right? You always knew when you went out there. Now, it didn't mean you were scared to go out there. It just meant you had a level of respect for him. I've watched you go play one-on-one and do one-on-ones with Keenan Allen. What are some of the receivers in the league that, when y'all preparing for the week? You know what I'm saying? You talking to the corners or you talking to the rush, like, hey, now, y'all, y'all gotta get there. Like, dude can go. Who are some of those people you put on a level with Keenan?

• 44:37Speaker 02

  Tyreek Hill, number one, for sure. I mean, when you.

• 44:41Ryan Clark?

  He said that fast, didn't he?

• 44:42Speaker 02

  When you playing number 10, I mean, you gotta know where he at. I say Tyreek Hill. And then, like you say, guys like Waller, guys like Renfro that can, you know, that can change the game. If you don't game plan them right, they can hurt you. So guys like that, that we play, and I feel like our division the best anyway. So just every division game we play, I feel like you just gotta be ready to play.

• 45:02Ryan Clark?

  Did you just, hold on one second. Did you just start a conversation with Tyreek Hill and go to Hunter Renfro?

• 45:11Speaker 02

  No, it's different.

• 45:12Ryan Clark?

  Hunter Renfro, the encyclopedia sells me.

• 45:14Speaker 02

  No, there ain't no encyclopedia selling me.

• 45:17Ryan Clark?

  Hunter really liked that.

• 45:19Speaker 02

  Turn the film on, you watch film, don't you?

• 45:21Ryan Clark?

  I know, but I'm just trying to be devil's advocate.

• 45:24Speaker 02

  Nah, man.

• 45:25Ryan Clark?

  Cause if my man got a receipt in there, man.

• 45:27Speaker 02

  Nah, he gotta give him some credit, man.

• 45:28Ryan Clark?

  No, he really is though.

• 45:29Speaker 02

  He good, man.

• 45:29Ryan Clark?

  Yeah. Like, he got, he got his deal this year, and I just, and like, I would actually talk about it all the time on TV. I did a breakdown of him. I was like, y'all gotta stop going out there looking at him. Y'all gotta stop looking at his headshot, looking at his body, and get out there.

• 45:43Speaker 02

  You better guard him, you better guard him.

• 45:45Fred Taylor?

  You heard it here first, people.

• 45:47Ryan Clark?

  Hunter Renfro.

• 45:48Fred Taylor?

  Fantasy football lovers, you got your sleeper.

• 45:50Channing Crowder?

  But Renfro, I understand the division, but you talking about D. Hop, Hopkins?

• 45:55Speaker 02

  I ain't played none of them.

• 45:57Channing Crowder?

  Oh, okay.

• 45:57Speaker 02

  I ain't played neither of them, two of them guys you just said.

• 46:00Channing Crowder?

  Them do Mike Evans, like, it's some Jamar, Jamar Chase, uh, what's the other young boy? Justin Jefferson?

• 46:06Speaker 02

  I like, I like all those guys.

• 46:08Channing Crowder?

  Okay, but Renfro, but Renfro up there with them?

• 46:11Speaker 02

  If we naming a guy, think about it, every week you gonna play a good running back, a good quarterback, or a good tight end, if you, if you being really like, like I say, so that's why I just said the guys that I've played, the guys that we have to guard, that's, that's why I said that. Of course, them guys, dog shit, Tennessee Derrick Henry, you got, every team got a, a dog, but I'm just saying the guys I went against, that's what I'm saying.

• 46:31Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, Hunter, no, he, he really is like that. Like, I was doing that to, to play devil, devil's advocate, to see if I could shake you off of it, but right now, he's kinda like the slot guy. Yeah, like, he, like, he could go. When you, you know, we gonna shut it down, we always say this, and you might be, he might be too young for a biggest pivot. Freddie T?

• 46:49Speaker 02

  Nah.

• 46:50Fred Taylor?

  What's the biggest pivot, what that is?

• 46:51Ryan Clark?

  So, so what we do on this show? When this show started, this show started because of a pivot. Obviously, they were doing one thing before, uh, they called me, and we decided to do a show together. And this has been our biggest, I would say, second career pivot as a group. And now, it's turned into opportunities to sit down with people like you. What do you think was the one decision, the one action, the one moment in your life where it's changed the trajectory of who you are? Whether it was something that happened when you were young, high school, college, if it was battling back from an injury, but that one moment, but you can, you can look back and say to yourself, okay, without this moment, or without being better after this moment, there is no Derwin James?

• 47:32Speaker 02

  I'll say when my mom made the decision, my sixth grade year, to move me from Haynes City, and move me to a neighborhood where I ain't know nobody, like, I ain't really, and I had to really stay there all the way to my 11th grade. I didn't go back to Haynes City till my 11th grade year. She moved our whole family, like, she seen I had a gift. And she's like, you ain't, you ain't gonna be like none of them. Like, you gonna do something, you gonna get out of here, you gonna go to school. So me just working hard and, you know, leaving high school early to go, go to college. I feel like I wouldn't be able to do none of that if she wouldn't have did that. You know what I mean? So I say that moment was a big highlight for me. And then when she seen I was already committed to Florida State, that I had worked hard. I went over there and did everything I needed to do. She said, okay, 10th grade, you can move back, 11th grade, you can move back and go graduate with your, your homies. Cause you already mature, you finna go to school.

• 48:17Speaker 02

  So I feel like that moment kinda just like, that, that helped push me, you know?

• 48:22Ryan Clark?

  It's so awesome, man. I think, and all of us, you know, like all of us have, whether it's a, a parent, a, a grandparent. There's, there's those people that we understand without their sacrifice, uh, without their, without their knowledge and willingness to do for us.

• 48:37Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 48:37Ryan Clark?

  We wouldn't be there, man. And so listening to you talk about your mom, um, has touched me the entire time. But what have you learned from your mom that's gonna help you be the best dad you could possibly be?

• 48:50Speaker 02

  Man, how to provide and just be there for your family, like, you know what I mean? Like, I ain't, we wasn't poor, like, we was middle class, but like, just like, the stuff, like, we never went without. Like, she always made sure, like, whatever we wanted, whether it's a video game, Madden, whatever, shoes, Jordans, the new Jays. She gonna go work hard so we can get that, you know what I mean? So like, just seeing her work at the, and like I say, from regular work, coming home to do that, and then go to the gym, and me having to find stuff to do while she work, cause she didn't just work out, uh, regular women work out 20, 30 minutes. It was an hour and a half, two hours type, you feel me? So she was really like working, you know what I mean? So just seeing that, you know?

• 49:26Channing Crowder?

  You, you got an old lady, cause your mama sent the ball high.

• 49:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, I got a, I got a, yeah, I got a lady, I got my, she outside, I got my lady outside. Yeah, I got my lady, we got like one son right now.

• 49:34Channing Crowder?

  It is, but like, how hard, uh, did she have to?

• 49:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure, like, I, I, at first, like, I ain't, you know, I, I was one of those guys, man, I'm gonna be single forever. I'm gonna be single forever, you know what I mean? And like, you know, just watching my mom, man, you know what I mean? They actually the same sign, my girlfriend and my mom, so it's like, it's kinda cool.

• 49:50Fred Taylor?

  I, I love the way you step up, man, and just, you just developing into a man, bro. And really being able to take some time to yourself. Through those injuries, you know, you get a lot of time to think when you're away from the team and you put your life in perspective. With that, you know, we're rooting for you like I spoke about a second ago or earlier. About the positivity, that's what we're about here, man. And we know you come from a pedigree of being one of the best, one of the best in the NFL. You know, I didn't like turning on TVs on Saturday to see what you would do to my Gators. But, you know, I always root for my Florida boys, man, when they go to the next level.

• 50:31Fred Taylor?

  So with that, and you can't do this because you still in the league and you on your nutrition shit.

• 50:38Ryan Clark?

  I can't.

• 50:39Fred Taylor?

  We want to toast Happy Dad with you.

• 50:43Ryan Clark?

  Appreciate that, man.

• 50:44Fred Taylor?

  We want to speak your next contract into existence.

• 50:46Ryan Clark?

  All love.

• 50:47Fred Taylor?

  And we hoping that it all coming to play for you. Go kill that shit.

• 50:51Ryan Clark?

  Hey, appreciate it, man. All love, brother.

• 50:53Fred Taylor?

  Yes, sir.

• 50:54Speaker 02

  You got that Florida tattooed on you too, bro.

• 50:55Fred Taylor?

  Always.

• 50:56Speaker 02

  Let me show you mine, boy. I got it too. This is real Florida, man.

• 50:59Fred Taylor?

  Right here, right here, right here.

• 51:01Ryan Clark?

  Everybody got that Florida. Y'all got that tattooed on you.

• 51:03Fred Taylor?

  He got it, Gator boy, man.

• 51:04Ryan Clark?

  So y'all can even remember that y'all from Florida. That's why.

• 51:09Fred Taylor?

  It's love.

• 51:10Ryan Clark?

  It starts right there. Boy, I appreciate you though.

• 51:13Speaker 05

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now, it's your time.