Mitch Morse Re-Works Contract per Ian Rapoport

[Hapless Bills Fan]

https://buffalowdown.com/2021/03/09/buffalo-bills-two-takeaways-mitch-morse-agreeing-salary-cut/

 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Dang I might have to take back all my Feliciano talk. The Bills want this guy... Although maybe he replaces Ford in the starting lineup. Thuney - Morse - Feliciano? 

 

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by Buffalo_Stampede

[YattaOkasan]

I think this is the video from @Cover 1.  As always really good content.

 

[YoloinOhio]

2 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Dang I might have to take back all my Feliciano talk. The Bills want this guy... Although maybe he replaces Ford in the starting lineup. Thuney - Morse - Feliciano? 

 

 

The Bills probably want a lot of things. They can’t afford Thuney.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Just now, YoloinOhio said:

The Bills probably want a lot of things. They can’t afford Thuney.

They can afford anything they want. You know the cap is fluid. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Doc]

5 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Dang I might have to take back all my Feliciano talk. The Bills want this guy... Although maybe he replaces Ford in the starting lineup. Thuney - Morse - Feliciano? 

 

 

 

I figured his play would drop-off with Scarnecchia gone.  The question is: how much does he expect to get in FA after a year making franchise OG money?

[Matt_In_NH]

1 hour ago, Casey D said:

I think Williams is gone-- too expensive.  Feliciano back as well because his cheaper.  Ford back, and get a cheaper RT option in FA, put Ford back there, or most likely a high pick.

 

Agree Feliciano will be cheaper but Williams makes a much larger hole than Feliciano.  I would like both but if I had to pick one it would be Williams.

[GunnerBill]

Is it just a pay cut? If so excellent news and very pragmatic by Mitch. 

[YattaOkasan]

7 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Is it just a pay cut? If so excellent news and very pragmatic by Mitch. 

Feels like its kicking the can down the road a year.  If he can earn his "non-likely" incentives, then its goes to next year.  I assume this is sorta the case if Morse initiated the talks as mentioned above.

[CEN-CAL17]

2 hours ago, colin said:

positive news!

 

i gotta say, given morse is getting kept cheaper, i think it's one of williams or mongo getting retained, not both.

 

unless they think they can get RB and OLB cheap in the draft or what have you.  based on mccorch's past, the DL is gonna get real attention.  that's his bread and butter.

John Brown is getting cut. That’s Daryl Williams money... I don’t see Jefferson staying. That’s Feliciano money. 

[NewEra]

16 minutes ago, mattynh said:

 

Agree Feliciano will be cheaper but Williams makes a much larger hole than Feliciano.  I would like both but if I had to pick one it would be Williams.

Williams may leave a bigger hole but Feliciano leaves multiple holes.  RG and backup C.  
 

it’ll be interesting to see what we do here.

 

I wouldn’t mind replacing both of them but expect one to be back.  Preferably Williams.  I don’t think bringing back our entire iol would help the run game we need to improve on

[ndirish1978]

2 hours ago, Dont Stop Billeiving said:

Absolutely, only LT (Dawkins) and C (Morse) are filled with above average players at this point. I'm hoping they can bring back Williams on a $10M AAV or less contract, but that may not be in the cards.

 

We need upgrades at both guard spots IMO (although I could live with Ike Boettger since we aren't overflowing with cap space and draft picks) as well so yeah completely agree that we should aim to use an early draft pick on the O-line and another in the later rounds. 

 

Williams is now the #1 or 2 Tackle available, he will get overpaid somewhere that is not Buffalo. 

[BuffaloRebound]

1 minute ago, ndirish1978 said:

 

Williams is now the #1 or 2 Tackle available, he will get overpaid somewhere that is not Buffalo. 

This is why I think you tag him.  Over-paying him for 1 year not end of world.  Playing Ford at RT may be.  

[Mountain Man]

Let Williams walk for massive money, re-sign Feliciano and tender Boettger. Draft a new RT. 

 

Feliciano is too valuable to let go, he covers 3 spots at a good starting level. 

3 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

This is why I think you tag him.  Over-paying him for 1 year not end of world.  Playing Ford at RT may be.  

They finally saw sense on Ford and put him at Guard. Leave him there, draft someone like Eichenberg,its a good deep OT draft

[Big Blitz]

2 hours ago, H2o said:

To me it's starting to feel like the Bills are going to stick with the "continuity" mantra as the entire offseason heading for virtual again. I'm not really expecting much in the way of FA at this point. I'm not expecting much leading up to the draft, including a no re-signing of Williams, Feliciano, or Milano. Only if Feliciano takes a team friendly deal will he be here. 

 

 

We did say that because of the cap issues this year this was always highly likely.

 

Don't expect anything of significance until the draft and after.  

 

Unless of course there is some significant trade for a DE to be made.  

1 hour ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Dang I might have to take back all my Feliciano talk. The Bills want this guy... Although maybe he replaces Ford in the starting lineup. Thuney - Morse - Feliciano? 

 

 

 

 

Get him.  That I'd do.  

Edited March 9, 2021 by Big Blitz

[ExWNYer]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

The Bills probably want a lot of things. They can’t afford Thuney.

 

Yeah, he's not signing a one year 'prove it' type of deal with anybody. He'll end up with a multi-year money deal from somebody who has the cap space. A team like the Jest maybe. 

[Inigo Montoya]

We spent 20+ years looking for our franchise QB and now that we have found him, do you really want to blow up the O-Line that has protected him well? 

 

Resign Williams, Feliciano, and Nsekhe.  We still have Bates, Boettger, Morse, and Dawkins in the fold.  Draft the best tackle on the board at #30 and grab a late round center to develop.  If the draftee can beat out Nsekhe, trade or release Nsekhe at the end of camp and he can be the new swing tackle, or if he is really a stud, make Williams expendable.

 

The last place we need to go dumpster diving as a franchise is on the line that protects Josh Allen.  If we can't protect him it doesn't matter who else we have on this roster.  We are not winning 6 games without Josh Allen in the line up.  If that means Milano and Addison and John Brown and Andre Roberts and Quinton Jefferson and TJ Yeldon have to go, so be it.

 

We don't need to look like the Bengals with the future of our franchise running for his damn life on every snap of the ball until he eventually ends up on Injured Reserve. We need to prioritize and Josh Allen and his well being has got to be priority #1 for this franchise.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by Inigo Montoya

[machine gun kelly]

4 minutes ago, Inigo Montoya said:

We spent 20+ years looking for our franchise QB and now that we have found him, do you really want to blow up the O-Line that has protected him well? 

 

Resign Williams, Feliciano, and Nsekhe.  We still have Bates and Boettger, Morse and Dawkins in the fold.  Draft the best tackle on the board at #30 and grab a late round center to develop.  If the draftee can beat out Nsekhe, trade or release him at the end of camp and he can be the new swing tackle. 

 

The last place we need to go dumpster diving as a franchise is on the line that protects Josh Allen.  If we can't protect him it doesn't matter who else we have on this roster.  We are not winning 6 games without Josh Allen in the line up.  If that means Milano and Addison and John Brown and Andre Roberts and Quinton Jefferson and TJ Yeldon have to go, so be it.

 

We don't need to look like the Bengals with the future of their franchise running for his damn life on every snap of the ball until he eventually ends up on Injured Reserve. We need to prioritize and Josh Allen and his well being has got to be priority #1 for this franchise.

 

What he said!

 

So many people think o lineman grow on trees or franchise QB’s.  You get an excellent player, you keep him.  We benefited from cheap labor with D. Williams.  Now we hopefully get a somewhat discount with the cap, but you don’t cut him.  I may tick off some, but this isn’t Madden.  You have a vision for you’re team, and you follow it. I love John Brown when he was healthy, but if it’s a choice between Brown and Williams, I’m protecting my QB.  You can always draft a fast one trick pony WR, or you pick up one of the older guys for a year.

 

Im curious on Hodgins as he’s a tall possession WR, not speed, but he had so much positive affirmations before his injury.  I agree with Sal this morning, if it’s a question between Roberts, or McKenzie, it’s a no brainer.  Roberts may be a great returner, but McKenzie is far more versatile, younger and depth.  Last year I was a Roberts fan.  Now with a lower cap, McKenzie does more for us.

[PrimeTime101]

I am not a fan of creating holes. But... with all the concussions Morse has its scary.  That being said Dawkins, Feliciano and Morse healthy represents a strong left side for pass blocking. I still think we need RG.. I am not confident in Ford and there are enough plays to prove why from last year.

[Reader]

37 minutes ago, Inigo Montoya said:

We spent 20+ years looking for our franchise QB and now that we have found him, do you really want to blow up the O-Line that has protected him well? 

 

Resign Williams, Feliciano, and Nsekhe.  We still have Bates, Boettger, Morse, and Dawkins in the fold.  Draft the best tackle on the board at #30 and grab a late round center to develop.  If the draftee can beat out Nsekhe, trade or release Nsekhe at the end of camp and he can be the new swing tackle, or if he is really a stud, make Williams expendable.

 

The last place we need to go dumpster diving as a franchise is on the line that protects Josh Allen.  If we can't protect him it doesn't matter who else we have on this roster.  We are not winning 6 games without Josh Allen in the line up.  If that means Milano and Addison and John Brown and Andre Roberts and Quinton Jefferson and TJ Yeldon have to go, so be it.

 

We don't need to look like the Bengals with the future of our franchise running for his damn life on every snap of the ball until he eventually ends up on Injured Reserve. We need to prioritize and Josh Allen and his well being has got to be priority #1 for this franchise.

 

 

 

I think the question is, is that line good enough to handle the Chiefs? While I completely agree that blowing up our O-line is a bad idea, do we need to make some tweaks for the next season on the starting line? I'm not confident that if we bring back the same line from last year, maybe even Ford included, we can hold up against them.

[Doc]

1 hour ago, YattaOkasan said:

Feels like its kicking the can down the road a year.  If he can earn his "non-likely" incentives, then its goes to next year.  I assume this is sorta the case if Morse initiated the talks as mentioned above.

 

Kicking the can into next year makes tons of sense.  The cap will increase markedly in 2022.

[YattaOkasan]

I think we can upgrade from Feliciano.  I do not think he was good this year.  If we bring him back I hope there is competition for his spot.  I do not think we can upgrade from Williams so we should pay him.   Bates and Boettger are not  moving the needle for me.  Ford hasnt played as well as Boettger yet but has more starter starter traits so will hold out hope.  I can live with a competition between them for a G spot.  I 100% agree with spending draft capital on the OL this year.  I think at least two picks one of which is our first or second.  I put OL as a priority over TE tbh.  

[Inigo Montoya]

4 minutes ago, Reader said:

 

I think the question is, is that line good enough to handle the Chiefs? While I completely agree that blowing up our O-line is a bad idea, do we need to make some tweaks for the next season on the starting line? I'm not confident that if we bring back the same line from last year, maybe even Ford included, we can hold up against them.

 

 

I agree. 

 

For all the talk of "continuity" last year, the O-Line really didn't have any.  Beyond Dawkins at LT, everyone else was in and out of the lineup and in different positions throughout the season.  Fortunately we had some depth on the O-Line and we could shuffle people in and out without a catastrophic drop off in play.  Winters was obviously a liability when he came in, but he won't be back.  Maybe the line will play better this year with the same 5 out there for most of the season.

 

The Chiefs game was bad.  We didn't seem to have any answer for their pass rush.  I'm not sure if it was personnel, or scheme, or both.  Admittedly I don't know how to improve the line so that we don't have a replay of the championship game again, but one thing I do know with certainty is that letting Daryl Williams and Feliciano walk does not make the line better, it will make it worse.  We don't have anyone to replace them in the fold already who would be an upgrade, and no money to go out and buy one in free agency.  

 

If someone wants to argue that the O-Line gets better without Daryl Williams and Feliciano on it, I'd be interested to hear that argument.  This franchise simply can not afford to go backwards on the O-Line this year.  That means we are going to have to invest some of our scarce resources in it.

 

 

[BuffaloRebound]

Now with news Jags are tagging Cam Robinson, tagging Darryl Williams doesn’t look like a bad option.  Williams will get paid a lot of he hits free agency.  There’s a lot more cheap options at Guard.  I think Feliciano is odd man out unfortunately 

[Doc]

5 minutes ago, YattaOkasan said:

I think we can upgrade from Feliciano.  I do not think he was good this year.  If we bring him back I hope there is competition for his spot.  I do not think we can upgrade from Williams so we should pay him.   Bates and Boettger are not  moving the needle for me.  Ford hasnt played as well as Boettger yet but has more starter starter traits so will hold out hope.  I can live with a competition between them for a G spot.  I 100% agree with spending draft capital on the OL this year.  I think at least two picks one of which is our first or second.  I put OL as a priority over TE tbh.  

 

I'd give him the same deal they gave him 2 years ago.  They still need the depth.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

24 minutes ago, Reader said:

 

I think the question is, is that line good enough to handle the Chiefs? While I completely agree that blowing up our O-line is a bad idea, do we need to make some tweaks for the next season on the starting line? I'm not confident that if we bring back the same line from last year, maybe even Ford included, we can hold up against them.

they really struggled with D lines that were strong in the middle. 

[RyanC883]

4 hours ago, QBorBust2018 said:

I would still like to bolster this OL. Hope they select a lineman in the first 3 rounds. 

 

would love the Oklahoma Center in the 2nd.  Great backup option.  

[Dont Stop Billeiving]

20 minutes ago, Reader said:

 

I think the question is, is that line good enough to handle the Chiefs? While I completely agree that blowing up our O-line is a bad idea, do we need to make some tweaks for the next season on the starting line? I'm not confident that if we bring back the same line from last year, maybe even Ford included, we can hold up against them.

100%. Retaining Morse on a pay cut should just be the start. We need to invest cap space and draft picks on the O-line to improve at both guard spots and retain Darryl Williams if possible. Building around Allen should be the priority and I trust McBeane to do that.

 

I think Beane is off to a sneaky good start to the 2021 offseason. Micah Hyde is an excellent player and leader on this team and his extension is below market value. He'll still be outside the top 10 highest paid safeties and compare his $9.5M AAV to someone like Devin McCourty who is over 3 years older and is getting $11.5M AAV. We now have Hyde (2023), Poyer (2022), and White (2025) locked up through the 2022 season at least. 

 

Then resigning Andre Smith brings back a core special teams player and LB depth. I didn't realize this guy is only 23 years old and his 2 year deal worth up to $3M is actually a real under the radar bargain compared to the minimum one year qualifying offer of $2.1M (as pointed out by Sal C on Twitter). 

 

Now the $2M pay cut by Morse to help the team...it's early, but I'm excited and encouraged by what's been done so far. 

 

 

[Doc]

4 minutes ago, Dont Stop Billeiving said:

100%. Retaining Morse on a pay cut should just be the start. We need to invest cap space and draft picks on the O-line to improve at both guard spots and retain Darryl Williams if possible. Building around Allen should be the priority and I trust McBeane to do that.

 

I think Beane is off to a sneaky good start to the 2021 offseason. Micah Hyde is an excellent player and leader on this team and his extension is below market value. He'll still be outside the top 10 highest paid safeties and compare his $9.5M AAV to someone like Devin McCourty who is over 3 years older and is getting $11.5M AAV. We now have Hyde (2023), Poyer (2022), and White (2025) locked up through the 2022 season at least. 

 

Then resigning Andre Smith brings back a core special teams player and LB depth. I didn't realize this guy is only 23 years old and his 2 year deal worth up to $3M is actually a real under the radar bargain compared to the minimum one year qualifying offer of $2.1M (as pointed out by Sal C on Twitter). 

 

Now the $2M pay cut by Morse to help the team...it's early, but I'm excited and encouraged by what's been done so far. 

 

By releasing Addison, Brown, Butler and Jefferson, they can get about $34M in cap space.

[Punching Bag]

4 hours ago, Casey D said:

Dickerson or Leatherwood.  But you can draft them and still have Morse for 2021.

 

Only if Bill in NYC agrees

[SectionC3]

In other news, Lee Smith’s house hit the market in OP today.  So don’t expect him back.  Couple of more bucks saved there. 

[BillsShredder83]

4 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

I was expecting him to be a cut and another center to be signed - possibly even Mongo returning.  While this is certainly better than paying him what he was due, I’d have probably still gone that route.  One more concussion and I don’t see how you ever put him back on the field.  I’d be shocked if we don’t draft a center this year. 

Draft his replacement and see how the year pans out. Salary cut was having your cake and eating it too for Bills FO

[BarleyNY]

2 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Draft his replacement and see how the year pans out. Salary cut was having your cake and eating it too for Bills FO

I think that’s the plan unless they happen to find a bargain in FA.

[Doc]

7 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

In other news, Lee Smith’s house hit the market in OP today.  So don’t expect him back.  Couple of more bucks saved there. 

 

True, he's going to retire.  That's another $2.25M.  So the Bills could have $36M in cap space, with about $5M for rookies.

[Mark Vader]

36 minutes ago, Dont Stop Billeiving said:

100%. Retaining Morse on a pay cut should just be the start. We need to invest cap space and draft picks on the O-line to improve at both guard spots and retain Darryl Williams if possible. Building around Allen should be the priority and I trust McBeane to do that.

 

I think Beane is off to a sneaky good start to the 2021 offseason. Micah Hyde is an excellent player and leader on this team and his extension is below market value. He'll still be outside the top 10 highest paid safeties and compare his $9.5M AAV to someone like Devin McCourty who is over 3 years older and is getting $11.5M AAV. We now have Hyde (2023), Poyer (2022), and White (2025) locked up through the 2022 season at least. 

 

Then resigning Andre Smith brings back a core special teams player and LB depth. I didn't realize this guy is only 23 years old and his 2 year deal worth up to $3M is actually a real under the radar bargain compared to the minimum one year qualifying offer of $2.1M (as pointed out by Sal C on Twitter). 

 

Now the $2M pay cut by Morse to help the team...it's early, but I'm excited and encouraged by what's been done so far. 

 

 

Our front office knows what it's doing.

[WideNine]

4 hours ago, mjt328 said:

If the rumblings around the league are true, this was a smart move by Mitch Morse.

Reports are saying that a lot of veterans are in danger of being cut this offseason.  And there probably won't be much cap space for them to get big bucks by re-signing with someone else.

 

In other words, many of these guys are going to be forced into pay cuts... whether they like it or not.

 

I think it is a smart move by both camps. I also thought they should have been grooming their next center a year ago, but this does give them a bit more runway.

 

I do think for health reasons that Mitch needs to hang up the cleats sooner rather than later, but this gives him a bit of time and perhaps he can retire a more on his own terms down the road.

 

It is not desire or technique that are lacking in Morse's game. It is that he takes a small rap to the head and he is out, or should be.

 

Will be interesting to see where they go in the draft.

 

 

 

[YattaOkasan]

55 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

I'd give him the same deal they gave him 2 years ago.  They still need the depth.

Sure.  I dont think hell take it

59 minutes ago, Inigo Montoya said:

We don't have anyone to replace them in the fold already who would be an upgrade, and no money to go out and buy one in free agency.  

 

If someone wants to argue that the O-Line gets better without Daryl Williams and Feliciano on it, I'd be interested to hear that argument.  This franchise simply can not afford to go backwards on the O-Line this year.  That means we are going to have to invest some of our scarce resources in it.

 

 

Agree we dont have anyone in the fold and not retaining them would make us "worse."  However I do think we can get better than Felicianio if we use the assets he would command on someone else.  Simple answer for the Chiefs game was that Feliciano got beat by Chris Jones.  I think many think hes our aggressive physical player, but he didnt really look like it that game.

37 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

By releasing Addison, Brown, Butler and Jefferson, they can get about $34M in cap space.

You could probably save $25 million ish by cutting butler and restructuring all of the others.  I would prefer doing that and keeping them on the team (if we cut Addison our DE group is Hughes, Epenesa, Johnson).

[Boxcar]

3 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

God bless Erik Turner

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

49 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

By releasing Addison, Brown, Butler and Jefferson, they can get about $34M in cap space.

 

That's trimming a lot of beef on the DL. Who replaces them and at what cost?

[NewEra]

6 minutes ago, Tuel Time said:

 

That's trimming a lot of beef on the DL. Who replaces them and at what cost?

Star, One free agent 10-18M, draft pick.  Low tier free agents