peterlaw

Every $ counts in terms of the Byrd contract. Assuming CJ has a decent year his salary goes up to $10m? Wood up to $6m? That's a lot of extra cap space required which means tight cap management now. I still think we need (and we will get) a veteran ILB off the waiver wire which will cost. Has Brandon got his Analytics Team in place yet?

Goldson's contract is more than $8m pa (5 yrs). So top Safety money will be a number in excess of $8m. With Parker leading the negotiations make your own opinion as to what he might be asking for.

http://overthecap.com/teamcap.php?Team=Bills&Year=2013 Here is the Bills roster and contracts. Take a look. I don't want to tie up $9m or $10m pa for Byrd. And so it seems neither does Whaley.

It was a horror story. But what did the D do when the O gave up the ball. They all seemed to step to one side to allow a clear passage to our end zone. Unacceptable. And this was repeated the following week. Great (elite) players make the other players around them better.

To highlight a game where we conceded 52 points and basically had no defence in the second half seems surprising to hold up as an example of Byrd's high level of play and justify a $8m / $10m pa contract demand.

I'd rather not rewatch the Pats game where they put up 52 points on the Bills. Did we have a Defense in the second half? How anyone on the D can ask for $8m after that is beyond me. Byrd may have made some plays in the first half, but that's a bit like Tiger Woods saying I shot a great 30 on the front nine but had a 55 on the back nine Elite players do it all the time. Now I'm hoping we can pin the Pats game on our departed D Co-ordinator and move on.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Playbook-Chris-Johnson-runs-past-the-Bills.html Is Byrd really worth $8m or $9m pa? Perhaps Eugene & Jairus can take a look at this link from the Titans game and then get back to Doug Whaley. Top Safety in the NFL? Just sign the $6.91m contract and be grateful. Byrd is averaging 3 INTs per season in the last 3 seasons. Not elite numbers.

OK NoSaint. You're right. It's time to chill. As Doug Marrone said its time to take 6 weeks off to relax with family and friends before camp. I guess some of us are too eager for the roster to be set and the regular season to begin. It's just a pity that JB is not relaxing with his iPad play book and a nice fat contract (but not too fat) in his pocket !

My understanding is that if Byrd sits out the season the Bills can choose to retain his NFL contract rights in the 2014 season. I'm not sure but it may involve using the Franchise Tag again. Either way it still gives the Bills a lot of leverage.

True. But in the meantime the Bills are not paying Byrd but hold his NFL contract rights. However surely his Franchise Tag Offer of $6.91m will involve him participating in Training Camp. If he fails to do so surely there will be a monetary hit to Byrds contract (in effect he loses money and hurts his wallet).

I agree. So perhaps he isn't as good as first imagined. Seems like Parker's main negotiation leverage has been "killed off" if no other team is prepared to pay the compensation required under NFL rules. Sign up to the franchise tag or don't get paid and the Bills retain your rights for 2014. Byrd stands to lose a lot of $$$'s. It's an interesting debate as to how many players are actually worth 2 first round draft picks.

Maybe he will start thinking about his wallet when the Bills start fining him for failing to attend Training Camp. Happy for him to talk to any of the other 31 teams on basis they compensate the Bills with 2 first round draft picks if they want to sign him. Those are the NFL rules. My head says 2 first rounders rather than be held to ransom by Eugene Parker.

How about locking Eugene Parker and Mike Pettine in a room. I would trust Mike's judgement on how valuable and replaceable Byrd is to the Defence. Lets get a bit of "kill or hurt" Pettine mentality before Parker leaves the room.

If CJ produces AP type yards and TDs I would have no hesitation paying him AP type money. $13m pa. 25 touches per game looks like tremendous value. I hope he does. Start clearing some cap space.

Correct - Byrd can't do it all and he still wont be able to do it all if he gets paid $8m pa / $10m pa. So lets use the cash to upgrade multiple defensive positions.

Lets just move on with Aaron Williams at free safety. And put $6.91m to better use. Hope Jairus saved up some money from last year as he is not getting a pay check from the Bills any time soon. Tell Parker that he has our best offer, take it or leave it. Two first round picks if you want to play for someone else, assuming another team would pay more than $7m.

Our chances of beating the Pats have just improved! Maybe Belicheat sees Tebow as a situational replacement for Brady in the Red Zone. Lets hope the Pats go for this experiment in Week 1 at least.

Brad Smith? Emergency QB? As a Bill he has 2 passing attempts resulting in 2 interceptions. Our game plan should not involve this man throwing the ball.

$6.9m seems a whole lot of money for a free safety who averages 3 INTs a season over the last 3 years. Tell you what why don't we just say $1m base and $0.5m per win. If Byrd is that good he might get paid $10.5m. Then everyone would be happy.

We shouldn't break the bank for a free safety. Bad for the TEAM that he is not learning the new system and gelling with new D secondary. Happy to let him sit and for the TEAM to move on if needs be. Sign him for reasonable money if we can but this salary cap money can be better spent elsewhere. I would love to get 2 first round picks for a Byrd trade but don't see anyone parting with this compensation.

Played 12 games for Arizona. Has 1 career tackle. So maybe not a Special Teams Ace. Good luck to DeMarco.

Is DeMarco eligible for the Practice Squad if he played (dressed) for 12 games for Arizona in 2011. Same issue for Kevin Elliott who played 13 games for the Jags in 2012. Also not sure on Marcus Easley eligibility for PS. Been around for 3 seasons, but long term injuries and has played only 3 games. Is there not a 9 game restriction? (Meaning DeMarco & Kevin will be not qualify for PS).

That makes 12 WRs on the roster. Maybe Jeff Tuel didn't have anyone to play throw and catch with? Or maybe our base formation will be 5 Wide so CJ can have a rest!

I can only imagine that Doug Whalley is having doubts about some of Buddy's WR draft picks. The signing seems bizarre. Perhaps Doug liked him in the 2011 draft (and Buddy overlooked him). Perhaps DeMarco can also play MLB and CB as well as WR. His stats don't suggest he is a special team ace.

I suspect we may be looking at other teams waiver wire cuts at CB (and OL and ILB).