Why is Marcel Dareus still a free agent?

[billsfan89]

I don't know if he has stated otherwise but Dareus could also be opting out of the season due to Covid? Honestly if Dareus is looking to play 2-3 or more years his best bet would be to sit out 2020 (which could be a mess of a season) and get himself in as best shape as possible and take a one year deal in 2021 to try and up his value. DT's can play effectively into their 30's. If he wants to snag one last decent sized deal he has to play himself into it smartly. 

[HOUSE]

He should sign with the Dolphins where he will be no tribble at all

 

2

[todd]

14 hours ago, Mango said:

I still think it was a mistake because

 

1. He was still productive at the time

2. We wouldn’t have been in “cap hell” had we just waited a few months. 
3. Its a coaches job to work with tough athletes, not cast them aside in short order to find easier ones. Marrone hasn’t been able to manage Dareus or 60% of his roster because he sucks. 
 

That doesn’t mean that he should be an all pro. Or even that good. But cutting him that quickly created a large hole, where we had to over pay his replacement, and eat his salary, all while he was still productive at the time. 
 

I would be been fine letting him go the year after. It would have halved his dead cap space. 

 You aren't considering what a cancer he was on the culture. You can't have a lazy person who was marginally productive compared to talent and salary on the team. It is a poison to the culture of accountability you are trying to build. He's not accountable, couldn't be motivated, and wasn't worth the trouble. 

[Jauronimo]

The Bills traded Dareus while in the midst of an unexpected playoff run, as a result of the trade they incurred a $14.2 million cap hit in 2018 which plunged the team into what I am told is a Whaley created cap hell, and went from averaging 84.5 rushing yards allowed to 148.7 rushing yards allowed after the trade. 

 

A few weeks later, Dareus and the Jags defense held our offense and rushing attack to 3 points and 263 total yards of offense.

 

No one misses Dareus but lets not pretend the timing of the move was not questionable.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Jauronimo

[Brennan Huff]

28 minutes ago, ALF said:

If he is interested in playing and recovered from his surgery his agent would be working the phones. At the least he could be a space eater DT

That’s what I’m saying. He should be on a roster if he’s healthy. He’s nowhere near where he was in 2014 but he’s still big *****in dude with some talent with a few years left in him. Just depends on his health and if he has any motivation at all

[Protocal69]

14 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

My friend from Wisconsin kept on telling me we needed to take JJ Watt.  I told him "nah, I want Dareus.  He's the best player in the draft".  Then we got Dareus and I was jumping up and down in my living room.  That SOB disappointed me so much and JJ Watt is my favorite non-Bill player in the NFL.

Yeah I remember thinking Watt was just a try hard type of guy like a Chris Kelsey smh. Boy I ***** that assessment up bad.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

46 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

He should sign with the Dolphins where he will be no tribble at all

 

2

The captain's hat would fit nicely with the yacht crowd down there!

[billsfan89]

4 hours ago, Buffalo03 said:

Ok. Was he an alternate or an actual voted in player? All those other players made the pro bowl in their first 2 years. I know Dareus was the last one

 

He was voted in 2014 and I think he was a first alternate selected in 2013 if not voted in. Dude was a very legit player in 2013 worth his pro-bowl accolades. Even in 2011 and 2012 he was playing good but not great on bad defenses. Then in 2014 he was first team All-Pro and led the best D-line in the league. Sadly after getting paid big in 2015 he regressed to his 2011 and 2012 form. Not a bad player, good at stuffing the run and getting some pressure up the middle. But nowhere near the dominant player he was in 2014 and needed to be in order to justify that deal. Mario being his "big brother" and Rex coming in were not an ideal situation for him to be in with a fat contract.

[Kwai San]

15 hours ago, Logic said:

Because he's a turd.

Also...holy hell is that 2011 draft depressing to look at. I know WHY we took Dareus. We desperately needed to get better at run-stopping at the time. But holy cow...could've had a All-Pro at Edge, DL, WR, or LT who'd still be playing at a high level.

 

							Misc			Approx Val			Passing					Rushing			Receiving
Rnd	Pick	Tm	Player	Pos	Age	To	AP1	PB	St	CarAV	DrAV	G	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	Att	Yds	TD	Rec	Yds	TD	Solo	Int	Sk	College/Univ
1	1	CAR	Cam Newton	QB	22	2019	1	3	8	104	104	125	2371	3980	29041	182	108	934	4806	58	1	33	0				Auburn	College Stats
1	2	DEN	Von Miller	LB	22	2019	3	8	9	98	98	135	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	380	2	106.0	Texas A&M	College Stats
1	3	BUF	Marcell Dareus	DT	21	2019	1	2	7	56	46	121	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	255		37.5	Alabama	College Stats
1	4	CIN	A.J. Green	WR	23	2018	0	7	8	68	68	111	0	0	0	0	0	11	93	0	602	8907	63				Georgia	College Stats
1	5	ARI	Patrick Peterson	DB	21	2019	3	8	9	85	85	138	1	1	17	0	0	7	34	0	10	64	0	395	25	4.0	LSU	College Stats
1	6	ATL	Julio Jones	WR	22	2019	2	7	8	94	94	126	0	0	0	0	0	19	118	0	797	12125	57				Alabama	College Stats
1	7	SFO	Aldon Smith	DE	21	2015	1	1	3	27	25	59	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	141	1	47.5	Missouri	College Stats
1	8	TEN	Jake Locker	QB	23	2014	0	0	1	15	15	30	408	709	4967	27	22	95	644	5	0	0	0				Washington	College Stats
1	9	DAL	Tyron Smith	T	20	2019	2	7	9	84	84	131	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0				USC	College Stats
1	10	JAX	Blaine Gabbert	QB	21	2018	0	0	2	16	7	56	842	1498	9063	48	47	177	631	3	1	-16	0				Missouri	College Stats
1	11	HOU	J.J. Watt	DE	22	2019	5	5	8	98	98	112	0	0

 

This is INCREDIBLY depressing to see.......makes me want to gouge out my eyes....ugh!

[Nextmanup]

5 hours ago, Kwai San said:

 

This is INCREDIBLY depressing to see.......makes me want to gouge out my eyes....ugh!

It's just another example, out of thousands, how the "pros" have no idea what they are doing at the draft table.

 

As I constantly point out, this is why you never trade up, and should almost always trade down.

 

More picks = more chances to get lucky, which is mostly what it comes down to.

 

 

 

 

[The Frankish Reich]

7 hours ago, Steve O said:

So I need to stand up for Haynesworth here. The excerpt below was taken from his "Letter to My Younger Self" located here: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/albert-haynesworth-letter-to-my-younger-self

The whole article is worth reading but the most pertinent part below

"You’re going to look at this famous NFL head coach in total disbelief and say, “You want to pay me $100 million to grab the center?”

And he’s going to say, with a straight face, “Albert, if you have more than one sack this season, I’m going to be pissed.”

The last thing you’ll say before walking out of the office is, “Can’t you just pay someone $300,000 a year to do that?”

You will lose your passion for football in Washington, and it will be impossible to get back. In retirement, you will discover that your financial advisor has squandered most of the money you made with the Redskins, and he will be under investigation for financial fraud. Thankfully, you will have discovered a passion for restoring houses and buying property during your offseasons. You’ll even open up a BurgerFi restaurant in Knoxville (I know you love burgers). Instead of being on the beach in the Bahamas, like most people probably think you are, you will be hanging drywall in a condo in South Carolina. And you know what? That will make you extremely happy."

 

More recently he has been waiting for a kidney transplant. As of January he had a friend who had passed 3 rounds of donor matching criteria. Haven't been able to find anything more recent, and don't know what Covid has done to the timeline for the transplant. But he certainly hasn't been laughing all the way to the bank.

 

 

What would I have done at age 28 or so with $100 million guaranteed, more to come if I'm willing to bash my head and shoulders against a 300 lb guy 16 times a year for the next half dozen years or so?  I probably would've done what Albert did. But I never, ever would've let someone manage that money for me.

Sad that he needs a kidney transplant. Sounds like he's at peace with himself, and I wish him well. Frustrating for fans of the team that signs these guys, but that sounds like a fan problem, not a player problem.

[Lothar]

2 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

It's just another example, out of thousands, how the "pros" have no idea what they are doing at the draft table.

 

As I constantly point out, this is why you never trade up, and should almost always trade down.

 

More picks = more chances to get lucky, which is mostly what it comes down to.

 

 

 

 

Patrick Mahomes says hi.  

[Bill from NYC]

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2020 at 9:10 AM, PromoTheRobot said:

In hindsight 2011 was a week draft. The QBs after Cam? Woof! We could have had AJ Green or Julio Jones but with no franchise QB throwing to them, would they have had an impact? The jewel of the first round was JJ Watt at 11. But overall it was an underwhelming draft.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_NFL_Draft

Good post. It was a weak draft, and when the Bills took Dareus there was nothing to indicate that he would lose his mind. I remember a game vs. the Redskins when he took it over and won it for the Bills.

 

Now to be honest, they blew the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Williams wasn't bad but he was a bad corner and didn't play well until he was moved to safety. They should have drafted Dalton. In the 3rd, Sheppard just sucked.

 

But, for the sake of being fair, they got more than their money's worth in the 4th for Da' Norris Searcy, who was very productive, and a great fit

Edited September 2, 2020 by Bill from NYC

[C.Biscuit97]

On 9/1/2020 at 11:44 AM, LabattBlue said:

Became a fat cat after signing his inflated contract.  He turned out exactly as predicted.  Fat and lazy.  Maybe he can go back to drag racing down Milestrip Rd.  Once a tool, always a tool.

 

Are his supporters still claiming that all his failings are to be blamed on a troubled childhood?

So you don’t think having your mom, dad, grandparents, mentor/coach, and his brother murdered might have an effect on you? I would mess me up. I just had a couple close people pass away and it’s insane to thing it doesn’t effect you. 
 

but that said, he did have a chance to prove how much football meant to him and he didn’t.  Honestly, I think he just cared about Alabama and getting a pay day.  I know some fans don’t want to hear it, but pro football is just a job to some of these players.  Football is a grind.  He got paid and checked out.  It’s sucks because I truly believe with a better mindset, he had hall of games ability.

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, Bill from NYC said:

Good post. It was a weak draft, and when the Bills took Dareus there was nothing to indicate that he would lose his mind. I remember a game vs. the Redskins when he took it over and won it for the Bills.

 

Now to be honest, they blew the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Williams wasn't bad but he was a bad corner and didn't play well until he was moved to safety. They should have drafted Dalton. In the 3rd, Sheppard just sucked.

 

But, for the sake of being fair, they got more than their money's worth in the 4th for Da' Norris Searcy, who was very productive, and a great fit

It was a weak draft?  I’m so confused.  Other than the 2 HOF WRs that would’ve been wasted because we had no QB, we could’ve drafted likely future HoFers Patrick Peterson, JJ watt, Cam jordan, Tyron Smith.  Future HoF Von Miller and MVP cam newton chosen before Marcel.  It was one of the best 1st rounds ever. 
 

It didn’t turn out to be a great QB draft but, Cam, Dalton, tyrod and Kap had their moments.  Not awful compared to other drafts 

[Bill from NYC]

52 minutes ago, NewEra said:

It was a weak draft?  I’m so confused.  Other than the 2 HOF WRs that would’ve been wasted because we had no QB, we could’ve drafted likely future HoFers Patrick Peterson, JJ watt, Cam jordan, Tyron Smith.  Future HoF Von Miller and MVP cam newton chosen before Marcel.  It was one of the best 1st rounds ever. 
 

It didn’t turn out to be a great QB draft but, Cam, Dalton, tyrod and Kap had their moments.  Not awful compared to other drafts 

Actually, you are correct. Looking at it again the first round WAS good. Promo made the point that it was smart to pass on the receivers because we had no QB. In retrospect, we could have drafted Julio Jones AND Dalton.

Ouch!

[Rocky Landing]

5 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

So you don’t think having your mom, dad, grandparents, mentor/coach, and his brother murdered might have an effect on you? I would mess me up. I just had a couple close people pass away and it’s insane to thing it doesn’t effect you. 
 

but that said, he did have a chance to prove how much football meant to him and he didn’t.  Honestly, I think he just cared about Alabama and getting a pay day.  I know some fans don’t want to hear it, but pro football is just a job to some of these players.  Football is a grind.  He got paid and checked out.  It’s sucks because I truly believe with a better mindset, he had hall of games ability.

I actually kinda have the opposite take on his decline. In fact, I'll just go ahead and say it: I'm willing to put the decline of Marcel Darius (as well as the entire rest of the defense, for that matter) largely on the shoulders of Rex Ryan. We went from the #2 ranked defense under Schwarz, to the 24th under Ryan with just two changes in personnel. 

 

Marcel wasn't the only defensive player to lose all motivation, and check out that season. Darius went from 10 sacks in 2014 to just two in 2015. Mario Williams went from 14.5 to 5. Hughes went from 10 to 5. Kyle Williams went from 5.5 to 1. The team, as a whole, went from a league-leading 54 sacks in 2014, to just 20 in 2015. The Ryan regime was a motivation-suck for the entire defense. 

 

[blacklabel]

I always felt bad for Marcell. So many people in his life that he was close to just up and died. Many of them before he even finished high school. That said, he had ample opportunity and resources, as well as plenty of people in his corner to overcome and turn into one of the top DTs in the game. We know that Kyle Williams took him under his wing. But when Dareus left, Kyle more or less said, "I tried, but you can't reach everyone." 

 

At this point in his career he's made his money which, I'm pretty sure was the sole motivating factor for him. He doesn't seem too concerned with trying to win a championship. And I don't think he's a "locker room cancer" as some like to say. I think that term gets thrown around too much and should only apply to players who truly fit the description. With Dareus, I'm sure teams are hesitant to bring him in because they probably don't want their young guys to pick up on his practice and preparation habits which are probably at the level of "do just enough not to get yelled at."

 

Either way, with COVID playing a role and the possibility that teams may be sent scrambling for replacements, I'd say his chances of playing this year are probably better than average.