Dawgg

This is where we disagree. Peters handled it properly. It was the Bills, by signing inferior talents at a bloated price, that created the tenuous situation. If they had intended all along to move Jason Peters, that's fair and good. But if they expected Peters to sit tight and do nothing while 2 stiffs playing alongside him were rewarded with monster contracts, it was a rather foolish expectation. Williams' contract with the Texans had expired. With regards to Kelsay (and McKelvin for that matter), you have to factor in the value of the contracts the Bills doled out. McKelvin was never going to fetch $5M per year in the open market and his agent Hadley Englehart was right to pounce on the opportunity and forgo free agency. Likewise, Kelsay was never going to receive as lucrative a contract in free agency and his agent was correct in asking Overdorf "where/when do I sign?" Bottom line: when presented with a deal you are unlikely to receive in free agency, you sign. Byrd faces no such conundrum. He can have his cake and eat it too. I agree with this wholeheartedly. The Bills likely approached Byrd and Parker, but I have doubts that the discussions were substantive in nature, not because of the numbers themselves, but because Byrd and Parker had no intentions to negotiate, leaving the Bills with little choice but to utilize the franchise designation and draft accordingly.

+1 Something few on this board would understand.

Fair enough, but he was the most talented lineman on a team. It's hard to expect an upper echelon player to fight hard for an organization when: 1) The guy he's playing next to (Dockery) sucks and signed the richest contract in Buffalo sports history (fact). 2) The tackle playing opposite him (Langston Walker) sucks and is making significantly more. If the Bills didn't want to pay Peters, they should have built the offensive line through the draft. They didn't and it's hard to blame Peters for reacting accordingly.

Saw it on the depth chart on bb.com, for whatever it's worth. Agreed. Byrd is worth paying top dollar to, as he's among the top players at his position. The Bills have tended to skimp on those in the upper echelon of their respective positions while overpaying for those who are mediocre at their position. Good teams like the 49ers pay top dollar for their studs, and use the draft as a pipeline for the rest. Putting all the pieces together, it does raise some eyebrows. The Bills drafted as though they know Byrd isn't coming back. I think the Bills would resign Byrd and pay him top dollar. They franchised him with that in mind. Based on the draft (2 safeties) it seems to me that Eugene Parker and his client want out of Buffalo and are willing to play hardball to make it happen. As always, this could be wrong, but it doesn't sound like a "we plan to work together to hammer out a contract" type of situation.

This is 100% spot on. Jason Peters was vastly underpaid and this boneheaded front office handed Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker mega-deals. It's hard to blame him when he has to play alongside inferior talents who are paid like they were stars. Same with Byrd. He has watched the front office sign Kyle Williams and Chris Kelsay to 2 extensions. He has watched them hand McKelvin $5M a year when he has yet to prove that he is a starting caliber CB. He watched the Bills give $100M to Mario Williams whose effort was openly questioned by his teammates. The Bills put themselves in this position and in order to keep him, they need to pay up. My hunch is that Byrd and his agent want a market value contract from another team. The Bills got the message and drafted accordingly.

You're right in theory. But Nate Clements was in the same situation and he suckered the Bills into waiving the franchise tag for the following year. The result: Nate escaped town for zero compensation.

Indeed. He could pull a similar move to Nate Clements, whereby he demands, as a condition of signing the franchise tender and playing for the Bills this year, that the Bills agree in writing to take the franchise tag off the table for the following year. If that is the case, my hope is that the Bills don't succumb to it the way Marv did for Clements.

No argument that it's a high priority item for the Bills. I'm questioning whether it's a high priority item for Byrd's camp.

"transgressor"-- only in your warped world does a new thread constitute a transgression. I read what was out there and believe that a new thread is sufficiently justified. Are you trying to reach the venerable status of "Moderator" like Simon? Best of luck in your quest. And thanks for the feedback!

Ah yes, gotta love the thread police.

Let's see... The Bills have converted both Ron Brooks and Aaron Williams to safety. The team drafted two safeties in this year's draft. Byrd's agent is Eugene Parker who also represents Jason Peters. This is the same agent who advised his client to hold out and ultimately engineered his exit to a contending team. Reports suggest that there has been little to no dialogue between the two sides. Both Byrd and his agent have been radio silent. Byrd's last tweet was March 1st, which happens to be the date he was franchised. My uneducated guess (hope I'm wrong): Byrd's preference is to play/sign elsewhere and Eugene Parker is hellbent on making that happen. The Bills are making other plans.

Called it. Great move by the Bills.

Very happy my friend. This is what smart franchises do. Even if they miss out on "their"guy, the extra picks are adequate compensation for that risk.

No disagreement there. Right or wrong, that is what the market bears for Barkley this year and the Bills should adjust accordingly.

The bolded statement is irrelevant because nobody can predict the future. All one can do is select a course of action based on present knowledge... and based on present knowledge, Nassib and Barkley are late first round / early second round prospects with potential (not certain) upside to become franchise QBs. Reaching on them would be a waste of resources, plain and simple. And I'm tired of hearing "If they like him then take him" -- so are you saying that you trust the instincts of the same front office that paid Ryan Fitzpatrick like a franchise quarterback? Please. Exactly correct.

I think that is precisely what they are doing. They know the Jets want them and they sit in a very good position. Trading down not only keeps him out of the division, it would allow them to get an extra pick or two and get more value from the draft. Let's hope it gets done.

NFL beat writers are now reporting that the Bills have Tavon Austin #1 on their draft board. Perhaps the Bills are smarter than I thought they were capable, baiting a team to trade up to get him.

Disagree. Merely using the first pick on a QB - whether it's Nassib or Barkley - will sell hope like you wouldn't believe. That's what this team does best. Remember the exuberance when JP was drafted? When TO was signed? The local media and fanbase is dying for a young QB to get behind as the future franchise QB and the front office has neglected the position for so long, that merely addressing it will appease most fans (and local hacks).

Right. I am virtually certain there will be a deal of some kind. What concerns me is that the Bills will take the QB in order to "sell hope" as they usually do. Nobody will criticize them for doing it and the regime will get an automatic 3-year pass for doing so. Moreover, Russ Brandon's marketing machine will have new jerseys and a pretty face to sell to the fans. If their goal is to truly build a championship roster, they simply would not take one of those QBs at #8 and the front office will go to the earth's end to find a way to get him later in the first. I'm with you on that!

We are in 100% agreement here.

I really think the Jets are bluffing with QB, trying to bait the Bills into reaching on Nassib. Their worst case scenario would be a Bills' trade down, allowing someone else to get their hands on Tavon Austin. Not to mention, because Rex Ryan is a lame duck coach, not sure they'd spend a 1st on a QB at this point in time.

Exactly - that's the whole point. Of course the Ravens were taking a risk, but they also got paid to take the risk in the form of 3 extra picks, which gave them the flexibility and currency they needed to move up and down the draft. If the Bills take the calculated risk and trade down and miss out on Nassib because some other team reached for him in the teens (unlikely to happen), they have a backup plan in place. They are high on Barkley and can take him. They can pick 2 starters at other positions and grab a QB in the 3rd. Bottom line: overdrafting Nassib or Barkley at #8 would be a mistake. Perhaps they will turn out to be championship QBs, in which case I'd be wrong. But based today's knowledge (that's all we have), standing pat and taking Nassib/Barkley would be a bad move.

I'm with you on this, but for different reasons. I just don't think the Bills are capable of executing a deal like this. Donahoe was a dealmaker, but since his departure, our front office has shown that it's more about squandering picks and desperately trading up for "their guy" than staying patient, assigning appropriate values to players and moving down when necessary. If Tavon Austin is still on the board, a deal will be there for the taking... will the Bills take it?

Could be, and while that's what Buddy will say on the podium after reaching on a QB at #8, but I'd find it hard to believe. There is a heavy appetite to trade up. Falcons, Ravens, 49ers, Rams all want to move up. Vikings have been inquiring as well. There is plenty of opportunity. The question is whether the Bills can be flexible without being overly fixated on one single player.

Precisely. Some team will move up to get Tavon Austin. He is shooting up draft boards. The question is, are the Bills willing to risk losing out on Nassib in the off-chance some team takes him in the first round? If you want to build your team the right way, you have to be willing to take that calculated risk with the additional pick serving as compensation for the risk. Baltimore did exactly this a few years ago. Like the Bills, they had pick #8. They targeted Flacco, knew he was a late first rounder. Traded down to #26, acquired 3 extra picks, then moved back up to #18 to get their guy. That's why the Ravens win championships, they maximize the value of their picks. Simply standing pat and taking a QB at 8 would be lauded by fans and the Buffalo News, but (yet another) lost opportunity.