The BILLS open FREE AGENCY by SPENDING on their OWN and saying GOODBYE to GABE DAVIS

Summary

Buffalo Plus Podcast Summary: The BILLS open FREE AGENCY by SPENDING on their OWN and saying GOODBYE to GABE DAVIS

Date: March 12, 2024
Hosts: Mike Catalana, Jenna Cottrell, Dan Fetes

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Episode Overview

The Buffalo Plus team delivers comprehensive analysis and candid reactions to a busy opening of NFL free agency for the Buffalo Bills. This episode zeroes in on the Bills’ strategy to invest in their own key players, the emotional extension and prank from Dion Dawkins, the departure of Gabe Davis, and what these moves indicate about the team's direction. The hosts provide insider perspective, discuss fan reaction, and dig into the cap conversation, all with a characteristic blend of humor and straightforward analysis.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bills Prioritize Their Own: Extensions and Retentions

(01:26 - 04:01)

• Dion Dawkins Extension and Prank:

  • Dawkins caused a temporary social media frenzy by tweeting a (fake) goodbye to Buffalo before news of his contract extension was announced.
  • His rationale: “I’m an entertainer, I’m going to entertain… I was missing the Bill’s mafia and had to figure out which way I could do to get a little bit of something back and forth. And, you know, they love it, they hate it, but it’s me. I can’t change.” (Dion Dawkins, 04:17)
  • Dawkins confirmed his love for Buffalo and Coach McDermott, giving earnest credit for his development and happiness in Buffalo: “Why Buffalo? Because of Sean McDermott. That’s why.” (08:20)

• AJ Epenesa Resigned:

  • Seen as a solid “draft, develop, resign” story.
  • The hosts note how Epenesa’s development was bumpy but led to his best season yet, highlighting the importance of fit and player patience (12:36 - 13:35).

2. Gabe Davis Departs for Jacksonville

(16:02 - 19:18)

• Davis signs a three-year deal with the Jaguars after years of inconsistency in Buffalo.
• Jenna summarizes: “I’m very happy that the Gabe Davis trial experiment… as a number two guy, is over.” (16:06)
• Detailed stats underline his inconsistency: “237 targets in the regular season. He ended up only catching 128 of those targets.” (19:11)
• Hosts admit Davis was a successful draft pick for his round but failed in an expanded role. Mike: “When asked to bring more to this franchise, he failed.” (17:49)

3. Salary Cap Myths and Football Decisions

(21:23 - 24:41)

• The crew push back on the narrative that most roster moves are purely about the salary cap.
  • Jenna asserts, “They wanted to get younger. They wanted to go with Taylor Rapp over Jordan Poyer. That’s the bottom line. It was a football decision that had salary cap benefits.” (21:46)
  • Mike expands: “Teams make decisions on players. Like I said, salary cap is the… Does salary come into play? Yes. Teams decide this guy is not performing at the level that we need. We're not thinking of him long term.” (22:47)

4. Josh Allen Restructures, More Cap Space Opens

(26:52 - 27:30)

• Josh Allen’s restructure frees up roughly $16.7 million in cap space.
  • Mike on Josh’s willingness and the mechanics: “That’s all it took… It doesn’t take anything from Josh.” (27:02)
  • Notes almost $50M opened when combined with the cap increase.

5. Possible Further Restructures and Free Agency Path

(27:32 - 29:47)

• Taron Johnson is highlighted as likely deserving an extension; he’s becoming a defensive leader.
  • “I think he deserves that and deserves to get paid.” (28:37)
• Speculation on whether Stefon Diggs could be traded or restructured (unlikely, except possibly to facilitate a trade for a big return).

6. The Pass Rush Puzzle and Leonard Floyd Departure

(31:07 - 31:29)

• Leonard Floyd leaves for the 49ers for a payday, as expected.
  • “We talked about how he was going to follow the money, which. Respect. He’s a mercenary.” (29:55)
• The Bills may again target “edge” in the draft, following their organizational tendency (13:35 - 14:11).

7. WR Market, Draft Strategy, and Miscellaneous Roster Talk

(19:44 - 21:23; 31:29 - 32:12)

• Draft is deep at wide receiver, so the Bills might wait for value there.
  • Daniel Jeremiah tweeted “Not much happening in the wide receiver market. Draft is stacked at that position.” (19:45)
• Speculation on options: hopes (Tee Higgins, Justin Jefferson—both unlikely), interest in finding a rookie replacement and value signings for depth.
• Jokes about training camp favorites: Justin Shorter, Tyrell Shavers, Andy Isabella.

8. League-Wide Observations

(30:26 - 31:29)

• Rapid movement in running back market (e.g., Aaron Jones out, Josh Jacobs in at Green Bay).
• There’s ongoing churn—players displaced by new signings could present bargain options.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dion Dawkins' Twitter Prank:
  “I’m an entertainer, I’m going to entertain.” — Dion Dawkins (04:17)
• On Why Dawkins Stayed in Buffalo:
  “Why Buffalo? Because of Sean McDermott. That’s why.” — Dion Dawkins (08:20)
• On Gabe Davis' Consistency:
  “Gabe was too inconsistent…and I was like, no, he was consistent. That was the issue.” — Dan Fates (17:05)
• On Salary Cap Narratives:
  “Don’t get so caught up by saying these are salary cap casualties. The Bills aren’t pocketing that money. They’re turning around and spending it…on players that are younger.” — Jenna (21:53) “Teams make decisions on players…salary cap is about accounting.” — Mike Catalana (24:41)
• On the Comfort of Having Josh Allen:
  “Not that you guys aren't all, you know, rest comfortably knowing Josh Allen is your quarterback.” — Mike Catalana (26:22)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:26 — Early free agency/cap overview, setting the scene
• 02:16 — Dion Dawkins’ prank and contract extension explained
• 04:13 — Dawkins' own words on being an “entertainer” (and prank)
• 08:20 — Praise and reasons for Dawkins’ resigning
• 12:36 — AJ Epenesa’s journey and new contract
• 16:02 — Gabe Davis signs with Jaguars; host reactions
• 19:11 — Davis’ stats underscore inconsistency
• 21:23 — Cap management, reasons behind cuts, football decisions over cap
• 26:52 — Josh Allen restructure explained
• 27:32 — Potential for more cap moves; Taron Johnson highlighted
• 29:47 — Diggs, potential trades/restructures
• 29:50 — Leonard Floyd leaves for Niners; pass rush talk
• 31:29 — League-wide free agency speed, RB moves, running back market
• 32:07 — Wide receiver depth/battles; training camp darlings

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Overall Tone & Style

The discussion is fast-paced, conversational, and interlaced with playful digs, sharp analysis, and occasional Bills in-jokes. The hosts balance deep BIlls knowledge with frank acknowledgment when previous predictions are proven wrong, always keeping fan engagement and education at the core. The mood is optimistic about the franchise’s trajectory but unsentimental about tough personnel decisions.

Transcript

[Sean McDermott]

I don't care what nobody say. This is Sean. It gotta be Sean. Talk like that. I knew it. Yeah, yeah. I was about to say, man. I'm about to say like, yeah, ain't nobody. That sound and like that. That's Sean McD, man. What up?

[Mike Catalana]

What up, buddy?

[Sean McDermott]

Hey, thank you, man. Thank you. Appreciate you. We locked and loaded, man.

[Jenna]

This is the Buffalo PL plus podcast brought to you by Connors and Ferris.

[Dan Fates]

All right, welcome back to the Buffalo plus podcast, presented by Connors and Ferris, Mike Catalana, Dan Fates, I am Jetta Cotrell. Please be sure to like, comment and subscribe to the channel. We always appreciate as well as share with your fellow Bill's mafia friends.

[Mike Catalana]

It was Buffalo plus hoodie day. What are you doing?

[Dan Fates]

I. Yeah, I didn't. I didn't change. We've been here. It's been a long day. Monday the 11th, we're recording this podcast, this quality.

[Jenna]

Way better than a live stream.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Thank you for.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, thank you for sticking with us. It was Janice fault, right? Definitely.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, it was Monday. Yeah, it's okay.

[Jenna]

It was a Monday stream quality.

[Mike Catalana]

But we still got great responses and.

[Dan Fates]

We have fixed the problem for next time. So we have. We have definitely the confidence. Hey, thank you.

[Jenna]

Till you make it.

[Dan Fates]

Right. All right. So we were recording this at about 8:30 at night, right. So there have been a flurry of moves made. But just in case anything perhaps happens after this, we want to set the stage. So most recently, Josh Allen's contract was restructured. But I want to talk about some of the biggest things of today. Dion Dawkins signing an extension. AJ Epanessa getting an extension. Gabe Davis going to the Jags. Leonard Floyd also now with the Niners. So, Mike, what is your biggest takeaway from this early day as free agency?

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, Brandon Bean put a. Put a foot in the water. He didn't put a toe in the water. He didn't dive in the water. He's like, I got some moves to make. I'm not the big spender. But there's nothing today that was surprising to me. I don't know if it was surprising to you guys.

[Dan Fates]

Well, what was surprising was Dion Dawkins cut himself and then that was just trolling everyone.

[Mike Catalana]

That was something in case people don't know, because it was for a short period of time. Dion's like. Dion tweets out that, like, I'm out at Buffalo. It's been real, you know, goodbye.

[Jenna]

But he had also tweeted three days earlier, like, buffalo will forever will always be My home.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

So I think some people were like, oh, extensions coming. And then he tweeted out, like I said it. Buffalo will always be my home, but I'm moving on. And now I can have ranch or something like that with these things. And stunning. I think. I think a lot of people, I.

[Mike Catalana]

Swear I tweeted and said, this is stunning. I didn't see it. I don't know if anybody else saw it. I didn't. Again, the reason we didn't see it because it didn't happen.

[Jenna]

And there are times when people get got by fake accounts, fake shifters, fake espn, all of those things. It's another thing when the actual player tweets that they're leaving.

[Mike Catalana]

I told you I was driving in here to meet you guys, and I had NFL Network on the. On my phone through the radio and through the speaker, and I hear them go, oh, wow, this is surprising. Dion Dawkins is leaving Buffalo. He's out in Buffalo.

[Jenna]

So surprised. Real.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes. But honestly, in a. In a day when or a week when the Bills did cut prominent players on the roster, I guess you never know. But what we've been telling you guys, like, some guys are longer term players. There's reasons other players are gone. Some are decisions at the end of a deal, some are decisions while they still have a contract. None of them are strictly for the salary cap, which is what we've been trying to tell you. There's other reasons behind it. But, no, Dion didn't go in anywhere and he signed his extension.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

So this is how Dion answered the zoom call when he was asked by Katherine Fitzgerald of the Buffalo News, where did he come up with the idea? And this prank, we'll insert it right here.

[Dan Fates]

What was it like? Can you talk us through the prank.

[Mike Catalana]

You pulled this morning?

[Sean McDermott]

I don't really see it as a prank, you know. You know, for the people that I'm an entertainer, I'm going to entertain. So, you know, I like the. I was missing the Mafia. Simple as that. I was missing the Bill's mafia and had to figure out which way I could do to, you know, get a little bit of something back and forth. And, you know, they love it, they hate it, but it's me. I can't change.

[Dan Fates]

How long did you have that planned?

[Sean McDermott]

I didn't today. Today was kind of real sporadic because I woke up to a call from my agent and he was like, yo, like, they're gonna put the. Put the news out in an hour. And I was like, oh, well, I guess I have an Hour to troll. So I just woke up trolling after my workout. So it was like, troll, troll. But, hey, it isn't what it is. Oh, man, I hate it. I hate it and I love it. It's. It's just like, I figured, like, you know, you talk about ranch, if I can eat ranch. And they were like, ranch is not a buffalo thing, so he can't be talking about buffalo. So she keep them buzzing.

[Mike Catalana]

But there.

[Sean McDermott]

There's. There's no plan, and my brain spins, and when it spins, I just spit out.

[Jenna]

So also, I thought it got even better because somebody crashed the Zoom.

[Mike Catalana]

And it's expected.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

The wild man, the crazy man off season, Sean McDermott.

[Dan Fates]

Or.

[Jenna]

Or as he likes to be known as Sean from Orchard.

[Sean McDermott]

Who's that?

[Mike Catalana]

This is Sean from Orchard Park Beat. I was just calling you. Sound you describe yourself as a. As. As an entertainer, and I was just wondering maybe if you could share a song with us to mark this. This special occasion.

[Sean McDermott]

You said Sean from. I'm gonna tell you, Sean, I don't know who. Who it is, but you sound like McDermott. And if I were to say, if this is Sean, welcome, because I don't know you. But, Sean, I'm gonna talk to you like, I'll talk to my head coach. Let's ride. Let's ride out. And the song of choice that I would say, it'll probably be Sweet Home Alabama, but I would probably change it to Sweet Home Buffalo.

[Mike Catalana]

So.

[Sean McDermott]

Sweet home Buffalo.

[Mike Catalana]

And maybe you could talk about maybe the wardrobe you're wearing for this special occasion today for all of us.

[Sean McDermott]

Shirtless snow, man. Shirtless snow. I don't care what nobody say, this is Sean. It gotta be Sean. Talk like that. I knew it.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Sean McDermott]

Yeah. I was about to say, man, I'm about to say, like, yeah, ain't nobody. That sound. And like that. That's Sean McDeezy, man. What up?

[Mike Catalana]

What up, buddy?

[Sean McDermott]

Hey, thank you, man. Thank you. Appreciate you. We locked and loaded, man.

[Mike Catalana]

I just wanted to hear a little rap, you know, a little song that you had.

[Sean McDermott]

See, everybody wants a little bit of entertainment when all season starts, right?

[Mike Catalana]

Hey, you said you're an entertainer, man, so I know for sure. I got you.

[Sean McDermott]

I got you, man. What up, though, Swede? Yeah, that's. That's. That's the remix. We need that, Mom.

[Jenna]

I'm coming home to you.

[Sean McDermott]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

You're the best, buddy. We love you, man.

[Dan Fates]

See you guys.

[Sean McDermott]

I appreciate you. Thank you.

[Mike Catalana]

I mean, first of all, Sean, it's pretty tight in that sense. With Dion. Dion loves him. Yeah, loves.

[Dan Fates]

He talked about that was his first draft class.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

And he talks about Matt Beauvais, good friend, Buffalo. Plus guy said, like, ask Dion, like, why.

[Dan Fates]

Why Buffalo?

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

And he gave a very long winded answer about how he pretty much became, he grew up in Buffalo, that Buffalo is his mom and dad. It was kind of what he said. But then he also, kind of like after he got done with it, he goes, why Buffalo? Because of Sean McDermott. That's why. Because of Brandon Bean and his family. And because of all these things. Like, again, this. I know there are a lot of people, and I know in the comments, I've said it before, I end up looking like this Sha McDermid apologist. That team loves their head coach.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Jenna]

Period.

[Mike Catalana]

And.

[Jenna]

And again, there are a lot of things that players say that almost they have to say. Dion didn't have to say that.

[Mike Catalana]

No.

[Dan Fates]

Also, Dion is the type of person that.

[Jenna]

That was also before Sean.

[Dan Fates]

He knew. He knew it was Sean.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

Correct.

[Dan Fates]

Yes. That he said that before he knew.

[Jenna]

That Sean McDermott was on the call.

[Dan Fates]

On the call.

[Mike Catalana]

So, yeah, you know, I remember. You know, we talk about that draft. And again, this was before Brandon Bean was part of the organization and he was working for another team. He was still working for Carolina. And then, yeah, the Bills hired him. Dion ended up being, you know, that second round pick. And I remember it was doing the preseason games and Deion's whole family was in Philly, and because he's a Jersey guy, they were all there for the game. And I was talking to his mom, his family, and we were. And I said, you know, I. I think your son's going to start. I said, I think they really like him. So I know we go to this moments where Shawn McDermott doesn't play young players. Well, back then he played young players because they were new. These guys needed to play. And Dion as a second round pick, as a left tackle, like, I know you could say just plug him in, but it wasn't like he was the fifth pick in the draft. Like, they got him in the second they brought him in. And not only that, but all this way through, I thought this was the best season he had on the.

[Dan Fates]

Absolutely. Absolutely.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

And I think that goes back to the testament that Sha McDermot wanted in the culture. Him and Brandon being of, like, we want guys to be themselves, to invest in themselves and then be able to have the results on the field. And I think Dion Dawkins is actually the perfect example of that draft, develop, resign. Dion has done that multiple times. And it's like this is a guy that I remember when Dion was a rookie, some of the older guys in the locker room were like, oh, this guy's kind of, he's kind of quirky, like what's going on. But Dion is who he is and he's been able to thrive. And you're right. I, I, I think it says a lot about, you know, come as you are, buy in and see what happens after that.

[Jenna]

I think that's a great point because you've also seen him become more open.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

He's allowed, like you said, to not only be himself, but he, this wasn't who DN was as a rookie. He's a little out there, but he was not in the media. He wasn't doing all these things.

[Dan Fates]

An entertainer.

[Jenna]

No, he's an entertainer and this is.

[Dan Fates]

And that's who he is.

[Mike Catalana]

I now, you know, we'll talk about Josh and the restructuring and all, but in terms of, I would say this is a third contract.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, that's how I'm looking at first.

[Mike Catalana]

Guy with a third contract, right?

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. Cause I mean, Trey obviously is not.

[Jenna]

Yeah, no, Milano.

[Dan Fates]

Milano's got a second deal, but he hasn't had a third.

[Mike Catalana]

Second deal. This is, yeah, meaning like this is Josh got a deal, you know, rookie and then the big deal and now they, they restructure it. But it's, that's not a new deal. This is really, it's an extension is what they call it. Because he still has a year left.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

But it's really his, he's the first guy of that group. All those guys together. I shouldn't say that. Did, did Poyer and Hyde, they signed one year or two years.

[Dan Fates]

I think it's a little bit different though when it's like a multi year.

[Mike Catalana]

Right. But I'm talking about the guys who came in, in 17.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, that group. So I hear that.

[Mike Catalana]

It's great. It's great for him.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. No, so that's a guy obviously staying in Buffalo. Other news in terms of a player staying. AJ Epanessa was a free agent. The Bills deal with him for a two year thing. I think we, we talked about it earlier on in the day. He's a nice player. I think he can make some nice plays with the Bills. You hope he continues to take those step forward. But at the same point, I felt like this was a situation for the Bills. They got a guy that they can rely on, someone that they hope to have more upside in and it seems like it's relatively for a good amount of money.

[Jenna]

Top tier pass rushers are expensive.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Jenna]

And that is what we saw. They are very expensive. And this was kind of the sweet spot, I think for AJ to develop. It's funny, we talk about draft, develop, resign and coming into training camp I didn't think AJ had developed into much and I yes, he was the one guy I thought was on that was like who's the surprise cut? I was pretty adamant of like I haven't seen anything from AJ in training camp. And then he comes out here and also I think has his best year developed really well into what they want of him and. And comfortable in his own body. Remember they drafted him during the 2020 Covid year. They had him lose all this weight, then he was getting pushed around, then he got the muscle back up. Then it was the following year. I remember Deion talking about, man, I put my hands on him and he feels different. Like he feels like. But then it was like then he was too slow for the guys again. So it seemed like he was kind of fluctuating, trying to figure out who he wanted to be over correction. And now you really saw it. The way that he impacted games I was really impressed by.

[Mike Catalana]

And he got a lot of a little extra attention because he was the second round pick. But they didn't have a first round pick that year. And you start looking at all these other guys on the line. You know they drafted Ed and he's resigned. Ned has gotten better and better. But you know, Boogie Basham is gone. They're hoping Russo that's. He's a key guy. I would say Russo. I still think, I mean they have Vaughn, they have Russo and Epanessa now. I still think they're drafting an edge somewhere. A drafting an edge.

[Dan Fates]

They can't help themselves. No, I'm kidding.

[Mike Catalana]

They.

[Dan Fates]

They do. They do need to, but I agree. Yeah, I think that's something.

[Mike Catalana]

But to your point, Huff and now Burns gets the deal with Giants and.

[Jenna]

The guy for Houston.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And down the line there is going to be other big pass rushers either. You know, keep your eyes out there and round the league. The Chargers have decisions to make on Mack, they have a decision to make on Bosa. Like I'm not saying the Bills are in on these guys, but you will see bigger name pass rushers could be on the market and then you see what where the Bills are and the rest of that.

[Dan Fates]

I was only going like this because I think we have to turn the mug For Dan is damn's wrong because he said A.J. epanessa.

[Jenna]

I was right at the time. That's so good how you do it.

[Mike Catalana]

You just hit your face.

[Dan Fates]

I was laughing so hard I hit my face.

[Jenna]

How you do it.

[Dan Fates]

Oh, my gosh. But now you're. But now you're wrong. You're right.

[Jenna]

Now I changed. Now I'm right again.

[Mike Catalana]

So.

[Dan Fates]

Oh, my God.

[Mike Catalana]

That wouldn't work for a freezing cold take because.

[Dan Fates]

No, it's not Shohei Ohtani.

[Jenna]

If you want to know a really good tweet, search my name in Ohtani. It'll be the first one. It's a really good tweet.

[Dan Fates]

It's a really great.

[Mike Catalana]

Just tell them quickly what it is.

[Jenna]

Oh, in 2018, I said Ohtani would be a bust, like, adamantly at the time.

[Mike Catalana]

Well, you still were with your chest.

[Jenna]

I said he had given up, like, 27 runs in spring training. And I was like, the Japanese Babe Ruth's a bust. Swinging a miss.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, yeah, that's okay.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, I would say so.

[Mike Catalana]

There you go.

[Dan Fates]

There's that. All right. Let's talk other players. So we talked about Dion. We talked to A.J. epanessa. Oh, let's jump to.

[Mike Catalana]

Well, let's. Let's let him. Let's let him go on.

[Dan Fates]

That's true. Have your moment. You're.

[Jenna]

Gabe Davis got paid.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, he did not in Buffalo.

[Jenna]

I'm. I'm very. I'm very happy that the Gabe Davis trial experiment didn't. As a number two guy, it's over. Like, we can. We can move on. We can turn the page. We had. We. This has, well, been addressed on this channel before. You can find videos. I've been since the day that they said that he was going to be the number two guy. I was skeptical. After the playoff game in Kansas City, I was very skeptical. And the last two years, he has wildly underachieved at times. We. We've said he's held the team back because of the decisions they haven't made because of it. Because they wanted Gabe to be the number two guy. He's got a 52% catch rate.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

It's that good.

[Dan Fates]

For so long, I felt like you saw the tremendous upside. What is he. He a fourth round pick? Y. Yeah. Fourth round picked out of ucf. He had this, like, calm, cool, collected nature. Someone that we thought could really play big in those big moments. We saw it in the. The Kansas City playoff game.

[Mike Catalana]

Y.

[Dan Fates]

And then we saw. And someone put in a comment on our earlier live stream, like, Gabe Was too in inconsistent and I was like, no, he, he was consistent. That was the issue. So I think for Gabe, I think this is a fresh start. Happy for a whole lot of money. 3 year deal, $39 million up to 50 million with incentives. So. But now the pressure is on because you're getting paid like a number two. Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

So, yeah, it's interesting. You know, we do the newscast too. And in the newscast, you guys, we.

[Dan Fates]

Work at a TV station.

[Mike Catalana]

Well, we have to, you know, you kind of boil it down quickly. And I said sort of what Jenna was saying there. He was a good draft pick for a fourth round. Really good, good football player. But when asked to bring more to this franchise, he failed.

[Jenna]

Yep.

[Mike Catalana]

Now they, you could argue that they failed him too. Like, I don't know specifically everything that went on. But you're playing with Stefan Diggs on one side and Josh Allen is your quarterback.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Okay. So. And this a franchise that wants you to succeed. I'm glad for. Hey, I want them all to get paid. I'm glad Gabe got paid and I don't care. Go catch a bunch of balls in Jacksonville. It might happen. Whatever reason, it was not happening in Buffalo. They made the decision and the targets dropped later in the year. It wasn't even like it was in the previous year where he kept getting the targets and it wasn't working. This past year, four times at least. Terrible miscommunication between me and Josh, whatever it was.

[Jenna]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Lasting image of the interception from Allan. When Gabe, it just, yeah, there was just a lot of moments. And you know what, some of that's probably on Josh Allen, but at the same point when it's seemingly the same receiver over and over again, the, the tolerance for that.

[Mike Catalana]

I could see Bean sitting there going, Josh or, or Josh or Gabe.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, Josh.

[Mike Catalana]

I'm gonna, I'm gonna keep Josh.

[Jenna]

I wrote this on my hand earlier while we were doing the live stream over the last paper.

[Mike Catalana]

Right?

[Jenna]

Yeah, but this was earlier. I didn't have it over the last three years in the regular season, Gabe was targeted 237 times.

[Mike Catalana]

You're going to get that tattooed on you, aren't you?

[Jenna]

237 targets in the regular season. He ended up only catching 128 of those targets. Yeah, yeah, not great, Bob.

[Dan Fates]

That's, that's speaks for itself.

[Mike Catalana]

And like I said it. The good news is he got paid. It's good for the Bills.

[Dan Fates]

It is good for the Bills because.

[Mike Catalana]

It goes towards, hey, we wanted to.

[Dan Fates]

But you know, we're happy for him. He gets a lot of money.

[Mike Catalana]

The bigger the deal, the better it is for them. And Compex.

[Dan Fates]

Yep.

[Jenna]

Going back home.

[Dan Fates]

Going back home. Reunited with Chad, former Bills wide receiver coach.

[Mike Catalana]

Buy him another truck.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, look at that. You were right.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Daniel Jeremiah tweeting. Not much happening in the wide receiver market. Draft is stacked at that position that I think is something to monitor because we've talked so much about the other guys that are out there and maybe the Bills do wait till later on because of where they're at in terms of. Of the position coming up in the draft.

[Mike Catalana]

I think they do wait. I think they wait.

[Jenna]

Absolutely.

[Mike Catalana]

And you know, it's funny. I'll just use Gabe as an example. You sign Gabe, they already have Christian Kirk. I. I don't know what happens. I'm not saying the Bills are getting Zay Jones back, but I'm saying is what happens in these rooms is you bring in a guy, somebody gets cut loose and this happens around the league. And look, I don't know if that devonte Parker. I'm not. I'm just mentioning guys that are going to be out there on the market and may be out there for a while. The idea is you want to draft a top end player.

[Jenna]

Yeah. That can make an immediate impact now and then emerge and become a true number one guy.

[Mike Catalana]

There's no way the Vikings want to trade Justin Jefferson, is there?

[Dan Fates]

No.

[Jenna]

I talked myself into T. Higgins.

[Dan Fates]

Oh. Earlier today.

[Jenna]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. We were there.

[Mike Catalana]

We watched it for the late, late first for their pick. 28th.

[Jenna]

Yep. And you restructure it. I was all in on it a few years ago when Brandon Iuk was. Had his little contract.

[Dan Fates]

I was like, I remember that.

[Jenna]

And everybody's like, you can't pay him. You could have, you could have figured it out again. Well, well, that's another thing. But again, I think the Bills are looking. You could have TB number two right now and next year if you move. Want to move on from Stefan Diggs, he would be a true number one, I think.

[Dan Fates]

I mean, certainly makes sense.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

It's a lot easier to have a rookie deal. I get that. It's. I think that's where they want to go. They want to get younger. I think that's the one thing we want to stress over some of these decisions that we didn't necessarily fully hit on. Whether it was the Poyer trey or Mitch Moore signings. So many people get caught up in.

[Mike Catalana]

They.

[Jenna]

They cut Jordan Poyer to save the money in the salary cap. Well, guess What? They then turned right around and gave that. They saved a little over $5 million or $5 million by cutting Jordan Poyer. They then slid that money in a direct check over to Taylor Rapp.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

They didn't save any money. They re spent the money. They wanted to get younger. They wanted to go with Taylor Rapp over Jordan Poyer. That's the bottom line. It was a football decision that had salary cap benefits. Don't get so caught up by saying these are salary cap casualties. The Bills aren't pocketing that money. They're not saving it. They're turning around and spending it. They're spending it on players that are younger. That's where the Bills are going to go.

[Mike Catalana]

I love. He went with the single shot.

[Dan Fates]

I feel like he re that.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes, he did. I was in the mirror.

[Jenna]

I was in the mirror all day.

[Mike Catalana]

You were doing the. The Republican response. It was right there. The fates response there. Yeah. Because this is it. The money is going to get spent again. And teams make decisions on players. Like I said, salary cap is the. Does salary come into play? Yes. Teams decide this guy is not performing at the level that we need. We're not thinking of him long term.

[Jenna]

I said talent first.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes. And it's where you are on the field. I think a guy like Mitch Morris was a perfect example. Mitch was consummate pro, really good Buffalo Bill. I think they looked at his contract and said, are we going to extend him out two more years? Is he going to be three years with the Bills? So this contract works and we're paying him into his 30s or do we make the move now and either you'll make a change and get younger at the position. 11 draft picks. You bring in another interior offensive lineman and it could hurt you. It absolutely could hurt you. Right. Because we know what Mitch was and he got signed right away.

[Jenna]

Correct.

[Mike Catalana]

And by the way, he doesn't count for the comp formula because he got released by the team. But that's the way. And that's why when you hear people push back and we say the salary cap's not real and they act like we don't understand that there is a cap and you have to abide by the cap. I keep repeating it. You have to be able to manipulate the cap. The good teams do it. They figure it out. It doesn't mean it doesn't apply. It just does not dictate every roster move. Like the NFL and the NFL Network would like you to believe that every move.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Is a salary cap casualty. Yeah. They Love that.

[Dan Fates]

That's a nice way of putting it.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

By the way, you're not in our future plans.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

And that's okay.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. And right. And there's some players that it, that it matters more than others in terms of how much they're making.

[Jenna]

Again, it's a lot. It's funnier and it's an easier shtick and a tweet to say the salary cap isn't real. I understand the inner workings of it, but don't sit there and say this team made this move because of the salary cap. They made the move because the Bills had made a conscious effort to get younger faster. They looked down the line and said, It's a 32 year old center or will be a 32 year old center. It's a 33 year old safety. We don't see them as a future. That's why they're doing these moves.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. And look, it is, it is about, like I said, that is about accounting. That's what people have to realize. That's the way the cap goes. But teams make those decisions all the time. And then they have to spend the cash. And by the way, NFL teams turn right around and spend the cash. The New York Giants let Saquan. They let Saquon Barkley go. Now, that wasn't a cap move, but you could say they let him go. It's not. They don't have the money. If they wanted to pay him, they had the money. They just gave Brian Burns.

[Jenna]

But I didn't have any money.

[Mike Catalana]

How much did they give Brian burns?

[Jenna]

A lot.

[Mike Catalana]

100 million, right?

[Dan Fates]

Million. Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. They allocate it differently. They're going to spend the money.

[Jenna]

And again, one last thing. It's funny because this is the time of the year where everybody says, salary cap, salary cap, salary cap. People say, you know, oh, this is a shot at Dan. What does Dan Fates think about all these things? And you have people that their job is the salary cap. And they're going, salary cap's real. The salary cap's real. Yet GMs are going to tell you the salary cap's real. They don't want to reveal their secrets. That's part of their. That's a tool they have in their tool belt. But somebody said, I'm sure the head of mall security would also argue that Santa is real, too. Like, these are things that you need to go for your business. I think it's a very funny tweet and a very good way to look at it. It's. It's It's a CPA saying, don't do your taxes at home. You need me. Okay. You know, I can do. I can do them at home and I can be pretty close.

[Mike Catalana]

Patriots are signing Jacoby. That's, that's, you know, it's fine because I, I would hope then for hope. I would think then that they're drafting one. But B, man, when you think about in the NFL, not that you guys aren't all, you know, rest comfortably knowing Josh Allen is your quarterback.

[Dan Fates]

How nice is that?

[Mike Catalana]

How about this? Ben Voland, who covers Patriots, says buzz. I'm hearing Sam Darnold is weighing offers between the Vikings and the Broncos.

[Dan Fates]

Wow.

[Mike Catalana]

You know what I mean? Like, this is what it. This is what it's.

[Dan Fates]

That is the reality.

[Mike Catalana]

Gardner MUU just got paid again. Good for him. Yeah. Not crazy money, but with the Viking, with the Raiders.

[Jenna]

So there are bad starting quarterbacks out there.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

But we have to hear about how the bill's windows closed.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

[Dan Fates]

Oh, man, that's.

[Mike Catalana]

So speaking of that, Josh restructured. Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Which freed up about 16 and a half. $16.7 million.

[Mike Catalana]

So between Josh's restructure, which took all of, you know, Brandon being gone. Hey, you want. Does that work? Hey, just sign that thing for the Josh thing and it's done. That's all it took. Right. It doesn't. Doesn't take anything from Josh and the NFL going. We made $28 billion last year. Let's raise the cap a little bit. That was 30. There's. There's almost $50 million of cap space.

[Dan Fates]

You guys really are insufferable. But I love you. No. And we were talking earlier off air. You look like LeBron.

[Mike Catalana]

He wanted more love.

[Dan Fates]

About some of the other places the Bills, if they wanted to look to restructure that they could this year or do extensions. Taryn Johnson was a name we haven't really heard about, but I think, because.

[Mike Catalana]

Taryn never gets talked about.

[Dan Fates]

Taryn deserves his time. He deserves his flowers play the most snaps on the Bills defense the last however many years he's been out there.

[Mike Catalana]

And I, I do believe he is gonna. He has a. I think he is a leader and I think he has taken his place sort of as that third guy back there.

[Dan Fates]

Definitely.

[Mike Catalana]

And now he's going to be the number one guy.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And I think. And it was interesting that Poyer and Hyde, to their credit, when they came out for that last game, they wanted him with him, you know, because they were all together.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

I would redo his Deal. I would extend his contract. I think the guy's still playing at an elite level and I would. Yes, I think he deserves that and deserves to get paid. So that would be a good thing.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, I agree. And again.

[Mike Catalana]

And who else is saying. Just not that many other.

[Dan Fates]

No. The possibility of Diggs, someone else and then Matt Milano. Yeah, you could do Ed, but I feel like you would do other guys before that. So do you think, Dan, that digs gets restructured?

[Jenna]

No.

[Mike Catalana]

There's only one way. I think that happens with digs and I'm just going to throw it out there. There is a way to do that to facilitate a trade if they ever wanted to do it. Because you can work with another team. You do the restructure with the player drops, the number, which would reduce the Bill's dead cap space and then you go with the team. Now, the more cap space that goes to the other team, the less you may get in compensation. Only bringing that up because, man, at this time of the year, a lot of stuff is on the table. But no, I don't believe. I don't believe they're doing that. And I don't. Like I said, I don't see some massive signing and free agency, but they can free up a little more space, push some other stuff to next year because they look pretty good on the cap next year, that accounting part of it. And then they could make some moves.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. I do want to note Leonard Floyd going to the Niners. Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Good for him.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. We talked about how he was going to follow the money, which. Respect.

[Jenna]

He's a mercenary.

[Mike Catalana]

He is.

[Jenna]

He is just a.

[Mike Catalana]

And an honest one.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, yeah. I respect. I respect. Hey, I really.

[Jenna]

The quarterback moves on.

[Mike Catalana]

It's like, Jenna, show me the money. Wherever the money is.

[Dan Fates]

That's how I am. That's why I got into tv.

[Mike Catalana]

Show me the money.

[Dan Fates]

Show me the. I just space out when you guys are talking. That's actually pretty true. Yeah, that is kind of true. So there's that. Anything else that we wanted to mention? I think we're going to do these a couple.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah. I think it's just. Was an interesting day around the league to see how the money got spent.

[Jenna]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

I think it was really interesting to see the running back market be so quick.

[Jenna]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And. And it's also why I say you never know who's going to be available. You never know who a team signs. You know, the Bills are not that, I think in the market for a running back. I don't think so. But like all Of a sudden, Green Bay makes their move for Jacobs and Aaron Jones is free. I think he's a heck of a player. You know what? He just. I'm not telling Jerry Jones what to do, but he just destroyed the Dallas Cowboys in a playoff game.

[Dan Fates]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

That'd be a good guy for the Cowboys to sign. I think he's a great player. A very good player. I say great, but it was just funny to see that in this whole pass rushing thing. You knew that was going to be. That was going to be a thing. I do believe the way the draft sets up a lot of offensive linemen and a lot of wide receivers, which is where I think it pulls back a little bit from the free agent market.

[Jenna]

I agree. Trent Sherfield, I feel like is back in Buffalo.

[Mike Catalana]

It could be. Yeah.

[Jenna]

I mean, I think that's a wide receiver.

[Mike Catalana]

Somebody like him.

[Jenna]

I think it's a wide receiver. 5. Special teamer. Sorry. And we cannot go through a video here on the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel without talking about Justin Shorter. Don't forget.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes. Justin Shorter.

[Jenna]

I know, I know. There are comments, people that have already commented before we've gotten here.

[Dan Fates]

Justin Shorter.

[Mike Catalana]

I'm gonna say this. I'm gonna say this a little early because we'll have this later. But from what I'm hearing, he's coming back next year in the best shape of his life.

[Dan Fates]

Training camp, darling.

[Mike Catalana]

Could be. Who was the guy last year?

[Dan Fates]

What's happening? Andy Isabella.

[Mike Catalana]

No, the other guy. Big guy. Wide receiver. Bigger. Bigger. Wide receiver. Think he had hands up on the practice squad? You know who I'm talking about?

[Dan Fates]

I thought it was Andy Isabella.

[Mike Catalana]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Dan Fates]

Sure.

[Mike Catalana]

Nope. Nope. Nope. All right. That's gonna bug me. Nope. All right, I'll find it.

[Jenna]

A.

[Mike Catalana]

Go to practice squad.

[Dan Fates]

I'm looking up. Let me see.

[Mike Catalana]

Why? Why am I so bad? That shouldn't have brought it up.

[Dan Fates]

I'm Tyrell Shavers.

[Mike Catalana]

Shavers.

[Dan Fates]

Really? I don't. I guess I don't really. Do you remember that he had a.

[Mike Catalana]

Big catch in a pre. Don.

[Jenna]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes, you do.

[Dan Fates]

Okay. You know who he is? I would say Andy Isabella. Way more.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes. Well, everybody loves Andy Isabella about it.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

Because he's small, fast.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Jenna]

Bill Belichick, like.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes. Coach on the field.

[Jenna]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

Heady player.

[Dan Fates]

All right, so, yeah. A busy first kind of day as we. So it's technically not the legal tampering period also.

[Mike Catalana]

You mean because they won't call it the legal tampering. Please.

[Dan Fates]

I said it's Technically not.

[Mike Catalana]

It is what? That's what it is. Why did the NFL name it something?

[Dan Fates]

I don't know, but I saw what's his name, Siciliano.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, he was pushing that all day today. That must be some NFL Network talking point that. It's not. Don't call it the legal. Yeah, that's what it is. It is the period of time where teams can talk to a player who is technically not a free agent because contract is up. They have this window of two days. Plus they can talk to the agent. Excuse me. Not to the player. It is the legal tampering period. Oh, what did they name it? Did it get a sponsor by the NFL?

[Dan Fates]

You know, the Jiffy Lube? Yeah, yeah. I don't know. Sources. Diana Rossini saying Packers wanted Aaron Jones to take at least a 50 pay cut entering the final year's deal.

[Mike Catalana]

So, Dan, explain to me. Hold on. I'm trying to think how this worked.

[Jenna]

But the packers should honor the contract that they signed with Aaron Jones so they can just.

[Mike Catalana]

So hold on. Aaron Jones was under contract. Okay, so they cut him for the cap. Right? Because they saved money on the cap.

[Jenna]

And then they didn't have any money.

[Mike Catalana]

Three times as much to Josh Jacobs. Did you think they might have liked Jacobs better?

[Jenna]

But do you think that they're saying. They're crying salary cap.

[Dan Fates]

This is when I check out, it.

[Mike Catalana]

Was a salary cap cut. Imagine that, 50% cut. But he signed a contract. You mean the NFL doesn't honor those contracts?

[Dan Fates]

All right, we're going to wrap up here.

[Jenna]

I love this. If anybody thinks I'm going to back down, I. I am Jon Snow pulling out the sword, like, just ready to take on everybody. I will not back down. Never back down. Never surrender.

[Dan Fates]

You're literally talking about sports takes.

[Mike Catalana]

And keep this in mind. When Dan is right, he tells you a million times. When he's wrong, he tells you previously he was right. Yeah, he will find a way to flip that.

[Dan Fates]

Find a way to.

[Mike Catalana]

Dan is right.

[Jenna]

So why you guys come here? I don't know what you want me to say so you can comment in. Dan is so annoying.

[Dan Fates]

All right, so we'll have plenty more coverage this week on the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel as free agency frenzy. How about we'll call it that?

[Mike Catalana]

Alliteration. That's what.

[Jenna]

Again, I do my taxes tomorrow. I'm losing my voice. Taxes.

[Mike Catalana]

You pay your taxes. Imagine your taxes.

[Dan Fates]

All right, still losing it. Sorry. I saw an Adam Schefter notification. All right, thank you for joining us. For Mike and Dan I'm Jenna. Please be sure to like, comment, subscribe and share if you know a Bills fan who would enjoy this. Again, more coverage on Buffalo plus YouTube channel coming up.

[Mike Catalana]

He tuned you out. Look at.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, he doesn't give. I. I can't swear anymore. Yeah. Thank you for joining us. We'll catch you next time here on Buffalo plus.

[Jenna]

Buffalo plus, your interactive look at the week in football brought to you by Connors and Ferris.

[Dan Fates]

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[Mike Catalana]

Thanks. Have a good one.

[Dan Fates]

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[Mike Catalana]

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[Dan Fates]

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[Mike Catalana]

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[Dan Fates]

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[Mike Catalana]

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[Dan Fates]

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[Mike Catalana]

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