BillsFanForever19

In retrospect, I think I agree with you and maybe should have said I could envision a scenario where Isaiah McKenzie is a surprise cut. I think it's more likely all 3 of Crowder, McKenzie, and Shakir are on the roster and Stevenson is out. But as far as "surprise cuts" that you wouldn't necessarily expect - Isaiah McKenzie seems like he could be a candidate, if one of those were to happen.

Duke Johnson doesn't play Special Teams. He's taken very minimal snaps there in his career. Most of them being returns in his first few years. I'm going to say the same thing I said last year and the year before that, Taiwan Jones is probably not going anywhere. McDermott has always used roster spots for a core of players who excel at Special Teams. Taiwan has been one of the most integral parts of that core. If they felt like he couldn't do it anymore, they wouldn't have re-signed him. So when it comes to Taiwan not making the squad, I'll believe it when I see it. I'd also add that while Taiwan Jones is technically listed as a RB - I don't think they look at him as a ball carrier for this team. Meaning imo they only carry 4 because of Jones. If Jones were to be replaced on Special Teams, it would just mean his roster spot would be added to the end of whichever position group that player replacing Jones was classified as and we'd just carry 3 RB's instead of 4. Long story short, Jones doesn't change the battle between Moss and Johnson either way. I see no way they keep both. And even if they did decide to move on from Taiwan, there's no way they'd let go of both Jones AND Matakevitch. Matakevitch much like Jones was signed and paid almost exclusively for his Special Teams play. They're the top two ST Ace's on the team. If Matakevitch's spot on the squad and his salary were in question, they'd have renegotiated or released him when we were doing whatever we could to free cap space. You can't make the assumption that just anyone can play ST's and perform on their level. Outside of that, I liked your post. Good point on Gilliam having the flexibility to play both FB and TE. This is probably why we only carried 2 and may only carry 2 again this season. Fair point. If he does look good this season and a team is in need, I could easily see him moving him if a team were to call for him.

The roster currently stands at 86. It remains to be seen if there will be more UDFA's or veteran FA's added. But as the roster looks right now, I see the following Training Camp battles set for either roster spots or positions on the depth chart - Zack Moss v. Duke Johnson: When I looked at the contract we gave J.D. McKissic vs. the contract we gave Duke Johnson - it was clear to me from the moment we signed Duke that he wasn't being signed for the same role and that the true McKissic replacement would come in the Draft. We now know that man is James Cook. This leaves one spot on the RB Depth Chart, the "coveted" TJ Yeldon/Matt Breida role as #3 RB who won't dress on Sunday unless there's an injury to Singletary or Cook. One will make it, one will be cut. And with the way Zack performed last season, I could honestly see it going either way. Jamison Crowder v. Isaiah McKenzie: I think we all expect Crowder to be the starter in the slot, given his resume compared to McKenzie. But when you compare contracts, they're fairly similar - Crowder on a 1 year deal worth 2 million with 1.87 guaranteed. McKenzie on a 2 year deal worth 4.4 million with 1.25 guaranteed. Whoever earns the starting nod in the slot, one things for sure - they're going to have to earn it. And given Khalil Shakir's abilities in the slot (as well as comments Beane made about him that I'll touch on below) - the loser could be an unexpected "surprise cut" candidate. Khalil Shakir v. Marquez Stevenson: This isn't a battle for Khalil Shakir's roster spot. He'll be here no matter what. Hell, Beane said yesterday that he envisions Khalil Shakir as the first man up for all 3 WR spots. This is a battle for Marquez Stevenson's role as Returner. If Shakir proves to be a better option at Returning out of the gate this summer, I feel Stevenson will find himself on the Practice Squad this season. Especially considering Stevenson was the 7th WR on the 53 last season and I see keeping 6 this season as a very real possibility, with other positions possibly carrying more than they did in 2021. Tommy Sweeney v. Jalen Wydermyer v. Quintin Morris: There's a chance there's not a spot on the 53 for any of these guys as last season we only kept 2 Tight End's on the 53. That would clearly be Dawson Knox and O.J. Howard. However, with the usage both will probably get, I foresee us keeping 3 this season. Though it is possible 2 are kept on the Practice Squad. Either way, I foresee at least one of these players being out of the building completely. Jalen Wydermyer's ability is intriguing. Quintin Morris impressed as a UDFA enough last season that he never left the building and could take a step forward. This could be the end of the line for Tommy Sweeney. Tommy Doyle v. Luke Tenuta: When it comes to players selected mid 6th to the end of the Draft, your odds of making a teams 53 isn't a given. Especially a team as stacked as ours. Outside of the Starting 5, Quessenberry will stick as perhaps the first man up at both Guard and Tackle. To me, this leaves one more spot at #4 OT - last year's 5th Rounder v. this year's 6th. One will stay on the 53, one will try to be snuck on the PS. Doyle made the roster last year but was used extremely sparingly and I think Tenuta's drafting speaks to wanting competition. Cody Ford v. Himself: Rather than highlighting who Ford could be battling with at Reserve Guard, I think the story is more about Cody Ford himself. Can he show more from the talents and traits he had that caused us to trade up and select him with the 6th pick in the 2nd Round in 2019 working under and impressing Aaron Kromer? If he can, I think they'll find a spot for him on the 53 given the investment they made. Maybe even keeping 10 OL instead of 9. If not, this could be the end of the road for Cody Ford. AJ Epenesa v. Boogie Basham v. Shaq Lawson: Given that no DE's were drafted, all 3 will make the roster if the room stays as is. But it's unclear to me what the pecking order will be coming off the bench outside of Von Miller and Greg Rousseau. I think Epenesa has a slight edge, but he has yet to show the 1st Round talent that had people saying we stole him in the 2nd Round. DaQuan Jones v. Tim Settle: Looking at their contracts, one could make the assumption that they envision DaQuan Jones as their Starter at 1-Tech DT alongside Ed Oliver. But I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Tim Settle could take the gig with an impressive Summer. Especially given his history and rapport setting up Tremaine Edmunds in Virginia Tech that made Edmunds a 1st Rounder. Terrel Bernard v. Tyrel Dodson: With AJ Klein out, his role as the 1st Linebacker off the bench and 3rd Linebacker in 3 man sets is up for grabs. Clearly with the 3rd Round investment, they see Bernard as the long term answer for that role. But Dodson is a player they clearly like entering his 4th season with the team and getting a contract extension earlier this year. If Bernard doesn't catch on quickly, Dodson could hop him on the Depth Chart entering the season. Marquel Lee v. Baylon Spector v. Andre Smith: Much like the Tight End battle listed above, this may or may not be for a spot on the 53. We only kept 5 Linebackers last season and if that's the case this season, then it's covered with Edmunds, Milano, Bernard, Dodson, and Matakevitch. But if we keep 6, it will be between these 3 for the final spot. Even if we're only looking for Practice Squad depth, they probably won't keep all 3. Cam Lewis v. Christian Benford: Much like Linebacker, last season we only kept 5 CB's on the 53. However, given Tre White's injury, I'd expect us to keep 6 this season (at least to start the year). White, Elam, and Jackson on the outside and Johnson and Neal at the Nickel are a given. So it comes down to Cam Lewis and Christian Benford for the final spot on the boundary. Lewis (like Dodson) is a player they like and enters his 4th year in the building. But Benford being their 6th selection in the 6th spot of the 6th Round may be someone they don't want to risk sneaking on the Practice Squad. Matt Haack v. Matt Araiza: This is a clear cut one will stay, one will go competition. Given how Haack performed last season, the fact that he's more expensive, and them investing a Draft Pick in Araiza - I think Araiza would really have to prove to not be NFL ready to lose the competition. If it's even close, Araiza will get the nod. It simply comes down to whether or not Araiza can prove proficient at holding kicks and improve his hang time. So who do you guys like in these competitions? If you see any that you feel I've missed, feel free to add.

You're right, that's just a small clip. He was on for 20 minutes. I love that he's a semi-regular on Pat's show and let's his hair down on their show much more than others. From 34:03 - 54:07

He started the entire season for the Titans last year. Appeared in 29 games over the past two seasons. You can do a lot worse than a full years starter from the season before as a backup. What are you expecting from a Reserve? Another Pro Bowler? How can he be a worse option than what Tommy Doyle or Jon Feliciano provided us in the same role the year before? Kromer is reportedly very particular about the type of guys he likes. So he must see something in his game that he likes, feels he can fix, and/or works within the schemes he's planning. Again, you don't have to like him. But he is who Kromer and Beane chose amongst all other options available to them in Free Agency at this point. And looking over the list of who's available at this point, I don't see much that would be much of an upgrade over what we have and have brought in. Beane's not sitting there going "Hapless Bills Fan didn't like this signing, so I better go out and get another one". It's not love so much as an understanding that he is who was brought in for the role. We lost Daryl Williams, Jon Feliciano, and Coach Bobby Johnson. We brought in Rodger Saffold (upgrade over Williams at G), David Quessenberry, Greg Mancz, Drafted Luke Tenuta, brought in 3 UDFA's, and Coach Bobby Kromer (upgrade). They've addressed the Line the way they thought best.

I don't see it. He'd have to take literal pennies on the dollar and way less snaps and take a backseat in the leadership role to Von Miller. I think they envision Von in and Jerry out as a changing of the guard.

I think if Klein on a cheaper deal were in their plans, they'd have renegotiated his deal instead of cutting him. I don't see Klein as being the type of player who would balk at it and ask to be released, thinking another team would give him a better offer. I think the same applies to Daryl Williams. It doesn't seem in Beane's makeup to straight up release someone instead of renegotiate and then re-sign them at a later date. And although I could see Williams wanting to test his market a lot more than I could see Klein, we've already replaced him as a Starter with Rodger Saffold and retaining Ryan Bates and replaced his possible role as top reserve Swing Tackle/Guard in David Quessenberry.

Some other switches: Taron Johnson was #24. He switched to #7 before Kaiir Elam took #24. Matt Araiza's #19 was Isaiah McKenzie's number. Isaiah now wears #6. Cam Lewis wore #47 last season. He switches to #39 this season, which was Levi Wallace's number, and Christian Benford takes #47

Another thing he said is he can envision Shakir being the 4th WR on the roster, being the next guy up on the outside or inside. So he doesn't view him as strictly a slot guy.

We added 4 players in Free Agency that are Guards or who can play Guard. There are currently EIGHT on our roster: Rodger Saffold, Ryan Bates, David Quessenberry, Ike Boettger, David Mancz, Cody Ford, Jacob Capra, Alec Anderson You seem to have a "yeah, but" for almost every one. But your not liking what he's done is irrelevant. What is relevant is that Beane, McDermott, and Kromer see value in them or else they wouldn't have been brought in. And if they were as worried about it as you are, they would have Drafted someone. The fact that they didn't speaks volumes to me (Terrel Bernard over Dylan Parham sticks out to me). We're looking at the same line as last season with the following changes: - Rodger Saffold - a Pro Bowl Guard we paid 6 million guaranteed to with our very first move in Free Agency - replacing Daryl Williams on the starting Line. Aaron Kromer coached him for multiple seasons. He has rapport with him and is aware of his strengths and weaknesses and will surely scheme to them. - Ryan Bates moving from LG to RG. You keep going back to some "starting point" line. But the fact is, if Beane didn't see him as their Starter at RG for the season, he wouldn't have matched the long term offer from the Bears for 4 years, 17 million with 9 million guaranteed. He'd have let him walk and brought in a cheaper alternative as a reserve. - David Quessenberry will replace Jon Feliciano's roster spot last season as a Reserve while providing the flexibility to fill in at Guard or Tackle. He started all 17 games at RT for Tennessee last season. He couldn't be much worse than Feliciano or Doyle were for us last season. - David Mancz will serve in Ike Boettger's role as a reserve, until he is ready to come off PUP (if he's not ready to start the season). He may or may not stick afterwards, depending on how Ike comes along and how he performs. He started 4 games last season for Miami and they must have seen something in his game and play last year to feel comfortable with him filling in if someone were to get hurt. - Tommy Doyle will have a competition with Luke Tenuta as the last OT reserve on the 53, with the loser ending up gone or on the Practice Squad. - And Aaron Kromer is a much more experienced coach than Bobby Johnson. I truly feel that his leaving was addition by subtraction (and I believe they do as well). I believe he'll do a better job with blocking schemes than we've seen in the past few years that could pay dividends. Ultimately, you may not have liked some of the moves that were made or felt that they could have done more. But the Offensive Line (and Guard in particular) were addressed with multiple moves. There's 15 Offensive Lineman on the roster right now that will be widdled down to 9. Your having doubts in the moves doesn't mean they didn't happen or they're going to do more by replacing the replacements because you feel they feel they should have done better. And looking at the Guards that are available at this point, I don't really see anyone out there that would provide a big upgrade.

Considering he's cheaper than Haack and they invested a Draft Pick in him, I think he'd have to REALLY not look the part for them to stick with Haack. If it's remotely close, Araiza will win. Especially given how poorly Haack played last season.

Spinal injuries and surgeries are a much bigger issue than knees. From the sounds of it, there's questions as to whether Clemson should have cleared him and whether an NFL team would have. The fact that he was not only not drafted but that no one will sign him speaks volumes. And comparing Doug Whaley deciding to take a chance on Cyrus Kouandjio's knees to Brandon Beane deciding on whether or not to take a chance on Justyn Ross' spine is the ultimate apples to oranges comparison.

Kromer will determine that this summer. He's not going anywhere until after he's been through Training Camp and the Preseason, at least.

Medical combined with a 4.68 40.

I could see Raheem Blackshear sticking on the Practice Squad and taking Antonio Williams spot from last season as the unofficial 4th RB.

NFL.com lists Jalen Wydermeyer as the #1 Undrafted TE and Raheem Blackshear as the #5 Undrafted RB. https://www.nfl.com/news/top-undrafted-rookie-free-agents-following-the-2022-nfl-draft

Diesch signed with the Dolphins, West with the 49ers. Top UDFA's sign quickly.

In conjunction with Rodger Saffold and Ryan Bates who are clearly Starters - David Quessenberry is like Daryl Williams in that he can play both positions. Greg Mancz started 4 games last season and can play Guard. Ike Boettger started 10 games for us last season and there's been advances in Achilles rehab that has paid dividends with players, Cam Akers returning to the Rams in 5 months just last season. And I believe they'd like to see if Aaron Kromer can bring something extra out of Cody Ford, given the large investment we paid, trading up at the top of Round 2 in 2019. That's 6 different players who strictly play Guard or can play Inside. I don't think adding UDFA's at Guard changes anything.

Quessenberry has played Guard in his career and can swing inside if need be. Greg Mancz can play both Center and Guard and started 4 games last season. There's been advances in Achilles rehabilitation in the last couple years that we've seen pay dividends in recent history with Cam Akers returning in 5 months just last season. We've brought in a much better O-Line coach than Cody Ford has ever had in Aaron Kromer. With the investment they paid in Ford, they'll likely like to see if Kromer can get more out of him. We're likely only going to keep 4 Guards and our Starting Guards are set for this season with the investments we put into Saffold and Bates.

Hodgins was cut after Training Camp and was a Practice Squad player all year. If he's back this year, it would be in the same role. It would be a replacement for Marquez Stevenson. I'd love to see us double up and take Bo Melton for his 4.34 speed. Have him battle Stevenson and I'd bet he'd win.

We don't need a Punter.... We need a Punt God

It doesn't matter what grade YOU had on him. They had a 3rd Round Grade on him. We cut AJ Klein and have Tyrel Dodson as the next guy on the LB depth chart after Edmunds and Milano. Let's see how they use him and how he plays before we sh-t all over the pick.