Albert Breer on Cowboys’ Quiet Offseason, Chiefs Camp, Joey Porter Jr. Contract

All right.

Welcome in.

It is a mailbag edition of the Brew Report.

It is Thursday, August 6th.

We are not gonna have a print edition for the next couple of weeks while I'm on the road, but hopefully I can get to as many of your questions as possible in this format over the next couple of weeks.

The first question I got is from Brandon Laurie, that's from at Brandon is right.

Uh, Brandon writes, Jerry Jones' offseason has been surprisingly quiet in comparison to the usual noise we hear around Dallas.

What do you think that is?

Has there been a shift in focus?

I mean, he's finally talking about potentially tinting the windows on game day.

Who is this new Jerry Jones, Brandon, I don't think there's anything to it, um, like, quite honestly, I, I, I think part of it might be age, um.

And certainly, he hasn't been shy early in camp.

And, you know, I think the one thing that's interesting about where Jerry's at is that you do feel an urgency to go win a championship.

I think they feel confident about where their team is, so maybe he doesn't feel like he needs to sell it quite as much.

Um, and I, I think what really stands out about where the Cowboys are is the group of guys that they have, you know, Brian Schottenhammer's talked, talked a lot about.

Wanting to build the best culture in sports.

And it really applies to all the guys that they were able to bring in over the course of the last 12 months, Kenny Clarke, Quinnin Williams, Jalen Thompson, guys who are captains for their teams in other places.

Um, they really feel like they flipped that part of it, so, maybe part of it for Jerry is letting the team kind of speak for itself.

Um, but you do feel the urgency there, um, and maybe this, maybe part of this is Jerry's age, where, you know, he is openly talking about wanting a Super Bowl.

Dak Prescott and the players are openly talking about wanting to get to a Super Bowl.

They feel like they have the team to get there .

Um, I think a big piece of it for them is gonna be health, cause I don't know that there's great depth all over that roster.

But if they are able to stay healthy, And they're able to be just a pretty good.

They don't even need to be great, pretty good defense based on what they have on offense and how Dak Prescott played last year.

I think you're looking at a team that has a shot to contend, to win the division, and to make some noise in the playoffs.

Uh, question number 2, this is from Ed Hilinski, that's at Mr.

Ed 3:15.

What has surprised you so far?

Um, with your camp visits.

And, I, I would say one thing that was sort of interesting, maybe not so much of a surprise is that there has been a little bit of a shift, um, for the Chiefs, um, the, the, the, the way the offense is structured, the way the offense is set up, um, I think the next evolution of it, you know, going back to Eric B enemy is the offensive coordinator and obviously I've been down this road before, having gone from Matt.

Maggie to be enemy back to Naggy.

So now they're, they're running it back with the enemy the same way they did with Naggy.

Um, I'd expect an an increased emphasis on the running game, and increased emphasis on playing from under center, and increased emphasis on play action.

And I think a huge part of that is that there'll be is, is an effort to protect Patrick Mahomes, um, and to put him in a position to have a smooth.

Um, come back from the torn ACL and LCL that he suffered on December 14th.

Um, but I think part of it is playing to the roster too, you know, and where they are from a roster standpoint.

They bring in Kenneth Walker from Seattle to be the centerpiece, and he looks like every bit of the every down back that he was in Seattle.

They add Emmett Johnson, who's shown a decisive Uh, violent running style, explosive out of Nebraska.

So he looks like he's gonna be a quality backup.

Um, Breshard Smith, who is a converted receiver, somebody that they can use in space, um, all of these things, I think are going to help unlock.

The passing game in certain ways, I think also it's gonna help ease Patrick Mahomes back in as he comes back from a torn ACL and the expectation is almost 9 months on the dot from the injury, he will be out there in week one.

they believe that, you know, having this Sort of running game, especially based on some of the questions they have a receiver and tight end right now, is gonna make Patrick Mahomes a better quarterback in 2026.

So I think the shift in, in, in offensive philosophy, maybe not so much like scheme, but just in the way that they're gonna dress up that offense was one thing that certainly, uh, that certainly caught my attention um through my first nine camp stops, that being the last one that I took.

Finally, take away the uh question number 3.

This is from Matthew Cofer, that's at Matthew Allen 6621.

Any updates on Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Junior's contract.

You're seeing Matthew, a lot of contracts getting done here.

Darnell Wright got done with the Bears, Bejon Robinson got done with the Falcons, Zay Flowers got done with the Ravens.

So, lots of players from that draft class are getting done now.

I don't think Joey Porter gets done until Christian Gonzalez gets done in New England and Devin Witherspoon gets done in Seattle.

Those two guys, Witherspoon and Gonzalez, have the same agent.

My expectation would be that Witherspoon gets done first.

Um, and I think the same way we've seen markets reset at other positions, that's what Witherspoon and Gonzalez are looking for.

And what does that mean?

Well, it probably means jumping from 31, which is where it's been.

Um, you know, Denzel Ward just did a contract adjustment.

Um, you know, Trent McDuffie got 31 a year.

Um, and then, of course, Sauce Gardner and Derrek Stingley were down closer to 30.

I, I, I'd expect that to jump up to about 35.

And, um, how the contracts are structured, the guarantees, all that different stuff still needs to be worked out.

Um, but I would think Witherspoon gets done.

Gonzalez gets done, and if Porter's smart, he'll wait for those two to get done cause I think those two guys will be the guys that reset the market.

And then maybe they dive in on trying to get something done with Joey Porter before the start of the season.

But the Steelers do have some history of getting things done right at the buzzer.

Um, TJ Watt has done multiple deals right before the season, so, um, we've seen the, the Steelers carry negotiations into the training camp.

And if Gonzalez and Witherspoon get done, then maybe that sets the stage for the Steelers to have those sorts of discussions with Joey Porter Jr.

Appreciate you guys coming out.

As always, you can leave your comments down below here on the YouTube page where you can get to me on my social media at Albert Breer on Twitter, at Albert R Breer on Facebook, at Albert_Breer on Instagram.

Appreciate you guys coming out.

We got one more Breer report coming for you.

We'll see you with that on Friday.