Jump to content

Do you think the Bills are going to make a big run at Clowney?


njbuff

Recommended Posts

1 minute ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Seattle gave up a 3rd round pick and mostly filler for Clowney, who if they let him walk and sign with another team will get a comp 3rd round pick back in 2021. So the cost for Clowney for Seattle is more in line with a rental player. They might resign him but I wouldn't be shocked if they let him test the market and take the comp pick. 

 

Personally I don't want to sign Clowney. I would rather target Yannick out of Jacksonville who is a bit younger and I feel like would fit better with the culture and defense. The cost cap wise would be the same but I think he is the one piece this team could add at significant expense that would fit the team's timeline and not cap them out going forward. I think that the defensive line needs an elite pass rusher. I think even if you brought back Lawson (who I would like to bring back and still sign Yannick) the pass rush is not consistent enough to be a factor against better O-lines with regularity. I think they need to bring back Lawson to keep the strength in numbers thing the D-line has and bring in a prime edge rusher like Yannick to take the defense over the top. 

 

I think the front office can't be too consumed with the future when considering what to do in free agency. If they cut Murphy and Kroft they have 101 million in cap space roughly speaking. They have enough money to resign 2-3 of their primary free agents (Spain, Phillips and Lawson) and make a move to get a big free agent like Yannick (And still have some space to add another mid-level contract and some depth pieces) and still roll over 20-30 million to help ease the burden on extensions that might hit in 2021. 

 

The window to win in the NFL is not always there long term. The Bills have a real chance to win in 2020 and they have to consider making a big move and spending on the team now. You don't have to be irresponsible but you can't be too cautious. 

I’m not expecting them to be frugal with the money. They can pay for production that’s no issue. I would be ok with keeping Lawson as our big rotation player for both end spots and signing Yannick. I’m not a big fan of Yannick but having him, Lawson and Hughes should definitely provide a nice pass rush. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

If “big run” means big money, no.

If fair money then yes/maybe.

gonna be lots of disappointment at the end of free agency on this board, like every year, it’s like many are not paying any attention to how our FO does business.... me, I think I will be pleasantly surprised by the start of the season, but I’m the layed back sort, you know, sipping Pinot Grigio nibbling on dark chocolate, down in the Islands ????? ?

 

Go Bills!!!

 

Last off-season a lot of people really liked the free agency moves. Mitch was the best center on the market, Brown and Beasley were quality competent receivers brought in at a good price, Ty was considered a sleeper signing and Spain was considered a steal at his cost. Overall I loved what they did even if I did hate the Kroft signing. I would be ecstatic if they did another smart off-season with 1 upper level signing (similar to Mitch 10 million aav or more) then 2-3 mid-level signings (7-9 million aav.) I think most here would be happy. 

 

I more advocate signing Yannick and maybe another mid-level starter contract type player because I think the pieces this team is missing is more of an elite level game changers at WR and Edge. Finding an elite player at one of those positions in free agency is more than likely going to cost big money. I think it is still prudent to go after a big fish, resign your own talent and maybe make a few more minor signings. But I would be more than fine if they repeated last off-season. 

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

Always with a good take on these types of circumstances. The part about Gaines getting fired, is that you contacting dots or has there been some reporting on that? I like your take on FA and draft. 
 

Beane will know what’s what with Clowney, if he is available and they want to offer him a deal, I’m cool with it.  Beane and McDermott deserve the benefit of the doubt when it come to the defensive side of the ball. Can anyone Name me one bad signing they have made on defense? 


Appreciate the sentiment for sure.

 

The Gaine-O’Brien power struggle was at least partially related to Clowney. I believe Gaine has a good relationship with him.

  • Thank you (+1) 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, njbuff said:

The Bills were in on trading for him, but fell short.

 

Now that he might be free (if Seattle doesn't franchise him)..........

 

Will the Bills make another strong push for him?

 

2 hours ago, njbuff said:

Remember guys, they did try and trade for him.

 

 

 

The Bills started talks to trade for him, and then Clowney delivered a short list of teams who he would consider signing long term with. And the Bills dropped out.

 

Tells me the Bills werent on that list, and that is the end of all Clowney talk.

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

2 JAGs don't make a Clowney

Well I shall agree to disagree. I don’t think he’s a very good player. If you do more power to you. Not my place to judge others opinions. I still stand by my statement that you get better production from Murphy and Lawson than you would from clowney. 

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Rc2catch said:

Well I shall agree to disagree. I don’t think he’s a very good player. If you do more power to you. Not my place to judge others opinions. I still stand by my statement that you get better production from Murphy and Lawson than you would from clowney. 

 

Yep, id rather see them spend the money on JPhillips, Shaq, and Yannick.

 

No one has more penalties over the last 4 seasons than J Clowney. He has exponentially more than Jerry Hughes and it seems like Hughes has too many.

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Yep, id rather see them spend the money on JPhillips, Shaq, and Yannick.

 

No one has more penalties over the last 4 seasons than J Clowney. He has exponentially more than Jerry Hughes and it seems like Hughes has too many.

 

Interesting, I wasn't aware of this.  Yes, it does seem like Hughes draws too many flags, though many of them are very questionable, like the refs are intentionally picking on Hughes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, njbuff said:

The Bills were in on trading for him, but fell short.

 

Now that he might be free (if Seattle doesn't franchise him)..........

 

Will the Bills make another strong push for him?


If they didn’t make the trade I don’t think anything’s changed that would justify a big jump in valuing him. 
 

id be down for the move but don’t see it happening 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

I’m not expecting them to be frugal with the money. They can pay for production that’s no issue. I would be ok with keeping Lawson as our big rotation player for both end spots and signing Yannick. I’m not a big fan of Yannick but having him, Lawson and Hughes should definitely provide a nice pass rush. 

 

Last off-season the offense in particular needed a lot of starters. They had one quality O-line player, a young QB and not much else on offense. They needed more than 2-3 big pieces. And the strategy of filling the biggest need with Mitch and then patching in mid to lower level signings around Josh worked (Along with drafting round 2-3 with offensive players.) But this off-season the team has a much better talent level and the pieces that are missing are higher end pieces. They need those last 2-3 big players to push the team over the top. I think in free agency they can at least find that 1 front line starter to fill a need and then address depth/role players with the rest of their space (after they retain 2-3 of the teams own free agents.) 

 

7 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

Well I shall agree to disagree. I don’t think he’s a very good player. If you do more power to you. Not my place to judge others opinions. I still stand by my statement that you get better production from Murphy and Lawson than you would from clowney. 

 

That's fine if your argument is that Clowney isn't the type of player that would make the impact a big contract would justify. I kind of feel the same way about giving him a big contract, I would rather have Yannick because I think he is the better player and a bit younger. But I do think this team needs a significant upgrade at the Edge position, Shaq and Hughes are not frontline elite pass rushers and Murphy is a JAG or slightly above replacement level and Johnson is a longer term project. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

Interesting, I wasn't aware of this.  Yes, it does seem like Hughes draws too many flags, though many of them are very questionable, like the refs are intentionally picking on Hughes.

 

Yep...

 

 

 

And 3 years ago when Hughes seemingly hit the height of his penalties, he had 6 all season... Clowney had 13 that year.

  • Like (+1) 2
  • Thank you (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Clowney has never had double digit sacks. He's like Jerry Hughes. We already have a Jerry Hughes.

Just now, ScottLaw said:

What is a process guy? Because every time a really good FA is mentioned as a possible signing someone chimes in “not part of the process”. I still don't get it.

Clowney isn't "really good". Maybe above average. He's going to get paid like an elite player. Overpaying hopefully isn't a part of the process.

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, ScottLaw said:

Lmao. They already have overpaid. Take a look at Stars contract and tell me they didn't overpay for him. 

Yep, that's an overpay for sure. But he's like the 15th highest paid DT where Clowney might be too 3 after this free agency period. That's a significant difference. He'll cost twice as much as Star.

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Last off-season the offense in particular needed a lot of starters. They had one quality O-line player, a young QB and not much else on offense. They needed more than 2-3 big pieces. And the strategy of filling the biggest need with Mitch and then patching in mid to lower level signings around Josh worked (Along with drafting round 2-3 with offensive players.) But this off-season the team has a much better talent level and the pieces that are missing are higher end pieces. They need those last 2-3 big players to push the team over the top. I think in free agency they can at least find that 1 front line starter to fill a need and then address depth/role players with the rest of their space (after they retain 2-3 of the teams own free agents.) 

 

 

That's fine if your argument is that Clowney isn't the type of player that would make the impact a big contract would justify. I kind of feel the same way about giving him a big contract, I would rather have Yannick because I think he is the better player and a bit younger. But I do think this team needs a significant upgrade at the Edge position, Shaq and Hughes are not frontline elite pass rushers and Murphy is a JAG or slightly above replacement level and Johnson is a longer term project. 

I would not be happy to not add talent to the pass rush for next season. I don’t mind if they throw a big contract at someone they feel can make a legitimate impact. For me, it’s just not clowney. I don’t want to trot Lawson and Murphy back out next year without adding anyone I was only comparing their production together vs clowneys. He can make these huge impact plays rarely that show how elite he can be. It’s just too rare those plays happen for the contract he’ll receive. And he always seems to be on the injury report and manages to play through but it’s not that elite level he’s capable of. Lot of things can happen before we actually hit free agency though. 
Im watching Minnesota to see what happens with Everson griffin and Xavier Rhodes and Stefon diggs is my madden trade target ?
I think this year maybe more so than others is a big trade year. The trend for trades seems to be moving up yearly with bigger and bigger names moving around. With our current roster and amount of draft picks I think Beane could work his magic and land us an elite player already under contract  for our first round pick and maybe some extra compensation added in. One thing I think everyone can agree on is we need those 2-3 impact players at pass rush and receiver, and then the other spots needing upgrades as well in backup RB, offensive line rather it’s guard or RT depending on Spain and Ford, possible tight end some want hooper if he’s available, starting corner opposite Tre, depending on who you talk to. 
I don’t count Loraxs replacement cause he did a few different things and were not getting one player to do what he did probably. 
I mentioned once before I was hoping Vosean would play well and earn some time, and he could spell Edmunds in the middle and they could move Edmunds around more similar to Alexander. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

What is a process guy? Because every time a really good FA is mentioned as a possible signing someone chimes in “not part of the process”. I still don't get it.

 

It's the most over-used, and most misused phrase on this board. Much like "high character" was back in the day.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, njbuff said:

The Bills were in on trading for him, but fell short.

 

Now that he might be free (if Seattle doesn't franchise him)..........

 

Will the Bills make another strong push for him?


I don’t know that the Bills were ever actually in on him.  There was nothing but twitter rumors, and never anything from the Bills that suggested there was any truth to them being really trying to get him.  I’m sure Beane inquired, but I never saw anything that suggested we actually tried to get him.

 

I think he stays in Seattle personally.  Beane already said he won’t be spending big in new FA and is focused on keeping on our own guys.  I am not expecting any big splashy FA signing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Lmao. They already have overpaid. Take a look at Stars contract and tell me they didn't overpay for him. 
 

 

Fair take, but they didn’t pay star that much for his on field production IMO. I know lots use the “he’s not meant to have stats just clog things up” kind of argument, which I kinda understand. But I think they paid him that big money cause he was the one guy on defense they wanted to come in and set the tone for the locker room. Same reason we trotted out Tolbert when we knew he was washed up. It’s been super obvious Mcdermott wants his locker room a certain way and he will keep players for that specific reason despite what they actually accomplish on the field. I can see no other reason for them to overpay Star that much when he couldn’t of had that big of a market and it really only makes sense that they wanted to start “the process” ?? in the locker room with him. 
 

Had to throw that in. 
Just my opinion once again but “the process” was for season one only. Setting the tone for what they wanted in the locker room. The culture of the team. Moving out players and bringing others in they were familiar with. 
“the process” is used as more of a silly excuse by us posters now. They have the culture they wanted, the players they wanted, they can add whoever they want now the locker room knows what’s up and should keep anyone in line with what they want done and how they want it done. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, MJS said:

Clowney has never had double digit sacks. He's like Jerry Hughes. We already have a Jerry Hughes.

Clowney isn't "really good". Maybe above average. He's going to get paid like an elite player. Overpaying hopefully isn't a part of the process.

He's elite against the run and above average when rushing the passer.  Here's what everybody's favorite pff said about him recently....

 

Clowney put up an 88.0 overall grade in 2018 — the highest mark of his career — and he followed up with an 87.3 grade after a trade to the Seahawks despite seeing his sack total drop from nine to three. Clowney has the 11th-best overall grade among all edge defenders since 2017, including the third-best mark against the run (91.3), but his pass-rush grade of 83.9 ranks just 25th among that same group.

 

I'd prefer they didn't give him a record DE contract and pursued Judon (or somebody similar), but would understand why they'd do so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, JetsFan20 said:

Why didn’t Houston want to pay Clowney? That’s the question any GM who is interested needs to ask themselves. 
 

 

If I’m correct the issue with him and Houston was he wanted defensive end money, Houston wanted to pay him OLB money. 
I want to say they had issues over the franchise tag and what position he was being tagged for. That was the beginning of the end for their relationship. I think the difference was around 3-4 million. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

If I’m correct the issue with him and Houston was he wanted defensive end money, Houston wanted to pay him OLB money. 
I want to say they had issues over the franchise tag and what position he was being tagged for. That was the beginning of the end for their relationship. I think the difference was around 3-4 million. 


Why do you get a rid of a guy that talented on a team that is supposedly contending for a super bowl over a few million? Something didn’t add up there IMO. They really seemed to have zero intrrrst in extending him a which is a red flag. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

It’s essentially an excuse for when we don’t sign a good FA. 

 

Not counting on that. And I just think its the easiest/laziest way for folks to dismiss players they dont like without having to get into the details or justify their position.

 

20 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:


Beane already said he won’t be spending big in new FA and is focused on keeping on our own guys.  I am not expecting any big splashy FA signing.

 

Both of you have been around long enough to know that no GM in history has honestly laid out their offseason plan in their postseason press conference before the playoffs are even over. I do expect them to keep our own guys, but...

 

It's "year 4" (McBeane's words) of the rebuild. They have their high draft pick QB of the future in place and on a rookie contract. They have $90M in cap space. Now is the time they will shift into a higher gear and make a move.

 

Maybe not as splashy as Clowney, but good money on Yannick (or the equivalent) should be expected.

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, JetsFan20 said:


Why do you get a rid of a guy that talented on a team that is supposedly contending for a super bowl over a few million? Something didn’t add up there IMO. They really seemed to have zero intrrrst in extending him a which is a red flag. 

Only so much money to go around. I’m case you missed ESPN for our bills game JJ Watt plays there ? and Hopkins. 
 

I think they had to pick between clowney and Whitney Mercilus. They chose mercilus at a cheaper rate when clowney refused to play on the franchise tag. 
 

They were not in a great cap situation at the time I don’t think. Not sure they could of given him the 100 million I’m sure he would like. They had some rough contracts and a lot of mid level contracts. I could be wrong though 

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, JetsFan20 said:


Why do you get a rid of a guy that talented on a team that is supposedly contending for a super bowl over a few million? Something didn’t add up there IMO. They really seemed to have zero intrrrst in extending him a which is a red flag. 

 

If you want a real answer to this, you have to try to get inside the head of Bill O'Brien. He called that shot. And good luck with the PTSD if you make it out of there alive.

 

And kinda in O'Brien's defense, they did just as well without him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Am I off, or is Lawson a (very) poor man’s Clowney. Not much pass rush, but sets the edge well. I don’t see the Clowney love.  Doesn’t the Big Money come from QB pressures and sacks? Sorry, but I’m actually serious. What makes Clowney worth so much?  (Besides a college career and a highlight hit where he was inexplicably unblocked.) 

 

I think of him as “solid” more than “game changing”. Did I miss something? 

 

Thanks in advance to those who have watched more of his NFL play. 

 

.

Edited by Augie
  • Like (+1) 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, njbuff said:

The Bills were in on trading for him, but fell short.

 

Now that he might be free (if Seattle doesn't franchise him)..........

 

Will the Bills make another strong push for him?

Yes the need a play maker ,  you cut Kroft/ Murphy/ Smith and that saves the Bills 15 million on the cap.  Murphy is bum who did next to nothing this season 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, njbuff said:

The Bills were in on trading for him, but fell short.

 

Now that he might be free (if Seattle doesn't franchise him)..........

 

Will the Bills make another strong push for him?

I believe part of the trade deal was that Seattle promised not to tag him 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, thebandit27 said:


Just about everything here is wrong.

 

They are a team with an inside track if anything—Gaine is the Houston GM that pushed for a Clowney extension and got fired over it.

 

Yes, they have holes to fill on offense. Do both. They have a TON of cap space.

 

How many games has he actually missed in the last 4 years?

Knock it off with your facts...

 

In all seriousness, I think we are right about Edge here after listening to the Sal C/Vic interview. Premium position that goes quickly and sign large APY contracts - a few who could start immediately in the draft, will go quick in the draft and we will weigh the free agents against our own UFAs.

 

Granted it's early and he plays close to the vest, beane usually is fairly upfront about things - the best 2 ends in the draft will be long gone before we pick. My bet is a Clowney, a Yannick, possibly Chris Jones or Calais Campbell (if he is cut for Yannick) instead of Shaq and Phillips. He also said, they plan on signing the guys who are coming up, but no rush yet - they want to take care of FA first

 

WR Beane makes it sound really fluid and he likes the underclassman and the injured WRs not at the Senior Bowl. He is also willing to trade later round picks since they likely won't make the roster. So as of today my best guess is

 

1.) Edge in FA - willing to pay

2.) CB in RD1 - simply BPA (unless a top WR /Edge falls)

3.) Trade up to take the best WR in RDs 2 & 3

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Yep...

 

 

 

And 3 years ago when Hughes seemingly hit the height of his penalties, he had 6 all season... Clowney had 13 that year.

So he fits in with Jerry - let's gooooooooooooooooo!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Yep, id rather see them spend the money on JPhillips, Shaq, and Yannick.

 

No one has more penalties over the last 4 seasons than J Clowney. He has exponentially more than Jerry Hughes and it seems like Hughes has too many.

Yannick's contract won't be that far off from Clowney's.  I'm guessing at least in the 5 year 100 million dollar range with 60 million guaranteed.  There's no way we sign all three. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

Yannick's contract won't be that far off from Clowney's.  I'm guessing at least in the 5 year 100 million dollar range with 60 million guaranteed.  There's no way we sign all three. 

 

I didnt mean that all 3 would equal Clowney, just that I'd rather bring all them back than worry about Clowney.

 

$15M, $10M, and $20M still leaves us $45M in cap space. And it's a solid long term investment in a good spot- the trenches.

 

 

Edited by DrDawkinstein
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, njbuff said:

The Bills were in on trading for him, but fell short.

 

Now that he might be free (if Seattle doesn't franchise him)..........

 

Will the Bills make another strong push for him?

 

 

I don't think it's as clear as you apparently do that they were in on trading him. They might just have been doing their due diligence.

 

As for your main question, no, I don't think so.

 

 

6 hours ago, njbuff said:

 

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know the Bills were one of the teams in on trading for him.

 

 

Yeah, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know the difference between knowing and guessing and yet smart people who are actually guessing think they know things all the time.

 

 

5 hours ago, njbuff said:

 

Just do some snooping, you will find what you are looking for.

 

 

That's what people say when the facts don't back them up.

Edited by Thurman#1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Yep, id rather see them spend the money on JPhillips, Shaq, and Yannick.

 

No one has more penalties over the last 4 seasons than J Clowney. He has exponentially more than Jerry Hughes and it seems like Hughes has too many.

Correct Answer.  Reward Jordan & Shaq. Sign Ngakoue to a reasonable deal.

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...