Worst cut in Bills history

[Rc2catch]

I think Hopkins was a good one. And Joique Bell as well. I remember how many people freaked how good he was in preseason and didn't make the team. D'rick Rogers, the hero of the BBMB that year.. Basis was he was the next randy moss lol.. still can't understand the love he got for doing nothing in the pros.

[Tcali]

Smerlas. Bills might have at least 1 ring if they would've re-signed him after the 89 season.

we have a winner. all i can say is OJ Anderson for 3 and 1/3 yds on 1st 2nd and 3rd down running away from Bruce .

[Peace Frog]

Aaron Maybin. How many playoff games have the Bills been to since he was cut? I rest my case.

 

 

 

 

With all seriousness aside, I would say, in order of how that player would've affected the Bills had they still been here in chronological order, my take is the following: Cookie Gilchrist (1st Super Bowl was in reach), Fred Smerlas (Bills run defense would've been better in 1990).

[Dragonborn10]

In terms of immediate impact, Smerlas. In terms of HOF, potential, Gary Anderson.

 

What hurt the most emotionally, Thurman Thomas.

Edited June 5, 2017 by Dragonborn10

[BigBuff423]

If we're counting trades, Lynch has to be near the top...I know he was a single law enforcement encounter away from a nice suspension, but the history remains a bitter pill to swallow especially given the 4th round return.

[Freddie's Dead]

Im thinking London Fletcher should be somewhere on that list, along with Pat Williams

You beat me to London Fletcher, which ended up in wasted picks on Posluzny and Alonso (although Kiko begat LeShady). Ted Washington and Pat Williams back to back gutted the interior line and it still hasn't come back.

[dulles]

I thought they let PW leave in FA? IOW he wasn't cut.

 

 

They cut him after his rookie year. Despite being a 2nd rounder. He got himself released.

Parella was a salary cap casualty. Back then, we had a lot more expensive talent on defense...although maybe Overdorf was cheap.

[Tuco]

Gary Anderson, and I have not looked at a single post.

 

I'll see if I'm the only one who has said this.

Shouldn't take you long. He was the first one mentioned, in post #3.

[ganesh]

London Fletcher, Pat Williams...by far those 2.

 

Next in line: Drew Bledsoe. Yes, he was near the end of his career, but JP wasn't ready, he missed his whole rookie year with a broken leg and was already raw coming out of college. After investing a first round pick in him on a trade up, they should have had Drew come back and let JP really learn a year once his leg was healed to give him a chance to develop. Not saying he ever would have, just saying at the time it was a dumb cut of a quality Veteran QB when you had a raw QB who missed his whole rookie year. After seeing JP over his career, I seriously doubt it would have changed much for him, but I am basing this on the decision to cut Bledsoe at the time it happened when they did not yet know JP's future.

Yeah...but we went two years without the playoffs with Bledsoe.. It was not as if Bledsoe was going to take us to the promised land.

[Rocky Landing]

What is the one player the Bills cut that went on to have a great career elsewhere that you are/were upset about?

 

Could be a rookie who never made it out of camp, could be a guy who was a backup here and was let go and then went on to play well somewhere else, could be a guy the Bills just didn't want anymore.

 

Free Agents DO NOT count.

 

 

Fred Jackson.

 

I understood the move. He was at the end of his career (although he did go and have some fun in Seattle his next, and last season). The Bills wanted to move on. I get that. I just hated the way it went down. One of my top favorite players of all time.

[BobbyC81]

Fat Pat. Ron McDole.

 

I thought McDole also but I looked it up and he was traded to the Redskins for a 2nd and a 3rd round pick. Still, the Bills thought he was over-the-hill so he was sent to the Skins and played 8 more solid years.

[Alphadawg7]

Yeah...but we went two years without the playoffs with Bledsoe.. It was not as if Bledsoe was going to take us to the promised land.

 

Well to be fair, the whole team choked away the playoffs against Pittsburgh on the final game of the season against their backups.

 

But more importantly, we were not going to make the playoffs with a raw 2nd year QB who missed his rookie year with a broken leg. It wasn't about making the playoffs that year as much as it was focusing on properly developing the guy you just traded up for into the first round to get that was labeled Raw by any and everyone, including our own staff. Just cutting Drew before JP proved he was ready was not only rash, but a poor philosophy on QB development.

 

Again, I don't think it would have changed all that much for JP, but my opinion on Drew being a terrible cut is based on info at the time it happened.

[Meathead]

pat & antoine williams

holy hell i effed that all up

 

pat williams & antoine winfield

 

drugs are bad mmkay

[SoTier]

...he quit on this club......and Polian was fired thanks to Littmann.............

 

This is either the first or second most used excuse for OBD's incompentence made by fans who refuse to face the reality of how hard the Bills have worked to miss the playoffs for the last 17 years, ranking right up there with "he didn't want to be here". Foolish fans have made these claims about nearly every decent player that the Bills cut or traded or didn't resign in FA over the last 20 years.

 

Specifically about Lynch: he was suspended for four games in 2009 and he then he had an ankle injury. The Bills had him on the trade block in 2010, so they used him sparingly. It's hard for a RB to run for a lot of yards when he doesn't get the ball.

 

Cookie Gilchrist, without a doubt. Likely cost the Bills the championship that KC won, putting them in the 1st Super Bowl. And as the 60s Saban Era Bills were the most "NFL-style" AFL team, winning that 1st SB would not have been out of the question. Now wouldn't that have been something?

 

Fat Pat and Mount Washington have to be in there along with Ron McDole. Was Reuben Brown a cut/release or a trade or his choice in FA? Because that too hurt the team big time.

 

Ruben was a cut/release for salary cap reasons. He was another guy whom fans claimed had "quit". He went on to road grade for the Bears the year rookie Kyle Orton, their running game, and their defense took them to the SB. If they had stuck to their old formula instead of going with Rex Grossman at QB, they might have won it all.

 

HOLY CRAP!

 

I cannot believe how many people have said London Fletcher.

 

Where was all the love for this guy from TBD when he actually played for the Bills?!

 

Hindsight is definitely 20/20 on this board.

 

A certain percentage of Bills fans ALWAYS make excuses for stupid moves by the Bills FO by blaming players.

 

Yeah...but we went two years without the playoffs with Bledsoe.. It was not as if Bledsoe was going to take us to the promised land.

 

This is the third most used excuse by Bills fans to send a player packing. "The Bills weren't going to make the playoffs with X anyways." The reality is that you can't make the playoffs without talented players, and talented players cost more than STers. Missing the playoffs in 2004 was squarely on the Bills defense which let the Steelers' second stringers shred them like limp noodles in the last game of the season. Rookie RB Willie Parker ran for 100+ yards. The Steelers second and third string QBs threw at will.

 

Would the Bills have made the playoffs in 2005? I don't know. They won 5 or 6 games with JP Losman and Kelly Holcomb as their QBs, which was the equivalent of not having a QB, so it's entirely possible that they would won a few more games, maybe enough to do the trick.

 

Of course, Bledsoe was cut to save $$$, as was Fitzpatrick, and the QB situation in 2013 was eerily similar to 2005. The Bills didn't want to pay Fitzpatrick, so they sent him packing without having a starting QB on the roster. They used three that year: EJ Manuel, Thad Lewis, and Jeff Tuel. They won 5 or 6 games that season, and might have won more in 2013 because poor QBing clearly lost them several games.

Edited June 5, 2017 by SoTier

[BillsDiehard]

Kamar Aiken

[stuvian]

Andy Levitre

[Bill from NYC]

 

Just cutting Drew before JP proved he was ready was not only rash, but a poor philosophy on QB development.

 

 

As I recall, the Bills players were very upset as well. I am not saying that players should call the shots but they seemed to be correct in this instance.

[ROONDOGG55]

Antione Smith - Went on to win SB with Patsies**

He was the first of many. Seems that Smith gave BB a taste for what Bills players could potentially be.

 

Here's the list of Bills cast-offs that became Patriots a year or two after leaving the Bills (Excluding Doug Flutie, and Brandon Spikes):

1. Antoine Smith
2. Sammy Morris
3. Larry Centers
4. Ted Washington
5. Sam Aiken
6. Donald Jones
7. Scott Chandler
8. Alan Branch
9. Chris Hogan
10. Stephon Gilmore
11. Mike Gillislee

[Santana]

Jason Peters

[row_33]

we have a winner. all i can say is OJ Anderson for 3 and 1/3 yds on 1st 2nd and 3rd down running away from Bruce .

 

Smerlas retired, I thought it was a farewell by him, sadly just before he and Art Still could cash in on the good years.

[Kirby Jackson]

There is a lot of confusion between "traded" (i.e. Jason Peters), "walk in FA" (I.e. Gilmore) and "cut" (I.e. Bruce Smith).

[shrader]

There is a lot of confusion between "traded" (i.e. Jason Peters), "walk in FA" (I.e. Gilmore) and "cut" (I.e. Bruce Smith).

 

He was originally a practice squad player with the Bills, right? I'm sure that's not what people are going for when the mention him, but he was in fact cut by the Bills.

[row_33]

There is a lot of confusion between "traded" (i.e. Jason Peters), "walk in FA" (I.e. Gilmore) and "cut" (I.e. Bruce Smith).

 

by page 6 this is inertia

 

are you the real Kirby Jackson? got a story from a game told by friends who had an amusing run-in with him....

[Kirby Jackson]

 

by page 6 this is inertia

 

are you the real Kirby Jackson? got a story from a game told by friends who had an amusing run-in with him....

Just like the name, it was that or Marlo Perry

 

I'd love to hear the story though!!

[Real McClappy]

I know they were older and all but this was one of the worst Bills offseasons ever in Y2K for me to stomach.

 

Thurman

Bruce

Reed

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bills-cut-smith-thomas-reed/

 

 

My current list though:

Ted Washington

Pat Williams

Peters

Fletcher

Cookie

 

On the fence depending on his future impact:

Gilmore

Edited June 5, 2017 by Real McCoy

[row_33]

Fish game of importance during the Kelly Era.

 

KJ is on the bench most of the first half. Two friends into their beers and wearing Marino jerseys and sitting near the BIlls bench start tearing into him.

 

"hey number 47..." you can fill in the rest...

 

In the 4th he returns the only pick six of his career to seal the game.

 

He walks right up to my friends and stares at them and says "I !@#$ed your mother." Stares another ten seconds and then goes back to sit on the bench game ball in hand.

 

Nice story, hope it's true....

[dpberr]

Wade Phillips.

 

His firing laid the foundation for the last 17 years, starting with Donahoe, Greggo, the release of the Big Three, Ted Washington and Pat Williams.

 

If Wade had stayed after the MCM, it would have been an entirely different decade of Bills football.

[Bills Fan in MD]

Not the worst cut ever, but Sammy Morris had a couple of solid years in NE.

[ndirish1978]

Trade: Marshawn Lynch. Got run out of town and proceeded to become one of the best players in the league. In the meantime we wasted a 1st rd pick on CJ Spiller.

Edited June 5, 2017 by ndirish1978

[CommonCents]

Trade: Marshawn Lynch. Got run out of town and proceeded to become one of the best players in the league. In the meantime we wasted a 1st rd pick on his replacement, who will not be named.

Code name : Spaceman

[row_33]

Trade: Marshawn Lynch. Got run out of town and proceeded to become one of the best players in the league. In the meantime we wasted a 1st rd pick on CJ Spiller.

 

Bills were an underrated developmental league squad for RBs that helped out in playoff runs at their next gig.

[Iraq Vet]

JP Loseman, Arron Maybin, Ej Manual, Mike Williams, Erik Flowers, John McCargo... Just kidding

 

 

 

Not a player but, Coach Wade Philips.... He was a good coach... if he had stayed in place he would be Belicheck today... his own system for the last 17 years......

 

Oh by the way for fun... google Buffalo Bills 1st round picks... then just cry when you compare the 1980 and 1990 verses the last 15 years!!!!

Edited June 5, 2017 by Iraq Vet

[boyst]

Fitzpatrick in the modern era and I said it than, too

 

Ted Washington or pat Williams prior

 

Thurman Andre and Bruce. Prior

 

Don't know enough before that

[3rdand12]

Fish game of importance during the Kelly Era.

 

KJ is on the bench most of the first half. Two friends into their beers and wearing Marino jerseys and sitting near the BIlls bench start tearing into him.

 

"hey number 47..." you can fill in the rest...

 

In the 4th he returns the only pick six of his career to seal the game.

 

He walks right up to my friends and stares at them and says "I !@#$ed your mother." Stares another ten seconds and then goes back to sit on the bench game ball in hand.

 

Nice story, hope it's true....

I like this story

[Buftex]

 

Smerlas retired, I thought it was a farewell by him, sadly just before he and Art Still could cash in on the good years.

No, Smerlas was cut. He held a huge grudge against Marv Levy afterwards. The Bills thought Jeff Wright could pick up the slack. Wright wasn't terrible, but he wasn't Smerlas...was a little too light. Smerals played two or three more seasons with the 49ers.

Edited June 5, 2017 by Buftex

[Charles Romes]

Chris Hairston. Serviceable moderate cost swing tackles don't grow on trees.

[Just in Atlanta]

Not sure if these fit the criteria, but the release of Freddy Jackson and Kurt Schultz both ticked me off, especially since I liked their style of play and because I had literally bought their jerseys weeks within being released. Neither went on to do great things on the field, but I thought their presence on the field in Buffalo was felt.

[offsides#76FredSmerlas]

HOLY CRAP!

 

I cannot believe how many people have said London Fletcher.

 

Where was all the love for this guy from TBD when he actually played for the Bills?!

 

Hindsight is definitely 20/20 on this board.

Hindsight or not the question was who was the worst cut in Bills history. You can make a better judgement after seeing how well a player went on to succeed after he left Buffalo. I was always a Fletcher fan but I was amazed at how many years he played at such a high level. I guess you want people to say names like Gilmore instead of actually evaluating their years after they left Buffalo. HOLY CRAP! lol

Edited June 5, 2017 by offsides#76FredSmerlas

[Rico]

No, Smerlas was cut. He held a huge grudge against Marv Levy afterwards. The Bills thought Jeff Wright could pick up the slack. Wright wasn't terrible, but he wasn't Smerlas...was a little too light. Smerals played two or three more seasons with the 49ers.

Smerlas actually left as a Plan B FA... IMO cutting him for all intents and purposes, they no longer wanted him. He was only with SF for 1 year, then played 2 more with the lowly Pats.

[row_33]

Smerlas actually left as a Plan B FA... IMO cutting him for all intents and purposes, they no longer wanted him. He was only with SF for 1 year, then played 2 more with the lowly Pats.

 

 

I recall his last game with the Bills as fully declared it was his last game all through the game...