Tyrod Taylor - pick up the option

[Buffalo Barbarian]

If another Bills fan tells me they shouldn't pay Tyrod $27 million I'm going to whack them. Its like they're actually writing the check and it's stressing them out. There has to be some sort of clinical term for this phenomena, but in case there isn't, here are few things to keep in mind to ease your stress:

 

1. Tyrod's base salary next year would only be $3M more than we paid him this year. He'd go from $9M to $12M. The remaining $15M is option bonus money and would be spread out over the length of the deal. So we add another $3M which puts his total cap hit is around $15M. This puts him in the lower half of the NFL qb cap hit, probably around 20th.

 

2. We aren't signing a franchise qb in the offseason. In case you haven't noticed, with the exception of the super rare Drew Brees scenario (the best F.A. signing of all time) or the rare Payton Manning/Brett Favre end of career moves, that just doesn't happen, and if it did, you'd very likely see them go to a larger market. So we either keep TT, draft a new qb, grab some backup guy or injury prone old timer off the waiver wire, or start Cardale Jones or EJ.

 

3. Our offense scores a lot of points with Tyrod in there, and that's with a coordinator change mid-season. We rank 6th overall in the NFL. More than Big Ben, Luck, Cousins, Rivers, Dak, Cam etc. OUR OFFENSE SCORES POINTS! At the end of the game, the points matter, there isn't a place on the scoreboard that shows the passing ranking of your qb. Plus it's fun to watch, which for me is equally important. So paying the guy who leads this 26ppg offense below average money is what Terry is going to do.

 

Don't worry it won't cost you a penny.

 

 

 

 

 

salary cap bro.

[pepsicat17]

How can you say it's not our money? Where does it come from then? Is the NFL a charity to its teams and let the networks broadcast the games for free? Every ticket or Bills or other teams item you buy, every time you watch a game on TV and pay your cable bill, everytime you subscribe to redzone or Sunday ticket, every video game you buy, every item you buy at the grocery store to eat or drink while watching the game, every ad you watch on TV, every radio broadcast you listen to, every newspaper you buy for the sports section, every ad you watch, every click online you make to read about the NFL or Bills, every post you make on their official website and thousands of other ways you are giving money to the NFL which then part of which goes directly to the Bills. Every dime of every contract and just about anything the NFL does comes directly from our pockets, whether we're writing the checks or it's indirectly is not the point. It still is all payed for and profited from by all of us. How can you not understand that?

[Dr.Sack]

Tyrod is going to be our QB for the next 5 seasons. I'm fine with that. Let's build around the kid instead of tearing him down.

[pepsicat17]

I know it's difficult to sit here and drink in our 17th consecutive season without the playoffs, it sure is for me (that's more than half my life).

But let's not look at every other team and try to copy them, as though all of the teams are playing in a vacuum. There is not a coincidence to the fact that Brady/Bellichek has had all of their success during our drought. Other teams make their moves and squeak into the playoffs from their annual turnstile of divisions, as the 4 teams in each division typically rise and fall.

Not New England. We have been stuck behind them, only leaving us to fight for a wild card spot amongst the other 11 non-division winners, and sometimes we are there for the spot until the end, and sometimes we just don't have the team, and are out early. But to compare us to almost any other team but the Jets or Dolphins would be inaccurate. No, we haven't been great, but we also haven't been "no playoffs in 2 decades" bad, on our own, until you factor in who has been stuck at the top of our division, blocking the most likely path to the playoffs every team has (where they compete with 3 other teams, to win the division, vs. 10 others that we have had to fight through to get to the wildcard spot).

I don't think we're as bad as it seems, and things will improve in the next 2 or 3 years, when NE weakens. Just don't blow it up now, as an overreaction.

Have faith. We will get there.

Only problem is the first time I read this post was about 6-7 years ago or so cause Brady's decline was right around the corner. Then again 2-3 years ago cause how long can he really go? Now here we are again saying again just be patient because Brady's decline is surely coming soon... as he's probably heading to the super bowl again this year. I'm so tired of excuses, the real problem is this organization has made terrible decision after terrible decision, especially concerning the QB position. If we sign TT to this option, which many don't seem to realize makes him our QB for the next 2-3 years minimum with the dead cap it creates, we will just be continuing the Bills tradition of horrible decisions. Blame Brady if you want but last time I checked he can be beaten, even on the biggest stage, we just haven't figured out how to do it for his entire career, no matter who the players or coaches are. No more faith in the ones who have screwed up over and over again, it's time for results. Brady will play till he's 50 if he has anything to say about it. Should we expect to see this sentiment again in 2-3 years again?

[GunnerBill]

All those who say do not pay him should be required to tell us who our QB will be next year. He's not a Franchise guy now, but probably in the neighborhood of the 20th +/- best QB, and I have no problem paying him that way. I hope he continues improving, that can actually happen. (I know, it's looked awful at times, but, hey, what the better option?)

We have. Countless times in countless threads. I have also accepted that might mean we are a bit worse at the position in 2017. I don't care. Backing into the playoffs one time in 2017 should not be this organisations plan.

 

Tyrod is not a franchise QB therefore don't pay him even low end Franchise QB money. Pay him stopgap / caretaker money.... which is right about the $9m he was making this year. If he won't renegotiate then cut ties and move on.

Edited December 27, 2016 by GunnerBill

[Thurman#1]

If another Bills fan tells me they shouldn't pay Tyrod $27 million I'm going to whack them. Its like they're actually writing the check and it's stressing them out. There has to be some sort of clinical term for this phenomena, but in case there isn't, here are few things to keep in mind to ease your stress:

 

1. Tyrod's base salary next year would only be $3M more than we paid him this year. He'd go from $9M to $12M. The remaining $15M is option bonus money and would be spread out over the length of the deal. So we add another $3M which puts his total cap hit is around $15M. This puts him in the lower half of the NFL qb cap hit, probably around 20th.

 

2. We aren't signing a franchise qb in the offseason. In case you haven't noticed, with the exception of the super rare Drew Brees scenario (the best F.A. signing of all time) or the rare Payton Manning/Brett Favre end of career moves, that just doesn't happen, and if it did, you'd very likely see them go to a larger market. So we either keep TT, draft a new qb, grab some backup guy or injury prone old timer off the waiver wire, or start Cardale Jones or EJ.

 

3. Our offense scores a lot of points with Tyrod in there, and that's with a coordinator change mid-season. We rank 6th overall in the NFL. More than Big Ben, Luck, Cousins, Rivers, Dak, Cam etc. OUR OFFENSE SCORES POINTS! At the end of the game, the points matter, there isn't a place on the scoreboard that shows the passing ranking of your qb. Plus it's fun to watch, which for me is equally important. So paying the guy who leads this 26ppg offense below average money is what Terry is going to do.

 

Don't worry it won't cost you a penny.

 

 

 

 

 

This "it's not your money" thing is a common argument that makes no sense whatsoever.

True. It's not my money. The players are also not my players. The team is also not my team. Does that mean that I, as a fan, should not complain or get excited? Because after all, I have no ownership whatsoever.

Fan loyalty isn't about whether I'm directly paying player salaries.

So, no, it won't cost me a penny.

But paying Tyrod $30.5 mill ($3 mill from his 2018 salary will also be guaranteed) for one year, if he gets cut after one year will look like one of the all-time stupid moves. And it would hurt the team I have chosen to be a fan of in terms of their ability to compete.

Frankly, they're very unlikely to keep Tyrod unless he re-negotiates. But if they do, there are two likely scenarios:

1) Tyrod makes drastic improvements, figuring out how to use the middle of the field, becoming willing to throw timing patterns and throw before guys come open. He figures out how to read defenses better and he greatly improves his sense of pocket awareness and becomes able to hang in the pocket until the last second on a consistent basis. He does a few other things, and then he becomes a franchise QB, a top ten or twelve QB. And he also stays healthy over the course of the contract.

In this case, this contract will have been a terrific bargain for the Bills.

2) Tyrod does not make huge improvements. He continues making incremental improvements. Or he has consistent injury problems. Or both.

In this case, he will not become a franchise QB, a top ten or twelve guy in the NFL. In this case he will likely be gone after one or at most two years.

In this case this contract will be quoted for probably decades as the new best example of signing a QB to a contract that's horrible for the team. It will leave the Osweiler contract in it's dust in terms of looking terrible for the team.

In that case, the 2017 cap number will be far from the most important number. Total impact on the Bills salary cap will be the important number. And the total impact will - for the first two years anyway - equal the guaranteed portion of the contract.

If Tyrod's on the roster for one year and then cut, that would cost $30.5 mill to the Bills cap. The 2017 cap number in 2017 and the rest of the $30.5 mill, somewhere around $14 mill, will hit the Bills cap the next year, 2018, in dead money while Tyrod plays somewhere else as a backup. We'll have gotten one year of service by Tyrod Taylor, and paid $30.5 mill for it, a shockingly horrible deal.

If Tyrod is on the roster for two more years, $40 mill will be guaranteed him. The total Bills cap impact will be - wait for it - $40 million. The 2017 cap number in 2017, plus the 2018 cap number in 2018 plus the remainder of the guaranteed $40 mill, around $10+ mill, in 2019 as dead money. So we'll have paid $40 mill for two years of service by Tyrod Taylor, not quite as bad a deal as if we cut him after one year, but still far eclipsing the Osweiler deal in terms of sheer badness for the team.

Edited December 27, 2016 by Thurman#1

[Thurman#1]

Oh, and points scored is a lot more of a team result than a purely offensive one.

 

When Gilmore turns in a pick six, does that mean the offense has done a terrific job on the play? When the opponent fumbles the kickoff on a hard hit and we recover the ball on the 11 yard-line, is it just as difficult for the offense to score as it is on an eighty-yard drive? Does the STs get no credit? If the offense loses 15 yards on penalties, a sack and a three-yard loss on a run, but we get a field goal out of it, should that be considered a rousing success for the offense? It is if you count by points scored.

 

The stat that does a far better job in isolating offensive contribution is total yards. Not total points. When you put up a bunch of yards, you're putting your defense in a better position consistently. And that makes them better able to put you in a better position statistically. And the Bills offense isn't doing that.

 

They aren't horrible, this offense. The defense is probably a bit worse. But there isn't a unit on this team that is even average.

[mead107]

Keep Tyrod and fire the D coach

[Thurman#1]

This would change the parameters for sure. I'm assuming we are in reasonably good shape cap wise and could handle a 15m allocation for the qb. I suppose the other way is retain everyone within reason and go for a big name free agent or two in other areas of need.

 

Any good safeties or kickers hitting the market?

 

 

 

Unfortunately, we aren't in particularly good shape cap-wise.

 

We're 24th in cap space and we have I believe well over 24 FAs set to leave the team and we'll want to keep some of them (Zach Brown, Gilmore, Robert Woods, Lorenzo Alexander seem like guys we would really like to keep, cap allowing, and there are a few others like Ihedigbo, Douzable, Corbin Bryant and Justin Hunter who might also be good to keep if we can afford it. But with our lack of resources, we won't be able to keep them all, pay for the rookies, and bring in a few positional lower-priced guys.

 

We're cap-strapped. We're not dying of it, but it will absolutely constrict us quite a bit.

[Billsman623]

It's pretty ignorant to say you can't have an opinion about how the team spends their cap money just because it's "not your money". Every fan is entitled to an opinion on how the team spends available cap money in an attempt to field the best team. Not to mention, if you spend any amount of money what-so-ever on the team, part of it can technically be considered "your money". So get a grip in telling people how they can or can't feel.

[WotAGuy]

When you put up a bunch of yards, you're putting your defense in a better position consistently. And that makes them better able to put you in a better position statistically. And the Bills offense isn't doing that.

 

They aren't horrible, this offense. The defense is probably a bit worse. But there isn't a unit on this team that is even average.

Last week's Miami game says "hello"

[nucci]

Like others have said...it's the cap....not the actual money

[May Day 10]

If it were complaints about a possible Rex firing and the 3 years of contract the Pegulas will/would eat... then yes.

 

 

The Tyrod situation has a cascade effect on the football team. It is a decent/large enough cap hit, for a QB many see as questionable to poor... on a team who has a few very large and risky obligations as it is... matched with some aging pieces and 2 dozen free agents... It is a big commitment. Also, he is basically un-cuttable/untradeable for 3 years on this deal and the MO for this organization is to avoid bringing in any QB who could potentially make the fans and Mike Schopps of the world question the starter's job. The QB 'search' would likely be paused for awhile.

Edited December 27, 2016 by May Day 10

[CountDorkula]

NO it is not my money.

It also is not my salary cap.

 

But I want to build the best team possible. He eats up a lot of the Cap space. That is why I don't want him paid.

[TH3]

Yep really Married to him until after 2019 (unless you use post June 1 cut and spread dead cap two year)

Assessing the Dead Cap

One of the more important factors to note with this contract is the structure of the dead cap, especially with the uncertainty of Taylor's long-term capabilites as a franchise QB. The good news? All of Taylor's salary guarantees lie within the first two years of the deal (2017 & 2018). The less than gooder news? His $15.5M option bonus next March makes for a decent chunk of dead cap toward the backside of this contract.

Assuming the option is exercised, Taylor will carry the following dead cap hits:

Year Dead Cap Hit

2017 $33,603,334

2018 $17,690,000 (addt'l $9.75M kicks in on the 3rd league day)

2019 $10,660,000

2020 $6,880,000

2021 $3,100,000

http://www.spotrac.com/research/NFL/breaking-down-the-numbers-for-tyrod-taylors-option-619/

So you are picking up a 3 year option

 

Or watch TV (ads = your time = your $)

Holy crap dude ...quantity is not quality

[MAJBobby]

Only problem is the first time I read this post was about 6-7 years ago or so cause Brady's decline was right around the corner. Then again 2-3 years ago cause how long can he really go? Now here we are again saying again just be patient because Brady's decline is surely coming soon... as he's probably heading to the super bowl again this year. I'm so tired of excuses, the real problem is this organization has made terrible decision after terrible decision, especially concerning the QB position. If we sign TT to this option, which many don't seem to realize makes him our QB for the next 2-3 years minimum with the dead cap it creates, we will just be continuing the Bills tradition of horrible decisions. Blame Brady if you want but last time I checked he can be beaten, even on the biggest stage, we just haven't figured out how to do it for his entire career, no matter who the players or coaches are. No more faith in the ones who have screwed up over and over again, it's time for results. Brady will play till he's 50 if he has anything to say about it. Should we expect to see this sentiment again in 2-3 years again?

Book has always been out on how to make Brady notnplay great and look easily beatable if you can score.

 

That is Pressure with 4 people.

Key is that pressure has to be in his face (hard to do when you have you 100M 1 gap penatrator 2 gapping)

[MAJBobby]

Holy crap dude ...quantity is not quality

And that has what to do with the dead cap? Of what was sold as a year to year easy out contract.(because the Franchise Tag is that). When in reality is a 3 year option?

 

And yes you have to field 53 football players hard to do with quality when you are overpaying AVG with no easy way out.

[I'm Spartacus]

I hope they do too. And hope everyone stays healthy and see if he can prove me wrong on what type of QB he is. Ifnhe doesnt more people will start to see it

 

Yep and big deal. Such a small cap hit you can afford him as your clipboard holder.

 

What hurts is when you have a 16M clipboard holder because you cant het away from it because of dead cap

Your posts are a bore....

[Gugny]

If another Bills fan tells me they shouldn't pay Tyrod $27 million I'm going to whack them. Its like they're actually writing the check and it's stressing them out. There has to be some sort of clinical term for this phenomena, but in case there isn't, here are few things to keep in mind to ease your stress:

 

1. Tyrod's base salary next year would only be $3M more than we paid him this year. He'd go from $9M to $12M. The remaining $15M is option bonus money and would be spread out over the length of the deal. So we add another $3M which puts his total cap hit is around $15M. This puts him in the lower half of the NFL qb cap hit, probably around 20th.

 

Paying him $10 would be too much, let alone milions.

 

 

2. We aren't signing a franchise qb in the offseason. In case you haven't noticed, with the exception of the super rare Drew Brees scenario (the best F.A. signing of all time) or the rare Payton Manning/Brett Favre end of career moves, that just doesn't happen, and if it did, you'd very likely see them go to a larger market. So we either keep TT, draft a new qb, grab some backup guy or injury prone old timer off the waiver wire, or start Cardale Jones or EJ.

 

Many people opine that we don't necessarily need a "franchise QB," we merely need someone better than Tyrod Taylor - which will not be a very tough task.

 

 

 

3. Our offense scores a lot of points with Tyrod in there, and that's with a coordinator change mid-season. We rank 6th overall in the NFL. More than Big Ben, Luck, Cousins, Rivers, Dak, Cam etc. OUR OFFENSE SCORES POINTS! At the end of the game, the points matter, there isn't a place on the scoreboard that shows the passing ranking of your qb. Plus it's fun to watch, which for me is equally important. So paying the guy who leads this 26ppg offense below average money is what Terry is going to do.

 

Our offense scores a lot of points until we need them to - you know - win a game; hence another .500 or worse season. Most of his pretty, shiny stats are in garbage time. Again - hence the crappy record.

 

.

 

 

 

 

[CSBill]

And that's why Terry and Kim pay Russ the big money, he'll figure out this salary crap thing, he's good at that. Right?