Free Agency News and Updates - around the league

[DJB]

I'd be leery of investing money in Clowney.  

 

Hes hurt often and if I'm not mistaken doesn't have huge sack numbers and is more of a run stopper

[Herc11]

8 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

He didn’t hold out for the half the season. He signed during TC.

 

I stand corrected, I was thinking it was a long holdout. He actually sustained a hamstring injury that kept him out the first four games. I now remember people were blaming the holdout and signing at the end of August for the hammy injury.

 

 

8 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I don’t think that’s fair. If I remember correctly the Chargers were trying to do something with his bonus pay that no other team was doing. Maybe it was even offset language. I don’t remember. That was a them problem and not a Bosa problem.
 

Now he’s doing what every player in his situation does, waiting for a long term deal. That’s standard for players of his caliber that don’t have guaranteed money commensurate with their production. We see that every year. 

 

2 totally different situations that are easily justified.  

 

 

My memory was off, I stand corrected.

[Cripple Creek]

On 3/2/2020 at 9:38 PM, Saint Doug said:

Hockey is much different. Contracts are fully guaranteed and teams cannot cut players (without their expressed consent) to get cap relief. The only way to get cap relief is through a trade or contract termination (which is relatively rare). 

No team has fudged up the cap like the Sabres.

[davefan66]

16 hours ago, thebandit27 said:

Probably. A lot of that has had to do with scheme fit. He’s a speed-to-power guy, so traditional methods of lining him up at 9-tech and 2-point aren’t the best way to make use of his skill set.

 

He’s best off playing 7-tech and 8i rushing out of a 4-point. There’s a reason that his best sack numbers came when JJ Watt was hurt and Clowney got pushed closer to the OT.

 

Which brings me to the idea that he’s a great fit here. The 7-tech spot is the position where Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson had their best production in McDermott’s D. It’s the position that took Shaq Lawson from a total non-factor to a potential big-$$ FA. Clowney is a perfect fit there, and McDermott will get more out of him than what we’ve seen.

 

I don’t doubt scheme has a lot to do with how a player preforms, look at Jerry Hughes.  I don’t entirely blame wrong scheme on Clowney, feel he has not given it his all consistently.
 

Would it be better to re-sign Shaq than go after Clowney?  Younger guy, with much upside?  Seems they have had similar young careers.

[thebandit27]

13 minutes ago, davefan66 said:

 

I don’t doubt scheme has a lot to do with how a player preforms, look at Jerry Hughes.  I don’t entirely blame wrong scheme on Clowney, feel he has not given it his all consistently.
 

Would it be better to re-sign Shaq than go after Clowney?  Younger guy, with much upside?  Seems they have had similar young careers.

I supposed it depends on what you want. Shaq is probably set to be a steady, 4-8 sack guy that plays great run D. If you think that’s got more value at $10-12M per year than Clowney—whose upside is double digit sacks and is the best EDGE run defender in the game—at $20M, then maybe.

 

The difference for me is that Clowney’s baseline—the minimum you’re going to get from him—is Shaq’s 2019 season: great run D and above average contribution as a pass rusher.

[H2o]

23 minutes ago, thebandit27 said:

I supposed it depends on what you want. Shaq is probably set to be a steady, 4-8 sack guy that plays great run D. If you think that’s got more value at $10-12M per year than Clowney—whose upside is double digit sacks and is the best EDGE run defender in the game—at $20M, then maybe.

 

The difference for me is that Clowney’s baseline—the minimum you’re going to get from him—is Shaq’s 2019 season: great run D and above average contribution as a pass rusher.

I'd take Clowney in a heartbeat, I just don't think he comes to Buffalo. 

 

Side note:

The Dolphins are interested in basically every Pats or former Pats player in FA. 

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article240793796.html

Edited March 4, 2020 by H2o

[YoloinOhio]

2 minutes ago, H2o said:

I'd take Clowney in a heartbeat, I just don't think he comes to Buffalo. 

Curious as to why? His priorities definitely aren’t big city atmosphere or weather because he straight up refused to go to Miami and wanted out of Houston 

[ALF]

Depends if the Bills can re-sign Shaq , will they have to go big after a FA or 1st rd DE.  Hoping they keep Shaq at a fair price.

 

Edited March 4, 2020 by ALF

[H2o]

3 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Curious as to why? His priorities definitely aren’t big city atmosphere or weather because he straight up refused to go to Miami and wanted out of Houston 

It depends on how he views the Bills. One of the things going on last year was him saying he was reluctant to play for a team he didn't feel was a contender and supposedly that was part of the reason Buffalo wasn't really all in on him then. No one knows how the talks really went in that situation, but does he see us as one now? Big cities and weather may not be a priority, but the question is could our FO/Coach sell him on Buffalo as a legit SB contender? What is the perception of our team really amongst the rest of the players in the league? We, here, have endured so much watching this team the last two decades and are happy to have made the playoffs twice in the last three years. We all hope that we are on the verge of a late 80's, early 90's type of run with a different result in the big one. Does the perception many Bills fans have resonate with players on the FA market and act as a draw? 

[YoloinOhio]

16 minutes ago, H2o said:

It depends on how he views the Bills. One of the things going on last year was him saying he was reluctant to play for a team he didn't feel was a contender and supposedly that was part of the reason Buffalo wasn't really all in on him then. No one knows how the talks really went in that situation, but does he see us as one now? Big cities and weather may not be a priority, but the question is could our FO/Coach sell him on Buffalo as a legit SB contender? What is the perception of our team really amongst the rest of the players in the league? We, here, have endured so much watching this team the last two decades and are happy to have made the playoffs twice in the last three years. We all hope that we are on the verge of a late 80's, early 90's type of run with a different result in the big one. Does the perception many Bills fans have resonate with players on the FA market and act as a draw? 

He did say he wants to play for a contender - But that didn’t  line up with his actions unless he didn’t believe Houston is contender,  because he refused to play there on the tag. The problem with players saying this and using it as the main reason to sign with a team is that annually there is no way to know who will be a legit SB contender or not. It used to be NE was a slam dunk, now maybe it’s the chiefs. Outside of that it’s a guess. 

Edited March 4, 2020 by YoloinOhio

[H2o]

10 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

He did say he wants to play for a contender - But that didn’t  line up with his actions unless he didn’t believe Houston is contender,  because he refused to play there on the tag. The problem with players saying this and using it as the main reason to sign with a team is that annually there is no way to know who will be a legit SB contender or not. It used to be NE was a slam dunk, now maybe it’s the chiefs. Outside of that it’s a guess. 

Much of what you say is true, but did he truly want out of Houston or did he just not want to play for them under the Franchise Tag? Maybe there was friction between him and BOB? He doesn't seem like the typical money-grab type of player we see so often when you hear him speak, I will give him that. He seems like he genuinely likes to play football. Time will tell I guess and hopefully we have shaken the former stigma among the players on the market. 

[Bulldog]

13 hours ago, H2o said:

Her best bet is to stfu because she is surely not helping the man's cause. It also makes him look like a b**** if he has to have his woman speak for him.  This is starting to remind me of the Brent Grimes situation in Miami a few years ago. 

 

Yes - nothing props up the perception of a guys manhood like needing your wife to speak for you. Maybe his Mom could put out a few words of support for him too!

[YoloinOhio]

9 minutes ago, H2o said:

Much of what you say is true, but did he truly want out of Houston or did he just not want to play for them under the Franchise Tag? Maybe there was friction between him and BOB? He doesn't seem like the typical money-grab type of player we see so often when you hear him speak, I will give him that. He seems like he genuinely likes to play football. Time will tell I guess and hopefully we have shaken the former stigma among the players on the market. 

I think he didn’t like the whole situation in Houston with their non-committal approach to him but if he truly believed they were a SB contender and that was the main thing he wanted he would have stuck it out another year and then hit FA. He would have made a ton of $ on the tag. But who knows. 

Edited March 4, 2020 by YoloinOhio

[H2o]

1 minute ago, Bulldog said:

 

Yes - nothing props up the perception of a guys manhood like needing your wife to speak for you. Maybe his Mom could put out a few words of support for him too!

Paging Maneesha....

[Hapless Bills Fan]

14 hours ago, H2o said:

Her best bet is to stfu because she is surely not helping the man's cause. It also makes him look like a b**** if he has to have his woman speak for him.  This is starting to remind me of the Brent Grimes situation in Miami a few years ago. 

 

Nah, not even close. 

Ms Bush is sticking to commenting on her man's salary vs. the rest of the league.  She needs to leave it to him and his agent to sort, but she's not wrong on the underpaid.  It just needs to be understood that unless they can come to terms readily, players under contract for next season can't be Beane's priority right now. 

 

Miko Grimes got into evaluating the skills of Grimes' Miami Dolphins teammates (their QB, who just competed for the AFC championship and won comeback POY), commenting on the quality of the Dolphins coaches and FO, etc.  Then there were those NSFW cakes......and wasn't there a disorderly conduct arrest at a game?

Nope, not close.

 

2 hours ago, davefan66 said:

I don’t doubt scheme has a lot to do with how a player preforms, look at Jerry Hughes.  I don’t entirely blame wrong scheme on Clowney, feel he has not given it his all consistently.
 

Would it be better to re-sign Shaq than go after Clowney?  Younger guy, with much upside?  Seems they have had similar young careers.

 

I would personally like to see us re-sign Shaq AND go after a FA edge.  We need to get after the QB more, no question.

[BuffaloRebound]

24 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I would personally like to see us re-sign Shaq AND go after a FA edge.  We need to get after the QB more, no question.

I’d rather have Shaq than Murphy.  If you cut Murphy and let Jordan Phillips walk, it doesn’t throw your salary cap allocation to D Line totally out of whack if you sign both Shaq and Clowney.  Hughes most likely comes off the books after next year and potentially Star too.  Oliver has a couple more years on a cap friendly rookie deal.  

[Hapless Bills Fan]

5 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

I’d rather have Shaq than Murphy.  If you cut Murphy and let Jordan Phillips walk, it doesn’t throw your salary cap allocation to D Line totally out of whack if you sign both Shaq and Clowney.  Hughes most likely comes off the books after next year and potentially Star too.  Oliver has a couple more years on a cap friendly rookie deal.  

 

There's no reason to cut a solid player under contract like Murphy until we go into the season healthy and with everyone working.   Beane is not going to throw all the cap he has at FA.

[thebandit27]

4 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

I’d rather have Shaq than Murphy.  If you cut Murphy and let Jordan Phillips walk, it doesn’t throw your salary cap allocation to D Line totally out of whack if you sign both Shaq and Clowney.  Hughes most likely comes off the books after next year and potentially Star too.  Oliver has a couple more years on a cap friendly rookie deal.  

Keep Murphy.

 

You can afford him for one year, and he comes off the books in 2021. He played the most snaps of any Bills’ DE in 2019, is a decent pass rusher, and will almost certainly be the best DE4 you can find (assuming you either re-up with Shaq or sign a FA and draft a guy).

[SWATeam]

5 minutes ago, thebandit27 said:

Keep Murphy.

 

You can afford him for one year, and he comes off the books in 2021. He played the most snaps of any Bills’ DE in 2019, is a decent pass rusher, and will almost certainly be the best DE4 you can find (assuming you either re-up with Shaq or sign a FA and draft a guy).

And I think there is still some potential upside lurking in Murphy another year out from his injury.

[GG]

10 minutes ago, thebandit27 said:

Keep Murphy.

 

You can afford him for one year, and he comes off the books in 2021. He played the most snaps of any Bills’ DE in 2019, is a decent pass rusher, and will almost certainly be the best DE4 you can find (assuming you either re-up with Shaq or sign a FA and draft a guy).

 

I'll keep harping on this until March 23 (Murphy's bonus time).  If Bills somehow end up with a marquee DE in week 1 of FA, and can bring Shaq back at $10 mil or less, Murphy is as good as gone.  You don't waste $10 mill cap space on a declining DE who'll be in 30% of snaps.