Bills get READY for FREE AGENCY. Players to let walk. Players to sign & will Cook get PAID

Summary

Buffalo Plus Podcast — "Bills get READY for FREE AGENCY: Players to Let Walk, Players to Sign & Will Cook get PAID?"

Date: March 5, 2025 | Hosts: Mike Catalana, Jenna Cottrell, Dan Fates

---

Episode Overview

With NFL free agency less than a week away, the Buffalo Plus team (Mike, Jenna, Dan) delivers an in-depth, energetic discussion on the Buffalo Bills' offseason priorities. The episode dives into which Bills free agents might return (and which might walk), contract dynamics, the market for James Cook, and whether this is the year GM Brandon Beane makes a big splash. The group also offers insights based on their own Combine conversations and peer into the changing contract market for running backs. As always, the tone is candid, sharp, and full of locker-room banter.

---

Key Discussion Points & Analysis

1. The Bills' Free Agency Landscape

[01:36 - 02:51]

• Fewer ‘Must Sign’ Free Agents: The Bills don’t have a huge crop of core players set to hit free agency, “not like it has been other times,” as Mike notes. The focus is on selectively bringing back veterans if possible, and managing the salary cap.
• Salary Cap Maneuvering: The crew emphasizes how teams can “swipe a pen and poof,” a la the Cowboys, to generate cap space. All agree that while tight, the cap isn’t a real constraint for creative front offices.
  • Quote: “It’s crazy how that salary cap— it’s almost like it’s not real.” — Dan Fates, [03:15]

---

2. RB Room: Ty Johnson vs. James Cook and the Value Question

[03:33 - 10:53]

• Ty Johnson’s Role: Ty’s value as a third-down back is unique; he’s a pass-protector and reliable target for Josh Allen. The hosts debate if the Bills will re-sign him and what that implies for James Cook’s status as a ‘three-down back.’
  • Notable Quote: “I look at the running back room. James Cook’s wanting to be paid like a three-down back… but he doesn’t play on third downs. That’s been Ty Johnson’s role. If they invest in Ty, that means they still don’t see James as that guy.” — Dan Fates, [03:48]
• Cook’s Market and Ceiling: The recent Saquon Barkley deal ($20 million/year) is discussed as a new benchmark, with questions if/when Cook deserves a raise.
  • Quote: “When you’re asking for Christian McCaffrey money, you gotta be doing all of the things those guys do.” — Dan Fates, [05:13]
• Market Effects: Everyone agrees the running back and WR markets are “cyclical” but can reset quickly based on a few top end contracts.

---

3. Defensive Free Agents: Rasul Douglas, Demar Hamlin & Others

[10:54 - 17:13]

• Rasool Douglas: Likely to test the market first, could return if the price is right. The group jokes about Douglas being so chill he “wasn’t sure if he was in his contract year.” [12:00]
• Demar Hamlin: Consensus is he’s likely gone, with Pittsburgh a predicted landing spot.
  • Quote: “I think he will get… interest around the league. He’s a tackling machine, but ideally, he’s a third safety.” — Mike Catalana, [14:00]
• The “Bills Value” Factor: Some players are more valuable to Buffalo based on scheme and trust (e.g., Ty Johnson, Khalil Shakir), leading to differing value league-wide.

---

4. Re-Sign Priorities: Mack Hollins, Depth Guys, and Market Timing

[17:13 - 19:13]

• Mack Hollins: All expect him to be back unless another team pays him more than the Bills will (consensus is low surprise if he’s re-signed).
• Special Teamers & Role Players: These signings (Dawuane Smoot, Austin Johnson) often happen after bigger moves.

---

5. Big Names: Why Not Davante Adams?

[19:19 - 23:31]

• Davante Adams: The crew agrees that while talented, Adams isn’t the right fit for Josh Allen or what Buffalo wants, especially given age/style.
• Vibe & Culture Fit: Buffalo’s established “culture” makes it choosy on high-profile or potentially disruptive additions.
• Tyreek Hill—‘Would It Ever Happen?’ Quick consensus: no, but “wouldn’t it be fun” to see Allen throwing deep to a true burner?

---

6. Contract Philosophy & “Smart, Tough, Dependable” Players

[24:24 - 28:41]

• Khalil Shakir’s Extension: Viewed as a model move—the “floor is set” and his ceiling remains high. Shakir praised as “smart, tough, dependable,” the new BillS litmus test.
  • Quote: “Smart, tough, dependable. When you have him in the WR room… Josh clearly already has a connection.” — Jenna Cottrell, [25:24]
• Applying the ‘Test’ Across the Roster: The group riff on which players meet this metric and its importance to the Bills’ identity.

---

7. Free Agency: Position Upgrades and Spot Starters

[29:00 - 31:46]

• Upgrade Mentality: If the Bills can get better, they should. AJ Epenesa and DaQuan Jones are named as guys who contributed but are no longer top priorities.
• Stopgaps and Vets: Discussion on whether aging vets like Darius Slay are worth adding for a ‘one-year’ spot start. Mike says Slay can still play but likely wants to finish in Detroit.

---

8. Insider Nuggets & “Credit to Me” Segment

[32:07 - 38:28]

• Combine Insights: Mike hints at inside info—implies Bills might make a big splash this offseason, perhaps targeting “a Miles Garrett type.”
  • Quote: “Their plan is to make a splash this year… Last year they ate their vegetables, this year they’re going for the steak.” — Mike Catalana, [37:42]
• Embracing Change of Opinion: Mike owns his “evolved” stance on aggressiveness after discussions at the Combine.

---

9. Offbeat: Travel Tales, Podcast Shoutouts & Flight Anxiety

[39:00 - End]

• Travel Banter: Dan’s escalating flight anxiety gets a comedic treatment, including Southwest boarding chaos, turbulence stories, and gratitude for pilots.
• Listener Shoutouts: Jack at the gym, Wegmans guy—listeners are appreciated wherever the crew goes.
• Buffalo Plus Pride: The podcast is “once a Top 10” show, Diana Russini is a self-professed viewer/fan.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “It’s crazy how that salary cap— it’s almost like it’s not real.” — Dan Fates [03:15]
• “If you’re going to pay one guy to be the guy, you’re not going to pay another guy a decent amount of money.” — Jenna Cottrell [04:58]
• “Saquon deserves that money... But I just don’t think everybody should be raised with Saquon’s value.” — Dan Fates [09:53]
• “I look at guys like Ty, and then I look at guys like Rasul. I think they like Rasul Douglas, but… let’s see, he’ll go see what’s out there…” — Mike Catalana [10:54]
• “I think [Demar Hamlin] will have interest around the league. He’s a tackling machine… ideally a third safety.” — Mike Catalana [14:00]
• “Shakir… smart, tough, dependable. And what he’s been able to do… now we know where the floor is, how high can the ceiling go?” — Jenna Cottrell [25:24]
• “Their plan is to make a splash this year… They ate their vegetables last year. This year, they’re going for the steak, medium rare plus — and they’re going to make the effort.” — Mike Catalana [37:42]

---

Timestamps for Main Segments

• 02:00-04:00: Addressing Bills’ free agent priorities and cap strategies
• 04:00-10:50: In-depth on RBs (Johnson, Cook) and the effects of league contracts
• 10:54-15:15: Defensive free agents: Rasul Douglas, Demar Hamlin
• 17:00-19:10: Mack Hollins and the “Bills value” proposition
• 19:19-23:31: Debating big name adds: Adams, Tyreek Hill
• 24:24-28:41: Smart, tough, dependable—the new Bills bar?
• 29:01-31:46: Approaching upgrades, spot starters, Darius Slay’s prospects
• 32:07-38:28: Combine takeaway, “Credit to Me,” and splash predictions
• 39:00-end: Flight stories, listener shoutouts, podcast pride

---

Final Thoughts

This episode delivers classic Buffalo Plus: thorough Bills analysis, scoops and speculation, and authentic chemistry. For fans looking forward to the offseason, it’s a must-listen—full of realistic options, insider hints, and honest takes on what it means to “be a Bill” as free agency approaches.

Transcript

[Dan Fates]

In the time it takes you to actually board a flight from Group 8.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Now boarding Premier Altitude Elite club members. You could have bought a Hyundai on Amazon.

[Mike Catalana]

Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Limited availability pick up through participating Hyundai.

[Dan Fates]

Dealer and select markets.

[Mike Catalana]

They're making a big move. They're making a big move.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Sign up for Mike.

[Mike Catalana]

No, I came back from combine.

[Dan Fates]

He's on the good side. We did talk to an NFL gm.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

And I asked.

[Mike Catalana]

Not Brandon Bean.

[Dan Fates]

Not Brandon Bean.

[Mike Catalana]

We did talk to him.

[Dan Fates]

Yes. Yeah, he pretty pretty much agreed with me that the center cap wasn't real. Mike was giving me the look like. You're going to say it, aren't you? You're. You're going to go up to this NFL GM and you're going to. You're going to do your bit, aren't you?

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

And I was like. It was like a dog when you hold a treat in front of his face. I was like, yeah, you bet. You bet. I was going to do foreign. This is the Buffalo plus podcast brought to you by Connors and Ferris.

[Jenna Cottrell]

All right, welcome back to the Buffalo plus podcast, presented by Connors and Ferris, Mike Catalana, Dan Fates. I am Jenna Cottrell. Please be sure to, like, comment, subscribe and share. All right, this podcast. We are under a week away from NFL free agency. We're gonna get into what this team could do, where they're at now. Don't take the one shot. Go back to three shot. I am hungover from my bachelorette party. We'll get to that later.

[Mike Catalana]

Wait a minute. You've been home for a day and you're still. How was it?

[Jenna Cottrell]

It was fun.

[Dan Fates]

Just can't drink like you used to.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, seriously. Okay, so let's talk about where this team is at. And there's gonna have to be one shots. Let's talk about where they are now.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, you know, they're in an odd spot. Spot. Because they don't have a lot of free agents that they have to bring back. They could choose to. It could let them go out there on the open market, see what's there and bring them back. A lot of the focus has been on guys who are under contract going into the last year. They already got Shakir done, so they're in that spot. Yes. They have moves to make to get under the cap and they will do that. But. Yes, but at the same time, it's not like it has been other times where you're like, oh, boy, Is this guy going to hit the market? What are they going to do? So I'm a little fascinated to see how interested they are in some of their own guys before they make the move. Guys everybody wants back, like Mack Hollands, guys they could want back, like Rasool, Douglas. And I think the stuff about redoing the other guys, including Cook and, you know, Bernard and whatever they do, I think that can wait a little bit. I think they can make that work. That doesn't need to be done.

[Dan Fates]

Correct.

[Mike Catalana]

Before next week.

[Dan Fates]

The salary cap. Right. They can maneuver it after signings like they can. It's funny. CD Lamb just got. We're recording this on Tuesday. They swipe a pen and poof. The Dallas Cowboys have 20 more million dollars under the salary cap.

[Mike Catalana]

So that's Dak Prescott is at, I think 90 million.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

With one sweep of the pen, I think they take it down to 50.

[Dan Fates]

It's crazy how that salary cap, it's almost like it's not real.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I leave you gentlemen for like a week. All right, let's.

[Mike Catalana]

I don't want to get locked on to that. Let's just keep going.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Let's talk then. What do we think of, you know, with free agency ahead? I feel like a lot of times we do think about just some of the guys that they could sign.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And. And players that are not. Have. Haven't been a part of this Bills team. But Dan, what do you think they do with some of the guys? Like. Like, what do they do with Ty Johnson? What do they do with Rasool? What do they. What do they do with some of these players that I think have had time in Buffalo? But does that mean they're coming back?

[Dan Fates]

Well, the interesting one to me is Ty, because that to me shows tips their hand maybe a little bit of where they still see that running back room because James Cook's wanting to be paid, paid like a three down back of a feature offense, which he is a massive part. We have talked about it at nauseum how much of a playmaker he is for that offense. But he doesn't play on third downs. That has been Ty Johnson's role. That is the niche that he has earned and carved out. I went back through just looking at, you know, games, filing the games from this year. How many plays Ty Johnson made in the passing game where you went, wow, that play was dead. But Ty Johnson's there and even he joked around about it that, you know, Josh is called the best third down back in the league. Ties said that at times he Forgets to actually run routes because he's in awe of Josh and just kind of goes, oh, I actually gotta. Hey, I gotta go this way. I gotta. I actually gotta become a. A target for him. So if. If they invest in Ty, I think that does. It doesn't hurt James Cook's contract, but I still think that that means they. They still don't see James as that guy.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. In my opinion, I think that's fair. I think that would indicate. Yeah, because if you're gonna pay one guy to be the guy, you're not gonna pay another guy a decent amount of money.

[Dan Fates]

Well, you're not gonna pay. If you're gonna pay tide to be your third down back, then you're not gonna have.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yes, you're not gonna have the money.

[Dan Fates]

James to be. You're. You're kind of saying what we think of. Of James in. In the grand scheme and we've talked about his contract and him wanting $15 million and all those things, but there are flaws. For as much as he's improved his game, I feel like I'm not trying to nitpick James Cook's game, but when you're asking for Christian McCaffrey money, you gotta be doing all of the things that those guys do.

[Mike Catalana]

Let's stay with Ty Johnson, though, because I don't think anybody would know what his value is. His value is whatever somebody else would be willing to pay him. So I would be surprised and maybe I'm wrong that they would sign Ty Johnson before they let him look on the open market. Because if you're Ty Johnson, if there is a deal out there and somebody wants to pay you more maybe than the bills would, you got to take the money like he hasn't made it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

I don't know if there's a number that the bills would go. This is. And unless to your point, unless they go, oh, no, he's very valuable to us. We'll pay him.

[Jenna Cottrell]

He's a part of our plan a.

[Mike Catalana]

Little bit more, at least for another year. But then Ty Johnson's because know, look, a lot of times he is a quote, backup player. I know he's third down guy. Right. Is there somebody who wants to give him more of a role and in turn more money? I don't know if he's that guy. I think he's really good at what he does, but I don't know if he is that guy. So I wonder what he's thinking. It was like I put up some pretty good plays.

[Dan Fates]

Well, that's. And I guess.

[Mike Catalana]

And does, does he say, let me wait, let me see what's out there. Maybe he comes back and talks to the Bills if they're interested in keeping him that way.

[Dan Fates]

But don't you also feel like his value in Buffalo is so, is more than it may be elsewhere in the sense of, I look back and again, I know we, we've talked about the play calling, the personnel, all of those decisions on the final drive. Ty Johnson was out there with the bill season was on the line.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

That tells you what they think of Ty Johnson. That is the trust and the faith that they have in him. So to some respects, it's kind of like we've said, like, hey, Khalil's more valuable in Buffalo than he may be elsewhere. Is Ty Johnson another one of those guys? I know he's not a starter like you said, and I've even kind of joked with him. Like, it's kind of a backhanded compliment to say you're the best third down back because it means, like you're the best pinch hitter. It's like, well, it means you're not good enough to be in the lineup every day, but you're really good at what you do. So it's kind of, it is a, a weird compliment to give him. But I just look at that, I go, he has a role and a niche in this offense that they value pretty highly.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

But Janet, don't you think what he does is pretty transferable? I mean, he's a route runner and a protector. Like every team wants a guy like that. I'm not saying they're going to give him a ton of money, but I'm saying is he's great with the Bills. I think he would, I think there's a lot of places where his skill set for that amount of money would work.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, I, I see what you're saying. I mean, I think it is, I think, I do think that Ty Johnson would be more valuable in Buffalo because what he has shown, the level of connection he has with Josh Allen. I think of that Detroit game.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And like how he took that game and how impactful he was and how a huge piece of the offense was him and what he was able to do. And then also I think of, but you're right, like I, and I never am going to, you know, discredit a player for looking into the money and seeing how they can make the most that they possibly can. But I do agree that I, I, I wouldn't be shocked if he was like you know what, I want to test the market, but always had Buffalo in mind of if it's comparable, I'll go up, go back to Orchard Park.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. And that may be the way this plays out in terms of that. The James Cook stuff is obviously been interesting because he's going into the last year. Saquon Barkley signs an extension. So now the top number.

[Dan Fates]

How do the Eagles pay everybody?

[Mike Catalana]

I don't think the. Because from what I've been told, they're, you know, the salary cap, you know, can keep teams from doing that. So they figured out a way to pay him 20 million a year. So the point is not to continue to make the point that we continually make. The point is now the running back room begins with a guy making 20, not 13 or 14. So does that rise all boats.

[Dan Fates]

Can you think about three years ago being like there's going to be a running back that's going to make $20 million a year. Before it was like they were top five picks. We're asking Bean, would you even draft a running back in the first round, let alone. Would you even pay them $15 million? Let alone. Would you pay them $20 million? The NFL is cyclical, but I also don't think that. I think that's a little bit of the overcorrection that we've said that I've talked about after the Super Bowl. Like, man, running backs are great.

[Mike Catalana]

You need them.

[Dan Fates]

You need the. The best ones are really good. And Saquon deserves that money. And what he has done for. For the Eagles in one season was insane. And the value that he brought. I just don't think that everybody should be raised with Saquon's value.

[Mike Catalana]

But.

[Dan Fates]

Because not everybody's Saquon.

[Jenna Cottrell]

But.

[Mike Catalana]

Right. But don't all wide receivers get raised when.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

You know, when. When Chase is going to get paid.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It makes that baseline number go up.

[Mike Catalana]

Up a little bit.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. Regardless if it's warranted or not.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

I guess you're right. Because it. It's like the quarterback market.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Whoever's the highest paid quarterback.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Isn't the best quarterback.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. Resets the market. And then everyone.

[Mike Catalana]

It does. And then. And then it brings other people up and James is in next level.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

But to your point, maybe they want a year to see if he can handle. Listen, the guy showed a lot of improvement from year two to year three. Maybe he does get on the field more. Maybe he becomes more of that closer to every down or three down back.

[Dan Fates]

So.

[Mike Catalana]

So let's see how that Impacts it. But I just, I look at guys like Ty and then I look at guys like Russell Douglas and I think they like Rasool Douglas.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

But I think they're going to say, let's see, he'll go see what's out there and then maybe, maybe there is a path to him coming back.

[Dan Fates]

The Poyer Poyer life of, hey, we love you, we'd love to have you back, but feel free to go look and see. And then you come back.

[Jenna Cottrell]

What do you think his market would be?

[Dan Fates]

It's a lot different than what it was after week six.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. But, you know, there's, I mean, there's some teams that need, need. I mean, the Bills are one of them.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. I'm like, who?

[Mike Catalana]

But I think they feel like, you know, what they have in Benford gives them that spot and they still have Taron Johnson in the slot. So then the idea is the other guy and how much they're going to pay him. You know what they do, they put a number and this is where we would be. And then I, you know, a player like Rasul. Has anybody told him?

[Dan Fates]

I was just going to say that.

[Mike Catalana]

His contract is up.

[Dan Fates]

I'm not sure. He's, he now knows the playbook, but he doesn't know that his, his agent handles all that.

[Mike Catalana]

For those who don't know what we're talking about, he's a bright guy. We're not saying this. He just said, am I in my contract here?

[Dan Fates]

He gave.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I'm not going to lie, though. As someone who works on contracts, sometimes I'm like, is it my contract year? You ever do that?

[Dan Fates]

No, no, not with millions of dollars on the line.

[Jenna Cottrell]

But that's like his paycheck. Like, I don't know. He's made a lot of money. Like, I, I, I'm not saying. Is it totally preposterous? It sounds funny. But, like, I also kind of think he's such a chill guy that he's.

[Mike Catalana]

Like, oh, you're right. But, Jenna, you would have to find your contract, look it up. See all those zeros in your contract?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Well, they're just zeros after, after the death. No, but Whereas he could just, he could Google it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, that's what it is. But I feel like he does.

[Dan Fates]

He's a big, he's also a big Rollerblader. Likes to roll around as Catherine Fitzgerald. They've bonded over their rollerblading.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I am shocked.

[Dan Fates]

Also, Rasul was also had the best bite when we talked to him about Vaughn being suspended. And he Was like, what?

[Mike Catalana]

What?

[Dan Fates]

He was like. He's like, how long's Vaughn out? He's suspended. He's like, now four games.

[Mike Catalana]

He's like, okay, so maybe.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Jenny, I would say I don't think it's that crazy, but I think they've.

[Mike Catalana]

Told him by now.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yes, yes.

[Mike Catalana]

Maybe he just doesn't have a deal and he just keeps showing up in orchard party.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I honestly.

[Dan Fates]

Because we are in the legal. We are in the illegal tampering.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Tampering. Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Before the legal tampering.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, we were. There was some illegal tampering. Just. Just in general conversations.

[Dan Fates]

You know those deals that get signed at 12:01 just happened in 60 seconds.

[Mike Catalana]

Agreed upon and then signed.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes. Is what will happen.

[Dan Fates]

Yes. If the NFL on arrest.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

What about Demar?

[Mike Catalana]

I think he's gone.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You okay?

[Mike Catalana]

I think he will get. I think he will have interest around the league at the level of player that he is. Yeah. I think. You think you know where he's going to go.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. I've said Pittsburgh. I think it just makes a lot of sense. Played at Pitt, Pittsburgh guy.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And he's made it be known that it would be cool for him to have his career.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Go there.

[Dan Fates]

And they need. They need help in their secondary with what. With what they're doing. So it would make a lot of sense. And maybe. Maybe he needs a fresh start with a new team again. You know what I'm saying?

[Jenna Cottrell]

I do. Sometimes I don't get why he gets as much hate as he gets sometimes.

[Dan Fates]

The dude is a tackling machine. He takes some bad angles. Like, let's. I'm not trying to.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I'm not saying he's perfect, but like, he gets hated on to the point.

[Dan Fates]

Where I'm like, he's a starting safety in the NFL.

[Jenna Cottrell]

He's not a liability to me.

[Mike Catalana]

I think he earned the right to start on this team. They need better because they are one of the best teams in the league. They need better at that position. I think his ideal role to me is third safety, special teams guy. Can he play? Yes. He is a spot starter is the way I look at him.

[Dan Fates]

I think he's a little better than that. I think he's played a little bit better than that.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I agree. But like, people, people, you would.

[Dan Fates]

He'd be a great third safety.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, great as a starter.

[Jenna Cottrell]

He's Levi Wallace, which the Bills relied upon him for years and they kept.

[Mike Catalana]

Trying to replace him, but we know he was a bad penny.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Well, he was, as Dan would say, an ugly penny.

[Mike Catalana]

I know, but he was one of our.

[Jenna Cottrell]

To make a clip of all the times that you've been so close. Unafraid.

[Dan Fates]

So close.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. But you had a couple good ones today.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You did? Yeah, during our podcast.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes. If people. People were listening to you earlier. I was going to mention it, but I thought, no, that's being a jerk. I'm not going to mention it. You had a few.

[Jenna Cottrell]

What do you say?

[Mike Catalana]

I'm not going to repeat them. They were all good. Your use of the English language was exquisite.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay.

[Mike Catalana]

In fact, you used a little Latin.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I was in Panda test.

[Dan Fates]

I was. Am I hungover, too?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Well, no, that's kind of your.

[Dan Fates]

What? What did I.

[Mike Catalana]

What.

[Dan Fates]

What is it?

[Mike Catalana]

That's it.

[Dan Fates]

I did it.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

All right. Shout out credit to me. All right. Nailed it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Wasn't even listening.

[Dan Fates]

Picked his ear. Was that the one?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh, yeah. You did say pick his ear instead of.

[Mike Catalana]

We have a lot on that side of the ledger. We're going on the positive side here.

[Dan Fates]

New season.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's there. Okay. So you think Damara is gone?

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, I think he's going to have opportunities. He's one of those guys. It's just my two cents. Like when it go on next. What it. What day is it next Monday, where it's like this happens something big and then. Oh, Demar Hamlin is leaving the Buffalo Bills.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

It's like day one. I think he's one of those guys that. It just happens quickly for him.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Do you think they would bring back Dejan Smooth?

[Mike Catalana]

That would be the kind of guy I think they signed later.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's fair.

[Dan Fates]

I think there have to be other dominoes that fall first before they.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, it depends on what they decide to do in terms of. In terms of that. But. Yeah, I could see that. And Matt Collins, how shocked would you be if he was not on the Bills roster this upcoming season? I'd be pretty surprised.

[Dan Fates]

Okay, so let's do that. That chart again. One is what you expect. Ten is Shooketh.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay, wait.

[Dan Fates]

Well, what if Shooketh would be surprised?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay. I'm a one. I'm not surprised.

[Dan Fates]

I'd be a. I'd be a two. Only because I think there could be a team out there that says we. I mean special teams. And he proved it on the field with his play.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

So if you see that maybe the.

[Mike Catalana]

Market is high, but you are talking about a team signing a guy who is your higher. I should say fourth or fifth receiver.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, but he was. I. I agree. I'm just wondering if Maybe he priced himself a little bit higher than what Buffalo would want to pay.

[Dan Fates]

But the salary cap went up.

[Mike Catalana]

It did. But like we're talking about a decision made on a guy like Matt Collins. Should be a little bit later.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's fine.

[Mike Catalana]

You got a lot of moves to make before you're signing Matt Collins.

[Dan Fates]

I think that.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I don't know if I agree with you.

[Dan Fates]

I think that's a quick, easy. Mac wants to be here.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, you're talking for the, For Buffalo? Yes. Oh, for Buffalo. No, no, no, not for Buffalo. I meant for another team to say, oh, we gotta have Mac.

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, no, I get listening. I get.

[Mike Catalana]

I was listening. But you guys, you know, I, I.

[Jenna Cottrell]

See what you're saying. That's a down the line decision.

[Dan Fates]

That's another hairy decision.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's, that's something that other teams would wait on. Whereas the Bills are like, hey, we want you back. And if Mac wants to do that.

[Mike Catalana]

And that allows them to position what they already have free the feat.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Year two.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Could you imagine?

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

So what was your number then?

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, right. Low too. Like, I don't, I don't think it's going to be okay. Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay.

[Dan Fates]

I would be surprised if he's not back. Yeah, I, I think it's a fair offer. It's more. He's earned it from. What for, for his play. And I think he's, he has shown that he's. Can be valuable in this offense moving.

[Mike Catalana]

Forward and, and he didn't need anything done for him. Wherever they put him, he contributed.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

You know, but they obviously need better, but they, they were lucky they had him.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh my God.

[Mike Catalana]

Because he made made a play in the freaking AFC championship game. So. Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Devonte Adams released by the Jets. What are your thoughts? He would be 32. He's. He's. His birthday is not until December, so he's 32.

[Mike Catalana]

No, I think he is a great route runner. That is what he has been known as. Runs his routes. He, that's why he had that with Rogers, who, you know Rogers, for all of his other faults, when he's in that mode with the guy that it should work. That's the way he played. I don't think that's Josh Allen. I don't see him. I don't see devonte Adams being that guy. And we also saw last year is like none of those guys worked out.

[Dan Fates]

No.

[Mike Catalana]

Amari Cooper didn't work.

[Dan Fates]

Lazard's getting permission to ask for a trade.

[Mike Catalana]

But I'm talking about even have you.

[Dan Fates]

Guys asked For a trade yet. Have any of you guys requested a trade from Buffalo plus?

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, no, no. You know, yeah, she's. I like it here.

[Mike Catalana]

She's waiting. Wait for more leverage.

[Dan Fates]

She's requesting a trade to espn. She's gotten permission.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Don't show them this tape.

[Mike Catalana]

I don't think Adams as a player. Well, hey, look, if he came into the Bills, would he. Could he help them? Sure. I mean, he's a talented guy. I just don't think he's the right fit as a player now. I don't think that's what they're looking for.

[Dan Fates]

I agree.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's fair. I. I think you're right too, with. I. I think of some of the guys you talked about, like, yeah, it didn't really work out in terms of.

[Dan Fates]

It's a vibe too, in Buffalo. Like, I also understand that you've built enough of a culture that you are comfortable being able to take some chances on guys. Yeah, I believe that. Tyree Kill. No, still no. Don't smirk.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You literally sounded like the parent you are. No. Nope. No smirking. No, I didn't. Mike literally has his hands behind his back.

[Dan Fates]

Most of the flight to Indy was just like, Dan Tyree Kill, man.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I just think that's dumb. I just think that he's not it.

[Dan Fates]

Mike's like, bad year. Six touchdowns, almost 900 yards down year.

[Mike Catalana]

He's going to end up in Kansas City.

[Dan Fates]

Yes, you will.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I wouldn't be shocked.

[Mike Catalana]

Annoying. I mean, done with that.

[Dan Fates]

Better get some fast corners.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

But he is. He's going to. You're right. I mean, he doesn't fit. I was making the example to these guys about Randy Moss at the time he went to New England. He was damaged goods, the Raiders. He basically quit on the Raiders on the field. Like, I'm done.

[Dan Fates]

Straight cash, homie out, Right? Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And comes to New England and Brady falls in love and they throw 50 touchdown passes that year. And he's just running by people.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Now, I can't imagine a wide receiver room with Khalil Shakir driving a Subaru.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

And then Tyreek Hill rolling in in.

[Jenna Cottrell]

His Lamborghini in western New York.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You put snow tires on it, like.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, I just don't.

[Mike Catalana]

I think it would be odd, but I just want to see somebody fast playing for Josh Allen.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I mean, that's fair. I think it's understandable.

[Dan Fates]

Draft.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, they could do that.

[Mike Catalana]

No, no, that's not what they do. Anyhow, I just. I. One day we were just looking and I'm like, what about that? And I. That just sees him flying up and down the field against the Bills. I would have liked to have seen.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It drop in the comments. How you feel about Tyree Kill?

[Mike Catalana]

I mean, he's not going anywhere. Any alley.

[Jenna Cottrell]

If you were. If you were to join the Bills.

[Mike Catalana]

I know, I don't think it's happening.

[Dan Fates]

But it'd be fun. Clickbait.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You have talked about it quite a bit, though.

[Mike Catalana]

Only because I'm like, if you take.

[Dan Fates]

That, it would never happen in the division. It would never happen. It just doesn't. None of it makes sense to me.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, maybe that's. That's Mike's hot take, though.

[Mike Catalana]

He's really fast.

[Jenna Cottrell]

He's really fast.

[Mike Catalana]

I mean, his nickname, Cheetah, you know?

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, MBS was real fast.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Could catch in New Orleans. I caught a couple balls in Kansas City.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, that's fair. Let's check back in with our standings. You had mbs, you had Curtis Samuel.

[Mike Catalana]

I'm glad. It was a two year thing. So then this year we'll know.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. As we've said, I'm bullish on your. On the Curtis Samuels.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Can you explain that? I know I should. What is a bull market again? That's a good thing.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. Like if you buy the stock, you think you're buying it low, expecting it to go up.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay, he's on a roll today. What's the opposite? A bear. Bear market.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

All right.

[Dan Fates]

Now we're teaching.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I don't know. I just. You said. You said it in your other Buffalo plus video.

[Mike Catalana]

I am so confused because Dan is on it and Jenna's hungover.

[Jenna Cottrell]

This never. At least in my end, this never happens. Let's talk about Khalil Shakir, though. He got to sign the contract officially on Monday. Did a press conference, his wife, his stepmom, his dad was there. It was pretty cool to see the four year extension to $60 million. And he outed himself as someone who drived a super. I thought it was hilarious that it's like the man drives a Subaru, but it. I feel like it fits. Dan especially.

[Dan Fates]

You would know.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I used to drive a Subaru.

[Dan Fates]

As a former Subaru, I loved my Subaru.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, everybody else, your Subaru was anything but dependable.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It was so loud.

[Mike Catalana]

And you know how Fred Flintstone used to drive with his feet where he could touch the ground. You could do that in Jenna's car, too.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay.

[Dan Fates]

You couldn't even.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Subaru's fault. It was my fault because I. I was.

[Mike Catalana]

And there Was enough dog hair in that thing.

[Dan Fates]

Just a lot can make, like, make so many sweaters.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It was really dirty.

[Mike Catalana]

That was bad.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I love how when my dad sold it to the guy, the poor guy who bought it, he was like, oh, yeah, my daughter owned it. She's super clean. You know how women are.

[Mike Catalana]

Did he really say that?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Poor guy?

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, women except my daughter.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Exactly. Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

No, he is that guy. You described it when you did the. The story for the TV station, that @ the end you're like, basically, he's like that.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

He's not flashy.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It's not flashy.

[Mike Catalana]

Dependable, reliable, all those things. Yeah. That's the way he's played, you know?

[Jenna Cottrell]

You know what I think of is, I always thought of Brian Dable talking about what he likes to see out of players, and it's smart, tough, defend, dependable. And I think of when you think of the guys that I look to, will they resign this player? Will they not? It's. It's that checklist for me. And like, Khalil Shakir fits that. Smart, tough, dependable. And what he's been able to do. It's like, now we know where the floor is, how high can the ceiling go for him? But I think when you have him in the wide receiver room, you just know that there's going to be that aspect of a dependable guy that Josh clearly already has a connection with.

[Mike Catalana]

It's funny. Can I just go a brief aside to another position? You said smart, tough, dependable in the tight end room. I think Dawson Knox.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yep.

[Mike Catalana]

And I think they want Dalton Kincaid to be that guy. Is that fair to say?

[Jenna Cottrell]

I think, yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

I'm not saying he's not smart and he's not tough and he's not dependable. He just needs to raise all of those things up.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Greg Russo. Smart, tough, dependable.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. I think he needs another gear, though. He's going to get.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I don't. I don't know if he is dependable. As dependable as you would want him to be.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I think Tremaine Edmonds, smart, tough, dependable.

[Mike Catalana]

Well, they're.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I know they're different dependable, but I'm.

[Mike Catalana]

Saying dependable can almost sound like a negative because it's more like.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I don't think so.

[Mike Catalana]

No, I'm saying is. It's like, yeah, he's dependable.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. But if you can't clear the benchmark.

[Mike Catalana]

Of dependable, it's dependable with the smart and the tough. But then there's the next level of plan. Player. And that's why I'm saying is when you have that in Shakir. I think Shakir is at the. I think he's at the low point of where he will be statistically. I think he has another gear to go. Getting him. Somebody on the other side will really help him. Yeah, that's fair argument I make for Greg Russo. I think it's. You're probably right. It's going to happen somewhere else if he gets paid and goes somewhere else. But there hasn't been anybody. I mean, God, I. I like AJ Epanessa, but he did not perform at all in the pass rush this year.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Not dependable enough. I think dependable for me is the benchmark of. Are you a playmaker?

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, okay. That's how I was.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That is how I view it. Can I depend on you to make plays in big moments? Are you dependable? Khalil Shakir, smart, tough, dependable, can make big plays.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Guy like Tremaine Edmonds, smart, tough, could not depend on you to make a big play in a big moment.

[Mike Catalana]

That's an interesting way to use that word. That's not the way I was thinking of it. I was thinking his money. He's a good dude. He'll show up. He'll be there. But I mean. You mean show up, show up.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I mean, show up.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Terrell Bernard. Smart, tough, dependable.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Christian Benford. Smart, tough, dependable. James Cook. Smart, tough, dependable.

[Dan Fates]

Dion, you got a little presidential.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

Thumb.

[Mike Catalana]

That's it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

But, like, not dependable enough for me.

[Dan Fates]

Not enough.

[Mike Catalana]

No. That's what I'm saying is he needs.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's what I'm saying.

[Mike Catalana]

And they need him to be tougher, bigger, stronger.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I think it makes it a kind of like a binary thing in my head of, like, are you dependable enough? Are you not smart enough? But, like, tough enough, like, all these things.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

That's fair.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I think it's fair. It's the flowchart. Are you smart? Yes. Continue. Are you? Wow. I don't know. Well, let's.

[Dan Fates]

What's hungover Jen is fun.

[Jenna Cottrell]

What's another guy that we can do this. The litmus test with for them to resign?

[Mike Catalana]

You talking about a free agent?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Just. Yeah. In general. Preferably one on the team.

[Mike Catalana]

I. I don't. Oh, I'm saying is. Are we talking about their guys who are right now free agents?

[Jenna Cottrell]

No. I guess just go through it, like, name a player.

[Mike Catalana]

Well, you said Bernard. Yeah, He. He should get a new deal with the team.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I. Yeah, yeah. He's Also a captain on the team when there was two captains.

[Mike Catalana]

Right.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. That's all you need to know.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

That tells you that. No, I. Yeah, the other guys, honestly, that are currently on the team. That's why I say I. You mentioned I think Demar is, you know, good player, but they got to be better. Yeah, right. I think Rasul is a good player. They got to be better there.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's fair.

[Mike Catalana]

I think, you know, like, AJ Epanessa is a decent player and he's been out there, played a lot of snaps for them. He's made a few big plays. Not enough and certainly not enough to be starting on the end.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It's totally fair. If you can get it upgrade, you go for it, but if you can't, you're. It's.

[Mike Catalana]

Well, they've done that now. You absolutely need the upgrade. Daquan Jones, he was not. Was more, but not anymore.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. I need to ask you a question and I need you to take. I need you to take some of your Philly out, but I also need your Philly enough Philly.

[Mike Catalana]

I need to.

[Dan Fates]

Need you to turn down your Philly a little bit.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay.

[Dan Fates]

Okay. Darius, like anything left in the tank.

[Mike Catalana]

Darius lays. Played really well for them in the playoffs and Good. I don't see him as a guy you say come to Buffalo at 34 years old. He wants to go back to Detroit. I think that's where he's going to end up. He kind of said, you know, the Eagles released him before and reworked it and brought him back. It was after the super bowl and he came back and he was. He was great. He's a talker. Good interview. A lot of chirping that goes on. But he's older player. He can still run, though.

[Dan Fates]

I guess.

[Mike Catalana]

He can still run. I don't see him. I think he's. I think that's where he's going to go end of his career.

[Dan Fates]

Like, I, I think about some of these guys in free agency and you always think about, like, oh, it's going to be this long of a deal or this long of a deal or this guy, you know, you see him as you're trying to rework things. There are stopgaps and hey, this guy comes in. You see more with quarterbacks of just, hey, for a year while they, they try and figure out. I just wonder at other positions. And so they've tried to do it a little bit with whether it was Dwayne Smoot or Austin Johnson. Like, like there are guys that will just fill us, fill holes for the time being. I didn't know if there was any juice left to squeeze out of a guy that made a bunch of Pro bowls is a really good player. I wanted you to take your Philly out of it a little bit because it can be so critical. Because I've seen Slay sucks. Doesn't make all these things.

[Mike Catalana]

No. He's very well liked and I think he was great. And, you know, sometimes he's. He has podcasts, he does a little talking and sometimes people take it away. But he played really well. I just think they. They, you know, made a decision on him. Hey. But there's also a thought that he ends up. Still ends up back there because, you know, the cap and all that stuff. So. So we'll see what they end up doing. By the way, I do. Well, go ahead. I'm going to let you guys keep going ahead. Then. There was something I was going to bring up. If we're going to do it, we're going to do a credit to me.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I was going to do credit to me.

[Mike Catalana]

My credit to me. Okay. You what it'll be for my credit to me.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay.

[Dan Fates]

Later on this week. I. I think. I think we originally planned on having an interview in this, but this one kind of went longer. But Mike Giardi on the Patriots.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Obviously top of the draft. Their needs. He pretty much says everybody. So we'll have that interview coming up. We caught up with Janae Coakley from the Jets. From the Jets. SNY reporter.

[Mike Catalana]

We going from Aaron to Aaron.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

In charge.

[Dan Fates]

And then we also have more in depth with Chris Trepasso from CBS Sports.

[Mike Catalana]

Yep.

[Dan Fates]

Him on more draft prospects as we get closer to the draft. As well as Matt Harmon from reception Perception podcast stuff. So all that stuff will also be coming in the next.

[Mike Catalana]

And when something happens, we're ready for.

[Jenna Cottrell]

A quick emergency pod reminder. You can find our audio only podcast available wherever you listen to your podcast, Buffalo Plus. Be sure to subscribe there.

[Dan Fates]

And once a top 10 sports podcast in the country.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, well, I feel like if you're top 10 once, you can just say a top 10.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You didn't. You don't designate when that's totally fine.

[Dan Fates]

It's not a post June designation on this salary cap. We were. Yeah, we were a top 10.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Top 10 podcast.

[Mike Catalana]

Those designations on the podcast are real. Unlike.

[Dan Fates]

Unlike the salary cap.

[Jenna Cottrell]

All right. Go to your credit to me, sir.

[Mike Catalana]

I'm first.

[Dan Fates]

Oh, I think you got to be first.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh, okay. My credit to me is very simple. Credit to my sister. She Planned an amazing bachelorette. It was so much fun. Me and my girlfriends, we went down to Delray, which I'd never been there. Mike and Dan were not invited.

[Mike Catalana]

I don't understand that at all. I was very. Weren't you disappointed?

[Dan Fates]

I thought I was gonna get the credit to you guys for letting me take all this time while we worked.

[Mike Catalana]

I thought it was gonna be like.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Wow, that would have been really good.

[Dan Fates]

That would have been really good.

[Mike Catalana]

We would have been a lot of fun down there.

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, but she did such a good job. She was. She was nervous because she's. She wanted me to have fun and I had a blast. So, yeah, it was really nice to get away. Thank you to Mike and Dan for working because we do it all. The vacation time was nice. Seeing the sun that still exists was awesome. And it was a lovely trip.

[Dan Fates]

Your face still.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I'm so puffy. I'm so puffy. I don't drink that much anymore. And I drank, obviously. And. Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

What was the drink?

[Jenna Cottrell]

High Noons. Okay. I also tried the High Noons. Also Espresso martinis, High Noon Espresso teenies, and then the High noon teas. Like the iced teas. I like those a lot. Because they're non carbonated.

[Dan Fates]

Correct. Those are big for us. When we go to the lake house, I could.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, we were like on the water. We did a boat day. We did a beach day. We did a club day or a club night. It was so funny. They brought over the sparklers and, like, the sign that said Jenna and I could have. I literally tried to, like, go under. I was just like, this is not. My friends like to embarrass me, but it was very fun. Thank you, Alyssa.

[Mike Catalana]

Nice.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Love you.

[Mike Catalana]

Good. We're good.

[Dan Fates]

Michael.

[Mike Catalana]

Well, credit to me. I'm very open minded and flexible about everything.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Where are we going?

[Mike Catalana]

So, no, it's like, even my takes on things, you know, I just. I look at them sometimes and then I get more information and then I can change my thinking. You two would refer to it as flip flopping. Flip flopping. I tend to think of it as being evolved and I think of a certain thing and then I go, you know what? I have thought about it more clearly, and now I have changed my opinion, and I think I'm good at that. Okay, so that brings me to exactly.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Greg Rousseau.

[Mike Catalana]

No, not specifically about that. They're making a big move. Hey, they're making a big move.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Sign up for Mike.

[Mike Catalana]

No, I came back from combine.

[Dan Fates]

He's on the good side.

[Mike Catalana]

I came Back from the combine where Dan and I got a lot of information.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

I wish people knew. They really know what it's like in Indy that week. It's great.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You guys don't take me.

[Dan Fates]

Side note one, you don't want to go. You don't like it. You just want to go to the steakhouse. Steakhouse was great. Medium rare. Plus, we didn't give an Elmo's review view.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Phenomenal.

[Mike Catalana]

It's great.

[Dan Fates]

We did talk to an NFL gm.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

And I asked.

[Mike Catalana]

Not Brandon Bean.

[Dan Fates]

Not Brandon Bean.

[Mike Catalana]

We did talk to him.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

He pretty pretty much agreed with me that the SA cap wasn't real.

[Mike Catalana]

At least that's the way I heard it.

[Dan Fates]

That was the way I heard it, too. It was. I was.

[Mike Catalana]

And he's a successful gm.

[Dan Fates]

And the fact that we started talking.

[Mike Catalana]

By the way, this was in a bar, just us talking to him, which was kind of fun.

[Dan Fates]

And the fact that Mike's like, look. Mike was giving me the look. Like, you're going to say it. You're. You're going to go up to this NFL GM and you're going to. You're going to do your bit, aren't you? Yeah. I was like. It was like a dog when you hold a treat in front of his face. I was like, yeah, you bet. You bet I was going to do it.

[Mike Catalana]

And I.

[Dan Fates]

It was. It was very refreshing to have an NFL GM be like, yeah, I can pretty much do whatever you want.

[Mike Catalana]

But then he said, where's that coffee mug?

[Dan Fates]

It was great.

[Mike Catalana]

So that was good. I do think so, because I started to. To really think and hear some of the things Bean was saying. Now, look, it may not work. Is a guarantee. Like. Right. They could make a play for Miles Garrett or one of these other players, and it doesn't work. But I think their plan is to make a splash this year. And I. And, you know, it's like, they ate their vegetables last year.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And this year they're going for the steak, medium rare, plus. And they're. And they're. They're going to make the effort for it. And being said, you know, he's like, I have these conversations all the time.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

But this has ramped up a little bit. And I know. I've seen, you know, Miles Garrett with the Eagles. I don't. They have a lot of other moves to make.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

They got other people to pay, and you're coming off that. But other teams will be in on it, and Cleveland will trade him. Yeah. And they're going to trade him. Not saying the bills get him. I say they make an attempt at a big splash. And. And they may. They're due for one.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

They are due for one. So, again, evolved just the way I am.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. Keep swinging, men.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I love how you preface it like that.

[Mike Catalana]

It was. It's.

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, you know what I will say, I think it is important if you get more information and just in general, he can evolve. But we are going to hold you to it that you originally did not say that.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, why does that matter now?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Nothing has happened. You're doing the.

[Mike Catalana]

Dan, nothing has happened. It isn't like I said it. Oh, wait a minute. Hold on. Oh, it was my move. Oh, yeah. Now I believe this. No, I'm saying this well in advance of free agency. That's why I go to the combine. That.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. And El.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. Okay. Go ahead, Dan.

[Dan Fates]

I'm gonna recycle one.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh.

[Dan Fates]

But it's something I'm passionate about.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Bourbon.

[Dan Fates]

No.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I feel like there's.

[Dan Fates]

Do you know where. You know where I'm going?

[Mike Catalana]

Atlanta Braves?

[Dan Fates]

Nope.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Your wife.

[Dan Fates]

Planes.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh.

[Dan Fates]

Freaking planes. Oh, I. I.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Sorry.

[Dan Fates]

Go ahead.

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, we were. I drove up to Buffalo on Monday for Khalil Shakir's press conference, and the. The cranes. Dan also loves cranes. They were buzzing around. The stadium is going up so fast.

[Dan Fates]

I. The credit is to all the things that I don't understand. I don't understand how planes fly. Okay. So I've gone over that. But again, I don't understand how cranes work. I don't understand tunnels. If there's anybody out there that. That is a pilot.

[Mike Catalana]

I already talked. I'll get our pilot. We'll get him on the podcast.

[Dan Fates]

I just want to talk to Brian.

[Mike Catalana]

We're going to get him on the podcast. We'll get.

[Jenna Cottrell]

We'll call him.

[Dan Fates]

And also anybody that has flown. I flew all the time before kids, never had a problem at all. I am now a very uncomfortable flyer, not only with everything else that's going on in the world in general, but it just is. I did six flights last week because my daughter had a doctor's appointment down in New York City. So we did two flights there. The plane is bouncing a little bit with the turbulence. My daughter's just eating snacks on her tablet. I'm just like, we're going down.

[Mike Catalana]

We are.

[Dan Fates]

This is it. It's. I'm uncomfortable. But shout out to pilots that understand what's going on in the cockpit. Like, all of that stuff. Shout out to the engineers. But it is. And, you know What? I have a little bit of a bone to pick. We flew Southwest to Indy.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, I was just going to say. So we were. Yeah, yeah.

[Dan Fates]

It's okay.

[Mike Catalana]

It's out. It's wild to watch people load on a plane in Southwest. It's just.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It has bags.

[Dan Fates]

It has to end.

[Mike Catalana]

No, it's just because they're picking their own seats.

[Dan Fates]

It has wild. It is. It is anarchy. It is pure chaos.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I kind of like it.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, yeah.

[Dan Fates]

But worse.

[Mike Catalana]

But when you're sitting.

[Jenna Cottrell]

But I also, like, set my alarm, like, so if my flight at 6am I'm waking up when you are watching.

[Dan Fates]

I'm like, get on the Flight 45. I. I am like, the.

[Mike Catalana]

The flight attendant said like 20 times. Basically. She's like, this flight is not full. Rare flight that wasn't full. She goes, you won't be in a middle seat unless you really want one. You talk about me not listening or Dan not. I don't know what people were listening to. They have no idea. Like, there are more seats, but you.

[Dan Fates]

Also have those that time when, okay, you've got the aisle and the window seat, and you know that people now have to pick.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, the middle seat. Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

And you're just like, you're not trying to look at some people. You're trying to look and be like, you can sit here, man. Like, you can sit here because you don't want to get the uncomfortably uncomfortable flight with somebody else. So it was. Yeah, it was anarchy. And the one thing I didn't like about Southwest, the pilot never spoke to us. I need. I need a heads up.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Tell them. Last time we were landing in Rochester.

[Dan Fates]

It was after the Kansas City flight, and it was a windy day, and the pilot's like, yeah, there's some wind in Rochester, but I'm pretty confident we'll be able to.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Fairly confident. Direct quote, I'm fairly confident we can land the plane. It was like, he goes, fairly.

[Dan Fates]

But I. I put extra fuel in the tank if we need to circle around a couple times. I was like, that's too much info. Yeah, that was too much.

[Mike Catalana]

I don't need to hear from the pilot.

[Dan Fates]

I. This was. Honestly, last week. Last week, I wanted to know everything. I wanted to know altitude. I wanted to know what he thought of it. There were a couple times the. The flight home, they were serving drinks and I think that was the one. You were next to me. And like, we started to hit some turbulence and they bailed.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. Yeah, they were done. Oh, yeah, they were done, dude.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Like, I've Seen that happen.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Like, they did.

[Dan Fates]

They left the car, like. Like they pushed the car, like, got back, like.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Like, the. The stewardess bumped into a couple people on the way back, and I was like, this is it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's terrible. Are you an aisle or.

[Dan Fates]

I'm normally a window seat guy that's. Just fall asleep.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

I could always fall asleep on planes. It was like a superpower that. Yeah, I can fall asleep anywhere. And now I'm way too paranoid and anxious on flights.

[Mike Catalana]

I just.

[Dan Fates]

I'm not good.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I got that dream. Water.

[Dan Fates]

I got to do something because I just.

[Mike Catalana]

The place to be. You got to be on the.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I like the aisle. Unless it's a red eye.

[Mike Catalana]

Red eye. Because then nobody.

[Dan Fates]

So shout out to pilots for getting a metal tube into the sky and then landing it safely on the ground.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I saw a meme that was like, it's now okay to clap again. When a place.

[Dan Fates]

I know the other day I was like, I'm going to clap at this one. Because, like, we were a little bumpy coming in, and I was just like.

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, I know. I. I've been on a flight before, and Dad's like, do you feel that? I'm like, well, we are in the air. Like, it's like.

[Dan Fates]

I research now. Now I research, like, what turbulence is.

[Jenna Cottrell]

What is turbulence?

[Mike Catalana]

It's air pockets.

[Dan Fates]

It's air, like, when warm air and cold air.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh, it's interesting.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

And this one guy was trying to explain it. It's like, yeah, you're dropping thousands of feet in the air, but it's like you're in jello. So, like, don't freak out. Like, the air is different there. I'm. I'm a little bit anxious just, like, talking about it. We don't have to fly for a little while. So I'm. I'm. I'm okay.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, I can actually pick up on that.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I feel totally.

[Dan Fates]

I need a gummy. I'm gonna need to do something for flights now.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Because I'm not. I. I used to be great.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

It was like, land this thing. I don't care. Now it's like, my family.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You know, some families won't travel all together. Yeah, I didn't realize. One of my girlfriends told me that. Yeah, I didn't realize that.

[Mike Catalana]

All right, quick shout out Jack. Ran into him at the gym. Loves the podcast. Jack. Thanks for watching Shout Out.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Wade, you know who you are.

[Mike Catalana]

That's it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Big fan of Buffalo. Plus, always been a Bills fan. Thank you for watching Nobody talk to you no one talks to Dan.

[Dan Fates]

Some guy at a hockey game yesterday said or I was in Wegmans and he was like, hey, love your show. I was like in pajama pants and a ripped up hoodie.

[Mike Catalana]

Thank you. Some guy.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, that'll really hit home.

[Mike Catalana]

That's it. He's like, oh, Dan mentioned me.

[Dan Fates]

I'm that guy in Wegmans. He was dressed like a homeless person.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Although I will say, when we are out in the Rochester area and someone says they love Buffalo plus, that makes me very excited.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

The coolest thing ever.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Like we work at a TV station, so sometimes people recognize from that us from that. But the Buffalo plus is cool.

[Dan Fates]

The cool moment also that we had Diana Racini who we are going to get on the channel.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

We were talking to her at the NFL combine.

[Mike Catalana]

We're going to refer to her as friend of the pod.

[Dan Fates]

Friend of the pod.

[Mike Catalana]

She hasn't been on yet.

[Dan Fates]

And she was like, oh yeah, like we know Bill's podcast, all these things. She's like, wait, what's your guys podcast name? We said Buffalo Plus. She's like, oh yeah, see you guys all the time on YouTube. And was like. And I kind of took a step back and she's like, what? And I was like a fanboy here.

[Mike Catalana]

For a little bit.

[Dan Fates]

That's pretty freaking cool. And she's like, I. I say the same thing when people say they listen to Scoop City.

[Mike Catalana]

So that's cool. That's her pod.

[Jenna Cottrell]

All right. Please be sure to like comment, subscribe and share. We always appreciate it. And remember to check out the audio podcast available wherever you find your podcast. Conveniently named Buffalo Plus. For Mike Catalana and Dan Fates, I am Jenna Cattrell. Thank you so much for watching. We'll catch you next time here on Buffalo plus, presented by Connors and Ferris. Shopify's point of sale system helps you sell at every stage of your business. Need a fast and secure way to take payments in person? We've got you covered. How about card readers you can rely on anywhere you sell? Thanks. Have a good one. Yep, that too. Want one place to manage all your online and in person sales? That's kind of our thing wherever you sell. Businesses that grow grow with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 a month [e-mail] Listen. Shopify. Com Listen.