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Scoop City: Inside The NFL
Why Stefon Diggs OTA attendance is BOTH damage control and good for the Patriots
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- [00:00]
Raj Panjabi
Hi, I'm Raj Panjabi from HuffPost.
- [00:02]
Noah Michaelson
And I'm Noah Michaelson, also from HuffPost.
- [00:05]
Raj Panjabi
And we're the hosts of Am I Doing It Wrong? A new podcast that explores the all too human anxieties we have about trying to get our lives right.
- [00:12]
Noah Michaelson
Each week on the podcast, Raj and I pick a new topic that we want to understand better and bring a guest expert on to talk us through how to get it right.
- [00:20]
Raj Panjabi
And we're talking like legit credible experts.
- [00:22]
Noah Michaelson
Doctors, PhDs all around, superheroes from HuffPost and Acast Studios. Check out Am I Doing It Wrong wherever you get your podcast.
- [00:31]
Paige
Hi, it's Paige from Giggly Squad. Let's be real. Cat dads are in their golden era. Temptations, America's number one cat treat brand, is celebrating how seriously irresistible these guys are. They've got sensitivity, snack, timing, precision, and their cats adore them. Add in a handful of Temptations treats and boom, you've got a certified cat dad. Show more love to the cat dad in your life with Temptations Cat Treats. And tag your fave moments with catdadsighting. You know we're dying to see them.
- [01:02]
Chase Daniel
Race the rudders, race the sails. Race the sails. Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching. Over.
- [01:08]
Mike Jones
Roger, wait, is that an enterprise sales solution?
- [01:13]
Unknown
Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors. With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title and more. We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign. Get started today at LinkedIn.com results, terms and conditions apply.
- [01:49]
Mike Jones
All right, everyone, welcome into Scoop City. I'm Chase Daniel. Biggest storylines out of OTAs on today's show. Who showed up and who didn't. Thank you for showing up here. We really appreciate you. We know it's the summer months and we love that you're hanging out with us. Do not forget to like and subscribe for the latest scoop today. National NFL writer for the athletic Mike Jones, who you know I had to do it on the show today. Lots to get in. Big wedding weekend for Bills quarterback Josh Allen. But what about those new vows for running back James Cook? The Athletics, Joe Biscalio all also joins us coming up. And T.J. watt, not in Pittsburgh during the OTA voluntary portion of their program. The latest out of Steel City. But we start with one player who has been in the spotlight the last couple days to say the least after some off the field stuff. But Monday's step on Diggs is back at practice for the New England Patriots. Here's what we're hearing around the league Last week, a video went viral with Stefon Diggs, who was not at the start of voluntary OTAs, but out on a boat partying, to say the least. The video showed some unknown pink powder in a bag. We all saw it. If you've been living on the rock, go Google, search it. It'll show up. It was, needless to say, a very bad look. Today. Diggs is back on land, back with the patriots, as week two of OTAs is underway. Mike, is this a bit of damage control for Diggs or should this be a sigh of relief for Pat's fans and coaches?
- [03:16]
Unknown
I mean, it could be both, you know, him realizing, you know, I better get back to work and show that I am committed. And, you know, obviously he probably wishes that video hadn't gotten out there for the Patriots. I mean, look, it's the voluntary off season. They don't have to be there. You would rather a video of him working out somewhere gone viral rather than him with mysterious being substance. But he's back there where he needs to be. We'll see how this plays out, see how Mike Vrabel handles things. But I think that everybody's probably glad that he's there now and, you know, they can start focusing rather than keep asking questions about his whereabouts and what he was doing on that boat.
- [03:59]
Mike Jones
This is not new. Like, obviously when you're filming, everything is out in social media. I remember when I was in college, thank goodness they did not have social media. That was like before Twitter. That was before Instagram. It's just so much in today's society is filmed. Everyone has a phone, everyone has a camera, everyone has access to the Internet. So people want to go ahead and post the stuff. You know, people in NFL players, they like to party, they like to go out there and, and have a good time. Now my issue with it, one is obviously we're not sure what's in the pink bag. But two, I don't think it's a distraction in the locker room. But where it does become a distraction is when Coach Vrabel has to answer questions about it when he's not even there. And that, that was my whole takeaway is like, hey, like when you're doing this and you're signing up for a new team, who's trying to have a new image for a coach, that's really a no nonsense coach. And you go out there and you tie his hands and he's been the head coach for two to three months. That's sort of the issue that I have with it. Now a little bit of background because I'm going to ask you this, Mike. A little bit of background on his contract. He signed a three year contract, $69 million contract with $26 million guaranteed. He signed obviously with the Patriots in March. He suffered a torn ACL during the 2024 regular season as we know it right now. He is yet to pass a physical. Now that he's practicing, he probably has. Should there be any consideration of cutting Stefon Diggs to make a message about the viral incident or do you think it's overload? Because I've seen a lot of stuff on the Internet saying hey, they can get out of it. When can they get out of it? No one really knows.
- [05:46]
Unknown
Yeah, I mean, I think that that's overreaction. Again, we don't know all the details. This isn't something where he's done something violent, where he's done something that, I mean this could have been way worse. We've seen, you know, problems. If you're Mike Vrabel, obviously you want to send a message. You can do that by having him get up in front of the team and apologize for being a distraction or something like that. I think that cutting him would be an overreaction because he's running around out there on the field doing drills. Maybe he did pass his physical, but yeah, to, to cut him over the OTAs, which is a voluntary time. I think that would be a little harsh.
- [06:27]
Mike Jones
Yeah, overreaction too. And now let's talk about on the field play. Because what Stephon Diggs did last year before he hurt his acl, I thought he was having a really good season. Now he's not the speed burner, he's not the down the field that we were used to seeing back in his heyday with Josh Allen and all those other quarterbacks he played with. He was very good in the intermediate range, which something that I think would help Drake May out. You can line up in the slot, you can line them up outside. How do you view this for Drake Mays development? Because that was the biggest issue right, last year, Mike. They, they, the Patriots could not get anything going offensively. I mean, here's the depth chart right now. Demario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, Mack Hollins, Kaysh Bout and Jaylen Polk and Javon Baker. So it's not like these huge names out there. He's obviously the number one. How do you see it helping Drake May on the field?
- [07:21]
Unknown
Well, look, when you have a young quarterback who is still trying to get familiar and comfortable with the Offense, you need to have people that you can rely upon. You need to be able to know, okay, if I'm supposed to go here with the ball, this guy's going to be there. A veteran who understands the workload and the responsibilities of the quarterback and how he can help him out. I mean, when you look at Stefon Diggs, didn't matter if it was Kirk Cousins, if it was Josh Allen, you know, he was always reliable, always dependable, you know, almost like a perennial 1400 yard receiver. Yeah. Like you said, was not the burner last year, but he still, I think things start a little bit slowly, but once he got comfortable, he was really producing well and you know, having a pretty good connection with CJ Stroud. So for Drake May, just having a guy who's been through it all, who's seen every type of coverage, who also can go to the huddle and be like, hey, I'm seeing this. They're trying to do this. And knowing how to react to that will be the best thing for him because like you said, the guys that he had last year were very, you know, nobody that could win a one on one matchup. Guys who were still trying to learn the league themselves. And so this is just a security blanket for him. And if you can have a guy who, like you said, he does well in intermediate, that's great. Gets the ball out of his hands quickly and what do you have, you have Josh McDaniels who is a timing route type of guy as an offensive coordinator. And so he's not going to be hold. Having his quarterback hold onto the ball and get downfield. He's getting the ball out quickly and Stefon Diggs will be perfect in understanding those concepts and what they want from them.
- [08:58]
Mike Jones
No, that's, that's, that's, that's such a great point because you know when you watch Stephon Diggs can still create separation. And I think that's the biggest thing that the Patriots receivers lack last year is when you put on film Drake May was having to throw absolute rockets and perfect placement on footballs last year and it just takes a little bit of pressure off them. And really Josh McDaniels and Drake may to go out there and be perfect every single time. So hopefully he clears his physical. Hopefully all the partying's outside. But from Diggs career just getting started in New England to now Frank Ragnow, who announced his retirement yesterday, he's an all pro center. Mike, the Lions already have two new coordinators to replace their offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn both got head coaching jobs. Now they have to rework the offensive line. How is this going to play out in Detroit? Because, man, I was high on Detroit and now with Frank retiring.
- [09:57]
Unknown
Yeah, there's a lot of change and, you know, it's going to be something where. And also your. Your offensive coordinator is from inside the building. So, you know, look, he's got good familiarity with Dan Campbell, both former Sean Payton disciples, but there's still going to be some change, and it's not going to be a seamless transition. And then you throw in the fact that your center, who is the anchor of your offensive line, who helps your quarterback with pass protections and things like that, is not there anymore. And it looks like maybe your second round pick is going to have to step in. He was taking snaps here in OTAs. Now, again, it's very early. They could maybe find a veteran. We'll see what happens. But, yeah, this is a big piece. Is that, you know, I think four or five time Pro Bowler, three time All Pro. It's not just a slouch. But, you know, he's not even 30 yet. That's the thing that's just, you know, remarkable. But when you look at his injury history, he had a fractured throat, you know, pectoral tear, turf toe, groin injuries. His body, you know, just really took a pounding. And so when people say, hey, you know, want to criticize guys for trying to make sure they get paid? You know, think about this, that the window is very short, very small. And so it's unfortunate for the Lions, but, you know, he came to the place where he decided he had to walk away.
- [11:19]
Mike Jones
Yeah. And then, look, I was teammates with him in 2020, back when I was at the Detroit Lions, and he. He's like an iron man. I mean, he was literally every week, every practice after game, he was all incredibly sore. And he would always fight through, like, he would rarely miss practice. He cared so much about the team and the game that he would put his body on the line consistently. And I think that's a biggest. The biggest misconception out there for NFL fans. They're like, oh, okay, just go out there and play. It's a very physical and violent sport, especially for people in the offensive line and defense line, in the trenches, because they are just knocking heads every single day. And you sort of see these once or twice a year, right? Mike Pawa, like, hey, I'm going to go ahead and retire early. Say early. It's 29. He played a long time in the league. But a 29 year old, tiring people thinks in his prime sounds crazy, but a lot of these people and a lot of these players, you know, he's only retiring after seven seasons. They end up making really difficult decisions. And you saw his announcement, right? My, my issue a little bit. Not, not issue with it, like he's able to do it. But my issue lies with the Lions, like where are they going to return? And they're losing two interior offensive linemen with Frank Ragnow now retiring. And I saw this tweet and I thought it was really good. It's by Brett Coleman and he just sort of paints the picture of what this interior offensive line could look like. He said they are 1 gram Glasgow injury away from having the youngest guard, center, guard trio in the league. And they also have a brand new play caller who's installing a new offense. I saw some Jared Goff quotes about it, how they're trying to get on the same page. He says, I don't like predicting great teams to take a step, step back but man, these are tough hurdles to overcome and that's where I'm coming from. From a quarterback perspective, if you're Jared Goff, you, you have a very talented backfield. I would say before Frank retired, they were one of the top three offensive lines in all of football. How are they going to replace them? And a lot of people don't understand what the center does. Now I know Jared Goff will take over this, but he controls the entire line of scrimmage. He is the, the, the Mike linebacker on the offensive side of the ball. He's calling out protections, he's calling out run game mic points. He's telling exactly for what to do. So do you think they'll take a step back? Losing Ben Johnson, losing Frank Ragnall Offensively, new new offensive corner John Morton brings more of a Sean Payton type scheme. They're going to keep some stuff from Ben Johnson. Where do you see this team ending up offensively?
- [13:51]
Unknown
I mean there's still a quality team, you know, top to bottom. But I do think that, you know, offensively they're probably going to take a little bit of a step back just because of the learning curve. And then like you said, the interior, the heart of your offensive line is new and unproven and defensive coordinators are going to try to take advantage of that. And so that just puts more pressure on Jared Goff. And so yeah, it's just the nature of this business. When you have success, people try to, you know, they're going to poach your offensive coordinator, your defensive coordinator, then it's just unfortunate that you add the injury, you know, the early retirement to it as well. But when you think about the rest of the division, you know, obviously the packers are in a good position. They've bolstered their wide receiving core. Jordan Love, and, you know, another year under his belt. Their defense has added some more pieces. You look at the Vikings, they obviously have J.J. mcCarthy who's going to be their quarterback, but they've done more around him. So it's going to be tough for the Lions. You know, I don't think that they're going to run away with this division. They might not even win this well.
- [14:58]
Mike Jones
And that's, that's a great point that was going to lead me to my next question. So you're like reading my mind right here. Are the Lions still the biggest threat to the Eagles in the nfc? Based on everything we're looking at, right, you're saying they might not even win their division. Obviously, there's the Rams out there. There's some other teams. Where do you see the Lions fitting in in the hierarchy of the nfc?
- [15:15]
Unknown
I mean, they're probably a wild card team right now, when you think of it. And we, again, we don't even know what Chicago is going to look like with Ben Johnson. Right. But if you just look at what the Vikings bring back, they have no change as far as that from a coaching standpoint. Personnel, they've gotten better. The packers have continuity as well. So they are probably going to go back and forth, head to head for that division right there. Then you look and you wonder, you know, what's Washington going to be like, you know, challenging Philadelphia? Is it going to be a little bit of a sophomore slump or can they continue to take a step forward with Deebo Samuel? Tampa Bay, They've got a new offensive coordinator, but they've got their core largely intact. You know, you mentioned the Rams. We'll see what happens with the 49ers, you know, so if this is a tough, it's a, it's a tough conference there. And so that's why I just, I think that if you're the Lions, yes, you've got a lot of good pieces, but it's a little early adversity and we'll see, you know, where they fall in this.
- [16:16]
Mike Jones
Yeah, Dan Campbell's gonna have to earn his money. Let's stay in the NFC and go down to Atlanta. One of the biggest names not present at OTAs is Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins. They posted A picture couple days ago. They were at Disney with the family. I love it. It's voluntary. Do your thing. But Mike, we know Kirk Cousins wants out of Atlanta. What's the latest you've heard on Kirk Cousins?
- [16:35]
Unknown
Yeah, like you said, he's not there and he doesn't have to be, you know, again, before we freak out. But because of the situation with him not being that starter and obviously we know he wants out of there. He's, you know, when it became clear they were going with Michael Penck Jr. They would have. His camp would have preferred, I'm told for him to have been traded around the draft time. But, you know, they did not find a trade partner Atlanta that that suited them, but they are of the mindset of we don't have to trade him. We can use a valuable veteran quarterback to back up our young quarterback, Michael Pennix Jr. Who also has some injury history. But I think that they are receptive to listening to see what kind of offers they get. I know that there have been some teams that have inquired, the Steelers being one of them, I'm told, as I asked around to find out, you know, if there's anybody sniffing around him. But for right now, they don't feel desperate that they have to make a move. There's a long, you know, off season. We'll see what happens. We'll see how things play out. We'll see what Aaron Rodgers decides with the pack of the Steelers. Then be like, okay, he's out. Now we got to really call and sweeten this pot and see if we can get Cousins. Maybe that's some type of situation that plays out. Right now the Saints are not one of those teams that have called about them, but individually, could they wind up. You don't want to really help your divisional guys, but we've seen some do it. But you know, there's a long amount of time here. The Falcons would be. They'll listen, but they don't feel pressure to have to move them.
- [18:04]
Mike Jones
Yeah, look, and when you can have a veteran quarterback be a backup, not only are you good if Michael Penn X Jr who like you said, has injury history, he can come in in a pinch. And obviously we know Kirk can play at a high level. We need a lot of interceptions down the stretch. But you said something interesting about the Steelers, right? Inquiring. And, and, and I've talked about the Steelers a lot and we all have. Right. Because right now they currently have Mason, Rudolph and Howard as their quarterbacks. Will Howard from and along with Skyler Thomas. So they have three guys that really haven't played a lot of football. If you're DK Metcalf who just got traded there and gave him a lot of money, you're like, hey, we're going to have a quarterback for you right now. They don't have a quarterback technically that would probably make him happy or other skill players happy. You say Kirk Cousins timing of this whole thing because there's only 10 days left, nine days left of the Pittsburgh's offensive OTAs and then there's a six week break, five week break for camp and then we get into camp. What's the latest this can. This can happen? Because a quarterback, whether you're Aaron or Kirk, you want to get in and you want to be able to learn the offense. How, how much longer are they going to wait before they make a decision?
- [19:17]
Unknown
Yeah, you know, that's the thing that's very interesting to me as well because like you said, you have new pieces and you're trying to get a feel. Now the good thing with both of these quarterbacks is that they played a lot of football, they've been in a lot of systems, they've seen a lot and obviously, you know, they're probably going to get some input into this offense. Now, would you have preferred that you're working on this playbook and what it's going to look like in May and in, in June? Obviously, yes, but as we saw with Tom Brady. Now look, Tom Brady's great, but they did not have a traditional off season in Tampa that year because of COVID and they got to work and, you know, really hit it hard in training camp and installed things. You had some hiccups early on, but it's not like, oh, the Steelers are going to be screwed because they didn't have Aaron Rodgers and otas. Yes, you want it, you want that timing, but there's off season where these guys can vacation together and throw and have a playbook and study. Obviously, Kirk Cousins is a film junkie. He is a guy who will, you know, if he got the playbook late, he would still make sure he was ready to go in time for ota. I mean, training camp, same thing with Aaron Rodgers. So yeah, you would like to have him there. But again, it's not the end of the world if you don't have them. It's just that way. You just don't have anything hanging over you, any uncertainty as you go into your off season vacation.
- [20:45]
Mike Jones
Look, here's my take on the whole situation. I think that the Falcons should feel Just fine with paying Kirk Cousins. I think he's owed 27 and a half million dollars and, and you say that not lightly, but you look at the injury history, you look at everything that's gone on with Michael Pennix and I do believe that Kirk can still play at a high level. I don't think his Achilles was 100% healed last year. We, we talked about it quite a lot on our Fox show, the facility and we even broke some stuff down on how his stance was changed and this, that and another. You know, what happens If Michael Penix Jr. Struggles? What happens now? I'm not saying Kirk's the answer. I'm sure Kirk wants to start but it's not the end of the world for me if he ends up staying in Atlanta. Kirk Cousins not the only big name not to show up, which is, seems to be everyone these days. But TJ Watt not on hand in Pittsburgh for their voluntary workouts. Watt is looking for a new contract heading into the final year of his deal. Mike, any concerns about T.J. watt and the Steelers getting a deal done as they wait for our guy Aaron Rodgers to make a decision?
- [21:43]
Unknown
No, I don't, I'm not concerned. I don't think that they are even, you know, Rooney said that, look, we want to get something done. They are in agreement. It's not like a situation where they are, you know, where there's animosity here it's business and this is how players with leverage conduct their business. I think that they'll wind up getting something done and you know, it'll be interesting to see because these quarterbacks, they've made an offer to him, these non quarterback players are getting richer and richer. Deals they've made, they've made an offer to him. It's not where he wants it to be. Is he going to be able to get it where he wants it to be? Well, you know, you drag it out a little bit longer and continue to negotiate. He is on record saying he wants to be there. His brother has sounded off saying but he's not going to go. He doesn't want to go into a lame duck contract situation. So yes, he wants to be there but at the same time he's got business on his mind where he wants to make sure he's taken care of for the long term and they understand. Look, he is the guy that stirs up this whole defense. He's the engine. They've got to get him. No matter who your quarterback is, you've got to have him taken care of and I think they will get it done.
- [22:59]
Mike Jones
Yeah, look, he is the game wrecker there. I would imagine that he's going to surpass every player non quarterback for the most in NFL history right now. Miles Garrett, he is averaging $40 million a year. He's got $122 million 796, $120 in guaranteed salary. That's an interesting one. Nick Bosa's got 122.5 million and Jamar Chase 112 guaranteed. Where do you view this contract, especially if you have to pay Rogers 30 million for one year? Probably. Where do you view this contract coming in and do you think it's going to be the highest paid? Because I think it deserves it.
- [23:37]
Unknown
Do you have to pay Rogers 30 million? He said he'd play for 10. You know. You know, I can't.
- [23:43]
Mike Jones
There has to be a three in front of that one.
- [23:44]
Unknown
I mean, look, that's what he said. Well, put your money where your mouth is. You know, we'll see, you know, if he is serious about wanting to play for a team that is going to give him a chance to win. Now again, I don't know if they actually are going to be better than Baltimore, Cincinnati, but hey, anyway, I don't know what Rogers is going to command, but they know that they have to take care of Watt. Look, he is a guy who's been defensive player of the year. You know, if we ever could get out of just naming quarterbacks MVPs, the guy would be in the MVP discussion, you know, and so I think that they understand his worth. He's going to be right up there if he doesn't top. No, look, they're in the same division, so you know, he wants to top Miles Garrett financially, probably competitive wise. It's going to be right around there. You know, it's just what it costs now. And look, the cap keeps going up and up and up. So I know Steelers, they're conservative, but you have to pay for quality and there's no substitute for a TJ walk.
- [24:46]
Mike Jones
And I'm all for guys getting paid, believe me. I was on the NFL Player association for multiple years. I understand it. Get as much money as you can. All right, coming up, Josh Allen has been at OTAs. James Cook has not. The latest out of Buffalo as OTAs continue for one of the league's biggest super bowl contenders. I'm pretty sure they're favored in every single game this year. That's next on Scoop City.
- [25:14]
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Paige
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- [26:14]
Chase Daniel
Race the rudders, race the sails, Race the sails. Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching. Over. Roger.
- [26:22]
Mike Jones
Wait, is that an enterprise sales solution?
- [26:26]
Unknown
Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors. With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title and more. We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign. Get started today at LinkedIn.com results, terms and conditions.
- [26:42]
APPLAUSE.
- [26:56]
Mike Jones
All right, everyone, welcome back to Scoop City. No. James Cook and Orchard Park. As the Bills continue their off season program this week, the Athletics. Joe Biscalia joins us to talk all things Buffalo. Thank you for joining us. How you doing?
- [27:08]
Chase Daniel
I'm great. Chase and Mike, how are you guys?
- [27:10]
Mike Jones
Good, we're great, we're great. Excited to have you on. Let's start with James Cook. Though we know it's still the voluntary portion of the program, any concern that Cook is not out there with the team right now?
- [27:23]
Chase Daniel
I know, I. You can probably speak to this too. I don't really think it's that big of a deal, if I'm perfectly honest. I mean, it's voluntary stuff. The Bills have been really poignant about pointing that exact fact out this entire time. Brandon Bean, Sean McDermott have both said that they have been in contact with James Cook. They think he's, he's a good guy. I can, you know, just speak from my interactions, you know, really down to earth. Nice guy. He just, you know, he wants to make sure he can control what he can control and, you know, if it's a voluntary portion. And the other piece of the puzzle here is, you know, as positions, if you rank positions of importance of, of who needs to be there for OTAs like running backs, kind of far down the list because there's no contact and there's no, I mean, no physicality whatsoever. So he's been in this scheme for two plus years. He's been with Joe Brady for over a year and a half now. He's been with Josh Allen all three. I don't think they're making too big of a st it and I. When things ramp up at mandatory minicamp next week, I think he'll be here.
- [28:26]
Unknown
He's. He's a guy that, they know his worth and I imagine that his teammates, they're not concerned by him not being there either. They understand as well, right?
- [28:36]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, they have no reservations about, about him and, and what, and what's going on with him. They always kind of take the standpoint of business is the business, business will take care of itself and, and they're just kind of going on from it. But the bigger question about this entire thing is whether or not that they're going to have the capacity to actually give him this sort of extension.
- [29:00]
Mike Jones
That's what my next question was going to be because he's coming off his best year. 16 rushing touchdowns. He, he did. We remember the whole Instagram Live thing. He pinned 15 million a year. What do they have to pay him?
- [29:12]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, it's, it's not a ton when you look at the specifics of their cap situation beyond this year, because you look at what they based their entire off season around, and that was taking care of their own. They actually had the cap flexibility because if you remember, you know, a year ago, they slashed all the, all the main veterans that you remember, like Jordan Poyer, Troy, Mitch Morse, everybody was gone just to improve their cap health. And they traded Stefan Diggs to do all this, to be able to have this flexibility in 2025. And they did so by extending Christian Benford, who's one of the up and coming cornerbacks in the league, trail Bernard, their linebacker, who they think is, is a stud, is going to be in the middle of their lineup for the rest of Josh Allen's prime. Greg Russo, who they really believe in his future and they think potentially they got him at a pretty low cost if he actually hits a ceiling. And Khalil Shakir, a guy who's going to be a security blanket for Josh Allen, for the rest of his prime. So yeah, that's what they based this entire operation on. But because of that they have all of these questions in 2026, they don't have a ton of cap space as it projects right now. They're going to have to make some moves and they also have a bunch of other positions that are kind of coming up into question. And at running back they have a potential in house replacement in Ray Davis who showed he was pretty good when he got the chance last year. So I think it's one of those that it's going to have to be a wait and see. Is it going to be 15 million? I would be hard pressed to think that that ever is going to fruition unless he has an extreme number. Because the one thing you have to think about is last year, even though he had these ridiculous touchdown numbers, I mean he was only on the field for under 50% of the snaps and that's tough to pay because then you start to think about, okay, efficiency, is that touchdown regression going to become a thing? Is it sustainable? What type of role do they envision for him? So there's just a lot of questions about that.
- [31:10]
Mike Jones
In a day and age though, where we are seeing running back salaries go up and up and up for production and sort of a turn in the league's game of hey, let's run the football more short, intermediate passes, we, we've all heard the two high safeties. Look, all of it's coming back. It feels like it's a big circle and it's going back to like the 1970s, 80s where we're running the football. Do you think it'll get to a point if he feels disrespected that he holds out?
- [31:38]
Chase Daniel
No, I don't. Just because it doesn't. I don't think it benefits him to hold out at this point because if he has these questions about him, whether or not he can be the focal point, 65, 70 plus percent of the guy type of guy, would he rob himself of the potential opportunity to do that? Because here's another piece of the puzzle here. Last year he was basically in a 1A 1B situation with Ty Johnson. And that is another concerning thing about, okay, are you going to pay this guy for this amount of time? So I think for him going into his final year, I don't, I don't think there's really any concern right now from the Bills that he's going to be a holdout or a hold in or anything along those lines. He's just I think they trust in him. I think Josh Allen trusts in him and I think he, he, he'll wind up playing.
- [32:34]
Mike Jones
Let's move on to a former teammate of mine, Joey Bosa. He last played in a full season in 2019, which is sort of crazy. In the past three seasons, Bosa's missed 23 regular season games. In 2024, he generated five sacks, career low. But he was able to ink a one year, $12.61 million, I believe deal. And then he gets hurt. So where do we land with Joey Bosa and how serious is his injury?
- [32:59]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, that's a tough one. I mean, they were very careful how they worded it. Sean McDermott said at this point they think he's going to be good to go for training camp. But he also made sure to say throw in there, that, you know, it is. We're still in the exploratory stages because it just happened last week. And so they, they're trying to be careful. They're trying to protect themselves because Bill's fans, as you guys both know, they are rabid as all get out. And if they hear one thing, they're going to hang on to that thing. So you have some qualifiers in your sentences if you're one of the higher ups at the Bills. And that's, that's just what they did. My guess is he'll be good with that. With that calf injury that he struggled. I think, I think they called it a calf strain, but still it is time on task and that is big to the Bills. So if this thing extends even a little bit into training camp, I mean, we saw this is a much different example because he was a rookie, but Cole Bishop, their second round safety last year, he missed a bunch of camp time because of an injury. And, and it, and they were probably going to start him as long as he showed to be proficient enough. But because of the injury happened and it took away camp time, that time on task wasn't there. So they just weren't. Didn't feel comfortable enough with it. So with Bosa, he has the experience, but still they want to be careful. It's a kind of a dangerous game here. How much do you put on his plate at training camp? How much do you put on his plate of preseason? How much do you put on his plate in the regular season? If we're perfectly honest, with him missing, as you pointed out, the 23 games, which I think is when I went back and calculated is 45% of his regular season games over the last three years, and that is not great.
- [34:39]
Unknown
So Joe, do you think that he, the ideal thing then would be for him to be more of a situational type of guy where they don't overload this. And so right now you don't even really need him so much on the field when you're just going to mainly use him in third downs anyway.
- [34:54]
Chase Daniel
They, they are probably looking at him as a starter, but they rotate so much with their guys that I would anticipate he is kind of in the 50 to 60% range. If I had to guess when he's at, when he's at full capacity of snaps, I should say. And you know, Russo would take the lion's share and they do have some situational pass rushers at the throw in there like AJ Apanessa started every game for them last year and so he'll be the fill in as the starter whenever Bosa can't go. He's going to get a bunch of time out there once, once the six game suspension for Michael Hoyt is over, he's going to get a bunch of reps. They have the third round pick they just drafted Landon Jackson, they have another guy they drafted on day three last year and Javon Solomon who they like. So their defensive end room is loaded to the point where they can manage his reps. But still, I think what they, what they've kind of found out in the Von Miller year, if we take it back to 20, 22, is that after they had signed him, they said okay, go get him played a super high percentage of snaps, tears his ACL on Thanksgiving and we know what happened from that point forward. So I think they knowing what they know now about these older guys and wanting to preserve them for when it's most important, that being the playoffs. Since they haven't been able to get to the Super bowl since McDermott, Bean and Allen have come to town, that I think that is going to be top of mind above all else.
- [36:24]
Mike Jones
And that's where I'm going to transition. Like an ask, I mean, do the Bills need to reach or win a Super bowl this year for the season to be considered success? Because even last year, right there was not a lot of expectations outside of Buffalo. I went on national TV and I said hey Josh, Allen's going to have to be Superman to win nine games because we weren't sure about the roster and sure enough he was first, first MVP and he's played excellent. But what do the Bills need to do to get over that hump?
- [36:52]
Chase Daniel
Yeah, it, there wasn't really, that high of expectations in Buffalo last year either. So it kind of caught everybody, Everybody by surprise. And to be perfectly honest with both of you guys, when I was sitting there heading to Arrowhead for that AFC Championship game, I thought to myself, I think the Bills are going to be in the super bowl by the time this thing is over with. And they almost did it. They. They almost did it. I mean, they had, they had the ball at the end of the game, down three points, and yeah, it, it just, it got away from them. And the despondent look on Josh Allen's face watching him go from the, the press conference area to walk on that long walk down that narrow hall, you know, it well, chase that, that long hallway back over, over to the visitors locker room. It was. I'll never forget it. It just looked like he wasn't there, even though he was walking. And so I think that's going to stick with him. And that, to me, is as good of a motivator as any, because you look at the team, they're bringing back a lot of pieces like their offensive line, which in my opinion was one of the best in the league last year. They're all back, and this probably will be the last go round that they have this starting five because they've got some guys coming up in free agency in 26. You know, the entire running back room is back. I think they made a sneaky good addition in Joshua Palmer to the receiver room that I think is going to help them with separation, which is something that they severely lacked last year at Boundary. And then they got to hope that Dalton Kincaid is actually healthy this year. So, so that's the offensive side of things. And then on defense, that was some of their biggest questions. They absolutely hammered defense all off season long. Like really the only thing they did on offense was Joshua Palmer. The rest of it was defensive end, defensive tackle, defensive end, defensive. No, they drafted two defensive tackles. I'm. I'm sorry. They drafted two cornerbacks, they drafted a safety. They, they sign. They extended Terrell Bernard for the long term, they extended Benford for the long term, they expended Rousseau for the long term. So they, they are trying to figure this thing out on defense to do just enough because Josh Allen played the best football of his career last year. And if they get more of that, knowing that he's about to hit the age of 30 and the prime doesn't last forever, then this is one of the best shots they're going to have at the thing.
- [39:18]
Unknown
So did they, did they do Enough. Do you feel like.
- [39:23]
Chase Daniel
That'S, that's a tough one because they had such a minimal amount of cab space and they, they really tried to do it efficiently with the Bosa signing and if that doesn't pan out, that's going to be a tough one because one of their biggest, one of their biggest defensive downfalls last year is they couldn't get heat on the opposing quarterback when it mattered and, and they had to go away from themselves. It worked against Baltimore because, you know, Bills are basically a zone team pretty much exclusively. And against Baltimore it worked. They pivoted to, man, they blitzed the heck out of Lamar Jackson. They tried to make him into a passer and they, they disallowed some of his scrambling and it worked for them to a certain degree to where they could actually get off the field. The Chiefs, they had to go to the same thing because they weren't able to get heat on Patrick Mahomes. It did not work whatsoever. Now, a little bit different circumstances, Benford goes out with a concussion early in that game. It subs in Kair Elam. Elam was kind of a disaster of a first round pick and it just didn't go well for, for him or them, but they just, they couldn't sustainably play man coverage against that team in that spot without any heat on the quarterback. And that's what we saw happen.
- [40:34]
Mike Jones
All right, well, Joe, before we get you out of here, I'm going to have to ask you probably one of the hardest hitting journalistic questions you've ever had.
- [40:41]
Chase Daniel
I already know it's coming right now.
- [40:43]
Mike Jones
In your entire life. So this weekend, Josh Allen and Haley Steinfeld got married. Tell us something that we don't know about the ceremony. Who got invites? What suit was he wearing? What dress was she wear? Do you know any of this?
- [40:56]
Chase Daniel
They were under a strict gag order at the facilities all week leading up to it.
- [41:02]
Mike Jones
Really?
- [41:03]
Chase Daniel
Yes. The only thing that I know of are just like those, you know, those random pictures that you see on the Internet of the whole thing, seeing some of his teammates. Like I saw Mitchell.
- [41:14]
Mike Jones
Yeah. Okay.
- [41:16]
Chase Daniel
Dawson Knox was there, their practice squad quarterback from last year, Shane Bouchell was there, which I thought was kind of an upset. Yeah.
- [41:24]
Mike Jones
Hey, so, hey, quarterbacks stick together, man.
- [41:28]
Chase Daniel
They really do. They really do. I saw Gabe Davis was there. I have to imagine Dion Dawkins was there, if he, you know, Doc was throughout the date.
- [41:36]
Mike Jones
So his shirt was off too, on the dance floor, no doubt.
- [41:39]
Chase Daniel
Oh, I'm sure. But yeah, I, I don't have any inside intel? I wonder if this was like an NDA situation which, you know, celebrity phones up, like.
- [41:51]
Mike Jones
Yeah. Does she come around the facility and the games? I mean, obviously now that he's playing there, we're going to see her more. But is she as visible as people see? Like, what's the deal with that? Are they very serious about like protecting her? I'm guessing they are.
- [42:09]
Chase Daniel
I've never seen her at camp. I know she goes to games, but it's not like a big to do. Like whenever Taylor, when Taylor came to Buffalo for that one game, it was this huge thing and they had to get her a separate entrance and all this other stuff. I mean, it's Taylor Swift, she's, she's a megastar. But with Hailee Steinfeld, you know, I know she, it's almost as though she like sneaks in because you never hear anything about it. And I'm fairly certain she just roams the concourses. Not like all game on, but. Yeah, but you know, she just, she just tries to, tries to blend in, so ain't no good on it.
- [42:48]
Mike Jones
Well, we appreciate you joining us, man. Thank you so much. Coming up, he's already a Super bowl champ and the reigning NFL offensive player of the year. Now he's hurdled his way to another title. That's right. Saquon Barkley has leapfrogged. Next on Scoop City.
- [43:08]
H
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- [43:38]
Raj Panjabi
Hi, I'm Raj Panjabi from HuffPost.
- [43:41]
Noah Michaelson
And I'm Noah Michaelson, also from HuffPost.
- [43:43]
Raj Panjabi
And we're the hosts of Am I Doing It Wrong? A new podcast that explores the all too human anxieties we have about trying to get our lives right.
- [43:50]
Noah Michaelson
Each week on the podcast, Raj and I pick a new topic that we want to understand better and bring a guest expert on to talk us through how to get it right.
- [43:58]
Raj Panjabi
And we're talking like legit credible experts.
- [44:01]
Noah Michaelson
Doctors, PhDs all around, superheroes from HuffPost and Acast Studios. Check out Am I doing it Wrong? Wherever you get your podcasts, race the rudders.
- [44:11]
Chase Daniel
Race the sails. Race the sails. Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching. Over. Roger, wait.
- [44:18]
Mike Jones
Is that an enterprise sales solution?
- [44:22]
Unknown
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- [44:52]
Mike Jones
All right, back here on Scoop City, we have to talk about what everyone is talking about right now. Mike. And that's Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and his legendary reverse hurdle, announced as the COVID of Madden NFL 26. If you didn't see it, go watch it. We're going to drop it in right here. He's literally recreating the jump of him hurdling the defender. It's one of the most iconic moments of the last season and really a long time forever enshrined. Mike, did the Madden team get this cover right?
- [45:30]
Unknown
I think they did because, I mean, who had a bigger impact last year than Saquon? And then who had the more iconic moment than that? I mean, that was a play, a move that nobody had ever seen before. So they capture that. That's the COVID I don't think they, they, they definitely nailed it.
- [45:50]
Mike Jones
And when you look at the video of the behind the scenes of Madden. Madden. Madden's great. I mean, they do everything top notch. It is a blessing and sometimes a curse to be on the Madden cover. But the way he's doing it in the video I thought was really interesting because I looked at it a few times and you can't see strings from him on like the video. And I'm like, there is no way in the world because he jumped. But he, he was like up there and put his hand down and he stayed up there for like two seconds. I was like, what in the world is happening? Sure enough, there is some behind the scenes footage of, of, of, of some strings.
- [46:29]
Unknown
Yeah, I mean, but I did see a video where he like did a alley oop through his legs with basketball. And so if he had levitated for a little while after what we saw Saquon do last year, I would have believed if you told me there were no strings. Thanks for me, man.
- [46:43]
Mike Jones
Yeah, you know, I, I was like, I was like saying that, I'm like, there's no way because he, he literally levitated. Now this is the only time, this is the second time that Eagles player has been pictured on the COVID joining hall of Fame quarterback Donovan Nab, who graced the front of the 202006 edition, which I forgot about that. That was an awesome one. He Saquon won AP NFL Offense player of the Year award and was a finalist for the mvp. Is it realistic because we had this question earlier, I want to pose it to you before we get out of here. Is it realistic for Saquon Barkley to go back to back 2k seasons?
- [47:20]
Unknown
I don't know, man. That was a special, special season. But at the same time, when you look at how the Eagles are constructed, their offensive line is intact still. They have those, those wide receivers and their tight end. I mean they have all of those pieces. Yes, obviously people are going to be gunning for them. They're going to try to take away the run. You know, I think that if they remain committed and that's what Nick Sirianni likes to do and you still have Jalen hurts that you have to worry about. So I don't see why he can't flirt with it. I'm not saying that he's going to be like knocking on the door of the record once again, but I think he'll flirt with 2000.
- [47:59]
Mike Jones
Well, he surpassed 100 yards rushing in 14 games in 2024. There's only been nine guys to ever rush for 2000 yards and there's been no back to back. So we'll see. I don't know if it's realistic, but if anyone can do it, it's him. Appreciate you guys joining us. Make sure you like subscribe all that stuff. Send the mailbags into the YouTube comments, all these twitters. Diana's still within the show. Send her something, make her come on, do a thing. She's hanging out right now but thank you so much for listening. For Mike Jones and Joe Biden, Sky, I'm Chase Daniel. Bye guys. Tag me later.
- [48:45]
Unknown
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- [49:10]
H
Have some big news for your peace of mind. For all our customers, existing and new, we're locking in low prices for three years guaranteed on myplan and my home. That's future you peace of mind and everyone can save on a brand new phone on MyPlan. When you trade in any phone from one of our top brands, that's new phone peace of mind. Because at Verizon, whether you're already a customer or you're just joining us, we got you. Visit Verizon today. Price guarantee applies to then current base monthly rate. Additional terms and conditions apply for all offers.
- [49:39]
Raj Panjabi
Hi, I'm Raj Panjabi from HuffPost.
- [49:42]
Noah Michaelson
And I'm Noah Michelson, also from HuffPost.
- [49:44]
Raj Panjabi
And we're the hosts of Am I Doing It Wrong? A new podcast that explores the all too human anxieties we have about trying to get our lives right.
- [49:51]
Noah Michaelson
Each week on the podcast, Raj and I pick a new topic that we want to understand better and bring a guest expert on to talk us through how to get it right.
- [49:59]
Raj Panjabi
And we're talking like legit credible experts.
- [50:02]
Noah Michaelson
Doctors, PhDs all around, superheroes from HuffPost and Acast Studios. Check out Am I Doing It Wrong? Wherever you get your podcasts.