Logic

Yet again, the real details of a contract come out and paint it in a much more favorable and justifiable light for the team than it seemed at first. Not to sound like a broken record, but reactions to first announcements of contracts are a waste of time and typing effort. As others have said, this is "compete to start but may wind up as the 3rd safety again" money. Good. I like Rapp in that capacity.

I'd assume the pants ripped in the front, due to his absolutely legendary sized hose. Prolly looks like a tube of tennis balls hangin there. Prolly looks like a baby's arm holdin an apple hangin there. Prolly looks like an 80s policeman's flashlight hangin there. .......I'll see myself out.

Agreed, especially since the return you're likely to get for him is a 6th or 7th rounder. At that rate of return, a guy like Elam is worth more to you than the compensation you'd receive in return. For the record -- and this is probably just the eternal optimist in me -- I'm bullish on Elam this year. I think he knows it's "do or die" for his career as a starter in this league, and if healthy, I think he's gonna make a run for playing time in this defense.

I think that this selection of safeties is gonna mirror the Hyde/Poyer signings 7 years ago. I think they'll identify two guys that fit their scheme but aren't necessarily household names. A mid-to-low tier guy (Hyde) and an afterthought guy (Poyer). Fans will look at both and assume we must also be planning to draft some potential starters at the position, but those signings will wind up starting for us and performing well. McDermott and staff are the safety whisperers. Based on that theory, I could see Alohi Gilman and Kamren Curl. Something like that. I'm sticking with liking Stone and Chinn, but they never listen to me (nor should they).

Shhhh. One "telling BADOL he was right about something" per week is about all I can take.

I have to give you credit (shudder). You called the de-valuation of the safety market a while back. I hate it when you're right.

Brandon Beane will have a ton of options this year to replace Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. It's an absolute buyer's market. This also shows that the NFL as a whole is de-valuing the safety position, and that a market adjustment has happened and should continue. Looking at this list, what two do you like? Who should we sign? I say give me Jeremy Chinn and Geno Stone all day long, but there are several names I like on this list.

The Bills are FINALLY playing comp pick Bingo. Between yesterday's cuts, the recent collecting of more draft picks, and now the embracing of the comp pick collection process...it sure looks like Beane is finally doing what a lot here wanted: Going with a youth movement, taking his salary cap medicine, and getting the Bills into much better shape financially and age-wise going forward. As for Fatukasi. Would be a good signing, I think. Not a world beater, but you don't need (and can't afford) 53 world beaters. He's a capable player, and any time you can get a capable player in the trenches and not have it hurt the compensatory pick formula, and can fill a roster hole before free agency's first wave really begins, its a win.

The entire Steelers offense stunk last year. Their offensive coordinator was fired midseason after fans openly chanted "Fire Canada!" at games. The best Trubisky has looked in his career, arguably, was when he was wearing Bills blue. Sometimes certain offenses, styles, and locker rooms fit certain players better. I think Trubisky thrived here. Moreover, I'm just not sure who people would prefer at backup QB. The REALLY good backups in the league -- of which there are very few to begin with -- command more money and likely want a chance to compete to start. The types of guys that are willing to sign cheap contracts to be a guaranteed backups are not generally "starting caliber". That's why they're backups. So I guess my question is: what backup that's willing to come here on a cheap deal and know for sure that he can't compete to be the starter is better than Trubisky? Who should the Bills have signed instead?

Nice. People often have unrealistic expectations of what a backup QB should be. In this day and age, where teams usually only have two QBs on the 53-man roster, the whole "draft a 7th rounder and develop him behind your starter" doesn't necessarily work. It was a fine thing to do back when teams rostered three QBs. The backup was the trusty vet that could play in a pinch, the third stringer was the developmental project. But nowadays? You need a guy that can get you through two quarters or two weeks if your QB gets banged up. Trubisky is better than many backup QBs in the league, and also worse than a few of them. He's certainly closer to the top of the list than the bottom. Already knows our system, our coaches, our locker room, and has a friendship with Josh. Good signing. Not everything needs to be advanced calculous.

I'd bet my bottom dollar that the words "up to" are doing a lot of heavy lifting in the "can earn up to x amount" signing announcement.

I feel like we go through this every year: An announcement is made that Player X has signed or re-signed with a team, and there's immediately a 20-page thread over-reacting, calling it an overpay, etc, etc. REMEMBER: The first announcement of a player signing that gets made and posted on Twitter and news outlets always comes from the player's agent, and is always stated in a way that sounds as favorable as possible to the player in question. It is always, ALWAYS necessary to wait until the full contract details come out, because they often paint a MUCH different picture. How much of the contract is guaranteed? How much came in the form of a signing bonus? How much is based on incentives? How likely are those incentives to be earned? Are there void years? First reports of signings are always incomplete and often inaccurate and often don't tell the whole story. Wait until more details are known before passing judgement. ***Added note for 2024: The salary cap going up an extra 10-15 million beyond what was expected will also result in larger contracts. This year's $10 million contract is not last year's $10 million contract. Expect contract inflation. Adjust your "shocked eyeballs" emojis accordingly***

How many times does it need to be said that you should never, EVER take the first reported signing of a contract at face value? The devil is always, ALWAYS in the details. The first report of a signing or re-signing is always by the player's agent, and always stated in a way that makes it sound as favorable as possible for the player. Invariably, followup reports often show greater detail that make the deal seem a lot more fair and palatable. And yet, every year, we continue to go through the "first announcement sticker shock". Every year.

Respectfully, I believe that it is you who is looking at it all wrong. One can acknowledge that a move needed to be made from a football standpoint and/or a salary cap standpoint (both of which I acknowledged in my post, which I'd bet $100 you failed to actually read), and still feel sad on a human level to see these great members of the Buffalo community and these great Buffalo Bills walk out the door. Too many people forget that NFL players are human beings. We can acknowledge the business side and be happy that the team is moving forward and shedding cap while ALSO being sad to see good human beings -- who helped build this current Bills team and gave us a lot of great memories along the way -- leave. Or at least, I can feel those things simultaneously. Maybe you can't. That's a shame. We've heard for years now how the team culture is one of the things that make this place special, and three huge pieces of that team culture got cut today. It's okay to have human feelings about it, separate from the nuts-and-bolts football strategy. It's also okay if you DON'T have those feelings, but you have no right to tell me that I'm "looking at it all wrong" by having those feelings. Empathy and affection for fellow humans -- even well paid football players -- are virtues, not weaknesses.

Thank you. Exactly this. It's almost as if the cold responders didn't actually read my post, wherein I said several times that the moves were necessary, expected, and even that I'm excited about them from a pure football standpoint. Where I was coming from -- and maybe I failed to get my point across clearly enough -- is that these guys are human beings. Yes, we all root for "the laundry", but we also get to know these guys to some degree as people. They become members of the Buffalo community. They have personalities, and we follow the arcs of their careers, and they lay it all on the line to bring Buffalo its first Lombardi, a thing that a guy like Jordan Poyer wanted just as badly as the fans here want it. So my post wasn't about whether or not these moves needed to happen (they did), and it wasn't stating that I would have kept any of them (I wouldn't). It's recognizing that these men were great HUMAN BEINGS, great leaders, and great Buffalo Bills. That they represented this team and this community with pride, with excellence, and with grit and tenacity and exemplary leadership. There are plenty of threads talking about the strategy of these moves. The nuts and bolts. The salary cap. My post was not that. My post was a "thank you", a recognition of a job very well done, a "farewell", and an acknowledgement that a football TEAM is made of PEOPLE, and sometimes it's a little hard to see those people walk out the door.

You and I are feeling differently about this, then. I'm not sad about it from a FOOTBALL standpoint, no. That part is exciting to me. I'm sad about it because these were great men, great leaders, and great players who helped bring us one of the most exciting 5-7 year periods of Bills football ever, and now they won't be Buffalo Bills. I'm sad because Tre'Davious White should by all right still be in his prime at age 29, an All-Pro level player, but football is a cruel game and dealt him back-to-back serious injuries, and now a cornerstone of the locker room is gone. There's the football level and the human level. On a football level, I'm excited and pleasantly surprised. On a human level, I am sad.

A sad day in Orchard Park. Bidding farewell to Tre White, Jordan Poyer, and Mitch Morse is a hard pill to swallow. All three were standout performers during their time here, all three were standout human beings off the field and leaders in the locker room, and all three were emblematic of and critical to the success of this era of Buffalo Bills football. Not all cuts in the NFL are created equal, and losing three men like White, Poyer, and Morse signals a sea change in the locker room, and a void of leadership and experience created. It also signals opportunity for a new generation of Buffalo Bills. But before the new guys get their shot, I'd like to take a moment to appreciate the outgoing Bills. No one stands out as having heralded the change in fortunes for the Buffalo Bills as much as Tre'Davious White and Jordan Poyer. Both arrived in year 1 of the from-the-ground-up rebuild, and both led the defensive unit with pride and excellent play for years. Mitch Morse came aboard in 2019 and was a great leader on the offensive side of the ball. Yes, all of these cuts were necessary from a salary cap standpoint, and it can be argued that two of them were necessary from a health/age/effectiveness standpoint as well. When you're running an NFL team and you're paying a franchise quarterback, tough decisions need to be made. Today is the first day that Bills fans are really seeing the reality of what this means in real time. Yes, it was necessary. Yes, I am excited for a bit of a youth movement and some fresh faces around One Bills Drive. But that doesn't mean these cuts don't hurt, and that it's not sad to see the departure of these great players and great men. Today is a sad day in Orchard Park. I thank all three men (and the other players that were cut) for their efforts and for their contributions to turning the Buffalo Bills into consistent contenders. I wish each of them luck in their remaining football careers or whatever lay behind them. Thank you Tre White, Jordan Poyer, and Mitch Morse. Now if you'll excuse me, I think someone's cutting onions in here.

Two of the best men in the Buffalo locker room were cut today in Tre White and Mitch Morse. White's been my favorite Bill for a while now. Sad to see him go, but understand why it needed to happen from a football and salary cap perspective. Thank you for everything, Tre'Davious. Tre White Goalie Academy for life!

I already liked the Bates trade, but now I REALLY like it. Between VanDemark, Edwards, and Alec Anderson, our OL depth is off to a good start. As for Edwards...any time you can sign a capable guard (who also essentially plays tight end in jumbo sets) to a fair deal, it's always a good day. Congrats, David "TE3" Edwards.

You're not wrong. I just think that depth at OL is something Beane has been pretty good at over the years. He hasn't always been great at having quality players at the TOP of the depth chart at OL -- the guard spots have been on-and-off liabilities for years -- but there always seems to be a good group of depth guys. I think that with Ryan VanDemark emerging at tackle and them liking Alec Anderson a lot at C/G, they've made a conscious decision to go young at OL behind the starters, which is a prudent move from both a money-saving and player development standpoint. Between the deep OL draft this year and Beane's shrewdness over the years in finding young, overlooked guys in the second and third waves of free agency, I have faith that a Bates replacement will be found. I certainly understand the reticence of those who do not share my belief, though.

I think the Bills really like Alec Anderson. The fact that they kept him on the 53 all last year but never made him active tells me that they knew he wouldn't have made it through waivers to the practice squad, and they liked him enough that they weren't willing to take the risk. I thought he played quite well in the preseason, and I can see why they like him. It won't surprise me in the least if they view him as "the new Ryan Bates", or even as someone who could step in at center in 2025.

Really? A 5th round pick for a career backup offensive lineman who wasn't gonna be starting in Buffalo for the foreseeable future seems like a great return to me.

I don't agree with this statement. As another poster said, I'd qualify Ed Oliver, Groot, and AJ as successes. Oliver is coming off a career year where he was right there among the NFL's best DTs. Groot and AJ have thus far been more modest successes, but they were taken in the late 1st and 2nd rounds, respectively. The arrow is pointing up on both. I don't think Beane has actually really taken that many swings on D-linemen in the draft overall, and of those swings he HAS taken, only Basham was a complete bust. The rest are all useful to good NFL players. Now if you want to say he hasn't had any SMASH successes, any out-of-the-park homeruns at DL in the draft, then I'll agree with you.

I totally agree with you. I think McDaniel's schtick has only worked so far because things have been going well for the Dolphins. The moment they hit a rough patch, I'll be very interested to see if players and media continue to find him so charming. I happen to think he's closer to flaming out as head coach of that team than he is to breaking through to consistent success. I view him as an amazing offensive mind who will have a very long and successful career as a coordinator, but doesn't have what it takes to be a head coach. Guess we'll see. And on a side note...it's good to see you back, YOLO.