Levi Wallace gone to the Steelers on 2-year deal

[RunTheBall]

Some of you guys are hilarious. Bellyaching over a guy who was average at best in a corner friendly scheme while getting coverage help constantly from the best safety tandem in the league.

 

Take a breath, McBeane didn’t want him anymore and are looking to upgrade the position since Levi was the weak link in the secondary.

 

We will pick up a guy in FA who’s probably better than Levi, and draft a corner fairly high.

 

The last position group I’m concerned about with this front office and coaching staff is the secondary. They excel there.

[MAJBobby]

I will love to watch Wallace on Diggs or Davis at the Steeler game Find him and eat josh

[The Jokeman]

31 minutes ago, Patience said:

That's a phenomenal deal for the Steelers.  I'm puzzled why we didn't bring him back, assuming his demands of us were the same. 

It's simple, when Jackson was thrust into the CB2 role he wasn't that much worse than Levi was. So we keep Jackson at a lower cap number to stay at CB2 and allow us to use the cap we were to spend on someone else like DT Jones. We then draft a guy that will be our CB3 and hopefully develop into a starter. Rinse and repeat. It's why our previous regimes sucked as we never developed anyone or got benefits of good draft picks after round 1.

[DrDawkinstein]

7 minutes ago, ngbills said:

#2 CB in a passing league. #3 WR in a passing league. #2 TE in a passing league. #2 QB in a passing league. #2 or #3 DE in a passing league. 

 

We have addressed depth at RB, depth at DT, a run blocking G.

 

I dont like the approach. Not the end of the world but I hope they would have spent some resources early on any of the DB, WR, pass rush, which is consistent with what most world say the biggest needs were. 

 

Maybe someday we'll develop a passing game and a pass defense and you'll be happy.

[OldTimer1960]

Just now, foreboding said:

I expect we will see some vets brought in. The draftniks seem to think there is only one, maybe two cb's with first round grades.

A weak vet that costs less than Wallace is, at best, a stop gap.  A team that plays 4-2-5 mostly rolling with what they have and a stop-gap vet is asking for a major problem.  For sure, if they improve the pass rush significantly, it helps the DBs, but where is pass rush help coming from?  I don’t see them being able to afford Chandler Jones who is very good, not great nd Danielle Hunter is a pipe dream who would also cost draft assets that they currently can’t afford to part with.

 

 

[junior]

7 minutes ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

the one thing this staff can do is develop secondary.

 

white was a first rounder, taron was a 4th rounder, and dane was a 7th.

 

we should not be worried about CB at all

 

This is where I'm at. I'd have loved to keep Wallace at that $ amount. But the Bills were able to convert a UDFA in Wallace into a low end #2 and a 7th rounder in Jackson into a low end #2. I'm confident in them to fill the CB spot in the draft just fine. 

Edited March 15, 2022 by junior

[Meatloaf63]

12 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said:

Pretty much a guarantee of CB in round 1, no matter who is available.  It would be a joke rolling into next season with Dane Jackson and Cam Lewis as your CBs with possibility of White missing time or never returning to form.  Don’t like maybe having to bypass good players at other positions and/or reach for CB, but it is a very important position with no answers past White coming off of a major injury.  Would not surprise me it they take two corners in the first 4 rounds.  Unfortunately, likely means that they miss out on some very good WR prospects and probably would be looking at 3rd tier prospects at edge in the 2nd.   That doesn’t even consider the poor situation at DT or interior OL.

 

Not the best situation for sure.

9 to 12 month recovery so Tre could miss the two first months easily. Not time to panic, but need to find a quality replacement for sure.

[OldTimer1960]

1 minute ago, RunTheBall said:

Some of you guys are hilarious. Bellyaching over a guy who was average at best in a corner friendly scheme while getting coverage help constantly from the best safety tandem in the league.

 

Take a breath, McBeane didn’t want him anymore and are looking to upgrade the position since Levi was the weak link in the secondary.

 

We will pick up a guy in FA who’s probably better than Levi, and draft a corner fairly high.

 

The last position group I’m concerned about with this front office and coaching staff is the secondary. They excel there.

Maybe if they didn’t have to give safety help all the time, they might blitz once in a while to improve the pass rush.  I get that the scheme can help weak CBS succeed, but be sure to know that if they didn’t have weak links at CB, they could do more defensively.

[FarrellsFinest]

I THINK THE BILLS WILL TRADE UP TO #7 WITH THE GIANTS FOR A 1ST AND A 3RD PLUS NEXT YEARS 1ST FOR...CB SAUCE GARDNER!!

[John from Riverside]

Thank you for everything you have done for us Wallace......

 

Now it REALLY becomes a priority to bring in a quality vet

[Scott7975]

The Bills let our #2 corner go over 4 mil per season?  I hope they have a plan because that's dirt cheap for a solid corner.

[jkeerie]

2 minutes ago, junior said:

 

This is where I'm at. I'd have loved to keep Wallace at that $ amount. But the Bills were able to convert a UDFA in Wallace into a low end #2 and a 7th rounder in to a low end #2. I'm confident in them to fill the CB spot in the draft just fine. 

This makes me wonder whether Wallace's play in that KC game basically showed the Bills that they needed to move on.

[Brand J]

Turns out the reports of Levi being worth $9M/yr were greatly over exaggerated.
I like Levi, he’s an easy guy to root for. I’ll never forget when he got a burner phone and allowed fans to call and speak with him. I never dialed in, but it just went to show the kind of guy he is. I wish him all the best in PIT, except when he plays the Bills. Congrats, Levi!

[Punching Bag]

32 minutes ago, gjv001 said:

Apparently our front office and coaching staff didn't think very highly of Wallace, letting him walk for back-up CB money.

 

Maybe he choose not to sign again because he wanted a change?

[OldTimer1960]

7 minutes ago, Hebert19 said:

He's an average starter in the league at best.  This system protected him.  We need an upgrade to cover the likes of hill

Agree that Wallace wasn’t great, but Jackson failed to beat him out and neither are premier athletes (in NFL terms).  It is way past time to invest in this position.

[JohnNord]

36 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Even if we have tons of  faith in Dane Jackson, we need a good quality replacement....Tre is likely not going to be ready to start the season.

You sure about that?  Everything I’ve read says the opposite 

[FLFan]

All people had to say about him year after year is they needed an upgrade at that position.  It was time to move on, even at that price.  That position will get fleshed out in the coming weeks and months.  Another point here is that the Bills cannot, nor can any team, 1afford to pay significant dollars to every position.  We are already paying two top safeties and a top CB, as well as the nickel CB.  Gonna have to find a cost effective CB 2.  I actually think Dane Jackson will be fine but they could definitely use a depth upgrade.  Top three rounds priority in this draft, if not number 1.  

[MAJBobby]

5 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Maybe someday we'll develop a passing game and a pass defense and you'll be happy.

Well it is a good thing for him that we have No1 CB and No3 CB that played like the CB2, Still have WR1 and WR2 in a passing league, Still have QB1 and an MVP candidate last 2 years at that in a passing league

1 minute ago, OldTimer1960 said:

Agree that Wallace wasn’t great, but Jackson failed to beat him out and neither are premier athletes (in NFL terms).  It is way past time to invest in this position.

Did he or was Jackson a rookie that was brought along right and because of the development stepped in when CB1 went down and was not exposed in our Zone defense

[Turbo44]

19 minutes ago, ngbills said:

We have holes now at DB, WR, Edge, LB, TE, Back Up QB...

I would love to see your posts if you were a fan of another team (who has serious holes.

 

come’on - we’re-7 hours into free agency and Beane brought back our slot receiver, got a top 3 receiver out of the backfield (and maybe the top pass protection back) and solidified our interior D.

 

DB pick 25 and Cheap UFA vet

WR pick 57 and cheap UFA vet

Edge - UFA feeling chandler Jones 

LB - ??? Draft, Hardly a hole -  you’re worried about Replacing Klein…..really?

TE draft and/or UFA - every day Gronk doesn’t sign with TB makes our case stronger 

QB - really? If Josh gets hurt for a significant time we’re f*cked no matter who we sign. Come on home Fitzy and a late project QB in the draft

[Warcodered]

2 minutes ago, MAJBobby said:

Well it is a good thing for him that we have No1 CB and No3 CB that played like the CB2, Still have WR1 and WR2 in a passing league, Still have QB1 and an MVP candidate last 2 years at that in a passing league

Did he or was Jackson a rookie that was brought along right and because of the development stepped in when CB1 went down and was not exposed in our Zone defense

From what I remember all the reports last preseason was them being neck and neck and the experienced vet managed to get the job.

[Milanos Milano]

44 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Good enough, who's the replacement?

Kaiir Elam

[OldTimer1960]

1 minute ago, IronMaidenBills said:

Kaiir Elam

Maybe OK, but he will cost #25, won’t make it to our 2nd pick.

[smuvtalker]

Listen, count me amongst you that is a bit puzzled we let him walk for 4 mil per. And yes, with Tre coming off an ACL tear, CB is most pressing need right now.  But I also would like to say I was absolutely thrilled with the job that Dane Jackson did when thrust into starting duty, and I would be lying if I said I didn't have extremely high expectations for him this year.  Who's to say he can't continue to blossom into our CB2 role, and hello, we have a freakin dog at our nickel corner spot, uhh his name is Taron Johnson....and when we draft at #25, I fully expect one of the blue chip CB's to still be there for the plucking...

Edited March 15, 2022 by smuvtalker

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

50 minutes ago, Mikie's Bills said:

CB/WR in first 2 rounds.

 

Farewell Levi

 

In that order too, then interior lineman in 3rd, ideally one that could play guard or center.

 

IMO RB and CB are the two position rookies can come in and play well their first year so would be fine with CB in the 1st.  Supposedly a deep draft for WR likely still get talent in 2nd round.

[Milanos Milano]

If there is one position on this team I feel the most confident we will find great talent at a value draft position it’s CB. Not worried at all with letting Wallace go. 

[HardyBoy]

12 minutes ago, jkeerie said:

This makes me wonder whether Wallace's play in that KC game basically showed the Bills that they needed to move on.

 

Was just about to say that. If you believe that they were trying to trick KC with that look coming out the same way after the timeout and Levi was supposed to take the inside deep quarter zone and pattern match Kelce and the safety was going to take the outside zone, which to be fair I heard someone on here suggest...if you believe that, which I do, then you also likely believe that the Bills had likely practiced that scenario all the damn time in practice.

 

If that's the case, you can absolutely see that he might have a hard time gaining trust back in the locker room.

 

Don't think that play defines him, or is who he is as a player, but terrible time for a brain cramp/reverting to the wrong muscle memory, which happens to people. 

Edited March 15, 2022 by HardyBoy
typo

[Coach Tuesday]

Seems like they're trying to upgrade their overall athleticism across the board.

[Milanos Milano]

1 minute ago, OldTimer1960 said:

Maybe OK, but he will cost #25, won’t make it to our 2nd pick.

Considering Wallace was a UDFA and Jackson was a 7th rounder. This might be the only position I feel our front office knows exactly what to do. 

[MAJBobby]

I did not know Wallace pulled a switch in 2018 and was going to initially sign with Steelers.

[Coach Tuesday]

Just now, MAJBobby said:

I did not know Wallace pulled a switch in 2018 and was going to initially sign with Steelers.

 

Steelers play off coverage almost exclusively right?

[Awwufelloff]

First move that hurts us. No guarantee that White is going to come back 100%, we need as much as DB depth as possible and 8 mil total for 2 years is a steal.

[without a drought]

16 minutes ago, FarrellsFinest said:

I THINK THE BILLS WILL TRADE UP TO #7 WITH THE GIANTS FOR A 1ST AND A 3RD PLUS NEXT YEARS 1ST FOR...CB SAUCE GARDNER!!

What? I can't hear you. Turn down your cap lock.

[JK Fan]

17 minutes ago, Scott7975 said:

The Bills let our #2 corner go over 4 mil per season?  I hope they have a plan because that's dirt cheap for a solid corner.

It appears the Bills did not think Wallace was a solid corner worth $4M a season.  I for one agree and am happy to see him go.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

31 minutes ago, HurlyBurly51 said:

It's a two way street.  I have a feeling Levi felt a little disrespected.

 

Over in the Harrison Phillips won't be back thread, there's a dude who says he sat with a bunch of Levi's friends at a game and has kept in touch, and Levi loves Buffalo and wanted to return.

[jkeerie]

4 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

 

Was just about to say that. If you believe that they were trying to trick KC with that look coming out the same way after the timeout and Levi was supposed to take the inside deep quarter zone and pattern match Kelce and the safety was going to take the outside zone, which to be fair I heard someone on here suggest...if you believe that, which I do, then you also likely believe that the Bills had likely practiced that scenario all the damn time in practice.

 

If that's the case, you can absolutely see that he might have a hard time gaining trust back in the locker room.

 

Don't think that play defines him, or is who he is as a player, but terrible time for a brain cramp/reverting to the wrong muscle memory, which happens to people. 

Beane said in an interview post season, that they wouldn't just look at the playoffs in their player evaluations but would look at the entire body of work (or words to that effect).  I thought it was odd when he said it, but it signaled to me that that KC game was an opener for them.

[First Round Bust]

58 minutes ago, somnus00 said:

As someone who wanted an upgrade from Levi, I'm surprised that they let him walk for that price. I'm okay with it, but I'm still surprised. Beane likes signing his own.

maybe we only offered a 1 year deal ? or they can get a vet like Joe Haden for 2-3M per and have him work with Dane J and a 2nd round pick...problem solved.

[skibum]

He's not the best CB in the business, but he stepped up when Tre got hurt, and for the most part, he was a solid to good contributor on a top defense.

 

I hope the Bills brass was prepared for this, because on the surface it doesn't look like a good scenario - and this is not a team that likes to draft for needs. They must like Dane Jackson a lot!

Edited March 15, 2022 by skibum

[LABILLBACKER]

1 hour ago, BillsEnthusiast said:

 

Either tons of faith in Dane Jackson or we are going CB higher in the draft, IMO

Now with Levi gone it looks like 80% we're drafting a CB2 in the 1st round.  I also think Tre will be back sooner than expected?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

39 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said:

Kaiir Elam

 

OK, you had a name - Good for you!  Seriously, Kudos, because when challenged many people don't.

 

But who else?  Might not fall to us. 

 

And are we  betting the season on a rookie stepping up opposite Dane Jackson?   How about a CB in FA, because starting the season with 2 on the roster might not be a great plan.

 

 

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/kaiir-elam/3200454c-4155-0002-a198-92eda6859fa9

 

Zierlein, who isn't infalliable but who I most often find myself nodding along to when I re-read his draft profiles 2-3 yrs later, says "Elam has early CB3 and eventual CB2 value as a press and zone corner."

 

Eventual doesn't sound like a good 2022 plan

47 minutes ago, jkeerie said:

This makes me wonder whether Wallace's play in that KC game basically showed the Bills that they needed to move on.

 

I've had glimmers of the same thought

 

Edit: saw this list of FA QB.  Didn't make me thrilled.  Who do folks like?

 

 

[Saint Doug]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I dont like being pigeon-holed into having to pick for a specific position in Round 1, and I dont think Beane does either. Although maybe they think/know/realize that the best value at #25 will likely be a CB anyways.

Yeah, I hear you. But, as we all know, I’m sure Beane has a plan. They may be targeting someone in FA or may have identified multiple players they would be happy with on their draft board. Their plan for getting Allen was like trying to shoot a bullet through the head of a needle, but it worked out.