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The Inner Circle

The Inner Circle

By: Aaron Donald Matt Ryan Todd France and Zach Klein
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A new era of conversations. Real access, untold stories, and behind the scenes perspectives from those who played the game, cover it, and shape it.

© 2025 The Inner Circle
Episodes
  • Burrow’s Turf Toe, 0–2 Chiefs, Tush Push Debate & Dolphins Drama
    Sep 17 2025

    We open with Joe Burrow’s turf toe and Matt Ryan (who’s had it twice) details why it’s worse than it sounds, why surgery signals severity, and how second opinions actually work. Todd has a story about a second opinion that could have saved a life!

    Would the Bengals chase a short-term QB like Kirk Cousins, or ride Jake Browning? The crew weighs cap math, timing, and locker-room dynamics.

    Next: the 0–2 Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes is still Mahomes, but the WR room is thin and the QB leads the run game. How do you win ugly through a brutal first-half slate? Aaron Donald breaks down why you never sleep on 15, even with injuries piling up.

    We dive into the tush push: Dean Blandino is over it, Bill Cowher wants it gone, and Matt/AD explain why it’s a rugby-style scrum that’s hard to officiate, but beatable with the right plan. Down in South Florida, the Dolphins’ late-game penalties and “communication issues” scream indecision and why leadership and body language matter in crunch time.

    Plus: Brandon Aubrey’s long-range heroics and how elite kickers shift win probability; Todd France on making Tyler Smith the highest-paid guard in NFL history (what O-line comps really look like); Real Talk on postgame quotes; AD’s “99 Problems”; and a rapid-fire Two-Minute Drill.

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    53 mins
  • Aaron Donald & Matt Ryan on Dak Prescott, Jalen Carter, and what players Wish they can say postgame
    Sep 10 2025

    Episode 2: Spit, Fines & Real Talk with Aaron Donald and Matt Ryan

    Week 1 delivered chaos—Dak Prescott vs. Jalen Carter, New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll hedging on QB1, Titans running back Derrick Henry flattening defenders, and Aaron Rodgers gets revenge. But the biggest headline in this episode is the debut of our new segment: Real Talk.

    This is where Aaron Donald and Matt Ryan stop translating for the cameras and say what players actually mean. When Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. gave his measured postgame support for kicker Younghoe Koo after missing at the buzzer to force overtime, AD cut through the noise: “Shit, you got one job to do, man. Kick the damn ball and make the field goal. If you can’t do it, they gotta find somebody else.” Matt backed him up, adding, “I like Younghoe… but when I drive it down there, you’ve got to knock it through.” The honesty doesn’t stop there:

    • Jalen Carter Spitting on Dak Prescott: Aaron Donald calls spitting the “ultimate disrespect” and admits, “I’d have lost my damn cool.”
    • Dak vs. the critics: Matt Ryan says, “The Cowboys might have 99 problems—but Dak ain’t one.”
    • Fines exposed: Super-agent Todd France takes listeners inside the NFL fine and appeal process—letters, emails, hearings, and why “no flag doesn’t mean no fine.”
    • QB1 questions: What does it really mean when a coach won’t commit after Week 1? Matt and AD explain what players already know in the locker room.
    • Finishing games: AD on the Ravens’ collapse, “Pick this shit up and finish. You controlled the game the whole damn time.”
    • New segments with teeth: 99 Problems, Two-Minute Drill, Hot Mic, and the headline-making Real Talk.
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    47 mins
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