msw2112

I believe that's correct. But once established in Buffalo, he kept the team here and remained loyal to it throughout his life and even after his death. Buffalo was not Jim Kelly's first choice either, but look how that turned out.

Without getting into specifics, I think that the team has taken a bit of a step back, losing some talented players and key positions, but they're far from done. They'll add a full draft class, plus a few more free agents. When it's all said and done, they'll be similar to last season, but perhaps a bit younger and faster. They'll be more economically viable salary-cap wise, which will help better position them for the future - keeping the "window open." As others have said, if the defense can remain relatively healthy next season, that alone will make the team better than it was for the majority of this past season. And last year's team is not a bad baseline. They won the division, had a #2 seed, won a playoff game, and had a very close loss to the Super Bowl champs that may not have happened if they had a healthy defense. Am I disappointed that the Bills didn't beat the Chiefs? Of course. Does that mean the team is terrible and has no hope for next season and the future? Absolutely not.

I agree. I see Curtis as a less physical version of Deebo. He'll line up all over the place (slot and outside), take occasional handoffs out of the backfield, run jet sweeps, maybe wheel routes, etc. He may do some of the things that Hines would have done had he remained with the team. Brady seems to be a whole lot more creative than Dorsey and he'll leverage Samuel's talent in a positive way.

I don't think that Armstead visited. I think that he's a free agent and his wife has ties to the Buffalo area, so someone wrote an article suggesting that he was interested in signing with the Bills. I don't know that there was anything else to the story.

I was hoping they'd sign Blackmon. Based on what (little) I know, Blackmon is the better player. Signing Edwards does not preclude them from also signing Blackmon (or Simmons), but I assume it makes it less likely.

Before seeing this thread today, I was not familiar with this player. I like what I see. He's young and talented and he's played (at least) a full season post-achilles with no ill effects from it. The shoulder injury seems to be unrelated and minor. It also appears that the Colts have a younger, cheaper option, so it makes sense for them to move on from him, even if he's a good player. Seems like he'd be a good add for the Bills open safety spot, while still drafting one.

Not sure if they'll go vet minimum on the experienced player, but definitely on the lower end of the salary scale. Then, I agree, a Day 3 and a UDFA and see what they have in camp.

A guy like Foreman would be a good fit. He's a) a bigger, more rugged type of runner; b) experienced, and has had some success in the league; c) only 27, so still in his prime for another season or 2; d) available; and e) likely not too expensive. He played for the Bears on a 1-year $2M contract and I could see the Bills signing him to a similar deal.

I expect the Bills to be about the same next season as they were this past season - one of the top 5 teams in the league that with a bounce or break could beat any team in a playoff game. They're losing a lot of veteran players, but also will be gaining some younger and perhaps faster/more athletic players, plus some of their younger stars should improve and take on larger roles (Bernard, Kincaid, Cook, Shakir, Benford, Brown, Torrence, etc.) The newer, younger coordinators may also have a positive impact, also offsetting the loss of some key veteran players. I think that Epenesa, Miller and Rousseau will have more sacks than they did last season, plus a high draft pick and/or to-be-added Free Agent will pick up the slack. On offense, I expect more TDs from Shakir, Kincaid, and Knox, plus a high draft pick WR (I'm not expecting a high-priced veteran FA WR this season).

This is most definitely the signing of a guy to be WR4-WR7 and play special teams. This is not the Bills WR2/Gabe Davis replacement. Nothing to get worked up about. I still anticipate a WR to be drafted in the first 2 rounds and would not be at all surprised to see a second one drafted in the later rounds. In the meantime, this guy has some size, some experience in the league, and is a good special teamer, so if the makes the team, he can add to the mix.

I assume Miami was the best offer that he had, or it was among the best and his connections to the area influenced his decision to sign there. Obviously, the Bills decided to move on. While it's disappointing as a Bills fan that he's going to the team's biggest rival, the guy is entitled to continue his career for as long as he can and I can't blame him for that. Fortunately for the Bills, he's lost a few steps and he is not likely to be a major threat as an opponent.

This guy might not even make the team. And if he does, he's a backup/depth player with starting experience on a playoff team that I'm sure didn't cost much, and he can probably play special teams. Nothing to get worked up about.

I don't think the Bills are satisfied, resting on their laurels, or trying to sell a bill of goods based on how bad they were during the drought. While not everyone on this board will agree with every decision they make, or how they go about it, I don't doubt that the Bills organization is trying to do what they think is necessary to get the team to a championship. Some decisions work out and some don't. They paid Von Miller a boatload of cash as they thought he was the missing piece to getting sufficient pressure on QBs (Mahomes in particular) in big games. Then he tore up his knee and he has not been the same player (yet). Overall, it has not worked out, but it's a move that's reflective of the team's desire to get a championship. Cleaning up a bad cap situation is also something they have to do in order to get better, even if it means taking a step back to go two steps forward.

If it's $14.5M over three years and not for a single season, plus it's "up to" that number, I can live with it. That's low-end starter money, but a bit high for a backup.

Thank you.

This sounds right to me. I'm curious about McGovern's experience as a center. I don't have any knowledge on the subject. He's a good guard, but a center has to snap the ball and make line calls. It's not the same, although many players can do both. I don't know if he's one of them, but I have to assume the Bills know. I'd like to think they're not going to make a guy the starting center on a contending team if they don't already know that he can play center. Particularly after trading another player who they know can play center.

I highly doubt Haack makes the team. I think Martin is done and they need a body for spring activities and camps. May draft a P and/or bring in someone else.

I like Sutton and think he's a very good player, but the numbers don't add up. His age and salary are both too high for what the Bills need. Jeudy is oft-injured and while very fast, not a very good NFL WR. He was a great college player, but has not really panned out in the NFL. I think the Bills have to go draft for WR. One in the first 2 rounds and another in rounds 4-6.

I don't like Rattler. He's a talented player, but a very me-first type. He lost his job at Oklahoma and did not handle it well, ultimately bailing and transferring to South Carolina. He did play some good football there, but I just don't like his personality and don't see him as a good fit for the Bills (not a "process" guy). Someone else above said that Rattler is living off his reputation of being one of the top QB's to come out of high school when he did (might have even been the #1 guy), but he has not lived up to that potential at Oklahoma or South Carolina. I agree with that.

Milton is terrible. He's a slightly more athletic version of EJ Manuel. He was given the starting job twice at Michigan and lost it, and then transferred to Tennessee and was again given the starting job and lost it. After injuries and graduations, he got the Tennessee job last season and he did OK, but he has never come close to reaching his athletic potential. He's a guy that, in practice, looks like the best player in college football, but he wilts when the bright lights come on. He's big, strong, and athletic. By all accounts, he's a hard worker and a team player. He has one of the strongest arms ever to play the game - can throw it a mile with great velocity. All that said, he has no touch and zero accuracy. He can't read a defense. I suppose some might call that Josh Allen 2.0, but Josh carried a bad Wyoming team, whereas Milton couldn't win with a very talented Michigan team and was good at times, but not great at Tennessee. Again, he's more like EJ Manuel 2.0 than Josh Allen 2.0. I have nothing personal against Milton and would be happy for him if he succeeded, but I've seen him play enough to have a good feel for what he brings to the table and I just don't see NFL success in his future. For a 2nd string QB, I believe a team is better off with a cerebral guy who knows the offense and can be a game manager that won't make a lot of mistakes and try to let the defense win the game. Maybe an undersized guy or a guy who has the mental makeup of a starter, but not the physical tools to be one. Milton is the opposite. He oozes talent and has the ability to make wow plays, but makes a ton of mistakes and can't keep the train on the tracks. If anything, he's a practice squad type of guy that you work with to try and develop over a long period of time. Not they guy you give the keys to as a rookie when your star QB goes down.

I was thinking the same thing. Bates can play any of the 5 positions along the line and has starting experience at guard. The Bills were fortunate to go the entire season without injuries on the OL, but that's unlikely to be the situation again this upcoming season. It's possible that Bates asked out so that he could get an opportunity to start and Beane did him a solid, and along the way, saved some salary and cap space and netted a 5th rounder in return. I typically give Beane the benefit of the doubt. I don't think they would have made this move without 1) a good reason to make it; and 2) a plan for replacing the function that Bates provided to the team.

Other than a franchise QB, which now commands a salary in the $25-$55M range, who impacts a team more than the head coach? In other words, relative to player salaries, these head coaches salaries are very reasonable. Those kinds of numbers are obviously in a totally different stratosphere than what your average working joe (or message board participant) makes.

I was there with 3 other guys and we were this close to leaving at halftime. We decided to see how the 1st drive of the 2nd half would start and it ended up with the Bills throwing a pick-6 to fall even further behind. At that point, we said, "what the hell, we stayed through halftime, so we might as well stick it out." It was an unseasonably warm day for early January. Had the weather been anything like the last couple of Bills home playoff games, we likely would have bailed. I probably have my torn half of the ticket stub at the bottom of a drawer somewhere. If I find it, I'm happy to sell it to someone for a few hondo. Since the ticket was actually used, I think it has more value than some unused ticket. Put another way, not only was I there, but that ticket stub was there too! 😉

I agree with this. I don't see anything good coming out of bad-mouthing opponents.

Buffalo media? This was a huge national story that was in all media outlets, not just sports media. The Bills were trying to get through training camp and play in a preseason game and this was 100% of what Beane and McDermott were dealing with every day. The team was the favorite to win the Super Bowl and needed to get the focus off of a rookie punter's legal troubles and back onto football. They were in a terrible spot and made the best decision they could at the time. In a perfect world, they would have let the legal process play out, but the Bills did not have the luxury of time. For those that now lament the Bills not signing him after the legal matters were dropped, there are several things at play: 1. It's likely the bridges were burned with the Bills and he wasn't going to come back 2. 31 other teams stayed away from him for 2 seasons, so it's not like the Bills were a bumbling outlier 3. Signing him for the playoffs would have been a terrible idea. The guy had played only 1 NFL snap (in the PRESEASON), had never been a regular PAT/FG holder, and had never played in cold weather. I'm happy for the kid that his legal troubles are behind him and glad he's getting a chance to resume his career. It sucks that it's with one of the Bills' rivals, but he was a free agent and could have signed wherever he wanted. It wasn't going to be Buffalo, and KC gave him the opportunity. It's time to move on.