billsfan89

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.

I think pass rush wise Addison and Hughes are similar. But Hughes is a veteran leader and the heart of the defense. For that reason alone if the team is forced to choose one they are going with Hughes. I think they ask both guys to take a moderate pay cut.

Dak is not worth the second largest QB contract. He is worth a big QB contract, at least moderately more than Wentz got or close to what Wilson got. But he should not be approaching the 20% of the cap type deal Mahomes is getting that will put him close to 50 million aav. No way in hell is Dak that type of QB.

The Bills are just unfortunately going to have to lose some players this off-season. Even if they get all of their overpaid players to take paycuts and they cut Lee Smith and Vernon Butler and they rework Tre, Dawkins and Diggs contracts to free up more space they still likely won't have enough to both resign Milano, Mongo, D.Williams and all key role players and add key pieces like a pass rusher or tight end via free agency. Tough decisions will have to be made.

Even if the cap is set up higher than 180-185 (I can't see it being higher than 190 or 195) expect a lot of contract restructuring from the Bills. The Bills have 3 starters who are unrestricted free agents (Milano, Williams and Mongo) 2 of those starters will be higher end value type players (Williams and Milano) and Mongo is a mid level or slightly better value player. That's in addition to the 3 restricted free agent starters (Ike, Wallace and Bojo) and the unrestricted role players (Roberts, Ty, Barkley, T.Jones and Mac among others). The Bills also have a glut of productive but overpaid players and outright over paid players. The cap crunch around the league is going to result in a lot of players taking pay cuts to stay on their teams and the Bills have at least 8 players that they will ask to take restructures. Pay cut candidates John Brown Mitch Quinton Jefferson or Vernon Butler (one will likely be cut with Star coming back) Jerry Hughes Addision AJ Klein On top of those 7 they might do some cap magic with the Tre, Dawkins and Diggs contracts where they convert some of their base salary into a signing bonus. That could free up additional money. This off-season is going to be the first time since 2018 where McBeane faces a cap crunch. Let's see exactly how they handle it. McBeane has to manage this cap situation while also finding a way to add a few key pieces and not lose many or any key pieces. It is going to be difficult but it can be done.

I don't think the Jags view themselves as a stud QB away from contending. They are 2-3 years away and I see them building with Lawrence who fits their timeline. Watson as great as he is, isn't going to win with the Jags sad sack roster. Even with their cap space (which would be lessened after such a trade) and remaining draft assets they wouldn't be able to build enough of a roster to get Watson ready to contend in the next year and possibly the year after. Whereas with Lawrence you don't have to contend right away. You can sign and draft a lot of offensive talent around him and then build the defense and other aspects of the roster up the next two seasons. I think the Texans would love to get a young stud QB to start a three year rebuild but this type of trade just doesn't line up for the Jags. If the Texans want draft compensation I think their best bet is to either trade with Miami who could offer picks 3, 18, 35, 81 and their first, third and fifth in 2022. Or trade with the Jets who could offer picks 2, 23, 66 and a pair of first round picks in 2022 (their own plus Seattle's). Personally I hope that Watson doesn't go to the AFC East as I think the Fins would be contenders if they added Watson and the Jets while likely still a year away if they add Watson their long term prospects would be greatly improved. I don't know where in the NFC has the draft capital to pursue Watson. The Bears apparently are willing to give up multiple drafts worth of picks but the immediate return for the Texans would be pick 20 and a pick in the 50's. There aren't too many other teams with high end draft capital like the Fins or Jets. Maybe if the Raiders can get a 1st and some other capital for Carr they can push themselves into the mix?

I don't hate the idea of trying to make an onsides kick possible as I think the new kickoff rules have made a rare but possible chance to get the ball back under the new kick off rules has become very very rare to the point where it is nearly impossible. I am not sure if a 4th and 15 or 4th and X yards to go conversion is the solution either. I used to be in favor of a 4th and 20 conversion but I think a better compromise would be to change the kickoff rules for the last 5 minutes of a game. Allowing the old kickoff rules for 5 minutes would take the current .5% conversion rates no onside kicks and kick it back up to the 4-5% rate that it used to be. With that rate you at least have a chance to get the ball back.