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Bills Release Mulligan and Promote O'Leary


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There are official channels of notification between the interested team and the team that would lose a player from their PS.

 

 

Kind of. What are you inferring to when you say that? The agent for the player would be approached by another team and make him an offer to sign him to their 53 and then the Bills would be notified.

That is if they make an official offer to the player's agent. I doubt an agent would lie about it to Whaley because it would be pretty easy to find out,

 

So if a formal offer from another team is what triggers the official team-to-team notification process, can the agent lie about getting a preliminary inquiry from a team that lost a TE last weekend? If you're Whaley and O'Leary's agent tells you that let's say the Bears made a preliminary inquiry about signing O'Leary, what do you do? Do you call the Bears GM to confirm their interest (and remind the Bears in the process that you've got a 7th round TE draft pick sitting on your practice squad just waiting to get plucked)? Do you sit back and wait to see if the Bears follow up with a formal offer that triggers official team-to-team notification? Or is it the nudge you need to take a hard look at your own team's TE needs when your attention might have been focused elsewhere absent the nudge?

 

Would the Bears need to notify the Bills in advance that they are going to talk to O'Leary's agent? If not, I can still see opportunities for the agent to lie about another team's preliminary interest in hopes of getting O'Leary elevated to the active roster.

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So if a formal offer from another team is what triggers the official team-to-team notification process, can the agent lie about getting a preliminary inquiry from a team that lost a TE last weekend? If you're Whaley and O'Leary's agent tells you that let's say the Bears made a preliminary inquiry about signing O'Leary, what do you do? Do you call the Bears GM to confirm their interest (and remind the Bears in the process that you've got a 7th round TE draft pick sitting on your practice squad just waiting to get plucked)? Do you sit back and wait to see if the Bears follow up with a formal offer that triggers official team-to-team notification? Or is it the nudge you need to take a hard look at your own team's TE needs when your attention might have been focused elsewhere absent the nudge?

 

Would the Bears need to notify the Bills in advance that they are going to talk to O'Leary's agent? If not, I can still see opportunities for the agent to lie about another team's preliminary interest in hopes of getting O'Leary elevated to the active roster.

 

Agents can be sanctioned and lose their ability to represent NFL players. No way this happens.

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Agents can be sanctioned and lose their ability to represent NFL players. No way this happens.

 

Maybe you're right, but you have a much higher opinion of agent ethics than me. I would expect at least some of them to lie any time that they thought they could get away with it. How are the Bills going to prove it's a lie if it comes down to the agent and the Bears' GM telling different stories about a phone call that the agent could place just to have a phone record to point to?

 

I'm not saying this sort of thing would routinely happen, but to paraphrase a once popular Texas oil patch bumper sticker:

 

"Don't tell my momma I'm an NFL player agent - - she thinks I'm a piano player in a whore house."

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According to the Chris Brown article it seems that teams were actually making offers and that OLeary could have chosen to go with them but decided to stay with the Bills. That's a little more than sniffing IMO. Maybe the agent was forcing them to make an offer to force the Bills hand as well. That would be serving his client best.

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There are 32 GMs. Professional suicide to lie to one of them.

 

Not necessarily:

 

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/03/20/nfl-free-agency-money-contracts

 

Agents play games too. Regarding the contract kerfuffle involving Emmanuel Sanders: well, it happens (through agent Steve Weinberg, Sanders reportedly committed to the Chiefs before signing with the Broncos). Free agency can be the Wild West; there are no ethics or etiquette. Agents and teams can have selective interpretations of statements, which often leads to hard feelings. Weinberg has been in and out the business for decades; this is certainly not the first time he has upset team management.

I remember one negotiation in Green Bay with a free agent with whom we agreed on a contract late one night. Overnight, another team pulled the player off a flight to Green Bay and he signed with them. We were livid and I promised the agent we would never do business with him again. However, a couple years later that agent had a player we liked. I had to swallow my pride and contact him; it’s all about the players. Nevertheless, reputations last and certain agents—and teams—are known as untrustworthy. It's all part of the business of football.

Edited by ICanSleepWhenI'mDead
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With this team, every game is the biggest game of the year.

Truth. Right now, we have to win out and get help just to make the playoffs.

I'd love it if Roman devises specific plays this week to get O'Leary in the action and surprise Philly. Just sayin'.

Awesome idea, but I don't think Roman understands the concept of devising plays for specific players. :ph34r:

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