Buffalo Bills’ salary cap ramifications of cutting DT Star Lotulelei

[Hapless Bills Fan]

19 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

If cut, they’d designate him as a 6/1 cut.  (Teams get 2 per year.)  That means Star would stay on our books until 6/1, but off-season bonuses would be void.  It also eliminates any potential for obligation resulting from him being injured in team activities.  And he’d be free to sign elsewhere immediately.

 

 My point was that the OP I was responding to was wrong about Lotulelei's dead cap, even if cut as a post-June 1. 

 

 

Even if cut as a post-June1 cut, Star's dead cap would be $5.1M this season (guaranteed salary this season and amortized signing bonus for this season).  He would then kick $2.6M (next years signing bonus) into 2023.  Cap savings would be $4M

 

As a pre June1 cut, of course, both '22 and '23 amortized signing bonus and Star's guaranteed $2.5M salary for '22 would count against this year's cap, so the dead cap would be $7.7M and savings would be $1.5M

 

Both Spotract and Overthecap have different details but agree.  The "Dead cap $2M, savings $6M is simply incorrect" in either scenario.

https://overthecap.com/player/star-lotulelei/2282/

[BarleyNY]

15 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

 My point was that the OP I was responding to was wrong about Lotulelei's dead cap, even if cut as a post-June 1. 

 

 

Even if cut as a post-June1 cut, Star's dead cap would be $5.1M this season (guaranteed salary this season and amortized signing bonus for this season).  He would then kick $2.6M (next years signing bonus) into 2023.  Cap savings would be $4M

 

As a pre June1 cut, of course, both '22 and '23 amortized signing bonus and Star's guaranteed $2.5M salary for '22 would count against this year's cap, so the dead cap would be $7.7M and savings would be $1.5M

 

Both Spotract and Overthecap have different details but agree.  The "Dead cap $2M, savings $6M is simply incorrect" in either scenario.

https://overthecap.com/player/star-lotulelei/2282/

I was responding to your statement about cutting Star post 6/1.  I stated what their realistic course of action would be and was not commenting on your other discussion.  Your numbers match what I posted earlier.

 

My specific point about him being cut by March 26th and designated a 6/1 cut concerns his $500k 3/26 roster bonus and $250k work out bonus.  The team would have to pay those if he was not released until after 6/1.  That $750k would also hit our cap.

Edited February 8, 2022 by BarleyNY

[Hapless Bills Fan]

34 minutes ago, Einstein's Dog said:

You're saying "on the field" but refering to off the field.  I understand people are frustrated, including our FO- the covid skip, the OTA miss, and time off last year are all annoying.

 

But the guy was not a total screw up.   Came here in fantastic shape.  Really looked good out to the gate.  People are quick to forget how in 2020 we talked a lot about how Star's absence was a large factor in the overall disappointing showing of the D that year.  How missing Star wasn't just a downgrade at that position but was negatively affecting the other players performances as well.

 

You don't get a player anywhere near the type of skill/experience/production Star can give us for $1.5M or even the $2.6M.   The move is not to jettison a good player because you are upset with him, it is instead time for McD to get this guy back.

 

This. 

 

Of course, there were folks here who held the viewpoint that Star wasn't the "missing link" or that big of a downgrade in 2020, so they didn't buy that talk then, and the end of the season only reinforced that viewpoint.

 

But yeah, I don't know what the people who think "Ankou is better" or "anyone off the street would be just as good" are seeing. 

 

It's 100% reasonable to question whether the Bills have received the ROI on the big contract and guarantees they gave Star, especially with the year-long Covid opt-out followed by contracting Covid and reportedly being "affected by it" the rest of the season (per Beane).  then there's the mysterious "personal reasons" week.

 

But the pragmatic question the Bills have to answer is: "Can we replace Star with a rookie or with a lower-tier FA DT who will sign for $1.5M (savings pre June 1) or $4.1M (savings post-June 1)?"

 

A person could scan the FA lists at IDL (Overthecap) or DT (Spotrac) to see who is available, with the caveat one needs to dig into what type of DT they are (NT or 1T is what we're looking for)

[BADOLBILZ]

12 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

Cut him or keep him. Whichever. But there's no way to change his contract or make new conditions. He can come or not. It'll depend on what he wants, as it's voluntary. He's had a $250K work out bonus every year. If he doesn't come they won't pay, and if he comes they'll pay. It's in the contract, and that's the end of it. And while he didn't come to OTAs last year there's one thing we can be sure of, and that's that it didn't affect his fitness one bit. He was in terrific shape.

 

 

First of all.......again,  I'm all for moving on.    But I would have cut bait after the 2019 season rather than guarantee his 2020 salary in exchange for saving a couple million on the cap.    Obviously my way would have been the right way.........re-structuring his contract in the manner they chose was a predictable failure.

 

But with about $4.2M in earnable but unguaranteed money in his 2022 contract...........there is CERTAINLY a way to change his contract or make new conditions........that's called a "re-structure".

 

And he ain't making anything with an "$" on the front and "M" on the back in 2022 if it ain't with the Buffalo Bills.

 

And this time, the team has all the leverage........as opposed to back in February of 2020 before he had opted out on his team,  suffered multiple injuries,  refused vax and then got ill with covid etc..

 

As for not being able to incentivize people with money............you obviously haven't done much employing or hiring of contract work.    Money contingent on performance makes people WANT to do things they wouldn't otherwise want to do.   It is human nature.   Thinking otherwise is very naive/ignorant.

 

 

[JohnNord]

2 hours ago, Einstein's Dog said:

You're saying "on the field" but refering to off the field.  I understand people are frustrated, including our FO- the covid skip, the OTA miss, and time off last year are all annoying.

 

But the guy was not a total screw up.   Came here in fantastic shape.  Really looked good out to the gate.  People are quick to forget how in 2020 we talked a lot about how Star's absence was a large factor in the overall disappointing showing of the D that year.  How missing Star wasn't just a downgrade at that position but was negatively affecting the other players performances as well.

 

You don't get a player anywhere near the type of skill/experience/production Star can give us for $1.5M or even the $2.6M.   The move is not to jettison a good player because you are upset with him, it is instead time for McD to get this guy back.

It’s a little of “on the field” and “off the field.” This regime usually doesn’t throw players under the bus and the not-so-favorable comments about Star are telling.  
 

I think you are giving him a bit too much credit for his play on the field.  People did think that Star’s absence was an issue in 2020 and then realized they were wrong as the Bills defense still got gashed on the group multiple times this season.  Remember how his presence was going to allow Edmunds to be a monster this year against the run?  It didn’t happen.  In fact, the guy from Cover 1 is posting dozens and dozens of videos showing why the bad play of the DT’s (namely Star and Butler) were the reason why Edmunds was often ineffective against the run. 

 

There actually was not that big of a drop off between Star and Eli Ankou who the Bills just re-signed.  
 

As much as you are cheerleading for Star is not going to be in the roster this season.   I can guarantee you that the Bills will cut him as they look to upgrade at DT.  
 

 

 

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

This. 

 

Of course, there were folks here who held the viewpoint that Star wasn't the "missing link" or that big of a downgrade in 2020, so they didn't buy that talk then, and the end of the season only reinforced that viewpoint.

 

But yeah, I don't know what the people who think "Ankou is better" or "anyone off the street would be just as good" are seeing. 

 

It's 100% reasonable to question whether the Bills have received the ROI on the big contract and guarantees they gave Star, especially with the year-long Covid opt-out followed by contracting Covid and reportedly being "affected by it" the rest of the season (per Beane).  then there's the mysterious "personal reasons" week.

 

But the pragmatic question the Bills have to answer is: "Can we replace Star with a rookie or with a lower-tier FA DT who will sign for $1.5M (savings pre June 1) or $4.1M (savings post-June 1)?"

 

A person could scan the FA lists at IDL (Overthecap) or DT (Spotrac) to see who is available, with the caveat one needs to dig into what type of DT they are (NT or 1T is what we're looking for)

The answer to your question is “yes.”  
 

Remember how one of the big thing with McDermott was availability.  He has moved on from productive because they were injury prone.  Go back and watch McDermott answer questions about Star.  He answers in one word responses, which ridiculously short even by McDermott terms. 
 

The Bills could not get out of the Star contract unscathed.  They can this season.  I am 100% confident that Star is not on the roster next season.   Not surprised you are taking a contrarian approach with me though

Edited February 8, 2022 by JohnNord

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

As for not being able to incentivize people with money............you obviously haven't done much employing or hiring of contract work.    Money contingent on performance makes people WANT to do things they wouldn't otherwise want to do.   It is human nature.   Thinking otherwise is very naive/ignorant.

 

I don't think anyone is arguing that you can't incentivize people with money.  I haven't seen anything that seems interpretable that way.  Straw man.  But monetary incentivization in general has limits once past the 2nd tier of Maslow's Hierarchy.  That applies to a player who has career earnings of $47.9 Million dollars and has likely handled it well.  The monetary leverage lessons of hiring contract workers, probably don't apply here.

 

Your exact words were "If he is going to be kept I'd insist that he be there for the offseason and OTA's to prove that he cares about being the best player he can be again."  Now you could have said something like "If he is going to be kept, the Bills should propose restructuring his contract to heavily incentivize participation in OTAs".  But you didn't.  You said "insist"

 

The point is, the Bills can't insist.  That's specifically prohibited by the CBA.

 

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

And this time, the team has all the leverage........as opposed to back in February of 2020 before he had opted out on his team,  suffered multiple injuries,  refused vax and then got ill with covid etc..

 

In the case of Star Lotulelei, again, I'm not opposed to the  Bills moving on at this point (that would go with what the FO and coaches saw on and off the field). 

 

But what exactly is the Bills leverage to restructure his contract?  The Bills can propose a restructured contract they want to link his $3.65M salary to incentives (which it sounds like you're proposing), Lotulelei's agent can say "No".  Then the Bills can keep him, or cut him while Star pockets $2.5M additional cash.

 

Looking at the list of DTs available in FA, I wouldn't bet the rent that some other team doesn't offer him $3.5-$4M on a 1 year "prove it" deal.    Take a look at the guys who played in that range last season: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/defensive-tackle/

 

It's not saying that other things being equal, Lotulelei wouldn't want $6.75M instead of $6.5M or $2.5M.  Who knows, maybe a season off even showed him he'll miss playing football?  But if it comes at a price he doesn't want to pay (more time apart from his family, say), Good Luck to the Bills finding someone to replace him for the $1.5M (or even $4.1 as a post-June 1 cut) they'll save on the cap.

 

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

And he ain't making anything with an "$" on the front and "M" on the back in 2022 if it ain't with the Buffalo Bills.

 

Star is an 8 year vet.  His minimum salary would be $1.12M if signed by another team, so in fact, if any other team signs him, he WILL be making something with "$" on the front and "M" on the back.

 

PS anyone want to bet that Star's agents negotiated a contract without offset language?  That would mean he makes $2.5M from the Bills plus whatever a new team pays him 😈

[Einstein's Dog]

36 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

I think you are giving him a bit too much credit for his play on the field.  People did think that Star’s absence was an issue in 2020 and then realized they were wrong as the Bills defense still got gashed on the group multiple times this season.  Remember how his presence was going to allow Edmunds to be a monster this year against the run?  It didn’t happen.  In fact, the guy from Cover 1 is posting dozens and dozens of videos showing why the bad play of the DT’s (namely Star and Butler) were the reason why Edmunds was often ineffective against the run. 

 

There actually was not that big of a drop off between Star and Eli Ankou who the Bills just re-signed.  
As much as you are cheerleading for Star is not going to be in the roster this season.   I can guarantee you that the Bills will cut him as they look to upgrade at DT.  
 

 

Just because the Bills D got gashed by the run some this year, doesn't mean Star didn't improve it (again- remember when the Bills were the 29th ranked run D before he came here).  The run D improved year over year and Star is a big reason why.  It's still not great run D, the D in general is not geared for stopping the run.

 

It's getting about time to stop blaming DT's for Edmunds inadequacies against the run.  That's several years in a row now.

 

And actually, there is a big drop off from Star to Ankou.  If Star is not on the team, you better believe there is a need for a new DT.

 

Your guarantee that Star won't be here is worthless.  There is a good possibilty you're right though.  Star's personal absence is troubling (to me at least).  And if Star is a danger to the culture they are trying to instill/keep, it could be added incentive to move on.  

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

 

I don't think anyone is arguing that you can't incentivize people with money.  I haven't seen anything that seems interpretable that way.  Straw man.  But monetary incentivization in general has limits once past the 2nd tier of Maslow's Hierarchy.  That applies to a player who has career earnings of $47.9 Million dollars and has likely handled it well.  The monetary leverage lessons of hiring contract workers, probably don't apply here.

 

Your exact words were "If he is going to be kept I'd insist that he be there for the offseason and OTA's to prove that he cares about being the best player he can be again."  Now you could have said something like "If he is going to be kept, the Bills should propose restructuring his contract to heavily incentivize participation in OTAs".  But you didn't.  You said "insist"

 

The point is, the Bills can't insist.  That's specifically prohibited by the CBA.

 

 

In the case of Star Lotulelei, again, I'm not opposed to the  Bills moving on at this point (that would go with what the FO and coaches saw on and off the field). 

 

But what exactly is the Bills leverage to restructure his contract?  The Bills can propose a restructured contract they want to link his $3.65M salary to incentives (which it sounds like you're proposing), Lotulelei's agent can say "No".  Then the Bills can keep him, or cut him while Star pockets $2.5M additional cash.

 

Looking at the list of DTs available in FA, I wouldn't bet the rent that some other team doesn't offer him $3.5-$4M on a 1 year "prove it" deal.    Take a look at the guys who played in that range last season: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/defensive-tackle/

 

It's not saying that other things being equal, Lotulelei wouldn't want $6.75M instead of $6.5M or $2.5M.  Who knows, maybe a season off even showed him he'll miss playing football?  But if it comes at a price he doesn't want to pay (more time apart from his family, say), Good Luck to the Bills finding someone to replace him for the $1.5M (or even $4.1 as a post-June 1 cut) they'll save on the cap.

 

 

Star is an 8 year vet.  His minimum salary would be $1.12M if signed by another team, so in fact, if any other team signs him, he WILL be making something with "$" on the front and "M" on the back.

 

PS anyone want to bet that Star's agents negotiated a contract without offset language?  That would mean he makes $2.5M from the Bills plus whatever a new team pays him 😈

 

 

Why is it "likely" that Star Lotulelei has handled his money well?    That is an extremely random, unsubstantiated take.   You go on rants against far more "likely" opinions than that.

 

And just because you have made millions of dollars in your career doesn't mean that adding another 9%-10% more to your career earnings wouldn't be a huge incentive to you when you are about to retire in your mid-30's and aren't likely to find even remotely that kind of employment anywhere else.   

 

For as much time as you dedicate to this hobby..........you really should be smarter than to think that a guy like Snacks Harrison can be forced to be on practice squads in 2020 and a guy with Star Lotulelei's recent track record is going to find someone to give him $3.5M-$4M per season in 2022.    

 

And yes, the minimum salary of a vet like Star is over $1M.    But what are you forgetting?    That said vet has to be on the active roster in week 1 to guarantee that pay check.   I'm saying Star will not be on someone's active roster week 1 if it's not in Buffalo.     At this point he's a spare part that would be tying up a roster spot,  which is valuable when teams are poaching young talent around final cut-down day.  

 

His guarantees remaining in Buffalo have no bearing on that........he gets that whether he plays or not in 2022 so long as he doesn't voluntarily retire.......that was money he mentally banked 2 years ago.  

 

Could he be picked up on a week to week pay basis or be on a practice squad?   Sure.  But we both know that will likely not suit him when he's accustomed to so much more money and security.

 

At this point the only real question about Star Lotulelei is 'terrible free agent signing" or "worst Bills free agent signing ever".

[JohnNord]

 

44 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Why is it "likely" that Star Lotulelei has handled his money well?    That is an extremely random, unsubstantiated take.   You go on rants against far more "likely" opinions than that.

 

And just because you have made millions of dollars in your career doesn't mean that adding another 9%-10% more to your career earnings wouldn't be a huge incentive to you when you are about to retire in your mid-30's and aren't likely to find even remotely that kind of employment anywhere else.   

 

For as much time as you dedicate to this hobby..........you really should be smarter than to think that a guy like Snacks Harrison can be forced to be on practice squads in 2020 and a guy with Star Lotulelei's recent track record is going to find someone to give him $3.5M-$4M per season in 2022.    

 

And yes, the minimum salary of a vet like Star is over $1M.    But what are you forgetting?    That said vet has to be on the active roster in week 1 to guarantee that pay check.   I'm saying Star will not be on someone's active roster week 1 if it's not in Buffalo.     At this point he's a spare part that would be tying up a roster spot,  which is valuable when teams are poaching young talent around final cut-down day.  

 

His guarantees remaining in Buffalo have no bearing on that........he gets that whether he plays or not in 2022 so long as he doesn't voluntarily retire.......that was money he mentally banked 2 years ago.  

 

Could he be picked up on a week to week pay basis or be on a practice squad?   Sure.  But we both know that will likely not suit him when he's accustomed to so much more money and security.

 

At this point the only real question about Star Lotulelei is 'terrible free agent signing" or "worst Bills free agent signing ever".

 

I know the last part here is in jest, but the Star signing was really bad.  The Bills really overpaid for a DT and tried to say things like “well his impact doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.”  Sorry but good DT’s show up on the field and on the stat sheet.  
 

One thing overlooked with the Star contract was the opportunity cost.  He signed such a big contract that they really couldn’t walk away from him until year 4 of 5.  In that time the top heavy contract restricted many moves they could have made both on the DL and otherwise.  
 

Overall Star was not very good and I look forward to the Bills going in a different direction this upcoming season at 1TDT

Edited February 8, 2022 by JohnNord

[BADOLBILZ]

27 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

 

 

I know the last part here is in jest, but the Star signing was really bad.  The Bills really overpaid for a DT and tried to say things like “well his impact doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.”  Sorry but good DT’s show up on the field and on the stat sheet.  
 

One thing overlooked with the Star contract was the opportunity cost.  He signed such a big contract that they really couldn’t walk away from him until year 4 of 5.  In that time the top heavy contract restricted many moves they could have made both on the DL and otherwise.  
 

Overall Star was not very good and I look forward to the Bills going in a different direction this upcoming season at 1TDT

 

 

It was the worst and most unjustifiable free agent signing in Bills history, IMO.

 

Some point to Derrick Dockery but he played every snap and every game and was actually a solid, overpaid guard........his crime was getting paid more than Jason Peters, which ultimately lead to Peters being disgruntled and the Bills losing a HOF LT.

 

Star was a sub 50% of snaps early down DT who some thought might be stuck with a 1 year $4M deal............and Beane gave him $50M with $25M guaranteed over 5.    A flabbergasting over pay.

 

[billsbackto81]

On 2/7/2022 at 10:40 AM, Ethan in Portland said:

Average player. Terrible contract. 

I said that the day he signed with Buffalo. 

[BuffaloBobs]

21 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

It was the worst and most unjustifiable free agent signing in Bills history, IMO.

 

Some point to Derrick Dockery but he played every snap and every game and was actually a solid, overpaid guard........his crime was getting paid more than Jason Peters, which ultimately lead to Peters being disgruntled and the Bills losing a HOF LT.

 

Star was a sub 50% of snaps early down DT who some thought might be stuck with a 1 year $4M deal............and Beane gave him $50M with $25M guaranteed over 5.    A flabbergasting over pay.

 

 

That's an awful take.

 

I think you can say in aggregate that he was overpaid, but after the 2017 season we had a gaping hole next to an aging Kyle Williams so there was absolutely a need unless you were high on Adolphus Washington or Cedric Thorton playing a big role. Add that to the available options in free agency for a team clearly rebuilding, its not like there were a ton of options.

 

I mean seriously, go back and look at who was available and let me know who we should have signed.

 

 

 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

46 minutes ago, billsbackto81 said:

I said that the day he signed with Buffalo. 

So did I. I also said they should have just kept Dareus and the cap hit was about the same. But holy hell did Dareus turn into crap. At one point he was in the same discussion as Donald and then it all fell apart. 

Beane overpays in FA quite a bit. Worked out with John Brown for a while and with Beasley.  Morse has been ok. Star, Addison, Butler, and Murphy were all really bad returns on investment. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

Article does state there's no bonuses due so could keep him around thru training camp.

 

If cut post June 1st, how's that change things?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

Why is it "likely" that Star Lotulelei has handled his money well?    That is an extremely random, unsubstantiated take. 

 

Oh, I dunno.  Having a Tongan immigrant father who's a CPA and has a PhD from BYU might have something to do with it 🤷‍♂️

And married with a child at the point where he was drafted

And choosing to live in a house near his parents

As well as being a Mormon (a religion that drums family and fiscal responsibility into its Priests aka men)

(all the above matters of public record)

 

All totally random factors, lacking any correlation with a player being a fella who plans for financial future instead of throwing his money around.

Just an extreme guess.

 

Cheers!

[Victory Formation]

On 2/7/2022 at 2:36 PM, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Then Beane disagrees with you. 

 

In his post game presser, he said that Star played well in his first 7 games, but that his play never returned to that standard when he came back from Covid. 

 

So "mixed bag" was the official Bills FO verdict.

 

I dunno what they're gonna do with Star.    If he returns to form and plays like he did in the beginning of the season, it's very doubtful that we could hire a FA who is as good of a scheme fit for the $1.5M (plus clearing next year's $2.6M) we save by cutting Star, and assuming we stick to McD's beloved rotation, we need at least 2.

Yes, sir. I suppose I disagree with Beane then? I thought Lotulelei was solid, if not more than solid. Probably his best season as a Bill. I think the biggest problem that our D faces is the soft cookie cutter scheme that we’re running. The fact that McD hasn’t fired Frazier yet to me is a huge lack of accountability on his part. Until this Bills team gets more aggressive and starts attacking, our players will continue to languish as a result of it.

[BADOLBILZ]

55 minutes ago, BuffaloBobs said:

 

That's an awful take.

 

I think you can say in aggregate that he was overpaid, but after the 2017 season we had a gaping hole next to an aging Kyle Williams so there was absolutely a need unless you were high on Adolphus Washington or Cedric Thorton playing a big role. Add that to the available options in free agency for a team clearly rebuilding, its not like there were a ton of options.

 

I mean seriously, go back and look at who was available and let me know who we should have signed.

 

 

 

 

Why don't YOU go back and DETAIL how it was that they needed to overpay Star Lotulelei?    The answer is you don't f*cking remember........if you ever even knew.

 

For what reason were they at a point in their re-tool that it was necessary to grossly overpay a 1 tech only who produced like a bad 0 tech?    Beane had so badly botched the OL and WR situations that there was no way that team was going to repeat their modest success of 2017 with Nate Peterman or a rookie Josh Allen...........regardless of whether they were middling or poor against the run.  They were a bad football team and a middling run defender getting paid $50M over 5 wasn't going to change that.

 

The Bills picked Harrison Phillips in that 2018 draft.   He was instantly much better than Lotulelei and a more natural 1 tech(a position that invites actual tackling).   It was a draft that was deep in big bodied run stuffers.   Tim Settle and Folorunso Fatukasi both went late if you were afraid to roll the dice with cheap free agents again.....as they had in 2017 when they dumped Dareus in the middle of a playoff race with no backup plan whatsoever.    Truth is they should have addressed the DT depth better in the 2017 offseason because their plan all along was to cut bait from Dareus regardless of how well he was playing.

 

While Lotulelei was a fairly easy "connect the dots" economy pairing because of his experience with McDermott........the contract was astonishingly bad.    He was an afterthought on the market.   The only interior run D specialist on a contract like that was Damon Harrison..........who was by far the best NT in football and not only much larger and incredibly more impactful at the LOS but also regularly put up 70+ tackle seasons.    This contract was the equivalent of giving Chis Kelsey a $100M deal.   Utter stupidity.

 

[Augie]

6 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

This. 

But the pragmatic question the Bills have to answer is: "Can we replace Star with a rookie or with a lower-tier FA DT who will sign for $1.5M (savings pre June 1) or $4.1M (savings post-June 1)?"

 

 

 

Let’s not forget, even the rookie has a cost beyond dollars. There is also the draft capital that might be well used in another direction. 

[PrimeTime101]

On 2/7/2022 at 11:09 AM, All_Pro_Bills said:

There are other players that have contracts with cap saving potential.

 

Mitch Morse 2022 cap hit 11.25M, dead cap hit 3.75M

Jordan Poyer  2022 cap hit 10.7M, dead cap hit 3.6M (keep)

Micah Hyde 2022 cap hit 10.2M, dead cap hit 5M (keep)

Daryl Williams 2022 cap hit 9.925M, dead cap hit 3.6M

Cole Beasley 2022 cap hit 7.6M, dead cap hit 1.5M

AJ Klien 2022 cap hit 5.76M, dead cap hit .4M

Jon Feliciano 2022 cap hit 4.97M, dead cap hit 1.5M

 

Of course clearing that cap space would leave room to sign other free agents but also leaves some gaps in the line up.  Or are there comparable players already on the roster for less money?  And do you trust the Bills front office can fill these holes in the line up via the draft?   

Ok i will take a bite at this.. 

Mitch Morse 2022 cap hit 11.25M, dead cap hit 3.75M>>>>>>>>>>We finally have our offensive line figured out... I cant see us moving from Mitch

Jordan Poyer  2022 cap hit 10.7M, dead cap hit 3.6M (keep)>>>>>>Poyer had a great year and expect him to stick around.

Micah Hyde 2022 cap hit 10.2M, dead cap hit 5M (keep)>>>>>>>>>Tough take on this but here it is.. Either his contract gets adjusted or he is gone.. we need speed.

Daryl Williams 2022 cap hit 9.925M, dead cap hit 3.6M>>>>>>>>>>I think we defiantly work over this contract

Cole Beasley 2022 cap hit 7.6M, dead cap hit 1.5M>>>>>>>>>>>>>There is lots of talk of him staying but to be honest... i am just not seeing it.

AJ Klien 2022 cap hit 5.76M, dead cap hit .4M>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Had a great game against KC but second tier guy needs to get paid less or gone. 

Jon Feliciano 2022 cap hit 4.97M, dead cap hit 1.5M>>>>>>>>>>>> decent depth here. 

[BADOLBILZ]

18 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Oh, I dunno.  Having a Tongan immigrant father who's a CPA and has a PhD from BYU might have something to do with it 🤷‍♂️

And married with a child at the point where he was drafted

And choosing to live in a house near his parents

As well as being a Mormon (a religion that drums family and fiscal responsibility into its Priests aka men)

(all the above matters of public record)

 

All totally random factors, lacking any correlation with a player being a fella who plans for financial future instead of throwing his money around.

Just an extreme guess.

 

Cheers!

 

 

You should have just stopped at his dad is a CPA so you'd hope his money is well taken care of instead of adding all the racist stereotyping weirdness.