EmotionallyUnstable

I think Shaq is definitely reading schemes and being more decisive than Bernard. That sad, Bernard has caught a lot of sheet from fans for poor play when in reality there has been a revolving door of defensive lineman in front of him. The biggest issue I see when looking it the bills run defense is how teams effect our alignment and numbers presnap with motions and shifts, which often leads to bad fits or players coming from places that make it very difficult to play gap sound. This could be something Shaq is good at (handling these shifts) or just coaching. Bernard is very vocal too. His visible frustrations referenced in the video are usually on pass plays, not necessarily on run downs. Another factor here is that the recent Shaq play is likely coming under a closer watch from McDermott on D - whereas the beginning of the year was being constructed from Babich and often felt messy. I’d like to see Shaq stay at MLB and try Bernard at the Will. I think this would be a good game to try it, as I don’t think they’ll be using a bunch of 4-3 front against the Bengals (if he’s healthy). I think he fits better in regards to playing the weak side of the run game: he’s definitely a better clean up player than disruptor. Whether this week or next, I think it could be a good litmus test to see if a permanent move could be beneficial. That said, Bernard got paid and will be here. I hope they find a way to maximize his skill set. He is no bum and can be very effective. He does it a bit differently than Shaq (speed vs power), and I get that people want to be better on the run but a LOT of our issues with the ground game are because of the revolving door at DT and the poor tackling from the secondary. This clip encapsulates Bernard in his strengths and weaknesses. He’s decisive, downhill with appropriate leverage, gets across the face of the pulling center and is first in on the tackle for a minimal gain. Would you like to see him be more stout and not displaced? Of course. Does Shaq have the speed to beat the OL to edge? Idk. At the end of the day it isn’t pretty, job well done. Bernard will likely be back in the lineup at MLB sooner than later, because it gives them the ability to have Shaq at the Sam in 4-3 and McDermott and company loves Bernard’s pass coverage.

We’ve already recouped Jordan Hancock in this grade, and still have a 7th next year.

You’re missing the point. It isn’t about who he drafted but the position. There is nothing wrong with Kincaid’s potential or ability, despite injuries. However, having already allocated so many future cap dollars to the TE position, taking another TE there was always going to be the wrong call…especially since it’s a position that regularly splits snaps. If you really want a name (which is obviously ridiculous), using unfair hindsight, he should have invested in the WR position before the run happened. This would have meant moving from 27 to 19 overall to beat the run, and take JSN. This would have likely cost a 3rd and a 5th (Dorian Williams and Justin Shorter, respectively). Again, to me it is less about picking the wrong player and more about choosing to invest irrationally in a position.

And immediately before our pick 4 WRs came off the board (JSN, Johnston, Flowers, Addison). Beane panic picked Kincaid and tried to sell him like a WR with this whole 11.5 personnel immediately after extending Knox to a big contract. One of these moves would have been fine. Both of them was a mistake. And since Knox had already been extended, it seems like a fair assessment to say the investment in RD1 was always going to be a poor allocation.

What was the cooresponding move to add him to the 53?

Chiefs in the playoffs…

Another interesting one to me in Daquon Jones. They’re pretty set a tackle but if they wanted a vet and he wants to keep playing, I am sure a team friendly deal could be worked out. They could potentially save $2 mill in accelerated dead money if they re-sign him before the start of the league year. Of course they wouldn’t actually save money in re-signing him but it would help ease some of the dead cap while bringing in a vet presence if a guy like Carter isn’t up for it.

I also think Epinessa could be back, especially sans Bosa. Despite his bonehead penalty last week, he’s had a solid year. Given the fact we’ll be down to Groot, a player they refuse to play at DE in Solomon and two guys coming off major injury (Hoecht/Jackson) it is a major question mark at the edge. Of the five major needs you’ve identified, I think that DE is the most obvious that McBeane will go after despite the numbers in 2026. Given their track record of consistently attempting to address (and often failing) to bring in impactful players at Edge, it makes a lot of sense to me they’ll try and draft one early and bring in a vet presence.

Here is a look at a projected 53 man roster for 2026, as it stands today. As you can see, I’ve bolded obvious openings, as well as have taken the liberty to cut some dead weight noted at the bottom. QB: Allen, QB2 RB: Cook, Johnson, Davis FB: TE: Kincaid, Hawes, TE3 WR: WR1, Palmer, Shakir, WR4, Coleman, Shavers OL: Dawkins, Torrence, Brown, Anderson, VanDemark, Van Pran Granger, Lundt, Grable, LG, C Defense: DE: Groot, DE2, Hoecht, Solomon, Jackson, DE6 DT: Oliver, Walker, Sanders, Carter LB: Bernard, LB2, Williams, Andreesen, LB5 CB: Benford, Hairston, Johnson, Strong?, CB5 S: Hancock, Bishop, DB 3, DB 4, DB 5 K: P: LS: Ferguson Notable players under contract likely cut; - Rapp, Bass, Knox, Samuel. That leaves us with 15 spots on the roster for next season. We have 7 draft picks in 2026. Familiar faces will no doubt be back.

Hes another summer add-on id bring back if the draft and initial wave of FA washes out and he’s available.

I voted for none. I could see the argument made to bring back some of these guys in the summer, such as DaQuon Jones or Shaq Thompson, and even Tre White, as they’re likely coming cheap at that point we’ll after the initial wave of FA. None should be signed pre draft. I think an aging and injury riddled Bosa will likely be a bad investment, despite the handful of splash plays he’s provided. I’m not thoroughly against it, but I would like to see how they’d work the deal. Sign me up for DE in round 1 next year, and continuing to get younger and faster across the board. Hard no on Ogunjobi.

Honorable cause. Just checked out the website. As a literacy specialist myself, and a teacher of primary age children, I can also advocate for the Orton Gillingham approach when dealing with remedial supports in small group settings. Good luck!!

Not to mention, he also have more catches and yards receiving this season than instant Bills legend Curtis Samuel. Wild

That is my understanding. As you likely know, this is just a way to spread the number of future years, offering immediate relief from a cap perspective. Restructures or protracted bonuses are paid out in cash to the player immediately, though the debt is shared over future years. I do not believe these amounts can be altered. For example looking at Josh Allen’s recent extension, you see he already carries a restructure proration, despite having just signed this deal in March. This is money already paid to Allen prior to this contract, but it is still on cap from his previous deal for $37 million over the next four years from money that was dead cap the previous deal, probably from when they restructured him in 2024. So how does it effect Bosa? They can prevent the 7.2 from fully accelerating if they re-sign. The 1.8 for next years dead cap will remain (with the next three years 2027-2030 at 1.8 remaining too). That free’s up 5.4 million that would have been dead money in 2026. Depending on how they structure a new deal, it’s possible they could actually save money by extending him next season. 1 year - 14 million dollars, with a 9 million dollar signing bonus and 5 mil in base salary. This would in theory save them money on the cap next year, although assuming they spread the bonus over the next 5 years like they did this past off season, his dead cap grows from 1.8 a year to 3.6 a year…and if it all accelerated in 2027 it’d be immediately 12.6 in dead money due. Irresponsible but a way they could look at pushing money down the road.

I do not believe this to be true. It is my understanding that the 7.2 remaining in prorated signing bonus for the next four seasons must remain over those years (2026-2030). The only thing that re-signing or extending him would do from a dead cap perspective would be to stop from the full amount from immediately accelerating and becoming due.

Unlikely but wow what a season.

Haven’t rewatched yet, but on the broadcast it was clean the Steelers had resorted to heavy run blitz. Although I am sure Hawes handled his own, I would imagine this scheme was more about trying to blow up the run game than getting Watt away from 85

McDermott is so coy with this. I don’t blame him, but it’s annoying

Injuries must be reported if a player receivers specialized or targeted treatment, above and beyond the scope of average TLC, for an injury. This is why you see guys practicing in full yet on the report. They may be doing everything at practice but are listed on the report because of their treatment to a particular area.

Yeeahhh the contract really kicks in next year. Talk about kicking the can down the road. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/47616/justin-jefferson Between the option bonus and signing prorated, they’re already at 39 mil on the cap next season. You could probably rework some of the base salary and get this number down to around 20 million if you wanted to continue to borrow from Peter to pay Paul.

As they did with Epinessa, and many contracts. Bosa will cost the Bills 7.5 million dollars next year to NOT be on the team. The fine print matters, and when you only look at cap in isolation, it isn’t a true picture of what they’re paying a player on the open market. That’s why I responded to your post. The idea that they cost nearly the same is not accurate IMO.

Yes and Beane has a tendency to go “hired gun” at the position. We saw it with Floyd, Bosa, Smoot, on these 1 year deal vet deals and I imagine he’d be interested in the same kind of thing again.

I love Josh Allen. If I was a division rival of the Bills, I’d probably hate him. Between his unbelievable athletic dominance, constant jawing and heavy tendency to flop and call for penalties….it makes sense guys are pissed off!

Hilarious because he was previously singing the praises of the back up QB who played today; who’s name I do not know, which will likely only be remembered for the wild pick 6 he threw.

Yes, today we could @RunTheBall and should enjoy the W. But I am serious, that the concerns of the passing offense, despite not being needed today, are a consistent limitation that we’ve seen over and over all season. It has little to do with the injuries today, or the match up and the play calling in how they tried to beat Pitt. How could you argue that? However, today the running game masked this major issue, and it was good enough to beat the Steelers and keep us well in the hunt for the WC. It does not however instill confidence in their ability to hang with or defeat more capable teams.