BillsFanForever19

Might want to ask the Bills fans who pre-purchased Super Bowl tickets last season or the ones that bought tickers the season before that if they think it's a wise investment.

Sure. But are any of these teams taking on a 1 year 19 million dollar contract and giving up a Draft Pick to do it? No. And of these teams that could use him, there are surely some who are looking at Drafting their next hopeful Franchise QB next season. And having an upgrade at QB who will win them more games this season would only hurt that. So it's quite the pickle he finds himself in.

To further put to bed the "he didn't want to be drafted here" narrative - here's a clip of James Cook getting the call. He's smiling. The family's going crazy. Some of them yelling "Buffalo!" in glee.

Brandon Beane and Pat McAfee talking about Matt Araiza on Pat's show. Interesting stuff. Beane didn't think Araiza would be there for them. McAfee says he didn't know how to Punt in the NFL when he was drafted, the Colts said "we think you're athletic enough to figure it out", and that McAfee feels the same about Araiza's pro potential. Beane says "tee it high and let it fly" 😆

Is there a set date where teams officially announce their UDFA signings? I know it doesn't come immediately following the Draft but I thought we'd see the list by now.

Sanders is done. He said himself on Good Morning Football that when Allen asked him to come back he told him his knees are in rough shape. Crowder takes Beasley's spot. Shakir (as stated by Beane) will be the first person up on the Outside or Inside, taking Davis' spot with Davis taking Sanders' spot. Shakir will also probably do returns. McKenzie will also get his fair share of reps and may take returns if someone gets hurt and Shakir needs to take more reps on the outside. Kumerow will stick as the 6th for his Special Teams. He was re-signed pretty much exclusively for that reason. Hopefully we'll never have to use him as a WR. Stevenson will go to the PS. Hodgins was never on the 53 and definitely won't be this year. His ceiling is back on the PS. Last year we kept 7 WR's and 2 TE's. With the additions of O.J. Howard and James Cook as receiving threats - I see us keeping 6 WR's this year (will probably keep an extra TE this year and an extra CB with White's injury). Between Diggs, Davis, Crowder, Shakir, McKenzie, Cook, Knox, Howard, and possibly Wydermyer - we have more than enough pass catching firepower. If Sanders were to return, it would probably be mid to late season if there were an injury.

Kumerow will get the last spot for his Special Teams play. We carried 7 last season, but that's a bit of an anomaly. Usually only carry 6. I think an extra spot will go to TE as well as CB this season, maybe even OL. Stevenson was a late round flyer who was brought in exclusively for returning. He underachieved in that role and I expect Shakir to take over there. Hodgins was a guy we cut out of Training Camp last season and stuck around on the PS. He's not making the 53. He'll be lucky to make the Practice Squad again.

At this point with 4 roster spots remaining (maybe even less as there could be other UDFA's that haven't been reported) - I don't think you can look at any FA and say "he's definitely coming in". Guard is a big concern amongst fans on this board. But given how they addressed O-Line this offseason (currently 16 on the roster) and their lack of urgency in the Draft (going elsewhere with quality Guard's available when we picked in multiple rounds) - it doesn't appear to be to Beane. Saffold and Bates are our starters. The pool of Quessenberry, Boettger, Mancz (who will fill in for Boettger at reserve Guard until he's ready while backing up at Center), and Ford - in conjunction with Futures signings like Capra and T/G flexible UDFA's will be widdled down to form the reserves. You might not like the guys brought in already, but that doesn't change the fact that they were the one's Beane chose to address the position. He's not just going to keep signing more and more Lineman because people on this board see flaws in the ones that he went with.

We may be in the market for a couple smaller depth signings. But we're not going to pay the kind of money Bradberry would command and he's not going somewhere to be a rotational player (which is what he'd be here). Brandon Beane appeared on One Bills Drive and spoke on the subject of veteran releases following the Draft (from 16:00 - 17:10 and transcribed below):

Sure and I'd love Deebo Samuel too. But it's not a fit. If we waited on CB in the mid-rounds, maybe. But Tre White's only going to miss a few games and then he's back on that side. We just spent a 1st Round pick on the other side. You're not going to draft someone in the 1st and then give them as little amount of reps as a #3 Boundary guy would get. He's not going to sign somewhere for anything but a starting role. And we're not going to pay someone what his price tag is going to be for the role we'd have him in. He'll get big money to be a Starter somewhere and probably on a long term deal. The idea of us doing that has sailed. Tre White and Kaiir Elam are our starters long term. If we wanted to get and pay James Bradberry as a Starter, we would have made an offer to the Giants and went elsewhere with our 1st Round Pick.

It's clear. Singletary and Cook will be here. Jones will be here for Special Teams. Gilliam's our FB/TE/Unofficial 6th OL. Beane has always kept 3 RB's and a 4th guy who is a Special Teamer (Senorise Perry when it wasn't Taiwan Jones). So it comes down to Johnson v. Moss for the 3rd Guy. Simple as that. And then I'd expect Blackshear on the Practice Squad taking Antonio Williams spot after he signed with the Giants. And/or maybe the loser of the Moss/Johnson battle, if they don't get picked up by another team.

He's a painfully shy and quiet person that obviously doesn't feel comfortable having a microphone and camera in front of him. He said it himself when he was asked the kind of person he was. "Quiet" was one of the first words out of his mouth. And that's okay. Not everyone is an extrovert who revels in being in the media and is a good public speaker. All that matter is how he performs. Ever seen interviews with Larry Bird early on? It was painful. One word answers and making sure everyone knew he didn't want to be there. But come game time, it didn't matter. I expect much the same with Cook. I think people (and I'm not implying you bc I think you're just talking about being in the interview room) need to lay off this "I don't think he wanted to be a Bill" narrative. Not everyone is overly emotional and jovial. It's getting real tiresome seeing posts from Bills fans who jump to that conclusion everytime we take a player that doesn't immediately burst into tears and jump up and down. He made posts from the facility on his IG during his Pre-Draft visit. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't want to be here. He's talked about how he fell in love with the Bills during his visit. If he didn't want to be here, he wouldn't have said that. And ultimately, if he didn't want to be here - Beane and McDermott would have picked up on that during his visit and they wouldn't have picked him.

And Taron Johnson in the Nickel And Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer behind them Tre White will be back by Week 4 at the latest. We just spent a 1st Round pick on a highly talented CB on the other side. Dane Jackson played CB2 from Thanksgiving and through the playoffs. Bradberry's going to have options and far better opportunities to see the field on a more regular basis than we'll offer. And we're not going to pay what it will cost to get him for the kind of role he'd play here.

The title of the article outright states that "no trade market developed". If we offered them something, they'd have made the deal. No GM is going to turn down picks from a team in another conference to release them for nothing. It's obvious that Beane didn't make an offer. And after Drafting 2 CB's, 1 in the 1st Round, I don't see them being in on him even as a Free Agent. Especially at what his cost will be and other teams most likely offering a better opportunity long term than we have here.

Thank you, as well. There's always a small concern when I put a lot of time into a post that I'll sign on the next day and have a bunch of notifications calling me a moron. So I appreciate both you and the poster above me. Beane certainly is a guy who values flexibility and tweeners on Defense. But listening to his pressers post Draft, it certainly appears that each will be played at the positions they were Drafted as. He spoke of Benford being a guy he could see playing Safety if need be. So I think this season, that's where he's going to be and if they don't like how it worked, maybe next season they'll give him a look at Safety. Bernard I don't see as anything but a Linebacker. He is quick and slightly undersized, especially at MLB. But given where he was Drafted, I think if Beane thought he might be a Safety, it's something he would have talked about right off the bat. Instead, he spoke exclusively about his flexibility being between Outside and Middle.

Thank you very much. I really appreciate your saying so and putting so much effort into your thoughts as well. As you said, Phillips is strictly a 3-Tech. So I think he's clearly the backup and rotational option to Oliver over there. Brandon Beane said at his presser that he sees Settle at 1-Tech "first". But he certainly has the flexibility to play both. It seems to me the D-Line is Oliver and Phillips on one side and Jones and Settle on the other. At 37:01 -

It's always possible that a UDFA steps forward, greatly exceeds expectations, and goes from undesirable to undeniable. However, atm, Travon Fuller should be looked at as nothing more than a Camp body. When Beane had his choice of all CB's available to him, he chose Benford. He spoke of what he saw Benford's possibilities in the future were during his Press Conference, alluding to a plan for him. Travon Fuller went Undrafted and among NFL.com's Top 39 available UDFA CB's, he didn't make the list. So I'd say putting him on the same ground as Christian Benford and Cam Lewis is very premature, at this point. I'd put Olaijah Griffin, Nick McCloud, and Tim Harris (all entering their 2nd camp with us) above him right now and I don't consider any of them to be thought of at the same level as Benford and Lewis either. https://www.nfl.com/news/top-undrafted-rookie-free-agents-following-the-2022-nfl-draft While I'm not saying I think it will happen or that it's likely, I wouldn't say that I'm sure it can't. You usually don't keep 3 separate slot WR's. Khalil Shakir could make him expendable and I see his future as our long term slot guy. That could happen sooner than later based on how good he looks this Summer. They're called "surprise cuts" for a reason. And while McKenzie would be a surprise, I can't 100% rule it out and I'm not the first person to bring this up as a possibility on this board.

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