BillsFanForever19

I don't look at as ego or hubris. Douglas is toast. Not only is he toast, he's been on a couch all off-season. I think they feel more comfortable with Dane Jackson, Dorian Strong, and Ja'Marcus Ingram alongside Benford than they would him. And outside of Douglas, this regime doesn't trust someone to come off the couch and get the Defense down in time. This isn't a plug and play system or staff. It's always been scheme familiarity over pure talent. So Douglas is the only realistic option I see in their eyes and I think they feel better off with the depth we have on hand - until Max and/or Tre are back. Which won't be that long.

He's not going to be cut. I think it's more likely he's Starting Week 1 than not being on the initial 53. With Hairston likely to go to IR to Return and White possibly missing the 1st week or more, they aren't going to roll with just Benford, Strong, and Ingram as their only Boundary CB's.

Oh you've gotta be kidding me! Dane Jackson is down now?

I'm pretty sure Thompson is safe. We're going to keep at least 5. Olofoshio is obviously out now. And while Ciarlo is a darling, I don't see him being 5 over Thompson.

I don't think they believe Tre is long term. May be even able to go Week 1. And they're still deciding whether or not Hairston will be back in 4 games or less. I disagree with you that he's not finished. He was *atrocious* last season and his being on the street still speaks volumes. I don't think Douglas, especially not being in a Camp all off-season is any sort of major upgrade over the guys that are in the building. I believe they have more faith in Dane Jackson than they do an off the couch Douglas, at this point. Even if Tre misses a game or two, I think they believe they can get by with Dane Jackson, Dorian Strong, and Ja'Marcus Ingram as the depth opposite Benford for a short spell. It won't be long until we have both Hairston and Tre.

Nice play by Dane there. Injuries have solidified his spot on the initial 53. Fully healthy at the position, he would have been a cut in my eyes. Now it's possible he starts Week 1.

"A little lower leg injury" kind of falls in line with what I was expecting. He may miss the first week or two. But it doesn't sound long term. With Hairston likely to go to IR to Return and White probably missing a little bit of time, I see them keeping Dane Jackson and Ja'Marcus Ingram (who I had as cuts prior to the injuries) on the initial 53, alongside Christian Benford and Dorian Strong as our Boundary CB room until one or both return. Wouldn't shock me to see a vet signed to the PS as insurance in case Week 1 is a disaster or there's further injuries. But as of now, I don't expect an out of the building addition at CB for the 53.

This is done with the assumption that Tre is dinged up and may miss a week or two, but won't miss significant time. Obviously, if he is to miss at least 4 games, things change: QB: Josh Allen #17 Mitch Trubusky #11 RB: James Cook III #4 Ray Davis #22 Ty Johnson #26 - Reggie Gilliam #41 WR: Khalil Shakir #10 Joshua Palmer #5 Keon Coleman #0 Curtis Samuel #1 Elijah Moore #18 TE: Dalton Kincaid #86 Dawson Knox #88 Jackson Hawes #85 OL: Dion Dawkins #73 David Edwards #76 Connor McGovern #66 O'Cyrus Torrence #64 Spencer Brown #79 - Tylan Grable #68 Ryan Van Demark #74 Alec Anderson #70 Kendrick Green #53 DE: Joey Bosa #97 Greg Rousseau #50 AJ Epenesa #57 Landon Jackson #94 Javon Solomon #56 DT: Ed Oliver #91 Daquan Jones #92 T.J. Sanders #98 Deone Walker #96 Dewayne Carter #90 LB: Matt Milano #58 Terrel Bernard #8 Dorian Williams #42 Joe Andreessen #44 Shaq Thompson #45 CB: Christian Benford #47 Taron Johnson #7 Tre'Davious White #27 Dorian Strong #43 Dane Jackson #23 Ja'Marcus Ingram #46 S: Taylor Rapp #9 Cole Bishop #24 Damar Hamlin #3 Jordan Hancock #37 (Nickel/Safety) Cam Lewis #39 (Nickel/Safety) ST: Tyler Bass #2 (K) Reid Ferguson #69 (LS) Brad Robbins #40 (P) Brandon Codrington #29 (Return) IR to Return: CB Maxwell Hairston #31 PUP: OL Sedrick Van Pran-Granger #62 Suspended: DE Michael Hoecht #55 DT Larry Ogunjobi #99 Some thoughts: - Initially, it was said Maxwell Hairston would be ready to roll by Week 1. At that time, I said Hairston wouldn't be put on IR to Return. Since then, McDermott has recently said that he's got a ways to go. So IR to Return it is. - I wanted to have Tyrell Shavers on the Roster and initially carried 6 WR's. Unfortunately, the injuries at CB changed things for him. If there's a team that is willing to trade for Curtis Samuel, I think they'd be interested in the Cap Space a Trade would bring. But that's a big ask and a Trade is the only way I see him exiting. If that were to happen, it would make room for Shavers. Even still, I went back and forth on Moore or Shavers. But ultimately, Moore's contract being guaranteed, his cut saving nothing, and his speed won #5 for me right now. But it wouldn't shock me to see Moore released for Shavers. - Brad Robbins is the Punter on this list by default and not knowing other options. But it wouldn't remotely shock me if a Punter they liked more were released from another team, that Robbins was released and a new Punter is plug and played. - I know that Codrington offers nothing beyond Returns and Shenault offers at least something at WR. But through Training Camp and the first 2 Pre-Season games, there's been nothing to show that Shenault is above Codrington in their eyes. - Mitch easily wins the QB2 job. With his guarantees in contract vs. White's no guarantees (and Josh's friendship with Mitch), White needed to clearly and definitively beat him. That hasn't happened. - One last thing just bc it made me laugh and also bc I anticipate a backlash thread when he makes it:

I could be wrong but I feel like if Tre's injury were long term, we'd have heard something by now and/or you'd hear of us bringing in someone of stature at CB. I wouldn't think they'd wait until McDermott's end of game presser today to be asked about it and be like "surprise, Tre is done".

Gilliam isn't a Tight End on this team. He's been a Fullback since his Rookie year when he won the job over Patrick Dimarco. You can put him at TE in certain packages. But his role isn't going to change. He's not making a full time switch to Tight End on a whim without running with the Tight End group in Training Camp or the Pre-Season. Even if they had (which they didn't), there'd have been another FB brought in. There's been no indication they're removing Fullback from this Offense. And Gilliam's not going to be FB1, TE3, and ST all at the same time. If Shenault is making the roster, he'll take Brandon Codrington's spot and he'll be the 6th "WR", like Codrington was the 6th "CB". Curtis Samuel has returned to Practice in Full. He is no longer dealing with injuries. You can't just IR a healthy person. Hawes is going to be here. It's not a question. And you can't say for sure he wouldn't be poached. All it takes is one team that needs a Blocking TE and wanted to take him after we did. We've never once under Beane and McDermott outright cut a 5th Round Draft Pick the same year they've Drafted them. That's not going to change this year. Especially with the reviews that Hawes has had this off-season. And I have not a clue what you're trying to say with your last sentence. What 7th Rounder are you talking about? Do you think Hawes was a 7th Rounder? He wasn't, he was Drafted in the 5th. What does occasionally using OL as Eligible Receivers have to do with anything? We still carry 3 True TE's every year regardless of that.

Yeah, he's pretty firmly behind Hamlin, Hancock, and Lewis. I didn't think he ever really had much of a chance to make it anyways. His zero guarantees, minimum contract always kind of screamed Camp Body to me. Especially when you looked at the guys in front of him, the investments made in them, and how McDermott values them. Even Forrest's biggest supporters like Joe Marino concede he's not going to make it. He'll probably be back on the Practice Squad though, unless he decides he has better options on another teams Practice Squad.

Yeah, not only does cutting Hamlin NOT save us 7m - it actually *costs* us $662,500 in general Cap Space and another 2m in Dead Cap. Agreed, not sure where they got that number from.

The only way Samuel isn't here is if someone's willing to trade for him. That would save us 7.34m in Cap Space while eating only 1.7m in Dead Cap. Otherwise if we just cut him, we save nothing and eat over 8.8m in Dead Cap. At that point, you're paying for him whether he's on the roster or not. Might as well get something out of him, even if he doesn't stay healthy all year. Moore is an interesting case. He's had some good practices, he's had some bad practices, he's been injured, and he hasn't really popped in the Pre-Season. Depending on who you talk to, he's either had a good off-season or a bad one. He, like Samuel, saves us nothing by cutting him and costs us 2.5m in Dead Money. Like Samuel, you're paying for him whether he's here or not. That said, eating 2.5m is a lot more likely and palatable than eating over 8.8m. So it's possible. One thing I don't think you're going to see though is us cutting both of them. Which would have us saving nothing and eating over 11.3m in Dead Money. If we can Trade Samuel, maybe they'd cut Moore. But it's way more likely they'd Trade Samuel and keep Moore, Cut Moore and keep Samuel, or keep them both - IMO. The other side of what you're saying is regardless of creativity on Offense, they're going to keep at least 5 WR's. So who would the 5th guy be beyond Shakir, Palmer, Coleman, and Shavers if you got rid of both Samuel and Moore? K.J. Hamler? Kristian Wilkerson? Nah. Samuel and Moore are better WR's than them and you're already paying for them. At least one of them will stick. As for keeping an extra RB, I don't see that. We're not going to dress 4 RB's on Game Day and we'll have no problem getting Gore back on the Practice Squad. Yes, Jackson Hawes is dead set as the 3rd TE on the Roster. Much like WR, we're going to keep 3 Tight End's. And he's a very good Blocking Tight End who has had a good off-season. We also spent a 5th Round Pick on him. Releasing a Draft Pick before the bottom of the 6th is a risky proposition trying to sneak them on to the Practice Squad.

Wow. I had read somewhere he was having trouble paying Child Support, but i'm surprised the Ravens signed him at his age....

People are unhappy with the return on investment to this point on Keon Coleman, imagine Drafting Ja'Lynn Polk 4 picks later. In his Rookie season, he played in 15 games and had 7 starts. His stat total for the year were 12 catches, for 87 yards, and 2 TD's. Now he's potentially missing Year 2 to an injury. Ouch.

Ingram and Jackson to me were both likely cuts on my 53 at the start of camp. Now bc of the rash of injuries, it's not only practically a lock they'll both stick, one of them will potentially be starting Week 1.

I don't think there would be a CB trade. We're too close to the start of the Regular Season to plug and play someone in McDermott's complicated Secondary scheme. My guess if there were to be a move at CB bc Tre is out long term, it would be Rasul Douglas. He's a guy they could plug and play alongside Jackson, Strong, and Ingram. It wouldn't be what I'd do, as I think he's toast. But this regime has shown time and again that they prefer familiarity with McDermott's Defense over ability.

It is odd that there's been nothing. It makes me wonder if they think it's potentially something long, but they want results from all tests to make absolutely sure it is or isn't before they say anything. As at this point in his career, announcing that it's a long term injury would essentially be announcing his career is over.

Zy Alexander? He's an Undrafted Rookie that was cut by his original team and has been with us for a total of 2 days. He's still reading the playbook. Plug and play is barely a thing for tried and true veterans in this Defense. If Strong looked like he has the Defense down and has impressed the coaches during the off-season, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a shot. But Dane Jackson and Ja'Marcus Ingram would and should be the next men up before Alexander. Even with Hairston out and White potentially being out, Alexander is unlikely to make the 53. He's just a body brought in to play in the last Pre-Season game. His ceiling is the Practice Squad.

I agree that with what I'm hearing from Sal, I don't believe Tre is dealing with a long term injury. But we won't know for sure until we know. As for the separate point about Samuel's market, if there were a team that would give him 8-10m, it would have happened by now. We're dangerously close to the time where he takes what's offered or he gets nothing and stays at home. That said, I'm not convinced that even if Tre was done that we'd call Asante. I'm willing to bet they'd call Rasul Douglas. Even though I think he's toast, their MO is always familiarity with McDermott's Defense before talent/ability. Especially being so close to Week 1. Not a lot of time to learn a new complicated playbook.

One thing that wouldn't surprise me, especially given the kind of names that are sitting out there, is if they sign a veteran to the Practice Squad. As I said in an earlier post, this is an almost exact copy of 2023. And in 2023, we signed Christian Kirksey to the Practice Squad just before the start of the year. A lot of people expected him to eventually become the Starter, but Terrel Bernard stepped up and locked down the position from the jump and Kirksey left town. It wouldn't surprise me if they did something similar at Safety. Bringing in a name to the Practice Squad to provide insurance and to push Cole Bishop to put his best foot forward. "Sir, this is a Wendy's"

How does that make sense? If they've lost Harmon, they'd be in need of a DT now - not 7 weeks from now. And any CB we'd get in a Trade for 11 games with Ogunjobi would be the caliber of player that wouldn't play over Dorian Strong, Dane Jackson, and Ja'Marcus Ingram.