BADOLBILZ

Atlanta would be a good candidate for an AJ Epenesa for a 1st round pick deal if they feel they are ready to win that division. Not saying that would be smart on their part.........but I do think if a team did that it would be someone like them. Could expand that and include Patterson for cheap, I suppose.

And you'd be trading a player in Cook who is under contract cheap for 2 more seasons after this one. I wouldn't trade Cook for Barkley straight up even if the Giants ate enough salary to make that part a wash.........let alone add a day 2 pick to the package.

The Bills running game is excellent if they just get under center and pound it. Not sure if any RB is going to do very well with the runs they are trying to execute out of shotgun.........in particular a guy like Barkley who needs to get north/south pretty quick to be effective. Dorsey is taking a lot of heat for the Bills not being under center more but my guess that it is largely because Allen wants to play in shotgun. He probably feels more comfortable in shotgun because he doesn't have to take his eyes off the defense...........but he is so much better under center and probably just needs to buy into it............the results are so much better for the running game and Allen as a passer under center that I would hope maybe people can see now why I've been so against Allen in shotgun and spread the past couple of years.

They are absolutely correct. With a $14M base salary........even if half of that were amortized prior to the trade there would have to be a rash of WR injuries around the league or they would have to eat a lot of money this year to get anyone to take Sutton on as a rental/prove-it. The Jeudy situation is playing out similarly..........he is the more talented player but that guaranteed $12M+ cap hit for the acquiring team in 2024 drastically reduces the chance that someone will give up significant capital to take a chance on him. Maybe the Broncos hate his personality enough to dump him for a 3rd-6th but I would be a little surprised if they got as much as a 2nd for him at this point. Jeudy is somewhat like Sammy Watkins was in 2017..........everyone knows he is physically talented...........but there are questions about his makeup as a player. The differences are: 1) The Bills didn't pick up that 5th year option 2) They traded him before the season 3) There was A LOT less receiving talent in the league after 3 bad WR drafts All it takes is one team but I can't see it being the Bills unless the Broncos paid most of Jeudy's 2024 salary in the form of a bonus prior to the trade.

Yeah, you never know because it only takes one team to overpay for Jeudy...........but once they picked up the 5th year option his broader trade value definitely dropped. The time for Denver to trade him was last October. Now he's on pace for a Gabe-like 800-900 yard season and his agent is probably still envisioning $20M aav's in his future so it's a bad contract situation to walk into. It's not unlike the Tremaine Edmunds or Ed Oliver situations after year 4...........neither had much trade value with that cumbersome guaranteed cap hit in year 5.

Incorrect.........none of them would have significant cap hits this season...........Kupp is making just $1M in base salary and Adams $6M..........divide either of those figures by 2 and that's about how much cap space that would be needed by the Bills to acquire either at the deadline. And next season the base salaries of Adams and Kupp are unguaranteed. Jeudy's contact is the only one of the 3 players with a fully guaranteed salary for 2024..........an over $12M cap hit.........subsequently the acquiring team has zero leverage in re-negotiating that figure because they become entirely on the hook for it at acquisition. Instead, it turns into a long term contract negotiation. And I'd expect Jeudy would be looking for $75M-$100M deal in order to bypass a chance at unrestricted free agency. The Bills hands would be tied if they aren't willing to overpay.

Do you follow the NFL? Miller wasn't in his prime.........he was 32 and had played just a half season after missing 2020..........so that was a hell of a trade haul for him and that's why Beane passed. Miller ultimately didn't answer the question of whether he would bounce back or not until the postseason that year. Epenesa is just 25..........an "emerging pass rush asset" as you called him. Young pass rushers have great value and get paid big.........see what Miami gave up for Chubb coming off a season prior where he had ZERO sacks. But ask Leonard Floyd and a bunch of other 30 something pass rushers this past offseason what the market is like for older pass rushers.

I have been in favor of trading for Jeudy in the past but given his more modest success in the league, I kinda' think the risk is high that he would take too long to fit into the Bills offense at this point. Think that window to garner big results from him has probably closed.......and then he's a UFA at the end of the season............so finding mutually agreeable trade compensation that justifies the risk probably would be hard to get to. Guys like Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp........proven big time producers known for relentless work ethic and focus..........much better options to adjust quickly and provide immediate results for a SB run. Also under contract for 2024 with deals that might be malleable enough to be able to keep them for 1 more year.

I can honestly say that I felt like he would have a breakout season and perhaps become valuable trade bait........so not everyone. But yeah, there wasn't a lot of love and it felt like piling on by late in the preseason when people were talking about moving on from Epenesa to save Boogie a spot.

No Bills fan is advocating trading Epenesa for a 5th round pick. That's not the premise so that's where you've gone wrong first. An "emerging pass rush asset" in the last 9 games of his contract might net them a day 1 or early day 2 draft pick like Bradley Chubb did for Denver last season. Perhaps not..........but young pass rushers have value. When Rousseau and Shaq return to the lineup they will have 6 DE's..........and Epenesa might be the 4th best and the 5th best(Jonathan) probably assumes the 3rd or 4th spot next season so it's not like there isn't anything to be gained by creating PT for his backup. If it helps you improve the team now by trading Epenesa you do it because he's basically a rental. If you also improve your team in the future in the process......even short term future by acquiring a good player on a contract with a malleable 2024 cap figure.......then that is even better. Maybe you are holding out hope that they are going to pay market value to retain Epenesa but I can't see any scenario where he is in the plans for 2024 and beyond. The timing of his development was just not quick enough to prevent them from having to invest in Rousseau/Miller/Floyd.........so I think his Bills career is coming to an end in 6 months either way.

Yes good point on Epenesa. There were actually people advocating dumping Epenesa to keep Boogie Basham. Elam is a talented player and progress is not always linear.

So walk year AJ Epenesa = proven elite QB Josh Allen? It's a ridiculous parallel you've attempted to draw. With Miller and Oliver on big deals and Rousseau eligible for extension after this season(and a better player than Epenesa) it would seem to be very unlikely that Epenesa is extended whether he ends up with a great season or just a solid one.

No, you apparently don't know.

Yeah........Jonathan actually has looked really good. And I see he has a PFF grade over 90 on the season so it's not just the eye of the Bills fan. I'm kind of penciling him in as Epenesa's replacement next season myself.

Yeah maybe they think the coaching staff isn't getting thru to Elam and he will take advice better from Norman.

Meh. Typical modern RB problem.........especially a very small one like Achane. With precious few exceptions(like Derrick Henry for example) the better, more durable athletes don't play RB anymore. Dolphins still have Mostert, who is very fast too, when he isn't injured.

I know you think you are on to something here............but what CLEARLY works best for Josh Allen is 12 or 21 personnel under center with just 2 WR on the field.........if that means jags like Shakir/Sharty/Sherfield never see the field that is not a problem. He doesn't need to spread the ball around to guys who either can't catch it or can't make plays after they do.

Losing teams are gaining almost zero value from acquiring pending free agents. That's a 3 team trade situation.

Just depends on the deal. If someone wants to give you Bradley Chubb trade value...........absolutely. If Ryan Poles wants to trade you his 2024 second rounder for him? Yes. A potential late 2nd rounder to a contender? Would have to be upgrading elsewhere at the same time. 3rd rounder of any kind? Forget it. If Epenesa has a big year they could end up getting a late 3rd round comp pick for him in 2025 so juicing early not worth the squeeze. Before the season I was envisioning Gabe Davis and Epenesa being swapped at the deadline with the Bills upgrading at WR but I think there is going to be a lot of good players available at the deadline which will lower their trade value.

The extra fatigue impacts the emotions of the team and I agree with the OP that those bad drops were particularly deflating to the Bills and created a lot of space for the Jags to stick to their gameplan. Not the first time we've seen an exhausted Bills team on a roller coaster like this in an international game.

Knox had a drop prior to the play where Allen overthrew him while on the run.

9) I'd always expect the least physically fit.........which would be the offensive line.........to be the most affected by travel. I think the decision to wait to travel until late in the week.........especially versus a team with a whole extra week to adjust.........was clearly a mistake. 13) I guess they thought Harty was still the same player that they saw excel in limited exposure in 2021. He's simply not as fast or as explosive as he was then. They should have done their homework better, clearly. And even then I can't explain why he got more than a league minimum flyer with incentives after missing almost all of last season with a debilitating toe injury. Sloppy work by pro personnel and Beane on that one. Whatever the plan was at the time.........there just isn't a lot you can do with a WR who is 5'6" without the speed/quickness to break off CB's.

No, they wouldn't need much cap space to take on Adams this season. He will only have about $3M in unamortized salary by mid-season.

You might be right............but that's why they drafted guys like Kaiir Elam and Dorian Williams.........to start at those positions. They don't have that guy at WR and making your QB look as good as you can is the most productive use of assets an organization can make. If they need a DT1T they can call one of the street free agents like Philadelphia did last year when their run defense was a sieve heading into December.

He wouldn't be replaced he'd still play 70% of the snaps and at the same boundary position, most likely. Adams and Diggs would likely take turns on the inside........which would be torture for most defenses. They'd probably be a bit less inclined to run 2 TE and Shakir/Sharty/Sherfield would get less snaps but that would be a positive development given what we have seen of them.