Bills sign G Brian Winters - update, there was a WNY connection

[fansince88]

11 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Sarcasm?

https://forums.theganggreen.com/threads/brian-winters-cut.94168/page-3#post-3951357

I went there and now I feel dirty. Time for a shower.

[machine gun kelly]

88, I did the same thing, and yes, took a shower.  I didn’t post though as it is their board, not mine, so not my place to post on their site.

[machine gun kelly]

88, I did the same thing, and yes, took a shower.  I didn’t post though as it is their board, not mine, so not my place to post on their site. I’ve been trying to find if he really is an often injured person, or just misrepresented.  I saw last year he had a shoulder injury, and two years before he had a torn abdomen muscle.  He played through both as I’ve read and had off season surgeries.  In 2018, he played well the whole year.  If anything, he looks like a tough guy that is depth for us at Guard.  I still think Long is most likely at the beginning of the year going to start as he is solid and knows the scheme from last year.

[JMF2006]

Its nice when an FA that could sign anywhere wants to be in Buffalo.

 

There are lots of teams that  have a need for a veteran G.

[BritBill]

In the space of the year we've gone from having 80% of our offensive line not being starter standard to having other team's starters as back ups. 

 

The organisation has done a good job in putting the offensive line right. There's still room to be stronger but the improvement is obvious.

[Back2Buff]

This signing should tell you about how the team feels about Feliciano coming back.  They are preparing to not have Feliciano all year (which is really likely). 

 

It wouldn't shock me to see zero drop off between Winters and Feliciano.  Winters career before Buffalo was much more accomplished than Feliciano and I believe in Bobby Johnson.  I think he is a huge selling point to O lineman.

 

The only thing that worries me about this move, is this team's obsession with keeping Ford at RT.   He just wasn't good last year.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

5 minutes ago, Back2Buff said:

This signing should tell you about how the team feels about Feliciano coming back.  They are preparing to not have Feliciano all year (which is really likely). 

 

It wouldn't shock me to see zero drop off between Winters and Feliciano.  Winters career before Buffalo was much more accomplished than Feliciano and I believe in Bobby Johnson.  I think he is a huge selling point to O lineman.

 

The only thing that worries me about this move, is this team's obsession with keeping Ford at RT.   He just wasn't good last year.

One thing about Feliciano is this might show they would rather have him as the #1 depth interior OL, which sometimes is just as important as the starter and will end up with just as many reps. Feliciano plays all 3 interior positions very well in a pinch. It's also a reason they like Ty Nsekhe as depth OT because he can play both sides in a pinch when injury happens.

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

21 minutes ago, Back2Buff said:

This signing should tell you about how the team feels about Feliciano coming back.  They are preparing to not have Feliciano all year (which is really likely). 

 

It wouldn't shock me to see zero drop off between Winters and Feliciano.  Winters career before Buffalo was much more accomplished than Feliciano and I believe in Bobby Johnson.  I think he is a huge selling point to O lineman.

 

The only thing that worries me about this move, is this team's obsession with keeping Ford at RT.   He just wasn't good last year.

 

I'm getting to a point where I'm rooting for Ford to do well at RT so this stupid belief that "rookies that don't excel their rookie year never get better" will go away forever.  You know who was not good their rookie year and got much better in year 2? Besides 90% of NFL players, the one that jumps to the top of my mind is Tremaine Edmunds. He was a train wreck as a rookie. Last year he climbed into the top 10 (top 15 depending on who you ask), and now he is considered one of the most promising up and coming LBs in the NFL.  

[Florida Bills Fanatic]

Legit signing.  Beane must be one heck of a salesman.  A number of other teams with serious needs had shown interest.  Winters had been playing hurt last season which certainly impacted his effectiveness.  If he is healthy, he'll be an easy plug and play.  Beane continues to be impressive.

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

Just now, Florida Bills Fanatic said:

Legit signing.  Beane must be one heck of a salesman.  A number of other teams with serious needs had shown interest.  Winters had been playing hurt last season which certainly impacted his effectiveness.  If he is healthy, he'll be an easy plug and play.  Beane continues to be impressive.

 

Who else was showing interest? I'm not on twitter anymore, so I'm missing out on alot of these small updates. 

[SCBills]

4 minutes ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

 

I'm getting to a point where I'm rooting for Ford to do well at RT so this stupid belief that "rookies that don't excel their rookie year never get better" will go away forever.  You know who was not good their rookie year and got much better in year 2? Besides 90% of NFL players, the one that jumps to the top of my mind is Tremaine Edmunds. He was a train wreck as a rookie. Last year he climbed into the top 10 (top 15 depending on who you ask), and now he is considered one of the most promising up and coming LBs in the NFL.  

If there’s ever a position where rookies struggle, it’s at Tackle.   If he struggles again this year, then yes, his future is at Guard, but clearly the staff thinks he has what it takes to be a strong RT. 

4 minutes ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

 

Who else was showing interest? I'm not on twitter anymore, so I'm missing out on alot of these small updates. 

I didn’t see any specific teams mentioned but multiple NFL reporters tweeted out, upon his being let go from the Jets, that he would likely be signed quick and have quite a few options.  

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

1 minute ago, SCBills said:

If there’s ever a position where rookies struggle, it’s at Tackle.   If he struggles again this year, then yes, his future is at Guard, but clearly the staff thinks he has what it takes to be a strong RT. 

 

Joe Marino dedicated an entire episode of Locked On Bills to Ford's future at RT. It is reallllly good. The thesis is pretty much that the whole "slow feet" argument is a myth, and that for dozens of other reasons there was never a high likelihood Ford would do well at RT his rookie season. Important points include that Ford played in the Big Ten against below-average DL talent, that he consistently played in the two point stance, and that he relied on his superior athletic ability to win at the point of attack.  He concluded that Ford was always a project RT, which he had been saying since he scouted Ford in the draft.  All this is to say that Ford was never going to be a great rookie. However, he has the size and strength to become a dominant RT. Now, that being said, he needs to develop. If he doesn't, well, then it wasn't mean to be.  But, his rookie year is not an indicator, in any respect, of what he can become at RT. 

[YoloinOhio]

Beane is on WGR right now and said they have agreed on parameters of a deal but he still needs to come into the facility, physical, Covid test etc and that it takes time so they are optimistic but it is “premature to call him a Bill”

 

[nucci]

56 minutes ago, JMF2006 said:

Its nice when an FA that could sign anywhere wants to be in Buffalo.

 

There are lots of teams that  have a need for a veteran G.

did he have other offers?

[YoloinOhio]

1 minute ago, nucci said:

did he have other offers?

“Solid market” 

 

 

[Paup 1995MVP]

This shows how serious the Bills are about making a deep run this season.  A starter goes down and we sign a very good replacement immediately.  Beane is tremendous! 

 

This should be an exciting season.  We should be competing hard for a Super Bowl birth this year.  Josh needs to up his game to a level that is in the top 10-12 QB's in the league (should be attainable) and we are a serious contender.  Go Bills. 

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

38 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

“Solid market” 

 

 

 

He has a pretty involved injury history. Even when he played, he was playing hurt. I wonder if that is part of why the Jets cut him. The chatter is that it was a cap move, but you never really know what is happening behind the scenes.  I wouldn't take the physical as a given with this move.  

[WEATHER DOT COM]

Decent player who will hopefully be better with a better supporting cast. He was a penalty machine before last season, though. Hope he keeps those down if he starts.

[ExWNYer]

14 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

Beane is just waiting to trade one of these guys to some desperate team for a 5th next month 

 

So Winters back to the Jest for a 5th sounds about right. J-E-S-T...JEST, JEST, JEST!!!

 

Jest fans upon reacquiring Winters: "I nevuh wanted dem to cut 'im anyways. I blame Gase and Woody! But a GREAT move by Peedason to get 'im back. Dey don't know what dey're doin' up in Buffalo. We fleeced 'em. Wait...wut position does he play again?"

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

We lost a player who was a starter all 16 weeks a year ago.  To just sit on your hands and assume that Daryl Williams, and evan boehm are good enough - its not the beane way.  He brought those guys in for competition to feliciano.  So naturally he brings in further competition to them.  

[Punching Bag]

2 hours ago, Back2Buff said:

This signing should tell you about how the team feels about Feliciano coming back.  They are preparing to not have Feliciano all year (which is really likely). 

 

It wouldn't shock me to see zero drop off between Winters and Feliciano.  Winters career before Buffalo was much more accomplished than Feliciano and I believe in Bobby Johnson.  I think he is a huge selling point to O lineman.

 

1 hour ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said:

Legit signing.  Beane must be one heck of a salesman.  A number of other teams with serious needs had shown interest.  Winters had been playing hurt last season which certainly impacted his effectiveness.  If he is healthy, he'll be an easy plug and play.  Beane continues to be impressive.

 

Winters has had trouble staying healthy and JEST Organization has not helped. I think the Bills have shown that they have a good plan for offense line, have good coach and they have good facility for both maintaining health and rehabilitating.  Considering the 1.5 players who opted out and good plan for COVID-19 it is a good place for a player to go who wants to restore his value on a one year contract.  Now if he cannot remain healthy Bills will look at replacing him with Mongo toward end of year if he can come back.

[Doc]

2 hours ago, Back2Buff said:

This signing should tell you about how the team feels about Feliciano coming back.  They are preparing to not have Feliciano all year (which is really likely). 

 

It wouldn't shock me to see zero drop off between Winters and Feliciano.  Winters career before Buffalo was much more accomplished than Feliciano and I believe in Bobby Johnson.  I think he is a huge selling point to O lineman.

 

The only thing that worries me about this move, is this team's obsession with keeping Ford at RT.   He just wasn't good last year.

 

You can't count on Feliciano coming back this year.  If he does, great, but he'll be behind the 8-ball.  He almost assuredly will try to push himself to get back so he can show that he's recovered for when he hits FA next year, but that's not the Bills' concern.  They'll play the best man.

 

And I agree that forcing Ford at RT isn't smart.  I hope he competes at both RG and RT with Winters and Williams respectively, and if he needs to sit and learn, so be it.

[DCofNC]

Good signing, he’s an upgrade to virtually anybody we had there and good insurance as who knows what is coming in terms of injury/Covid etc this season. 

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

 

You can't count on Feliciano coming back this year.  If he does, great, but he'll be behind the 8-ball.  He almost assuredly will try to push himself to get back so he can show that he's recovered for when he hits FA next year, but that's not the Bills' concern.  They'll play the best man.

 

And I agree that forcing Ford at RT isn't smart.  I hope he competes at both RG and RT with Winters and Williams respectively, and if he needs to sit and learn, so be it.

 

Yeah a torn pec is really hard for someone to not reinjure again when they are literally forcefully stressing it every snap by having to reach out and block someone...for another position it might not be as big of a deal but for an OLine/DLine player I think it will be a much harder thing to deal with.

[End The Drought]

18 hours ago, End The Drought said:

And I would much rather have Winters than Long 

yes I am Brandon Beane 

[MrEpsYtown]

On 8/3/2020 at 7:30 PM, YoloinOhio said:

Bates was projected as a C coming out of college. He’s also signed for a few years on a cheap deal. But  Long has starting experience there (even though he played hurt). I think Boehm is more of a guard?

Boehm is a natural center who has played a lot of right guard in the NFL. He started like 40 games at center at Mizzou, interestingly though, the majority of his NFL experience so far has been at guard. Not sure why that is, but he’s an interesting depth guy for sure.  
 

Interestingly, all of the other centers on the roster Morse, Bates, Boettger, even Feliciano (played a ton of RT at the U) are converted tackles. 

 

Fun fact...Ryan Bates’ dad’s first name is Norman. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by MrEpsYtown

[Punching Bag]

10 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

 

 

Boehm is a natural center who has played a lot of right guard in the NFL. He started like 40 games at center at Mizzou, interestingly though, the majority of his NFL experience so far has been at guard. Not sure why that is, but he’s an interesting depth guy for sure.  

Interestingly, all of the other centers on the roster Morse, Bates, Boettger, even Feliciano (played a ton of RT at the U) are converted tackles. 

 

In general college tackles have more mobility than guards and many are converted to guards in NFL.  Many teams these days are going with more mobile linemen who are able to pull, do sweeps, etc so they want their guards to be more mobile as well rather than huge behemoths that dominated lines for a while.

 

Boehm is very football smart with him playing center in high school and had the advantage that his father was his head coach. He got an award for most outstanding football athlete in Kansas City Metropolitan Area and was a high school captain.  There is an interview with his father (who is sports salesman and works on KC Chiefs on game days).

 

Interview with his father on Evan.  Evan did not like Cardinals and liked both Rams and Colts.

https://omny.fm/shows/the-border-patrol/royce-boehm#description

[Simon Says]

On 8/3/2020 at 5:23 PM, YoloinOhio said:

So who got cut to keep roster at 80

I thought cutting Bell opened a spot... Bills have cut Long

[YoloinOhio]

14 minutes ago, Georgie said:

I thought cutting Bell opened a spot... Bills have cut Long

Right, Bell was cut to make room for Vincent Taylor to be activated from the Covid list 

[Bruce Harper]

On 8/3/2020 at 5:24 PM, njbuff said:

Jets fans weren't too thrilled about Winters.

 

How does Winters REALLY grade out?

 

Don't know about grades but I can tell you that he was very well-regarded by his teammates for his toughness and playing through injuries.  Unfortunately, it has been several years since he hasn't been hindered by injuries.  He was flat out bad last year, but if he recovers from his injuries he is a starting level guard. 

[YoloinOhio]

 

[YoloinOhio]

 

[ExWNYer]

11 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

Per the Bills, it's now official.

 

https://www.buffalobills.com/news/bills-sign-g-brian-winters

Edited August 6, 2020 by ExWNYer

[YoloinOhio]

 

[Ralonzo]

12 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

"memory's last forever"

 

Oh he's gonna fit right in with Buffalo.

 

[YoloinOhio]

47 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

 

Oh he's gonna fit right in with Buffalo.

 

My eyes hurt

[ALF]

The Buffalo Bills have officially inked free agent guard Brian Winters. Ian Rapoport o NFL Network is saying it’s a one-year, $3 million with $2 million guaranteed. The corresponding move was to release OG Spencer Long earlier in the week. The move saved $2.4 million, so the move is negligible on the Bills’ salary cap.

 

https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2020/8/6/21357071/buffalo-bills-officially-sign-og-brian-winters-to-one-year-deal-contract-details-new-

[billsfan89]

On 8/3/2020 at 2:33 PM, NewEra said:

You think it’s odd that the Bills want to keep their second year 2nd rd pick at the position that they drafted him to play?  I think it’s odd that you think it’s odd. 
 

this coming from a guy who wasn’t a fan of fords play last year at RT.  His play costs us games.  I do like his nastiness and protective nature over his teammates and I realize that that it was his rookie year. He can and probably will be a better player this year.  It makes complete sense to me that McB  is keen on having Ford at RT and he isn’t the only option

 

 

Can winters play C?  

 

I don't get this obsession with moving Ford into guard without seeing what he has at RT first. I thought Ford's play actually did improve at RT when Ty got hurt later on. He was tragic early on but I thought by the end of the season was playing at a respectable level. 

 

The organization is going to let him have an offseason to learn and get back out there at RT. If he looks bad there this season kick him in. If not keep him out there. 

[Dont Stop Billeiving]

44 minutes ago, ALF said:

The Buffalo Bills have officially inked free agent guard Brian Winters. Ian Rapoport o NFL Network is saying it’s a one-year, $3 million with $2 million guaranteed. The corresponding move was to release OG Spencer Long earlier in the week. The move saved $2.4 million, so the move is negligible on the Bills’ salary cap.

 

https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2020/8/6/21357071/buffalo-bills-officially-sign-og-brian-winters-to-one-year-deal-contract-details-new-

Thanks ALF! The terms make me love this signing even more.

 

Winters was rumored to have a big market with several teams interested. Good o-line talent is super hard to find in today's NFL and Winters is a good player who fought through injuries last year and played on a sub-par offense/in a terrible offensive scheme. 

 

Surprised we were able to sign him for a relatively cheap amount and almost break even after cutting Long. Some good news on a potentially scary opt-out day for Bills fans.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

On 8/4/2020 at 7:50 AM, Back2Buff said:

This signing should tell you about how the team feels about Feliciano coming back.  They are preparing to not have Feliciano all year (which is really likely). 

 

It wouldn't shock me to see zero drop off between Winters and Feliciano.  Winters career before Buffalo was much more accomplished than Feliciano and I believe in Bobby Johnson.  I think he is a huge selling point to O lineman.

 

The only thing that worries me about this move, is this team's obsession with keeping Ford at RT.   He just wasn't good last year.

 

On 8/4/2020 at 10:03 AM, Limeaid said:

 

 

Winters has had trouble staying healthy and JEST Organization has not helped. I think the Bills have shown that they have a good plan for offense line, have good coach and they have good facility for both maintaining health and rehabilitating.  Considering the 1.5 players who opted out and good plan for COVID-19 it is a good place for a player to go who wants to restore his value on a one year contract.  Now if he cannot remain healthy Bills will look at replacing him with Mongo toward end of year if he can come back.

 

On 8/4/2020 at 10:40 AM, Doc said:

 

You can't count on Feliciano coming back this year.  If he does, great, but he'll be behind the 8-ball.  He almost assuredly will try to push himself to get back so he can show that he's recovered for when he hits FA next year, but that's not the Bills' concern.  They'll play the best man.

 

And I agree that forcing Ford at RT isn't smart.  I hope he competes at both RG and RT with Winters and Williams respectively, and if he needs to sit and learn, so be it.

 

Wouldn't shock me to see the Bills are cautious with bringing Feliciano  back, if by mid year he's ready, but Winters is playing good and not hurt, they give Feliciano and injury settlement and release him as he'll become a FA by year end anyway.  Assuming the rules with the new CBA haven't changed around that? 

 

I didn't see what the deal with Winters is, just a one year or more?