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Ep. 29 - Blueprint Breakdown: Buffalo Bills' Offense
49 Plays1 year ago
Join us as we set the stage for the Buffalo Bills' offseason on the offensive front! We dive into the current contract landscape and identify some key offseason needs. Get the Blueprint Breakdown with us – listen now!
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#bills #billsmafia #buffalo #buffalony #buffalove #sabres
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Transcript
Introduction and Social Media Plug
00:00:42
Speaker
You're listening to the Let's Go Buffalo podcast. Your new favorite podcast for everything, Bills and Savers. What's going on, everybody? You are listening to the Let's Go Buffalo podcast. Your favorite things for all things Bills and Savers. Your favorite podcast for all things Bills and Savers. Aye, aye, aye.
00:01:10
Speaker
With the pals, Nigel, Tom, and Jake, episode 29 coming at you. Quick reminder to everybody to follow our social medias. That's at, let's go buff pod, buff with two Fs. You can find us on Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube. Let's say hello to the fellas, Tom. How we doing, buddy?
00:01:31
Speaker
Dude, I'm splendid. It's great to see you guys. Look at us. I don't think we were just talking a minute ago while we're prepping. I think it's been a while since we've had all three, all three talking heads on the screen. This is great. For sure, dude. Yeah, it's been a minute. A couple of busy guys there.
Weekend Highlights and CD Release Show
00:01:46
Speaker
Jake, how we doing? I'm good. Yeah. It's been too long. Happy to be back with you guys.
00:01:50
Speaker
Yeah, for sure, dude. Tom, what's up? Nothing. Oh, looks like you're going to say something really important. No, I'm just really, I mean, generally I'd say things that are important, but no, I'm just really excited. Okay. I don't know about that one, but should we hop in here and have a, have a beverage here, gentlemen? Yes, please. Let's do it. Here we go. Ready? Oh, wait a minute. Wow. Nevermind. I'll do that in a minute. Ready? Three, two, one.
00:02:21
Speaker
Nice, dude. What were you so excited about? I want to do a quick cheers. I had a really, really, really great weekend this past weekend, just hanging out with friends and doing really cool music stuff and hanging out with my wonderful girlfriend. But I just wanted to shout out
00:02:40
Speaker
my friend, Grace Serene, and her mates that are in Grace Serene and the Super Clean. It's a really awesome band based out of Rochester here. They just celebrated their CD release show. So at some point here, yeah, I just want to give them a shout out because the album is unbelievable. I got to be part of the week and play music, so it was super fun. But yeah, just a quick shout out to my friends in that group there because it was just an awesome weekend.
00:03:08
Speaker
Yeah, cheers, buddy. Yeah, absolutely, man. That's awesome. Yeah, I know. I saw pictures and stuff go by. I'm always sad that I'm a little too far for like to go see shows like that kind of thing in the middle of the school year. But yeah, that's awesome, dude. Yeah.
Beer Choices Discussion
00:03:21
Speaker
No, it was sick. So anyway, Tom, what are you drinking? I'm having something new. I'm not usually a dark beer boy, but I have a zero gravity Irish cream porter.
00:03:33
Speaker
that I'm actually really excited about. I've had I've had a few here already this week and they're tasty. I think it's getting me ready for to go find me like many lucky charms this next month. So nice. That sounds heavy. Is it heavy? Oh, yeah. Yeah, quite. But it's good. Like I'm not usually a heavy guy. I'm not usually like all ports and borders and stouter stouters, borders and stouters. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Tag that one.
00:04:02
Speaker
Yes, it's quite delicious. Dude, zero gravity is so good. They're so consistently good. I can. I love everything they do. What are you drinking? Nice. Yeah, that was a fun one. Yeah. Everybody knows that. Everybody knows that beer, dude. I'm not reinventing the wheel over here.
00:04:27
Speaker
with the Saver's branding too. I'm going up to Tom's neck of the woods for Valleycraft Ales. You know it, Tom? Yeah, we bought those together, pal. You remember? Or no? I was trying to organically bring it up, but yeah, I do remember it behind them. I put it into the conversation, so you're welcome.
00:04:48
Speaker
Well, anyways, this is a beer that embodies myself. It's called Mountain Girl, and it's multi-sweet light roast bread crust. Damn, dude.
00:04:59
Speaker
Yeah, that sounds good. A bread crust. I love that descriptor. That's awesome. I'm a crusty, a crusty mountain girl. That's one thing I am. That is usually how I describe you as a crusty mountain girl. Yeah, absolutely.
Buffalo Bills Roster and Contracts
00:05:12
Speaker
Delicious. Well, let's see. First off, sorry we missed you guys last week. We just, between the three of us, there was too much going on and we just weren't able to find a date to make it all happen. So I think up to that point, we've been perfect, but we've been pretty good. All good.
00:05:29
Speaker
So how good off season is how to do it. So yeah, we deserve breaks too. That's right. We're worth it. Um, but yeah, so two weeks ago, we covered the, um, the defensive side of the football in terms of where we're at with guys that are still on the team and all that fun stuff and under contract and what the, what the big needs are on each side of the wall. So Tom, you want to queue us up for.
00:05:53
Speaker
I would absolutely love to. We're going back to our assignment folks. We were going, if you remember us as a podcast, let's go Buffalo podcast. We're trying to do our best to make a little grocery list of needs for Brandon being going through the roster, discussing who's on it, who is a free agent who could possibly be on it. And we're trying to make ourselves a little bit of a to-do list. So we had a document that we were rocking through last week. We're going to pull it back up.
00:06:20
Speaker
get this week, except now we're highlighting all of our offensive side of the roster.
00:06:27
Speaker
So we have each column, cornerback, running back, O-line, wide receiver, tight end. And you'll notice that the players in white are already signed to a contract. The players in yellow are free agents. And the players in gray are signed to futures deals.
Josh Allen's Streak and Backup QB Needs
00:06:43
Speaker
Now, just another friendly reminder that if you are listening to us audio-wise, come join us on YouTube so you can get the visuals of this. I think that will help quite a bit for this conversation.
00:06:53
Speaker
So, boys, I think the logical place, well, before we start, actually, let's go over and you'll also notice the last column there has Bill's needs. These are what we have so far identified as needs that are gonna have to be addressed in some capacity, either through the free agency or the draft. And we have DNs, DTACL, cornerback and safety. We don't have them ranked yet. However, we'll do that next week. Nigel and I will have a little bit of a pow wow and figure that out together.
00:07:22
Speaker
I think the logical place is to start quarterback, right? I think let's start here. Clearly, Josh Allen is signed to a huge mega bucko contract. Kyle Allen, our QB2, who thankfully we only saw do kneel downs, is a free agent. And then this other player, Shane Buacalli, I'm not sure how to pronounce his last name, is signed to a futures deal.
00:07:50
Speaker
Jake, looking at the Josh Allen stability, is there any concern or what are your thoughts on what we should have there at QP? Should we kind of be looking for somebody who can come in and make a big difference or are we feeling okay? What are your thoughts?
Understanding NFL Future Deals
00:08:10
Speaker
I guess for me, yeah, keep it consistent. You got your stallion in Josh Allen, so have somebody behind him that you trust and is good in the room and can help out if needed, but I don't think it's a huge concern personally.
00:08:26
Speaker
But I have one, sorry, I have one general question for you guys, and then one quarterback specific question for you guys. The general question, can you real quick, in the NFL, what does a future deal mean? Are they signed to a contract in the future? Like, what do you mean by that? Or are they just, the bills have the rights, they just don't have pen to paper yet. A futures deal is essentially what you just said. It's like generally have the rights. They are assigned to essentially like a ticket to camp.
00:08:54
Speaker
Every roster is going to balloon from 53 men to about 90 for the off-season. And this is just the NFL's way of saying, hey, we're going to sign you to a deal. It's not an actual that you're signed to the roster. However, you're essentially allowed to come and spend the off-season with Buffalo in order to do all that off-season training. And you have essentially an invitation to camp.
00:09:22
Speaker
And it's it's binding like like Shane can't say you know what? F this I'm not making this team. I'm going to go to the Jets training training camp or anything like that. It's it's binding. He's a bills. He's Bill's ownership. Yes, OK, got you got you. Thank you little newbie Q to start us off. Yeah, that was good. So my thought there on on cornerback 2 is that we have been extremely lucky.
00:09:47
Speaker
And that Josh Allen is currently the record holder for the number of games started in a row. Now I'm going to quickly look this up. Can you guys give me some over unders? If you know it, Nige, don't say it. But do you guys have some over unders of how many games Josh Allen has started in a row? And I want you to know he has the league record.
00:10:06
Speaker
Let's, I believe, I think I might know what the number is or at least I'm close. So Jake, I'll pose this question if, oops, sorry, my Alexa is going off behind me for some reason. Maybe Alexa knows. Maybe. But let's see. So like a good fun over under for this one is like 53 and a half. Right. I think like, yeah. What do you think, Jake? Is that, has he started more or less?
00:10:32
Speaker
uh including playoffs that does include playoffs includes playoffs i'll go yeah i think that that's probably around where i would have guessed i'll say
00:10:40
Speaker
Uh, from Nigel's line of you said 53, just based on the fact that he's the NFL record holder, I'll go over, but I, I would feel uncomfy if it got too much over. You should know you should smash that over. Cause it's 88 games in a row. Um, yeah, that's, I mean, seasons on seasons that we have had Josh Allen start at quarterback and knock on wood and like everybody out there who's listening to this knock on any piece of a tree that you can find because holy cow, we need that to continue.
00:11:08
Speaker
However, it just doesn't happen. There were, this is another fun over under. How many quarterbacks would you guys say started a game in 2023? Not all teams were as lucky and started only their starting quarterback. Many had to start backups. What's your number, do you think? 46. I'm going to say, I'm going to say like 103.
00:11:35
Speaker
That's pretty good. Uh, 66, um, but still for some reason, like that's a lot of quarterbacks. That's
Gabe Davis Free Agency and WR Needs
00:11:43
Speaker
two per team, more than two per team. And we were on, we were dragging that average down with one. So, um, I do think we need somebody who's got, I mean, in the end, this, this team falls apart. The wheels fall off if Josh Allen's not part of it. Right. Um,
00:12:00
Speaker
However, it would be real nice if it's not a substantial injury that we have somebody who can come in and go two and one in a three game stretch while Josh Allen needs to rest something. We need that. And I'm not sure if Kyleann's the guy, but I also don't know. I don't know. So anyway, I do see QB2 as kind of a, hey, this needs to be addressed in a smart way.
00:12:23
Speaker
So let's say Kyle Allen is willing and able to come back to Buffalo. Are you okay with that? Or do you prefer a new name to be in that second slot? Okay is the right word. I'm okay with it, but I'm not thrilled. I'm not excited because I just don't think he's the guy he can do a good job of being in the room with Josh. He's he and, he and Josh are buddies. Like that's cool. But I don't think that, uh, I don't see Kyle Allen was coming in and making a difference in a game.
00:12:54
Speaker
Yeah, it depends on what lens you look at it through for me. I'll just kind of quickly read away what Tom just said, but yeah. Do I feel good if he comes on the field? No, but does he have other strengths? Yes, he's good in the room. He's got a great relationship with Josh Allen. And all that stuff does matter because at the end of the day, as the QB2, Kyle Allen's main job is to help and support Josh Allen.
00:13:16
Speaker
in his preparation each week for an upcoming game. So, you know, but, you know, like Tom just said, in a three game stretch, I don't even like our hours to go two and one, you know, I don't think Kyle Allen's a very dynamic quarterback in any capacity. So, but you also don't have money to spend, right? So is Kyle Allen, you're the best thing you could possibly get just because of the relationship with Josh Allen? Quite possibly.
00:13:45
Speaker
I think that's probably a deeper dive in a later podcast, but this is the first year of Josh Allen's mega deal hitting right where his salary just explodes. I think that is correct. I believe so. Yeah. Well, this will be, yeah. We'll look into more in the contract specific stuff in the future, but yes, I believe so. So I would like to vote that we put it on the bill's needs because it needs to be addressed, but I think it's going to be addressed. So I don't think it's high on the list or should we just leave it off? Well, you can put it on there because it does have to be addressed 100%.
00:14:16
Speaker
Okay. Now, um, before we move on to running back, any last minute thoughts or are we good? Um, no, I'm good. Good here. All right. So running back on contract, um, our science to contract, the bills have James cook, Reggie, Gilliam, Naeheim, Heinz, and Darrington Evans. And then free agents include Ty Johnson, Latavius Murray, and Damien Harris. Looking at that room, Nigel, who is somebody that
00:14:44
Speaker
You're excited about that. Is it named James cook? Ty Johnson is the one for me that I would be the most excited about. I, um, I thought he was a really good compliment. He fell off a little bit towards end of the year, but like in the last like two thirds, maybe I felt like he came on pretty strong and, um, was, was a really nice compliment to James cook. I thought he was.
00:15:10
Speaker
more athletic than Latavius Murray. I thought he just offered a little bit more in terms of, you know, downhill needs, as opposed to James Cook. So of those guys on there not named James Cook, Ty Johnson is the guy that I get the most excited about. Looking at it on paper, it's
00:15:28
Speaker
kind of a weird-looking running back room right now. Quite strange. Yeah, it is. It's still quite strange. Yeah. A little bit of everything. Got the oldest guy. Yeah, yeah, right? Yeah. Letabia's very old guy in the league.
00:15:42
Speaker
Um, yeah, kind of wild.
Running Back Room Analysis and Contracts
00:15:45
Speaker
Now I think next week I have a couple moves here that I think the bill should pursue. And I want to discuss with them next week. Cause I'm not sure if today's the pod to do it, but, um, I think we can all agree. We're really excited for James cook that the guy showed everything we wanted him to show this past season, his ability to, um,
00:16:06
Speaker
be the main ball carrier. The Bills gave him the ball more than they have a running back, a single running back in years. And I think he did step up at the plate. He has deficiencies. He needs, he has several things he needs to figure out include ball security, catching the darn ball when we need him to. Yeah, yeah, freaking, yeah. He has to like just glue himself to the ball machine. The
00:16:30
Speaker
And, but I'm excited about him. Can we, I think we, can we agree with that? Yeah, for sure. Do you think, so his role grew this year. Do you think it continues to grow next year or do you think he's kind of where you want to see him usage wise? I think, yeah, I think he's right where he should be. Yeah. I don't think you want to use him any more than you did this year because then you enter like Derek Henry territory, which is just an obscene amount of usage for a running back.
00:16:57
Speaker
Yeah, he's he's he's not built like Derek Henry other not even a little bit. No, he's not even close. So, yeah, I think this is about his ceiling of usage. Right. We just I want to continue to see. I want to continue to see him. Use it well and be efficient and he can shore up some deficiencies that he had that like, like I said, like including the receiving game, like he's got to be able to take down a couple more balls when we need him to. Now,
00:17:24
Speaker
Other players here that I'm thinking we say thank you so much for your time, but we're going to see you later include the Tabius Murray and Damon Harris. Like I don't see much there. They played a role. The Tabius Murray played a leadership role this season. I think he was a captain, which is amazing because he came in and was just one and only year with the Bills.
00:17:46
Speaker
but he kind of fell off towards the end of the year and I think that was an issue. And Damien Harris unfortunately had that neck injury early on in the season and then never returned. I say, I think we say thank you so much for your time. Good luck.
00:17:59
Speaker
Yup, particularly Latavius Murray. You have to turn the page on Latavius Murray. He was 10 different kinds of useless. For me, when Ty Johnson started to come on was kind of synonymous with Latavius Murray falling off. And he was just a liability running the ball. So fun little first starts of the year, but definitely a guy I don't want to give any money to.
00:18:25
Speaker
I mean, Harris, I mean, if he's willing to come back in another $1.5 million deal, you know, I'm okay with that. I think he's a good player when he's healthy, right? Yeah. That's the problem. We're never healthy. Yeah, true. Yeah. That's very true. Yeah. But typically you guys want to see three running backs on the bills roster come September. Yeah. Yes.
00:18:48
Speaker
Yeah. And the starting roster, like not even just in the stables on the practice quad and the practice quad will have more like that's where Ty Johnson came from. Right. Like he moved up partway through the year because of the Damien Harris injury. Um, but yeah, no, we want three. And I think right now, I think, I think we should resign Ty Johnson. I think that'll be a move that I advocate next week.
00:19:06
Speaker
Um, there'll be reset tie because also I don't think it's going to be very much running back contracts are not huge. I think we can get Ty Johnson on a very reasonable deal. Um, and I think that's, that's going to be easy to do. And then we just need to find a third person who can kind of feel that Latavia is Murray roll, the bigger body back with, who's a good pass protector. Um, like that's the, the table is very like he fit the role last season. He's just not going to be ready to fit the role this upcoming season. Realistically, do you see Ty Johnson as the two or the three running back?
00:19:37
Speaker
I want two. I think you should be the three. I would like for him to be the three. I don't know who you get to fill that spot. Excuse me, I just burped. Yeah, for me, Ty Johnson is a three for me, but we'll see how that shakes out.
00:19:56
Speaker
Yeah, we'll see. So looking at the fact that we have two of our who are starting or not starting, but roster role running backs as free agents, I think running back running back two and three is a need.
Offensive Line Stability
00:20:09
Speaker
Yeah, it is. It will be addressed, but I can pretty much guarantee right now running back will be the farthest down when we when we organize that list. Correct. For a multitude of reasons. And I agree with you. Yeah, we'll talk about those next week. So tune in next time.
00:20:26
Speaker
Just real quick, I haven't heard about Nahim Heinz since his unfortunate jet ski accident. Is he slated to come back? What's going on with him? Have you heard of anything? He's under contract. I mean, on paper. A big contract. Yeah, way too big. But on paper, yeah, he should be back, assuming he's healthy. I haven't heard exactly how he is, but should be back.
00:20:50
Speaker
Yes. I have thoughts, but I think it's a next week move. So let's move on to O-line, boys. This one's really exciting. Look at all that white. Look at that. Yup. Oh. So much. Yeah, everybody, except one that I want to re-sign. So under contract, we have Dionne Dawkins, Osiris Torrance, Spencer Brown, Conor McGovern, Mitch Morse, Ryan Bates, Ryan Vandermark, Alec Anderson, and Tommy Doyle.
00:21:18
Speaker
David Edwards is the one and only O-line free agent for the Buffalo Bills. And then under a future deal, we have Kevin Jarvis in Richie Garage.
00:21:29
Speaker
Yes, sir. That's nice. That's a nice column, especially considering how, I mean, honestly, we can be very impressed with how the bills O-line performed last season. All five starters, not only like started most games or every game this past season, they're coming back. So I think that's amazing.
00:21:51
Speaker
It'll be really nice going into an off season knowing that your five offensive linemen are already slated to start. Who those five starters are going to be is nice. And yeah, most of your depth is still signed as well, which is awesome. David Edwards is, I'm with you Tom, he's a guy I'd like to bring back.
00:22:13
Speaker
He had a really important role as the jumbo tight end on the scene this year, which jumbo tight end would usually just come in on bigger formation packages, typically a run play, that kind of thing just as an extra big body in there to move out move defenders out of the way but
00:22:33
Speaker
Yeah, dude, I don't know. The question is going to be the money, right? Like could Ryan Bates fill that role? I think probably. So I don't think you need to spend a ton on this guy, but I would like to have him back. I don't think he was a big deal. I think he was one of the cheaper deals. Conor McGovern was the guy who had the big deal. Right.
00:22:51
Speaker
So I don't think David Edwards is going to be all that expensive. And like you said, I agree all the turbo tight end work, but he's also had considerable starting experience at guard. So like as a, as a depth guard guy, like, I think that's invaluable. Well, and I think part of the conversation, because yes, he was cheap this year, but it was a one year deal, right? He came in and proved value in columns, X, Y, and Z. Now does that number go up because he's demonstrated what is worth to your team.
00:23:21
Speaker
true, but the other teams see that same worth. So that's right. That's what the demand is. What's going to drive up his, his value. Um, and I'm not sure if he's going to be higher. That player's never going to be hugely expensive, but it's just a matter of how much you want to play that sort of gadget player. So
00:23:39
Speaker
Correct. And like you said, there's a bunch of players who are kind of further down the depth chart that have some kind of intrigue. Ryan Vandemarck kind of flashed a little bit at tackle when he when he played in prison. Oh, he muted there for a second there, Tom. Yeah, he still muted.
00:23:58
Speaker
You want to meet yourself there, Smitty? Oh, we lost Tom. Yeah, I can jump in here. Um, but yeah, like a lot of, a lot of those tackles, right? Like Vandermark, Alec Anderson, Tommy Doyle, all super athletic guys. I don't know that they're going to be able to handle that. I'm jumbo tight end spot, but yeah, it's, it's an interesting conversation there for me. I would super love to have David Edwards be back, but you know, it's just going to be a question of what Brandon B wants to pay him. Tommy, you back with us, buddy?
00:24:28
Speaker
Not yet, maybe. So yeah. Do you have any thoughts on any of the wide receiver stuff there, Jake?
Khalil Shakir's Slot Receiver Potential
00:24:34
Speaker
No, it was such a stabilizing force, I think, for the bills in the last season. Like they, I think every player started every game, if I remember that correctly. Well, the five starters, they were just, I mean, their health was, it was borderline impeccable. So that's why I'm at the starters. Not, not every player there. Yeah. No, I know.
00:24:56
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, I don't think that's really an area of concern. Run it back with those guys. I think I was impressed with Spencer Brown. I felt like he had something to prove coming into the season and he, I think he held up his end of the bargain. Like I'm, I'm pretty happy with him on that line. Yeah. He's very clearly established himself as a serviceable starter. Um, with, I think a ceiling to grow into a potentially an above average.
00:25:23
Speaker
maybe even like elite right tackle. But when you, when you have athletic traits like that, dude, it's just, it's so crazy. It's sick. And especially cause he's still on a rookie deal, right? Like that's huge to be having. Like we need contributors like him who are on rookie deals coming in and making a mark. So yeah, the other rookie dealer, Osiris Torrance, we've, we've given him his flowers on this podcast before, but he's, he, he was a great guard, right? Like he performed really well. Yeah.
00:25:49
Speaker
A couple of little rookie, rookie wall moments in there, but I mean, to be expected when you, you start every single game for an NFL team in your first season. So, right. I'm excited for him to have a full off season, right? That's going to be big. I think it's going to come in. He's going to like, like we said, the Spencer Brown, I think Osiris Torrance's floor is a serviceable starter.
00:26:12
Speaker
I think that's his four and then he has room to grow. That's great. I think if we had this conversation one year ago, uh, the offensive line is an area that we would have said, this, this might be need some, some massaging a little bit to get the pieces where they need to go, right? Yeah. Like looking at this list, I don't even know if we draft somebody and we, if we were to resign David Edwards and we were to draft somebody, I don't know if they make the roster, right?
00:26:40
Speaker
Yeah, it depends on what round, right? Like, if you invest a top four pick, like top four rounds, those players should ideally make your team. But I don't see a drafting offensive line in any of those spots. I don't either. So I'm not ready to put on a build on a needs list. Are you guys? Nope. I'm good not putting it on the needs list. All right. Yeah. Well, are we ready for some controversy? Yeah, let's do it. OK. Wide receiver.
00:27:06
Speaker
signed to contract Stefan Diggs, De'Anse Hardy, Khalil Shakir, and Justin Shorter. Free agents include Gabe Davis and Trent Sherfield. And then our future deals players include Andy Isabella, Tyrell Shavers, Brian Johnson, and KJ Hamler, a new addition to that futures deals list. Nice. There's a couple of different hot tickets here. I actually see a couple of hot tickets. Where do you want to start? Yeah. And I'm going to pick Gabe Davis just because I hate giving
00:27:36
Speaker
Stefan takes attention when he wants to be an obnoxious diva. So I'm going to jump to Gabe Davis. Your turn. Yeah. For me, obviously Gabe Davis is a UFA. He's, he's probably one of the bigger conversation points in terms of the bills off season, um, because Brandon Bean took a, took a shot on
00:27:59
Speaker
having Gabe Davis in a wide receiver two role and it didn't pan out, right? He's just too limited of a player in that role. I think Gabe Davis is a real solid number three and an elite number four on someone's team. But I just don't think it's in his wheelhouse to be a wide receiver two in the NFL.
00:28:21
Speaker
So, for Gabe Davis man I think like, I think there's probably going to be a team out there that will pay him, you know, north of 11 million 12 million. And I just, that won't be the bills. I wouldn't want to pay him more than like.
00:28:38
Speaker
eight million a season, and I think he's going to come out a lot more than that. So for me, Gabe Davis is very much a thank you for your time, but I'm not going to pay you what what some other clown is going to pay you because I don't think you're worth it, basically. Yeah, man, I'm with you.
00:28:57
Speaker
I think to push back, the only thing that maybe is in the possible re-sign Gabe Davis camp is that, and I'm going to bring this up again when we're looking at other replacements for Gabe Davis, because we clearly need to replace his role, is that this free agent class and the draft class are both historically good.
00:29:19
Speaker
The free agents, wide receiver free agents include Mike Evans, Michael Pittman, T Higgins, Calvin Ridley, a bunch of really big names, which doesn't usually happen. So that will push a bunch of different players down the list, including Gabe Davis, of who's going to get the big money deals. And this wide receiver class and this upcoming rookie draft, it's incredibly deep.
00:29:47
Speaker
there are going to be players who end up moving down that list a little bit, who aren't going to get the big deal, who aren't going to get that $12 million a year deal. And it's possible the game doesn't, right? I agree with you. I was going to say $6 billion when you said as much as eight. I think a three-year, $18 million deal would be beautiful for him. I mean, honestly, let's give him the Deonti Hardy deal.
00:30:11
Speaker
Yeah, right. I know that would be nice. So I just think it's possible. I don't think it's going to happen. I think a team will look at his production and look at his usage and say, oh, he's behind Stephon Diggs and we can use him and we can make that better. I think he will, but I think it's definitely a possibility and I think that's going to be a conversation that I'm going to, a conversation point that I'm going to continue to come back to as we're discussing why receiver this offseason.
00:30:36
Speaker
Yeah, I see your train of thought there Tom and it's it's a valid one for sure. I just I think I think I'd be I'd be confident in Assuming that somebody's gonna pay him 14 million a year To be to be the one receiver to good not us not us. Yeah, yes can't we can't do that? No, so
00:31:01
Speaker
Um, so knee jerk reaction, wide receiver two free agent or draft pick draft. I want it to be draft because especially cause we need to restock the cupboards, right? We need, we need, we need to bring in a kid who's going to come in as a wide receiver too, but who could turn into what Stefan Diggs will, it was kind of his role eventually vacate.
00:31:21
Speaker
younger and cheaper. Yes. Yeah. I hope we get a free agent. We're going to need them. Right. Trencher field and Gabe Davis are two big bodied wide receivers. Justin shorter is not it. So if anybody who's pounding the table, he's not, he's not going like that.
00:31:38
Speaker
I like him on the team, I suppose, but he will not. He's going to be that next Gabe Davis of like, of a player that people want to see a bigger role. He's not going to be able to fill those shoes. Um, so we're going to need people. We're going to need bodies, but, um, yeah, I want it. I want it in the draft for sure. My, my guess is it'll be a, it'll be a high draft resource. Um, and probably just bargain been veterans. I agree. Yep.
00:32:04
Speaker
at the wide receiver position. That's my gift. So Khalil Shakir kind of, he came alive towards the end of the season. Do you feel comfortable with him as your number three?
00:32:15
Speaker
I feel comfortable with him as my slot wide receiver. Is the slot receiver typically your number three receiver, or is it skill set based? I think it totally depends. I think the way, especially for the bills now, the way we need to phrase and think about that question is, who is going to be getting those targets? Who is the first target receiver?
00:32:44
Speaker
because we've got Dalton Kincaid now too, right? So ideally for me, dude, like,
00:32:56
Speaker
Stefan Diggs is your is your first option. Dalton Kincaid is your second, you know, then Khalil, Khalil Shakir and this this new wide receiver can duke it out for the third option. So I don't know if I like saying first, second, third wide receiver. For me, it's what number option are you in this passing offense? Because Dalton Kincaid is a tight end, but I feel like he should be the second receiving option. Yes, please. Does that make sense, Jake? Yeah, totally.
00:33:25
Speaker
Yeah, I get that. I get that. Yeah. So. So. Yeah. Now, looking at our futures deals, is there, Nigel, anybody on there you're kind of excited about? Because there's one or two on there that I'm at least curious about. K.J. Hamler, dude, I think this is a super fun one.
00:33:42
Speaker
It's definitely fun to have on the practice squad on our futures deals. He was a prior first
Stefon Diggs' Role and Future
00:33:48
Speaker
round pick, wasn't he? I believe he was definitely pretty high. I don't know. I don't think I want to say second round. Yeah. But KJ Hamler was was an absolute monster at Penn State. Just an insanely, insanely, insanely fast wide receiver. Pretty decent. I was right. Second round. Second round. Yeah. Hell yeah, dude.
00:34:09
Speaker
Um, but yeah, so he's just a really, you know, really good productive college career, very fast. Um, just been hampered by injuries early in his career. So there's no reason to take a flyer on him. It's a very, very, very low risk move. Um, but he's a guy that was a pretty high pick that I think has untapped potential for sure. Do you know where he came from? Um, Broncos, Broncos.
00:34:37
Speaker
Del Broncos, I think Andy Isabella is still intriguing. I know he was on the practice squad for most of the season. Um, so I didn't, he didn't really quite break into the offense. So I'm just still excited about him. Cause I think he's a fine player to have in the practice squad. Right. Like, I think that's, that's cool too. So yeah. Um, sure. Yeah, man. Do we, do we want to talk about Steph right now or? I don't think you do.
00:35:00
Speaker
I would I would love to if you're willing to. Absolutely. Absolutely. So from my perspective, I'm not as dialed into the bills as you guys are, but but I've seen rumblings from people where these are the hot takes for the offseason that, you know, Steph Diggs gets gets off the roster or something like that, or his contract gets restructured or he wants out for whatever reason, X, Y and Z that I don't personally believe, but I've seen it out there.
00:35:30
Speaker
I just want to know your guys thoughts like zero to 100%. Is he on the roster in the fall? What does that look like? What would be the
00:35:41
Speaker
block to fall for him to be traded or, or cut or whatever it is. Tom, you're ready to roll. Let it, let it rip. There is a 0% chance that he is not on the bills roster for the next two seasons. And I can tell you why it starts with M and ends with aliens of dollars. So, um, like it's, it's in, it's North of 30 million this year of dead cat money. If he was to be traded and or cut Tom, what is Tom? What's dead cat money?
00:36:09
Speaker
Dead cap money is money. Oh, this is going to be good. Dead cap money is money that is guaranteed to a player. So this is money that an NFL team has their entire salary cap. It's well over $200 million right now. And each team has to allocate certain funds that are guaranteed to players and other funds that are not guaranteed but can still be paid. The guaranteed money is what ends up adding up to your salary cap number.
00:36:37
Speaker
And Stephon Diggs has a lot. He is entering. For anybody who can't remember, he signed an extension about a year and a half ago. Well, he hasn't even started it yet until the 2024 season. So he has four more years. He has freshly minted signs too. And it's a big number. It's like four years, 96 million.
00:37:01
Speaker
And we've already restructured it once, so we're now on to, to do it once is gonna be a bad idea. Well, okay, that's a different, I'll get to that in a second. Could happen, but not a great idea, especially if they're thinking, anybody's thinking that he could be off the menu. The guy, no, he's here for a lot of reasons, including lots and lots of money to be essentially penalized against the team this year and next.
00:37:31
Speaker
2026 is a possibility, but it's still a big number of him. If we have money that would count us against the cap for not having him on the team.
00:37:41
Speaker
That's what I thought. Like, I kind of assumed that going in, but I thought I'd ask the question. I'm sure it was just Twitter trolls that I saw trying to stir shit up, saying that you might be off the team. I don't know. Yeah, people are crazy. Yeah, there's no way. Plus, he has he had. Yes, he the darn guy loves to be as just cryptic as possible in interviews and on social media.
00:38:05
Speaker
He has also on interviews and social media within the last month come out and said, of course, I want to still want to retire a bill. I'm sick of people asking me these questions. Can we move on? Yeah, fair enough. Fair enough. He's here. Nigel, anything you want to add on on digs? No pressure. I know you were to go down that road. I just I just. Yeah.
00:38:30
Speaker
You want him to say better things, right? You want, you want him to like, like stop feeding into the bullshit. I understand that he's been asked the same question a hundred times and he has tried to be honest, but like, I don't know, man, like just don't give anybody any, any fuel. Um, I don't know, dude, all that stuff that he said.
00:38:51
Speaker
around the Pro Bowl, excuse me, really rubbed me the wrong way, especially the way he played down the stretch. Anything he was asked, there was no acknowledgement of the fact that he essentially disappeared.
00:39:09
Speaker
Yeah, right. Like his best and biggest games were the first seven, eight weeks. Right. Like I want to see like, I'd like to be like, yeah, you know, like, am I going to be back? Hell yeah. I was, you know, I didn't do my job for this team down the stretch and there's unfinished business here and part of it's my fault. Right. Like where's that kind of accountability? That's a good point. I haven't thought about that. I thought about that, but you're a hundred percent right. We have not heard that from you.
00:39:34
Speaker
the
00:39:58
Speaker
The point being, he's he's he's on the team. He's on the team. He's going nowhere. And I'm happy about that. That's that's the that's the scenario I want to be in this him on the team and and all that a little bit and perform the way he's paid to perform. Yes. That everything you just said is best case scenario. I want to believe that's going to happen. And I'll stop right there. All right. So all that being said,
00:40:26
Speaker
I think it means that wide receiver needs to go on the, on the needs list. Yep. And this will probably be the highest one for me when we, when we rank them just because it's so immediately influences your best player. Yeah. I'm, I'm with you. I'm excited for that debate. Um, cause I have other, other needs that I feel are also very high, but I, I also agree with you that wide receivers is the highest need. So I'm excited for that next week. Cool.
00:40:53
Speaker
Last one. Next, oh wait, tight ends. Our tight end signed a contract include Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, and Zach Davidson. Quinton Morris is a free agent and our future deals player is a single player, Trey McKinney. That's a great name, just as an aside. It's pretty good. Pretty good, pretty good, pretty good.
00:41:16
Speaker
Hi, yo, yo, yo, yo. So with Q Morris real quick, his contract, don't we have like initial exclusive rights to him as well? I feel like I heard this. He is the one player that we have. Like, yeah, he's like, it was technically a restricted free agent. Yeah. So I think, and I would like to have Q Morris back, but I think he will be back.
00:41:36
Speaker
Um, I think so, especially for a tight end three and he's been in the system. He's also not going to be in high demand, right? Like the other teams aren't going to be scrambling to sign the guy. So I agree. I think he's going to back.
00:41:49
Speaker
Yeah, I would love to have him back. I think he does his job really well for this team. Yeah, he's and he's cheap. He's going to be wicked cheap. So how often was he? So with Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid getting a lion's share of tight end snaps, how often was he involved last year? Is he more special special teams player? Is he blocking site and but both those special
00:42:11
Speaker
special teams, um, jumbo package, tight end player. He does both, he blocks well, but he'll leak out and, you know, run a route here and there to, and he'll have a couple of catches a season. And if you're, if you remember, Dawson Knox was on IR for like four weeks because he was, he ended up having a wrist surgery. So he, he came in and he was, uh, Dalton Kincaid moved up and was tight end one and Quentin Morris was tight end two. Right. And especially an offense that was definitely.
00:42:37
Speaker
supposed to be very much 12 personnel heavy, meaning two tight ends in the field. I don't think they did it as much as they would have had DK and DK been on the T on the T on the field together. But he came in and filled that role because that's what the offense was kind of designed to do. So he had a stretch there that he was used quite a bit. Yeah. Yeah, I think he's a good guy to keep around. Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:04
Speaker
All this to say, though, this is not a position of need because Dalton King Gate is going to be a top five tight end within six months or like 12 months.
00:43:13
Speaker
And Dawson Knox is paid a lot for the role that he's eventually going to be in, but he's still a good player, blocks really well. He's very athletic. I think he's a nice compliment to what you get with Dalton Kincaid as an inline blocker, which is what you don't get from Kincaid. So, but like, I think Hugh Morris is going to be back. This position is pretty short up for me personally, but
00:43:41
Speaker
Yeah, I bring in another body and for camp, but otherwise, I agree. Go ahead, Jake. I was going to say, even if one of those guys goes down, like what happened with Austin Knox, you still have a legitimate tight end for your for your roster. That position doesn't immediately become, oh, shit, who's our tight end? Right. That's yeah. It's a good position to be in, which it was in prior years with just Austin Knox at the top. Correct. For sure. Yeah, for sure.
00:44:05
Speaker
Yeah. So all this, but this position is going to be just fine. Zach, Zach Davidson and Trey McKinney are good. Um, they're just athletic potential. Like, like those are guys on your roster where like they have really great traits and you just kind of take a gamble on them, but both those guys do have significant traits in terms of their size and their athleticism. So good college players, both of them. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
00:44:31
Speaker
Well, cool, guys. That's the whole team. Those are our needs. That's a lot of work. Yeah. Our needs right now, not in particular order. That's to be debated next week. Include defensive ends, defensive tackle, cornerback safety, QB two, RB two and wide receiver. It's not as it's a bigger list than I anticipated when we started this exercise.
00:44:54
Speaker
Yeah, there's a couple that I think will be short up fairly easily, including like quarterback quarterback to running back to the cornerback. Honestly, like I don't think that's going to be super high. There's a couple that are going to need a lot of work. But.
00:45:10
Speaker
Yeah. Sick. I think that's enlightening doing this kind of analysis. Cause you know, you think, Oh man, we need a wide receiver. But when you look at the full roster and who's a free agent, who's, who's leaving it, it opens it up a little bit of, Oh shit. We have a, we have a little bit of a laundry list to go through here. And I'm sure every team has a different list, but still a list kind of that long that they need to fill. So yeah, it's, uh, I'm, I'm excited to hear your conversation next week, uh, ranking them and what those might look like after the fact.
00:45:39
Speaker
Yeah, no, that'll be good. Tom and I can go toe to toe here. Yeah. Mano y mano. Yeah. Mano and man. Mano and mano. Cool, boys. Do we want to do any conversing about our beloved sabers? Probably a few things we should touch on real quick. Yeah, sure. Let's let's let's get into it a little bit. I mean, I think the
00:46:05
Speaker
I think we're not going to go into the by game analysis or anything like that because it's been as bleak as it has been all season, I think. But the big story that I saw come out recently was around the Sabres players themselves being a bit disgruntled with Buffalo fans.
00:46:23
Speaker
feeling butt hurt, for lack of a better term, about the fans booing them after the inevitable first goal that happens at home by the away team early on in the first period. It's clockwork, right? They're going to get scored on first. They've done it all year, and they're such a shit team at home.
00:46:42
Speaker
I don't blame people that have been paying the last 13 years for savers tickets and then they go to the game and all of a sudden the Anaheim ducks, for example, to use the example today, are on the board first.
00:46:56
Speaker
There's just, it kind of goes back to what we've talked about before, not being ready to play, right? So anyways,
Buffalo Sabres' Struggles and Fan Reactions
00:47:02
Speaker
it kind of goes back to the, there was a Columbus game where they got blown out and people were booing them, rightfully so. And there was another game, I forgot the actual game, but there was some fire Donny chants going on in the arena.
00:47:18
Speaker
And I saw it reported that there were some players that were pretty upset with that. And so from that point on, they stopped doing the salute to the fans after a win at home and just some rumblings about the players being really unhappy about the fans and.
00:47:36
Speaker
But boy, that can come to a head real quick. And it goes back to the players saying they don't want to be booed for the failures of past players, past regimes, past coaches. And man, I just wanted to kind of throw that around a little bit because I think that is a immature response and putting the blame on fans when your team is not playing well.
00:48:01
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, there's that sting of the fact that we're going on year 13.
00:48:07
Speaker
Is is always going to be there right like you can't You can't wipe that out of the fans brains, but that being said We were all super we were we were all desperate to cheer them on this season in particular Because I think pretty unanimously well unanimously as a fan base We were super uplifted by
00:48:35
Speaker
what we saw last year right so i think again unanimously as or close to it as a fan base we were like we were desperate to be like this is the year where we're all back in keybank center screaming our faces off right but the product has taken three steps backwards so like yeah for me dude like they're not booing past seasons they're booing this season because you played like puppy shit
00:49:01
Speaker
Yeah, they've fallen. The hope was a playoff team. The expectation was a playoff bubble team. And what they're giving is they're 10 points out of a playoff spot. And they've been 10 points out of a playoff spot for weeks now. They've fallen short of expectations. And hearing their comments like that makes it seem like they think they're in line with expectations. And that is just a lie.
00:49:25
Speaker
It's not there. It's not there. Yeah, there's flashes like they beat the King 7-0. There's flashes of a really good team there, but they just struggle to put it together for 60 minutes every night. And that's just that's a hallmark of a team that is just going to fall flat every season every time if you don't get it together.
00:49:45
Speaker
I do have to shout out UPL. UPL has been, it wasn't great today against Anaheim, but he's been, I mean, this last, his last 10 games, like up there in terms of like top level goaltending, like top six in the least. He's been great. He's been so good this year. I saw something, a quote about him
00:50:07
Speaker
uh that that Devin Levi coming in and being another young goalie that he's competing with put the fire under his ass and it shows he's he's played really well he's put work into his game and has really improved his game yeah so you gotta hope that continues Devin Levi I think deserves a shout out a little bit like he I think he fell short of expectations this year but I think those expectations were way too high so lofty
00:50:32
Speaker
And so, but he's gone down to Rochester and he's, he's helped that team win. He's been down there. So, I mean, he is a young, young goalie. He's got a lot of runway.
00:50:46
Speaker
Do I think they need better goaltending? Yes, but I don't think that that is a black hole on the roster that has no answer. That's been the reason they've won games compared to last year where they won games in spite of the goaltending. Yeah. And the trade deadline is March 8th this year. So in the coming weeks here, Jake and I will
00:51:09
Speaker
We'll have a pod where we're mostly talking NHL trade deadline stuff and just maybe some things that Jake and I are thinking for the savers here. But yeah, and then the only other thing that's probably worth mentioning here is the Samuelson injury. He went down with surgery. Not to go down with surgery, but he had surgery. He's done for the year.
00:51:33
Speaker
Whatever. I just think the only thing for, for me here is the injury concerns with Matias and continue to grow because he seems to have a hard time staying healthy. He does. Yeah. I think he's somebody that you can count on for 50, 60 games in the season max. And it is what it is. The defensive metrics of the team do struggle when he's out. He's, he's an important piece of that roster.
00:51:59
Speaker
I'll say this too. Ryan Johnson looks unbelievable. This is like a totally quick random aside.
00:52:06
Speaker
But with Sammy being down, I've noticed Ryan Johnson getting more playing time. He looks really good. He's a staple. Staple him to a roster spot next year. There was so much time of will he sign, won't he sign? I'm really glad he signed. He's here. He should and I think will be a Buffalo Sabre next year. Is that it for Sabre Talk there, Jake?
00:52:32
Speaker
I think so. Yeah. Just the trade, like Nigel said, trade deadlines, March 8th, so in about two and a half weeks.
Upcoming Episodes Preview
00:52:38
Speaker
Next week, Tom and Nigel will order some of the needs for the bill's roster and break down where some of those needs will be addressed. And then the week after that, first week in March, we'll kind of go into a little bit more NHL heavy conversation around the trade deadline. NHL trade deadline players
00:52:57
Speaker
typically move before the actual trade deadline. So you might see some savers trades before then, we'll either break down what's already happened or what could happen in the few days leading up to the deadline. And yeah, talk about the savers roster as it looks for the rest of the year. Sick. Tommy, take us out, bro.
00:53:18
Speaker
All right, friends, this is so much. This is so good. So thank you all so much from the bottom of our heart. And I want to get back on the screen here. Just one of just one of our hearts. I'm playing with buttons, guys.
00:53:33
Speaker
All right, let's try that again. Thank you all so, so much for the bottom of our hearts for spending some time with us. It would mean a lot to us if you could please share this episode, give it a like wherever you can, the thumbs ups, the five stars, all those things. We enjoy those. We like stickers and five stars of those. So please do.
00:53:50
Speaker
And give us a follow on Instagram X and our freshly minted YouTube channel and tick tock at let's go buff pod with two F's. These are my pals. That's Nigel. That's Jake. And my name is Tom. Um, and you're listening to the let's go Buffalo podcast. We're sending you love wherever you are. Go bills, go save. Oh,