Leger Douzable, Former NFL Defensive Lineman

Please appreciate the time. As always, how you been? I'm good, Zach. How are you doing?

I'm doing fantastic. And I'll tell you this. What happened today was the fun digs. I'm so confused. How the heck do you interpret what happened today? It was clearly upset.

He was yelling at Josh Allen on the sidelines. So, you know, people are saying, you know, most people want to miss or hold out for mandatory minicamp. It's contract-based. But we know it's not that, because he just found a four-year, $96 million deal where he's making $24 million a year, right?

And the Buffalo Bills essentially can't even begin to get out of that deal until about 2025. So it's just a weird scenario. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this where a guy actually shows up medically on Monday and does all the medical things you need to do. As far as, you know, the physical taken before minicamp, and actually shows up Tuesday morning to the meetings and then leaves before practice. And then you get condescending answers from his head coach who says he's just a little bit concerned, or he's very concerned that Stephon Diggs didn't show up. But then his agent said he was there, right? And now the agent is also Adisha Bakari has come out and said, you know, it's a little weird for him that he heard that the head coach was concerned. As if that Stephon Diggs had a meeting with, you know, his head coach before potentially maybe even, you know, leaving the team facility.

So it's a lot to dive in, Zach. But to me, if you're a Buffalo Bills, this is the last thing you need, right? Distractions this early in the offseason, right?

Right before you get ready to leave and break to come back for training camp. It's the last thing you need because this is a team that essentially this is probably a bill last year having a legit shot at making a Super Bowl run. They've added Leonard Floyd to pair with Bob Miller. And from everything I've heard from Buffalo, he looks really good as far as Bob Miller coming back from the ACL. So, you know, he's not getting any younger. He's going to be 34 this year, I believe.

Leonard Floyd is already 30 or 31. So as far as them making a true run, especially since they've already lost Leslie Frazier, this offseason, the defensive corner and Jermaine Edmonds, who is going to be really hard to replace. You think this is probably essentially the last opportunity they're going to have to make a run because Josh Allen's making so much money and Stephon Diggs is making so much money as well.

So it's hard to add pieces. We got two guys taking that much of the cap space. That's interesting because I think everyone can look at Josh Allen, see what he brings to a football team and you look at his age. He's he's only 27 years old.

You would think there'd be a little bit longer of a window. So I'm kind of surprised by that answer. Well, I mean, let me break this down for you, Zach. If we look at Josh Allen, right? You kind of regressed last year in regards to turning the ball, the football over specifically, right? And we know that Brian Dable kind of coast that out of him. So my thing is, are we going to get the Josh Allen that we saw last year turnover the ball because for most of the years that he led the NFL and turnovers with with the, you know, with the combination of turning the football over via fumbles and throwing interceptions, right? And we know that Brian Dable is not coming back.

He's in New York with his giant. So will he be able to work yourself out of those boneheaded plays returns the football over? Only time will tell because the first year without Brian Dable, he kind of reverted back to playing some of that high school hairy football where he was just doing a little bit too much on certain plays and turning the football over. So I get from your standpoint saying, you know, kind of like what Joe Burrow said earlier this season, right?

The windows open as long as I'm here. I don't know if that's the case for the Buffalo Bills because the two, like, like I said, the two guys on the offense are taking so much room up on the cap. How can you solidify the O-line? How can you solidify other positions on that offense? And then on defense, right? The most important players, Von Miller, we saw what happens when he got hurt last year, right?

Nobody on the defensive line sniffed the quarterback after that. So that lets you know the value of him. I think they're going to feel the loss of Tremaine admins will see if Dorian Williams can feel some of that void. I really like that pick at a two-lane really good cover linebacker that plays physical down the middle at that middle linebacker spot, but he's coming in as a rookie. So what do you expect him to do?

Step right in for Tremaine admins and play up to that caliber. I just don't see it. Le'Jae Dusaball here with us. Going back to Diggs, like we were talking about, it's such a head scratcher. And if I had to assume anything, the only thing I could assume right now logically is that he's just not happy in Buffalo. And if that's the case, this is just a giant mess in what I agree is a make or break season for them because you need everyone all in to turn this thing around and get over that hump and get to the pinnacle of the sport.

Yeah. I think Josh Allen kind of spoke to that when he talked to the media, he was saying, you know, he could do a better job in regards. And I don't know what specifically you can do if somebody's upset with the situation at quarterback. I mean, the only thing he could do is, you know, maybe not turn the ball over and get him the ball more, but what receiver doesn't want the ball more, right? Seeing Stephon Diggs gets most of the, you know, the target share in Buffalo already. So, you know, he was clearly upset after the divisional game. And if you're Stephon Diggs, right? And again, whether players want to admit it or not, Zach, they pay attention to the media, right? Stephon Diggs kind of ushered his way out of Minnesota, right? Now there's this issue with Buffalo. You don't want to be painted as a guy that every time you go somewhere, there's an issue and then, you know, you potentially want to, you know, get out of Dodge when you have an issue with a team. Now, I'm not saying that that's what is happening right now with Buffalo, but we saw it happen in Minnesota.

And again, he made me feel that Zach, by my contract, they can't trade me or get rid of me until 2025. So I'm clearly upset and I want to know what we're going to do moving forward. So I'm not in that position again where I'm looking at the Kansas City Chiefs celebrate at the AFC Championship game.

I'm looking at the Cincinnati Bengals coming to our house and beat us down. But my thing is, is that necessarily the right way to handle this? You want to always keep things internally. So my thing is, if you were disgusted and you had meetings with the front office and your head coach, it's one thing to just show up for your teammates and not practice, right? But it's another thing entirely to leave after you went to meetings. Leave and go home or go wherever you are and not show up on the practice field. It seems like he's got to grow up and be a professional, Le'Jae Duesable. I mean, again, we don't know the ins and outs. I'm always careful to say that somebody needs to grow up.

I play, it's an emotional game. So there's been times when I've been pissed off and there's certain situations where I could have handled things better. I just would, if I'm Stephon Biggs, I think you just got to be cognizant and careful how you handle your displeasure when you're supposed to be a leader on that team. I believe he's a captain on that team.

Right. And leaving the practice facility after, you know, you've come to meetings, unbeknownst it seems like to the head coach. And that's why I think more is going to come out that because his agent, he was kind of surprised, he said, by Sean McVay's words of using the words very concerned as if Sean McVay didn't know he was going to leave. I mean, Sean McDermott didn't know he was going to leave the practice facility and potentially go wherever he went. But I had heard that there was meetings between Stephon Biggs in the front office and the head coach. So I think the Buffalo Bills just need to get on the same page with Stephon Biggs.

Again, they both need each other. That contract, you can't trade out of it, Zach. So he's going to be on the team for at least the next two years, bare minimum.

And really maybe the next three years until the 2025 season. So it's just a weird situation at all. Again, if you're if you've got some displeasure, I think there's a better way to handle it. Right. Because now the thing that sucks that is his teammates have to answer questions about this. And that's the last thing we want to do is teammates answer questions about something that's personally going on with you. Right. That's the last thing I want to do is speak on somebody else and what they're dealing with with the team.

I rather just talk about us, you know, coming together, our camaraderie and then what we're doing to get ready for the season. I know there's certain rules about contact and all that. And I would be frustrated, too, with the way that that season ended, because Cincinnati came into their house and absolutely opened up a can of whoop ass. But it's kind of weird that it took this long where he's still mad about it.

Like this probably should have been fixed by now, you would think. I would say yes and no. Right. And I think Stephon Biggs has been very vocal in saying I'm not going to be all right with losing. Right.

And you got to think about it exactly. It's not just last year. Right. It goes back to when they lost to the Chiefs two years in a row in the playoffs, one in the AFC Championship game, one in the divisional round when they were up with 13 seconds left. So I think this is a thing where it's like third time's the charm, right? Because it's three years in a row. And now the bills feel like they've had a team that could potentially make a run at the Super Bowl, but they just haven't been able to get over the hump. Now, again, I will say this again. Sometimes you got to handle things differently.

Like, and I'm not going to tell anybody how they should feel, but I don't think that's the right way to do it. If you have it, if you're having displeasure about things the team has done, showing up to the medical part of it and then talking to the head coach and GM and then showing up Tuesday to the meetings and then not showing up for practice and just deciding to leave when nobody essentially knew you were leaving. Now, again, maybe some troops will come out and maybe they did know he wasn't going to be there. Maybe he did tell somebody he wasn't going to be there. I guess only time will tell. But I think there's a better way you can handle that situation because we always talk about keeping everything eternally in the locker room, right? Right now, the bills business is out for everybody.

And now people are coming up with their own answers to what's going on in Buffalo because nobody knows truly what's going on. Le'Jae DuSable, where do you think DeAndre Hopkins lands? I know he already made the visit in Tennessee. He's supposed to go to New England coming up on Thursday late in this process, so money's going to play a role in this. How much cap space is available? Where's your best guess where he goes? Hey, you said it right there, Zach, right?

How much cap space is available? And I think people have to understand, people are so cognizant and quick to say that, you know, he's played for this amount of years. I think he wants to win a ring. Yes, players want to win a ring. But Zach, they also want to get paid, and they definitely are looking at what other people in their positions are making, right?

If there's a guy that you think that's comparable to what you've done in your career, you want to be making the type of money he's making. And this situation is Odell Beckham Jr., right? Both of these guys have been perennial pro bowlers in their past. Odell Beckham is coming off a major knee injury where he didn't even play last year, and the Baltimore Ravens gave him 15 million a year with a chance to make 18. So if you're DeAndre Hopkins, right, you came up with a six-game suspension last year, and you were highly productive, right? So for people that are saying he's not the same guy he was, he was never a speedster, right? He was always the guy that separated at the top of the round in one of the best 50-50 jump catch receivers in the NFL.

That's who he's been his whole career, and we saw he could still do that at a high level last year. You're thinking, yeah, I want to, you know, contend and play for a championship, but I also don't want to play for free, and I also don't want to help hurt my future earnings by taking less money because, Zach, I'll give you a little caveat. Once you take that lesser deal, teams put you in that honey hole for the rest of your career, and there's nothing you can do to get out of it. So you have to be smart about the money that you're taking. I think we always thought that with Dalvin Cook. He said, I'm in no rush to take a deal right now because you have to be smart.

Like, you absolutely don't want to take a terrible deal and be stuck. And teams thinking like, well, this guy's comfortable taking this because this is what he took last year, right? So you've got to be smart if you're DeAndre Hopkins. I know people kind of scoffed at me when I said the Houston Texans would make sense. One, because they have cat rooms, and you talk about really solidifying your legacy with the Houston Texans, and that's just a bad division, Zach.

So, like, think about it, in a year or two with C.J. Stroud and some of the other weapons they have with Tank Dale, and then they have two really good runbacks. They signed, you know, Singletary this all season. They took my guy out of Florida.

I don't know why I'm having a brain fart right now. The running back last year in the fourth round from Florida who played really well. Like, you have some nice subsequent pieces, and you have one of the best offensive lines in football. So you're thinking two, three years, man, you could be running the AFC Sub with C.J. Stroud.

And then, again, I talk about cementing your legacy. He's only, like, ten touchdowns behind Andre Johnson as far as most receiving touchdowns in Houston Texans' history, right? He can go ahead and sublet him and be the number one guy in that position. And he's only about 5,000 yards receiving from overtaking the number one spot in receiving yards for Houston Texans' history. So I think the Houston Titans make a lot of sense. I think the Tennessee Titans make a lot of sense, too. They definitely need another veteran receiver. They're kind of thin at the receiver position right now. But if you go to the Tennessee Titans, there's already rumors that Tannehill and potentially Derrick Henry could be traded off.

So do you feel comfortable going there? I think the New England Patriots make absolutely no sense. Yes, the money talks, but I just think the relationship between him and Bill O'Brien just hit a sour patch.

And I don't know how you get over that. I mean, obviously Darrius Slay and Matt Patricia said things have been cordial so far in Philadelphia, but I just don't think... But Patricia's like an intern now there, pretty much. Yeah, exactly. When you're talking about the offensive coordinator who literally chips you off for a bag of chips, like, I think it's a totally different scenario.

Last one, Lije Dussebal. So I thought it was interesting that the Jets basically wined and dined Odell Beckham Jr., then have showed no interest in DeAndre Hopkins. That, to me, makes me think they knew this Dalvin Cook move was coming, and they'd rather have Cook over DeAndre Hopkins, even though it's a different position. I think Rodgers wants Dalvin Cook as well. Will Dalvin Cook be a New York Jet?

I believe he will be, ultimately. I know Robert Soler already came out and said he's going to overturn that stone in regards to Dalvin Cook. And I literally was talking about this on CBS the other day. I said, watch the Jets.

They could be a sneaky team. The Miami Dolphins made no sense to me because they literally resigned both of their running backs, Jeff Wilson and Rahim Bostridge. And those two combined for over 1,500 yards. And if you look at that Kyle Shanahan system with Mike McDaniel out in Miami is doing, Nathaniel Hackett. It's always kind of been running back by committee, even in Green Bay, right? Dylan and Jones split the carries there as well. So, I think the Miami, you know, everybody just assumed because, you know, Dalvin Cook's from Miami.

He potentially could take a hometown discount to come back home. And they took DeMon HN high in the draft. I think they were one of his first two picks in the draft this past year because the Miami Dolphins didn't have a first-round pick. They took him in the third, I believe.

So, and he put that system perfectly. So, they have pretty good running backs already on roster. I didn't see them paying Dalvin Cook $7, $8, $9 million to come there. But the Jets, right, Breece Hall's coming off a major knee injury. And he actually looked good from all the clips that I've seen. You don't know how healthy a guy is until you put shoulder pads on, you get guys around your knees. And then you see them cut and accelerate full speed when there's other, 10 other bodies on the field with them, right?

That's when you know he's truly back. And then, even if, you know, Breece Hall is healthy, right? You get Dalvin Cook for a one-year rental, you bring those two guys in, probably have one of the most explosive back fills in the NFL. So, I think that makes a lot of sense, especially because the Jets are going for it all this year. I think they, you know, an underlying signing that they had today was Adrian Amos.

I thought it was a really good signing. I told my guy Pete Prisco, you know, a few weeks ago, almost a month ago, that I think Adrian Amos to the Jets makes a lot of sense, right? The guy that's had ball production, he's a sure tackler. And the most important thing is, Zach, he's been available.

I don't think he's missed a game the last four years. That's something the Jets surely missed at the safety position last year. Too many different safety combinations because of injuries last year. Thinking you're really sure of that secondary. And now, days in the NFL, you'll see a lot of three safety looks on defense, right?

So, you've got to be able to be multiple defense. So, I think that was an underlying signing. So, that one could pin the Jets, man. Do not be surprised about Denver would be a team that could potentially be on them. But it seems like Denver isn't going to be on them as much. But the Jets, I think, make a lot of sense for Dalvin Cook. Le'Jae Duisable, does a great job. CBS Sports HQ, also Sirius XM. We appreciate the time as always. Appreciate you, Zach.