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Bills sign TE Jacob Hollister


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5 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

He might be.  We'll see.

 

He earned $3.2M with the Seasnakes last year - they gave him a second-round tender!


Well... you were right with his money... rock bottom price...

 

Doesnt really prevent them doing anything else at the position

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12 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

That may depend upon how much they like Sweeney, and whether they think Nate Becker has shown anything?  Isn't Becker supposed to be the blocking TE?

 

Unless someone they feel is a true potential upgrade to Knox falls to them in the draft, then who knows!!!!

Yes there are others on the roster.  Sweeney is still promising and I hope he can take a big step to Knox’s level.  Becker is the blocker type as you said.   I see room to spend late round picks on another TE, assuming a higher TE prospect doesn’t fall to us. 

 

 

Edited by Bob in STL
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3 hours ago, njbuff said:

 

Knox can develop into that guy. I am not saying he will, but he has the talent to do it.

 

Sometimes you patience with young players and I think Allen and the coaching staff are behind Knox 100%.

 

And Knox did play well the second half of the season.

He could for sure, but his drops at times are concerning. Lets hope he takes fhe next step- thats really whats important- he just isnt a 1 at this moment in time.

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If they were entertaining Gronk, and considering Rudolph, and rumored for Ertz, you gotta know they’re not done exploring. This is the lowest cost signing you can ask for, and it’s not like this guy is useless he has some skills. 

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5 hours ago, Back2Buff said:

 

My thoughts exactly.  Bills needed to restructure a lot of the contracts and really go for it this year.  My fear is that we are so worried about the future, it is derailing this next year where it will be our best shot to win it all.


 

I think this is just foolish.  Beane has already said he is looking for long term sustainable with a SuperBowl quality team and that is what he is building.

 

I will say it again - what are the expectations for next years salary cap?  Assuming that things return to normal - we can expect that it will go pretty close to where it was projected for this year before COVID ~ 210-215 million.
 

So that is a huge jump right from 183 million?  Wait remember that the Salary Cap floor this year of 183 was an artificial increase from the 155 million range that the revenue dictated.  That difference will be removed from the next 1-2 years of cap space.  Let’s assume the difference is 30 million - if they split it between the next 2 years - next years cap could be under 195 million (just a small increase from this year and right back to 2020 levels).  
 

That is assuming an even split.  The owners lose money on the deal the longer the split takes (which is why they nixed the 10 year spread and wanted it recouped within a couple of years) - so maybe they pull 20+ million or more back and next years Cap is only 190 million.  Now you have 2 contracts in Josh and Edmunds that will be getting 5th year option money - not all the way to the huge contracts, but healthy increases and you have kicked 5-10 million in Cap space and you have no room for next year.

 

Yes eventually in 2024 after the new TV contracts kick in for 2023 the CAP will shoot up and all the kicking will be fine, but Beane is looking at the next 2 years with uncertain CAP levels because of the COVID pay back and no guarantee that all of the expected revenue will return and he does not want to just automatically kick the can into next year because that could hamstring things next year.

 

My guess is he will hold the restructures in his back pocket and keep trying to sign people at his market value and if he gets a deal - then restructure, but if the deal is not there - keep the money to figure out how to attack in the future - leave things flexible.

 

He is being smart and thinking about this year, next year, and the following year to ensure they can stay at the top.  KC already had to restructure several contracts just to sign guards and they still do not have a complete OL - so currently the Bills have gained just with the status quo. 

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16 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:


 

I think this is just foolish.  Beane has already said he is looking for long term sustainable with a SuperBowl quality team and that is what he is building.

 

I will say it again - what are the expectations for next years salary cap?  Assuming that things return to normal - we can expect that it will go pretty close to where it was projected for this year before COVID ~ 210-215 million.
 

So that is a huge jump right from 183 million?  Wait remember that the Salary Cap floor this year of 183 was an artificial increase from the 155 million range that the revenue dictated.  That difference will be removed from the next 1-2 years of cap space.  Let’s assume the difference is 30 million - if they split it between the next 2 years - next years cap could be under 195 million (just a small increase from this year and right back to 2020 levels).  
 

That is assuming an even split.  The owners lose money on the deal the longer the split takes (which is why they nixed the 10 year spread and wanted it recouped within a couple of years) - so maybe they pull 20+ million or more back and next years Cap is only 190 million.  Now you have 2 contracts in Josh and Edmunds that will be getting 5th year option money - not all the way to the huge contracts, but healthy increases and you have kicked 5-10 million in Cap space and you have no room for next year.

 

Yes eventually in 2024 after the new TV contracts kick in for 2023 the CAP will shoot up and all the kicking will be fine, but Beane is looking at the next 2 years with uncertain CAP levels because of the COVID pay back and no guarantee that all of the expected revenue will return and he does not want to just automatically kick the can into next year because that could hamstring things next year.

 

My guess is he will hold the restructures in his back pocket and keep trying to sign people at his market value and if he gets a deal - then restructure, but if the deal is not there - keep the money to figure out how to attack in the future - leave things flexible.

 

He is being smart and thinking about this year, next year, and the following year to ensure they can stay at the top.  KC already had to restructure several contracts just to sign guards and they still do not have a complete OL - so currently the Bills have gained just with the status quo. 

I think we need to wait to see what the off-season looks like at the end not right now I think beans doing it right

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20 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:


 

I think this is just foolish.  Beane has already said he is looking for long term sustainable with a SuperBowl quality team and that is what he is building.

 

I will say it again - what are the expectations for next years salary cap?  Assuming that things return to normal - we can expect that it will go pretty close to where it was projected for this year before COVID ~ 210-215 million.
 

So that is a huge jump right from 183 million?  Wait remember that the Salary Cap floor this year of 183 was an artificial increase from the 155 million range that the revenue dictated.  That difference will be removed from the next 1-2 years of cap space.  Let’s assume the difference is 30 million - if they split it between the next 2 years - next years cap could be under 195 million (just a small increase from this year and right back to 2020 levels).  
 

That is assuming an even split.  The owners lose money on the deal the longer the split takes (which is why they nixed the 10 year spread and wanted it recouped within a couple of years) - so maybe they pull 20+ million or more back and next years Cap is only 190 million.  Now you have 2 contracts in Josh and Edmunds that will be getting 5th year option money - not all the way to the huge contracts, but healthy increases and you have kicked 5-10 million in Cap space and you have no room for next year.

 

Yes eventually in 2024 after the new TV contracts kick in for 2023 the CAP will shoot up and all the kicking will be fine, but Beane is looking at the next 2 years with uncertain CAP levels because of the COVID pay back and no guarantee that all of the expected revenue will return and he does not want to just automatically kick the can into next year because that could hamstring things next year.

 

My guess is he will hold the restructures in his back pocket and keep trying to sign people at his market value and if he gets a deal - then restructure, but if the deal is not there - keep the money to figure out how to attack in the future - leave things flexible.

 

He is being smart and thinking about this year, next year, and the following year to ensure they can stay at the top.  KC already had to restructure several contracts just to sign guards and they still do not have a complete OL - so currently the Bills have gained just with the status quo. 

 

I understand what you are saying and I want Beane to make at least one good move to improve the team this year.

That being said they are close in cap next year too.

Spotrac has the league cap at $209M for next year in their figures.

Bills have 39 signed with a Cap Space of $21.3.

 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/cap/2022/

 

Edit:  I forgot that is without Feliciano's contract.

Edited by ColoradoBills
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5 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Every team in the league has "young talent".

 

The bar has been raised. It's about winning a SB now. The KC beat downs demonstrated the roster isn't good enough... they haven't really done much to change that.

 

But yea, maybe AJE, Ford, Singletary, Knox, Moss, etc improve dramatically and they hit on some key draft picks to bring the team a SB, but I think it's a lot to ask.

 

 

I am actually expecting big jumps from all of those guys...........but there will be players that take steps back too.

 

If someone would have suggested at this time last year that John Brown would have the kind of drop off he had........or that Edmunds would play his worst football of his career for half a season......and Milano would only play like 30% of the snaps......or that the running game would get WORSE without board whipping boy Frank Gore.........I mean.........that would have been met with much denial.

 

Some of those guys were playing better at the end..........but even so it was only enough to get housed by the Chiefs.

 

It's reasonable to assume that  just as many players or more will similarly regress or be limited by injury next year.

 

We have to remember that it's a matchup league..........they are adding nice players that range from ok to very good but they need a couple difference makers.......being solid across the board with a dynamic QB is a formula only Belichick has been able to turn into Lombardi's.    This staff is good and experienced by NFL standards but they are not the kind that can dial up significantly different but still effective offensive and defensive gameplans on a week to week basis.    They need the Jimmy's and Joe's.

 

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48 minutes ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

Hollister is solid depth tight end

 

If youre expecting a star, you'll be disappointed. 

 

Think you can expect what hollister has shown in his career thus far. A few big plays and chip in here and there

 

I think there's a good chance he has vast improvement in his production. Smoke, Bease and Diggs have all had career years after playing with Allen. I don't see why the same can't be true for Hollister if they give him the opportunity to catch the ball. 

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44 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

 

Just my two cents. The goals to win the SB.... as of right now I don’t see how they’ve become the best team in the conference but stranger things have happened and all it takes is a Mahomes injury...but I’d rather not have to bank on that. 
 

 

 

The Titans were where the Bills are at this time last offseason.    They weren't able to able to achieve what they needed to make the jump.    They were still pretty good.    That's not where we want the Bills to end up.  

 

But If they don't do a better job in non-WR offense and getting to the passer they might have to take the L and try again next year.   Not what you hope for from a "wizard".......but the closer you get to the top the smaller the margin for error.    

 

One thing they shouldn't do though is what Whaley and Rex did early in the 2016 draft when they reached for players at positions of need who they thought could start right away.    Don't reach for a modest pass rusher when there are better long term options at other key positions etc..   

 

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Nice pick up but I’m thinking that there might be more to this signing. Looks like the Bills were a player for Ertz but the demand was too high, as much as a 3rd rd pick for a older veteran who is commanding a 8+M for the final year of his 5 year contract. I believe that Hollister was picked up not only because of Philly’s high demand for Ertz but also because Hollister fills a important capacity, replacing a combination  of Kroft and Lee Smith, 2 aging veterans that were adequate at best in their roles.

 

Enter Cleveland’s TE David Njoku. His 5th year option was guaranteed as of 4:00 pm Wednesday for just over 6M. He would be a great alternative to Ertz and he is much younger (24 yrs old) with a bigger upside. Cleveland is dishing out big money to UFA Austin Hooper, who they signed last March to a 4 year/42M contract and then drafted 4th rd pick Harrison Bryant a month later. The Browns have a awful lot of money tied up at this position. I can see the Bills trading Knox and a later rd pick, if not a 2021 pick then possibly a bit earlier of a pick in 2022 for Njoku. 

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51 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

I absolutely would’ve let Milano walk, cut Addison and Butler and used that money to go hard at Samuel and a good pass rusher like Lawson, Autry, or Hendrickson..... Williams was a priority. I love that he’s back. 

Milanos a good player, but he’s an outside LB who played 30% of the snaps and doesn’t move the needle for the team. In the games the defense struggled last season it was mostly due to the pass rush being non existent and the defensive line being dominated....it’s why the Chiefs offense was playing pitch and catch among other reasons. 
 

Just my two cents. The goals to win the SB.... as of right now I don’t see how they’ve become the best team in the conference but stranger things have happened and all it takes is a Mahomes injury...but I’d rather not have to bank on that. 
 


It’s impossible to make a judgment, imo, until after the draft.  
 

Lawson and Ngakoue are the only pass rushers I wanted (that fit our defense) and i can admit that Lawson isn’t dominant and has already had 2 ACL surgeries.  Ngakoue can’t stay on a team for 5 seconds.   
 

For all we know, Beane could have his eye on a playmaker, pass rusher and big space eater DT in our first 3 rounds.  
 

Hollister is a solid #2 TE.  If we have to count on Knox, so be it.   After Pitts, I don’t know who we could draft that is immediately better.  
 

As far as KC goes.  They’re retooling their OL - we’ll see how that goes.  Next time we see them, Josh will be another year older, and hopefully the defensive gameplan won’t be trash and WRs aren’t all hurt 

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1 hour ago, ScottLaw said:

I absolutely would’ve let Milano walk, cut Addison and Butler and used that money to go hard at Samuel and a good pass rusher like Lawson, Autry, or Hendrickson..... Williams was a priority. I love that he’s back. 

Milanos a good player, but he’s an outside LB who played 30% of the snaps and doesn’t move the needle for the team. In the games the defense struggled last season it was mostly due to the pass rush being non existent and the defensive line being dominated....it’s why the Chiefs offense was playing pitch and catch among other reasons. 
 

Just my two cents. The goals to win the SB.... as of right now I don’t see how they’ve become the best team in the conference but stranger things have happened and all it takes is a Mahomes injury...but I’d rather not have to bank on that. 
 

I admit that I wanted the Bills to approach the offseason just like this: move on from a fan favorite or two in order to sign players who impact the QB more directly (either as protectors or as pass rushers). That seemed to be where the Bills fell short in the playoffs. 

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After looking into it a little, I think this is a decent signing, with the chance to turn out pretty well.

 

From what few highlights I've seen, Hollister is much more of a traditional TE than it seems. He's also got good hands, which is what he uses to catch the football with, rather than letting it come into his body.

 

Imho, he can be a valuable outlet and I would start him ahead of Knox, as he's simply much more reliable catching the football.

 

Definitely offers more than Smith did in the passing game - he actually can run. ;)

 

Familiarity with Allen is also a bonus, especially when it comes to knowing how hard the football comes at you.

 

I can see some potential there with Hollister, in a more traditional TE role, that doesn't necessarily rely on blocking at the LOS. From what I've seen, he does have the abilty to get open underneath, and I feel that was an area where we lacked last season.

 

He isn't going to be a world beater, but I feel he could well become a valuable addition to the offense, both as a short area outlet, and in the Red Zone.

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16 hours ago, CincyBillsFan said:

 

I think this guy nails it.  I jumped to the conclusion that he was a kroft replacement but this might be more about improving the running game.  Especially the H-back stuff.  And for the record Hollister is a much better receiver then Smith was.  I've seen him make some great catches over the years.

 

 

 

Agree, the Bills have to improve the run game. There will be at least one or two games where it is a flat out necessity due to weather to have to run the ball.

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6 hours ago, SCBills said:

 

Lawson and Ngakoue are the only pass rushers I wanted

Do people still rate Ngakoue? I thought everyone had noticed how bad he was against the run and how you have to build around him to stop your team getting run all over. He was such a terrible fit for the Bills

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8 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

I understand what you are saying and I want Beane to make at least one good move to improve the team this year.

That being said they are close in cap next year too.

Spotrac has the league cap at $209M for next year in their figures.

Bills have 39 signed with a Cap Space of $21.3.

 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/cap/2022/

 

Edit:  I forgot that is without Feliciano's contract.


 

The Spotrac figure is just a guess for next year - so again if they project 209 million and the league lops 20 million of the COVID adjust - that would drop it to 189 million - an increase  of 6 million from this year and a number many team will struggle with next year.

 

I think Bean is being smart because the fact is the GMs do not know what the cost is going to be.  If a new COVID variant comes out - fans could be limited again.  The already have 1 COVID adjustment to make - what if it becomes 2.  Beane will have options again next year to adjust CAP space, but the smart teams will watch how much you kick forward until we have a better idea.

 

Again - my belief is Beane will save the option and if he can find a trade or a guy is released that will be a difference maker he will make a move.

 

 

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8 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

I absolutely would’ve let Milano walk, cut Addison and Butler and used that money to go hard at Samuel and a good pass rusher like Lawson, Autry, or Hendrickson..... Williams was a priority. I love that he’s back. 

Milanos a good player, but he’s an outside LB who played 30% of the snaps and doesn’t move the needle for the team. In the games the defense struggled last season it was mostly due to the pass rush being non existent and the defensive line being dominated....it’s why the Chiefs offense was playing pitch and catch among other reasons. 
 

Just my two cents. The goals to win the SB.... as of right now I don’t see how they’ve become the best team in the conference but stranger things have happened and all it takes is a Mahomes injury...but I’d rather not have to bank on that. 
 


 

So Milano does not move your needle, but when finally healthy the defense was top 5 DVOA after struggling early.  I think you are wrong - especially in the McDermott defense that features LBs like him.

 

Lawson has consistently underproduced since his rookie splash and even last year had fewer sacks than Addison.  Yes he got a ton of pressure for a very bad defense in which he ignored his responsibilities and just went after the QB.  It is like looking at Phillips numbers in his walk year in Buffalo and assuming you are getting that every year.  Lawson will settle into the Jets defense and be a 13 million dollar 6 sack guy that drive fans insane.

 

Autry again in a walk year put up career numbers and got to 7.5 sacks in an upfield attacking defense with less responsibility that in our defense.  My understanding was the Bills liked him because he was good at the point of attack and not really his pass rushing.  I think he puts up numbers very similar to Addison at a higher cost.  The advantage is he is a bit younger, but he has never matched Addison at his peak.

 

Hendrickson would have been the prize to me - young got better and actually produced on a good defense.  Still some worries as most of his production came in his walk year, but the potential to be better is there.  Cincinnati feels like he is a significant upgrade - which agains worries me about Lawson - and his cost 4 years 60 million would most likely cost you all 3 players you resigned - Milano, Williams, and Mongo.  
 

I take the 3 guys that we know and gave us the discount to go out and sign others over the unknown guy that seemed to feel money was more important that signing with a winner.  
 

The goal is to win the Super Bowl every year and bringing back a 13-3 team with a lot of young guys at several key spots and a HC that has adjusted every year to get better and find ways to get more out of his players - tells me we are in the mix.  The fact that KC lost their entire OL and have only replaced 2 guards (one with a guy that has been out of the league for years) and way overpayed- tells me they did not improve or even stay the same.  So right know - yes I think the Bills have gained significantly on KC and the Chargers have also - so I am going to enjoy the ride and let the team continue to grow - rather than complain in every thread about the same BS.  
 

The Bills are good and plan to be good for the foreseeable future.  Enjoy!

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36 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

Agree, the Bills have to improve the run game. There will be at least one or two games where it is a flat out necessity due to weather to have to run the ball.

Yup that's right. It will likely be more than 1 or 2 probably where weather alone dictates that. Hope it improves enough for every game to the point where we as fans won't have to stress it when those bad weather games do come up.

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SIAP 

from 2019

 

Jacob Hollister, the Seahawks Forgotten Weapon

Very few players played above expectations for the Seahawks in 2019. Tight end Jacob Hollister was one of those few. And yet, he seems to be overlooked heading into the 2020 campaign.

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/seahawks/gm-report/jacob-hollister-the-seahawks-forgotten-weapon

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8 minutes ago, CaptnCoke11 said:

With what money?  They can’t even process the contracts for Feliciano and Trubisky without creating some room.  

 

Is that what the hold-up is?  But the renegotiation for Matakevich hasn't gone through either.

1 minute ago, Back2Buff said:

The bills could create 20 million in one minute. The salary cap isn’t real

 

Kinda looks like they're gonna need to

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19 hours ago, Back2Buff said:

Never was a fan of Hollister.  Think he is a dime a dozen player in league.  Hopefully it was league minimum.

 

I'm impressed ...I guess...that you're sufficient of a fan to have payed such careful attention to a TE playing on another team, especially one who started 2019 on the practice squad and 2020 buried on the depth chart/ST, so as to have a long duration of opinion on him.

 

33 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I think it’s the Lee smith replacement 

 

Unlike Lee Smith, Hollister can actually run routes and cut and separate and stuff.  He can also one-hand the ball, which I'm not sure whether or not Lee Smith could, but DiMarco couldn't.

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48 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I think it’s the Lee smith replacement 

 

Lee was strictly a Y tight end for the most part. I think Hollister is the better receiver but worse blocker. 

 

Either way I'd still like an upgrade if possible 

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