Could John Brown be Released Next Off-Season?

[Rock-A-Bye Beasley]

4 minutes ago, dneveu said:

Yeah - look at hockey's free agency and you'll see agents being like... yes - take the deal!  There's still some good free agents out there and no one is willing to pay them close to what theyre asking for (Hoffman, Duclair, Athanasiou, Granlund, and Vatanen are the big ones)

 

Yes and there are plenty of guys on the team with one year left and/or a low  % guaranteed. If we want them around, this offseason is a great opportunity to extend them at a lower cap hit to create some additional space while not losing a player.

[Buff76ers]

I would keep John Brown at all cost.  Look at the numbers when he plays vs when he doesn't.  

[DCbillsfan]

Things can change quickly but right now I think you bring Brown and Morse back.  Brown is the only speed WR they have.  Maybe add a 1yr extension to bring cap hit down.  Morse's concussion history does concern me but the Bills don't have much proven depth on OL.  Drafting a Center makes sense imo.  

[Matt_In_NH]

It could happen but a lot depends on how the nfl deals with the decreased revenue this year/salary cap.   I think he is worth that money next year.  

[Royale with Cheese]

1 minute ago, DCbillsfan said:

Things can change quickly but right now I think you bring Brown and Morse back.  Brown is the only speed WR they have.  Maybe add a 1yr extension to bring cap hit down.  Morse's concussion history does concern me but the Bills don't have much proven depth on OL.  Drafting a Center makes sense imo.  

 

I really think they like Feliciano at guard.  If Boettger continues to grow and Ford coming back....maybe Feliciano is our center next year?

 

I think Brown for sure back....Morse I'm 50/50 on.

[SCBills]

9 minutes ago, Buff76ers said:

I would keep John Brown at all cost.  Look at the numbers when he plays vs when he doesn't.  

 

That was true when we were adjusting to life without him, but against a tough Niners Defense, Josh Allen and the Offense were machine-like in their execution without John Brown in the mix.   I think we're just starting to see the explosive ability of Gabriel Davis - He does it in a different way than Brown, but at UCF he was a monster deep threat, and seems to be showing that skill in the NFL already.

 

I don't doubt that we'll be even more lethal with him back, and with the way we throw it around, we need to prioritize having 4 good WR's on the roster every year, but does one of them need to be John Brown next year?... at that cap hit?... I'm not sure...

 

 

Edited December 10, 2020 by SCBills

[Dkollidas]

I tell anyone considering this... PLEASE listen to the Cover 1 podcast with Greg Tompsett from the bye week I believe, about the Bills 2021 cap situation.

 

While certain media types (WGR, Fairburn & Buscaglia on the Athletic) are bemoaning the Bills cap situation in 2021, they can do a lot, rather easily, to give themselves cap space.

With rollover from this year, we’re projected to have roughly $5M in cap space.

 

Easier cuts like Vernon Butler ($6.8M saved), Tyler Matakevich ($3.35M) and Lee Smith ($2.25M) can be made. That saves a total of $12.4M

 

John Brown, Jerry Hughes, and Micah Hyde can all be re-signed, lowering all of their 2021 cap hits, by an average of about $3M-$4M each. That saves another $10M-$12M.
Also, their 2022 years of their contracts (except maybe Hyde, would be relatively easy to get out of if Hughes/Brown regress further in 2021). 

So with those cuts and extensions, we’re at about $27M-$29M.

 

Lastly you can restructure contracts. This is usually reserved for players who you plan on keeping. You basically turn their salary for 2021 into a signing bonus which gets evenly divided throughout the length of the contract. Someone Ike Diggs is perfect for this, gives him more money up front, and gives us a year to hold off on totally redoing his contract. It also saves about $7.5M-$8M on his 2021 cap hit.

 

So right there, without anything very painful at all, I’ve built up the Bills 2021 cap space to roughly $35M-$37M. 
 

Then looking at a guy like Milano, maybe the injury allows him to take a deal that is more based on incentives, and has an overall value of maybe $11M/aav, but the cap hit for the first year is only say, $7M. Another $6M on Feliciano.

 

Our draft class should be cheaper since we pick later, maybe $3.5M, and then re-sign outstanding free agents (Dean Marlowe, Taiwan Jones etc etc) for veteran minimums of roughly $1M each (let’s say 6 guys make the roster at the end of the day, a cost of maybe $8M total).

 

We’ve filled a roster, re-signed two of our three top UFA’s, and added 6 draft picks, a complete roster, for about $25M of that $37M-$39M in cap space. 
 

That leaves us with about $12M-$14M to play with in the UFA market, or make trades, or keep in space and roll over into 2022 when Allen and Edmunds will likely be on their 5th year options and more space will be needed. 

[Straight Hucklebuck]

1 hour ago, Halloween Land said:

Looking at his 2021 salary from Spotrac.com, releasing Brown would save $8.15 million from the cap and only $1.6 million in dead cap. He is a great player to have but with Gabriel Davis playing well and Brown dealing with injuries this year, I can see him being released. What do you guys think? 

I hope not.

 

In fact I want the Bills to go the opposite way and keeping pouring on skill players.

 

After the success of the 2013 defense, I wanted the Bills to double down and make defense an overwhelming strength my selecting Khalil Mack.

 

In this case, keep adding to this offense.

 

I think the OP is the old outdated way of Bills thinking where we look to save money, leaving us one deep at every position. 

[Adam727]

I hope not.  I would leave the offense in tact if possible.  If they need to free up cap space I'd rather see them do it by releasing someone(s) on the D-line.  I'd rather see Brown extended than cut.  

[Ramza86]

they might.

 

But having a deep team matters because of injuries

 

[Mat68]

There are alot of factors involved.  Cap shrinking? That would put Brown in the cross hairs.  Who is available in Fa or the draft.  He is now in his 30's, and is a small wr with with a lower leg issue that costed him the season. Lastly, how does Davis play down the stretch.  All in all I wouldnt like Buffalo cutting him for simply cap reasons.  

Edited December 10, 2020 by Mat68

[SCBills]

3 minutes ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

I hope not.

 

In fact I want the Bills to go the opposite way and keeping pouring on skill players.

 

After the success of the 2013 defense, I wanted the Bills to double down and make defense an overwhelming strength my selecting Khalil Mack.

 

In this case, keep adding to this offense.

 

I think the OP is the old outdated way of Bills thinking where we look to save money, leaving us one deep at every position. 

 

Does it need to be John Brown next year, or would you be ok rolling into next year with Diggs-Davis-Beasley and then drafting another WR in the Top 100?

 

I'm ok either way, but I don't think many people here want to cut Brown and then not replace him.  

[RyanC883]

Not a bad question.  It depends.  If releasing him frees up the money needed for a CB 2 or an elite pass rusher, then yes.  Otherwise, I can't see it.  Having him, Davis, Diggs, and Beasley is ideal.  It also provides depth in case of injury.  

5 minutes ago, Adam727 said:

I hope not.  I would leave the offense in tact if possible.  If they need to free up cap space I'd rather see them do it by releasing someone(s) on the D-line.  I'd rather see Brown extended than cut.  

 

I'm thinking murphy is gone.  

[klos63]

The cap isn't settled on for next year. Things could change for the better.

 

'Per a league source, the possibility that stadiums will be full for the 2021 season could prompt the league to not tie the hands of teams by dropping the salary cap by more than $23 million per team, from $198.2 million. Although the 2020 season will indeed result in lower revenue than usual, the potential of a return to something normal or close to it plus the coming TV deals may result in the league keeping the cap in the range of $195 million.'

[ALLEN1QB]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I've thought about it but I think they want to keep the continuity.  I  can honestly see Morse being released....does he have a big dead cap hit?

No way I would cut Morse line would definitely take a hit his contribution is underestimated IMO.

[SCBills]

One thing that I don't understand about the cap situation is how we, the Buffalo Bills, have all this gnashing of teeth over who we can keep/not keep.   I understand we have some big contracts on the horizon in Allen, Diggs re-up and Edmunds, but we are in very good cap shape compared to many in the NFL. 

 

Who's going to sign all these players this offseason?  The Jets?... They just not going to sign anywhere?  Many teams are in far worse shape with a lower/stagnant cap than we are... they just going to be releasing players who will get signed to market/above market contracts where?.....

[Victory Formation]

I think Brown will be back.. I think there’s an outside chance we draft a WR high, albeit a small chance I assume.. If anybody is replaced, I’d reckon that it’d be Andre Roberts.. We’ll probably go EDGE RD1.. After that I think we could take a speed WR/return man in RDs 2-4.. Don’t believe that you should outright release John Brown.. Think you should bring someone along behind him.. Andre Roberts is 33 and would logically be the next WR we should replace.. If you could replace Andre Roberts with a WR who could also push John Brown, it’d be a great situation for us..

[Virgil]

If Brown is healthy in the off-season, his contract is a bargain.  I don't see why he would re-structure for less. 

 

Whether we keep him depends on the cap.  If it goes down, we have tough decisions to make.  I don't think Brown is at the top of the cut list though.  That list starts with Star and Murphy

[GunnerBill]

Yes. He could. Will he be? Unlikely.

[Royale with Cheese]

6 minutes ago, ALLEN1QB said:

No way I would cut Morse line would definitely take a hit his contribution is underestimated IMO.

 

He's already been benched this year and I think they like what Feliciano brings to the center position.  With Boettger growing and Ford coming back next year...it is a possibility Morse is gone.