billsfan89

More interested in seeing if the Browns extend Teller. He has been really good for them.

I think they keep Roberts, I can't see him being super expensive in a cap crunch and one botched return can easily cost you a game. Roberts also was a really good punt returner last season. Each game he would have one or two returns that while not game breaking would get you 10-15 yards extra in a smart safe way that add up in the field position game. As a kick returner he wasn't great but he was far from bad. If he is willing to come back on the cheap I could easily see him being back. Brown I think they will ask to stay if he is willing to take a pay cut. If not then I think they make the hard choice and take the space to use elsewhere. So it will come down to can he be willing to take a reduction in pay? Mac is another one where I think they simply name their price and he sees if that is better than what he can get on the open market. I think at the very least one of them is gone so there will be a spot for Hodgins. If I had to guess it would be Brown and Roberts stay and Mac is gone. As I think they can duplicate Mac's production with Hodgins more easily.

If they keep John Brown, I feel they are comfortable with Hodgins taking over the WR5 gadget role Mac did. You then can bring back Roberts one more year to anchor the return game and draft a WR in round 6 or 7 to wait in the wings on the PS and add some depth. Or they let Roberts walk and resign Mac to take the return duties and have Hodgins take the WR6 spot .

Mitch is one of the best pass blocking centers in the league, he also is great at doing the leadership things and communication you need a center to do and he isn’t a tragic run blocker either. Overall he is a good player and at a reduced rate and cap number he makes even more sense to keep. Hoping to see John Brown, Hughes and a few others take this route. Isn’t Jefferson coming with 1.5 million in dead cap? I would see if he wants to restructure and take a lower number before cutting him as I like him as a good rotational pass rusher. But if he is unwilling to come down to a more reasonable cap number I cut him and spend that space elsewhere.

I think they Hodgins fate will come down to John Brown, Mac and Roberts. If Brown is retained (which I hope he is just at a reduced rate) and they resign Mac as the gadget WR5 and Roberts as the return man it is hard to see where Hodgins fits. But if one of those three WR’s is not brought back it opens things up for Hodgins to take a back and WR spot.

I think Billy B is trying to recreate his 2018 team. Strong defense, big physical running game, and a solid game manager QB. I think adding Brown back to the Oline is a nice move along with getting back Cannon via opt out. I think he tries to get Jimmy G as well to be his game manager plus QB. It isn’t the worst strategy but I think he won’t be able to do more than 10 wins with that type of team. And they won’t be a serious threat in the playoffs. You just need a more dynamic QB.

The injury might have helped his value in a perverse way. The Cowboys offense completely fell apart once he left. They won't be able to field a defense worth a dam now but hey that's the game.

If the aav is 40 million then what the hell was Dak asking for? These QB deals are absurd. I think this sets the market for Josh as he isn't taking a penny less.

I don't think you can win with Dak occupying 40 million on your cap. He is however much better than I though he was. They plugged in Dalton who was a good backup option and that team became rather bad on offense rather quickly. Dak got what he wanted and the Cowboys get to see if he can be their answer longer term.

I wonder who caved on the years?

In terms of length and total value of production you can argue Hyde and Poyer especially if they can give you 2 more years of quality production which is possible. To run down your list Spikes - Loved him but he was great for just 2 years before getting hurt and being gone after 3 seasons. Peak value goes to Spikes but hard to argue that total value wouldn’t go to Hyde/Poyer. Lorax - Had one great year and then 3 solid ones but fell far from his pro bowl level into a nice role player. Peak performance I would give a slight edge to Lorax but a huge edge in total value to Hyde/Poyer. Bryce Paup- Was only here for 3 years but had an amazing 1995 although his sack totals went drastically down the next 2 years he still made the Pro Bowl all 3 years he played. He is a little before my time so I would defer to a more veteran fan so to how good he was in 96 and 97 as that would hinge total value. James Lofton - 3 really good seasons out of 4 years he was here. Definitely debatable. Mario Williams - Mario had 1 great year (2014) and 1 good year (2013) and 1 Ok year (2012) before flaming out. I would give total value to Hyde and Poyer. Ted Washington- This has to be my pick for the best free agency acquisition of all time for the Bills. 6 seasons with great peak value. Would easily have to see Hyde and Poyer play 3 more seasons at their current levels to get into the total value conversation with Ted. Flutie ~ Never an elite Qb when here I would take Hyde/Poyer. London - Started 5 seasons several years as a really good player. I would put this as a push for total value and a slight edge in peak value for Hyde and Poyer. I would say the Hyde Poyer signings fall right up there with best all time signings. Behind Ted who is the only one head and shoulders above

Before the Pegulas stated to improve the facilities and invest in the football operations it was hard to pitch Buffalo. It has two strikes against it being a cold weather not so glamorous city stuck with high state taxes. But then you add in the lackluster cheap ownership (sorry Ralph) and what is the pitch besides money or playing time? So now the team actually has state of the art facilities, an ownership group willing to spend on bonuses and to the cap, and a well respected coach and young dynamic QB. It is a lot easier to sell Buffalo. Also Hyde might be one of the best if not the best free agency signing of all time for the Bills. 4 years so far of Pro Bowl or near Pro Bowl production and reasonable to think he can provide 1 to 3 more years at that level. Hard to find total value better than that.

Mahomes sat almost all his first year and then became transcendently great in his second year his first year starting. The offense had the pieces around him from the get go. He then followed that up with a brilliant pair of seasons where he seemingly improved in aspects of his game both years. Allen was forced into action a lot his rookie year and looked raw but dynamic at times. He then took a step up in 2019 but still had a lot to work on to become elite. Then in 2020 it all just clicked and he got to that elite level. Both guys have had their own paths. Mahomes is a little bit ahead having been drafted a year earlier and having a better offensive cast out the box. Allen has the physical tools to get there. He just needed another season of polish and playoffs to get to that Super Bowl level in my opinion. The fact that the Bills have one of the best young QB’s in the game is amazing as a fan.

Mahomes is currently better than Allen but I do think that Allen physically is as dynamic as Mahomes and I think it is possible given Allen's arc of progress that he can get to the same performance level of Mahomes from an in game decision making and reaction perspective.

Addision wasn't a tragic signing. But they overpaid for alright production and are looking at eating 4 million to get rid of his 10 million dollar cap hit. Or they will have to ask him to take a pay cut to be a rotational/depth DE.

I would hope that they attempt to ask John Brown to take a pay cut. Shave 3ish million off of his cap number and you keep a good WR2 that adds a lot of speed and puts him at a good cap number. I would also like to restructure Mitch's contract to cut down his cap number 3.5ish million. I think Mitch is one of the best pass blocking centers in the league, he does all the little leadership things that you need a center to do and not a tragic run blocker. I think if they can get his cap number down a bit he still is a valuable asset to the team. Vernon Butler and Lee Smith are as good as gone. I would also like to see Quinton Jefferson restructured but if he is unwilling to take a significant pay cut then he can be gone too same goes for Addision. I wouldn't mind keeping Addision and Jefferson but not at their inflated salaries they need to be let go if they aren't willing to lower their salaries. They are nice rotational players but their salaries in 2021 are just too high for the production they are producing. I also think Hughes could squeeze down his salary a little to give the team some more space. It is however great to see that this team can free up 25 million on simple restructures of Diggs, White, Dawkins and Poyer. That along with the 9 million from releasing Butler and Smith is a great way to free up 34 million in cap space without really losing much if anything on the roster. Restructure Addision, Hughes, Brown, Jefferson, Mitch and AJ Klein a bit to free up more space and you could enter in with 50+ million in cap space.

I would let Milano walk. Milano is an important component to the defense but now that the Bills have a young franchise QB and a solid O-line in front of him you keep your most important free agent along the line. I also think you can find an impact LB in the draft a lot easier to make an immediate impact. Whereas O-line play is not as plug and play as it used to be.

I think that would just result in teams taking the ball to start every game. I think there just has to be a level of chance to it with a second coin toss. At least opening drive field goals don’t end games anymore which is a substantial improvement.

If this staff believes in Knox then go after Kyle Rudolph or a cheaper vet option. If they don’t believe in Knox then you have to go after a bigger fish.

I find college OT rules to be gimmicky and not really reflective of the game. I don’t see the major issue with the current NFL OT rules. I think they maybe can find a better way to decide who gets the ball first but that’s my only gripe. The coin toss still favors the team that gets the ball even if they just play a 10 minute quarter as it effectively gets an extra possession to the team that won the toss. But I am not sure what you can do to make the game more fair in that regard. I find the golden TD rule in the regular season to be just fine. But I do think in the playoffs they should just play the full 10 minutes and then go to a standard OT format.

I wouldn’t hate it on a cheap one year deal. I like adding more depth along the Oline, he can take over the Brian Winters spot.

Can’t hate on a solid and fairly cheap ST signing that might also add some LB depth.

Seems like the going rate for a very good safety. Safeties play well into their early 30's and this deal signs him for ages 31-33.

If Hyde hands in another good season or two you could make the argument he is the best Bills free agent acquisition of all time. He already has provided 4 years of Pro-Bowl or near Pro-Bowl levels of production. I like the extension, keeps him here a little longer at an age where he should still be able to produce.

I think McD does value the locker room. He has kept a lot of bad players or brought in a lot of washed vets for the value they have in the locker room. Given that dynamic I think they would pick Hughes over Addision.