The Cap Dilemma in 2018

[ALF]

4 minutes ago, Buffalo30 said:

Is 33 million before dead cap or after dead cap is taken out?  We have 18 million in dead cap next year.

 

$33M + yearly increase to be determined and $18M already taken out. 

[BADOLBILZ]

1 minute ago, Buffalo30 said:

Is 33 million before dead cap or after dead cap is taken out?  We have 18 million in dead cap next year.

 

 

Which brings up the point that this isn't Jeff Littman's cash-to-the-cap Bills either.........if they sign guys to extenstions or add FA's they could heavily backload deals because they have NOBODY of note on their roster to pay big market money to for years to come thanks to a lack of blue chip young players nearing the end of rookie deals.  

 

With EJ and Watkins gone 3 first round picks vanished since McD arrived.......then there are Woods, Kujo, Darby and Ragland........4 second round picks that didn't/don't have to be paid..........this team is in EXTRAORDINARY cap shape going forward regardless of the dead money........and it's hard to envision them paying for top of the market free agents with McD's focus on more selfless players. 

 

But everyone has a process until they get punched in the mouth so we will see how not having blue-chip talent plays out long term.

[billsfan89]

After the Dareus trade the Bills were rumored to have 39 million in cap space in 2018, after the Benjamin trade they added 8 million in 2018 salary. So their cap space is likely around 30 million but also don't be surprised if they restructure some contracts or cut players. Charles Clay and Jerry Hughes come to mind as productive players who could take a restructuring and that could easily free up more cap space. 

 

I suspect that Kyle Williams will likely retire, he will be 35 and has a bit of an injury history. That leaves three other major free agents that are starters 1- Jordan Matthews, 2- EJ Gaines, and 3- Preston Brown. Gaines to me will likely stay, although he gets hurt I think they can get him on a modest 4-5 million dollar a year contract with a low guarantee. Matthews will command 7-8 million a year not sure if he is worth that much or not. But once again it comes down to how much the front office likes him which I think they do like him a lot. Preston Brown is a curious case, he is a decent starting LB but not one breaking the bank for. If the market for Brown is hot then I suspect he is gone. But if he can be had at the right price I think they retain him. 

 

The Bills will have a chunk of change to work with in free agency. Even they resign Matthews, Gaines, and Brown they could still add another starting caliber player and 1-2 depth players via free agency and then have a ton of picks to address needs and depth in the draft. 

[Kirby Jackson]

I’d expect the Bills to take a run at Star Lotulelei. He fits a massive need and is a guy that Beane brought in once already. Dontari Poe is another guy to consider.

[MAJBobby]

If they are smart the Bills will continue with the fixing the Cap. And NOT spend on upper echelon UFAs. Instead will fill in again with the lower tier UFAs and 1 year contracts and let the bad contracts clear compensation 

Edited November 5, 2017 by MAJBobby

[BADOLBILZ]

3 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

After the Dareus trade the Bills were rumored to have 39 million in cap space in 2018, after the Benjamin trade they added 8 million in 2018 salary. So their cap space is likely around 30 million but also don't be surprised if they restructure some contracts or cut players. Charles Clay and Jerry Hughes come to mind as productive players who could take a restructuring and that could easily free up more cap space. 

 

I suspect that Kyle Williams will likely retire, he will be 35 and has a bit of an injury history. That leaves three other major free agents that are starters 1- Jordan Matthews, 2- EJ Gaines, and 3- Preston Brown. Gaines to me will likely stay, although he gets hurt I think they can get him on a modest 4-5 million dollar a year contract with a low guarantee. Matthews will command 7-8 million a year not sure if he is worth that much or not. But once again it comes down to how much the front office likes him which I think they do like him a lot. Preston Brown is a curious case, he is a decent starting LB but not one breaking the bank for. If the market for Brown is hot then I suspect he is gone. But if he can be had at the right price I think they retain him. 

 

The Bills will have a chunk of change to work with in free agency. Even they resign Matthews, Gaines, and Brown they could still add another starting caliber player and 1-2 depth players via free agency and then have a ton of picks to address needs and depth in the draft. 

 

Yeah they are going to have ways to save and I suspect they will hit the second and third tier veteran free agent market pretty hard to cheaply keep plugging holes because it will take 3 or more McD drafts to re-tool this team to the point where they are "young".

 

I don't see Matthews back.   Brown is really awful in coverage and has dropped off noticeably against the run lately........if he's back, which I doubt,  I'd hope it's real cheap.

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

1 minute ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I’d expect the Bills to take a run at Star Lotulelei. He fits a massive need and is a guy that Beane brought in once already. Dontari Poe is another guy to consider.

 

Those are the two I saw on the FA lists that stand out as well.

 

I could also see them moving Shaq inside.........I don't care how stout you are against the run at LDE....... if you don't even touch a live QB in anger for the first 8 games of the season you aren't a good enough pass rusher.   He's been utterly abysmal on the pass rush but flashes the power to give guards a more difficult time.

[Kirby Jackson]

10 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Those are the two I saw on the FA lists that stand out as well.

 

I could also see them moving Shaq inside.........I don't care how stout you are against the run at LDE....... if you don't even touch a live QB in anger for the first 8 games of the season you aren't a good enough pass rusher.   He's been utterly abysmal on the pass rush but flashes the power to give guards a more difficult time.

That’s an interesting thought. It never crossed my mind but makes some sense. With how bad the pass rush has been they should try something different. 

[klos63]

3 hours ago, wppete said:

Only guys I hope stay on this list are:

 

Jordan Matthews

EJ Gaines 

Mike Tolbert

 

hope they let the rest walk. 

Tolbert?? Why?

[Watkins101]

21 hours ago, Steptide said:

He might demand it, but he hasent put  up the production to get it

He has produced more than woods, so...

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I’d expect the Bills to take a run at Star Lotulelei. He fits a massive need and is a guy that Beane brought in once already. Dontari Poe is another guy to consider.

You are making a good point. There is cap flexibility that allows us to go in a variety of directions. There is a value consideration with this new regime's personnel decisions. Dareus, playing at his best, is well worth his salary. Dareus, playing sluggishly, is not worth his cap hit. 

 

The Benjamin deal made a lot of sense for Carolina because they have a similar type player in Funchess who is equally as productive. In addition, there were some conflicts with him regarding conditioning which made the deal even more appealing for the dispatching team. For Buffalo the Bills get a big target at a need position. Our staff is acquainted with the player so it knows the type of player they are getting. Without a doubt he is filling a need and his talent level is higher (in my estimation) than the pick we are trading. 

 

 

 

[BarleyNY]

4 hours ago, Real McCoy said:

I can agree with that as long as Zay turns into what we all think he should be here. I really have no clue what this FO will do with the QB position next draft. I guess we need to see what the next 8 games brings for us.

 

To the main topic of this thread listed as cap dilemma? Do we even have a cap dilemma? I think we are in great shape actually.

 

There isn’t a cap problem or dilemma.  The Bills dug themselves out of their cap issues.  Between their available cap space and  abundance of draft picks they should be in very good shape going forward. 

 

3 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I’d expect the Bills to take a run at Star Lotulelei. He fits a massive need and is a guy that Beane brought in once already. Dontari Poe is another guy to consider.

 

Absolutely.  I’ve been thinking the exact same thing. 

[Richard Noggin]

Very few of these players are worthy of the term "dilemma."

[vincec]

On 11/4/2017 at 6:03 PM, The juice said:

Matthews is gonna command Robert woods type money easily on the market. He’s as good as gone I’d say

Plus Benjamin and Matthews are very similar receivers so I agree.

[John from Riverside]

I think players that we dont expect to be gone will be gone....lets not forget we have a LOT of high draft picks in this next draft......McD and Beane are gonna wanna play their guys

[vincec]

2 hours ago, John from Hemet said:

I think players that we dont expect to be gone will be gone....lets not forget we have a LOT of high draft picks in this next draft......McD and Beane are gonna wanna play their guys

Who is left that we don’t expect?

[BuffaloBillsGospel]

On 11/5/2017 at 5:46 AM, nucci said:

Because players are in this business to sign cheap deals

 

So Thompson won't sign for a cheap deal? 

[BigBuff423]

On 11/4/2017 at 5:50 PM, jmc12290 said:

As of today, the Bills have $21M in cap space for 2018, not including rookie contracts. 

Our pending FAs:

Kyle Williams	DT	34	BUF	TBD	$7,433,333	UFA	-
Jordan Matthews	WR	25	BUF	TBD	$1,237,317	UFA	-
Shareece Wright	CB	30	BUF	TBD	$1,100,000	UFA	-
Brandon Tate	WR	30	BUF	TBD	$1,010,000	UFA	-
Mike Tolbert	FB	31	BUF	TBD	$980,000	UFA	-
Ramon Humber	OLB	30	BUF	TBD	$900,000	UFA	-
Colt Anderson	SS	32	BUF	TBD	$900,000	UFA	-
Joe Webb	QB	30	BUF	TBD	$900,000	UFA	-
Leonard Johnson	CB	27	BUF	TBD	$855,000	UFA	-
Cedric Thornton	DT	29	BUF	TBD	$775,000	UFA	-
Taiwan Jones	RB	29	BUF	TBD	$775,000	UFA	-
Shamarko Thomas	SS	26	BUF	TBD	$775,000	UFA	-
Travaris Cadet	RB	28	BUF	TBD	$775,000	UFA	-
Deonte Thompson	WR	28	BUF	TBD	$775,000	UFA	-
Preston Brown	ILB	25	BUF	TBD	$751,438	UFA	-
Jerel Worthy	DT	27	BUF	TBD	$600,000	UFA	-
E.J. Gaines	CB	25	BUF	TBD	$581,918	UFA	-
Seantrel Henderson	RT	25	BUF	TBD	$567,720	UFA

Who do we keep?  Assuming Kyle comes back and we resign one of Gaines/Matthews, we could be looking at around $5M in spendable money next offseason.  Do we restructure TT a third time?

 

Not to totally pee all over your parade, but Rob Quinn did a nice write-up and explanation of Cap situation. They are in a very good position with a fair amount of money and that's WITH Tyrod coming back at $18, Shady at his cap hit and Hughes at his Cap hit...none of which I think come back. 

[Mrbojanglezs]

On 11/4/2017 at 6:11 PM, Steptide said:

He might demand it, but he hasent put  up the production to get it

 

I don't see how he is any less productive than Robert Woods

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

On 11/4/2017 at 6:47 PM, Kelly the Dog said:

And he missed all of training camp because he was hurt, and then he quickly got hurt, and is playing hurt. 

 

 

....so if you were to re-sign him, is Woods type money reasonable?.......