BarleyNY

I'd be more than fine with this plan. Some overpayment would be worth it to take him away from the Phins. He would be a huge addition to the offense.

Agreed. It'd be nice, but at this point why not hold the auction? He'll be signed somewhere inside of a week. And he will have a number of teams/destinations to chose from.

That would make me very happy, but I fear that the plan is to kick the can down the road and deal with the QB situation next season. Again, I prefer your strategy and hope that's what they do. The Cassel signing decreases the chances of Sanchez being brought in. Word is that he didn't take sitting the bench well last season so I'm not sure he's the guy you want. He likely will be looking first at teams where he has a clear path to be the starter. If those dry up then places where there is competition will be more likely destinations. It could happen, but I'd take Locker first if I could get him.

Sure, if the money was paid as a signing bonus by the a Iggles that is how it would be accounted for. I can't see it happening in the NFL though.

Exactly. Looking at Overthecap and Rotoworld I get about $15.7M in available cap space. That is after the Cassel and McCoy contracts are accounted for and assuming they don't change and that workout bonuses are earned. ($30.44M-4.75-10=$15.69M). One big caveat to that number: 62 players will be under contract at that point so the "Rule of 51" will apply, giving the Bills almost $5M more in usable cap space, putting them just over $20M They should be still be able to get some help with $20M. They still have room to re-sign Hughes and get upgrades on the OL, at TE and in the secondary. They'll have to set some space aside for draft picks too, but with a 2nd, a 3rd, two 6ths and a 7th that shouldn't be that much. I'm almost as interested to see who gets cut as I am who they sign. Almost. It will be interesting to see how this roster shapes up.

You bring nothing to this forum with your Pollyanna BS.

The idea is indeed crazy. Contract size, existing spending at DT/DL, current quality at DT, many far greater needs for said cap space, etc., etc. When I read the original post all it amounts to is "LOOK! SHINY THING!!!"

Is catching the ball important? What about a good attitude and work ethic? If those answers are all an emphatic "No" then go get him.

Ditto. I finally gave in because I thought there'd be some funny responses. The only way Foles gets traded is if the Iggles acquire his replacement. I think that's their plan, but until it happens Foles is their best QB by far and he's going nowhere. I know Mariota would be their preference, but Foles would likely get sent to TEN in a trade to 2 in that (unlikely) case. The other guy I could see them getting relatively cheap would be RG3, who incidentally is also missing from his team's propaganda this season. If something like that happens then Foles is on the market and would be an option.

That's a very Bills-centric way to view things. Sanchez is going to have multiple suitors and if his position is that teams where he has a clear path to be the starter are first in line, then that's the situation all have to consider if they are going to pursue him. That is conjecture, but this isn't: I have heard that the new regime isn't thrilled with their current QB roster (and that shouldn't be a shock to anyone). Dumping a QB they don't like to smooth the way to get one of the better FA options isn't much of a stretch - if that is what is going on. Incidentally, I don't have an agenda here. I'm just trying to piece together a logical situation based on what I and others have heard.

Just a thought based on something I heard about Sanchez today. Apparently he was not a happy camper when he wasn't starting and it looks as though he wants to go to a team where there Is no question about whether or not he's the starting QB. This is just conjecture, but it would make sense that if the Bills wanted Sanchez he might not be all that interested in Buffalo if Manuel was still here. That would fit with the rumor about Manuel being on his way out. Again, not saying that it is happening, but if it Sanchez comes in and Manuel exits then I'd certainly point to this having been the situation.

Yeah. Probably.

I disagree, that would be a very poor QB depth chart, IMHO. Why are some here saying that he played "well" in Philly this year? He had a 14-11 TD/INT ratio which isn't stellar and his career ratio is 82-80 with a 204 yards/game average. That is not inspiring, but I'll grant that is better than McCown. If they cut Manuel, it would say that he is just putrid in their opinion. I didn't see that in the 14 games he played. He had some terrible games, yes, but he also had some pretty decent games, too. Sure, I'd trade all six of the QBs in question for one bona fide franchise QB, but that's not happening this offseason. Sanchez/McCown/Mannion (or other rookie) would be an upgrade over Orton/Manuel/Tuel. And Orton, the best of that lot, isn't even an option going forward. Right now is Manuel/Tuel making anyone happy? Sure it isn't the QB roster you want to hang your hat on longterm, but I'm not sure how the Bills could do much better in 2015. Keep this in mind: McCown's job would be to be a knowledgeable veteran who can help the starter and rookie to develop as well as spot start if needed. McCown isn't every Sunday starter material, but he is knowledgeable and can be valuable in the roles of mentor and spot starting. Right now there isn't a QB like that on the roster. On cutting/trading Manuel, I don't know that is necessarily an indication that they think he is horrible and beyond reclamation. IMO the Bills messed up EJ's chances by starting him too soon. He still reverts back to his bad habits from FSU far too often. Maybe he can break those and acquire the right ones. I don't know. But I don't see how he does that in Buffalo unless he can show it very soon. He can't become a 3rd string developmental guy and sit for a couple years here. Somewhere other team with much less invested in him, yes, he could do that. There he's a flyer. But not here. I guess Ryan could be looking at it this way - EJ has 2 years left on his deal. If he can't turn the corner well before then, then he's gone anyway. Personally I don't see the problem with carrying Sanchez, Manuel, McCown and a rookie all the way to cut down day. A lot of what I said was presuming that EJ was on his way out, not that I was advocating for it at this time. It wouldn't be a shock though. New coach often equals new QB unless there is a stud at the position.

I don't. But IF parting ways with Manuel is in the works at this time, then the Bills already know who their next QB is going to be. Free agency stuff gets worked out under the table every year. Sanchez is a logical QB due to the Ryan connection. It could be Locker or someone else (although I'm not sure who). But one things for sure, you don't cut your first round QB so soon without a better plan than Josh McCown and Jeff Tuel. Here is a link to EJ's contract. Use the drop down tab to show the effects of cutting him versus trading him. As his base salaries this year and next are fully guaranteed the Bills would be better off trading him for almost nothing than cutting him: http://overthecap.com/player/ej-manuel/2197/

And I'd add:3) The Bills already have a free-agent QB [coughSanchezcough] lined up 4) Maybe a back up like McCown, too They could do a complete revamp and get a developmental quarterback in the draft as well. This wouldn't be a bad QB depth chart: Sanchez McCown Mannion

There would be a ton of teams interested in Ngata if he came available and he'd get paid big time. I seriously doubt that the Ravens let that happen though. On the slim chance that they do I don't see the Bills as players for him at all. Logically, why would they? His role would be to take the starting job of Kyle Williams and to fill in for Dareus on rotation when he needed a breather and Williams was in. That's what he does for the Ravens. That rotation would be ridiculous (in the best of ways), but no way is it economically feasible nor would it be acceptable for Williams (or Ngata) to get bumped from a starters spot. I'd guess that Oakland and Cleveland would be the two most likely destinations as they have both a great deal of cap space and a great need for interior DL. He's going nowhere though so it's really a moot point.

$9M TT for RBs. That's all you need to know. I like CJ better than most here and I think he'll do better in a system that utilizes his talents better. (I'd be calling his agent if I was Philly.) Not a system fit and $9M for one year equals NFW. Good luck wherever you land, CJ.

Agreed. The Rams are just letting Bradford see what other contracts would be offered by other teams if he was traded. (No team would trade anything of value for him without a longterm deal in place.) Just a way for the Rams to drive down his demands.

I don't have any issue with the Bills bringing in Sanchez as long as their search for a long term franchise QB continues. It's probably the right thing to do.

Interior line is huge for Brees. Due largely to his height pressure up the middle is an especially big problem for him. Quality guards like Grubbs and Evans are integral to his success. This will be interesting to watch.

That's all great in theory, but many of your points would help ANY QB and it also assumes a lot. EJ needs to address his mechanics/accuracy in a big way and he needs to clean up his pocket presence and reads. And I've seen flashes of almost everything needing fixed, however. That's what makes him so tempting. For instance, his pocket presence looked much improved at the start of last season, but he fell back into bad habits. It's almost like he's trying to fix a golf swing with him. He fixes one thing and something else goes to hell, then he fixes something else and the last thing he fixed goes bad. It's so difficult to put it all together that I just don't believe that he will. Rushing him out as a starter hurt him immensely. His mechanics needed a total overhaul before he saw an NFL field and he never got that. He never ingrained new habits so he falls back onto his old ones. His best opportunity might be to catch on somewhere as a back up for 2 or 3 years and take time to fix those mechanics (make the proper ones habit) and get more comfortable with the NFL game, then go somewhere to compete for a starting job in a less pressure packed situation. I don't see how that's possible for him in Buffalo. Alex Smith is the only player that ever managed to come close to that for the team that drafted him and he still lost his job to Kaepernick. I hope he proves me wrong, but I just don't see it happening for him here in Buffalo. He still deserves another shot at it though.

That'd be my plan except I'd just be looking for value in a QB pick. It would probably be 5th or later, but if the right guy was there in the 2nd or 3rd I wouldn't hesitate. I'm not sure how the Bills will have the QBs rated, but in this draft the only QB that might be a viable option as a value pick in the 2nd is Hundley and I don't think he'll make it to the Bills.

Agreed. I think the only team that could possibly swing a trade to 2 for MM is Philly (and it would be tough). That's because they could include Foles in the package. No way does TEN come off of the second overall pick without a QB acquired somehow and I can't think of another viable way they get one. Maybe that's why TEN has been playing coy on MM. That or maybe they're trying to entice JAX to flip picks by feigning interest in their top target.

This is a common belief, but I don't know why - and there seems to be precious little evidence to support the claim that EJ "will figure it out". Playing QB in the NFL is the most difficult thing in sports. EJ has the physical tools to be sure, but the mental part is so difficult virtually no one can project in that respect. I hope he does, but right now it is just wishful thinking. There is no way the Bills should put themselves into a position where he's the only viable option. Again, I'm not running him out of town and he deserves a chance to prove himself here, but it should be in a situation where there is legitimate competition. His opportunity to prove himself should come ipby way of a QB competition, not by being handed the starting job and seeing how it goes. If he can beat out a QB like Sanchez or Locker, then he's earned it. If not, he knows where the bench is. It's up to the Bills FO to get a guy like that on this roster. Then we will see what we have in him.

Yup. Doesn't hurt to feign interest in a player or two that Jax might want though. See if you can drop a spot, get another pick and still get your guy. It probably won't work, but what's it hurt to try?