billsfan89

I still see edge as a massive hole and RG is a question mark if Mongo isn’t resigned. Right now I can’t see McBeane not going Edge early as I can’t see him having enough space to justify a impact signing at DE. If I had to rank the holes on the roster I would say it would be, 1- Edge Rusher 2- RG 3- Pass catcher 4- CB 5- Kick returner Now if you resign Mongo and Roberts you can take 5 off the list and move Oline back to being a depth need. I also think there are some other depth/role player needs on the roster too but that’s still not a ton of holes to fill.

I still like Addision as a situational pass rusher. I think he can still give you 5 to 6 sacks in that role. At a drastically reduced rate he justifies being on the roster. I do hope they use him more like this team used to use Lorax and blitz him from everywhere. But he isn’t a starting DE anymore.

I hope he took a 4ish million dollar pay cut. That would be a nice chunk of change to save. I also hope Hughes is targeted to take a cut as well. Both guys freeing up 3 to 4 million really helps. I wonder if Beane is also looking at converting some base salary into signing bonuses for White/Dawkins/Diggs/Poyer. According to Spotrac those guys reworking the structure of their deals can free up as much as 25 million in space.

I think if they resign Mongo they still go Oline with their round 3 selection. They will likely need a swing tackle and depth along the Oline. I then think in round 1 they are going for a pass rusher. But I still wouldn’t be shocked to see a reclamation project be brought in at the pass rusher position. Given the market they might be willing to try and go after a player like D.Williams last year a high performing player who is coming off multiple down years.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Mongo back. I think McBeane is looking to retain as much of the 2020 roster as possible and then draft a pass rusher and pass catcher to add those last pieces.

Love it, 2 out of the 3 starters that were unrestricted free agents are retained and Williams in my opinion was the most important. I like Milano but I am not trying to replace a starting tackle when I have a stud young QB. Mongo I would hope to resign but if you can’t make it work you can’t make it work.

O-line is not plug and play like it used to be 10-15 years ago. A lot of rookie O-line players at all 5 positions struggle at higher rates than they used to. O-line players can take 2-3 years to develop due to lack of run blocking in college and other factors transitioning from college to the pros. I think it is possible the Bills still go O-line with that pick, if D.Williams just gets a ludicrous offer or they still sign D.Williams but draft a Mongo replacement who can kick out 3 years from now. The Bills could and should still make a big offer to D.Williams, I wouldn't want to trust the second most important O-line position to a rookie even a first rounder.

His agent probably did makes some back door feelers as tampering occurs in all sports. So the offer is probably based off a rough estimate of his value. But still it has to be a deal he felt comfortable with and one the team liked too.

You still need Milano to help get you back in position to make a run. The Bills had to win 13 regular season games and beat the Colts and Ravens just to get to that point. Keeping key players that helped you do that doesn't hurt.

Milano's cap hit this year is only 5 million. So don't count out D.Williams. I think Mongo or D.Williams is out but I wouldn't be shocked to see them push hard for D.Williams. You don't want to have to rely on a rookie.

Seems like the Bills paid what he is worth. Not an overpay but not a hometown discount in a deflated cap market either.

I wish John could have stayed but the cap is what it is. But I do hope they let Josh know about this move and I hope Brown was asked to restructure and turned it down.

Letting Daryl Williams walk is foolish also letting Bojo walk is foolish. The rest is solid but I would rather have D.Williams, Bojo, a mid-level signing at guard and some more depth as opposed to Mongo at 7 million and Lawson at 9 million

I thought it would be Ed Oliver last season. So I don't really know but I would say AJ is one player I think that can have a better than expected season. I think he can push 7+ sacks. Ed Oliver again if he plays a true pass rushing role and Starr can fill the NT position I think can also get to where he needs to be.

Couldn't hurt as a camp body on a minimum deal.

There is a lot more cap space to be gained from converting base salary to bonuses. Spo Trac said that Dawkins/White/Diggs and Poyer's deals could be readjusted to free up 25 million in space. But the question comes in do you want bigger dead cap numbers down the road in exchange for cap relief now? I also think Lee Smith will be cut or retire and there might be some more restructuring with Hughes and a cut to Addision or restructure to his deal. So overall I think McBeane still has some more work cut out for him but he can get even more space to play with. Overall however the question remains how much are you willing to "go for it now"? Josh is on the last year of his rookie deal and he has a very talented team in front of him that needs to retain 3 key starters (Mongo, Williams and Milano) and several key role players (Roberts, Mac, Ty, Barkley, T.Jones.) I think one of the three starters (most likely Milano) leaves and a few key roles players leaves. But then this team has to add 2-3 key pieces to get them over the top. A prime edge rusher and one more significant pass catcher (preferably at TE). How can this team get those pieces in place and retain at least most of their core talent? That's the big question. Right now the only shot they have at that is to find more cap space and the best way to do that is to risk more dead money later on for Diggs/White/Dawkins/Poyer. If they are able to free up that 25 million it unlocks the possibility of keeping 2 out of the 3 (D.Williams, Mongo and Milano) while also keeping some role players and maybe adding a piece before the draft. But sustained winning is hard to do with a lot of dead cap risk for players 2-3 years from now who could be under performing. My mentality is to go for it now. The window to win with Josh is now and you have to take a risk. I am not saying you trade draft picks for big names or anything like that. But if you can get 25 million in space in addition to the space you have freed up and it allows you to retain more talent and fill a hole then do it.

I told my dad that if he watched a basketball game in the 1970's and it wasn't a playoff game then there is a 95% chance that game is no longer on tape. And if watched a late 60's game 99.5% chance it was gone to time. I wonder how well football in the AFL and NFL is preserved? I would imagine that not many games survive from the 60's and before. And the games that survived in the 70's and early 80's is limited. That's not limited to sports either. Tapes were super expensive and media companies just didn't have the money for preservation so a lot of stuff would just get taped over. It wasn't until the late 70's that tape costs started to really come down and we saw a much improved line of preservation.

Wouldn't hate it. Hope they got late rounds to find a speed back. Honestly it isn't a major priority for me if I am McBeane, more interested in keep the O-line strong.

It is very broken always has been. The stupid in and out formula is very backwards and accomplishes nothing.

I think drafting two rookie O-line even high up to start is foolish in this day in age. You have a stud young QB in a win now window. Why rely on two rookies to play heavy snaps on an O-line? Rookie play on the O-line isn't plug and play as it used to be. 15 years ago you could draft a RT and a Guard in the first two rounds and reasonably expect production. Now first round talents are lucky to be impact contributors. You draft one fine, that's the cap and there is a certain level of risk you can take but don't let D.Williams walk and think a rookie is plug and play. That would be very foolish on McBeane's part.

I wonder how they determine this. Not bad for the Bills who should have between 25-45 million in space depending on who they cut/restructure next and if they are willing to reorient White/Dawkins/Diggs/Poyer's deals.

I wonder if sustained success is the model or if the Bills should go for it the next 2 seasons and make more "win now" moves? Given that Josh's contract is going to heavily impact things in 2022-2023 (depending on the timing of his contract) and beyond is the window to win smaller than projected? It will be very telling to see how they approach this off-season. So far the choices have been to be more balanced and pick their spots for larger deals.

I know Spotrac broke it down as to how they would be able to do the Diggs and Poyer deals, I think the team could free up as much as 25 million by reworking those deals and the Dawkins/White contracts. As for Hughes I imagine him taking a pay cut to lower his cap number, not sure how that works with his contract. But looking at the Bills roster the fat that needs to be cut is still in the Hughes and Addison deals.

More of a pass blocker than a run blocker. Wouldn't hate the move if Mongo wants too much. But probably will get a bigger contract offer than McBenae will like.

I actually thought Butler played better the last few games of the regular season and in the playoffs. He was asked to play NT a lot and he isn't an NT despite his size. He was horrid at it for most of the season but I thought his improved play helped a lot with improving the run defense to close the season. I think if he shaves his salary down to 4-5 million he can justify it as being a high end pass rushing reserve DT.