Logic

The only thing I can figure is that this move was made with the fourth preseason game in mind. The staff knows they're keeping Love and Johnson and thus, they don't wish to expose them to four quarters worth of a meaningless preseason game. As such, you have Holland take a bunch of snaps and reduce the risk of injuring key rotational players. The other thing to look at, perhaps, is the practice squad. Perhaps they like the idea of Holland joining theirs.

Of the list I posted, which guys look like busts that don't warrant re-signing, in your opinion? Ed Oliver, obviously we don't know yet because he hasn't played a down of regular season football in the NFL. Of the rest of them, which ones do you imagine us letting walk away? Our starting left tackle? Our starting #1 cornerback? One or both of our outstanding young linebackers? To be fair, all this Clowney hype falls more comfortably into the "wishful thinking" category than the idea of the Beane regime wanting to retain their own drafted players.

Within the next two seasons, the Bills will need to extend Tre'Davious White, Matt Milano, Jordan Poyer, and Dion Dawkins. Contracts for LTs and CBs don't tend to be cheap. I'm not saying the above contract extension needs should preclude the Bills from handing out a big contract to a guy like Clowney. But people who pretend like the Bills will ALWAYS be flush with cash are silly. Yes, they have a lot of it now. They also have a young core that they quite like, and in order to retain all of them, big contracts are going to be required. Tre'Davious White Jordan Poyer Tremaine Edmunds Matt Milano Ed Oliver Harrison Phillips Dion Dawkins Josh Allen Again, the need to extend these players shouldn't preclude them from signing other guys if they so choose right now. However, if their goal is to retain their own drafted talent, and knowing that they have upcoming CB, LT, QB, DL, and MLB extensions in order to keep the young core in place, it's not outlandish for them to prioritize remaining financially solvent and not necessarily handing out record setting contracts to outside players.

The only two reputable, reliable sources to speak on this rumor so far have both stated that they move isn't likely. The only people keeping this rumor alive are bored Bills fans. It ain't happening.

The one thing I'd like to see -- which unfortunately we won't GET to see before cutdown day -- is Williams making plays with Josh Allen under center. To the best of my recollection, the only chemistry and success Duke has shown so far is with Matt Barkley.

I know there isn't much else to discuss this far into the offseason, but 33 pages about a bogus "source" trumping up a vague rumor? Sheesh.

Personally, I think most people's "I don't like it" reactions are rooted in the fact that we are SO used to the view we've had for many years now. It's a real shock to the system to see a different view. As far as showing you more of the action -- how routes are developing, who's open, the blocking, the cutback lanes -- it's brilliant. For those of us who love the All-22 footage and like to actually see a how a play is working or not working in real time, it's awesome. I hope they keep it.

I was gonna respond, but this guy covered it almost perfectly. Spain's injury isn't serious and he should make the 53. DiMarco should not be cut. His contributions on special teams are huge and he'll play around 20% of the offensive snaps. Fullback is a part of Brian Daboll's offense, and to say that other guys could easily do what he does is to understate his abilities. I really have no interest in Jason Croom. He's Just A Guy to me. I'd rather see Spencer Long make the roster than Duke Williams. Give me experienced, versatile offensive line depth over a receiver who can't separate any day of the week. Can't expose Jaquan Johnson to waivers. Dude's gonna be a baller. I can see them keeping Pitts over Munnerlyn for special teams reasons.

"Spoke to someone earlier today about Bills/Clowney, person shook head no." That's "couching his words" to you? Believe whatever makes you happy, but I'm sticking with "wishful thinking".

There are, however, no CREDIBLE reports of the Bills working on a trade. We've heard it from three different no-name Twitter posters trying to make a name for themselves by discussing vague conjecture. Until someone halfway worth a darn reports anything about the Bills being interested, I won't believe they are. The only person who DOES have credibility that has weighed in on this idea is JW, and he specifically stated twice now that he was told there's nothing to it. Believe what you want, but I'm filing this one under "wishful thinking" by Bills fans.

There are a few potential downsides: 1.) Clowney may not want to re-sign here long term. Due to the contract language of the tender he will be signing, the Bills can't work out a new deal with him until AFTER the season. That's a big risk to take with a guy that you're also going to have to give up draft or roster assets for. People say "well obviously they wouldn't do it if Clowney says he won't stick around". But in that instance, you'd be taking the guy at his word. There would be nothing legally binding him to your team past this season. 2.) It's true, the Bills DO have lots of cap room and no one to pay yet. But they WILL have people to pay in the coming years. They have said repeatedly that they want to draft, develop, and retain their own players. Guys like White, Edmunds, Milano, Oliver, Wallace, etc. The Bills are in no hurry to get themselves back on the path to cap jail. Handing out a top-three-in-the-league defensive contract to a guy they didn't draft and who hasn't always been a paragon of good health and dependability is one potential way to start back down that path. This brings us to item three: 3.) Clowney has a history of injuries. He has had five surgeries in the past five years: 2018: knee surgery, lower back injury 2017: knee surgery 2016: elbow sprain 2015: ankle sprain, lower back injury, lisfranc sprain 2014: knee surgery, microfracture surgery, sports hernia surgery I'm not going to be unhappy if they trade for Clowney. I'd welcome it. I DO think he could be a transformative force for Buffalo's defense IF he can stay on the field. But to pretend that the move doesn't carry some risks and potential downsides is silly. I'm genuinely 50/50 on the move. If it happens, great, I'm sure Beane will have done his homework. If it doesn't happen, no skin off my back, and I'll be happy to see the Bills pay their OWN quality players in the coming years. I also happen to believe Wawrow and others who have stated there's nothing to this rumor.

Agreed. I also think that the play of the EDGE guys this offseason and preseason has made it so that Beane likely doesn't feel the NEED to give up draft or roster assets AND pay the big contract it would take to lure Clowney. They just extended Hughes, who is still playing well. They've been raving about Trent Murphy since he returned to health. Shaq Lawson has played well this preseason and is still young and ascending as a player. Darryl Johnson looks like an immediate contributor, and even Mike Love has been making plays. I'm not disagreeing that Clowney would improve the Bills defense. I'm simply saying that I don't see this move as likely for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the huge contract and other assets it will take to acquire and sign him.

Thanks, John. Not sure why 9 pages worth of people are so willing to trust something called "Profootballnetwork", but that's 2019 sports journalism for you.

Every single year, football fans across the league discount the importance of special teams contributors. There's always some running back or wide receiver that makes plays in the preseason games but doesn't contribute on special teams, and fans always want those guys kept over the special teams players. Then, when said special teams players are kept instead, people whine and gripe that the "better player" got cut. With McCoy, Gore, and Singletary all set to get serious snaps at running back, I just don't see how Yeldon's 2 or 3 snaps a game on offense would be worth more than the contributions of Sinorise Perry, who plays all four special teams units. Unless a trade happens or the Bills decide to keep all five backs, I don't see how Yeldon makes this roster.

For how short a time he has been with the team and how much they're asking him to do on the fly, Bates has looked OUTSTANDING. I don't just mean "lifetime bench player outstanding", either. Dude looks like he could be a starting offensive lineman in this league some day. What we all originally wrote off as a throwaway trade may, in fact, turn out to be a real find by Beane and his staff. I don't know too many NFL linemen that can play all five positions on the line. That is insanely impressive versatility, especially for a rookie UDFA!

Brian Daboll recently said that the first ingredient to being a good receiver is getting separation. It's the one thing that Williams struggles with. He blocks well, he catches well, but he doesn't get much separation. Josh Allen has showed thus far in his career that he's more likely/willing to throw to a receiver who has separated from his defender. If you notice, all of Williams' success so far has come with Barkley at QB. If Williams makes the team, it will because he is a great blocker and because they know they need at least ONE big target in the passing game. He could be a red zone specialist, that sort of thing. On the other hand, if he DOESN'T make the team, it will be because he can't separate from starting level cornerbacks worth a darn. I can't help but wonder if he'd be better off at tight end, though it's obviously too late in the offseason to start THAT conversion, and we wouldn't have room on our TE depth chart any way.

Two things: First of all, Bleacher Report has changed quite a bit over the years. It now features quite a few nationally known, reputable reporters and analysts. It is not the amateur site it once was. Second, as I stated in the original post, the article is written specifically by Mike Tanier. He is a well known football analyst on Twitter who has been one of the most vocal Allen haters out there. The fact that HE of all people wrote the article is significant.

You won't be sorry, especially once the season starts.

Great first post! I agree with a lot of what you said. Adam Gase is a big old open book, as far as I'm concerned. It is entirely possible that he gets more out of some Jets players that were "wasted" under the previous regime. It is also possible that he shows more of what he showed in Miami: a consistently .500 level of football, a proclivity for certain players to either tune him out or go to the press about their frustrations, and a below average offense despite his pedigree as an offensive genius. Time will tell. It's simple to me: If Gase turns out to be a good coach, and the Miami stint was an aberration, then the Jets will be really good immediately. If he proves to be the guy we all thought he was when he was with Miami, they'll be just good enough to eek out Wild Card spots but not good enough to be elite. The Jets have the QB in place, they have some weapons, they have some cornerstone defensive players...it's all about the coach. Welcome to the boards! I've started posting over at JetsNation as JoshAllenSZN (which is an admittedly obnoxious screenname), in an effort to talk some X's and O's with the opposition in a productive fashion. I quite like most of the people I've encountered over there so far! Hope you stick around. Enjoy the season!

For all those saying "it's only preseason" or "he hasn't done anything yet", well...you're both right and wrong. On the one hand, you're right, preseason doesn't mean anything. On the other hand, he already HAS started to prove the doubters wrong. The book on Allen was that yes, he could hit the amazing, improvisatory play or the long bomb, but he couldn't consistently read defenses, adjust his protections, find the open man, and deliver the ball accurately in the short passing game. As the second half of last year wore on and then the preseason games started being played, we began to see that yes, Allen IS learning how to read defenses, set his protections, and find the open man in the short passing game. He's learning to take what the defense gives him. He's showing that it's not "long bomb or bust". That he perhaps CAN operate a standard, modern NFL offense. That's the whole thing with Allen. We already KNEW he could make the extraordinary plays. But could he make the ordinary plays? It's starting to look like the answer may be "yes", and that alone is indeed proving many doubters wrong. Already, it seems quite obvious that Allen's FLOOR as an NFL QB is much higher than the analysts stated. Already, he is doing things they said he wouldn't be able to do. Yes, it's only preseason, but there's no law against being encouraged by a young QB's progress. There's no rule against cautious optimism.

So you're saying everyone should just pump the brakes?

The following article was written by Mike Tanier, noted Josh Allen hater. And when I say "hater", I mean that the publication he co-authors called Allen "A parody of an NFL quarterback prospect". Anyway, it's a pretty fair article, and points to cautious optimism that Allen may just turn out to be good after all, despite the hot takes of so many "draft experts". https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2850542-buffalo-bills-josh-allen-starting-to-prove-doubters-and-haters-wrong.amp.html "If Allen develops a decent short game, remains a rushing threat and can hit on the intercontinental ballistic launches just a little more regularly, well, that's a pretty darn good quarterback. And a lot of folks, including me, will be eating some old takes. Allen may still be a work in progress, but he's no punchline. In fact, he's what the Mayock types told us he would be: the high-upside guy with a lot to learn. The upside is still there, the learning continues, and Allen looks ready to help the Bills win a few games during his on-the-job training. Maybe the old NFL guard really does know what it's talking about now and then. Imagine that."

The Dolphins are going to be SO BAD this year. Like 2-14 bad. Will they draft Tua or Herbert? I don't really care either way. They should represent two easy wins for Buffalo this year.

Japanese wrestling. What?! No, seriously. I've been spending an inordinate amount of time this summer watching New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual G1 Climax tournament. Don't ask.