SectionC3

If the holdovers wanted Tyrod gone before a new coach was hired, they absolutely could have cut him. And then dealt with the risk of a grievance resulting from tyrods abdominal injury/surgery. Maybe Ty's agent sensed that ty might have a better shot with a new coach than with the holdovers and used the surgery to buy a little time. The notion that the holdovers wanted ty out would explain the bills' "elective surgery" press release.

Very reasonable point. Good post.

And it's also an assumption that they agree. I doubt anybody outside of the building knows the real story. For what it's worth, assuming that the franchise uses the committee approach, its easy to see how there would be friction with respect to this decision. This admittedly is speculation, but I can see how mcd might think that Tyrod is average, but also a better option than anything Whaley has suggested so far for next year. If Whaley is pushing cardale, if crossman (mcd's link to last year) tells mcd jones is lazy, and if Crossman tells McDermott that Tyrod is both a hard worker and respected by the players, then I can see how mcd would not be keen to stake his hc career on jones and would prefer to retain Taylor. Again, though, the point remains that all of this is speculation.

This leak isnt Russ. No way Russ would say he made the call on Tyrod. But don't doubt that Russ talks.

Well said. And I'll add that these points support the idea that the bills may have an interest in Siemian. Perhaps Denison prefers Siemian but, absent that option, wants Tyrod.

Your premise is that what lacanfora reported is untrue because (a) it came from lacanfora and (b) it is not possible that Whaley and McDermott are not in lockstep re the QB in early March because Whaley hired McDermott in early to mid-January. Could it be that pegula hired the hc (don't they both report directly to pegula?) with the understanding that McDermott would study Taylor and participate in a collaborative decision making process with Whaley regarding taylor's future? If so, isn't it possible that mcdermott's film study led him to a conclusion (keep Taylor) different from that reached by whaley (move on from Taylor)? Frankly I would be surprised if McDermott had a strong opinion on Taylor during the interview process bc it's unlikely mcd had the chance to study Taylor before that time. The most obvious answer for mcd to give during the process is that he needed to review the film. If that's the case, it's entirely possible that, following film study, he feels differently from Whaley in this isssue.

Who says Whaley hired the coach? This reeks of a Berchtold leak. What better way to get back at brandon for dumping him. I imagine the guy who paid $1.4B for the franchise would be none too happy to hear that one of his business employees is deciding the fate of the most important position in the franchise.

Cyrus for Siemian makes a ton of sense. I agree on romo - he makes us an instant contender for basically the same money as ty, and buys us a few years to identify the "next" guy.

Quick question. You know your business, and I respect your opinion. What is Tyrod's trade value? I ask because I'm intrigued by the idea of using a Tyrod /Siemian exchange to "jump" a round in the draft (e.g. trade Ty for a two and trade a three for Siemian) and applying the newfound cap space to obtain help at RT, S, LB, etc. For what it's worth, my intuition is that you're on to something with Tyrod. I suspect the front office sees him as a viable "bridge"-type option, but not the preferred option for the next few years. If he was the guy, then it seems to me McDermott would have said as much at his recent media availability. Edit: I'll add this: the though has crossed my mind that Whaley might be dangling pick 10 + Tyrod to climb way up the draft. Getting Siemian on the cheap might be a way to help make this happen. And it fits with the buzz that Whaley was looking to move up (albeit for a QB).

Seems like the Siemian talk today might have made this relevant again. The idea of moving Tyrod and replacing him with Siemian has started to grow on me. The net gain in cap space could get us two to three more good players. It's worth considering.

A few things. 1. After the Whaley "pirivvy" disaster, the bills did damage control with terry and Kim in two places. Kim called GR if I recall correctly, and I believe terry called the AP. It was no accident that the bills reached out to those two outlets. Assuming I'm right about the reporter who got the terry interview, I can see how some people would question John's view of this situation. 2. I am very close to someone who has been around the Bills on and off for about 30 years and who has worked regulalry with Berchtold during that time. In John's defense, he told me basically the same things that John has said here. Berchtold is a straight shooter and overall a good guy who can run hot and cold. But on the whole, if you treat him professionally he treats you the same way and will get you what you need. 3. The one additional thing I heard is that Berchtold could have worked a little better with the local media. The gist was, Chris Berman gets anything and everything, but the local guys generally get iced on what they want. Perhaps that has contributed to the bills longstanding battles with the locals. More on this later. 4. This firing is big news because it seemingly is the first dumping of a member of the old guard. To be clear, Berchtold had less than nothing to do with on field performance. But his firing suggests that no one - including the team president - is safe. 5. the firing is also interesting because it is possible there is a little palace intrigue going on here. Did Berchtold catch a bullet because of his responsibility for the messes in December? Or was Berchtold made the scapegoat for that? If it's the latter, it suggests more dysfunction inasmuch as a longtime employee just met the wheels on the bus, and may have been thrown there by someone seeking to avoid the same fate. 6. One thing that has been lost here is the importance of the pr staff in manipulating media. leaks aren't always bad things, and they often are by design. Sometimes the team wants certain things in the paper, e.g., they might want to plant a story that they are in on romo as leverage in a renegotiation with Tyrod. I question how well that was done with the locals over the years, who, as noted, seemingly didn't get as much as the nationals in terms of what they wanted. 7. The whole idea on this board lately of questioning the credibility of reporters is absurd. Believe it not, journalists have ethics -- strong ones at that --, and there are way too many posters who make negative assumptions about reporters in general simply because the posters disagree with what has been reported. We are very lucky to have someone like John share with us, and to have others contribute anonymously. Thank, John, for your insight and professionalism, and keep up the good work.

I don't know about you, but to me hughes's prime wasn't all that impressive in the second half of last year. Alexander was the better player, and it wasn't even close. Your point about age is well taken, but the cost/benefit analysis is worth at least thinking about.

I understand where you're coming from. And I get that removing Hughes from the roster probably would result in a big cap hit. But I still wonder whether, say, 60% of the 2016 Alexander would be better than 100% of the 2017 Hughes. It's at least worth thinking about.

Completely agree with this idea. Tyrod is the bridge and, if we find somebody better in the next year or two, it would be much easier to move on from Tyrod insofar as the cap is concerned. Nyone we find who is better than Tyrod almost certainly will be cheaper than Tyrod, and if we luck into a Dak Prescott scenario we would only have to pay Tyrod big bucks for a year or two - while the guy who is actually worth that money is on a rookie deal. The interesting thing about pulling money forward for Tyrod is that it suggests that we may have an unforeseen cap casualty or two. It wouldn't surprise me if Wood is that surprise. In the same vein, i wonder if jerry hughes is a candidate to be moved. I have pondered the idea of paying Alexander significant money (but less than Hughes money) for two years, trading Hughes, and moving Alexander into Hughes's role and moving Hughes's lousy attitude out of town.

Nice work. Completely agree with the conclusion: Tyrod can get you to the postseason, but not by himself. If one agrees with that conclusion, there's no sense in dumping Tyrod for a "bridge" QB. Tyrod is the bridge. So maybe the convo is better addressed to who we bring in this year to compete with cardale, to push cardale, and to be pushed by cardale. If pushed myself, I'd consider Mahomes or kelly,but maybe that's s conversation for another day.

It could. But compensation for a taking by eminent domain must be just. So it might be better to purchase the properties subtly through shell corporations before a stadium plan is announced than it would be to try to establish a footprint through eminent domain. What is "just" is a fungible thing. The trickiest part of the deal might be father Conway park if the plan is to put the stadium there. The use of that land for something other than as a park likely will require the approval of the state legislature. I doubt it would be a problem but, if somebody on the state's end doesn't like the deal the state cuts for the stadium, that might be a way to hold things up.

There is no such discussion. You assumed that. A draft pick can be traded in advance of draft day. Think rams/titans for goff. The point of this discussion is to get people to think both outside the "box" and of the bigger picture. The stadium issue is starting to "smoke" a bit, and it would be a lot easier to get public support for the stadium if the lead in isn't another lousy rookie quarterback and a playoff drought that outlives the average canine. I can't believe the bills are sold on Tyrod, and I hope they don't waste the asset (by simply cutting him) if they aren't. I'd like to think the front office thinks broadly. We all should too.

Nobody said that. All that was said is that it's plausible. And there was a lot more to the point, too -- it makes sense for Jerry to want Romo to come here as opposed to other places, and the added benefit is that he gets to help owners he likes. And as far as the "newness" of the post goes - the Zemsky article is in today's Buffalo News. I cannot believe that it is coincidence that Zemsky spoke to the News the day after the Pegulas got upset about the disclosure of the Clerk's Office. Why, you ask? Because the disclosure of that purchase - which they obviously tried to hide - could drive up land values at one of the potential sites for a downtown stadium, and Zemsky spoke to the News to try to nip that in the bud. Finally, not that I work on such things, but it seems to me that if I was asking the public to finance at least 1/3 of what could be a $1 billion stadium, I might want to improve public opinion of the project - maybe by winning for the first time in ages. And, if I'm working toward a new stadium, I want that ball rolling ASAP while Governor Cuomo is still in office. Anything can happen in 2018, and maybe that "anything" doesn't want to send more money to Buffalo - especially for a football stadium. Nowhere in the original post did it say that Tyrod would be traded during the draft. And if no team is interested in TT with his current contract, why is TT's camp unwilling to take a restructure? I'll chip in an answer - because tampering happens all the time, and TT's camp knows he will get paid if he gets freed. Why else post videos of his physical activity after trying to set up a grievance through his surgery?

Option bonus isn't payable until third or fourth day if the league year. So he can be traded without the cap ramifications. Could happen. Obviously would have to be traded before bonus paid.

I know there are a lot of threads about Tyrod floating around, but I'm not sure any of them address these points: 1. Media reports are that the Bills have not told Tyrod that he will be the quarterback next year. In most professions/businesses, when the new boss comes in and doesn't tell you that you're the guy moving forward for the first few months that he/she is there, it generally isn't a good sign for your continued employment at that operation. That suggests (at least to me) that Tyrod is not the Bills' first choice under center next year. 2. The fact that Tyrod hasn't been told he is the guy next year doesn't necessarily mean that he is gone. It may be that Tyrod is an option, but not the preferred option. While he hasn't been told that he will be here, he also hasn't been told that he is gone. 3. Maybe this makes Tyrod trade bait. The are rumors (message board rumors, as far as I can tell, but rumors nonetheless) that Whaley wants to trade up in the draft for a quarterback. I'm not convinced that Cleveland is interested in Tyrod. (For what it's worth, I know somebody who talked to David Lee before Lee left the team who said that Lee essentially told him that Lee did the best he could with what he had, which isn't a ringing endorsement of Tyrod.) But, for the sake of argument, assume that the 49ers and/or the Bears are interested in Tyrod. Would pick 10 + Tyrod get the Bills to pick 2 or pick 3? If the rumors are true, Whaley apparently likes one or more of the QBs at the top of the draft. Perhaps if the Bills aren't going to bring Tyrod back, and if one of the aforementioned teams loves Tyrod and isn't keen on Watson/Trubisky/etc., then the idea of using pick 2/3/etc. to get Tyrod's reasonable contract and a good player at pick 10 makes sense. It's not unfathomable. 4. Trading Tyrod might make for the quickest rebuild. If Whaley doesn't believe that Tyrod's abilities justify the difference in salary between Tyrod and Cardale/affordable veteran placeholder/rookie taken at the top of the draft/some combination thereof, then perhaps it makes sense to move on from Tyrod and spend his money elsewhere. By way of example, moving on from Tyrod might free up money for Gilmore/Zach Brown, and with a few other cap moves (Carpenter, Corey Graham, and perhaps Eric Wood and/or Aaron Williams) the Bills could take care of additional, significant needs in free agency (RT, WR, healthy and decent safeties). 5. If Tyrod isn't used to trade up in the draft, perhaps he could be used to pick up another asset. A second round pick is not an unreasonable ask for him, and maybe a team like Denver thinks the same thing. (The fact that Tyrod apparently is unwilling to reduce the monies owed him by the Bills suggests that at least one team in the league would pay him a salary comparable to of his current contract, which in turn suggests that Tyrod has value.) That pick obviously would help the reload. 6. Or that pick could be flipped for another asset. I'm thinking Tony Romo. The same logic could apply to Gilmore - perhaps it's better to franchise and flip him (think Peerless Price) and spend whatever pick he returns (hopefully a 2) on something else we want. Like the best "bridge" quarterback imaginable while we search for a younger solution at that position. This idea fits with the unsubstantiated reports that the Bills have significant interest in Romo. 7. On the Romo front, from my perspective the price shouldn't be terribly high. A good analogy would be the trade of Brett Favre to the Jets - I believe that Green Bay netted a conditional pick that turned into a third round pick. Could we essentially flip Taylor for Romo? Or could we use Gilmore to acquire a pick used for Romo? Either possibility is reasonable. 8. There is one important thing that I have not seen discussed anywhere with respect to the Romo issue. Terry/Kim are close with Jerry Jones. Terry and Jerry both come from energy backgrounds, and they broke bread at the owners meeting at which the Rams were granted permission to move to Los Angeles. Jerry has also spoken highly of Kim, and my distant sense of Jerry is that he realizes that the huge price Terry and Kim paid for the Bills was a boon to franchise values across the league. That, in turn, might make Jerry inclined to help his new friends and business partners on the quarterback front. 9. What's more, Jerry is keen on the idea of new stadiums (and therefore new, shared revenue) across the league. Perhaps Romo brings success to the Bills, and perhaps success for the Bills helps with new stadium efforts. (Based on the news of the last few days, those efforts seem to be percolating a little bit. Howard Zemsky's denial today in the Buffalo News -- interestingly, one day after it was revealed that the County Clerk's office erred in releasing the price of the Pegulas' recent real property purchase downtown near one of the proposed stadium sites -- tells me all I need to know on that front.) Keeping Romo out of the NFC and away from both Denver and Houston also is not an altogether bad thing from Jerry's perspective. I appreciate that Romo might be reluctant to come to Buffalo, but in the end it might not be his choice. Or it may be that the Pegulas help convince Romo in the same manner they convinced LeSean McCoy to wear Bills blue. Finally, I'm not saying that I have a preference for any of the aforementioned ideas, or that I think that any of them will come to fruition. Personally, I probably would stick with Tyrod for the next two years. But there are some "signs" to read out there now, and I think it's fair to say that something is brewing behind the scenes at OBD.

Anything is possible. Why we would draft a holder is beyond me. Very, very well said.

Inaccurate and mediocre touch. But he is a gamer. pick 10 is too high for him. Maybe later.

I didn't listen carefully to the press conference yesterday, but I seem to recall McDermott thanking a search firm. Maybe Whaley was the point man on the search but had outside assistance. Or maybe Whaley wasn't "privy" to the consultant. Who knows. The poor guy struck gold again yesterday - winning takes two things - players and winning!

I think shady would be more than pleased to assume that additional responsibility.

Any chance the Richard interview is a subtle attempt to get an opinion on tyrod from a guy they dont intend to hire? Time will tell I guess.