Logic

The thing I'm most looking forward to in free agency is seeing how they fill the safety spot that I assume is going to need filling after Hyde retires/departs. If they wanted, they could also move on from Poyer and just flip to a fresh page completely at safety, though they may prefer to stagger it by one year, thus allowing Poyer to transfer his years of wisdom in this scheme to whomever they sign/draft at the position. Anyway...Poyer and Hyde were both such good finds in free agency. Both former corners, both overlooked on the free agent market. A 7th rounder and fringe special teams player and a 5th rounder without a home position that no one seemed to want. Both became stars, Pro Bowlers, and All-Pros. I think/hope they're gonna go do a similar thing in free agency this year. I have a feeling that whoever they pick will be met with apathy, confusion, or disinterest by many Bills fans. Rather than a big named former high round pick, they may roll with someone lesser known who they've identified as having the skillset necessary to thrive in their scheme. A repeat of the Jordan Poyer signing, so to speak.

It's on the Sleeper app. Not an auction league. Just a Dynasty league, where you keep your whole team year to year and draft rookies each year. 12 teams, non-superflex, one extra flex spot. Fairly deep bench. I love it. Same. I try to at least give some kind of reasoning for declining, unless it's a downright insulting offer. I try to always make my trade offers at least reasonable and fair. I'm not "offer you a 3rd round pick for Ja'Marr Chase" guy, but I definitely have a few of those guys in my league. I was actually in the exact same situation that year, regarding the Bills/Bengals situation and how it affected the finals. The other fellow and I settled on the following: We split the prize pot down the middle. But we both wanted to determine a proper "league champion", so the commish manually deleted any points from Bengals/Bills players for that week, then we used the player outputs by those players from the FOLLOWING weeks' game, and edited those point totals into the matchup. It resulted in my opponent winning the matchup (which he quite likely would have anyway, had the Bills/Bengals game been played), but we split the prize money, so I didn't mind too much. What a weird situation that was. As for Puka: He went undrafted in both my dynasty leagues. I signed him off waivers for ZERO FAAB dollars (!!), which is just amazing. A top five dynasty WR, totally free on waivers. And boy did I need that juice added to my roster! Also managed to get him off waivers before week 1 in my home redraft league, and he (along with Tyreek and CeeDee) made me unstoppable and won me the year.

Good on him. Selfless, heroic act in a high stress moment. Bravo. And now for a little football talk... CEH is just 24 years old, was a recent 1st round pick, had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, and has history with Joe Brady. I thought he actually looked pretty good in the limited opportunities he got late in the Chiefs' season in the playoffs. If he's looking to resuscitate his career on another high octane offense and with a coach with whom he had great success in college, I'm all for signing CEH. Doubt he's going to command big money of any kind. Sometimes you just need an opportunity and a fresh start (see Moss, Zack).

Anyone else in a dynasty league (or several)? I just joined one three seasons ago, and loved it so much I joined another. I absolutely love the roster building and roster management aspects of it. I also love that it goes all year round and there really is no offseason. It's fun to scout and draft rookies every year, to be able to trade picks, to manage FAAB money for waivers, etc.. I have come to vastly prefer it to re-draft leagues. My only complaint is that in both leagues I'm in, my fellow owners aren't very active. Lack of response to trade requests, lack of activity on waivers. Lame. For a dynasty league to thrive and be fun, there has to be lots of activity. If I put DeVon Achane on the trade block in one league and Ken Walker on the trade block in another (which I did), and neither move responds in even a single trade inquiry after a week...it's not an active enough league. I just want to be in a league with other fantasy football sicko addicts and degenerate gamblers who are as obsessed as me and often think up trade offers us they're drifting off to sleep at night. Is that too much to ask? 😂 Anyway...just venting and trying to see if there are any other dynasty league addicts on this forum.

This is the thing that's gonna put them over the top. I wasn't worried about the Chiefs before, but NOW?! Look out.

Gotta love that Schefty calls the Chiefs signing a punter who spent all year on the street a "big development". I mean...if you say so, bruh.

Yep. The Committee is now 25% Seans.

Just our head coach joining the most powerful committee in the league. Insert "timeout", "clap", and "13 seconds" jokes here.

When the Bills gave Knox this extension, it made sense. Then Dalton Kincaid happened. Now Knox's contract no longer makes sense. It's palatable for now, because they don't have other big dollars wrapped up in the TE position since Kincaid is on a rookie deal. Ultimately, for this to be sustainable for another couple seasons, they'll need to either make Knox a meaningful part of the offense along with Kincaid, or substantially re-structure the deal.

If the cap was fake, the Bills would've already re-signed DaQuan Jones, Gabe Davis, and AJ Epenesa. Instead, they may lose all three players. You ARE correct that the cap can always be managed. However, like with a credit card, the bill always eventually comes due. I guess we'll see in just a few short weeks. My two questions for you (and forgive me if you've already answered them, I haven't read this entire thread): 1. What do you think Henry will get paid when its all said and done? 2. Assuming you want the Bills to sign him, what number would you feel comfortable paying him?

See my post directly above that reply. Spotrac projects a 1 year, $10.3 million deal for him, and I think that's about right.

Spotrac projects one year at $10.3 million. I think it'll be pretty close to that, give or take a million in either direction. I don't view Henry as the typical "dime-a-dozen veteran running back in a crowded market". He's a likely future Hall of Famer coming off back-to-back 1300+ yard seasons and six straight 10 TD+ seasons. I also think his name carries some sizzle for marketing purposes, and I can see a team like the Cowboys not hesitating to sign him. And just so that I'm not the "say no without offering an alternative" guy, I'd much rather sign Antonio Gibson (projected at $3.6 million). Passing game utility. Still just 25 years old. I'd also be happy to take a swing on JK Dobbins, who is projected at $2.1 million. Obviously coming off an ACL and an achilles in back-to-back years, but he was a big time talent and a 2nd round draft pick and is also 25 years old. Give me a Cook/Gibson/Johnson/UDFA or Cook/Dobbins/Johnson/UDFA backfield and I'm happy. I love Derrick Henry. It would be very cool to see him finish out his career as a Bill. I just don't think it's feasible.

To be clear, it's not the age that I think will keep the Bills out of the Derrick Henry market. Clearly, with their signing of Latavius Murray, they showed that age really isn't an issue for them. It's the Bills' dire salary cap situation, the price tag I expect Henry to be looking for, and the fact that they already have a cost controlled 24 year old coming off a 1500 yard season as RB1. You bring in Derrick Henry if you have a bit of money to spend and an opening at RB1. The Bills have neither. I want a good change of pace back, too. Someone to take some miles off Cook and give the Bills some depth in the event of injury to their RB1, who is on the smaller side. I just think that said player can be signed for cheaper than what Henry will command, and they can also draft another youngster.

Maybe, but... Coming off seasons of 1900 yards 13 TDs and 1300 yards 12 TDs ...I see his agents looking for -- and Henry receiving -- more money than what the Bills realistically have to offer. I realize he's 30 years old, but this isn't a "past his prime, take what he can get" kind of situation. This is a "Hall of Fame back who can still be a bellcow and finish top 10 in rushing yards for another year or two" situation. I think he ends up signing with Baltimore or Dallas for a mid-level running back salary.

Gosh I hope not. There are a positively insane amount of free agent running backs this year. Just wait out the game of musical chairs and offer a bottom basement deal to whoever's left without a place to sit. Re-sign Ty Johnson, as he won't command much and will want more of the opportunities that the Bills offense afforded him. Then draft/add two RBs somewhere between round 6 and UDFA. Cook FA signee Ty Johnson Draftee/UDFA I just really have no interest in the Bills either spending big money that they don't have on a running back, or adding a running back who would take James Cook off the field.

The weirdest thing to me is seeing, on the one hand, almost unanimous agreement among Bills fans that they want to upgrade from Gabe Davis, and on the other hand, a bunch of "just don't stay in the AFC!" and "anyone but the Chiefs!" comments. Feeling that a player isn't good enough for you to want your team to re-sign him, but that he IS good enough that you don't want him to go to an AFC competitor and come back to haunt you, is kind of a weird spot to be in.

Looking back, it seems simple: Gabe Davis is the NFL's best WR4. Brandon Beane defined a WR4 as a guy who can play both outside positions and the slot, and is first off the bench for all three spots. He can contribute in spurts and splashes and, based on the passing rate and spread personnel rates in the modern NFL, actually get to play quite a bit. WR4 was when Gabe was at his best. They gave him a shot to be the consistent WR2, and he just never really consistently produced as that guy. He mentions in his "farwell" video that his target rate was 47th in the NFL the last few years, but one can only wonder "why was he targeted so infrequently?", and the answer is that his route tree and his route running are not particularly sharp or advanced, and he ultimately is not great at creating separation. Gabe Davis is what he is: a downfield threat, a splash player, a boom or bust guy that doesn't give you much in the short or intermediate areas of the field. A guy who became too easy for defenses to read and predict and to take away. He's an excellent run blocker, by all acounts a great team guy, and will likely have a 10 year career in the NFL. He'll produce for somebody. He'll make big plays some weeks that will make Bills fans groan and say "why'd we let him go again?" The Bills should not pay Gabe Davis a high end WR contract. If he was willing to get paid at his actual value and accept a WR4 role going forward, I'd be all for keeping him around. But that's not reality. Someone will fall in love with his big weeks and his "boom" games and think they can fix him. Someone will pay him top-of-market money for 800 yards and 8 TDs a year. I just don't think that team will be the Bills. So long, Gabe. Thank you sincerely for your contributions, effort, hard work, and for some great memories these past several years. Best of luck in future endeavors.

Yeah, that's a great question and I'm glad I'm not the one who has to answer it. I think the unknown variable is also that we don't know what Rousseau's camp will be asking for. If he goes out and misses 3 games next year with injury and gets 6.5 sacks again...is his camp really gonna try to ask for top market edge rusher money? I don't know the answer to that. I imagine Beane will set a certain amount that he's comfortable paying and, like usual, he won't exceed that amount. This is what happened with Edmunds. If some other team comes along that IS willing to exceed that amount -- as the Bears did with Edmunds -- then I imagine Rousseau will be gone. That said, the Bills seem to have paid Ed Oliver a pretty fair amount in between what he HAD done and what they thought he COULD do, and he came through this year and had a really nice season. So...certainly a tough question, and there's precedent in both directions. Glad I'm not the one who has to make these decisions.

Why would I be worried? He's a good player. Very good against the run, provides a legitimate pass rush in spurts. Has positional versatility. He's likely never going to be an elite, 15+ sack per year guy. But players that can consistently defend the run, provide some pass rush productivity, and have positional flexibility like he has usually carve out a nice, long career in the league. Think Calais Campbell. Similar size and profile to Rousseau. 16 years in the league, six Pro Bowls, and a 1st team All-Pro season. Campbell averaged "just" 6.5 sacks per season, which is about the pace Rousseau is on right now. Rousseau is also only 23 years old, and it's definitely not out of the realm of possibility that he can continue to improve. Campbell didn't make the Pro Bowl until his 7th season, and didn't record double digit sacks in a season until he was 31. Nothing to be worried about.

I'm not disputing your source's info, but thinking that it mean's DaQuan is a goner seems a bit like jumping to conclusions. But if we ARE playing the "using circumstantial evidence to guess at outcomes" game, I'd like to point out that Jones hasn't sounded like a guy super eager to sign elsewhere on social media lately.

The Bills have had the misfortune of getting really good at the same time that the Chiefs got really good. The only difference is that the Chiefs have one of the five best head coaches in NFL history and arguably the best quarterback on planet earth. The Bills' head coach, while good, is not at Andy Reid's level. The Bills' quarterback, while elite, is not quite at Mahomes' level (I know, I know. But look at the All-Pros, the MVP, the Lombardis, the SBMVP. What else can one reasonably conclude?). It's like when Peyton Manning's Colts got really good at the same time as Brady and Belichick's Pats. As much dominance as they had in the regular season, it never meant much come playoff time. Eventually, the Colts broke through, started making the matchups with the Pats a pretty even affair and a true rivalry, and wound up winning a championship. I tend to think that if the Bills win a title with Allen, it'll be the same kind of thing. A situation where they get hot at the right time, get the better of Mahomes or Burrow in a playoff matchup, and ride their momentum to a Lombardi. I hate to say it, but we as Bills fans watched a new dynasty begin in the AFC just as the old one ended. I don't think the Chiefs are going anywhere any time soon, and until the Bills start beating them in the playoffs, a championship will continue to elude them.

I'm just glad that the 2023 season is over, so that we can all watch big and fast men run and jump in their underwear, and can resume passionately advocating for and against drafting players we've only seen a two minute YouTube highlight clip of.

The "window" stuff is nonsense. The notion first came about when the locked-in, standard rookie contract amounts came into play. The idea is that if a team hits on a QB in the draft, said team is able to take advantage of that QB's cheap rookie contract by using the money they save to build up the team around him. Theoretically, once the QB signs an extension and his yearly cap hit becomes expensive, the team can no longer afford to spend elsewhere, the roster falls apart, and the team has a hard time winning. The Seahawks are the first example of this phenomenon, which forever thereafter seems to have locked it into people's minds as an actual, viable thing that exists. Meanwhile, roster building and contract structures have evolved, and salary cap dollars are always movable, and an expensive QB contract is no longer the death knell that people make it out to be. People can continue to talk in hushed tones about "the window" and can breathlessly debate whether it has closed. Here's what I think: If you have an elite quarterback and a good GM and a good coach, your "window" doesn't close. Your "window" is open for as long as your quarterback is elite and your good GM and good coach are in place. "The Window" is nonsense. The Bills will continue to be playoff contenders and have a shot at a Lombardi for as long as #17 is healthy and playing well. Josh Allen IS the window.