Dorkington Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I love how "starting negotiations" is turned into BILLS GOING GA GA APESH!T OVER FITZ" by this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALLEN1QB Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 After a jaw dropping 4 TD performance to start the season, the Bills brass is talking with Fitzpatrick about an extension. Good move, in my opinion. Fitz is a leader that the team respects and rallies behind. It's a good message to send too. Those that perform are rewarded. WGR 550 No one talking to Parish's agent doesn't really bother me much. Doesn't mean he won't be extended in the future or that he will either. Perform, Roscoe and you will be rewarded. Make him the highest paid QB!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 No I'm not joking, Thigpen signed as the backup this past offseason for almost $4M per season. Fitz right now is making over $3M, you want to pay him less than he was previously making and less than his backup? Who are Fitz's comparables and what do they make? Kyle Orton received a contract extension last season that bumped his pay to approx $8M, Fitz puts up better numbers than him. Cassell signed 6 years $63M two years ago. Fitz puts up better numbers than he does also. A broken down Matt Hasselbeck signed 3 years $20M this past offseason. It's a QB driven league and those guys get paid. Dang--it's funny how these QB salaries have escalated. If we're going to invest that kind of money in Fitz, I want to wait until the end of the year. I can bear the risk of letting him walk in free agency or overpaying him later. I'd hate to lock him up now, only to realize in week 17 that we're in the Luck sweeps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFan Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Typical stupid Bills' front office move. Why not wait until the end of the season? They extended Jauron for 3 years after the team got off to a hot start. Bad investment. They extended Lee Evans mid-season after the team got off to a hot start. Bad investment. If the front office were smart, it would allow Fitz to perform for an entire season and evaluate the entire body of work. If only... What you suggest would not actually be the smart move. They have plenty of data on Fitz with which to make a decision now. Waiting until the end of the year only gives the player all the leverage. If he has a great year, he will be a hot commodity and would be stupid not to listen to offers, drastically reducing the Bills opportunity to keep him.. The attraction for him to sign now is to reduce his risk. This places somne risk on the Bills but also gives them negotiating leverage. The smart move is to lock him up now if you are convinced he is the guy you want for the next few years at least. Is there risk in this? Sure, but otherwise they need to be prepared to move on without him next year, which they do not seem to be. They need to lock up as many core players as they can this year - that is what the cap room if for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I love how "starting negotiations" is turned into BILLS GOING GA GA APESH!T OVER FITZ" by this board. Especially considering that a couple days ago, encouraged by Sully, we had people saying "ZOMG we are underpaying our best playerzzzzz!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEra Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I'd give him a 3-4 year contract worth about 6.5-8 mill a year. Give him money up front so if he stinks it up and we have to cut him, it won't be such a big cap hit. I don't envision that happening, but I'm not 100% sold that he's our qb of the future yet. He looked great Sunday. Keep in mind they played against a below average defense (IMO), without their best player in the secondary. I'd much rather see how he plays vs the pats and eagles before giving him a big payday. I'd be thrilled if we signed him today, IF we signed him for 5-6 mill per. If we're gonna pay him BIG bucks, I'd like to see how performs against the big boys first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Dang--it's funny how these QB salaries have escalated. If we're going to invest that kind of money in Fitz, I want to wait until the end of the year. I can bear the risk of letting him walk in free agency or overpaying him later. I'd hate to lock him up now, only to realize in week 17 that we're in the Luck sweeps. I agree. Even if they have to overpay Fitz at the end of the year, they are way under the cap, so who cares other than Wilson, Overdorf & Littman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Make him the highest paid QB!!!!!!! Are you crazy? Make him the highest paid person in the United States! We're trying to put together a winner here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I'd give him a 3-4 year contract worth about 6.5-8 mill a year. Give him money up front so if he stinks it up and we have to cut him, it won't be such a big cap hit. I don't envision that happening, but I'm not 100% sold that he's our qb of the future yet. He looked great Sunday. Keep in mind they played against a below average defense (IMO), without their best player in the secondary. I'd much rather see how he plays vs the pats and eagles before giving him a big payday. I'd be thrilled if we signed him today, IF we signed him for 5-6 mill per. If we're gonna pay him BIG bucks, I'd like to see how performs against the big boys first. This is a good point. At some point we have to try to beat the Jets and Patriots, no? I'd like to see how he performs in big divisional games first. He crapped the bed against the Pats last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 He should make more money than his backup and 3rd string. Extending him now is the right thing to do. It sounds like Stevie and the Bills are far off on a contract so you will probably need to tag him next offseason. Can't franchise both, so signing Fitz to an extension eliminates the possibility of ending up having to pick one over the other. Not to mention we are under the cap by a lot and it's not like they can't design it like McNabb's last year where it is easy to part ways if you want. I like how you assume fitzs agent would be a-okay with a one year out design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I think that Fitz is 28 going on 29 means he has a future in Buffalo for the near future. He put together a solid year last season and is looking good now. I would open up negotiations with Fitz locking him up means that the Bills can pick and choose what QB they want to groom behind him over the next few years. They suddenly are dealing with a position of strength in terms of getting a QB they can pick the one they want over the next 2-3 draft classes rather then being forced to find one right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Agreed. The fact he's not new and shiny stands in the way for some. I'm not advocating a blank check, but this guy deserves this job. Agreed. Plus, you don't want to throw any rookie, even Andrew Luck, right into the fire. Rodgers got to sit behind Farve for a season (or maybe 2?), learned the game well and came out blazing and with confidence. Start a rookie too soon and their confidence could tank. Not a hard and fast rule, but I like the idea of giving a rookie a year to lear the game, know how to make reads, and realize that defenders are MUCH faster in the NFL and can intercept a lot more. I'd give him a 3-4 year contract worth about 6.5-8 mill a year. Give him money up front so if he stinks it up and we have to cut him, it won't be such a big cap hit. I don't envision that happening, but I'm not 100% sold that he's our qb of the future yet. He looked great Sunday. Keep in mind they played against a below average defense (IMO), without their best player in the secondary. I'd much rather see how he plays vs the pats and eagles before giving him a big payday. I'd be thrilled if we signed him today, IF we signed him for 5-6 mill per. If we're gonna pay him BIG bucks, I'd like to see how performs against the big boys first. Good points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockinon Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 If Fitz throws 4 more TDs against the Raiders, how much do the Bills pay him when his contract is extended? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSpeed Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 (edited) I'd give him a 3-4 year contract worth about 6.5-8 mill a year. Give him money up front so if he stinks it up and we have to cut him, it won't be such a big cap hit. I don't envision that happening, but I'm not 100% sold that he's our qb of the future yet. He looked great Sunday. Keep in mind they played against a below average defense (IMO), without their best player in the secondary. I'd much rather see how he plays vs the pats and eagles before giving him a big payday. I'd be thrilled if we signed him today, IF we signed him for 5-6 mill per. If we're gonna pay him BIG bucks, I'd like to see how performs against the big boys first. Edited September 16, 2011 by MikeSpeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotton Fitzsimmons Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 (edited) Agreed. Plus, you don't want to throw any rookie, even Andrew Luck, right into the fire. Rodgers got to sit behind Farve for a season (or maybe 2?) Aaron "Jolly" Rodgers didn't start a game until his 4th season in the league. He held a clipboard for 3 years. On that note, this debate really should come down to: does Fitz have the ability to play at a high level or not? Rodgers is exactly 1 year younger than Fitz, and I'm rather certain nobody is claiming the Packers need to find their QB of the future just yet. Age wise, Fitz can most certainly be THE GUY... truth be told, he's even shown the ability to, in stretches, play on par with the elite QB's of the league... the only question that should remain at this point is: Can he do it on a consistent enough basis to warrant making him THE GUY? Given how many bad QB's there are in this league (and we've had more than our share), I think we'd be stupid not to lock this guy up ASAP. If he plays out the season, there's a real good chance he'll have played his last game with us at that point. Edited September 16, 2011 by Cotton Fitzsimmons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloWest Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 After a jaw dropping 4 TD performance to start the season, the Bills brass is talking with Fitzpatrick about an extension. Good move, in my opinion. Fitz is a leader that the team respects and rallies behind. It's a good message to send too. Those that perform are rewarded. WGR 550 No one talking to Parish's agent doesn't really bother me much. Doesn't mean he won't be extended in the future or that he will either. Perform, Roscoe and you will be rewarded. Dont extend him yet...One game doesnt mean anything. Lets see where we are at after 10 games...We gave Jauron an extension after 6 games and then he tanked in 2008-Remember? Bills are STILL paying that dikwad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddoublee Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I'm going to guess that Fitz ends up in the 5 year/$35M range. Some of it will be backloaded, but he could end up with a $15M guaranatee out of the gate. this is most accurate of the truth- 6-7 million sounds right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 After a jaw dropping 4 TD performance to start the season, the Bills brass is talking with Fitzpatrick about an extension. Good move, in my opinion. Fitz is a leader that the team respects and rallies behind. It's a good message to send too. Those that perform are rewarded. WGR 550 No one talking to Parish's agent doesn't really bother me much. Doesn't mean he won't be extended in the future or that he will either. Perform, Roscoe and you will be rewarded. I think its quite a bit premature right now unless they are going to get a fair price on him. Fitz has never had consistency in his career, so why over react and give him a big contract after one game against a sub par team missing its best defender in Berry. Look what happened when they over reacted to 4-0 start with DJ and gave him an extension because we beat 4 of the worst teams in the NFL that year, 3 of which we had to come from behind to do. If they can extend Fitz at a price that is palatable then great. But I think his people are going to want long time starter money, and I think its just premature. Let him peform well for multiple weeks and against better opposition before they give him a big extension. Because by years end, if he doesn't prove he is the long term starter, then they are going to have to go QB early next year in the draft and we will be stuck with a high priced seat warmer. If Fitz can string together a bunch of good weeks in the first half of the season, they it makes more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starrymessenger Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Are you joking? I like Fitz, but I'm thinking he's only worth $3-5 mm per year, if that. I also have a serious problem of doing this now. Let the season play out, and then pay him. As we learned from Gregg Williams and Jauron regimes, you can start fast before the whole thing goes down in flames. I agree. The problem is that the higher numbers would be closer to the negotiated comp. And it would likely be 4 or maybe even 5 years. People saying to sign Fitz now probably haven't cosidered the extent to which the organization is committed. Especially Buffalo which might not then make a big investment in a high draft pick for grooming into a franchise player. So for now its probably not even clear that signing Fitz to this kind of deal is something that you should be doing at all. I too would wait until the year is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldstorage5 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 How bout we wait until week 12 before we extend contracts ( Juaron).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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