Logic

So after a busy couple of seeks at One Bills Drive, the Buffalo Bills have some new players on their roster. While I'm certain more will be added in the coming days, which signing so far has been your favorite, and why? Vontae Davis? Chris Ivory? Star Lotulelei? Trent Murphy? AJ McCarron? I'll start. It's hard to vote against a potential #1 caliber corner, a 348lb behemoth, or a young and hungry quarterback on an arguably below market deal. But for my money? My favorite signing thus far has been Trent Murphy. My favorite Buffalo Bill of all time is Kyle Williams. Why? Well...to me, he embodies everything good about the city of Buffalo and the sport of football. He is less athletically gifted than most NFL players, but due to non-stop hard work, tenacity, and perseverance, he has been a consistently dominant force on the football field. He doesn't care about stats or glory, he just goes to work doing one of the hardest and most thankless job in the NFL, gutting it out in the trenches year after year for a team that, for most of his career, hasn't won many games. He never complains, he never quits, he just outworks everyone and leads by example. Trent Murphy seems a whole lot like another Kyle Williams to me. Every report I've read seems to indicate he's smart as a whip, tough as hell, a vocal leader, and relentless worker. A warrior on the field who -- the last time he played a full season -- had 9 sacks despite playing only 60% of defensive snaps. A guy whose arrow is pointing up and whose best football is ahead of him. A match made in heaven for the city of Buffalo. From . http://www.newyorkupstate.com/buffalo-bills/index.ssf/2018/03/why_trent_murphy_thinks_hes_an_ideal_fit_for_sean_mcdermotts_buffalo_bills.html Murphy, who is training in Columbus, Ohio at Westside Barbell, could have taken the first flight from Columbus to Buffalo on Thursday morning. But he couldn't wait to get to his new home. So he jumped in a rented pickup truck and made the five-hour drive to Western New York, arriving at 1:30 a.m. "Drove through the snow and that's about all I could see," Murphy said. "I'm pumped." "Yeah, I mean what I think coach is looking for here as far as blue-collar guys, a scheme, guys that are passionate and trying to build a culture, kind of just that tough, blue-collar mentality, winning, playing together, just competing," Murphy said. "Just was talking to the strength coach about the offseason plans about how it's a little bit more- almost like college again; we're competing and we're getting better, but we're splitting up into teams and everything's a competition. We're just stirring up that culture and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of it." Murphy grew up the middle of seven children on a farm in Arizona. In his bio, it says he used to wrestle a 400-pound steer calf "for fun." Can't wait to see this guy on the field in Buffalo Bills red, white, and blue. So who's your favorite signing so far?

Yeah...the way they brought the Bills to their first playoff game in 17 seasons in their first year on the job REALLY indicates that we're headed for 2-14!

Just wanted to pop in to say that any comparisons to Chris Kelsay are silly. Not just in this thread, but in others I have seen this comparison. Why? Because he's white? Is that like how Lamar Jackson and Tyrod Taylor are identical quarterbacks? Get real. Murphy and Kelsay are nothing alike. One more thing: The 4-man line on 3rd downs looks niiiiice. Hughes and Murphy at DE, Lawson kicks into DT alongside Kyle. Big improvement from last season.

Give me back Preston Brown and EJ Gaines. Both tested their market and discovered that it was lukewarm. Now it's time for them to Trust the Process and come on back to Buffalo!

Reports are that both Trent Murphy and AJ McCarron had offers from the New England Patriots, but signed with the Bills instead. Now you can say what you want about opportunity for snaps, better money perhaps being offered by Buffalo, etc. But even still, I'll say it again: A quality pass rusher and a quarterback both chose the Bills over the Patriots today. A pretty nice change. Combined with Vontae Davis and Chris Ivory both also choosing Buffalo after visiting with other teams, I feel good about our current front office's ability to sell the vision to players. These are not your same old Buffalo Bills. Side note: I predict Trent Murphy will be a pretty instant fan favorite. Massive guy, non-stop motor, vocal leader, smart as a whip (went to Stanford)...he'll fit right in. His scouting reports said he'd need a few years to acclimate to the pro game. Well, based on his most recent full season (9 sacks while playing 60% of the defensive snaps), Bills are about to be the beneficiaries of Murphy coming into his own!

LOL @ people legitimately being upset about the contract of a ST linebacker who gets $550,000 guaranteed! Also, Ramon Humber and Lorenzo Alexander are two recent "journeyman special teams guys" who managed to do alright in Buffalo. Let's see how things go.

His info sheet from BuffaloBills.com says he used to like to wrestle cattle for fun. So...now we know how he came to be on Sean McDermott's radar!

Wow. AWESOME signing! Coming off ACL surgery, but he managed 9 sacks the year prior. Only entering his 4th year in the league. The arrow is pointing up BIG TIME with him! I didn't expect it to happen, but with the signings of Lotulelei, Williams, and Murphy, the defensive line has improved drastically. What makes this signing even better is that edge rusher is very shallow in this year's draft. OL, LBs, WR now up on the docket!

Do you agree with me that that's a little weird? I just feel like if you're going to move Hell and high water to trade up for a QB, it should probably be one you've actually seen play football in person!

Here are the two things that don't smell right about the Allen interest: First, if the apple of your eye is Allen, who is widely believed to be the QB MOST in need of spending a year or two on the bench....then why trade away Tyrod Taylor? If you're picking a guy that you know needs to sit, you don't just give up a quality bridge QB on a good contract. And if you DO give him up, you go aggressively after one of the big name FA QBs (Bradford, Bridgewater, McCown, etc). The fact that the Bills both gave up Tyrod Taylor AND didn't go after a "Quality" bridge QB doesn't make sense in the context of drafting Allen. Second, the Bills did not have scouts at a single one of Josh Allen's games this year! They had scouts at multiple games of Darnold, Rosen, Mayfield, Rudolph, Jackson, and Falk. But NO Bills scouts attended any Josh Allen games. Would they really give up a ton of assets to trade up for a kid that no one in the front office had seen play live and in person? That seems crazy to me!

Key starters signed so far: DT Kyle Williams DT Star Lotulolei CB Vontae Davis Depth/contributors signed so far: HB Chris Ivory DE Owa Odhigizuwa S Rafael Bush Not too shabby, considering FA hasn't even officially started yet!

Love it. People can talk about his reduced production as he ages, but you can't put a pricetag on the leadership and spark he provides. Also, with Star playing NT, it will free Kyle up to do what he does best: explode off the ball and knife into the backfield. I hope the Bills draft a penetrating DT fairly high that Kyle can groom to be his successor. Additionally, we can give some of Kyle's snaps to said rookie in an effort to keep the old vet fresh for the 4th quarter. Great day for the Bills' interior defense!

We all know that draft rumors in March aren't worth much. But what about draft rumors from December?

I swear to god...if after all this...all the trade positioning, all the hard work to get into the top 5...they pick ALLEN?!?! I will be so, so disappointed. He is really the ONLY "big four" QB that would have me seriously depressed. Wasn't even the top QB in the Mountain West. Inaccurate as all get-out. Basically another EJ/JP. Please, PLEASE don't let it be Allen!

Glenn "hasn't been healthy"? One year. It's been that way for one year. If one year of injury struggles is enough to get traded, then I don't know what to say. I love the way Beane and McDermott are building the team so far, and I have great faith that they know what they are doing. But in this instance, this one specific instance, I disagree with them. I think that if you're super into Dion Dawkins, then you let Cordy heal and you start him at RT or RG. If our offensive line was gangbusters, I'd say let Cordy walk. But the Bills have HUGE needs at RG and RT, and Glenn is capable of playing both spots. So to trade him away for peanuts (let's be real, they're not getting higher than a 5th round pick for him) just to go spend draft capital or FA dollars on an inferior player to man those positions -- all because Glenn had injury struggles for ONE season -- doesn't make any sense to me.

Yes. For some reason that I still cannot fathom, the Bills seem intent on trading a top 15 starting LT on a good contract while his value is at its lowest. Then they'll likely spend a high pick to draft tackle. It makes NO sense to me. Never has. I've been all for Beane/McDermott's roster purging moves up until now, but this one....I just don't get. Unless Glenn has a bad attitude, I don't see why you don't just let him heal, let him and Dawkins compete, and whoever "loses" the competition plays on the right. Tackle problem solved. Instead they're going to force him out for a 6th round pick. Ludicrous. The ONLY way moving Glenn makes sense is if it's part of a trade-up package or if you get a 2nd round pick back. If it's neither of those things, then it's a silly move.

If the Bills sign Matt Moore, it means they are DEFINITELY trading up in the draft for a "big four" QB. There's no way that with a QB depth chart of Matt Moore and Nate Peterman, you're content sitting around until 21 and hoping you land a guy. If Moore signs, it's a trade-up. Period.

The LBs in free agency aren't very impressive. The few good guards out there are bound to cost a lot of money. That being said, I'd like to see them get one of: Paul Richardson, Allen Robinson, Donte Moncrief, or Albert Wilson at WR and Bennie Logan at DT. QB wise? I'll take Bridgewater or Bradford. Both high risk but potentially high reward.

I'm excited to see what they do. Last year, it seemed they had a plan right from the start. Went right after Hyde, Poyer, and Hauschka, if I recall correctly. It'll be interesting to see who they go after. You can make an argument for "need" at a lot of positions. DT, Edge, ILB, WR, RG, C, CB, QB. Can't wait to see what the plan is.

Sadly, I fear we're all getting our hopes up for nothing. The "Gaines to Tampa Bay" chatter has been pretty loud lately. I hope I'm wrong! I'm a big fan of #28!

Teddy Bridgewater. A big risk, to be sure, but he is still young and has flashed "Franchise QB" potential.

Yes. They've made nothing but bold moves since they got here. Walking right through the door and immediately trading away Sammy Watkins, Ronald Darby, Reggie Ragland, and Marcell Dareus was borderline insane.But they had a conviction, they followed through with it, purged the roster of bad contracts and bad attitudes, and made the playoffs. Bold. After making the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons, what did they do? Fired their offensive coordinator because they knew they could do better. Traded their quarterback away because they knew they could do better. Bold. This coach/GM combo are NOT going to sit on their hands and be wishy-washy and hesitant to acquire a franchise QB. BOTH of them come from an organization whose sustained success the past few seasons stems largely from having a franchise QB. They know the importance of it. They've spoken about it multiple times. They're not afraid. On the contrary, they're bold and, so far, pretty fearless in their roster building. They're going to trade up. Just watch.

Unfortunately, it kind of looks like he may be. It's a shame, because the Bills will be dealing him when his value is at its all time lowest. I don't really understand the desire to trade away a quality, starting caliber tackle on a good contract. IF you feel like his health problems will be ongoing, then sure, I can see moving on. But we have no indication that that's the case. If he's slated to be fully healthy for 2018, I'd much rather keep him. Seems like Beane and McDermott think otherwise, though. The writing is on the wall with Cordy. They almost sent him to Seattle last year.

Because he's bad at playing football.

As far as I'm concerned, this is THE best way to build a roster in the 2018 NFL. Hit on a rookie QB, and you have him on a cheap contract for 4-5 years. During that time, you build the team around him and use your ample cap savings to fill out a deep and quality roster. Then, when QB is due for second contract, you have to cut some weight in various places to afford him, but that's okay, because by that point, said QB is theoretically a franchise player and is good enough to keep your team contending for a decade. The Seahawks did it, the Rams did it, the Eagles did it. The Chiefs are about to do it. The main thing that this plan's success is contingent upon, of course, is actually hitting on the QB you choose. So, as you said: Get the QB this year, take a likely step back wins-wise next year (as Eagles and Rams did in year 1 with rookie QBs), but then in year two (2019, in this case)...look out. Culture established, QB procured, roster set up for success...and then here comes $90 million in cap space to really finish off the rebuild. Exciting time to be a Bills fan.