BarleyNY

I doubt that this is the case. He could borrow the money if he didn’t want to liquidate other assets. The business model of buying a sports team, building a largely publicly funded stadium/arena/field/etc and then selling part or all of said team is well worn.

The new stadium raises the value of the team substantially. The Pegulas are cashing out on some of that. Ultimately money talks, but the NFL prefers that prospective majority owners first buy a minority stake in a NFL team. The minority stake does not have to be in the team that they ultimately acquire a majority stake in.

I just don't see other teams having a big appetite for a costly trade up to 28 for the same reasons we'd want to make a move back. Outside chance of a team doing it for a QB, but that's it. Your example is weighted heavily in favor of the Bills.

He seemed to fall apart completely when pressured.

Is there something wrong with Amegadjie other than level of competition? I think Latu’s medical concerns raise an interesting question. If it’s bad enough, then he’s off the board. If it’s of no concern, then he’s gone long before the Bills pick. But what if it’s something that is expected to shorten his career, making him a 4-5 year guy? I’d think the Bills might be very tempted to pull the trigger at 28 if that’s the case and he slips.

It can be deadly

Some trainer is going to have the job of making sure he eats a banana or orange after every quarter and drinks a smoothie at halftime. He may drop a bit, but not far.

Same guy or not, they are different kinds of WRs. Curtis Samuel is much more like Diggs so a guy like Sutton would actually fit nicely in the Davis role. As far as the financials, yes, there are some very aggressive things they could do to fit a player like Sutton, but they’ve obviously decided against that. They would have been more aggressive on the restructures they already did if they wanted to go that route. Agreed. Sutton is a much better version of Davis and I’d also like to see him with a top QB. The best he’s had is Wilson throwing him yolo deep balls. He could be so much better here with Allen.

Then you can add John Elway. In that vein I would include Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Herschel Walker and every other player who found success in the NFL after a career in the USFL.

Sutton could help the Bills for sure. The Bills can’t fit him under the cap so that’s moot. He is a vertical player like Davis, not a guy who can uncover quickly like Diggs. They are totally different types of WRs so, no, Sutton isn’t a “younger Diggs”.

He’s not remotely the same kind of WR as Diggs. He’s a better Gabe Davis.

I think it depends on which prospects are within range this year. I wouldn’t force it if I were Daboll or Schoen, especially since I don’t think that their jobs are on the line.

It is interesting (to me at least) to think that kids getting real money in their pockets in college may help NFL teams by weeding out some of the knuckleheads.

I haven't really looked at it, but how much worse is it than QB4 in this draft?

There are some QBs without first round grades that will be going before 21. I've heard multiple people say that they have (or have heard that there are) 20 players with 1st round grades.

First and foremost, Schoen should trust his evaluations of the QBs in this draft. One of the worst things a GM can do is to allow need to distort his evaluation of a player - especially a QB. Just because you have a need doesn't mean that there's a player who can fill it. It happens every year though. Honestly, their best option might be to tank this season after they acquire more draft capital in the 2025 draft so they can get their guy then.

I feel like I just walked in on him and Brittany. And also that I now have a better understanding of why he married her.

I think that it amounts to this: Teams have maxed out their ability to predict the success of draft prospects. The unnecessary extra work done on prospects doesn’t improve their hit rate, but only increases the confidence level and makes them overly confident in their decisions. So the first mistake teams make is overvaluing players they spend too much time on. Those are almost always the players that fit their needs. The second place teams make mistakes is when uninformed coaches or owners meddle. The Browns under Haslam were a huge offender of this until recently. The Justin Gilbert pick was to appease a DC who, at the last minute, demanded he be the draft pick because he needed a player like that to run his defense. No real work had been done on him since he hadn’t been a prospect the team was considering. So the Browns drafted a player who really didn’t like football in the top 10. Then later that night they traded back into the first round because the owner wanted Johnny Manziel. Analytics driven FOs know that there is a baseline level of uncertainty that is inherent in the NFL draft and they act accordingly. Quality teams are run with that in mind and without interference.

Yes. Actual cash out the door. By aggressively structuring (and re-structuring) contracts teams like Philadelphia are able to outspend the majority of teams. It is sustainable as long as there is not another Covid style event that causes a cap decrease. Teams still have to sign the correct players to the large deals. Hurts has a huge dead cap and is uncuttable, but Allen is as well. It’s the same for any highly paid player on a long term deal. Many teams will want to be more conservative due to a variety of reasons. A big one is that most owners don’t want to spend that much. Another is the inherent risks involved. Teams still have to draft and coach well - and make good decisions overall - but for some teams this is a big advantage. It’s how a team like Cleveland can still make the playoffs on their 4th string QB and how Philly is staying near the top of the league.

The Hurts deal shows how a team with an owner willing to consistently spend cash can gain a competitive advantage. The Browns are doing the same thing. Those teams rank 3rd and 1st in cash spend this season at $282.2M and $337.3M. The Eagles figure does not include the Smith deal so it’ll go higher. The Bills are 23rd at $214.0M. Link

Cap hits can be lowered like this if an owner is willing to spend.

The Iggles just signed Smith to this extension and also have Hurts signed to a 5 year, $255M contract.

Diggs wanted out. He did the same stuff here as he did in Minnesota to get himself traded. All the cryptic social media stuff, the bailing out of locker rooms without speaking to the media after losses and a litany of emotional outbursts were just him trying to get what he wanted. Diggs’ opinion was that it was other people’s fault that we haven’t won a championship and that we weren’t going to do so in the near future. He blamed McDermott, Allen and (I’d guess) others. Any defense of him if often taken as support for his rationale. Likewise Bills fans often rip him because they’re fighting that line of thought as well as because he forced his way out of Buffalo. I will stress that - right or wrong - Diggs is entitled to make his own judgements and form his own opinions. If someone thinks he was correct in his assessment, then they probably think he was smart to get out when he did. If someone thinks he was wrong, then they probably think his faulty judgement led to a mistake. Either way this is where we are now and it’s time for people to move on.

Might as well just reduce this poll to Mitchell and Legette. That’s who I’m deciding between. Haha. Just read this right after I posted.

Going by the JJ chart we’d have to throw in every day 3 pick we have (except our 7th rounder) to make up the difference. Carolina would not do that. The Bills wouldn’t want to either. Washington could be a reasonable trade partner. Something like 28 and 128 for 40 and 78 makes sense. Trade value chart