Logic

Seems to be a movable chess piece. A guy that started at DT, transitioned to OLB full time, and has even played snaps at nickel corner 😳. I’ll be interested to see what the Bills have in mind for his usage. Intriguing player, and the (early, incomplete) contract numbers indicate he may have a bigger role than some might think…

Fair enough. From my perspective, it'd be nice to add a difference maker on offense AND defense. I realize that's easier said than done, of course. When it came down to crunch time -- by which I mean the AFCCG -- I didn't see any offensive players other than Josh Allen stepping up and elevating the offense. In those "gotta have it" moments, I'm not sure who the no-doubt-about-it go-to playmaker on this team is. There doesn't seem to be one at the present moment. Case in point: not a single receiver or tight end on the Bills roster had over 1,000 yards last year. And yes, I know, "everybody eats", but...still. And before anyone says "they set a team record for points scored last year": Yes, I know. But if you asked Sean McDermott or Brandon Beane or Joe Brady, I bet each of them would tell you it's a goal this offseason to improve the offense. It's a new year, and last year is in the past, and there's no guarantee they'll replicate their success. I still feel the Bills offense is a true WR1 away from being "complete", and I don't think Palmer addresses that issue. He seems to be of the John Brown, Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins ilk, which is to say: a functional NFL receiver that doesn't elevate the Bills offense or scare the opposing defense.

I can recognize and appreciate the "separation and man beating ability" argument, but... Ultimately, we were all saying "if this offense needs one thing, it's another difference maker", and Palmer simply doesn't feel like that. Now...to be fair...there really weren't/aren't many difference makers available in free agency, short of maybe a Davante Adams. But still... League average receivers who can pitch in 400-500 yards and be effective role players are pretty much all we HAD last year, and so far appear to be all we'll have THIS year. Granted, they haven't yet re-signed Cooper or Hollins, so I suppose from a sheer numbers standpoint, they had to do SOMETHING. But...a year after everyone got excited for career long average receiver Curtis Samuel (and even HE had more career production than Josh Palmer), it's hard for me to get too excited for career long average receiver Josh Palmer. I'm sure he'll play a role. I'm sure he'll have some nice moments. I'm not sure I see how it IMPROVES our offense in a tangible way, though.

Respectfully... Josh Palmer has been in the NFL for four years, playing with a good quarterback. He has averaged 571 yards and 2.5 TDs per season. WR1? Steal of FA? Seems like QUITE the projection.

He should probably get a towel.

I'm genuinely curious: As a man-to-man beater who gets big time separation...why do you feel he didn't excel in what surely seemed to be a wide open wide receiver room in LA last season?

It almost certainly WON'T be $12M/yr. Wait for the full contract terms. The ones you're reacting to were released by the player's agent and don't tell the whole story.

Woof. I don't care about the money. As I said recently, there's no sense in reacting to contract terms when we don't actually know them yet. But purely reacting to the player himself? Hard to get excited about a WR coming off back to back 580 yard seasons, who just had a HUGE opportunity in LA last year and didn't really seize it. He's fine, I guess. Not a needle mover. Very much Just A Guy. Now here come the same people that defended the Curtis Samuel signing last year to tell me how wrong I am...

After being hyped up with all sorts of potential trade targets, big name guys, etc... ...in reality, this free agency class wound up being WEAK SAUCE, and there are a few teams with absolute PILES of money that the Bills wouldn't wanna try to outbid anyway. I expect the usual wave 2 and wave 3 bargain signings and role players, and onto the draft.

Fair. I'm gonna wait to see what they actually do in free agency before I get any level of upset about extending their good, young, homegrown talent.

I could understand being upset or hesitant if the Bills paid Rousseau like a top five edge, but they didn't. Even without the contract details being fully in, he seems to be about 12th in AAV amongst edges right now, and that's before free agency begins and mega bucks get handed out and he starts getting pushed down the list. I think that by this time next month, and certainly by this time next year, the deal will look like a bargain. This front office also likes to extend guys that they believe are ascending, BEFORE they reach their peak and would command considerably more money. See: Brown, Spencer. It doesn't always work out, of course, and there's no guarantee that it will this time. But if it does? Well, again...see: Brown, Spencer.

First day on Two Bills Drive? 😜

Re-signing a 24 year old edge that's still ascending and was ranked 9th in HAVOC created last year to what appears to be a below market deal is good business. For those pointing out the playoff disappearance: Yep, its true. But it doesn't undo the good year he had up until that point or the fact that he's a plus starter. For those saying it takes us out of the "insert favorite trade target or free agent here" market: No it doesn't. If anything, it helps, because this deal likely lowered his cap hit for this season. For those saying "we're just keeping the status quo": First of all, that's silly. Every team re-signs its good players while ALSO still adding more. We haven't gotten to the "adding more" section of the offseason yet, so prematurely saying "status quo" is dumb and reactionary. Furthermore, "status quo" was division champion for the fifth straight year and one drive away from the Super Bowl, so the statement is dumb for TWO reasons. We'll wait to see the full contract breakdown, as always, but all indications so far is that it's a team friendly deal that will keep Groot here through his prime and won't preclude them from adding more pieces. Haters gonna hate...

Great point. And not only that, but the cap will go up next year, and the year after, and the year after. So often a deal looks like mega bucks and fans hem and haw and say "overpay", and by year two or three of the deal, it looks like an absolute bargain.

It's really the best possible outcome for both sides. It's become popular among some Bills fans to hate on Von because he did not represent good ROI for what the Bills paid. But the truth of the matter is that he DID offer quality pass rushing reps last year and DOES still have something to offer. It's best for Von to stay in a locker room he already knows and loves and have another shot at a Super Bowl. It's best for the Bills (from a cap and on-field standpoint) to have him here on a reduced deal. Obviously, if he's not willing to take a big enough pay cut, then cutting him outright becomes the preferable outcome. But so long as he's willing to be team-friendly in his contract expectations, it'd be better to have him here for cheap than to cut him and take on the dead cap.

Delete this thread or let it sink off the first page if you want, I don't care, but: **walks up to mic, taps it twice, clears throat** Ahem. As contract extension season and free agency season begin, I am here to remind you once again: Never take the first contract numbers publicly announced at face value. These numbers are ALWAYS given to the media by the players' agents, and thus they are ALWAYS phrased in the most favorable sounding way, without regard to accuracy or nuance. It is always more prudent to wait a day or two until the ACTUAL contract numbers come out, because they typically paint a much different picture. Look our for words like "up to" and "guaranteed money" and "void years". What looks like a $50 million deal can easily be a $25 million deal, with various incentives (both likely and unlikely to be earned), escalators, phony baloney tacked on years, etc. If you overreact to the first numbers announced for any new NFL contract, you're overreacting to incomplete information at best, and outright lies at worst. Thank you.

Ok but if you could just maybe pick a gentler class. She always seems so worn out when you drop her off.

My wife assures me that it's not the size that matters, but the way you use it. Then again, she does seem to have a lot of gentleman callers...

Every offseason I say (and no one heeds it): never believe the first contract numbers you hear. They are always reported by the player's agent and made to sound as favorable as possible. Always, always, ALWAYS wait until the contract details come out, because they typically paint a vastly different picture than what is initially reported. In this case, $25 million guaranteed tells us more than "four years, $50 million". Even so, as for the contract numbers themselves, I'm waiting until they're all out in detail before I comment. On its face, it doesn't seem to be a bank-breaking deal, but more info is needed. As for the player: this reminds me of Spencer Brown. Paying an ascending player BEFORE he fully breaks out and becomes one of the best at his position in the league. They clearly like Bernard a lot and have entrusted him to be the leader of this defense. They've seen the flashes of playmaking ability and the leadership and smarts that he provides. The best possible thing they can do now is ensure that they beef up the D-line and allow Bernard (and Milano and Williams) to roam free without getting engulfed by guards. Locking up the young leader of your defense is a GOOD thing. Doing so on a reasonable contract is even better, and we'll know soon whether that was the case. So far, though, it looks like it was.

Christian Kirk is the John Brown of Curtis Samuels. He's already a Bill.

You couldn't eat more than 6, you nancy boy.

I'm guessing he still winds up back with the Bills, BUT... It also might just be Zach Davidson SZN 🚀