GASabresIUFan

Why are you leaving off the RBs? They were 20% of the passing game last season. Let’s also clarify what are his best options for what. Most frequent target? Most yards? Most likely target to get a first down? Most like target in the end zone? Most likely WR to catch a deep pass?

I love these threads. As soon as I saw Gabe was released I came here to see how many people want him back. No just no!

Good surprise or bad surprise?

He had an amazing year in a strictly dink and dunk offense balance with a strong running game. You can win a lot of games that way and we have. I'm also in full agreement with Beane's plan to enhance the defense which has been aging and failing at the wrong time. I also disagree with the premise that we have the worst WR group in the NFL. That stats don't support that contention. However, we need to take the next step and finally win the AFC and get Josh and the Bills another bite at the apple. We can sugar coat it all we want, but our WRs don't get enough separation and we don't have a legit deep threat. Hopefully Moore and Palmer help as deeper threats and hopefully Coleman continues to develop and in year 2 becomes an overall threat like Michael Pittman did in year 2.

But you also need to give the QB the right tools to succeed. If you have a fleet of slow WRs who can't separate consistently, are you really giving the QB the necessary tools?

You aren’t a vertical threat until you actually do it in games. If all you do is catch balls underneath then you are just another possession receiver. Having the ability to do something and actually doing it are two different things. It’s why I’ve stated multiple times Brady needs to utilize Moore as a deep threat as we have enough underneath and possession type receivers. Until that happens Moore is a redundant asset.

I didn't say he wasn't a better player. All I'm saying is that his usage last year, and it's pretty consistent in his career, is inside and under 10 yards. In fact his career average yards/C is 10.8 and his career YAC/R is 3.2. That means he's catching the ball on average 7.6 yards down the field. That the definition of an inside receiver. With Kincaid, Shakir and Samuel already on the roster, I hope Brady is creative enough to find another way to utilize Moore's speed then just short throws over the middle.

Not quite. Moore’s yards per catch last season was 8.8. His YAC/r was 2.2. This means his Air/r was 6.6 yards. That’s not a deep threat. That’s deeper than Samuel or Shakir, but he is an inside receiver or has been in his career. Compare to Palmer. His Y/C was 15 last season and his YAC/R was 2.6. That means his AIR/R was 12.4. Those are the stats of someone who runs deeper routes. Coleman was 19.2 Y/C with a YAC/R of 7.4. His AIR/R 11.8. As I’ve said before, Moore and/or Samuel need to be recast as a deep threat receiver. Otherwise they are redundant inside WRs.

Wow! Your 10th grade English teacher would be very proud of your word choice, except being concerned at time the article was written wasn't pedantic at all. In fact Beane's failure to sign a replacement for Douglas or get a "no. 1 WR “ was a huge concern on this site and in the Bills world. What might have been "ignorant" (nescience) was his failure to understand that Beane isn't currently investing in over priced No. 1 WRs. My disagreement with the writer stems more the fact that he had already upgrade the DL and the receiving group had been improved with Palmer. The Bills clearly hadn't gone backwards, they just hadn't improved enough at the time the article was written.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/buffalo-bills/news/buffalo-bills-wide-receivers-warned-about-big-changes-cuts-coming-curtis-samuel-elijah-moore-nfl/c69d982f740194371679eca2 Article basically says the additions of Moore and Prather make Samuel’s roster spot vulnerable. Nice theory but Samuel has a cap hit of $9 mill, but a dead cap of 12. I’m not sure this exactly helps the Bills to cut Samuel during camp. I do see the similarities in the games of Moore and Samuel, and do agree that we probably don’t need both. However, cutting Samuel does more cap damage than good. Maybe it’s up to Brady to find good uses for his players. Entering the season, the Bills top 3 WRs are Shakir, Coleman and Palmer. The Bills have kept 5 the last 2 years, but have kept as many as 7 recently. This leaves Moore, Samuel, Shavers, Shenault, and Prather competing for 2 or 3 slots. I doubt we carry 7, but I think 6 is probable, especially if they move on from Codrington as a kick returner. All that said, I never understood the Samuel signing last year. His experience with Brady not withstanding, he brought a skill set we didn’t need since we had Shakir. I don’t understand the Moore signing either, as he also is an inside receiver. Although Samuel and Moore are track fast, neither has ever been used as a deep threat. Unless Brady begins to utilize them as deep threats, both are wasted signings other than injury insurance for Shakir.

Hardy and Codrington are fighting for a KR job on special teams. If one of them makes the team they’ll be the 12th DB. Depending on how camp goes at other positions, like WR, the Bills might not keep a 12th DB. Codrington definitely has the edge in Hardy. The Bills cut Hardy in favor of Codrington gave the Bills mostly solid play as a returner. Neither guy will be relied upon to play corner. The good news for them is the Bills don’t have anyone else with recent punt returns in the NFL. Moore returned 2 in 2023 and Shenault only has experience as a Kickoff returner. Ray Davis also returned kickoffs last year. As you the rest, with 7 guys as locks, the last 4 jobs will be a battle between Lewis, Ingram, Forrest, Strong, Hancock and Jackson. If the Bills are trying to add more speed to the secondary, the two rookies are the fastest players of these 6 guys. Forrest is the slowest.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/44249852/nfl-free-agency-2025-experts-big-questions-signings-trades-contracts I thought this was an interesting read. Teams on their backwards list 49ers, Chargers, the Bills (because we didn't add a CB or a top WR), KC, Seattle, and the Cowboys. I'd add the Jags and Bengals to my backwards list. Note: They think our signing of Bosa was one of the best FA signings Teams on their improved list Bears, Panthers, Vikings (They lost their starting QB, not sure that counts as improvement), Pats, the Raiders and Commanders.

The Bills carried 9 OL to start last season. Clapp didn’t make the team out of camp. He was one of the last cuts and was re-signed to the PS.

There is a huge difference between saying he needs to learn to play at the NFL game speed vs what you wrote "For as fast as he is supposed to be he lacks the ability to play with it." I do notice you tempered your opinion with "The biggest aspect of sports and on a professional tier is having the ability to process the speed at a professional level. He's not there yet." Sorry, but your first comment isn't constructive at all. In fact, it a statement that he lacks the necessary ability to play in the NFL. Your second comment if much more accurate and much more constructive.

The playoff comeback win against Houston with Reich at QB. My wife and I were on a plane to Atlanta, and Oliers fan pilot kept gleefully announcing the score. By the time we landed, the Bills were closing in on the Oilers and we ended up watching the end of the game in an Atlanta airport bar.

Seriously? The guy played one injury riddled rookie season. The scouting reports pre-draft show him to be a high football IQ player. Most players take time to adjust to the speed of the NFL game. Shredding someone for mistakes from a rookie year is at best premature.

The battles for the bottom of the roster are always hard to predict. Beane will have to decide based on roster need, camp performance, cap considerations, familiarity with the system, position flexibility, special teams usage, injuries, and last but not least, can they sneak them on to the practice squad. For example take Lewis. The positive: Lewis plays special teams, plays safety and CB, has 6+ years in the system and likely won't make it the PS. The negative: His on the field play was mediocre and he carries a $2 mill cap hit with a very low dead cap if cut (cap savings 1.8 mill). As to Lundt Positives: He was drafted this year and plays a position of long-term need. Beane also hates losing OL from the PS. Negative: The Bills usually only carry 9 OL and unless some like Van Demark is injured or traded, Lundt is competing for the 10th slot.

You can give ample reasons why guys aren't signed, but the truth is our starting WR, starting CB and most used ST player are still without a job. This shows me that Beane had significant work to do this offseason and there are still questions, especially at WR, CB and Safety, whether Beane accomplished that goal for this season.

Very few of last year’s FAs have signed with new teams. Douglas, Cooper, Morris, Smoot, and others are still unsigned. By the way I know I started this thread, but honestly I’m still very concerned about the quality of both Safety and CB. For CB to be improved, the two rookies, Hairston and Strong will have to make an impact. Hairston needs to be a plug and play starter as White’s metrics were worse than Douglas’ last season. Strong also needs to beat out the washed up Dane Jackson. If White and Jackson play significant minutes next season, don’t expect better results. The same goes for Safety. 3/4 of last year’s disappointing unit return. For this unit to improve, Bishop had to become the starter and show significantly improved play. Otherwise Hamlin and Rapp return as the underwhelming starters. So what about Forrest? He was primarily a special teamer for Wash last season. I hope he adds decent depth, but I had more up for Edwards last season. Hancock is a raw rookie learning a new position.

Anyone we cut is available for the PS. Beane has cut and lost draftees sent to the PS. Honestly it’s kind of a crap shoot. Beane and his staff also scout other teams cuts as well to see who is available and may fit a need here. Cine and Logue were two such players last year. I’m hoping Zion Logue is one the big camp surprises this year.

I'll be happy if he is a significantly better version of AJE.

The Bills also claimed Cine last season when cut and then he was taken from us by the Eagles. One thing I should have put in the OP is that Special Teams participation will be a factor in those last cuts. Last season Ingram 66.59%, and Lewis (56.75%) were 3rd and 4th respectively in special teams snaps. Andressen was 5th with 55.16. Of the new comers Jackson played 27% for the Bills in 2023 but only 4% for Car last season. Forrest played 53% of Washington's special teams snaps last season.

He's from Mich and played in Lexington KY. He just doesn't know better. Give him some slack. Real men don't use Ranch or Blue Cheese.

This is as crowded a field for DB jobs that I can remember. The Bills' secondary last season outside of Benford was mediocre at best. Benford emerged as one of the top 5 corners in the NFL and was rewarded with a huge second contract. Gone from last year are former 1st rd pick Elam (traded away) and CB2 Douglas. There are 9 returning players, plus 3 FA signees and 3 draftees competing for 10-12 jobs. Historically the Bills have keep 4-5 safeties and between 5-7 CBs. 1) Besides Benford there are four other locks for the team. 2) Slot Corner Taron Johnson - Former All Pro was not a good as usual last season, but still solid. 3) Rookie Corner Max Hairston - speed demon and our top draft pick 4) Starting Safety Rapp - Beane praised his leadership last season. 5) 2nd year safety Cole Bishop - Injuries slowed his progress, but he pushed Hamlin for the starting job late in the season. Guys almost certain to make the team 6) Former starting safety Hamlin. Bills re-signed him this offseason and his dead cap if cut is 2 mill which is nearly 700K more than his actual cap hit. A trade may happen if he gets out performed in camp. 7) FA signee and Bills returnee Tre White. White signed for a year and 2.88 with a dead cap if cut of 2 mill. He'll compete with Hairston for the CB2 job Guys competing for the remaining jobs (not in any particular order) 8.) FA Safety Forrest - Cap hit 1.2 (dead cap 167K) - Has starting experience. I have him penciled in but he could lose out like Edwards did last year. 9) S/CB Cam Lewis - Cap hit 2 mill (dead cap 212K) - Special Teams leader and often plays the dime, but 1.8 cap savings if cut. 10) FA CB Dane Jackson - Cap hit 1.37 (dead cap .568) - Former Bill returns after dreadful season in Carolina. 11) CB Ingram - Cap hit 1.03 (dead cap 4K) - played ok when called upon last season, but is primarily a special teams player. 12) CB Draftee Strong - Pick 177 out of Virginia Tech - Press Corner with 4.5 speed and good height and other measurables (Cap hit 911K, 71K dead cap if cut) 13) CB/S Hancock - Pick 170 out of Ohio State - 4.42 speed and 41.5 vertical. Beane imagines him a safety because of only decent coverage skills. (Cap hit 920K, dead cap 80K) 14) CB/KR Codrington - UDFA acquired from the Jets - Good rookie year as primarily a punt returned. (Cap hit 960K, 0 dead cap) 15) CB/KR Hardy - 2024 draftee who lost his job to Codrington but remained on the PS last season. (Cap hit 844K, 8.5K dead cap) CB Benford, Johnson and either White or Hairston start - Backups White or Hairston, then 2 others and maybe a 7th player who is primarily a punt returner. The camp battles look like Strong, Ingram and Jackson for 2 CB slots with Codrington vs Hardy vs Shenault (WR) for the KR slot. No telling how that will play out. At Safety Bishop are Rapp are the starters, Hamlin a backup with Forrest, Hancock and Lewis competing for up to 2 jobs. I have Lewis as the odd man out. How this plays out should be interesting to watch.

There were two guys I mocked to the Bills in nearly every draft I did regardless of site and they were Hairston and the TE Hawes. This kid's closing speed is unbelievable. I can't remember the last Bills' DB we had that had the ability to stay with the fastest WRs in the NFL or recover from a mistake. We are going to love this player.