Rochesterfan

It also plagues him that he has no footspeed and no ability to separate. Every catch is a contested catch and that just is not worth the roster spot if he can not contribute elsewhere.

We will not add a punter till Wednesday and may sign 1-2 to the PS and use a call up instead of an active roster spot until they settle everything. No need to rush to sign a punter.

I think you have the Wrong Grocery Chain to help the OL out.

I think the Bills recognize that Bradin, Eli, and Prince on the DL all are PS potential players that they will cut today. If Bryant gets picked up - they have 2 other guys in the wings to make due. The same goes with Blackshear and Duke Johnson. There is a good chance 1 of the 2 is available to go onto the PS. I will be interested to see Anderson and OL depth to the PS. Bobby Hart and Van Rotten both have more than 4 years so like Barkley - one or both may already have a PS position lined up to get people through.

That is what they used Doyle for last year. When you needed to block a guy - bring in the extra lineman - especially as Doyle was athletic enough to slip out for a completion if needed. Morris was doing a lot of blocking from the H-Back role and split out.

No he is on PUP reserve already - no need for IR until around week 13 if he is not ready.

You could at least spell his name correctly in your title. It is Kevon and it is right in your link. It is a little thing, but something poor Kevin has had to overcome. Maybe it is how he has held on. Yep - we cut You why are you still here - I am Kevon and you cut Kevin - survival of the mis-spelling.

This is correct and was a major change the NFL implemented this year. Previously- PUP was 6 weeks and IR was 4, but they adjusted the rules to mirror each other more closely. The PUP versus IR is a big difference for the team though as Ike moving to reserve PUP last week freed up a spot without losing him for the season. It is why I also think White ends up there as it saves a spot. For Doyle, Stevenson, and Morris - they will need to be on the active 53 man roster and then moved to IR if they want them to come back. That is one reason I do not expect them to sign a punter until Wednesday - giving them an extra spot. Maybe even a veteran cut with one year left and then a re-sign to give a roster spot (usually a Jones or Kumerow type player).

PUP can only be used if a player has not passed a physical to play prior to training camp. So Tre White and Ike were injured coming into camp and have not passed a physical and therefore are PUP eligible. Tommy Doyle and Stevenson were both injured in camp after passing the initial physical and therefore are only eligible for IR designation- either full year or short term depending upon when the team wants to use it.

I have no issue moving on from Moss for a pick, but I do not want or need top end RB talent on this roster. The RBs get 10 - 15 touches a game and that is fine. Singletary for those touches averages a healthy near 5 yards a carry. That is exactly what I want from that role. Now you have Cook to swing out and get you yards after catch and that is fine. Moss is exactly what he has been a depth/role player that can give you a few carries especially if someone gets dinged up, but more importantly can come in and help pass block as needed and slide out for a few catches. He is easily replaceable with a ton of other guys, but unless you are getting something useful back that is a crucial role that is not filled by Johnson or Blackshear and Cook struggled in pass pro as you would expect.

I would agree with Tenn, Cleveland, and Indy with 1 top end back they will ride. I can believe there is hope with Carolina, Baltimore, Minnesota, and maybe Dallas with multi-injured guys that were great or a RB room on a running team. I struggle greatly with AZ with James Conner as a #1 being any better than the Bills Room. Same with the Chargers with Austin Ekeler and then a 4th round rookie. Even then I would not change the room for a lateral move or even for many of these elite backs because they would take away from Josh. How effective is Henry getting 9-12 carries a game - is he elite in that role? I am just fine with the running back room we have built of guys that can handle the limited snaps and perform when asked.

Protected doesn’t mean what people think though. PS players are not “protected” - you have players that after Tuesday you can protect for the week as expected call-up’s, but after the game until the next Tuesday they are free to be picked off the roster just like any other player. You can not choose someone and keep him from getting signed once they go to the PS.

I think most people assume they will not sign a punter for the initial 53. Use that space like a cut veteran to get someone to IR. I would assume Wednesday or Thursday they will sign a punter when they have opened up additional spots. I expect Doyle and Stevenson to go to IR with at minimum Doyle being on recall IR. We will also see about the Morris injury and if that becomes an IR/recall need. They will sign a veteran punter and give them about 1 week to get ready and work with Bass and Ferguson.

Totally Disagree. Beane and McD stated they were releasing Matt because it was best for him to focus on this case. Beane especially pointed out a couple of times that this was bigger than an wins - Matt needs to focus on himself. Beane also stated the reputation/culture the team is building is bigger than wins or losses on the field. He in essence says this decision is about our culture and that is paramount to Sean and I. At the same time - as McD stated last night - some things are bigger than the game and right now Matt needs to focus on that. This is more than his livelihood and career - this is Matt’s life and freedom and if he is innocent as he states - he needs to defend himself and focus on that. If he is guilty - then he needs to be punished and in either case - he is better off focusing on himself until this is settled.

There is easily a ton of middle ground. They can support him and recognize at this time the most important thing for Matt if he is truly innocent is to step away from the game and work with his lawyers on his defense. If he stays on the team - there is potential interference to his practice ability along with the team distractions. If you take Beane at his word (and I do within reason) - this was discussed with Matt early on and Matt understood the decision and they parted. Maybe if Matt clears this up and is acquitted- his respect would allow him to return - we will see. It could also be just fine to release him with less than compelling evidence- because there is now a case he has to defend himself in. Based upon McD yesterday and Beane today - I think there are still a lot of gaps in what evidence is available and what is true. I think the Bills Brass feel it is in Matt’s best interest to defend himself and in the Bills best interest to find a stable replacement before other things interfere at horrible times.

They pretty much stated they and confirming with the NFL - the league had no knowledge by the draft. Even Matt’s agent knew nothing. Matt was not the best punting prospect in ages - that is absolutely BS. He had the best leg, but there were huge questions about his hang time, directional kicking, control over kicks to prevent touchbacks, and his speed to get punts off. Most pre-draft things had 3-4 punters that depending on what you wanted being his equal or better - including the 2 guys drafted before him.

Agreed, but athletically speaking he is more similar to Howard than Knox and Morris is more athletically similar to Knox. If it was me and I was keeping 3 TEs - I keep Morris over Sweeney because I think Sweeney easily makes it to the PS if needed.

The only thing I will add - I see the TE3 as a choice between a back-up for Knox in Morris (more open and fluid in routes - less a blocker) and a back-up for Howard in Sweeney- less athletic more blocking traits. It is the reason I believe Morris started last game as TE1 with Allen - Knox was not available. They have also been trying Morris in blocking roles - see as a lead blocker on the long Moss run versus Indy - where Morris was stuffed. I think they like Morris, but he is limited and feel at least Howard and Sweeney can play in line and slightly in space. I myself lean toward Morris as losing Knox means you lose a big weapon and I would rather replace that and use Gilliam/Doyle when blocking is needed.

Maybe, but I am guessing we get at least 4 or 5 Vets minimum out of the 16 because I think they can cut those guys and not lose them. Barkley, Duke Johnson, maybe a Shaq Lawson, Van Rotten perhaps, could see a Sweeney, Gentry and a Joe Giles-Harris on the squad. From the money seen, all rookies put at at a bit over 3 million for the PS- vets can add more especially as they want a touch more to ensure they remain. We will see, but I expect the Bills to have a bit more expensive PS than some others.

Using Spotrac which is pretty good - the cutdown to 53 (keeping Tre on the roster and cutting some higher profile guys like Howard) I got 10.7 million after the restructure. Then taking 4.5 for practice squad drops you to about 6 million. That is right about where they like to be. That level drops even more if they put White on PUP and keep another player - as I suspect. It also drops further if they put Stevenson on IR to “protect” him. In that case it knocks another 1.4 million down to 4 and 1/2 million left for mid season signings. They may have a Knox extension in thought, but if that was the plan I would expect a different - larger restructure.

Right now it is the top 51 salaries plus dead cap. On cutdown day to 53 - it becomes all active 53, PS, IR, PUP, and deadcap (old and new). The only thing that does not count is Andre Smith as he moves to suspension, but you have to have the space for him set aside after week 6 to activate him.

They were under the cap for the top 51, but at cutdown to 53 that changes to all 53 players, IR, PUP, Practice Squad, and dead cap from bonuses to players you cut (minor amount, but always present). It adds easily 4-5 million from the current cap and I think with Ike on PUP and some veterans they will PS - I think the Bills will need 7 million plus to be under the cap at cutdown.

I believe he stated they need a cushion when the salary cap flips shortly from top 51 to all 53 + PUP, IR, Practice Squad, and dead cap additions from the cuts. Plus as @Warcodered states - he wants a cushion for the regular season because you may need to have additional IRs or other roster moves (maybe an OBJ type) that you need to add. Because it was Dawkins which was only 5.6 million - that screams to me - nothing is incoming this is just to get the roster in order and ready with a small buffer. If it had been a bigger restructuring then I could see a move coming, but not really from Dawkins.

Couple of minor quibbles. Boettger is already on PUP inactive- he will not be put on IR until sometime in the season if at all. The inactive PUP means 4 games where he can’t practice at all. The Bills then have I believe up to 6 weeks to activate him (which moves him to active PUP), but not a member of the 53 or they can IR him at that point. If they shift him to active PUP - I believe the Bills then get 3 weeks to allow him to practice and not count on the roster and during those 3 weeks at any point - they can move him to the active roster (part of the 53), keep him on active PUP for the 3 weeks, or move him to IR. At the end of the 3 weeks - it is either active roster or IR. So the earliest they have to think about Ike is after week 4, but they have until week 10 - I believe before they need to act on him and then they have 3 more weeks to get back to speed - so really the Ike decision may not come until week 13 and may depend on o-line health. The other small quibble is you have Stevenson (PUP) and that is not an option for him since he was on the active roster to start camp. He will need to either be IR (pre 53 and done for the year), on the active 53 and moved to IR once everyone clears where he can be activated after week 4, on the active 53 with no IR, or cut and tried to go to the PS. PUP is not an option from my understanding. I have minor quibbles with the roster, but overall it is fine based on what we know - I want to see Friday’s game to finalize my last few spots based on what groups they roll out and who they try where on the field and on special teams.

My understanding of the Smith situation is as part of the cutdown - he moves to the Suspended list. He does not have to go onto the 53 man roster or anything. Once he slides on to the suspension list - his salary goes away for the next 6 weeks. The Bills do not need to count his salary in the cap, BUT they will need to prepare because at the end of the 6 weeks - they will need to activate or cut him and if they activate - his remaining salary will need to be accounted for. That will all be part of what BBB will need to look at to figure out the cap. He has the 53 man roster, IR, PUP, PS, and suspended players once they return. Andre Smith actual gives the bills a potential spot to add a young player and then cut them in 6 weeks if you need a LB or cut Smith and save cash at that time.