Gaither- no deal yet

[thewildrabbit]

Bills want him BAD! and apparently the Ravens want know it..."no offer worthy of consideration".

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...on-for-gaither/

 

 

 

 

 

This is just pure speculation on my part:

 

Ya know Gaither is better then anything the Bills have, and the Ravens Ozzie Newsome knows it also. My take he is trying to hold up the Bills for as much as he can get, meaning more then a 2nd rounder. It would make sense as he doesn't want the Bills to build a playoff team to compete for the AFC.

 

If I'm GM Nix I'd sign Flozell Adams just to show the Ravens the Bills are gonna move in a different direction and then if they lower the price of Gaither ...then make a trade and cut Adams.

 

If no trade arises then you still have a seasoned vet at LT who will help develop the young linemen and step in if Bell isn't the anawer.

[RayFinkle]

If the bills, or any team in the league, were willing to give up a 1, wouldn't they just sign him and tell the ravens to go blow? They aren't going to get much more than a 2nd in any type of trade senario

[tennesseeboy]

Adams might not be a bad signing in its own right. He is experienced and could play RT if we did sign Gaither, The guy from Oakland would be okay to have at RT with Adams as a backup for either. No way to lose on this one. I think the signing of Adams would probably get Newsome to realize that it is not "essential" to sign Gaither and get him closer to reality based bargaining. Newsome didn't get where he is by being tremendously generous in trades.

[bills_fan]

If we end up with Gaithner for our 2 next year, and we sign him to a deal, I would consider this to be one successful offseason.

[Deep2Moulds46]

There is no way the Ravens are getting/ or asking for a 1 for Gaither. Like somepne previously mentioned, if a team were willing to give up a 1, they would have just signed Gaither as a RFA, and the Ravens would have been taken out of the equation.

 

My guess is the Ravens want a #2 + other consideration, and I'm betting teams around the league are unwilling to part with anything more than a #3.

 

If you take money out of the equation and say, would you be able to draft a player as good as Gaither in the 2nd round next year, then obviously you would trade a 2 for him. But in the NFL, where teams have to balance the budget, 2nd and 3rd round picks shape your roster, become productive starters, and don't even make 7 figures.

 

That's a big difference between that and a guy getting 30+ guaranteed.

 

If I were the Bills, I don't know if I would part with a 2. Rotoworld speculated they wanted Ashton Youboty as a part of the deal. I'd give the Ravens a 3, Youboty and then a conditional 7th that could go as high as a 4 if Gaiter makes certain performance incentives.

[Paup 1995MVP]

Bills want him BAD! and apparently the Ravens want know it..."no offer worthy of consideration".

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...on-for-gaither/

 

 

 

 

 

This is just pure speculation on my part:

 

Ya know Gaither is better then anything the Bills have, and the Ravens Ozzie Newsome knows it also. My take he is trying to hold up the Bills for as much as he can get, meaning more then a 2nd rounder. It would make sense as he doesn't want the Bills to build a playoff team to compete for the AFC.

 

If I'm GM Nix I'd sign Flozell Adams just to show the Ravens the Bills are gonna move in a different direction and then if they lower the price of Gaither ...then make a trade and cut Adams.

 

If no trade arises then you still have a seasoned vet at LT who will help develop the young linemen and step in if Bell isn't the anawer.

What makes you think the Bills want Gaither that badly? All there have been is rumors anyways. If Gaither is such a good left tackle, why did the Ravens draft Oher in the 1st round last year? Gaither is 6'9. In my opinion that is too tall to play any position on the Oline. Who says he is any better than Jamon Merideth anyways? Way too much panic on this message board when anyone is mentioned in a possible trade. Merideth played at an SEC school and was highly thought of before the draft. He may actually have some talent and was not horrible last year. I think he is much better than Demetrius Bell who has absolutely no business whatsoever playing NFL football. (I believe our coaching staff will figure that out in the next few months)

 

If the Bills really want to trade for an OT. They would do much better going after Jamal Brown from New Orleans. Seriously, how many people on this board new much about Gaither before the trade rumors started to fly?

[Canadian Bills Fan]

NGU where are you???

[BillsGuyInMalta]

NGU where are you???

The bat signal failed in the last post.

 

Whatever happened to the Caped TBD Crusader?

[Phlegm Alley]

I would expect that if they are going to move forward and make a deal for Gaither, they would do it some time this week, after the rookie camp. This way here, Nix and his staff can see who they drafted up close and get a feel for what they possibly have in the rookies. If they believe that Wang, Calloway, Bell, etc, can step and be the starting LOT, then obviously, a trade wouldn't be made. If they don't feel that way, then I think the wheels will get turning pretty quickly this week so that both teams can move forward with their plans this offseason.

[Deep2Moulds46]

FWIW, Schefter said no deal is on the verge of being done, but it might happen down the road.

 

Sounds like a waiting game for fans.

[BuffaloBaumer]

I would keep him too if I was Newsome. They are not paying him that much, he'll play RG for a year and then leave. Oh well, it sounded like it could have worked last week.

[ChanOverChin]

The Ravens want to move Gaither to make room for Oher at LT and because they apparently don't want to pay him the big money.

 

Gaither is going to be moved one way or the other. The Bills know this, as does the rest of the NFL. I think this puts the Bills in the driver's seat, not the other way around.

 

This may be why the Bills felt comfortable not taking an OT until R5. It may have been their plan all along at the time of the draft to forego taking an OT like Bulaga at #9 (who ended up be drafted around #22 overall) and insread taking the best player available on their draft board (i.e. CJ Spiller).

 

I suspect that what is preventing the trade from being completed is:

1. Gaither's injury status.

2. What type of contract he will expect from the Bills.

 

I'd be willing to be that the compensation has already been worked out. The compensation will likely be either a 2011 R2 pick OR a 2011 R3 pick plus a player like CB Youboty (which what I suggested earlier).

 

Whether you like Gaither or not, he represents a true NFL LT with ideal size, 33 starts, and is still very young. For a Bills team that is trying to rebuild via mostly a youth movement (so that when the team is finally good again they will remain at that level for a 4-6 yr period) he fits right in.

 

The bottom line is that Gailey's current roster cannot compete postively this year without a quality LT and Gailey knows it. That's why getting Gaither via trade withint he next week or two would be HUGE for the Bills. Consider me officially excited if the Bills are able to pull off this trade for something similar to what I have mentioned above.

 

Remember, the Bills were trying to trade for Gaither during the 2011 draft, which means that if they had traded their R2 pick they would not have NT T. Troup, who very well may be their starting NT this year and for a very long time. If they are able to get Gaither for a 2011 draft pick they will have greatly improved BOTH the O-Line and the D-line.

[Wooderson]

It feels like we're in a time continuum.

[Deep2Moulds46]

Think about it from Gaither's point of view. You have been a pretty good left tackle in the NFL. Pretty good Left tackles get paid MUCH more than ELITE right tackles or interior linemen. The Ravens are now shifting Oher to the money making spot on the line.

 

For Gaither, showing up and accepting this new role will only decrease his market value. If he holds out for a trade, he can still negotiate as a left tackle with his new team.

[Malazan]

You draft the best player available which is why the Ravens took Oher. Now they are in an excellent position. They don't *need* to trade him. They can play him at right tackle, make him a backup or just sit him until some team has an O-line injury.

 

This is why drafting into a 'perceived' area of strength to take a talented player makes sense. Tomorrow, you may lose a guy and it's no longer the same situation. The Ravens have all the cards in regards to Gaither and he knows the Ravens don't need him and they are in a position to wait.

[ChanOverChin]

The Ravens have a disgruntled player who doesn't want to be there.

 

The team has already shown its cards to the rest of the NFL by moving Oher to the starting LT spot.

 

Sure, the Ravens can keep Gaither, but he's not going to play for them unless he gets starting LT money. If they have already decided that they like Oher better at LT and that they're not going to pay Gaither starting LT money then they really have no choice but to trade him.

 

And that's what they will likely do very soon.

[BillsGuyInMalta]

When Gaither signs his tender, THEN everyone can get excited.

[Mickey]

What makes you think the Bills want Gaither that badly? All there have been is rumors anyways. If Gaither is such a good left tackle, why did the Ravens draft Oher in the 1st round last year? Gaither is 6'9. In my opinion that is too tall to play any position on the Oline. Who says he is any better than Jamon Merideth anyways? Way too much panic on this message board when anyone is mentioned in a possible trade. Merideth played at an SEC school and was highly thought of before the draft. He may actually have some talent and was not horrible last year. I think he is much better than Demetrius Bell who has absolutely no business whatsoever playing NFL football. (I believe our coaching staff will figure that out in the next few months)

 

If the Bills really want to trade for an OT. They would do much better going after Jamal Brown from New Orleans. Seriously, how many people on this board new much about Gaither before the trade rumors started to fly?

I have no idea what the Bills think of Gaither but my guess is that they won't trade for him solely because he might be better than what we currently have. Nix has said several times that you only compound the problem when you take on a guy who can't play. Obviously, the only time you would even consider a player who "can't play" is if what you have at that position is even worse. I don't think Buddy is willing to do that even when it might mean an upgrade if that upgrade is from appallingly bad to merely bad. Of couse, we don't know if the Bills think Gaither can or can't play. If they think he can, then it is just a matter of getting a reasonable price.

 

In general, a team that is rebuilding, I think, makes a big mistake throwing picks around to get a trade done. That team's picks are likely to be pretty high during the rebuild. A second rounder that is in the top 5 of the round is extremely valuable and I think there is a pretty good chance, unfortunatley, that we might in that group. No one can see the future but I gotta think that the odds of us picking in the top 5 next year are better now than they have been for a long time.

 

New coach, new offense, new defense, etc. I just think that even if all this works, its going to be ugly for awhile until things come together.

[LABills08]

The Bills' problem, as has probably been mentioned at length on this board, is that they have 0 leverage. I think their offseason has been positive thus far and I am very impressed with their draft. That being said by not attempting to address the LT situation until now, they have put themselves in a position where everyone knows how desperate the team is for a LT. The Ravens expect the Bills to overpay in order to acquire Gaither.

[Dr. Trooth]

Let's stop the Gaither nonsense now and get real. Gaither's agent (Roszenhozer) wants top 5 LT coin. Uh, that's $8m/anum. Remind me again why the Bills didn't give that kind of money to their pro bowl tackle, and instead dispatched him to Philly for draft picks?

 

Take a look at the Bills building model... they are building through the draft. They only brought in Cornell Green as a one year insurance policy, if that. Of their draft picks and rookie free agents, there may be a dozen players that make the final 53 and another two or three that make the practice squad. That's 25% of roster & PS combined.

 

So, the Bills ain't gonna give up draft picks to acuire a player that the Ravens thought so highly of that they drafted his replacement, and then pay him $8m/year. That alone takes them off course to build through the draft. If Gaither were a superstar it would be different... but he's not even close to that. Furthermore, if they are high on Bell and Wang, why would they stifle their development by bringing in a lazy bastard like Gaither to take reps away from them. It just doesn't make sense.