OverDrive - Naylor on Cook's contract extension with the Bills, Buffalo's championship quest and Sanders' spotlight with the Browns

Episode Date: August 13, 2025

TSN Football Insider Dave Naylor joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NFL, James Cook's extension with the Bills and how the deal impacts the entire roster, the Cowboys' team saga, the reasoning behind a hold-in, Shedeur Sanders' next steps with the Browns and more.

From managing successful careers to raising families, women today are busier than ever. Thinking about their needs, including their own financial planning, often falls by the wayside. Yet at some point in their lives, 90% of women will have sole responsibility of their finances, whether they're divorced, widowed, or single. It's never too early or too late to start planning for your future financial security. Call Calvin the Money Guy, 416-457 plan, or visit askkelvin.ca.cai. Alpine News Network is here live with one of our superheroes. People sometimes ask, sure, you can consolidate people's debts using telekinesis,

but what else can you do? As if changing lives isn't enough. Well, I can also use my power to make it rain hot dogs. It's still not as cool as consolidating debts into one easy payment, though. Own your home, need a loan, Alpine credits can help. Alpine credits where homeowners get approved. Fisrael License 12-6-16. Dave Nailer around the table.

What's happening, nail gun? Boy, lots. Lots. High season in the CFL. Yes. NFL camps now starting teams starting to round into form. We got James Cook done, watching the other hold-ins, and heading to Indianapolis this weekend to watch your team, the Packers.

Although I'm going to be primarily focused on a guy who probably isn't going to have a lot to do with their season, which sounds counterintuitive. But Taylor Algersma, who won the head. Heck, Creighton Award. It's a quarterback at Wilford-Lorea University. First Canadian University quarterback to sign an NFL contract in about 40 years. Wow. And, I mean, it's an incredible step up when you think about it. Like, with all due respect to OUA football, you know, from going from that.

And it's not only just going from OUA football to the NFL, you're playing a different game. And we talk about this all the time when guys come from the U.S. and they've got to adapt to it. But I remember talking to Trey Ford after he went to Baltimore. Moore's minicamp. And one of the things he said was just the timing's different, the cadence, difference, like, everything's different.

So on top of the step up in terms of the competition and the talent around you, you're also winning another game on the fly, but he'll get an opportunity to play because Jordan Love's not playing. So I'm looking forward to seeing it. That concerns me, man.

Jordan Love, like he's just, he was hurt a lot last year. And he took a step back. He was better than 23 than 24. Absolutely, it was. Absolutely, he was. And the injuries they just kept piling up

and now he's already banged up and they've got a bunch of other starters who aren't even taking reps and I get it still early August but it's not even early August it's August 13 now like it comes at you quick man and the NFL football period

if you don't get your reps in it can hurt you yeah so you know surviving camp is a big part of it but also getting your work in is a big part of it does and it's easy to dismiss it's middle of August how's this going to affect them

you know in January but there's a reason they have training camp There's a reason. There's reps. There's reason. And we see it all the time. Guys who either miss time in injury in camp or whatever reason. And it just kind of, especially with rookies, especially with rookies. But it really can undermine your chances for success in the season by what happens in the summer. Big time. And you mentioned James Cook getting signed. He gets about 30 million guarantee. 30 million guaranteed, yeah.

In Buffalo. That's big. I mean, he was around. He's talking a big game after he signed too. He's like, I was willing to stand in as long as it took. not quite certain that that was going to be the case for a guy who's been in the league for three years but we were speaking about it earlier on SportsCenter I think it's I think he's an integral part of their offense I mean that goes without saying

he's their number one back he's got a nose for the end zone Josh Allen can really feed off him like that backfield with Alan and Cook is a real nightmare for defenses young guy not a ton of touches like still in his prime seems like appropriate money

I think it's good work for both sides Yeah, I mean, the bills get this stuff done, right? If you look at them traditionally, especially with their draft-up, develop, retain philosophy, and they tend not to reach and overpay for guys, and they tend not to, you know, try and chisel them down either, right? And even, it was funny, the language, if you look at the language that, say, is being used in Dallas on the Michael Parsons situation, and watch the language that Sean McDermott and Brandon Bean used through this whole process, going back to the off-season. It's like, love James, you know. In fact, Brandon Bean repeatedly referred to him as Jimbo.

That's not really hard language when you're in a negotiation, when you're calling your running back Jimbo. And they kept the communication up. Even on Saturday, there was a conversation between McDermott and Cook about what he would do in the preseason game, and that's how it was resolved that he would warm up and not play. But it never, I mean, the most aggressive thing they said was during his hold-in last week, Sean McDermott showed up practice one day,

and he said, we're moving on, which is what you do when guys are hurt, right? you've got to move on. You've got to prepare with the next guy's up. But ultimately, you know, Buffalo gets this stuff done, and you're right, 26 years old in a month, very low odometer, and kind of a unique player. Like, he's never going to be a high-volume guy, he's never going to be a bright tackles guy, but the nose for the end zone that you noted, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, and he's a home run hitter. And in a league where we're seeing less and less of the bombs away NFL because of the way secondaries are playing deep and more of the game is happening at the line of scrimmon. than 30 yards down, having the capability of a guy who can make one cut and go 70 yards, you know, maybe makes up for some of the deep throws that we were seeing in the NFL that there aren't as many of.

So I've heard a couple of takes on this deal. There's always the one that says don't pay running backs, pure. I didn't know if the bills would ever give a second contract to right. I've also heard people say, no, no, you need to pay running backs. You know, Sequan Barkley is Exhibit A. And this is kind of like running backs can't get no respect because he's not making a step forward from Saquan Barclay. Of course, he's not Saquan Barclay and nobody thinks he is. How do you

see it? Well, I think I honestly think sometimes running backs are like goalies and hockey and I hate being like always making everything a hockey analogy because that happens too often in this country. So I do this with like it's not my need-your-go-to, okay? But it's like there's lots of good goalies, right? Lots of even

really good goalies. But who are the guys that make the difference, right? That's a short list. It's probably about the same as the list of running back. And James Cook slots in, I think he's tied with Josh Jacobs, who's the sixth highest salary in the NFL. But I think what makes him unique is that most of the other guys,

and Kyron Williams is a great comparable. The Rams running back was signed last week. Got three years, $33,000, $23 of a guarantee. It's a real contrast to James Cook. Kairn Williams was on the field for like 84% of the Rams snaps last year. He touched the ball 43% of the time they ran an offensive play. James Cook, 45% of the time on the field, or 47, doesn't less than 50, 24% of touches.

So the Bill's philosophy is we're going to keep this guy fresh. He's got a low odometer. We got two complementary backs that we situationally trust in the right situations, and James Cook will be our explosive guy, right? Where Kyron Williams is very, very different. So he's a running back whose skill set is really suited to the way the bills have designed their offense. Well, it's also a scenario here where Buffalo is, they're going to win their division.

I think they're going to finish. They got the cream puff of cream puff schedule. They got such a soft schedule. Even outside of the division. Yes, exactly. Holy smokes. Yeah, compared to what Baltimore is going to face in Kansas City. They're in their favorite every game.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, no, I think they're going to finish 13 wins, 14, you know, barring an Allen injury or something crazy like that, or the defense, just for whatever reason, completely falls apart, which I don't believe will happen. So you're in Super Bowl or bust mode. Oh, yeah. So the idea of moving off a talent like Cook does not make any sense. I don't think you can be emboldened.

Like, if you have multiple rings, you might look at the running back position a little bit differently. We'll go find another guy. We're not going to overspend there. He gave us what he gave us. We got our ring. Like, Philly might feel that way about Barclay at some point. You got us a ring. Thank you for everything.

Your next contract will maybe have a bit of a different viewpoint. but also they don't have like all pro offensive weaponry in Buffalo no right like spread it out yes they don't have Jamar Chase they don't have Travis Kelsey their best talent their most elite talent might be on the

offensive line yes exactly tackles exactly Dawkins too I guess was banged up a little bit today too and that's a concern you need Alan the offensive line and then whatever else you can get around them and Cook's a big part of that so I think this made sense I don't think they were ever going to be brash enough

to say, forget it, we're moving on, or we're really going to dig in. Just get it done. Make sure everyone's in a positive mindset. Go chase the Super Bowl. Well, and if this was a team that was at a different point of the cycle of chasing the Super Bowl, the best strategy would probably be to make James Cook play it out. Dare him not to play, right? And go ahead.

I dare you. 5.3 million. He hadn't made that much money in his career. He wasn't even a starter in college, right? So I dare you not to play. He plays. And if he has a great year, then, you know, you try and get the extension done with it. He doesn't, or he gets hurt for seven games, and Ray Davis goes in and you can do the analytics on your offense, Ray Davis versus James Cook.

You know, that's probably the way you do it if you're at a different point of the cycle. I think this is a good dollar for him as well to get the guaranteed money in this. On the surface, it's the same as the Josh Jacobs deal, but way more guaranteed money. It doesn't turn into that rolling option year that he's getting. And back to what you're saying off the top, I think it's just a good look for the bills. Yeah. What the Cowboys are doing is that, in synthesis, example. They take it to the edge every single.

Jones talks about players like they work for a rival company. This keeps the Bean and McDermott group as the group that takes care of their guys and does it properly. That rolls over. First hold in they've had. And a guy who might have got this done if he wasn't the fifth guy they've given an extension to this season, four of them from the same draft class, which is a real credit that you have four guys you want to extend early. But I think that that is the Buffalo way. And look, it's funny because for a while it felt like Buffalo wasn't.

in a desirable location for players. But two things you see is generally guys want to stay there. And even more than that, I've never been around a team in sports ever where so many guys come back. The number of guys who play for the bills under McDermott and being more than

once is remarkable. And even like Tradavius White is the latest, who's going to start a corner for them with Maxwell Harrison still nursing an injury for the start of the season. He told his agent in the off season, there's only one team I want to play for. Get me back to Buffalo. It is, they got something special going on there.

Yeah, they do. They really do. And, you know, speaking of Dallas and Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons, and now Jones is saying, you know, I'm paraphrasing, but I don't know if he'll be available week one. I think they're playing Philly, too. They're playing the Eagles. You might want your best defensive player. Your best player, period.

It's a reality show. He's producing a reality show. That's exactly what it is. Hard Knox needs to pull up its cameras from Buffalo, get down to Dallas. Yeah. Well, Edward was pointing out on, you know, that he does have a Netflix special that's being produced as we speak, and that could play into the fact he's been taking the microphone every other day

to say something. He can't wait to talk, Jerry Jones. Like, I think he'd like to win, sure, but I don't think that, that's not the be all and end all. No. Like, I think if you offered him a hypothetical, we'll give you a Super Bowl this year, but then you have to leave forever. Yeah. He would say absolutely not.

Well, it's funny. Like, absolutely not. Super Bowl or shut up. He'd rather 0.17 and be talking every single day. So, historic, just a historical story for me on the Dallas Cowboys. So I covered a lot of National Hockey League before I ever covered much NFL. And you guys have been in a lot of NHL dressing rooms, not a lot of drama, not a lot of color, not a lot of sound bites, right? And I covered the freaking Ottawa senators under Jacques Martan for 11 years, okay?

Now, you talk about, even by NHL standards, that room was a killer, like in terms of guys to say anything. So I go to cover a Giants at Dallas playoff game. It was the year that the Giants went on and upset the undefeated New England team in the playoffs, and it's at the old stadium in Dallas. And I go into the locker room afterwards, and there was so much going on in that locker room. It was like my entire career of covering the National Hockey League was exceeded by one post-game room in Dallas, which included Jerry, you know, like surrounded by the mega. It was the time that T.O. did the, that's my quarterback, man.

Like, I'm standing five feet away from when we performed that. Flozell Adams is, like, threatening reporters who get near his locker. I'm just like, where am I? Yeah, exactly. This is, but that's the circus. That's Dallas, man. That's the circus, that's it. Well, and the crazy thing is that when he first got there, he bought the team in 89, I believe,

and they win those three Super Bowls, those teams were insane. Insane. Like, insane people, but it worked. It worked. So he's like keeping up with the insanity without the actual winning. You know, he said, let's do 30 years of the biggest craziest personalities ever, but the three Super Bowls, we don't need those. You know, I mean, it's a wild, wild story.

He wants to play madden in real life. Yeah, exactly. And for a guy who likes to sound so smart with money, he's awfully stupid with money at times. He waits to do these deals late. And loses. We've seen it with CD. We've seen it with DAC. You wait and wait and wait and wait. Every single week, a deal gets announced that is the biggest for this position ever.

It only goes up. It only goes up. And he waits at the last minute. You look at the stats, like the analytics. I saw it last week. When he's on the field, I want to say throughout his career, they've had like the second most efficient defense in football. And when he's

not, they're like 29. Pay the difference makers, man. It's absurd how much of a difference maker he is. And like, that's the guy you're going to draw the line on, your pass rusher, you're a machine, a guy who terrorizes offensive coordinators. Although Naylor, to play

the devil's advocate on this, these guys doing these holdings, they're basically saying to the owner or the management that I'm not willing to miss a $50,000 fine a day. to mispractice. Right. So I'm showing up.

And I'm going to go half hard as through the drills. Is there somebody that's going to test that and say, if you're not willing to give a 50 grand a day, you have the guts to give up a full game check, which is going to be a lot more than 50 grand. Well, and that's, I mean, who we're trying to think of guys we saw who did that. Levion Bell did it for an entire season. And it basically edited his career.

Well, it was nuts, right? Because unaware that even as talented as he was, the most replaceable position, maybe in sports, certainly in the NFL. But it's, I'm trying to think of other guys who've actually, like, Emmett Smith did. There's been defensive players 30 years ago. And it works. And they went 0 and 2.

And it works. Now, if they've done 2 and 0, you know, is it different? Well, Chris Jones did it with Kansas City. Last year he missed the first game. Last year the year before, remember after they won the Super Bowl? He was up in the suite. Right, right. And I think he missed one game, maybe two.

With the money in the NFL today, you are talking. I mean, because first of all, the guys who were doing this, Well, some, I shouldn't say necessarily, some of them were coming out of the rookie contracts. But for the guys who are not in rookie contracts, the money you're talking about leaving on the table per game, even if you are on this deal that you think is crappy, I mean, you'd have to really have the courage of your

convictions to sit out. I mean, it sounds nuts, but guys could sit out a million dollars a week. Yeah. Or you've made so much money, like Cam Hayward down in Pitt. It's made a lot of money, and he's like, I can't play off $15 million or whatever it is. And I think a lot of people in Pittsburgh are thinking, dude, you're not

a young man. No. He just got paid more. I believe he got the highest amount of money for a non-quarterback over the age of 32 or whatever it was in NFL history, like a year ago or two years ago. And now he's saying that's still not enough. And I think people in Pittsburgh might be willing to accept that he could challenge that. Like he may actually say, I've made so much money.

I don't actually have to play for $15 million. Right. Like that's the other end of the spectrum. The thing I don't get on a guy like Cam Hayward is what's your why there? Yeah, exactly. You're making $15 million, so you made a lot of money. You've made $150 million. You're on a team that might have a chance to go somewhere.

I get it more in a James Cook, right? Because it's like you want to try to – you're making the NFL as a starter. Your goal should be to try to make generational money, right? And when you're a running back, if he played on the final year of his rookie contract, I mean, we've seen money. Yeah. You struggle, you get cut. There was a thing I did where we looked at, like, how many –

times, like, teams that were winning Super Bowls had switched their running backs within, like, two seasons, right? Like, it turns over quickly. So I understand that James Cook coming to a rookie contract at that position, yeah, you try to leverage it now. Absolutely. Dave Naylor in studio, Mary Kay Cabot

down in Cleveland, sent out a tweet earlier this afternoon that Shador Sanders suffered an oblique injury throwing earlier in a joint practice with the Eagles and was held out means he probably won't play on the weekend. He threw two touchdowns. You know, he looked okay, like he looked okay, and he looked like Sanders. That's what everyone kind of

say. If he's got time, he's patient, he's very accurate. But if he misses like week two of the preseason due to injury, what happens here? Because Stefansky sent out the depth chart, and I believe he was still number four on that. So if you're hurt and you can't play, how do you move up to even number three? And furthermore, how do you possibly make the team? You can't be a fourth quarterback on a roster. Well, I mean, a team could carry three and put one on the PR, right? That would be the option.

But wouldn't it be him? That's what I'm saying. Like, Flacco's going to start. Like, I mean, I was at the Combine in February where he was like legit, top 10 pick conversation. The idea that he'd be clinging to a practice roster coming out of camp, I don't think it was a comparable for it. And, like, I haven't, I didn't get to Cleveland.

I was actually trying to get there and just schedule, didn't work out. Because I wanted to go down there and just, you know, catch the vibe of what that was like down in camp and watch practice and say. how the reps were being distributed, but I don't know what you do with him, because obviously Cleveland didn't prioritize him. He's not even the first quarterback they took, right? And yet, if you think that there's something there, it's not going to be determined by the end of August. Like it might be two or three years of development away, and are they committed to that, and what kind of noise comes with that? So many questions around this guy.

Yeah, big time. Like he's... A quarterback on that roster is weird. Joe Flacco, you're not really trying to win right now if you're the Browns, Are you with 40-year-old Joe Flacko? And if there was anything to Kenny Pickett, maybe that makes a bit of sense, but I don't know if there is. No. And then two rookies that you took together. Well, and there's a fifth guy who's making more money than anybody else in the lead.

None of it makes. The Sean Watson. And that's just not even, you can't play. I'm trying to think the last time a team took two, okay, a couple times. He took two quarterbacks to draft recently. Well, Washington did it with RG3. Yeah. Right?

They took him, and then they took Kirk Cousins. and New England took Drake May and Joe Milton. That was just last year. But it's pretty rare, you know, because you create this log jam. I mean, it's hard enough to find reps for a rookie at training camp. Never mind two of them. Yeah. Well, that's the whole thing, right?

Especially when neither one in that case is like your guy. Like, at least in New England, it's Drake May and Joe Milton. Yes. And even at the start in Washington, it was RG3 and Kirk Cousins. But these two guys are, one's, what? Yeah, third round pick and a fifth round. Yeah, Dylan Gabriel went in the third. I've never seen anything like that.

And none of those fifth rounders brought ESPN to your camp every single day. Right. And all that attention and annoying your coach every single day with questions with a fourth string quarterback. It's a great, it's a great point. Sorry, go ahead. No, I was I was going to say, like the fact that you're talking about the Cleveland Browns is an amazing thing. I mean, there's value in Stewart of Sanders for that alone, right?

Like, I don't know about a borderline player that has had more attention on him. Well, it's T-Boh. It's Mansell-like. That's what it feels. If the NFL teams love having attention on their quarterbacks, or they don't mind it, they don't love having attention on their backups. And one of the qualities, I mean, I always said this about Doug Flutie. One of the reasons that Doug Flutie played up here so long

when he was clearly good enough to go back and play there was if he's not starting, nobody wants him there. Because if Doug Flutie's your backup and your starter has a mediocre first three or four games, cameras are going there. Get Doug Flutty in there. And I don't think Doug was, certainly in his prime, was wired to be a backup. He had to start in Canada because I don't think teams would have wanted him there. He's a magnet for attention.

You know, not, and he's not like a guy who's craving it. It just finds him. He's just one of those guys who, because of the magic of things he did. And teams just, you know, and actually ultimately look what happened. Buffalo committed to him, made him their starter. They had a bunch of success. And the minute they decided he was at their starter, it kind of didn't work anymore, right? he really ended up out of there.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm very curious to see what they end up doing. Because even the owner down in Cleveland a couple of weeks ago, he basically took himself out of the whole operation. He's like, it wasn't me. The same owner, by the way, who, like, told them to take Johnny Mansell. Yeah. Yeah.

And allegedly, because he's a good guy. He's a whisperer. He's a quarterback guru. Johnny Manzell might have been Shadur Sanders before Shadur Sanders. Right. Like, we might have seen that free fall happen, right? And also, Manzell should have gone. gone in the fifth round. Yes, that's what I'm saying. If they don't, if they don't take

him at 24th of the first round, where does he go next? It's a great question. He might have been Shadur Sanders before. Yep, that's right. Before we ever saw that. And of course, it was in Cleveland. Of course, involved the Browns. Yeah, it was in Cleveland. And speaking of side shows that actually have some talent, Taylor Swift, of course, taking over the NFL universe yet again. I think, I think this is like the New Heights pre-show, right? Because they get released when when overdrive is over, New Heights will be released. knew they're smart enough. They don't want to compete with us. There you go. The Kelsey Brothers

and Taylor Swift can't meet the four of us. Come on. So that'll be fun, obviously, you know, the biggest star on the planet, talking to the two biggest podcasting stars in the NFL. But I was curious about your take on Travis, who actually still was a football player, along with being a podcaster. And,

you know, he had the big piece in GQ, where he's posing with alligators and pythons and shirtless and doing all the glamour stuff. But he also had this sort of profile where he made a very clear that he wasn't happy with his standard of play these past two years. The fact that he went back to his old trainer, he acknowledged

maybe the trappings of celebrity, got to him a little bit. Sure. Yeah, and now he's leaner, meaner, back to what he was. And older. And also 35 years old. That's my concern. And when you watch that, you know, you and I were both at the Super Bowl in New Orleans and it was a pretty pathetic performance from more than

one chief, but certainly Kelsey was in that group. Do you think there's real gas in that tank? Or how do you see that? I have trouble. I have trouble believing that. And I think sometimes there are guys who, you know, the aura around them and everything they've accomplished keeps them in the game, maybe not in the game too long, but keeps their role more prominent than it should be and keeps their salary more prominent. Like the chiefs aren't going to cut Travis Kelsey, right?

They're not going to go to them and say, hey, we don't think you're a $20 million, and I don't know the salary off top of my head, so I'm making this up. But we don't think you're worth what we did in this. Like, that's not going to happen. Well, they'd be cutting Taylor Swift. You'll be a dumb move. But the chiefs are going to be interesting to me because you know, Patrick Mahomes, even last year when he's having an year,

he's still like in the betting favorite to be most valuable player. So, you know, well into the season. And it's now been like multiple years where he has not been among the most efficient passers in football. And you can argue about their weapons. And certainly, you know, a couple years ago, that was certainly the case. And we'll see what happens, you know, this year.

But I think Kelsey's drop-off is part of Mahomes's drop-off. Now, Mahomes may play his best football of his life in three years. But right now, that whole offense, they have really sustained this window, mostly on defense, you know, for all the accolades that Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelty get. So, no, I'm not buying the Kelsey stuff. No, me neither, man. I think there could be a rude awakening coming there. I mean, I think Kelsey, you don't just find it at that age, right?

And especially if you're speaking to celebrity, yet you're still doing your podcast at photo shoots and all that kind of stuff. I mean, 35 for a primary offensive player in football. He lumbered. Yes, exactly. And he's taking hits over his career. You run through the middle of the field, you're going to get hit. He's going to get hit. The catch radius.

It was a fascinating article because his trainer was, to your point, Keegan, the trainer was pointed out that he's never been fast. Yeah. Like even, you know, he's going through, like, he's only at 16 miles per hour, whereas the top guys are past 20 miles an hour. This guy's never had to have, like, breakout speed to get open and to make big plays. He's just smart and he catches everything. He knows angles.

And he's got a quarterback that will tell him be spontaneous if you have to. Right. Like that's a big part of it. There was one week the bills were playing the Chiefs and McDermott does his media session. And, you know, he gets all these very pointed questions, you know, whatever. And then one of the reporters just asked him and said, why is Travis Kelsey always open? Yeah. Great question, though. Great question. Great question.

All right, nail gun. Great seeing you, man. Thank you for doing this. Good to be here in studio. Enjoy it very much. guys. Thanks very much. There is. Dave Nailer, a football insider. Unmistakably Canadian. It's the music that raised you. The artists

raising the bar. Hi, this is Brian Adams. Hey, my name's Brad Emmons. I'm from the glorious sons. Hi, I'm Nellie Fittato. Made in Canada. The station that champions Canadian music. Loud, proud, and all yours. No passports required. Just press play.

Tap into Made in Canada now. or the free iHeartRadio.com or the free iHeartRadio app.