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Bills Decline 5th Year Option on Sammy Watkins


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he would be a UFA so no tender. You can put a non-exclusive tag on him and get 2 first rounders though ... then we would have 4, that would be a record. Or you can place exclusive tag and no one can talk to him.

If someone else signs him while on the non-exclusive tag I think they give up their next 2 first round picks (over 2 years), we wouldn't get 2 in the same year (since teams generally only have 1 per year.)

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There is no way to look at this other than it is an incredibly stupid decision. It is not even debatable. It makes no sense whatsoever for the team and is the first real visible mistake for McDermott. It is a horrible mistake though.

SOLD!!
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He will never sign that FT here now.

 

We can franchise him in 2018 and 2019 if he plays lights out and won't sign a long term deal - SEE KIRK COUSINS. Gives us 3 years to draft his replacement. And so it goes in the ruthless salary cap world of the NFL...

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i'm in the group who think the bills should have picked up the option, but that being said, how can anyone think sammy feels the bills are disrespecting him? he just hasn't been good enough since he's been here. say what you want about the qbs, but he just hasn't performed the way he should have considering his talent level. if he can stay healthy and produce, he'll be paid by this team, or someone else. also , the idea that he's so disrespected that he won't even play hard is crazy. if he does it, then i don't want him on this team.

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Well, to Ahab, the white whale signified his Maker - an indifferent, violent, nearly all-powerful nature. By killing the white whale, Ahab was displacing his own Maker and, therefore, becoming a god himself.

 

So by deposing Whaley, McD destroyed that which made him what he was (hired him) and that which had stood in the way of his complete dominion.

 

Perhaps that's what he meant?

No, but that sounds better than my snarky joke. So thanks! :beer::D

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@salsports

Sean McDermott has said numerous times earn the right to win. Looks like he's challenging Watkins to prove he can stay healthy and produce

...if that happens, Bills can still place franchise tag on Watkins (albeit at a higher cost) or workout extension. We'll see how 2017 goes

I guess that is the decision maker? Who decides this with no gm in house?

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We can franchise him in 2018 and 2019 if he plays lights out and won't sign a long term deal - SEE KIRK COUSINS. Gives us 3 years to draft his replacement. And so it goes in the ruthless salary cap world of the NFL...

Kirk Cousins is a different case. He probably wants to stay in WAS and get a long term deal there. He s the QB and has weapons to put up numbers. The franchise # is also a lot higher. They can franchise SW , but it means little if he doesn't want to sign it and makes it clear that he won't. Apples and oranges.

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From what I recall, the DR's said it was about pain tolerance, not about further damage...

 

Picking up the option would be compounding the mistake to trade up for him in the first place. That kinda crap has to stop, it's stopping IMO.

Yes that's true I remember the statements about pain management too. But wasn't there an actual physical setback when a teammate stepped on his foot during a walkthrough? I vaguely recall that as well.

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If they FT him next year, it would mean he had a great year. WIn/Win if you ask me.

He wont be playing under the F-tag IMO. If he has the kind of year he is capable of he will be signing his long term mega deal. Only question becomes where. Thats why the Bills not extending him through 2018 is probably good for Sammy.

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He probably wants to stay in WAS and get a long term deal there.

 

You may be right, but it's totally irrelevant what he wants. The team controls him for a minimum of 2 years after his contract expires, if they are willing to pay him top dollar with the franchise tags.

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Do you see how betting against SW might make him tell the Bills to take a hike? Especially when he won't get a chance to play here with a better QB than TT before his contract is up?

 

If he has a good 2017, would he have been worth the option?

 

He will never sign that FT here now.

 

They're not "betting against him," they are delaying the decision to commit to him, on the extremely rational basis that he has not been good/healthy enough to justify that type commitment, yet. I suspect that SW is a mature enough person to understand that.

 

If he has a good 2017, then yes he would have been worth the option. But the decision took that into account. By passing up the option, they forgo the best case scenario (5th year option, good 2017) to eliminate the possibility of several bad scenarios (5th year option, bad 2017 or season lost due to injury). Blindly chasing after the best case scenario on the basis of what was invested in acquiring him in the first place = sunk cost fallacy.

 

This decision is irrelevant to him signing a franchise tag.

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No...I'm saying that his on-field production would be such that we'd laugh at the thought of not picking up his option even considering the injury.

Yes. There have been some pretty low-end QB's feeding him the rock.
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If someone else signs him while on the non-exclusive tag I think they give up their next 2 first round picks (over 2 years), we wouldn't get 2 in the same year (since teams generally only have 1 per year.)

Well duh Yolo that's hilarious, I didn't even think. But what's the record, maybe 3 beats it
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He would have been due 6.3 million next season. I'm not sure about the decision, but I guess they're banking on him either under-performing that amount or overperforming to the point that they'd be looking at a new deal anyway.

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Tough call. I get it. They have options to tag him without having to worry about the need to use it on a QB or other great player. It is probably the smart move. And if he looks healthy and playing well, they can sign him to a long term deal before the season or during it. I don't believe there is anything that prevents them from signing a long term deal now.

 

Watkins has only one real option for 2017. Play well and stay healthy. As for 2018 he has options. If they tag him he can sit for ten games and show up for the final 6 and still get an accrued season. He is really young. He can afford to not get paid for ten games. If he is healthy, he will be a top 3 paid WR when he hits the market.

 

If I'm the Bills I see how he looks in training camp. If fully healed, I try to sign him to a 5 year deal then.

 

If I'm Sammy I say no thank you McDermott, I'm getting paid elsewhere. He is so young and when he makes multiple ProBowls he can look back at Buffalo as the lost years of EJ, Marrone, and the clown brothers.

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i'm in the group who think the bills should have picked up the option, but that being said, how can anyone think sammy feels the bills are disrespecting him? he just hasn't been good enough since he's been here. say what you want about the qbs, but he just hasn't performed the way he should have considering his talent level. if he can stay healthy and produce, he'll be paid by this team, or someone else. also , the idea that he's so disrespected that he won't even play hard is crazy. if he does it, then i don't want him on this team.

 

He will play hard, and always has. He's been injured, not lazy. He's performed when healthy. If he s healthy ( we don't know if he is or not) and performs / stays healthy he will want out. He will not " dog it" because of this decision. It will motivate him to force his way out.

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