HappyDays

Last minicamp practice is today. Update from Matt Parrino on Hairston:

I haven't even heard Dorian Strong's name since rookie minicamp. The reports on Hairston are that he's been getting better and better with each practice and has been mixing in with the 1s. It's nothing like Elam/Benford where early on they were clearly in a competition against each other. I'll be shocked if Hairston isn't the week 1 starter. If it's not him it will be White. Strong is fighting against Dane Jackson to make the roster.

I know he has a goofy attitude but one of the reasons I latched onto him as a prospect is he is known to be a hard worker and dedicated to being great. Words and intentions don't always equal results but I have no doubt that if Keon fails it won't be because of his own effort. If he never develops the requisite skills so be it I can live with that. I think the athletic potential combined with his work ethic gives him more of a chance than you believe though.

Moore is getting a lot of 1st team work at every practice the media has attended and most importantly seems to have developed good chemistry with Allen... Still need to see what he does when the pads come on and defensive coverage becomes more complicated but you couldn't ask for more at this point. One player that I have not heard much about is Kincaid. Still doesn't seem like Allen favors him as a target. And Matt Parrino specifically pointed out Knox making a few plays today. Way too early to have definitive takeaways but it's worth noting.

A few updates from Matt Parrino:

7-9 last year IMO (I'll remove the final Pats game). I have us losing to Arizona, Jets on the road, Miami at home, Indy, KC, and Detroit with league average QB play. The 2017 team isn't a good comparison. The level of competition has grown significantly since then and we're playing a 1st place schedule. That team playing the 2024 schedule would not have even been in the wildcard conversation.

Couple updates from Matt Parrino:

He is honoring his contract. To the letter. He skipped voluntary workouts and now is present for mandatory minicamp. Nothing Cook has done has gone remotely beyond the pale.

Mandatory minicamp today and tomorrow, supposed to be Thursday too but usually the team cancels the last practice as a show of good will to the players.

Not even holding in:

I'm good with this as a vet option, almost certainly knocks Spector off the roster. Thompson has missed most of the last two seasons with injuries. Put him on ice and only bring him out in case of injury. Hopefully it's not an AJ Klein situation where he's lost all movement ability.

Shockingly only 31 years old. I thought he was a good bit older.

But it isn't. Gunner pointed out above they have plenty of cap space. They aren't extending Hendrickson because of his age and Mike Brown's cash limit. The choice was not Hendrickson or Higgins. Even if it was you could easily make the case that the 26 year old WR takes higher priority over the 30 year old pass rusher.

Another possibility worth considering is that Cook doesn't really want to be in Buffalo long term. I've heard Joe Marino hint at this without directly saying it. He might want more money to stay here than he would elsewhere. Bills fans don't want to admit it but there will always be some players with that mindset whether we like it or not. Cook who was raised in south Florida and played at Georgia and is known to enjoy the nightclub scene may be one of those players.

Yeah and that kind of counters your original point, right? Cincy will always have these issues until another owner takes over. Extending Higgins wasn't the problem. If they hadn't extended him they would still be reluctant to rip up the deal Hendrickson signed and they'd also have a hole at WR. Spending big money on two #1 WRs means they don't really have to spend draft picks or FA money on the position. They are good for the next 4-5 years. Locking up your superstars at premium positions is always good business. The problem with Cincy is they do a lot of bad business besides, but there's no crossover from one side to the other.

Yeah the new CBA makes that basically impossible. If he plays less than 7 games he doesn't even accrue a season towards free agency and he would lose a ton of money with no chance of getting it back. When Leveon Bell held out of the regular season it was a dumb move on his part but under that CBA and his contract at the time it at least made some kind of sense. With Cook it would make no sense. Really his only option is show up in the best shape he can, don't accumulate any fines, then perform to the best of his ability in the regular season so he can cash in next offseason. Him being at mandatory minicamp tells me he understands that.