Beane on The Athletic NFL Show

[Paup 1995MVP]

22 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

Exactly. It was a necessary move based on the circumstances. It certainly was not what the team envisioned happening when they traded for him and when they extended him. That extension remains the biggest mistake in all of this. You can’t fix issues like Diggs had with extra cash. And he is getting insane money for this season.

 

Between the extra money the Bills paid Diggs to extend him for three seasons and what Houston is paying him for this one season - he is making $43.1M for 2024. That’s so messed up that he can force his way out of here and cash in like that at the same time. 

 

Explanation of $43.1M figure.

Force his way out?  His play the second half of last season forced his way out.  He was putrid.  I think the Bills were certainly not envisioning his game to fall off a cliff the second half of last season.  I think we saw a decline in skills.  A decline in intensity and effort.  And a player looking beat up and old.  That's a tough combo to overcome.  He maybe somewhat better this year, until his mood changes for the worse again. But I think the All Pro Diggs is a thing of the past.  

 

As for Beane, I think getting a 2nd round pick for #14 was a thing of genius.  

[SoonerBillsFan]

43 minutes ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

Force his way out?  His play the second half of last season forced his way out.  He was putrid.  I think the Bills were certainly not envisioning his game to fall off a cliff the second half of last season.  I think we saw a decline in skills.  A decline in intensity and effort.  And a player looking beat up and old.  That's a tough combo to overcome.  He maybe somewhat better this year, until his mood changes for the worse again. But I think the All Pro Diggs is a thing of the past.  

 

As for Beane, I think getting a 2nd round pick for #14 was a thing of genius.  

Amd if he was still so damn good, why did the Texans void the rest of his contract instead of a restructure?

[Beck Water]

On 5/28/2024 at 12:08 PM, Back2Buff said:

Why does Beane talk so much?  I dont see other GMs continually on so many media shows.

 

Do you search Youtube and X and other media content looking for other GM's?

4 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Amd if he was still so damn good, why did the Texans void the rest of his contract instead of a restructure?

 

The Texans voided the rest of Diggs contract as a move of appeasement.  They added $3.5M of 2025 guaranteed money onto this year's bag o' loot and freed Diggs to look for The Big Bucks elsewhere in free agency.  

 

They also did restructure.  They converted a lot of his 2024 salary to bonus money so it was paid to him up-front, and amortized it over something like 4 void years - so they'll be paying $5M a year or something like that for Diggs to NOT be on the team.

Edited May 29 by Beck Water

[GunnerBill]

On 5/28/2024 at 6:08 PM, Back2Buff said:

Why does Beane talk so much?  I dont see other GMs continually on so many media shows.

 

He does talk a lot but he is an engaging interview. I imagine that is why shows like to have him.

[msw2112]

20 hours ago, BillnutinHouston said:

 

Can you expand on that assertion?  Why do you think this?  How does a GM's media savvy influence a FA's decision?

 

 

 

I can answer your question with a question.  Have you ever seen a Buddy Nix interview?

 

Many players see interviews, podcasts, etc. like everyone else.  If a player is a free agent looking for a team to play for, and they see an interview with Beane where he comes across as honest, smart, savvy, competent, fair, pro-player, etc., it reflects well on him and the Bills organization.  I believe the Bills organization has a good reputation around the league as one that does right by players and veteran players see this.  Some of that reputation is developed on an insider basis - players who play for a team and share their experiences with other players - and some of it comes from public perception, which is formed based on interviews, press conferences, and other public appearances. 

 

The owner, GM, head coach, coordinator, and position coach are all, to an extent, the player's "boss" and are part of their chain of command.  If you were looking for a job and had a chance to work for a good boss/good management team, might that influence your decision?

Edited May 29 by msw2112

[Fan in Chicago]

On 5/28/2024 at 12:08 PM, Back2Buff said:

Why does Beane talk so much?  I dont see other GMs continually on so many media shows.

Are you seriously complaining that a Bills GM is getting media attention (positive)?? 

[BarleyNY]

2 hours ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

Force his way out?  His play the second half of last season forced his way out.  He was putrid.  I think the Bills were certainly not envisioning his game to fall off a cliff the second half of last season.  I think we saw a decline in skills.  A decline in intensity and effort.  And a player looking beat up and old.  That's a tough combo to overcome.  He maybe somewhat better this year, until his mood changes for the worse again. But I think the All Pro Diggs is a thing of the past.  

 

As for Beane, I think getting a 2nd round pick for #14 was a thing of genius.  

 

Diggs did to Buffalo what he did to Minnesota. It is what it is. Things obviously broke down last season and his half-assed effort and performance - especially in the KC playoff loss - were the end of the relationship. 

 

I don't think he’s at his peak performance-wise, but he’s still a quality WR. The Texans obviously believe that since they gave up Minny’s 2025 2nd for him plus a 2024 sixth and 2025 fifth back. 

 

I also give Beane credit for getting that much back for Diggs. But he doesn’t get a victory lap. In 2022 Beane also extended Diggs for three seasons (2024-2026). That cost the Bills an additional $20.8M in cash and cap the last two seasons than if he’d have just played out his contract. We’d have gotten a 3rd or 4th round comp pick for him in that case. So effectively we paid $20.8M to improve that comp pick to Minny’s 2nd, less the two picks we gave back. That’s not a win. 

[Thurman#1]

On 5/29/2024 at 2:07 AM, Mr. WEO said:

so the Diggs dump is now simply "a prudent cap move"?

 

lol, nice try pal...

 

 

"I don't need to go through all the reasons we decided to do that. I would say from a cap standpoint ..."

 

So, no, not "simply a prudent cap move." He's not trying to pretend it wasn't a lot more than that.

[Chandler#81]

15 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

Do you search Youtube and X and other media content looking for other GM's?

 

The Texans voided the rest of Diggs contract as a move of appeasement.  They added $3.5M of 2025 guaranteed money onto this year's bag o' loot and freed Diggs to look for The Big Bucks elsewhere in free agency.  

 

They also did restructure.  They converted a lot of his 2024 salary to bonus money so it was paid to him up-front, and amortized it over something like 4 void years - so they'll be paying $5M a year or something like that for Diggs to NOT be on the team.

Better them than us! That we’ll be completely free of Diggs next year is a great deal in itself! Atta boy, Brandon!

[Thurman#1]

On 5/30/2024 at 1:33 AM, Paup 1995MVP said:

Force his way out?  His play the second half of last season forced his way out.  He was putrid.  I think the Bills were certainly not envisioning his game to fall off a cliff the second half of last season.  I think we saw a decline in skills.  A decline in intensity and effort.  And a player looking beat up and old.  That's a tough combo to overcome.  He maybe somewhat better this year, until his mood changes for the worse again. But I think the All Pro Diggs is a thing of the past.  

 

As for Beane, I think getting a 2nd round pick for #14 was a thing of genius.  

 

 

The film showed him getting separation a lot and not being thrown to. It also showed defenses recognizing that he was still a weapon and shading coverage his way. A lot.

 

The way Ds covered him helped open up things for the rest of the offense. A lot.

 

He may have showed a decline in physical skills. I'm not convinced, but it's certainly possible. But if so, it was anything but a huge decline.

 

You may well be right that we've seen the last of his All Pro recognition, but I think that he still puts up at least another couple of 1200+ yard seasons. He's not a guy who depended on speed, more on smarts and route-running. That kind of thing lasts longer than pure speed / suddenness does.

 

A thing of genius? No, not even close. The best he could reasonably get under the circumstances? Probably. Certainly a reasonable move, very possibly the best thing he could do given how things worked out.

Edited May 31 by Thurman#1

[Sweats]

On 5/28/2024 at 1:08 PM, Back2Buff said:

Why does Beane talk so much?  I dont see other GMs continually on so many media shows.

 

 

 

 

Would you rather have Beane talking to the media or ole Foghorn Leghorn that we had in the FO some years back?..........boy, i say, boy

[Paup 1995MVP]

On 5/29/2024 at 8:56 PM, BarleyNY said:

 

Diggs did to Buffalo what he did to Minnesota. It is what it is. Things obviously broke down last season and his half-assed effort and performance - especially in the KC playoff loss - were the end of the relationship. 

 

I don't think he’s at his peak performance-wise, but he’s still a quality WR. The Texans obviously believe that since they gave up Minny’s 2025 2nd for him plus a 2024 sixth and 2025 fifth back. 

 

I also give Beane credit for getting that much back for Diggs. But he doesn’t get a victory lap. In 2022 Beane also extended Diggs for three seasons (2024-2026). That cost the Bills an additional $20.8M in cash and cap the last two seasons than if he’d have just played out his contract. We’d have gotten a 3rd or 4th round comp pick for him in that case. So effectively we paid $20.8M to improve that comp pick to Minny’s 2nd, less the two picks we gave back. That’s not a win. 

No GM is perfect in dolling out contracts.  The Bills seemed mesmerized by Diggs the first 2 years.  And paid him a big extension.  That did not turn out the way they expected it to.  The extensions being given out to WR's in today's game seem very high.  (AJ Brown, Devante Smith, Nico Collins, etc)  Guys have a good year, and they get paid huge money.  To me its still a team game.  The Eagles had their shot, and went in the toilet after the Bills game last year.  So they pay their two WR's huge money who are both OK? Their defense was trash, and will likely still be.

 

Overall I think Beane has a great feel on what it takes to build a roster in today's NFL.  And getting back the 2nd from the Texans was big.  It will be interesting to see how both the Bills and Texans look this year.  If we can stay reasonably healthy, we will be strongly in the mix come January.  As for comp picks, I know football and I know numbers, but how that all works is beyond my pay grade.