BillsFanForever19

Elgersma was just selected 18th Overall in the CFL Draft. So if neither of the workouts with us or the Packers gets him a UDFA Signing to come to Camp (as it appears he hasn't been signed and is just a Rookie Mini-Camp tryout) - he's got a fall back option.

I'm sure he knows what he's looking for and knew before the visit. He said on OneBillsLive that they've been talking back and forth pretty much all offseason. I'm sure there's some disparity or else it would just be done. But I doubt he's wanting "big money" or else Beane would have stopped talking to him a long time ago and probably wouldn't have done the visit. He may be looking for more money than the Bills think he's worth. Right now, it seems the Browns have set the price at 3.43m. He may be hoping he can get more than that. But I doubt he will. Ultimately, unless someone else jumps in the fray, it's just a matter of whether we want to match that or whether Moore will take less with incentives to play with us. If neither happens, he'll probably end up back with the Browns. Just a waiting game. Also possible that while we're waiting, it's just announced we've signed someone else and we were using Moore's visit as leverage. Like what happened when we had James Bradberry in for a visit and then we signed Tre White.

Taylor Elgersma is interesting. He's a Canadian QB from a Canadian College. Bc of that, he's one of the top Prospects in the CFL Draft that's happening right now and will probably be Drafted pretty soon.

That would be nice. But not very likely. He has guys like Rousseau and Bosa above him. He'll be sharing reps with Epenesa and Hoecht when he returns. He's unlikely to be getting the kind of reps where he hits those kind of numbers. Rousseau has yet to put up those kind of numbers as a Starter. And Jackson isn't going to be starting in his Rookie year. But I'd be here for him putting up numbers like that, obviously.

I hope this exchange and the national coverage of it doesn't make Beane change any plans he had going forward. Like he clearly set up the visit with Moore before the interview. I would hope that him taking an angry stance of "we don't need a WR" that has gone viral doesn't make him less likely to sign him or anyone else. I don't think anything keeps Beane from doing what he thinks is the right move for the team. But you never know. Ego and the risk of looking like they were wrong or hypocritical can be a helluva thing to public people in power.

While I don't disagree, we do need a 5th WR. Would you rather just have a competition between Shavers, Shenault, and Prather to decide that?

Here's a little more clarification. Though I still don't fully understand it. I mean, we haven't moved beyond the qualifying Comp Formula for lost FA's. And if this tender doesn't extend past that and simply locks in the Comp Formula at a certain number, like, what's the point?

Gotta be honest, i've never heard of this before. Looking up what it means, says this: I'm still kind of confused by the wording, honestly. I don't know if this means if we offer more and they refuse to match it we outright get him like a Transition Tag deal or if we'd have to give them something. Either way, I'm not sure we're paying more than 3.5m or jumping through any sort of hoops for Elijah Moore.

While I don't disagree that Palmer feels like a half measure, the 9.67m annually he makes in 2025 contract terms is inflated by the yearly rise in salary cap. 9.67m annually this year would have been lower than that and more in line with what one think he should have been paid even just a couple years ago. I forget who's video I was watching but they said their mind is stuck in 2021, 2022 prices. We look at numbers and think "overpay" without realizing these days, almost every contract for everyone above a journeyman level of play seems like an overpay.

There is something to this. It was not a good year to need WR. In both FA and the Trade Market and the Draft. Unless you were able to land DK Metcalf or Davante Adams (which given his age and character is a tough in itself) in the veteran market or you had a Pick in the top 23 to land a Hunter, McMillan, or Golden - I don't really see any vast upgrades you could make this offseason. It's fair to argue they should have taken a shot at someone. But I think it's also fair that given the need at the positions and value of the guys they took in Rounds 2-4 at those positions vs. who was available at WR that it was better to go with who we did at those points.

I didn't know about the passer rating. And I certainly don't claim to be an Elijah Moore expert. But how much of that is on him and how much of that is on the QB's in Cleveland last year? I just see a guy who's got 4.35 speed, just turned 25 years old, and averages 541 yards a season (538 last season). And a guy who's never had a good QB, after spending '21 and '22 with the Jets and '23 and '24 with the Browns. Though I respect your assessment. But like you said, if the option is Shavers or a guy who has produced and has blazing speed - I'd take him to at least see if he works out on Camp. If for nothing else to have someone who could stretch the field.

This isn't a surprise. I mentioned his name alongside Chark a number of times after the Draft ended. If you value speed, in a WR that's under 30, that's had production in this league - Elijah Moore and DJ Chark are pretty much the only options out there. Chark is older and had an injury riddled 2024. So them preferring Moore makes sense. Hopefully they learned from 2024 and will strike fast following the Draft instead of waiting and missing out on the top guys left (when they had to settle for MVS and Claypool).

Just listening to this now. Very uncharacteristic of him. He seems to be getting really annoyed with criticism from the local media. Also seems to be more cognisant of what's being said or at least making a point of acknowledging that he's heard what was said, more so than before. Idk if that's just him reaching a breaking point in feeling like he's doing a good job but hearing he isn't doing the job right or if there's more to it behind the scenes in the office or something going on in his personal life that's coming out here. It hasn't just been this either. He seemed to be pretty annoyed by the media questioning the Drafting of TJ Sanders when he isn't a standard 1T. On Saturday, he said: Which was kind of eyebrow raising to me at the time. Like as he was leaving on Friday night, he's telling a staff member "man, what's the deal with the media?". And then telling the media that. Combined with today and yeah, weird stuff from Beane that you don't see from him.

I tend to agree. Before Day 3, it appeared to me that 1 from the field of White, Jackson, and Ingram would have to go. After Day 3, I at first, thought that after Drafting Hancock and Strong - that it meant THREE from the field of White, Jackson, Ingram, Hancock, and Strong would have to go. However, after seeing the Bills list Hancock as a "DB" and describe him as a Nickel CB/Safety hybrid - it became clear to me that he's a Cam Lewis replacement. I mean, that's Cam's role on the team to a T. So when it comes to Hancock, I think one of two things happen. 1.) He impresses in Training Camp and the Pre-Season, in which case Lewis is outright cut - saving some cap space in the process. 2.) Hancock doesn't appear ready for PrimeTime in Year 1, in which case Lewis may stay and Hancock will be redshirted as "injured". So then that leaves the Boundary position. I think you're right that 4 will be the number (in conjunction with Taron at the Nickel, Hancock or Lewis as a Backup Nickel/Safety, and Codrington as a KR "CB"). If that number is correct and obviously Benford and Hairston aren't going to be cut - that means 2 from the field of White, Strong, Ingram, and Jackson will be cut. If you asked me what my gut says, it'll be Ingram and Jackson ending up cut. But honestly, I could see literally anyone from that list either being cut or sticking. Training Camp will decide that.

On top of that, I don't think there would be any difference between the type of pick you'd be able to Trade him for and the type of pick you'd get as a Comp Pick if we lost him. A Running Back, on the last year of his deal, wanting top dollar money isn't going to get you much of anything. I wouldn't be surprised if the Comp pick we ended up getting was worth more than what his Trade value would be. And now that the Draft is over, we really can't afford to Trade him anyways. Trade him for a Pick in 2026 and roll the season with Ray Davis and Ty Johnson? Nah. If we're going to do that, we'd be better off even if he did Hold Out for a little bit. We're riding with Jimbo 💪

I don't think you're going to see anymore tweaking of the Defensive Line. They've addressed it and upgraded it plenty. While I agree with your assessment that Jones should have been replaced - it's clear that Beane doesn't agree. Either way, Jones won't be taking as many reps this year. Sanders is versatile. On passing downs, I think you're going to see packages where Sanders is rushing from the 1T alongside Oliver. Then there will be downs where Walker comes in for Jones. Plays where Sanders comes in for Oliver. Hell, with Walker having a Jordan Phillips style - there may even be plays where he rushes from 3 with Jones or Sanders at 1T. Even Ogunjobi has started at Nose Tackle at points in his career Beane talked about it at his Presser on Saturday. They don't view things as linearly as definitive 3 or definitive 1. They went out and got guys who are versatile. It's not the 90's where a giant tub of goo Nose Tackle was a requirement. It's a passing league now. You want guys with athleticism who can get to the backfield. Obviously, that's what Beane values more. As he said, "if I just wanted a big bodied 1T, I could find a guy in Free Agency. It's the guys who can provide Pass Rush that you want". The Defensive Line is in really good shape, even with Hoecht and Ogunjobi on suspension. It's been upgraded quite a bit. We brought in 3 new Defensive End's and 3 new Defensive Tackles. All of our bigger signings outside of Palmer were DL. We spent Rounds 2-4 (all in the Top 10 of the Round) exclusively on DL. And in doing so we've built a much more talented on paper rotation along the entire Line. I think we should be pretty happy with what we have and I wouldn't mess with it.

He doesn't seem concerned. Between that and the Schefter reported that he'll play for us, I'm not either. Beane talked about him yesterday:

There's really no need to. We carry 3 RB's on the 53. Those are set in stone with James Cook, Ray Davis, and Ty Johnson. None of them are going anywhere this season. And for the Pre-Season and as possible Practice squad candidates - Frank Gore Jr. and Darrynton Evans are also on the Roster and will be in Camp. They obviously don't feel like they need a 6th Tailback in camp, who definitely wouldn't make the 53 and probably wouldn't even make the PS above Gore. I think if anything it speaks to them wanting to keep Gore in the system and get him more work in the Offseason, by not bringing in anyone else beyond Evans that would take reps away or compete to push him off the Practice Squad.

I think the exact opposite. I think some posters are overly inflating the likelihood that will happen. He wants to be paid top dollar. Holding out isn't going to get that done. Whether that's here or somewhere else. He knows it. If he wants to get that money, he's going to have to earn that money. No one is paying close to what he's asking based on what he's done and then holding out any length of time in his contract year. Adam Schefter reported that he'd be playing for us this year. Which means to this point, he's been led to believe there will be no hold out. Beane himself talked about how people are getting carried away and that he has absolutely no concerns that Cook will hold out, just yesterday:

I think it's a little early to be thinking about trading AJE. We haven't kept just 4 DE's in a good many years. We'll be keeping 5 (at times, we've kept 6) and Hoecht will be roster exempt for the length of his suspension. Bosa isn't going to be taking more than 50% of snaps. He'll likely be under that. And to ask a 3rd Round Pick to take 50% (likely more) of the snaps right out of the gate would be a little surprising. I think while Hoecht is on suspension, having Groot, Bosa, AJE, and Jackson as the rotation is a definitive upgrade from what we were doing. I think you keep all of them (plus Solomon as the 5th man on the 53) until Hoecht returns. Lots of things can happen in 6 weeks in the NFL. You don't want to trade AJE away and then someone goes down in the first 6 weeks and you're outright relying on Jackson and Solomon. Especially when Bosa is historically a walking injury waiting to happen. I believe right now, the 53 DE's are pretty obvious. Groot, Bosa, Epenesa, Jackson, and Solomon (with Hoecht on the Suspended list). Come week 7 if everyone stays healthy and Jackson is rocking and rolling ahead of schedule, then you can look to trade Epenesa. Teams who have had injuries or need a better rotation will be more eager for a veteran like Epenesa at that point. But currently, part of the upgrade to me is making sure you have a solid 4. And i'd like to make sure we have a solid 4 before and after Hoecht returns. If Hoecht wasn't suspended, i'd be more open to moving him now. We need to see how Jackson looks in Real Game action and make sure we haven't lost anyone by Week 7 before we move AJE IMO.

DJ Chark and Elijah Moore are both under 30, sub 4.35 guys (Moore 4.32, Chark 4.34)....

It's too soon to freak out. There's time between now and Training Camp and a few roster slots still open (I think we stand at 87 with the UDFA's that leaked). If we go into Training Camp with just what we have now - I won't like that. But I'd bet we'll add another veteran between now and then.

If you're looking for a WR under 30 that has speed (4.34) and has produced, DJ Chark is one of the best options out there right now in Free Agency. And honestly looking over the list, there's only two actual options under 30 with speed: Chark and Elijah Moore. And yes, if you take the 4 years that he was a starter and was healthy (2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023) - he averaged 685 yards. He was a Pro Bowler in 2019, where he went for 1008 yards and 8 TD's. The outliers being his Rookie season (2018) where he didn't start a game, 2021 where he only appeared in 4 games because of a broken ankle he sustained, and last season where he started the year on IR and only appeared in 7 games down the stretch. Moore is a 4.32 guy, 24 years old, and is coming off 538 yards last season and 640 the year before. At the moment, I don't know of any WR's who would be vast upgrades over them that are reportedly available. I'm sure you'll point to some crazy names that you'd like to trade for. But I don't see a big trade as very likely (though I'd love to be wrong). Much like last season, there isn't some sort of Superstar game changer out there Post Draft. You take the best fit that's available and if you're looking for speed and is someone that's done something in the league - that's Chark or Moore. I'd rather one of them be in Camp competing for the 5th spot than just Shavers, Prather, Shenault, and the rest of the UDFA and Practice Squad options.

Genuinely curious - what makes you say he isn't a "traditional nose"?

Did you read my second to last paragraph? I'm not saying we shouldn't have put a lot of resources into the Defense. It needing to be upgraded was never a question. It was a necessity. What I'm saying is you could have done that AND upgraded the Offense more than just replacing one of Cooper and Hollins with Palmer - which may or may not be an upgrade if he's the same kind of guy he was in LA statistically. I'm all for upgrading the Defense and I'm glad we put resources into doing so. But I don't agree that solely upgrading the Defense and simply rolling it back (with Hollins and Cooper out and Palmer in) on Offense was the right move. There's still time though for an added piece there and I hope one comes.