Logic

I wonder what the percentage is of people who have actually listened to or read what Beane had to say before commenting in this thread is. I'm thinking like 5% tops. He KNEW about Hoecht, and signed him anyway. Question his judgement in signing the guy if you want, but it wasn't a matter of "not doing homework". Ogunjobi's result came back during/after the signing process, he informed Beane immediately, and Beane went forward with the signing because, among other reasons, he said the free agent pool had become depleted at the position. So here again, question Beane's judgement in going forward with the signing if you want, but this one ALSO wasn't a matter of "not doing homework".

I highly suggest everyone either listen to Beane's presser or at least read some pertinent quotes from it. The assumptions in this thread are astonishing. Far too many of you missed your calling, and should be working in NFL front offices. Sheesh.

As to the first bolded: The Bills have the second most wins in the NFL since 2020, have won six straight division titles, and are coming off an AFCCG in which his team was one drive away from going to the Super Bowl. One can easily argue that were it not for McDermott coaching blunders, the Bills would've made a Super Bowl or two by now. I think the best way to judge a GM is by looking at the team he's assembled, and that team has been the second best team in football for the past five years. As for "taking bigger swings", the man has traded multiple picks (including a 1st) for Stefon Diggs, signed Von Miller to a mega contract, and this season signed five time Pro Bowler Joey Bosa. I just think "get his act together" ignores that "his act" has had the Bills in the playoffs and realistically contending for a championship every single year, and that "he needs to start taking bigger swings" ignores that he HAS taken some big swings, and they just haven't worked out as we all hoped.

What information? In Beane's press conference, he said that Ogunjobi got his test results back directly from the testing office and was notified of his positive result before the league even found out. Ogunjobi then notified Beane of it, Beane then called the league, and the league was not even yet aware of it.

You clearly didn't listen to Brandon Beane's press conference or read any summaries of it. He said that Hoecht TOLD the Bills about his upcoming suspension. The Bills were fully aware of it and decided to sign him anyway. He said that Ogunjobi's suspension news didn't come in until during/after the contract signing process, at which point he told the team immediately. So they DID know about Hoecht. And they COULDN'T have known about Ogunjobi because it hadn't yet happened. He was a Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee just last year and has a spotless NFL resume with no previous suspensions. What exactly was a "PI" supposed to uncover about such a player? If you disagree with the decisions to go ahead with signing these guys after learning of the pending suspensions, then fine. But saying "he didn't check this out with the league" or talking about hiring PIs shows me that you're reacting without even having watched/listened to/read what Beane had to say about the situation.

I agree that its an odd situation, it's way less than ideal, and it doesn't look great for the Bills or Brandon Beane. It's a bit embarrassing and, as I have said, actually pretty hilariously unbelievable. But I stand by the statement that this thread is filled with overreactions.

It's outright HILARIOUS, is what it is. Beane also seemed very embarrassed in his press conference. But "this is the last straw, let's fire him"? C'mon, man. Ridiculous. If the Ogunjobi thing hadn't happened. If it was just "hey, we signed a guy for three years but he's gonna start out with a six game suspension", it would be odd, but for the most part, people wouldn't think too much of it. This stuff happens in the NFL. The fact that it then happened with Ogunjobi right afterwords is what makes it a weird and embarrassing situation. But again...a fireable offense? Preposterous.

Certainly some laughable overreactions in this thread. How was Brandon Beane supposed to know that Larry Ogunjobi -- with a spotless NFL resume and being the Steelers' 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee -- was going to get a PED suspension BEFORE it happened? I guess you can ding him for still deciding to go ahead with the contract after finding out, but his explanation that the market had become pretty depleted and they decided they'd rather have him for 11 games plus playoffs than start from scratch and sign a lesser talent seems reasonable to me. Likewise, if you want to ding him for deciding to sign Hoecht to a three-year deal despite knowing about his six game suspension, I can understand that. But the Bills signed him for 51 games worth of contract. With that in mind, missing six games due to suspension doesn't seem disqualifying. All of this is obviously less than ideal. But the "this is the last straw, fire Brandon Beane" stuff is hilarious to me.

In all seriousness...has Ogunjobi officially signed? It hasn't been officially announced by the Bills? Whereas Hoecht is a multi-year deal and they said they knew about his anyway, it won't affect much with the contract. But in Ogunjobi's case, shouldn't he make considerably less since it's only a one year deal? Like...wtf?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha....... *takes deep breath* .....Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Whewwwww! Ya gotta admit: This is objectively funny.

May I ask how you know this? I'm not casting aspersions or questioning your knowledge of football. I know you're a draftnik and a guy who's very passionate about watching and evaluating players. But when you comment on a Kendrick Green type, I wonder: Did you watch a bunch of Texans game and zero in on the o-line? Are you making your comment based on your memory of him as a college prospect? Did you hear that the Bills signed him and THEN go and watch him? I'm not trying to troll you, I'm just genuinely curious. How do you already have in your rolodex of personnel knowledge an amount of information on a guard from the Houston Texans sufficient to be able to declare that he's dreadful? There are 1,696 players on NFL rosters each year. How do you keep track?

Oh yeah. I don't expect the Bills to draft a RB at all necessarily, and if they do, it won't be as early as Johnson is going to get taken. My draft crush is not in relation to the Bills. I don't think the Bills are drafting Kaleb Johnson. But purely as a draftnik, just watching the player...he's my (not so) early draft crush.

Personally, I don't think it was probably very likely for the Bills to sign a big time Edge AND a big time CB, especially with Benford's extension looming. I may have WANTED it to happen, but it probably wasn't likely. If given the choice between spending 12.6 on Bosa and signing a baseline/floor guy like Jackson or spending 12.6 on a big time corner and signing lesser edge, I'm taking the Bosa option. Defensive line was/is by far the thing that was most in need of an upgrade this offseason. That having been said, I think the signing of Dane Jackson makes it so that the Bills don't have to take a corner in the 1st round. They'll surely draft one or two of them, but I don't think it needs to be a first round guy. I think and hope that they feel the flexibility to take a D-lineman or receiver or safety or whatever if that player is higher on their board than whatever corners are left at 30. I think, for instance, that Jackson vs round 2/3 rookie vs Ingram/Hardy/Couch is a perfectly reasonable camp battle. You're hoping that your drafted guy or one of the youngsters can beat out Jackson, but if he doesn't, you know that you've gotten capable play out of Jackson in the past. The baseline/floor at CB2 has now been established. Draft pick(s) incoming, but not necessarily from round 1.

I know that I'm not digging very deep here and not picking a "sleeper" or anything, but... RB Kaleb Johnson looks pretty special to me. The box was always loaded against the Hawkeyes, because everyone knows what they wanna do on offense. But I read today that when facing a light box, Johnson ran for over 9 ypc, which was best in the nation, and a pretty insane number. I've been watching all of these running backs because its such a special class. Everyone knows Jeanty, Hampton, and Henderson look special, but I've been trying to wade through the guys beyond them. So far, Johnson has stood out to me with his combination of speed, power, vision, contact balance, and breakaway ability. He's a little tall and runs a little upright, but other than that...impressive stuff.

Yeah, I agree that the premise of the new season at least sounds interesting and like it can present some fresh ideas. To be honest, I always need more happy/positive content in my life that makes you feel good. There are too many dark, depressing, post-apocalyptic type shows on TV these days. And for, well...reasons related to the current state of the world...I always appreciate some content that makes you feel nice instead. Ted Lasso certianly does that. Some shows really should leave well enough alone, though (Shogun, Squid Games, seasons 7-9 of the office, I'm looking at you).

I keep thinking about how Codrington -- despite being a good returner all year long -- was inactive for the last few weeks and in the playoffs. I think it got to the point that they felt the roster spot was more valuable than whatever value Codrington offered as solely a returner. In other words, with roster spots being limited and depth needs elsewhere, it's hard to justify making a guy gameday active whose only role on the team is to kneel the ball in the end zone 9 out of 10 times. That's what brings me back to the idea that maybe they feel like its a more efficient use of a roster spot to have a returner who can ALSO be useful on offense. And I do think that as WR depth and a guy who can take reverses and orbit motions and screens, Shenault could be more useful than Codrington. I could be way off base, but it's food for thought.

I find the "receiver who can't really play receiver very well"/returner/gadget player guys to be so interesting. To varying degrees over the years: Deebo Samuel, Curtis Samuel, Laviska Shenault, Cordarelle Patterson, Percy Harvin, even Roscoe Parrish and Isaiah McKenzie. Guys who are shifty and elusive and whose hands you want to get the ball into, but you have to find creative ways to do it, because they don't fit into the classic WR or RB roles. These guys just fascinate me. Cordarelle Patterson found a way to hang on in the league for a long time, aided by his switch from WR to RB. Obviously not everyone is cut out for that kind of switch (though Shenault is about the same size and weight as Patterson), but...it helps these guys get matched up on linebackers and safeties rather than corners. In any case...like everyone else, I'm expecting Shenault to factor into the return competition and to make a few plays in preseason that get everyone excited for him, only to see him released on cutdown day. One thing that occurred to me is that maybe they'd rather have their returner be capable of pitching in on offense. Like...Codrington is/was never going to be used much on defense (other than in garbage time), so you're rostering a guy with just ONE purpose. If Shenault could have TWO purposes, by being a returner and also being at least somewhat capable receiver depth...maybe that's an improvement in terms of roster spot usage.

AJ Epenesa

Rousseau Bosa Epenesa Hoecht Soloman On a team that usually makes four to five edge rushers gameday active. Unless we're trading or cutting Epenesa, I don't see where Fowler (or any other edge addition) would fit in at this poin.

Ugh. I was a very big fan of this show, but I wish they wouldn't. Sometimes, I wish showrunners would know when to just stop. The Brits have it down pretty well. Americans? Not so much. I thought they left the show off in a good place, and I'm just not sure there's much story left to tell. Seems like a cash grab to me. That said...I'm sure I'll still watch, so I guess I'm contributing to the problem.

This is one I'm keeping my eye on, as well. I'd find it quite feasible that Douglas went looking for one last big payday and hasn't yet found it. Like with other veterans left on the market, I could see him returning to Buffalo on a one year deal.

It's really my only remaining wish for free agency: Sign a corner that at least COULD start capably. At the very least, a Dane Jackson type. I really doubt that players of his tier would command much, and the Bills certainly have the money to do it. If they sign a corner, they'll truly be going into the draft able to take a DE, DT, CB, WR, or S in round one, knowing that if they DON'T opt to take someone from any of those positions, they'll still be okay. Besides, this isn't exactly the best year for corners. I'd much rather see them lean into the strength of the DL class or finish off this receiving corps with a premium talent.

I'm a Brandon Beane fan, but... Two of the bones I'd like to pick with him are: 1.) He talks a big game about "BPA at a position of need", but nine times of ten, he just picks based on need. It has hurt the roster building of this team repeatedly. 2.) Part of the reason he feels like he HAS to do the above is that he has a habit of taking care of all but ONE position leading into the draft. Everybody and their brother then knows what position he's going to take. It can lead to teams jumping on front of him, and it also (as mentioned above) leads to him taking inferior players simply because he has painted himself into a corner. I really, REALLY hope he has learned his lesson on these issues. But maybe a leopard really doesn't change his spots...

I think cornerback is just a tricky market, made all the more so by some of the recent deals. Some players are happy to get a deal done early and sign to team friendly terms, but not ALL players. Maybe negotiations just haven't gone as swimmingly as they did with the players who already signed. Maybe Benford is someone they're gonna do this coming offseason. Lots of variables behind the scenes to which we just aren't privy.