BarleyNY

I won't say that Cassel can't have a magical season or even just get hot at the right time, but I know where my money would be if I was a betting man. Nothing to do now but hope for the best.

It the injury issue is what really scares me concerning the Bills. Right now they've got a very, very good LT in Glenn, but not an even average at RT. Incognito is a wildcard - if he returns to form then we've got another guy that's definitely well above average. We've got a rookie guard that I hope does well, but is totally unproven. Wood is average at center and I'm basing that on his career, not last season. The rest look pretty rough and that includes the back ups and anyone at might start in place of those mentioned. The group looks manageable as they stand, but if Glenn or anyone else that is playing reasonably well goes down then we are in real trouble. Offensive lines always have injuries and one bad player often leads to others getting injured. This is obviously a huge concern to me.

Just a QB Away

To clarify for others: Roster bonuses are usually near the beginning of the start of the league year (around the start of free agency), but can be on any date throughout the season or even calendar year. Obviously stronger contracts that favor the player will have the roster bonus due right when FA starts so that the player can be in on the big initial frenzy. Weaker contracts put them in later so that the player has less options if asked to take a pay cut or is cut outright. The first game of the season is when some players contracts have guarantees kick in (not in this case) and sometimes even a roster bonus due. Some even have roster bonuses due throughout the season. What made me curious about this roster bonus is that it apparently hasn't come up yet, but you'd think it would be soon. Knowing the date would tell us a lot about the situation. Maybe it is a post June 1st date, which would give the Bills some more options including trading him after the deadline concerning signing bonus acceleration. It would also increase the chances that some team has enough OL injuries that they get desperate enough to trade for a player like him. Also there is no need to cut him if his bonus is due prior to the first game of the season (which it almost certainly is). The Bills just dont pay it and he's a free agent.

My first thought was exactly what Alaska's was, but it is closer than I thought. Rogers has a cap hit of $18.25M this season and $19.25M next. It would mean more than Hughes ($6.175M in 2015, $7.575 in 2016) and Clay ($5.0M in 2015, $13M in 2016). They'd be covered in 2016, but would need to find some room in 2015. Numbers from OTC. Additional note: I still can't believe the freaking contract the Bills gave Clay. Looking at it makes my head want to explode. It's insane.

Looks like he might be giving up his $100k work out bonus by not being here. Wonder when that roster bonus is due?

I do not know that answer. I would think he still could be cut, but I am not sure what kind of guarantees kick in if the contract is not voided. Also I would like to know if voiding the contract would effectively make it an expiring contract and could result in the Bills getting a compensatory pick. Or if it would be considered the same as cutting the player.

If they don't void the deal he will be due an additional $9M in 2016 and 2017. Cap hits would be $4M this year and $10M in 2016 and 2017. Everything I've seen has the voiding as a certainty. The Bills probably won't be able to afford him at the higher price - especially after Dareus gets a new deal. Harvin has created problems with teams in several instances so if he thinks he outperformed the $9M a year salary he would be due, then it is a fair bet he'd make sure he hit the market or got a new deal in conjunction with a trade or release. There is a very, very small chance that everything comes together and the Bills don't void the deal. The Bills would have to be able to pay Harvin $9M a year, they'd have to believe he is worth that much and Harvin would have to be willing to play for it. That's just not all going to happen.

Yes. The Bills have the right to void the deal after the first year. He's effectively on a one year $6M deal. For salary cap purposes the Bills have $4M on the books for 2015 and will have $2M in dead money in 2016 after the deal is voided.

You've got to look beyond this season as well when considering who he might push off the team. Harvin is only on a one year deal which is disguised as a three year contract. If he performs as well as we hope, stays healthy and is a good teammate, then he is going to get paid handsomely come next offseason. I don't know that the Bills will be willing and able to pony up like that. It will be tough looking at where they are with the cap. Barring a season ending injury I see them carrying 6 with Dez Lewis heading to the PS.

Sorry. That is correct. Runner up for DROY. He was also PFWA (Pro Football Writer's Assoc.) DROY, which is what I was remembering.

You certainly should factor the Murray signing into the Iggle side of the deal, which is all I did. I don't know that Murray would have come to Buffalo for $5M more of his deal guaranteed and I don't know that he wouldn't have. No point in claiming that we could have had him, which is why I didn't. The Bills gave up a third year LB who was DROY, on his rookie deal and who plays a position that has normal longevity in the NFL, but is coming off an ACL that was torn a year ago. In return the Bills got a RB who has been playing at an elite level, but they had to pay him at market value and have to count on him transitioning to the Bills scheme. He will be 27 before the season starts and plays a position where 30 usually marks the end of high productivity. We won't know who was the winner in this trade (and it could be one team, both teams or neither team) and who who was the loser for some time, but I'd like my odds better if I was an Iggles fan. I hate losing Alonso, I have concerns about Shady fitting into the Bills scheme and I have concerns about paying a RB like McCoy is getting paid (especially before he proves his worth in the system).

The Bills gave up a LB who is still on his rookie deal and was the 2013 Defensive Rookie of the Year, but is coming off an ACL injury. They gained a RB who has been playing at an elite level (albeit in a different offense) and gave him a huge deal (like an elite RB would be expected to get). To be a winner in this trade McCoy is going to have to translate to the Bills system and be as good as he has been the last couple of seasons. It is difficult to see the Eagles as anything but winners in this trade. They replaced McCoy with Demarco Murray in free agency. Both RBs have been elite backs, both will be 27 going into the season, both got 5 year/$40M contracts and Murray's has $5M less guaranteed. They also got Kiko Alonso who is very promising and still very cheap.

I still can't believe he weathered it. I can only surmise that the money the owners made on the last CBA and his ability to use the NFL's influence to keep the media from really running with those stories saved his rear. I've heard some stories, including Ray Rice breaking down and crying in front of high school kids at the gym he trains at. These are kids that he has known and who look up to him. Apparently it was a "don't be like me" speech. No cameras or reporters. He does seem sincere and I hope he has changed for good.

Outstanding post.

Obviously I did not. My sincere apologies for that.

Seems like the Cheatriots got a good deal on Spikes. If this report is true they gave him a four year, $3.21M deal which would be about what the Bills paid him last season. I'm surprised that the Bills didn't try harder to sign him if that was his price. He would've brought some real help to the run defense like he did last season. Good, cheap signing for them. http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nfl/news/story?id=5412151

The Patriot Way. Cheat, lie, lie some more, throw a fit, then repeat.

If the Bills brass aren't incredibly concerned about the QB position as it stands, then they aren't competent enough to have the jobs they've got. There is no point in being in a panic over it, but fixing the QB situation has to be the overriding priority moving forward.

The odds that EJ becomes a quality starter here in Buffalo are not good, however those odds aren't zero. That gamble is certainly worth a late round pick at this point. Unless the coaching staff just wants him out of here for some reason it makes no sense to trade him now. This article seems more like a favor to Kelly than actual thought on the part of Carucci.

That's incredibly optimistic.

Hey, nice work! Was trying to work positions on the board out myself.

I found this on a Steelers board. It is a tremendous job on how a draft room operates and how draft boards are set up. Nothing Bills-specific, but very much worth a read. At least the original post. Nothing of value beyond that. It also probably explains why I can't stop trying to make out what is on the board in the video. http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=68&f=1897&t=13852969

My first thought was TJ Clemmings - and my second and third thoughts as well.

Any idea what kind of deal he is seeking or could expect? I see that he made $3.5M here last season so the "vet minimum" stuff some posters are saying is clearly not realistic. I assume he's after a multi-year deal but have no idea of what his market value is. Even another 1-year, $3.5M deal would be tough for the Bills to handle at this point. After rookie deals are done they'd be only about $1.6M under the cap by the Rule of 51.