By Mark Gaughan
A prank phone call resulted in a recorded conversation between general managers Buddy Nix of the Buffalo Bills and Mark Dominik of the Tampa Bay Buccanneers. That recording was posted on the website Deadspin.com today.
The eavesdrop didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, but it reconfirmed the Bills' conviction that Wednesday is deadline day for the renegotiation of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick's contract.
Deadspin posted a phone conversation that lasted about six minutes Friday between Nix and Dominik.
In it Nix says about Fitzpatrick: "We're still struggling here with our quarterback. I say struggling. We're not really struggling. He's going to have to do something, or we'll have to."
Added Nix: "You can't afford to pay that kind of money to a guy that's fighting for probably a backup job."
And then Nix ended with this on his quarterback situation: "We gotta get one somehow. Bad time to need it."
Click on this link to hear the Deadspin audio clips between Nix and Dominik.
The Bills today released a statement on the phone call: "We are aware of the report on Deadspin involving a phone conversation with Bills GM Buddy Nix. We have made the league aware of the report and are reviewing it with legal counsel."
According to Deadspin, the pranksters initially called Nix's office claiming to be Dominik, and when the call was patched through, they hung up. Nix kept calling back the number, seeking to talk with Dominik. Eventually, Nix called back precisely when the pranksters were calling Dominik's office and were patched through to the Bucs GM. They put the calls on speaker phone and recorded them with a second cell phone and listened.
The problem for Nix was he returned Dominik's call to the joke line. One would think he'd return the call to Dominik's office or Dominik's real cell phone, which all general managers no doubt have.
Fitzpatrick is due a $3 million bonus on the second day of the NFL's league year, which starts today.
tagged
Buddy Nix | Ryan Fitzpatrick
