BillsFanForever19

Honestly, I'd be very surprised if Case Keenum isn't brought back to be our Backup. With his status with the Texans in doubt, the performance of K. Allen and Barkley, the stakes of the compensatory pick, and his familiarity with the team, playbook, and coaches - it makes too much sense for it not to happen.

Much like Khalil Shakir, the fans are the only ones putting Justin Shorter on the bubble. Overvaluing Pre-Season games over investments and development plans way too much, as always. There is an almost zero possibility that Beane is going to outright cut a 5th Round Pick developmental WR without giving him at least one season to develop. They drafted him with a plan to see if they could develop his attributes into a good NFL player. They knew that would take time. And Beane has never outright cut a Draft Pick higher than the late 6th or 7th Round in their Rookie season. Andy Isabella's chances really went out the window to me when Deonte Harty took all the first team Return reps in the last game. Keeping him as the Return man so that Harty could focus entirely on the Offense was Isabella's only route to the 53. Ultimately, he's a guy who was a 2nd Round Pick that was given up on after two seasons. That doesn't happen often and that message is heard loud and clear throughout league circles. Especially when his second chance in Baltimore ended with him being released from there as well, where he then stayed unsigned up until Training Camp. That stink doesn't go away with one halfway decent Pre-Season. The league knows who he is and he's a Practice Squad guy right now. Regardless of how he looked in the Pre-Season, no one is signing him to a 53 man roster spot. There's a much better chance that someone would with Shorter, given his attributes and the fact that he has yet to play a down in the League and still could develop into something. Whereas in Isabella, we will be the 2nd team releasing him in a span of months after being declared a bust by his Drafting team. I believe Isabella was signed as a Camp Body with his ceiling being a Practice Squad player if he showed something. I think he's earned that. But I don't see them keeping him over other guys they invested in and had plans for. Ultimately, every season there's a guy or two that fans get excited about because of Training Camp or the Pre-Season. But both those things mean very little unless there's a path to the roster. And there really isn't for him. Every year fans say "this person has outplayed this person" or "there's no way we can sneak them on the Practice Squad". And every season, long term plans and investments outweigh that and they do end up sneaking those offseason underdogs on to the Practice Squad.

What has he shown that would make him a "great backup"? Like the OT position, I see we're at a point with Backup QB where anyone released is a great option. He's played in a total of 2 games. Starting and losing in both, throwing for a combined 228 yards, 0 TD's and 4 INT's. Since then he's been behind Cooper Rush, not even the backup in Dallas. And he'd have to learn the playbook on the fly. There is ZERO chance they see him as an upgrade and would sign him to replace the guys who have been with us all offseason learning the Playbook. Our Backup will either be Kyle Allen or Case Keenum, if any move is made.

He played last week. Haven't watched today's game yet on the DVR. Last week people were freaking out because he wasn't noticeable. I think the DL was purposely playing very vanilla because McDermott didn't want to show much.

Kind of a misleading title. Used to do it with Taiwan Jones too.

He's what Brandin Bryant was for us but at the DE position. A talent they like and they'll bring in to camp yearly, just to be released and put on the Practice Squad and be called up when there's an injuries. With the guys we have at DE and the investments we've made in them, even with Von on PUP, there's no room on the 53 for him. Epenesa isn't going anywhere this season. Basham could be traded if someone makes an offer, but I think it's more likely they'll keep him with Floyd, Epenesa, and Lawson all on 1 year deals this season.

He's going to end up released. No one's going to take on that contract. Especially at this point. Give him a call when that happens and see if he'll take the gig. Kyle Allen and Matt Barkley are an albatross. At least Lance has a cannon and great mobility like Josh and you don't have to alter the playbook as much. But I have to assume he ends up somewhere like Atlanta or Washington that has a questionable starter.

With them trading Josh Jones today, that's probably out. I doubt they'd trade both their Reserve Tackles.

This guy was a backup Tackle when the Bengals line was absolutely dreadful. I don't see any way the team views him as an upgrade in talent over who we have and especially not since those guys have been with us for multiple offseasons and are familiar with the playbook and schemes. If you are rooting for this, you are rooting for literally anyone but what we have. Just because they aren't Quessenberry doesn't mean they're any better.

He's a Gunslinger in a Pass Heavy offense. With that is going to come picks. But I'd take that over playing Tyrod Taylor protect the football Quarterbacking 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.

You're thinking of this from the mind set of only a die hard fan. If you're a player who has played high school and college ball at the level that you'll be drafted, it's different. You're in it. You're a football player and your allegiance goes to the team that picks you, pays you, and plays you. No 20 something has ever said "I'll only play for the team I grew up watching and rooting for". They're just kids at that point anyways.

A leopard doesn't change it's spots. Again, he felt a veteran RB didn't have enough time with the playbook after a few weeks. The easiest position to transition. Do you really think he's going to play a MLB who has to play call his complex Defense while learning the playbook over guys who have multiple years and the Offseason with the team? Trust me, I don't like what we have either. But we're where we are in part because he puts an intense value on continuity and experience in his system. Why do you think AJ Klein was brought back instead of another LB'er in FA that's still out there now? The plan has always been to evaluate Terrel Bernard and Tyrel Dodson this season and see if they have something there and reevaluate next season if things don't work out. Questionable, especially now, if that's the right call or not. It's going to take more than a Questionable Camp and Pre-Season for them to shift gears, as I see it.

Maybe if it's so absolutely piss poor, they try and make a deal at the deadline. But I don't see any way that someone's going to be released or available for Trade that they feel will be so much of an upgrade over who we have that they'll play them learning the Defense on the fly. Especially at a position that is essentially QB of the Defense. As bad as things may have looked in Camp or in the 1 Pre-Season game that mattered, the most panic move they'll make is starting AJ Klein. He represents the fall back option they decided on had Bernard or Dodson not stepped up. It seems they may have broken that glass already with Dodson being pulled after the first series in favor of him. If they do make a move, it's going to be a while before they play that person. I'm not saying it's right or wrong. But there's just no way McDermott is going to start the season with a guy calling plays on Defense who is learning the Playbook on the fly.

The starting MLB is here. They aren't going to trade for or sign a guy and then just throw him straight into the Regular season without having had time with the playbook or working with the Defense. Anyone who is cut or is available for Trade is not going to be of a talent level that will trump the talent level plus time in McDermott's Defense that Klein, Bernard, or Dodson has, in their eyes. We're talking about a coach who felt a RB we traded for midseason still needed more time with the playbook as a reasoning to not play him months after the move. And RB is the EASIEST position to transition from team to team in play. MLB is one of the hardest. Especially in a complex McDermott defense. Anyone who honestly thinks he's going to plug and play a guy there over the guys who have been in house are just setting themselves up for disappointment.

You don't take an All Pro at one position and make him switch positions because there's better depth behind him than at the other position. That's crazy. Milano's an All Pro OLB. You don't mess with that and have him play differently. On top of the reasoning listed as to why asking a Rookie to start at MLB is a tall ask - do you know what we have behind Milano at OLB if Dorian Williams were to start off at MLB? Absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch. AJ Klein, Tyrel Dodson, and Terrel Bernard are all MLB's. Tyler Matakevitch is a Special Teams player exclusively. If Milano goes down for any amount of time or even just needs a breather, Williams is in. I know Drafting an OLB prospect when we had less than stellar MLB's and were hoping for something more than what we had was confusing. But we needed another OLB and that's what he was Drafted as. Beane said as much after Drafting him. Williams has flexibility. Maybe next year they try it. But they needed him at OLB this season. You can't go into the season with 1 OLB, 4 MLB's, and a Special Teamer as your LB core.

Pretty positive. If they didn't have future plans for him, they'd have just released him with an injury settlement like they do with anyone they're going to cut who gets hurt.

I get the feeling this is a stash for next season type of deal. He'll have a better shot of making it next year too with Leonard Floyd, AJ Epenesa, and Shaq Lawson all Free Agents. They'll keep him in the building, give him a year to hang around the team, study the playbook more, sign him to a futures deal, and he'll be back in Camp next season. I think if the plan were to put him on the Practice Squad, they would have released him and then put him there. As was stated, McDermott said this was a day to day injury. Putting him on IR screams "stash".

You're missing one of the main points here. You don't trade a veteran FA who just chose you amongst other options and then take that choice away from him a couple months later. It sets a bad precedent going forward for prospective FA's that are considering us. "If I choose Buffalo over X team, they may just trade me away to literally any team in the league after I sign with them" Teams don't do that to quality offseason signees. The only way that happens is if a team is offering a better position for Edwards and Edwards wants to. Otherwise, it looks bad to future FA's.

One of Anderson or Van Demark will stick and I think Van Demark has the edge. They aren't going to go with 2 OT's who have a combined 0 regular season snaps between them as the guys behind Dawkins and Brown. Like it or not, Q is going to be here. Any hopes that the team viewed him as negatively as everyone on this board does went out the window when they chose to give him another contract this offseason. Any hopes he wouldn't be here went out the window when Shell retired and Doyle got hurt. Save a shocking, extemely unlikely, uncharacteristic last minute signing of an aging veteran still out there, Q is on the 53 without question.

Veteran guys on 1 year deals don't get traded unless it's something they personally want to do. It's a bad look for future Free Agents to go "thanks for choosing us amongst your other options, now we're going to send you somewhere against your will". And I think Edwards is too valuable to us to trade. Bates is the first man up if an injury occurs to Morse. We need him if there's injuries along the line. Doesn't make sense to say "we finally have some decent depth on the interior O-Line, let's get rid of that". Also anyone he would get us in a trade at MLB isn't going to be such a talent that McDernott would play them over guys who have spent the past couple seasons in his Defense. He's not a plug and play type of coach, especially with the complexity of his D and that position in particular.

Not happening. He consistently ran with the 1's and 2's all Training Camp and both Pre-Season games. He performed well in spot duty last season, they invested two picks in him just last year, and they've talked multiple times about wanting to get him more involved in his 2nd year. Fans around here want to make him a non-factor. The team values him and his potential growth. There's no bubble to burst because he was never on one. Wouldn't shock me if he's even inactive in the last Pre-Season game because they don't want him getting hurt.

Yeah, I go back and forth. Part of me thinks Isabella has forced his case and earned a spot on the roster. The other side of me thinks the team viewed him as having a ceiling of the Practice Squad. Every season fans fall in love with a fringe roster guy who has performed well in the Pre-Season. And more often than not, it doesn't matter because the team has plans and investments in other players and he was always just viewed as a camp body by the decision makers. And ultimately, this is a guy who was a 2nd Round Pick that the drafting team gave up on after 3 seasons. He got a change in scenery in Baltimore and then they released him too. That kind of stink doesn't come off with 1 halfway decent Pre-Season. I think they know what the league views him as right now and aren't worried about him getting scooped up if released.

I agree with practically 100% of this. But either Lawson or Dodson will be here on the 53 with Von Miller on the Reserve/PUP list for the first 4 games. I'll believe Dodson is in danger when I see it though. I know he was pulled in favor of Klein after a dismal first drive. But going from presumed starter to not even making the roster is a big leap. Edit: Without knowing how bad Bernard's pull was, there's always the possibility he goes on Reserve/PUP as well as trying to come back from a hamstring pull can be tricky. I also see a small possibility that Boogie Basham is traded. Epenesa only has one season left on his deal, so there would be no value there. But with Lawson still running with the 1st and 2nd teams and us not keeping more than 5 DE's when Miller returns, I could foresee a scenario where we feel we can spare one. And if someone offers a pick for Basham in a "change of scenery would do him good" type of deal, I could see it there at the DE position.

Those Pro Bowler's are all still out there for a reason. Age and/or wear and tear. Guys like Taylor Lewan, Eric Fisher, and Jason Peters are just names at this point.