QCity Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I'm all for signing him to a 2-year contract close to the minimum. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 He is smart to test FA and the Bills will try to match if it is reasonable. The injury proneness is something that takes up roster space and development from other players. I like him and hope he stays but I think I will trust whatever Buddy does at this point. I would like some consistency as well on the line for a change. If we lose him we have to draft one high, which we should do anyway. The thing that bothers me most about prior FOs is I never trusted that to happen. Look at the Jason Peters mess, taken years to fix that (along with our RT up and retiring almost simultaneously) and that is a franchise and QB killer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need therapy Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 (edited) I think the Bills would be interested in resigning Bell, but he is smart to wait to gauge his value in free agency. He is a decent player for the Bills with upside, but his inability to stay healthy and the fact that some team will be willing to overspend for him make it unlikely he stays with the Bills. A more likely scenario is for the Bills to draft an OT in the first round. It should improve the play at that position and would make more sense than trying to resign Bell for more money than he's worth. Hairston will most likely end up being the swing tackle next year. Edited March 10, 2012 by need therapy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I think the Bills would be interested in resigning Bell, but he is smart to wait to gauge his value in free agency. He is a decent player for the Bills with upside, but his inability to stay healthy and the fact that some team will be willing to overspend for him make it unlikely he stays with the Bills. A more likely scenario is for the Bills to draft an OT in the first round. It should improve the play at that position and would make more sense than trying to resign Bell for more money than he's worth. Hairston will most likely end up being the swing tackle next year. Good call on this one. But we will be forced to get a starter if no Bell. I'm ok with that and maybe BPA anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffaloed in Pa Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 We are drafting Jonathon Martin 1st rd seeya Bell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 4 years 20 million 7.5 gauranteed. With some incentives to bump up the deal a couple of million to me seems like a good offer for Bell. Even average LT's get paid in the 5 million range. To me Bell is a average LT in general. I think that it will cost at least 5 million a year to get that type of player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSBill Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 (edited) I don't see the wisdom in letting him walk without a decent offer and attempt to keep him. You can't just let respectable starters walk--doing so almost forces you to have to draft to that need, and there are just too many other needs to create new ones. Anyhow: Keep Bell! Edited March 11, 2012 by CSBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zazie Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 he is a good player and the bills should sign him. the sj signing gave me a small glimmer of hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
808 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 dont think its up to the FO at this point. he wants to test the market and that is the right move for him. hes probably gonna get paid way more than hes worth. and id rather the bills use that money on someone else and draft a new one than oversped for a injury prone OT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonborn10 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 We are drafting Jonathon Martin 1st rd seeya Bell. Truer words could not have been written... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zazie Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 dont think its up to the FO at this point. he wants to test the market and that is the right move for him. hes probably gonna get paid way more than hes worth. and id rather the bills use that money on someone else and draft a new one than oversped for a injury prone OT. The time to re-sign Bell was 12 months ago. Now he is likely gone, another good player developed by the NFL's farm team and let go due to silly player contract management. I await the Levitre signing but I am not overly optimistic. We got very lucky with SJ, lightning will not strike twice. We need to re-up ALL good players who are entering their contract year. Fingers crossed the FO has learned something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBuff423 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I think Nix said it best when he stated Bell was a good player, "when healthy", but if Bell is looking to get top FA money, he should be wished well and shown the door. I think Bell is a good player, but I don't think he should be given a great deal of cash until he can prove he can stay healthy for an entire season and that he continually produces at a top tier level throughout the season. If we can keep him at an appropriate amount given his history, I'm all for it, but if he wants to push the limits or try to command more than he's proven he's worth thus far...No thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffery Lester Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Regardless of the lack of love for Bell here, he is going to get a big payday from someone. He is the only true left tackle on the free agent board and he is getting paid. Injuries aside, the man has turned into a good player. I see pro-bowl in his future, and a bad taste in our mouth sooner rather than later. Agree with you 100% He is a capable player who should be brought back regardless. He is just the type of player we sign away from other teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobinaz Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I wouldn't be surprised if Buffalo made an offer to Bell, but not the price he wants. So they'll let him test the free agent market. They have Hairston and he did fairly well. But I imagine they'll let Hairston and a drafted tackle compete if they let Bell walk. My guess is they're looking at Martin in the first round. They'd be reaching for a DE in the first. I hope they resign Bell for depth if anything. They also need to get Urbik and Rinehart resigned too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDVA Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Agree with you 100% He is a capable player who should be brought back regardless. He is just the type of player we sign away from other teams. I watched Bell a lot last year J.L., I was impressed with him more often than not. I do not think bringing him back regardless is not an option. Someone is going to pay him more than he is worth, it just seems a shame to me that we will have to use that number 10 on a LT, and not a pass rusher when we had a capable LT on the team. using a top pick to stay the same, and not using it to get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I watched Bell a lot last year J.L., I was impressed with him more often than not. I do not think bringing him back regardless is not an option. Someone is going to pay him more than he is worth, it just seems a shame to me that we will have to use that number 10 on a LT, and not a pass rusher when we had a capable LT on the team. using a top pick to stay the same, and not using it to get better. It's unfortunate with Bell's injury history. When healthy he did a real nice job. Either way I wish this guy well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I would love to keep him, but I bet he will find more money elsewhere. Hopefully we can draft some talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloRebound Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I just don't see how someone is gonna give him a big contract. You can't gamble your QB's health on the the hope that Bell can remain healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I don't see the wisdom in letting him walk without a decent offer and attempt to keep him. You can't just let respectable starters walk--doing so almost forces you to have to draft to that need, and there are just too many other needs to create new ones. Anyhow: Keep Bell! There's no "wisdom." It's all a matter of what value you place on a player and what value he places on himself. If Bell were able to stay healthy, it would be a no-brainer to offer him a good-sized contract. Given he's missed 17 games the past 2 years and has played less than 2 full seasons out of 4 in the NFL, the Bills aren't going to be offering him a "can't refuse" offer. So it would behoove Bell to see what he's worth in FA, where there is a dearth of LT's. Someone will surely overpay him, and likely that team will get burned because Bell hasn't been able to show that he can stay healthy, much like Jonas Jennings couldn't. Then again, they could get lucky, like the Saints with Jabari Greer (although he's missed 9 games the past 3 years with them). The time to re-sign Bell was 12 months ago. Now he is likely gone, another good player developed by the NFL's farm team and let go due to silly player contract management. I await the Levitre signing but I am not overly optimistic. We got very lucky with SJ, lightning will not strike twice. We need to re-up ALL good players who are entering their contract year. Fingers crossed the FO has learned something. LOL! For some, it's either the Bills waited too long to re-sign a player, or they re-signed him too early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlbillsfan1975 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 The time to re-sign Bell was 12 months ago. Now he is likely gone, another good player developed by the NFL's farm team and let go due to silly player contract management. I await the Levitre signing but I am not overly optimistic. We got very lucky with SJ, lightning will not strike twice. We need to re-up ALL good players who are entering their contract year. Fingers crossed the FO has learned something. Hindsight is always 20/20. Bell was coming off a 2010 campaign where he was injuried some. He was injuried again in 2011 for stretches. If the Bills had signed him to an extension, and he had the same injuries, would you have been asking "why did our FO sign a guy to an extension with an injury history"? Honest question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts