BillsFan4

Yep, all very normal behavior for an NFL player retiring over medical issues. Nothing to see here... lol

Sammy is nuts, man. He really is a weird dude with some very very strange beliefs.

You're most likely right. I'm not sure the Bills would take him back at this point anyway, even if he did want to come back. I'm just saying that I think there was more to him retiring than medical reasons (I'm not even sure the medical issues were his main reason for retiring). IMO This situation is just not playing out like someone who was more/less forced into retirement due to a medical condition. For example, look at this tweet. This is from the same day that the Wood retirement news came out. Bills immediately tweeted this - And all these congratulations from teammates - https://www.wkbw.com/sports/bills/teammates-send-well-wishes-after-eric-wood-retires

I've said for days now that I thought it was strange that the Bills or his teammates (at least none that I'm aware of outside of McCoy) have congratulated him on his retirement. Something more has to be going on here.

Something is definitely going on outside of the supposed medical reasons he retired.

Trade speculation begins to circle ROR - http://www.wgr550.com/articles/news/trade-speculation-begins-circle-ryan-oreilly

Wow, when you read/hear his interview, it's very easy to see why Dallas got rid of him.

And possibly the respect/trust of the locker room could take a hit. this regime has been very very big on shipping out the player with supposed character issues. What would it do to their credibility to bring in someone like Manziel?

Great to hear!

I'd be pretty shocked if he ended up in Buffalo. I just don't see it happening. I dont think we'd be very high on Dez's list (unless we offered a crazy overpayment, which I don't see happening) and I don't think Dez would be very high on McBeane's list.

I hadn't seen that article. Thanks for sharing. Great read. I like Rosen even more now!

IMO - Because Hue Jackson wanted a veteran QB. I'm sure Dorsey did too, to help the team win some games and gain confidence. But Hue just went 0-16 (and 1-31 in the past 2 seasons). He doesn't have the leash to ride out another season of rookie QB bumps and turnovers. He HAS TO win some games this year and show some forward progress if he wants to keep his job. I believe he rightly thinks that turnovers are the biggest factor in all their losses (Kizer just turned the ball over 27 times!!) and Tyrod solves that problem. Darnold has issues with turnovers himself, so they will let him learn from Tyrod for a year on how to take care of the ball, then he will be starting next year.

The 2nd round grade I was referring to came from the NFL draft advisory board. It carries quite a bit of weight for prospects. The draft board is there to advise college players on their draft prospects before they decide whether to declare for the draft or not. They only give 3 grades - 1st round grade, 2nd round grade or 'go back to school'. Here is a description of what the draft committee is - https://operations.nfl.com/the-players/development-pipeline/college-advisory-committee/ Obviously it is not the be all end all, but their draft grades carry a lot of weight and are usually pretty accurate (it doesn't mean they go exactly where they projected though, and we all know the QB position tends to be overdrafted frequently anyway, making it much harder to predict) - I was just just pointing out that Mahomes had a 2nd round grade, where as numerous top QBs in this draft were given 1st round grades. As for where I'd rank Mahomes and Watson in this draft, even knowing what I know now, my ranking are the same they were before the draft last year - - Id have Darnold, Rosen and Mayfield in front of both Watson and Mahomes. Maybe Watson creeps toward that #3 spot with his stellar play thismpaat season. But I would more/less have both in the 2nd tier 4-6 QB range with Allen, Rudolph, Jackson and before White, Lautetta, Falk. (Probably right around 4 with Allen) - whether or not id still do that trade today? Yes I would. Nothing has really changed for me since last year. Like I said, Maybe I have Watson a little higher if solely judging from what he did in the NFL this year, since he lit it up. But I am BIG on QBs proving themselves over multiple NFL seasons, once NFL coaches & players know their tendencies and start specifically game planning for them. We've all seen plenty of flashes in the pan who disappear after a good season or two. I want to see Watson stay healthy (2 ACL tears already) and repeat his performance over the course of the next 2 years before I say I was dead wrong on him. Watson has obviously proven a bit more than Mahomes has so far (who hasn't really proven anything in the NFL yet), but both have a long way to go yet to prove they are good NFL QBs. The Bills have done exactly what I was hoping for so far. I wanted them to trade down last year, pick up another 1st this year and target the 2018 QB draft class, which I felt (and still feel) was much stronger than 2017. Obviously I'd go back and make the trade with Houston or the NY Giants (if they were actually offering their 1st this year, which I somewhat doubt was the case), but that is hindsight. The Bills have to land their QB this year, though. If they somehow land one of the top QBs (Darnold, Rosen, Mayfield) then the trade was a huge win from my POV. If they land one of the 2nd tier QBs, I still think the trade is a success if that QB turns out, since we also have Tre White who was a rookie of the year candidate and one of the top CB's in the NFL. Plus we have Zay Jones (or Dion Dawkins, don't remember which we used that 3rd to trade up for). But If the Bills did draft a QB last year, I wanted Mahomes or Trubisky. So I don't want to give the impression I don't like Mahomes. I actually like him quite a bit, and think he has a good chance to be a good NFL QB. He landed in the perfect situation IMO. Andy Reid knows how to get the most out of his QBs. He is one of the best at properly scheming for + utilizing his QBs IMO, and I consider him to be one of the elite coaches in the NFL. I think the chances are very high that Mahomes has success with Reid. I'm not so sure he'd have the same success in Buffalo, though. We have historically SUCKED at developing QBs (it's a new, much better staff so I have hope now) and with the amount of work Mahomes needed/needs on his footwork and multiple other aspects, I am not sure Buffalo was the right place for him. He wouldn't have had a super smart veteran QB (like Alex Smith) to learn from last year, or a QB guru (like Reid) on staff to help him along. Edit - sorry I don't know why everything is in bold. I did not mean to do that

Still no "congratulations Richie" or anything like that. Does anyone else besides me wonder why? Just straight business - "Richie has been placed on the reserved/retired list". So far, IMO, this whole thing just has not really read like someone retiring for medical reasons.

Thanks. Well, damn (if true). lol

Curious where you heard/read that?

It rhymes with Rump.

Oh man do I hope so! He would be far and away the best QB prospect the Bills have drafted since Jim Kelly. There has definitely been quite a bit of smoke surrounding Rosen/Buffalo. Its my dream scenario that the Bills somehow land him or Darnold. I don't know if the Bills can/willl get to #2, but if Rosen somehow falls past the Jets and Broncos I do think there's a good chance the Bills will trade up to 6/7 to get him. One thing I am very confident in - if both he and Rudolph are on the board when the Bills pick at 12, they won't pass on Rosen for Rudolph.

So many personal opinions/assumptions in this reply. You really do have a disproportionate amount of hate for Rosen (and I'm sorry, but you don't have that type of hate for a QB just because of his on field play (which has actually been very good)). "He is not a winner at all". That is your opinion. UCLA's defense was one of the worst in the NCAA (ranked 122 out of 129) and yet Rosen still improved their win loss record. And He has a winning record as a starter at UCLA, so... (oh, and they went 1-5 without him when he was injured in his sophomore year). "He is a me first guy and thinks he is better than everyone else". Again, this is purely your own opinion. You don't know the kid. You've never met him. This is just wild speculation. "He is not a good leader". Ok, this one I have read from the media. i know there has been some stuff about his leadership ability or being liked by teammates, but his coach and actual teammates of his came out againat that narrative and said it was total BS. (I've already shared those articles with you, so I won't do it again). I notice you specifically select "passes of 20 yards or more" too. Since I am sure you know that Rosen is The Most Accurate passer in this draft on short and intermediate passes (those 20 yards or less, aka by far the most common passes thrown in the NFL). Rosen broke records at UCLA for consecutive passes thrown without an interception (245 consecutive passes thrown without interception). He also broke the school record for 300yd games. You dock Rosen for having some talent around him, but Mason Rudolph had more talent around him on offense than Rosen did. Yet that doesn't seem to bother you. Rudolph also played in a gimmicky college offense known for easy completions and padding QB stats. Saying Rudolph is a better person is also 100% your own opinion and in no way, shapes or form a fact. There is zero proof of this either. And you have never once met or spoke to Rudolph or Rosen, so... Same with him being a better QB. Rosen is almost universally ranked much higher than Rudolph, and for good reason. Rosen was the first true freshman to ever start the season opener for UCLA. He earned freshman all American honors. He was named the PAC-12 offensive player of the year, and pac12 freshman of the year (voted on by coaches), PAC 12 newcomer of the year, 2nd team all PAC-12 and led his entire conference in passing yards per game. He set multiple records at UCLA. He is the 2nd highest graded QB in this draft according to NFL (and the 3rd highest graded QB to enter the draft in the last 3 years), and for very good reason. Ultimately, if the Bills draft Rudolph I will get on board and find reasons to be excited. I will support him and give him every chance in the world to prove he's out long term answer at QB. I sure hope you will do the same if we draft Rosen. Oh, btw, I am pretty sure faddington was just joking around and poking fun at the people who legitimate t don't like Rosen just because of the way he looks/talks etc. its a ridiculous way to judge a QB prospect...

I don't have any dog in this fight. But Not a single one of those articles say anything about Alabama being a top school. Every one says that those students in the articles are picking Alabama because they are offering them much more in scholarship money. The articles say Alabama has put a focus on recruiting students with scholarships. Theres a big difference between someone picking a school because it's a top academic facility, and picking a school because they offered them a full scholarship. I am not saying Alabama is a bad school by any means, just to be clear.

Wow. His football career could very well be over if he's convicted. Definitely glad we didn't draft this guy!

Same here. This is EXACTLY what I wanted the Bills to do last year. Personally, I thought last year was a weaker QB draft class and this year's was much stronger. I wanted the Bills to trade down last year and target this QB draft class. I would easily take Rosen or Darnold over any QB in last year's class.

You never bring up his actual play as a QB. It's always his attitude/opinion you don't like. On the field, he's the best passer in this draft class and the most advanced QB in his abilities. The way he can read the field is extremely impressive for a college kid. His accuracy is fantastic, too. He also led the 2nd greatest comebacks in NCAA football history. Brought his team back in the 4th quarter down by 34 points (44-10) to win the game. He led FIVE straight scoring drives, and scored 35 straight points to win the game 45-44. And that wasn't even his best game... He is the #2 ranked QB in this draft class according to NFL draft grades. You better be be ready for the possibility of a Rosen pick because there has been a lot of smoke coming from the Bills that this is the guy they want! And I love it! I think he would fit in Buffalo perfectly fine.

Mahomes received a 2nd round grade from the NFL's draft advisory board - https://draftwire.usatoday.com/2017/02/23/patrick-mahomes-received-2nd-round-grade-from-nfl-draft-advisory-board/ and wasnt even in the top 10 QBs (as far as draft grades go) from the last 3 drafts. This year he would most likely be in the 2nd tier of QBs discussion with guys like Mason Rudolph, Lamar Jackson etc.

It's kind of interesting that there hasn't been any type of announcement or confirmation of Richie's retirement by the Bills (I just double checked their twitter account to make sure). I don't know if it's just another cap type of issue that keeps them from saying anything, or if there's something else going on behind the scenes. I believe the issue with Wood was him retiring vs being unable to play due to medical issues, and Wood not willing to say he was the one retiring (for money reasons). The case with Richie seems to be different. He's said straight up he is retiring. I don't really see why the Bills wouldn't acknowledge it (especially if he was truly done playing over medical reasons) and congratulate him on his NFL career. Makes me wonder if that stuff about having until Sunday is true (for Richie to change his mind or the Bills to offer more money).