The Bills new STAFF UNDER Joe Brady, NFL Coaching NARRATIVES and the Salary Cap STILL isn't REAL

Summary

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Buffalo Plus Podcast — Episode Summary

Episode: "The Bills new STAFF UNDER Joe Brady, NFL Coaching NARRATIVES and the Salary Cap STILL isn't REAL"

Date: February 17, 2026
Hosts: Mike Catalana and Dan Fetes

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the Buffalo Bills’ newly assembled coaching staff under offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the hiring of Jim Leonard as defensive coordinator, and the narrative dynamics that surround NFL coaching decisions. The conversation also explores the realities and myths about the NFL salary cap, offers insight into future AFC East competition—especially the Miami Dolphins’ tear-down, and discusses player workplace satisfaction as reflected in the NFLPA report cards. The hosts combine experienced reporting with candid, witty debate, especially as they challenge common media talking points and fan expectations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bills Coaching Staff Overhaul: Change, Narratives, and Genuine Impact

• Major Staff Changes: Joe Brady has finalized his staff, including 20+ assistants and new defensive coordinator Jim Leonard.
  • “When you make a change like the Bills did, Sean McDermott gone as head coach is one thing. Sean McDermott gone as the leader of the defense is another thing. Because you brought in Jim Leonard...This defense did need a change.” (Mike, 03:21-04:16)
• Media and Fan Narratives: The crew critiques the tendency to overhype every new coaching hire based on tenuous connections or youth, warning against assuming every incoming coach is a future star.
  • “I just got a kick out of the narratives of some of the coaches before they've been... more than a week in the building.” (Mike, 05:32)
  • “Every assistant coach is going to be a young rising star... Or if he’s a veteran, then he brings the veteran leadership.” (Dan, 07:44)
• Familiarity vs. Fresh Ideas: Discussion on the myth that “new” always means “better,” and the reality that both stability and change have upsides and risks.
  • “If there's too much change over, then there's no consistency... But when does consistency turn to stale?” (Dan & Mike, 00:11 & 17:43)

Notable Quotes

• On senior hires:
  "I'm very curious as to what the role is for John Fox with Joe Brady… He's helping you with what? Game planning? Is he helping you with managing your time? I don't know." (Mike, 09:18)
  • “Do you want to know why I like the hire? ...Because John Fox has seen some shit.” (Dan, 13:20)
• On player impact:
  "You know what makes a coach even better? When he's got good players." (Mike, 16:46)
• On narrative fatigue:
  "We are in narrative season. You're going to see it just like when the draft comes out." (Mike, 15:25)

2. Coaching Staff Specifics and Examples

• Departed and New Hires: Praise for former secondary coach Jamila Dye and skepticism over simply swapping in new faces as inherently positive.
  "Jamila Dye... was a phenomenal... just because he wasn't retained doesn't mean that it's a plus." (Dan, 08:00)
• John Fox Role: The “senior assistant” hiring offers experience, but the actual day-to-day influence remains ambiguous.
• Assistant Mobility: Lateral moves, especially for position coaches, are viewed with suspicion if such coaches were truly valued by their previous teams. "If that team loved him and didn't want him to leave the building, he wouldn't leave the building." (Dan, 14:43)

3. The Salary Cap: It's (Still) Not Real

• Fundamentals of the Cap: Annual debate on the reality of the NFL salary cap; cap constraints are often more narrative than absolute, especially for creative/wealthy teams.
  • “The cap is impactful, especially if you don’t handle it well.” (Mike, 19:10)
  • “Not all NFL owners are created equal... Terry Pegula has shown that he has been willing to convert salary and get cap relief like that.” (Dan, 24:12)
• Contract Structure & Roster Moves:
  • The real challenge is drafting well and making good contract decisions—not hypothetical cap walls.
  • Illustrations provided: pay structure of Christian Benford, Josh Allen’s restructures, lessons from Tremaine Edmunds’ departure, and current decisions on Dion Dawkins and Connor McGovern.
  • “When you fail in draft picks, you have relatively low-salaried players. You know you had Christian Benford at a ridiculously low amount of money. As a sixth round pick... Now you pay him. He’s still really, really good...” (Mike, 21:09-21:37)
• Ownership, Escrow, and Real Constraints: Hidden facets like escrow requirements and owner liquidity matter more than fan discourse realizes.

4. AFC East Landscape: Dolphins’ Rebuild & Tank

• Miami Cuts and Signals: Discussion of Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb being released, labeling Miami as “tanking” for a reset, likely to pursue a new quarterback in 2027 rather than the upcoming draft.
  • "They're bad. They need a rebuild... I would make 2026 my cap space year. Tank away." (Mike, 35:40)
  • "Two very good playoff teams, two tanking teams. They're going to be fighting each other to lose games this year.” (Mike, 35:58)
• Potential WR Movements: Opines that Jaylen Waddle could be made available and is more valuable than most realize.
• Jets: Equally pessimistic take on New York as a perennially dysfunctional franchise.

5. NFLPA Report Cards: Player Experience Spotlight

• Why the Report Cards Matter: Critiques on teams' facilities, travel, family accommodations, and general player treatment. Bills dinged for travel and medical staffing.
• NFL’s Pushback and Transparency: The league’s negative reaction to publicized feedback called “soft”; players will continue to leak grievances.
  • "This league, sometimes, I tell you all the time, it annoys me how much they fine their own players. They can't wait to take money from their own guys." (Mike, 40:59)
• Workplace Realities: Contrasts between how injuries and personal needs are treated in professional football vs. other industries; the hosts advocate for better player support.

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:01 – Overview of finalized Bills coaching staff under Brady
• 04:16 – Debate on “narratives” around assistant hires and NFL networking culture
• 08:00 – Example: Jamila Dye’s departure and value of new vs. established staff
• 09:18–14:10 – John Fox hire: seniority, unclear role, comparative insight
• 16:46 – “You know what makes a coach even better? When he's got good players.” (Mike)
• 17:43 – Consistency vs. "Staleness" in coaching; balancing staff changes
• 19:00–28:01 – "Salary Cap isn't Real" discussion: philosophy, re-structuring, ownership
• 28:14 – Dion Dawkins' contract and future; real value vs. cap move
• 30:29 – Offensive line depth, future strategy, and subtext for McGovern/Andrews decisions
• 35:27 – Pivot to AFC East; Dolphins’ tanking and ramifications for division
• 38:04–41:13 – NFLPA report cards, travel, facilities, and league's reaction
• 41:59–42:28 – Player safety, fines, and owner attitudes

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On NFL hiring narratives:
  "Every assistant coach is going to be a young rising star... or if he’s a veteran, then he brings the veteran leadership." (Dan, 07:44)
• On seniority:
  "Because John Fox has seen some shit." (Dan, 13:20)
• On the salary cap:
  "I’ve always said the salary cap isn’t real because it is a funnier shtick than to go into the minutia of why the salary cap is so malleable." (Dan, 19:21)
• On player experience:
  "In most jobs, if you're sick, you stay home. In the NFL, if you're hurt, you play..." (Mike, 41:13)

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Takeaways for Listeners

• The Bills' new staff brings hope for fresh ideas but also risk due to inexperience and overhype of every new face.
• Beware media and fan narratives that oversell every coaching change as a panacea.
• The NFL salary cap is more flexible and owner-dependent than portrayed; smart cap management is about planning, not rigid accounting.
• AFC East will likely be top-heavy as the Dolphins and Jets embrace rebuilding modes.
• The NFLPA report cards illuminate genuine player welfare issues; the league’s attempts to quash criticism reflect a larger tension over player treatment.

Perfect episode if you want in-depth, skeptical, and sometimes irreverent takes on the Bills’ offseason, the realities of NFL roster management, and broad league topics.

Transcript

[A]

I just want everybody to take a breath before we know what they have in terms of change is good, but not all change is good. This is just the way it goes.

[B]

If there's too much change over, then there's no consistency.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So then. But when does consistency turn to stale? We're all excited about Jim Leonard. I think across the the league people are excited to see what Jim Leonard has never been a DC in the NFL.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So we will see. Hey everyone and welcome Back to the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel. Mike Catalana joined alongside. I'm Dan Fates here in the beautiful Connors and Ferris podcast studio. No Jenna Cottrell today. She's getting some time back home with her family, obviously, as we all need some time before it ramps back up with the combine. But we got another edition of the league brought to you by Stellar roofing windows and siding. Plenty to get to talk to today. We've got the Bills making coaching staff decisions before that though. Be sure to like, be sure to comment, be sure to subscribe. As always.

[A]

Don't want to get yelled at.

[B]

Don't want to get yelled at. This hosting isn't as easy as. As we always make fun of Jenna for it to be. Bill's finalizing a lot of Joe Brady's coaching staff. So we want to talk about that. Mike has some spicy takes about that. We were kind of hinting at this and I disagree. So I'm excited to get to talk to that. Mike did a lot of the talking. I just kind of sat here when we were talking beforehand.

[A]

Oh, okay. So you were just holding back with your tip.

[B]

I was holding back but you. You were going. So I didn't want to be like, hey, save it for the pod. But I just wanted to.

[A]

So we're going to talk about that.

[B]

We didn't talk about how the salary cap isn't real and. And the moves that the Bills can or should make, obviously. And then Tyree killed the news today as we were recording this on Monday afternoon. Ty Hill being released, Bradley Chub being released. The Dolphins seem like they're tanking what the rest of the AFC east could possibly look like. And then obviously we're going to gear up. That kind of pushes us towards the combine, which starts in a week from today. We will be in. In indie.

[A]

It's gonna be so much fun.

[B]

Is the best.

[A]

A week from Wednesday.

[B]

We're talking so much about it that Jetta is getting a little bit of.

[A]

Jenna likes the. In the theory of combine.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

In general it's like she's like h. That looks like that would be fun. We're working hard that week.

[B]

It's a great point. It's a great point. It's a lot of work.

[A]

She hears about dinner.

[B]

It is a lot of rubbing elbows, some schmoozing.

[A]

That's not Jenna.

[B]

No, it really isn't. Like I said, the reason I've always loved the combine is the fact that the entire football world shows up to a couple of hotels at a convention center. Yes. And so it's fun. Speaking of talking, we also want to mention the NFL and the NFL PA's report card.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So we will get into all of that. But first, Mike, I did want to start with the Bills finishing up their coaching staff. 22 assistant coaches named or 20 assistants named to Joe Brady's staff. What are your takes on it? I just want to get your maybe the big picture of your thoughts on it first, and then maybe we can go into a couple of. Of more names.

[A]

Yeah. Look, when you make a change like the Bills did, Sean McDermott gone as head coach is one thing. Sean McDermott. McDermott gone as the leader of the defense is another thing. Because you brought in Jim Leonard. So you're going to be making major changes to the coaching staff. And look, it's all new. Jim Leonard is. Is new. He's never been a coordinator before. He's bringing in coaches to be his, you know, outside linebackers coach. Right. You're changing on the D line the positions themselves. While we can look at players individually and say, well, they may be able to adjust, so some player may be a better fit for this scheme than others. Jim Leonard also knows he's, he's bringing in some coaches who can help him eventually get full on board his scheme. I, I like the idea of the changes they've made. This defense did need a change. I think it did.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I just sometimes will hear some media members and in times, fans, but it's more media people, and we'll probably hear this when we're at combine, too, of the way they talk about the hiring of assistant coaches. First of all, the six degrees of separation, there's nothing NFL people like more than to find the connection. He coached with that guy for one year at the University of, you know, Tulsa.

[B]

Well, it was always, though, who's had a cup of coffee with Sean McVeigh or Kyle Shanahan.

[A]

Right. But now I'm talking about like he was on a staff.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

They love the connection and, and sometimes that's a big deal, but other times I just, I just sometimes think in a general sense, we're always looking for great fit. This guy knows this system, this guy's going to do whatever. And sometimes I got. Just hang on. Just because a guy is gone didn't make him good or bad. You know, whether he was good or bad. Just because a guy is brought in, he's new. And I just got a kick out of the narratives of some of the coaches before they've been, you know, more than a week in the building.

[B]

But not only that, Mike, you'll hear we talk about like the media talk and like how, how they talk to the media and what they're going to say. You'll also hear a lot of, I don't want just a bunch of yes men. I want guys that will disagree and will push back and give me new ideas. It's like, because that's what you want, because you, because you're bringing guys in that you just want to butt heads with all the time.

[A]

Well, there, there is some truth to the idea of someone that's agreed to help you. But, but when you. We sit and list to Pete Carmichael.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He sounds like a guy who is going to.

[B]

Here's a guy.

[A]

Be in sync with Joe Brady because they know each other. But I would hope that while Pete's smart enough to know this is my role, this is what I'm doing. I would hope that with his experience in the NFL, it's not the way he's going to start his news conference by saying, listen, if Joe's doing something I don't think is going to work, I am on him. No. But I would hope Joe Brady has enough confidence in himself.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And. And if you're bringing in Pete Carmichael, if Pete's got a disagreement with you, there's nothing wrong with that.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

It's just the idea of being able to make that work in the context of what Joe Brady and the coaching staff wants.

[B]

And because we're not at free agency yet.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I do think it is worth noting because we talked about it, you know, with the agent talk, with every person getting an interview and they crush the interview. And it's like you hear Schefter or Rapaport and they're just like, this guy is electric. He is highly sought of. And you're like, I've never even heard of this guy. You're kind of getting a little bit of that. And as we get into free agency, there'll be a signing and it'll be the agent that will say the numbers and and three tidbits about why he's really good. You're kind of getting that right now. As teams fill out their coaching staff. It's a little bit of that, that optimism. It's something that's different. So naturally you're excited because of that. And that's where it's sometimes. Like right now, every assistant coach is going to be a young rising star. Every, everybody that gets hired, veteran.

[A]

Then he brings the veteran leadership. Then he has coached with this guy six years ago and knows his system.

[B]

So here's the two people I wanted to use as like examples. And if you're wondering, like, well, where's Dan going with this? Jamila Dye.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Was a phenomenal. I think inside the building, outside the building, he was really good. Just because he wasn't retained doesn't mean that it's a plus. Like, just because they're bringing a new secondary coach, cornerbacks coach, doesn't mean that that guy's going to be better.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So I think that there's this natural instinct of like, oh, they're bringing this guy. And that's great. I also made the comparison of, and I don't mean to like air out dirty laundry, but like, it is his opinion. Like when Ryan Nielsen got hired, there were a lot of people that were like, he's going to bring man to man coverage because that's what he did in Jacksonville. And I was like, you know, the Jacks had the worst secondary in the league when he was there as the defensive coordinator. You know how much better the Jaguars defense got last year when Ryan Nielsen was gone. So now he's gone. So like this thought of every assistant coach that you bring in, he's going to fix all of your problems. It is going to be the, the next rising star just isn't always the case.

[A]

Yeah. There's those younger coaches, like Joe Dan is the guy that got elevated.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Who has been there, thought of as a very good coach.

[B]

The Bills kind of feels like he's on the Babbage trajectory.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like I'm just saying, like the fact that he was linebackers safety, like he's touching all of the, the important groups.

[A]

On a defense and doing that. And then you bring in John Fox as the senior assistant. Now John Fox is fine. Like he's been a coach, he's had success in the league, hasn't been a head coach in a while. I'm very curious as to what the role is for John Fox with Joe Brady. In a sense of saying, like a lot of times with A veteran coach. He's helping you with what game planning is he helping you with managing your time? Is he helping you with game time decisions? I don't know if John Fox, who hasn't been a head coach in almost a decade now, I don't know what that role would be. I think a lot of you might think right away I'm going to be like old guys going bring in the old guy because you need him in the building. I'm like, okay, that's your thought. John Fox.

[B]

John Fox.

[A]

Why.

[B]

Coach O? This goes back to what I literally was.

[A]

Coach O is not again.

[B]

Again reached out to Coach O. We hope to get him on the podcast one day. But the fact is, is that I wanted somebody that had been through it. I think there's so much experience. It's why, it's why we got annoyed that every coaching candidate that came in Mike, that was a retread was as if it was a bad thing. As if it was a scarlet letter.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I think you learn a lot from the scars from when you failed, from when John Fox had been criticized by the media for when he had made bad mistakes. I think he can be there to just be like, hey, been here, I've done this. It's okay. Like, you'll get through this. I think he's just a sounding board. I think. I'm not sitting here thinking that he's going to coach up the defense or make in game decisions. Not by any means, but he's also been this defensive assistant when he was with Detroit.

[A]

Right.

[B]

With a young new offensive coordinator in Aaron Glenn. I think it makes a whole lot of sense. You think this is just a Bean hire?

[A]

No. Well, Bean has a connection with him back from Carolina days. I'm sure they worked. Listen, John Fox has had success. I'm just saying individually, I don't know what the role is. I don't know. I don't know what the relationship is. I think it's just, I. It's just automatically the only way I look at it is and say it wouldn't be the case, but I'll just throw it out there anyhow. If the Patriots would have gotten John Fox, I don't think most Bills fans would be like, man, that's a good hire for them to bring it in to help Mike Vrabel.

[B]

But that's completely different situations. Vrabel, coach.

[A]

That's why I was saying is I didn't think it was a good example. I'm just bringing it up because, yeah.

[B]

It wasn't A good example.

[A]

Teams in the divisions are disasters. Right. I mean, there's. They have nothing. I'm just talking about, like, when you look at a rival team and you say, you know, if.

[B]

But I don't think he's going to have any impact on the failure or success of the team. I think he can be. This is a. For lack of a better term, like a shoulder to lean on.

[A]

When I've heard people compare it to Leslie, but Leslie was still a defensive coach who had recently.

[B]

No, but I thought that too. I, I see a little bit of that too, because, yeah, he was going to help with the defense, but he had been a head coach and failed as a head coach and. But had that experience, had the breath.

[A]

John Fox has had more success as a head coach than.

[B]

Than the two Super Bowls.

[A]

Right. In that case, I think it's fine. I just think sometimes it's the idea of like, this is like a bigger deal than it is. I don't even know what John Fox's role. He's considered senior assistant. I don't know. And I don't know what his relationship is with Joe Brady. I just. I was a little bit surprised. It did not seem like the guy that would be in that role.

[B]

Do you want to know why I like the hire?

[A]

Go ahead.

[B]

Because John Fox has seen some shit.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I. It's why you're here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, I've seen some shit.

[A]

Yeah, I have. And I guess I just sometimes look at it that I just don't. I didn't know for sure what the connection was, what John, John Fox thought of as a defensive guy. Maybe.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, he's helping out on the defensive side of the ball. I don't know. I. I'll just, I'll see how it plays out and how big of a role he has.

[B]

Yeah, I, I don't see it as much of this impact on the failure or success of the defense or the team in general. I think he can just be a guy that Joe Brady can lean on.

[A]

So it's like in baseball, the bench coach is the manager's drinking somebody.

[B]

I think that's a great point.

[A]

Okay. If that's the case, then that's fine.

[B]

Yeah, again, then that's fine. But I'm not going to get excited about it. Like some people were about Ryan Nielsen coming to the staff being like this assistant defensive guy, defensive line coach is going to help all these things. It's like, I don't know. I do think to some respects, when coaches, especially position coaches, Seem to move laterally.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

From team to team to team. It's like when the guy signs for you, your wide receiver, and it's like, oh, well, this guy can do all these things. It's like, but he's on his fourth team in five years.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And if this, if that team loved him and didn't want him to leave the building, he wouldn't leave the building.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So again, when all these coaches. That's what we're getting at. Like now, again, if you see this, I know Leonard was asked about, like, hey, you got a lot of college coaches. And he said, well, there's great coaches at all levels. And I agree with that. That I see as an elevation. Like, but when you bounce from college to college as a defensive line coach, to me that doesn't scream like, oh, he's the whisperer.

[A]

I guess I just, I just follow the narrative. Sometimes when you hire college coaches, they're teachers. There's more fundamentals taught in an NFL practice than is ever taught in a college practice.

[B]

100%.

[A]

Especially in current college football. Yeah. I'm not saying these guys aren't very good coaches. I'm saying is it's all changed. It's one year contracts in college football now you're getting out, getting more, constantly recruiting. No question it is. And you see that on the pro side. I just, I just want everybody to take a breath before we know what they have in terms of change is good, but not all change is good. This is just the way it goes. We are, the only reason I'm saying is we are in narrative season. You're going to see it just like when the draft comes out, it's fill. This guy's filling a need. When these free agent signings, they're going to show you all the highlights of the guy. I just think we have smart fans who watch. Take a breath. Let's see how it plays out. I'm excited about Jim Leonard. I'm excited about the ideas and what he's going to do. Defensively, it's different. But he's also never been an NFL coordinator calling games in the NFL. And we're not talking about the Miami Dolphins here or we're not talking about the jets, we're talking about the Buffalo Bills. And it's a quick ramp up. So that's the only part sometimes that I, I just think there needs to be. It needs to be met with not skepticism, not negativity, just the idea of like, okay, this guy's a good football coach and you know what makes a coach even better when he's got good.

[B]

Players, that really helps.

[A]

Yes, that will help.

[B]

I agree with you a hundred percent. And it's something that you talked about that I wanted to go off of was that you said that when a coach stays, it's stability.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's. That's the positive side. That's the pro. Right. And then when a new coach comes in, it's energy, it's new, it's.

[A]

Especially if he's young, new ideas.

[B]

It's those kind of things. And I remember a few years ago when it was the Bills had had the same defensive coordinators with Leslie Frazier and it had been Brian D. For the longest time as the offensive coordinator. And it was like people were like, well, there need to be changes.

[A]

It's got. It's gotten stale.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

They like the word stale.

[B]

So I remember asking Sean one time after he got done with the podium, and I was like, how do you balance that? And he kind of laughed and is like, yeah, it's however it turns out. Like, again, if. If there's too much changeover, then there's no consistency.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So then. But when does consistency turn to stale?

[A]

Right.

[B]

And when does too much become a negative where we can't. You know, Jalen Hurts has had so many different offensive coordinators. That's holding him back.

[A]

Right.

[B]

This is where it's. Whatever lens you want to look at.

[A]

It through and you're right. If you're winning, it'll be all the positives because it is working in that case.

[B]

Correct. So that's where, like, again, that's why I wanted to use the example of. Of Jamila Die, because he was really good. Like, look at what Trey White did. Look at what, look at what Christian Ben.

[A]

And look at the way the players have re. Responded to him.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And by, by the way, Bobby Babbage also got that from players 100 years, giving him a ton of credit for what he did for them. Elevate it. They needed to move from Bobby because they were changing the defense. I get it, he's a good football coach.

[B]

But that's what I'm saying. Not every change is going to lead to more success. And I think that's what you're saying is like, hey, all these coaching hires, we'll see.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Like, I, I think that's where we got it. It's. You can be excited. We're all excited about Jim Leonard. I think across the. The league, people are excited to see what Jim Leonard has never been a DC in the NFL.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So we will see.

[A]

We will see. And it's Brandon Bean's job now to bring in those players.

[B]

So. Speaking of Brandon Bean.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We'll start off by getting the most important thing out of the way. The salary cap is not real. But the Bills will have to make some salary cap moves.

[A]

So I think it's always fair at this moment to explain what we mean when we say the cap is not real. The cap is impactful, especially if you don't handle it well.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Don't.

[B]

Don't click out yet or don't turn off the podcast that your audio. Don't drive off the road yet. If you're. Before you do that, I guess make sure to, like, comment and subscribe. We really appreciate that. I've always said the salary cap isn't real because it is a funnier shtick than to go into the minutia of why the salary cap is so malleable. You always, Mike, make the. The example of taxes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I think that is a real life example for most people.

[A]

Save your money in a 401k. You're gonna build it, build it, build it, and eventually you're gonna take the money out of there and you're gonna pay the tax on it. Well, it's a lot better for you to be paying the tax down the line when you're not making income anymore. That's the goal. Right. Because now you're bringing that money in at the time. It's the accounting of the money is what it is.

[B]

And also, some people pay more taxes than others.

[A]

Yes, they do. So like I like, there's ways to defer taxes. There's ways to get out of it. The point about the cap is, you know, when it really can work for you. When you draft well, when you sign good free agents, when you draft well, you will constantly want to re up with your players. You give them other deals. You have a. A multitude of players on your roster that you can kick the can down the road. It's why I've gotten frustrated when Brandon Bean has referenced Josh Allen.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And I did the video and made the point of it's more Josh Palmer than Josh Allen. Actually had people come back to me and being like about this about Josh.

[B]

Percentage, the percentage. Actually, you know, Josh Allen takes up more of the percentage.

[A]

This is not even about Josh Palmer individually. Yes, it was one year. It's the idea of signing players to sizable contracts that don't work out.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And now you've put the money there and when you fail in draft picks, you have relatively low salaried players.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know you had Christian Benford at a ridiculously low amount of money.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

As a sixth round pick.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Right. And you know, so that was great. Now you pay him. He's still really, really good. The difference was before you were getting them at a very low number. Now it's at a higher number. You'll take that every day of the week.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Because he's a really good player.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

You draft Keon Coleman. In theory, a second round draft pick should be fantastic for the cap because it's a starting player.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

At a relatively low salary. The problem is if he's not good.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It's a problem because you're losing out on the ability to have a lower cost player in that position.

[B]

Not only that, the production that you get and how expensive certain positions are, quarterback, corner, defensive line, you are paying a premium. Wide receiver. Sorry, that's what I meant. And so like Curtis Samuel is being paid as the 30th highest wide receiver or whatever, wherever he is, he was paid a decent amount and his production was way below that. Even for Keon's lack of production, he's making like $3 million a year because he's a draft pick at a wide receiver position. That goes back to Jeremy White when he came on here a year ago and said drafting wide receivers is good for business.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because to sign Josh Palmer and make him all of a sudden a top 30 wide receiver, you can get somebody in the first or second round that then becomes the 70th highest paid wide receiver because that's how expensive the position is. Right. And the one thing I just want to push back because I know people will say, well, like Dan's a bunch of hot air and doesn't know what he's talking about. Like, I have looked into this cap. I always love to say the, the expression. We were at the combine last year, we were talked to a general manager. And I said to the general manager's face. I've also said it to Bean's face, but I'll leave this one to be anonymous. But I said, hey, I got this thing, we do this podcast, all these kind of things. And I was like, I think the salary cap isn't real. And he was like, yeah, yeah. And Mike was just grinning through his teeth because Mike's like, you're not really going to do this to this gm. And I said, I'm going to go up to him and I'm going to talk to him. About it.

[A]

It's obviously a real thing and they have to adhere to the rules. Correct. The idea is, well, for example, what can you do with the cap? Manipulate players contracts. Right. So there are players. Now the thing is, when you look at that Bill's roster, it has to be players should be players that you have a plan for one way or the other. I mean, look at what they did to Matt Milano. This is just the way the NFL works. It's like, yeah, we're going to your contract. He's going to agree to this, move it into that year. They change the dynamics of the contract.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Josh Allen, it's a constant re upping of his deal, giving him the, the salary, his yearly salary as part of a bonus.

[B]

And that's where I, my, my big always theory came on it and why I've been so about it and I boiled it down to the Sarah cap isn't real is because not all NFL owners are created equal. And that's a big reason and an advantage to teams with owners who are more liquid. So the Bengals don't have a ton of cash like, yes, oh well, everybody's a billionaire. They own an NFL team. Yeah. But there are some owners that are more willing to convert those salary caps and your year and your annual yearly salary into signing bonuses. With a swipe of a pen, Terry Pula has shown that he has been willing to convert salary and get cap relief like that. Yet that money is special to the Buffalo Bills because Terry Pul. Pula can do that.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And also, what I don't think people understand where I kind of want to show that I actually know what I'm talking about, is that every time a contract is signed, 20% of that contract the owner has to set aside in an escrow account. Because when the NFL and USFL were battling back and forth, people were afraid that they wouldn't pay the rest of their contracts. I think Steve Young was the big one. They're like, I'm going to sign this megadeal to the usfl. And it's like, what if the USFL isn't around in two years and the NFL is like, we'll guarantee your salaries. So if you don't have an owner that you sign a player to $100 million contract, the owner has to put $20 million aside and can't touch it. So not all owners are willing to do that. So that's where, that's where I like. It's not just hot air coming out of me. And it's something I'M passionate about, like, all right, those things, the owners that are all created.

[A]

So let's get to the point. What could the Bills do?

[B]

Okay, sorry.

[A]

Right. When you get to this point, so you start saying to yourself, you make decisions. The cap is in mind. A good example is when you look at Connor McGovern. Yep. Very good player for them. He's going to get paid a lot. If they let him go. We will see if they let him go into free agency. I don't think there's any question he'll get signed and his number will be pretty high. The idea is, do the Bills want to keep him? What would. How would that impact between he and Andrews and then what they're going to do on the offensive line. You make those decisions. All things being equal, would they want to keep that player? I think they would, but they have to make decisions based on how you're going to spend all your money. The issue is, do you have players to replace them? What are you planning on doing? If. If they believe Cedric Van Pran Granger, nailed it, can play. Right. You would move him in as the starting center. You would be spending way less money and you would be able to use that money elsewhere or whatever they would decide to do on the offensive line.

[B]

And just because if I say the center cap isn't real, doesn't mean that you have unlimited dollars. Your job as a general manager is still to put an evaluation on a player and how much you think they're worth. It goes back to what I always thought with Tremaine Edmonds. They probably liked Tremaine Edmonds at $40 million.

[A]

Right.

[B]

For a contract. But there was going to be another team that loved him at $70 million.

[A]

And. And Tremaine Edmonds, his agent, knew that, too. So unless they were going to put the tag on him.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

He was going to. They knew he was going to get that.

[B]

Where I feel like general managers use the salary cap as an excuse. Excuse that if the Bills really want Connor McGuffin, they can make it work. So, like, this thought of there has never been a player that a team wants to keep that they cut for salary cap reasons. And this goes back to a few years ago when it was Trey White and it was Jordan Poyer and it was. It was Mitch Morris and all these things. And it was like, oh, they're salary cap casualties. They had an idea and a vision of what they wanted the football team to do, and they were football moves that had salary cap benefits to the decision, but they weren't Based solely on the salary cap.

[A]

Right. So in the case of the bills, when you look at them, because. Let's get to more specifics. Josh Allen, his number this year for his salary is a little bit lower than it's been. You will get a benefit and they will end up doing that.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Dion Dawkins is a very interesting one. So it's gotten out there, this theory. I think it was our friend Matt perino.

[B]

Matt Perino, syracuse.com and I think it.

[A]

Was Shout Podcast Mike from Spot who had maybe initially brought it up somewhere in one of his conversations about when you and I. I don't think there's anything wrong with looking at the whole roster and going, what could they do? You know what? What would they think? The funny thing about Dion is moving on from Dion. Cutting Dion or trading Dion doesn't really save you very much.

[B]

Two million.

[A]

Yeah. It's not one of those contracts that you're like, oh, if we moved on from him and let's just say they thought Tylen Grable could be the left tackle and he's going to make a fraction of what Deion makes. And they think it's not that big of a jump. I'm just making that up. And you're going to save $17 million on the cap. Okay. I would get that. But that's not the case. One, two. I don't think with some of the things you're trying to change, moving on from Dion Dawkins as a player is a good move.

[B]

Agreed.

[A]

And I know some of the narratives are. I keep using the word narrative is he had a bunch of penalties last year, a lot of false starts. Deion is still a very good player, and I think he will be a very good offensive lineman tackle for them for multiple years still. Two or three more years at least. And I don't think they're in a position to replace him right now.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

So if they draft a tackle this year or they feel like one of these other guys could play maybe in a year or two years.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I just don't think that's a move because there's not a cap benefit. There's team benefit.

[B]

That's a great point. Is that you always kind of have to look and that's why it's so difficult to be a GM and that, you know, criticize Bean for all he wants. But, like, that move to make McGovern Center.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Was a very good move by Bean to be looking ahead.

[A]

Right. He had him at guard.

[B]

He had him at guard and it was like, wait, you're going to get rid of the four year starting center. That was awesome for Josh and all these things. But obviously they knew, hey, when we signed, when we signed and we start looking at the years.

[A]

Right.

[B]

We start looking at the way the salaries are working out and the cap hits, hey, we signed Connor McGovern, we make him our guard this year. And then depending on what Mitch does and Mitch had another concussion and they were, you know, you're worried about his, the, the injuries. We could slide him over. We can make that move. And you're trying to piece that together two, three years down the road. Beans talked about that before of like, hey, after this year we don't. We have one defensive lineman on, on the, on the books.

[A]

That's the difference. Because they had made good moves. You had stability at both tackles.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Offensive line was a place they were from a position of strength.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And they brought in Edwards, which was a great signing and drafted Torrance and Yes. So they. All those moves really work this year is going to be key for what they decide to do there.

[B]

Correct. And I don't see the depth right now or the urgency to draft interior line right now.

[A]

Right.

[B]

When you have needs at defensive line still and wide receiver. So like when you start looking at it and I'm sure when, when you start to. When you watch the draft, it'll say needs.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And there will be a need probably for either a center or an interior lineman for the Bills if.

[A]

Especially if those guys go. Right. It depends because what they're going to do. But you'll know free agency before we get to the draft. So I guess I look at it, say it's. It made for some good topics and information. I just don't see from a football perspective.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

From a Josh Allen perspective. Yep. As his left tackle. And was Deion as good. I'll let the people who you know, really.

[B]

Josh got sacked 40 plus times.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like I don't think that's easy enough to just say, hey, this is on Dion or this is on the offensive line. Like I think Josh will take the accountability. There was one of the plays in the Denver game that. Oh, it was the strip sack that got around Dion. Shakir kicked Benito out.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Past Dion. So yeah, that looks bad on Dion.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

But that was Shakir not doing it. So like again, I know offensive line I think is one of the coolest positions that we've gotten to learn more of. Obviously the quarterback position because you've had former quarterbacks get into the media space.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And they can explain you. Things change. Chase Daniels, Dan Orlovsky, those guys can explain. Like, hey, this is what they're doing. This is what you're supposed to see. I think offensive line is really cool, too, because I think for a long time it was just, oh, what does pff say? And I remember. I remember talking to Eric Wood before a game and it was like, this guy's really bad. And everybody. And I go, you were just in this huddle last year. Like, are you seeing this? And he's like, I know the philosophies and what you think the basic principles are. He's like, but I'm not in the huddle to tell you what it's like. So you have now former offensive lineman Jeff Schwartz, Mitchell Schwartz. Those guys are pretty good about explaining what the defensive or what the offensive line is doing. So I think that's one of the cool things to get to see. But, yeah, I don't think Deion has lost that dramatic of a step after this season that you're going, let's cut bait with him now.

[A]

Yeah. And I don't see the benefit, cap wise. I don't see it. And you know, again, if you said to me they wanted to bring back McGovern, bring back Andrews, make this move. Okay, like, let's see how it would play out.

[B]

But it would be great to keep Andrews and McGovern. Yeah, I lean more on McGovern than Andrews.

[A]

Yeah, well, we'll see. I.

[B]

It.

[A]

It felt like if they were going to sign McGovern, it might have been done already, but it's gotten to this point, so let's see how it plays out. But it's very interesting because the offense and the offensive line has been a strength of the team.

[B]

And they've had two guys, it feels like waiting in the wings because you've had Ryan Vandemark and Alec Anderson.

[A]

Yep. Who played in the game together.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And ended up Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh. And they played really well.

[B]

Phenomenal.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That was the game that they rushed for 290 something yards, the most allowed by the Steelers in Pittsburgh in a long time. So there is something, I guess I am just always a little wary of and maybe it was. Do you remember a few years ago, Ryan Groy?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He was that sixth lineman and he was so good that they were like, well, we don't want to put him at a position because he's so versatile everywhere. And then he became a starter and he wasn't very good.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So it's like, it's that Utility infielder in baseball where you're like, this guy can play all over the field and you're like, yeah, but he's not very good at any of the positions.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So if you made him a starter, it's kind of a negative.

[A]

It'll be interesting to see what. Well, this tells you a lot of what they believe.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

About. About. Certainly about Alec Anderson. Just his idea of where he can play.

[B]

So that was. Yeah, that was a lot of Bill stuff. Branching out. The league brought to you by stellar roofing windows and siding. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe.

[A]

Appreciate it.

[B]

As always. Zooming out a little bit. AFC East Dolphins seem to be cutting everybody.

[A]

Yeah, I like what they're doing. I. They're bad. They need a rebuild.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The new GM's coming in. Going by Tyreek, you're gone. Eventually Tua will be gone. Bradley Chubb is gone. Huge cap hits. Like they're just saying, bring them on. Now. I would. I would make 2026 my cap space year.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Tank away. There's quarterbacks in the draft next year. Play somebody. I mean, the league doesn't want to hear this, but I think you've got two teams in the division tanking the jets, because that's who they are. They're going to be terrible again. Yeah. And the Dolphins, I think it's two very good playoff teams. Two tanking teams. They're going to be fighting each other to lose games this year. But they had to get rid of Tyreek. They're going to get rid of Tua. And how they handle the cap is interesting because I just would load it on as much as I could for these years and yes, pay guys in sunshine on one year deals and then get ready for 27.

[B]

I think that's very interesting because it's a little bit what the Bills did to reset their books in 2018.

[A]

And they had already drafted Josh.

[B]

Correct. So that. That was kind of part of what. What they did or 20.

[A]

2018. Yeah.

[B]

2018.

[A]

Yeah. 2017. They made the playoffs. 2018.

[B]

They made the playoffs.

[A]

2017.

[B]

2017.

[A]

2018 is when they. That's the only losing season they've had.

[B]

Correct. Okay. Because that is. The Dolphins are kind of doing the thing of. All right. We effed around and found out this isn't working. Let's take all of our medicine or as much medicine as we can now.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

To retool, which is what the Bills did. It's what the Saints never did.

[A]

Right. But in the case of the Bills, the Bills Draft. I don't think the Dolphins. This is not a great year to draft quarterbacks.

[B]

No.

[A]

I don't think they're drafting one.

[B]

No.

[A]

So I think they'll. It's going to be ugly going ugly year in Miami. And it's not, by the way.

[B]

They're going to be a bad team and they're going to know they're bad.

[A]

Yeah. Waddle could be on the market. If the Bills really wanted Waddle, he could be on the market. Because if I'm them, everybody's going, yeah, I'm moving on from people.

[B]

So that's a really good point. I didn't think about Waddle coming back into.

[A]

To play Garrett Wilson and Waddle playing in that mess. Those two teams.

[B]

I'd take Garrett Wilson.

[A]

Yeah. I'd take him ahead of Waddle.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Garrett Wilson's been really good on a horrendously bad team.

[A]

Yeah. All right.

[B]

So that's the AFC East. And then finally the NFL took. Went to court.

[A]

They. They were fighting with their own players.

[B]

Association because the teams have been the last few years releasing the players association. The players association has been releasing their report cards on the team's travel, the way they deal with family, fitness, food, everything. Food, all that stuff.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And the league didn't like it. Yeah.

[A]

It's such. They're so soft. This league sometimes is so annoying. Like the billionaires don't want to hear that. Teams don't love some of the stuff. The Bills got really hit on travel and I, I, you know, not on the team playing anymore. But I think they were flying out of Niagara Falls.

[B]

Yeah. Because it was doing the Runway at.

[A]

The private one and it probably was not great. I don't know what the plane was like. I'm not on it and I don't know if it was not good. I've seen other teams get hit for certain things, like the way they handle things with some families where, you know, some teams have a whole thing with daycare and where people, you know, the adults can come to the game and somebody's there to help them with the kids. Some of it is food. You may look at it and be like, why is that such a big deal? Well, it is an NFL team. It's multibillion dollar industry. I mean, the Bills used to have the worst training facilities.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Now they're really nice.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Like, they upgraded and a couple of the teams that got really hit on that, including the Patriots, are now building their own.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Training facilities which they should have had.

[B]

In the first place the Bills got hit this year because of the rehab.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The medical staff and training staff, they weren't thrilled with.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And somebody was saying that was from last year. Yeah, yeah. The lack of trainers and things like that. And I saw. I think it was banged up. Bills was talking about that. That's a problem that a lot of teams are having because especially the longer that training camp is with the 90 men. You just don't have as much interns, you don't have as much training staff to deal with the rehabilitation for all of those guys. So, yeah, I just think this is, like you said, it is a very soft move. And it's almost like, why can't players voice what they feel about their job?

[A]

Well, here's what's going to happen is players are going to. They're going to do this poll and then it's going to get leaked out by players. Yeah. And it's not put. It won't be put out by the NFL PA Yes. It's going to be put out by sources close to Patriots or the Dolphins or the Bills or whoever. Tell the Athletic or Buffalo plus if they want. This is the way we voted and this is what our vote was. And I think it's going to get out there. And it's these billionaire. What? What? Woody Johnson with the Jets, a total failure as an owner, is worried that teams. I think his players gave him an F for ownership, like whatever it was.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's. So this league, sometimes, I tell you all the time it annoys me how much they find their own players. They can't wait to take money from their own guys. They don't have guaranteed deals. It's as if they dislike their own players.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And then they complain about things. In a work environment where you're asking a lot for players, we can say you can make a lot of money this, that or the other. You know, in most jobs, if you're sick, you stay home. In the NFL, if you're hurt, you play injured is one thing, but if you're hurt, you play. You play through it. You get asked. Josh Allen, he plays through stuff.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

You know, Terrell Bernard tried to play through stuff. That's what you're asked to do. So players will do that, help them out a little bit. Can it get a little whiny? I'm sure. I'm sure there are things, you know.

[B]

That everybody has about their job. But I also, again, it goes back to Mike. You always, you talk about the finding of their players for their socks. Or their cleats or things like that.

[A]

And it's a lot of money.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they get their little email or their letter that says, you know, for.

[B]

This hit or that hit or the way that they did this or their celebration or stuff like that. And then I always go back to the fact of, you know, player safety when the entire league wants to play on natural grass, which is what the EPL does in the European Premier League Soccer. And it blows my mind when they go to London and they play in these stadiums. They bring in turf.

[A]

Yeah. They bring in turf so that they don't play. They're not playing on the grass now. You know, I mean, look, the NFL will just lie and they just say they'll tell you the numbers, say whatever. I think I just. I find this one to be almost comical.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Because I can't wait for the leaks when this comes out. And that's fine. Like, it used to be kind of funny to read it. And then you'd be like, oh, why was this? Yeah, I don't know if the bill's travel will be better this year. I don't know. They. They do have a lot of substantial trips this year. Long flights, so. Yeah.

[B]

All right, so there it is. Talked coaching staff, salary cap, pros and cons. Tyree Kill, Dolphins tanking, and report cards. Appreciate it, as always. We will now when Jenna comes back. Also, my family has been battling everything under the sun, so I just want to get ahead of this. I have dodged everything.

[A]

Oh, man. That's Formica. That's not wood. That's fake wood, too. I don't know. I don't know if there's real wood in here. Later this week, we're going to continue with our look at the defense. We did. The defensive line, we'll move to. We'll. We'll still say back seven. I don't know, linebackers and. And defensive backs. Then we'll be at the combine.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So we. We're gonna have a lot from.

[B]

And I want to think about also Jim Leonard talked about when he was talking to the coaching staff and the scouting staff, what he's going to be looking for. I want to talk about that a little bit next week as we get closer to when we leave for the combine. And then it's. We're just rubbing elbows with everybody.

[A]

Yeah. Well, we're going soon.

[B]

And then Elmo's on.

[A]

When's Wednesday?

[B]

Cannot wait.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Cannot wait. All right. Jenna will be back. Next time you see us here. Appreciate it. As always. Be sure to, like, comment and subscribe. He's Mike Catalana. I'm Dan Fates with another edition of the League brought to you by Stellar Roofing, Windows and Siding. Thank you so much for watching here from the Connors and Ferris PODC studio. We will catch you here next time on the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel.