2003Contenders

Who knows? At one point in time, I think that JLC and others did have moles within the organization. Think back to the St. Doug stories that came out 3 years ago. However, whomever that mole was (Brandon?) -- he has either been canned, relinquished of inside info, or changed his decision to leak info. I honestly believe that over the last year or so that none of these reporters -- local or otherwise -- have the first clue what is going on within the organization because the front office is now keeping everything close to the vest. So when JLC, Vic or whomever report that they have inside sources, it is likely BS and conjecture as we have seen. At least Rappaport and Schefter admit when they are speculating and wait until they get confirmation from players/agents/league officials/team officials before declaring something is so. Now, playing my own conjecture game, here is what I think happened: 1. Tyrod, as we know, was Rex's guy. While I believe that is a true statement, it also does NOT mean that Whaley and./or others within the organization were necessarily ant-Tyrod guys. 2. After the Miami game, the Bills were officially eliminated and Rex was fired. The regular season finale against the Jets was meaningless. Lynn probably wanted to play to win to help his chances of landing a HC job here or elsewhere. Instead, Whaley/Pegula instructed him to sit Tyrod and start EJ and give Cardale some playing time as well. It was referred to as a business decision at the time, and that is exactly what it was. There was nothing to be gained by the Bills winning that game. Rather, it was a smart thing to do to sit Tyrod and avoid the risk of an injury -- and to also see what EJ and Cardale looked like in live game action. That whole situation looked bad at the time, but probably could have been clarified if Whaley had taken questions along with Lynn at the time everything went down. 3. The team performed a head coaching search -- and was willing to be open-minded about the QB position. Since Tyrod had been Rex's guy, Whaley/Pegula did not want to necessarily impose him upon the new head coach. Conversely, they also did not want to force the new coach (whomever that may have been) to go in another direction either. 3. One of the first things that McD did when he was hired was reach out to Tyrod. Based on what Tyrod said yesterday, it sounds like McD kept in touch with him throughout the process. He also made it a point to hire an OC who was familiar with Tyrod. We can surmise that McD had likely identified Tyrod as the best candidate to be his starting QB in 2017. McD also strikes me as being an honest, no-nonsense guy. So I think we can take his rare comments over the last couple of months at face value. What that also tells me is that he and his staff and reached a consensus that, while Tyrod is unlikely to ever be a franchise QB, he is a guy you can win with if things around him (including the defense) are shored up. 4. Whaley, less forthright than McD, had pretty much come to the same conclusion in terms of Tyrod's prospects. I think he tried investigating the possibility of upgrading the position and realized that there was no realistic option to do that for 2017. There was also the $ aspect and trying to work with Tryod's people to get him to restructure. So when McD said last week that no decision had yet been made about Tyrod's future, I believe he was being honest. 5. When it was all said and done, I believe the coaches asked the front office to retain Tyrod, which they were willing to do once Tyrod agreed to restructure his contract. In the end this was a win-win for all parties. I am not sure how anyone could claim that the process showed dysfunction when it actually showed just the opposite. I also do not see how we can speculate that there was a power struggle here either. Whaley does not strike me as a power-hungry guy. He pretty much worked with Marrone to get him the guys he wanted and by all accounts he did the same for Rex. And it looks like he is doing the same thing with McD so far. I think the negative spin on everything that has happened since week 16 of the regular season is twofold: 1. The press is annoyed with the Bills for keeping info on the low-down and not leaking info. 2. Neither Pegula nor Whaley are especially articulate or like being in front of a camera. So neither has exactly won the war with the media -- or even tried to for that matter.

Not to be THAT guy, but if you could bring him in at the vet minimum as a backup, would you do it?

Jerry has been (and remains) a troll long before the term as we now know it was invented. My favorite was leading up to the 2004 draft when he insisted that the Bills must do whatever it took to draft a QB in the first round. Then when they tried (and failed) to move up for Big Ben but instead made the move to get Losman, he criticized the team for moving up to get him. It is is irrelevant that the turned out to be correct that the move to get Losman was a bad one -- the point is that the team did exactly what he was suggesting, which was to move up to get a QB ranked as a first round prospect.

I am not buying that Tyrod does not like (or is incapable of) throwing to his tight ends. While Clay was certainly under-utilized most of the season, I wonder how much of that had to do with health (he had nagging injuries early on), and the absence of Watkins from the lineup. Notice that once Sammy made it back on the field late in the season, Clay's production stepped up dramatically. In fact, he was one of the most productive TEs in the NFL during the final few weeks of the season. Pairing him with another versatile TE has to be a good thing.

The two "signings" are for very different types of players. DiMarco is a run blocking FB. Tolbert is a goal line power back. He's the guy to come in on 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1 plays.

Have to imagine that Klein, who filled in nicely for Kuechley last year under McD and can play all LB positions, is a FA priority.

It sounds like Hoyer is no longer in the picture. Given that EJ is gone, the team still needs to acquire another QB. I fully expect them to draft another QB if they don't do anything else with the position in free agency. That doesn't mean taking one in the 1st round, though.

Fair enough. Or, noting that Wagner is known for his pass blocking skills, the team may be working toward the transition from the mobile Tyrod to a more pure pocket passer. Whomever that may be...

Odd that the Bears seem so interested in him. I actually thought Matt Barkley looked decent for the Bears late in the year. Not saying that Barkley is all that -- but is Glennon really THAT much of an upgrade?

Never mind... I see that he did play some for the Bears in 2014, so he does have 3 accrued seasons.

If I am not mistaken (and someone please correct me if I am wrong), doesn't Groy only have a total of 2 accrued seasons? If that is the case, wouldn't he be an Exclusive Rights Free Agent rather than a Restricted Free Agent? If he is an Exclusive Rights Free Agent, that means that he CANNOT sign with another team since the Bills have provided him with an offer.

The extra year for players drafted in the 1st round will lead to teams wanting to draft QBs with a 2nd round grade late in the 1st round. That is why it is likely we will see any team in QB need (Jets/49ers/Browns, etc.) who did not address the need with the top 10 selection try to trade back into the latter half of the 1st round. Barring a trade with the Browns for Tyrod (and whatever the Bills would get in exchange), all of those QB needy teams would have more to offer in a trade-up situation than the Bills. That is why the Bills would either need to trade DOWN (like they did back in 2013) or bite the bullet and take Mahomes at 10 if they really believe he has a chance to be a franchise QB.

I honestly believe that McD was being forthright this week when he said that the team had yet to reach a final decision on Tyrod. The coaches' analysis likely mirrors the consensus on Tyrod: he is NOT a franchise QB (and likely never will be), but the team can win with him if other pieces are in place. The sad fact of the matter is that even middling NFL QBs are VERY hard to find -- and even if Tyrod plays under his existing contract it is NOT a horrible deal for an adequate NFL QB. That leaves a number of questions yet to be answered: 1. Are there any serious better alternatives available (Romo)? 2. Is a restructure that can save the team money still possible? 3. Assuming no restructure, can the team downgrade a bit (Foles, Simien, Glennon, etc.) and at the same time save enough $ to make it worthwhile? 4. What is the analysis of the QBs coming out in this draft? 5. Is there a possibility that other QBs that we have not considered may be available? 6. Is there a chance of working a trade with another team that likes Tyrod? The situation truly is fluid. One thing I absolutely do not believe is that they would be willing to cut ties with Tyrdod without a serious contingency plan in place.

The last CBA in 2011 changed that a bit. There are 3 tenders now for RFA's: Right of First Refusal, Right of First Refusal + 2nd Round Draft pick, and Right of First Refusal + 1st round draft pick. The reported $4-5 M offer would certainly be a 1st round qualifier.

IMDB recently did the same thing. At least they warned the user community about it.

Given that Klein could be a nice bargain-priced free agent pick-up, I see no reason why the Bills couldn't sign him AND re-sign Zach Brown. Ragland remains a question mark. Preston Brown was disappointing last season -- and I don't know how much we can blame that on Rex. When it really mattered we saw just how poor the linebacker play was last season. Klein is versatile: he played all 3 LB positions for the Panthers and was a force on special teams. Obviously, coming over from Carolina, Klein could also give the defense a jump-start, already knowing McD's system. When Kuechly went down last season, it was Klein's responsibility to navigate the defense. Worse case scenario, he provides excellent depth. I know he is looking for a starting job, and McD would be in the best position to identify whether he is a good fit in such a role. Given his limited experience as a stater, I would not over-pay for him, but if he is available at a reasonable rate, he would be a top priority of mine if I am Doug W.

May God bless you and your whole family. I pray that He brings you comfort during these saddest of times.

Rex is such a stooge. One point,I believe, that is missed is the fact that Rex was talking to a NY paper in this article. So being the panderer that he is, made it sound like he was still in love with the Jets and felt betrayed by the Bills. He may have had a different spin had be been interviewed by the Buffalo News, for example. Even if you buy his loser argument about injuries, etc... In a league where most games are decided by just a few points -- and where a playoff appearance is decided by merely 1-2 extra games in the wins column, Rex made enough game-day blunders to prevent his team from making it into the playoffs in BOTH seasons. Poor team discipline (resulting in untimely penalties), horrific clock management, misuse of coach's challenge opportunities, and simply not having his team ready in key situations (10-men on the field multiple times), inability to make in-game adjustments on the fly, and the list goes on... Rex also showed that in games that really mattered -- against Oakland, Pittsburgh and most evidently against Miami -- that he simply did not have what it takes to get this team to the next level. And think about this... As a defensive-minded head coach,not only did this team's defense radically decline from where it was when he took over 2 years ago, it also set some dubious records. Under his watch, they gave up the most single-game passing yards of any Bills team ever -- as well as the most single-game rushing yards. In fact, they allowed 3 rushers to gain over 200 yards against them this year -- all in games where everyone in the stadium knew they were going to try to run the ball. I honestly do wish him the best in his broadcasting endeavors. I am just glad that the team has rid themselves of him and virtually all of his coaching staff.

When it is all said and done SOMEONE (be it the Bills or another team) is going to pay Gilmore. The market has been set on quality starting corners in the league. Regardless of his shortcomings, anyone with a fair sense of analysis would have to say that Gilmore qualifies as a quality starting corner -- whether or not you believe he is elite. If the team makes a business decision to let him walk because they decide to invest the $15M or so per year that he will demand elsewhere, that is a reasonable assessment. However, if he leaves, let's not kid ourselves into believing that replacing his vacancy will be a piece of cake.

Back in 2004 the favorite was Charlie Weiss. However, the word was that Donahoe did not want to wait those extra few weeks (until after the Super Bowl) to officially hire him.

The ironic thing is that Chad Kelly will likely have some choices to make about where to play, as he will almost certainly wind up being an undrafted free agent given his off-field problems and the knee issue.

This would make sense. Sometime the media reports (even by normally reliable guys like Rappoport) are a bit off. We saw last week that the Broncos were supposedly interviewing both McCoy and Musgrave for the OC job. Musgrave wound up being hired for QB Coach. Maybe a similar situation here?

My guess is Brad Childress. He was (and is) part of the Andy Reid corps and has worked with Castillo and McDermott in the past. Childress would also fit the pattern of what we saw with the Frazier hire: a guy with lots of experience, familiar to the res of the staff and with former head coaching experience as well. Given that Childress would be the main guy on offense here versus part of a 3-headed conglomerate (under Reid's shadow), he would likely accept the "lateral move" with the Bills, and Reid probably would not block it. Considering the early Castillo hire, I would not be surprised if some sort of agreement were not already in place with Childress -- but nothing can happen while the Chiefs are still in the playoffs.

I actually feel a little sorry for Marrone... Just a little.

In much the same way that I have thought about the rumors of Lynn being the "favorite" all along, I have to wonder if the rumors of McDermott are true then why hasn't the team sealed the deal and announced him as the new HC? There is nothing preventing them from doing so -- and if they are that high on the respective candidate, they can offer the $ and control to close the deal rather than risk losing the coach to another franchise. We are already hearing, for example, that the Chargers' interest in Lynn appears to be real. The absence of a hiring to now still makes me wonder if the ultimate apple of their eye is really a coach whose team is still playing -- be it Richard, Patricia or Toub.