Dion Dawkins fakes out social media before re-signing with Bills

Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins agreed to a contract extension on Monday. Before the deal was reported by Adam Schefter and confirmed by the Bills, Dawkins sent out a cryptic social media message implying he was moving on from the only NFL team he’s ever played for.

“It was good while it lasted Buffalo. Excited for this next chapter of my football career. Wonder if its [sic] ok to eat ranch now.”

It came on the heels of a social media tease on Saturday, which also stirred up feelings in the Bills fanbase:

“Buffalo NY is forever my home. Promise me That #BillsMafia”

Dawkins got a big kick out of it, eventually messaging a response at the same time Schefter broke the news.

“Yall are cra why would ever Leave Buffalo im never leaving guy Im buffalo for life”

Naturally, NFL insiders around the league ran with the social media post, quoting Dawkins saying he was leaving and citing the Bills’ salary cap cuts from last week. A lot of deleting was happening in the immediate aftermath.

The next batch of reactions led to a lot of memery on the social channels:

Afterward, Dawkins was interviewed by the local media in Buffalo and gave his perspective on the discourse, saying it was spur of the moment and not pre-planned.

“I don’t really see it as a prank. I’m an entertainer. I’m going to entertain,” said dawkins when asked about the prank to kick off his presser. “I was missing the Mafia. Simple as that. I was missing the Bills Mafia and had to figure out which way I could do to get a little bit of something back and forth. You know, they love it, they hate it, but it’s me. I can’t change.”

“Today was real sporadic because I woke up to a call from my agent. He was like, ‘They’re going to put the news out in an hour’ and I was like, I guess I have an hour to troll. I just woke up trolling after my workout. I hate it and I love it. I figured, you talk about ranch and if I can eat ranch and they were like, ‘Ummm ranch is not a Buffalo thing, so you can’t be talking about Buffalo.’ Just to keep them buzzing.”

It was a legendary troll from the multi-time Pro Bowler and also a reminder to keep your head on a swivel during the free agency rush. Apparently even accounts that aren’t fake can be untrustworthy from time to time.

I’m just glad that as soon as I read the bit about ranch dressing (as Dawkins would later mention), I was immediately distrustful. I didn’t get got.