BillsFanForever19

I'm not advocating we cut him. Honestly, we can't. One thing to release a fringe player on the roster for being a distraction and making things difficult because you can just say "he was the 54th man on a 53 roster". Cole's a star. It'd be obvious why we were doing it. I'm more or less speaking to the idea that a.) He retires or b.) The NFL suspends him for habitually not following the guidelines. Looking more and more that one or the other is probably more likely than him playing all season for us. And, yeah, as far as who's on the trade market or a Free Agent that could help in the pass catching department - Ertz is probably our best option. Especially since he's long been linked to us and Beane's never said that there's nothing to the rumors (like he has with other guys we've been linked to in the past). It's either him or signing a WR like Golden Tate.

I agree on the needing 4 DT's and ideally, another 1-Tech needing to be added behind Star. Which is why I'm leaning towards Obada not making the final 53. I think he was signed as insurance in the event we weren't able to land a DE we liked in the Draft. Then we drafted 2 in the first 2 rounds. So... yeah. Although I wouldn't be against a move being made, Corner isn't as huge of a need IMO as others feel. I don't think we were bad at the position last season and I see them even performing better than they did last season. And from what I've seen, Jackson is an upgrade from Josh Norman and that's the only change from last year. As for replacing Cole and needing another TE - I think Ertz should be revisited more than ever now (*ducks oncoming things thrown at him*). I think we're deep enough at WR with Diggs, Sanders, Davis, McKenzie, Stevenson, and Hodgins that we can afford to potentially lose him. Especially if we got another pass catcher like Ertz in the fold at TE.

I wouldn't. Unless he, Rousseau, or Basham are going to spend at least half the time inside playing DT - he's on the outside looking in. Because Hughes, Addison, Epenesa, Rousseau, and Basham are all locks and I've never seen us keep anything more than 5 DE's tops.

I agree on the numbers point. Most of my life, the Bills carried a max of 4 Defensive Ends. In the McBeane years, they've seemed to carry 5. Never once have I seen 6 staying on the active roster. But when it comes to Addison being released, I see another unprecedented issue. Brandon Beane has never told a veteran "we need you to take a pay cut if you want to stay" and then cut the guy anyways. Even with guys we didn't even use like Tyler Kroft. I think it's a bad look to the locker room and their "process" team building. Beyond that, he doubled down in a press conference following the drafting of Rousseau and Basham stating Addison isn't going anywhere. That he's counting on his mentoring the Rookies and even discussed how he plans on using Addison in the rotation re: adjusted snap counts to maximize his impact this season. So I don't think Addison is going anywhere. I see us cutting Obada or carrying 6 guys with us either taking from another position to carry 10 D-Lineman or one of those DE's will be playing both inside and outside ala Quinton Jefferson.

That's completely beside the point. Let's not turn this into a vaccination vs. anti-vaccination debate. The point is - the NFL has the rules in place where you follow them or you're fined and suspended. Cole has stated he will habitually not follow the rules. Ergo - one of our best players WILL be suspended regularly and may retire. If the rules change, then that's a different story. But as they are, this is a problem.

It's not a matter of getting vaxed or not. It's a matter of Cole saying "I won't abide by the regulations put in place by the league". And he IS alone in saying that so far. It's one thing to not get vaxed. It's another to not get vaxed and then publicly say he won't follow the rules that state you'll be fined and suspended for not following.

Regardless of where you stand on the subject - one of our stars outwardly saying he will not abide by the rules of the league is a huge issue. We're now facing, at best, a season where Cole will be fined and suspended on the regular. Think we seriously need to prepare for a season without him, at this point. EDIT: And by "a season without him", I'm not implying we should cut him. I'm simply stating that habitually disregarding NFL rules will lead to him being suspended habitually.

Idk man. Did you watch the Chiefs v. Browns playoff game? They almost had them and sent Mahomes on a trajectory that essentially handed the Bucs the Super Bowl IMO. They worry me more than the Ravens. Lamar is trash, Baker is good more often than bad, and their RB and WR core are really scary.

That's a bold choice. I can't see him being anything more than a Practice Squad player this season. He was our last draft choice in the 7th Round in a Draft where we took 2 other Offensive Lineman. We generally only keep 9 Offensive Lineman. Dawkins, Ford, Morse, Feliciano, Williams, Brown, and Doyle are absolute locks. And I'd put Lamp, Boettger, and Bates above him as well. He'd have to have one helluva undeniable training camp and preseason. Even then - Dane Jackson (last year's 7th Rounder) did that and still ended up on the Practice Squad in a much less crowded field at CB last season.

All of these Defensive End posts point to a good percentage of the fan base not only saying they don't agree with how Beane has handled the position - but are simply disregarding he's made many moves in the first place and that the depth chart is already filled. You may want the guy in a Bills uniform but there has to be a place for him. There just isn't on this roster. Addison took a pay cut to stay alongside Hughes. Beane has never told a player if he wants to stay, he has to take a pay cut, and then cut him anyways (not even Tyler Kroft). We signed Obada. We drafted Rousseau in the 1st. We drafted Basham in the 2nd. We drafted Epenesa last year with our top pick. We only keep 5 Defensive Ends Max. We need a ton of cap space for Josh and Tremaine. We'll need our top picks next year to replenish players we'll probably let go just to make Josh and Tremaine happen. We aren't making an expensive trade. Especially not one that would cost the amount of cap and draft picks like Hunter, Jones, or Mack. And not to a position that's already been addressed. Heavily. As it is, we may have to cut Obada bc we have 5 keepers in Hughes, Addison, Rousseau, Basham, and Epenesa. LIke it or not - we are NOT making any more moves at DE for 2021. We won't be making many more, if any, substantial moves at all. If we do, it will be to positions we're light at like Tight End, 1-Tech Defensive Tackle, Linebacker, or Cornerback.

Training Camp body at best. Changes nothing re: Zach Ertz.

Like it or not - the Browns put up way more of a fight against the Chiefs in the playoffs than we did. Had them on the ropes, but couldn't finish the job.

Of things that are actually attainable - I've always wanted a 1987 Jim "Machine Gun Kelly" Costacos Brothers Poster. I check eBay for it frequently.

Because this guy knows for a fact, before taking a single NFL snap in training camp or preseason, that Justin Fields is without question the best #2 option in the league 🙄

You can not agree with how he addressed the position. But it's completely asinine to disregard that the moves have already been made and the roster spots have already been filled. Rousseau, Basham, and Epenesa are here and they aren't going anywhere. Addison took a pay cut to stay and Beane says he isn't going anywhere. We need a ton of cap space for Josh and Tremaine. And we need the draft picks to replenish the players we'll already need to release next season to make that happen. The last thing they can afford to do is trade and sign a premier pass rusher this season. That's why Rousseau and Basham were drafted in the first place. Like it or not, get used to the opening day depth chart for Defensive End being made up of guys already on the roster for this season.

Addison took a pay cut to stay along Hughes. We signed Obada. We drafted Rousseau in the 1st. We drafted Basham in the 2nd. We drafted Epenesa last year with our top pick. We need a ton of cap space for Josh and Tremaine. We'll need our top picks next year to replenish players we'll probably let go just to make that happen. We aren't making any more moves at DE. Especially not one that would cost the amount of cap and draft picks like Mack. The position has been addressed. Heavily. As it is, we may have to cut Obada bc we have 5 keepers in Hughes, Addison, Rousseau, Basham, and Epenesa.

RIP to a bad idea

While I won't argue we could have used an upgrade at RB and TE - it's absolutely crazy to say we NEEDED another playmaking WR. Josh threw for over 4500 yards last year with Diggs, Beasley, and Davis. Sanders provides an over the middle, in traffic, contested catcher that we didn't have while maintaining Diggs, Beasley, and Davis. WR is a strength on our roster. "NEED" is a word I'd use to describe other positions such as CB, 1-Tech DT, TE, or RB. And what it would have required in cap space we'll need for Josh and Tremaine (or help in positions more worse off) is too much for a luxury that also would have required someone like Gabe Davis riding the pine more than I'd have liked.

Never made any sense for us unless we were going to move Sanders or Beasley. When you already have one of the best WR cores in the NFL - you don't give up the assets and cap space it would have required for a 5th starting quality WR. Especially with Josh and Tremaine's large deals looming. And i'd have rather not delegated Sanders, Beasley, or Davis to the bench.

Seems there's a lot of folks around here who feel that both our 1st and our 2nd will provide nothing in Year 1 and are essentially red shirts 🙄 Baffles me that everyone is counting out both our top picks, are closed off to the idea that Epenesa could improve, AND feel both Hughes and Addison provide nothing.

First off, as mentioned above, he's on a 15 mil 1 year deal right now and holding out on it. How does it make any sense that he'd accept a 50% pay cut on a deal he's already not happy with? Secondly, Addison isn't going anywhere. He took a paycut to stay here. And Beane has never in his tenure told a player "if you want to stay here, we need you to take a cut" and then come back to say "thanks for working with us, but you're still out of here". Not even with guys he won't use like Tyler Kroft. It's a bad look to the locker room team building and trust in their "process" Even after the Draft when people speculated he might do it this time, he doubled down in the post-Draft press conference saying Addison won't be going anywhere and that his mentoring and leadership of the young guys will be important in their growth. Was even commenting on how he planned to use Addison and his snap counts going forward to maximize his impact. Long story short - the Defensive End position has been addressed this offseason. In multiple moves. As it is, we may have to move on from Efe Obada from a pure numbers standpoint. You may question how Beane has addressed the position and how much impact Rousseau and Basham will make in Year One. But that's how he went about it. Rousseau, Basham, perhaps Obada, and the growth of Epenesa in his second year is what he's hanging his hat on. We cannot and should not even do due diligence into a move for Chandler Jones.

Yep - and since both will happen, we're going to lose players off this roster to make the cap work. Players that will have to be replaced in the coming Drafts. So we can't afford to give those assets away. Especially for a position that we've already heavily invested in. And I'm not convinced that Chandler Jones, coming off a season ending injury in which it'll be close to a full calendar year since he last played, switching teams, and learning a new system is going to be that much of an upgrade over Jerry for this season anyways. And beyond that - how many more solid years does he have left in the tank at this point?

He's 31 and coming off a season ending torn bicep where he missed most of the year. Not worth a 1st Rounder at this point in his career and we'll need that 1st for other positions following the Josh and Tremaine deals. We've already allocated a 1st and 2 2nd's in the past two years. Spending another 1st on the same position is crazy talk at this point.

We just drafted a 1st Round Defensive End and a 2nd Round Defensive End in conjunction with a 2nd Rounder spent on a Defensive End last year. Now you want to send a future 1st for ANOTHER Defensive End, who's also 31 years old? Hard pass. We're closed for business on Defensive End moves for 2021.

The JJ Watt thread had validity to it. Mack being traded this season does not. And even if they were to - we're not in a position to do it right now.