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Potential replacements for Eric Wood


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First of all, thank you Eric for your service here and we all wish you well.  We now need to look for his replacement.  Do we go the free agent route, draft pick or next man up?  Is Groy the replacement or are we looking to draft one of this class's top centers?  This class has quite a few options at the center position but this would be something that would need to be taken in the 1st or 2nd round.  Or do we hit the market and try to sign a guy like Ryan Jensen who was a first year starter this year for Baltimore but played like on of the top ones in the game.  He's already stated that he's excited to see where this offseason takes him so he may be available.  The more and more the offseason goes on, the more I think we will not be trading any of these picks to get a QB.  Now we have another huge hole on the roster that needs to be filled.  What are you thoughts on replacing wood?

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This is a very real and natural place to go after hearing the news but one of the things that's really starting to turn me off about football. I don't blame you at all for starting the thread and it's a discussion to have but brutal to hear about a guy being forced into retirement and having this be one of the first items we are forced to turn to as a fanbase or organization.

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Def want to echo best wishes to Wood.....who I am at least glad like Kyle that he did get to make the playoffs before he was done.

 

I really think the replacement is already on the roster in Groy who frankly has been solid when he has played at both guard and center......its not a situation where  a high round pick needs to be spent here.

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I bet Groy. He's not a bad OL. 

 

Also have posted that I want us to go after Hubbard, OT from Steelers. He played a few snaps at C this year and could be our rotational/back-up. Had a couple low snaps, but otherwise fared well and had only played the position a handful of times in practice before that. 

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Groy is a natural replacement on the roster, but I'm in the bag for Price.  Groy is going to be 28 when the season starts, so not exactly a long term solution, Price is a guy who can start at guard right away or win the center job outright and slide Groy over to guard or keep him as a valuable depth piece.

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3 minutes ago, Chuck Wagon said:

This is a very real and natural place to go after hearing the news but one of the things that's really starting to turn me off about football. I don't blame you at all for starting the thread and it's a discussion to have but brutal to hear about a guy being forced into retirement and having this be one of the first items we are forced to turn to as a fanbase or organization.

This is just a stupid post, I'm sorry. We are all very concerned for him, he seams like a really great guy and was great for the community. But none of us know him personally and our lives will move on. Wish him the best, but there are far more tragic things that happen in this world every single day. 

 

Anyways, there's nothing wrong with this thread. To be honest I'm not too concerned for the bills, he's always been a bit overrated as a player and at his age would have needed to be replaced in the next couple years anyways. 

 

Wishing you the best Eric. 

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5 minutes ago, Chuck Wagon said:

This is a very real and natural place to go after hearing the news but one of the things that's really starting to turn me off about football. I don't blame you at all for starting the thread and it's a discussion to have but brutal to hear about a guy being forced into retirement and having this be one of the first items we are forced to turn to as a fanbase or organization.

Obviously it's brutal to hear.  It's never what any fanbase likes to hear but this is a business and this team has to do their due diligence if they want to be back in the playoffs.  I get it, it sucks.  My heart goes out to him and his family.  I wish him the best but you have to try to pick up the pieces as fast as you can and that means scouting these players and finding a replacement.  We can't just sit here and cry about it.  

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Groy is the leader in the clubhouse, but with 3 holes on the OL now, those who wanted to draft an RB will likely be disappointed.  This could also impact Buffalo's ability to move up, unless there are good FA center options.  Replacing Wood is a serious monkey in the wrench for the Bills off-season.

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12 minutes ago, Process said:

This is just a stupid post, I'm sorry. We are all very concerned for him, he seams like a really great guy and was great for the community. But none of us know him personally and our lives will move on. Wish him the best, but there are far more tragic things that happen in this world every single day. 

 

Anyways, there's nothing wrong with this thread. To be honest I'm not too concerned for the bills, he's always been a bit overrated as a player and at his age would have needed to be replaced in the next couple years anyways. 

 

Wishing you the best Eric. 

 

 

How do you know none of us know him personally?  Some of us do personally know players.  They are real people, it's not Madden.

 

It's cold to post about potential replacements less than 10 minutes after a guy who has given us a decade of great service gets his career ended prematurely.  As I said, it's a real discussion point, but it's not stupid to say it's something that can turn one off on football.

Edited by Chuck Wagon
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9 minutes ago, JohnBonhamRocks said:

To those saying this is wrong, how long after this news is permissible to start talking about its Buffalo Bills football implications?

 

 

I didn't say it's WRONG.  I said it's a tough reality that gets harder to stomach as one gets older.

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Well I was hoping we'd draft several lineman already....so it's just one more to add to the list. Groy is adequate, but not great. Richie is getting older. The entire right side already needed replacing. We're going to have some not so sexy picks come draft day. IMO, this makes the decision to move up for a QB just that much harder. Hard to get rid of good draft picks with so many holes.  

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2 minutes ago, BrotherChazz said:

Well I was hoping we'd draft several lineman already....so it's just one more to add to the list. Groy is adequate, but not great. Richie is getting older. The entire right side already needed replacing. We're going to have some not so sexy picks come draft day. IMO, this makes the decision to move up for a QB just that much harder. Hard to get rid of good draft picks with so many holes.  

 

No, it doesn’t make the decision to possibly move up for a QB harder.

 

At all.

 

 

 

Edited by Binghamton Beast
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What's the salary cap implications?  He just signed a 2 year extension this year.  Will there be a dead cap like him being cut?  Or would the Bills recoup all that $ since he is retiring?  And not trying to be insensitive to him, he's a great guy and player.  Just wondering since roughly $8 million a year is a big chunk for cap reasons

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Groy gets the start, between getting paid and by all reports he was basically attached to woods hip during TC it would make sense. Plus he filled in great at the end of the 2016 season when wood went down. I’m also way on board for drafting billy price

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39 minutes ago, JohnBonhamRocks said:

I bet Groy. He's not a bad OL. 

 

Also have posted that I want us to go after Hubbard, OT from Steelers. He played a few snaps at C this year and could be our rotational/back-up. Had a couple low snaps, but otherwise fared well and had only played the position a handful of times in practice before that. 

I love Hubbard and if  Groy is looking good at Center we can kick him outside at RT or even at guard . Hubbard can play all 5 spots on the line he'll be in demand this offseason. 

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