DE Austin Johnson visiting the Bills today - UPDATE: DaQuan Jones says we got him

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, Turk71 said:

Let's pretend he's good!

We needed a depth signing. The good: It’s a 30 year old player who had a second round pedigree and logged a lot of snaps while starting 17 games last season for the Chargers. The bad: He hasn’t been good, especially last season coming off of a broken knee and MCL the prior season. The unknown: How well he bounces back in his second season back from that injury and how he does playing less snaps. So much comes down to what the contract is. 

[Einstein]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

Sneaky good signing. 

He has one of the worst PFF grades in the entire NFL. 

Do you know much about him? Are the grades not representative of his play?

[RussellDopeland]

1 minute ago, BarleyNY said:

We needed a depth signing. The good: It’s a 30 year old player who had a second round pedigree and logged a lot of snaps while starting 17 games last season for the Chargers. The bad: He hasn’t been good, especially last season coming off of a broken knee and MCL the prior season. The unknown: How well he bounces back in his second season back from that injury and how he does playing less snaps. So much comes down to what the contract is. 

You forgot- The obvious: Anyone with a pulse is an upgrade from Settle.

[damj]

53 minutes ago, Maynard said:

I think his wife could suit up for us as well. 

I done completely forgot what this thread was about

[Warriorspikes51]

I’d still take Sweat at 60 if there

[Einstein]

2 hours ago, Success said:

I expected nothing this FA period - we started out $40M+ over cap.

 

Beane has done a great job filling holes & setting us up for another season of being a contender.

 

The only way anyone could be happy with this Free Agency is if they expected literally nothing (as you said). As in, they somehow expected us to field a team of 42 players instead of 53.

We have acquired:

- Curtis Samuel

- A defensive tackle with one of the worst possible grades you could ever imagine (Johnson)
- A LB whose former teams fans were celebrating him leaving (Morrow)

- A backup center

- Mitch Trubisky

Maybe I missed someone?

We have signed scrap heap players. 

Edited March 24 by Einstein

[juno999]

11 minutes ago, Einstein said:

The only way anyone could be happy with this Free Agency is if they expected literally nothing (as you said). As in, they somehow expected us to field a team of 42 players instead of 53.

We have acquired:

- Curtis Samuel

- A defensive end with one of the worst possible grades you could ever imagine (Johnson)
- A LB whose former teams fans were celebrating him leaving (Morrow)

- A backup center

- Mitch Trubisky

Maybe I missed someone?

We have signed scrap heap players. 

Johnson is 6'4 315.  He's a DT, so he's not going to have great stats.  He's just going to clog up the LOS.  I think Samuel could be a pretty good signing.

[Success]

13 minutes ago, Einstein said:

The only way anyone could be happy with this Free Agency is if they expected literally nothing (as you said). As in, they somehow expected us to field a team of 42 players instead of 53.

We have acquired:

- Curtis Samuel

- A defensive end with one of the worst possible grades you could ever imagine (Johnson)
- A LB whose former teams fans were celebrating him leaving (Morrow)

- A backup center

- Mitch Trubisky

Maybe I missed someone?

We have signed scrap heap players. 

 

Wow, are those ever purposely negative characterizations.

 

You left out the players we re-signed.

 

[muppy]

the man with a plan. To strengthen what needed strengthening and always be churning the roster. He is one heckuva business man I think.

 

Lead the way to NFL Glory Brandon. We all want it so bad we can taste it.

 

GO BILLS

[strive_for_five_guy]

55 minutes ago, mrags said:

Is that for Johnson or his wife? 

Mmm both??? 😆😆 Always good to have a big Johnson though.

[Flipnmi]

1 hour ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

Johnson is a 1T. Sweat is a 1T. I don't see us going with a 3rd 1T as high as 60 when we have nothing behind Oliver at 3T.

Johnson has played 1T, 3T & 5T. I suspect he will be a stout 3T for the Bills, but has the position flexibility the Bills love.

[Turk71]

15 minutes ago, muppy said:

the man with a plan. To strengthen what needed strengthening and always be churning the roster. He is one heckuva business man I think.

 

Lead the way to NFL Glory Brandon. We all want it so bad we can taste it.

 

GO BILLS

 

Your unrestrained positivity is inspiring.

I think I'm more of a skeptic, but I do believe in the power of positive thinking 🙂

[NewEra]

43 minutes ago, Einstein said:

He has one of the worst PFF grades in the entire NFL. 

Do you know much about him? Are the grades not representative of his play?

I blame Brandon Staley.  What a bum that guy turned out to be.  Defensive guru aka product of Aaron Donald.  
 

Austin isn’t very good.  But he’s not awful.  He can hold his own in the middle.  I thought he had some promise at PSU.  
 

most importantly, I hope that this eliminates us from drafting a 1T early.  I didn’t think we would, as Beane hasn’t really ever taken a true 1T.  Harrison Phillips was never really that imo.  But this signing should allow us to draft Oliver’s backup rather than Daquan.  Hate spending picks on NTs unless it’s rd 5-7

44 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

I’d still take Sweat at 60 if there

Meh. You’re not going to be saying that after we draft a pass rusher in rd 1!   🤣 

[BillsFanForever19]

8 minutes ago, Flipnmi said:

Johnson has played 1T, 3T & 5T. I suspect he will be a stout 3T for the Bills, but has the position flexibility the Bills love.

 

You'd suspect wrong. At 317, he's a 3T like Curtis Samuel is an Outside WR. You can put him there from time to time, but 1T is his natural spot. Watch any discussion of him and his fit here by places like Cover 1 and he's always discussed as primarily rotation for Daquan.

 

Does he have some versatility? Yes. But he's not going to be primarily a 3T behind Oliver.

Edited March 23 by BillsFanForever19

[QLBillsFan]

17 minutes ago, Flipnmi said:

Johnson has played 1T, 3T & 5T. I suspect he will be a stout 3T for the Bills, but has the position flexibility the Bills love.

He will back up Jones who came here and also did not play in the Bills system. The Bills attack and they played into Jones strengths as will it for Johnson. I trust both the Bills and Jones know more about how this guy can fit in than anyone. So now we need a backup for Oliver and 1 more depth and DT should be ok. 

[BigAl2526]

Well, holes are gradually getting filled.  Yeah, it would be nice to get T'Vondre Sweat, but the Bills only have one pick each in the first couple rounds.  The Bills are not going to be able draft stars at all the positions where they have need.  One tech is now a very low draft priority.  That's a good thing because 1 Techs are a rare commodity.  If the Bills see a compelling value in the late rounds, they might jump at it, but it's not happening on day one or two of the draft.  I think the Bills still need safety help, an edge rusher and a WR.  The WR is mostly preparation for life after Stephon Diggs.  They can also use more cornerback depth and competition for depth on the offensive line.  If they had a chance to draft a developmental QB or punter, that would be good, but it's not urgent at all.  It's not a bad place to be considering what the cap situation was heading into the off season. 

[QLBillsFan]

1 hour ago, Einstein said:

He has one of the worst PFF grades in the entire NFL. 

Do you know much about him? Are the grades not representative of his play?

Not a lot of options at DT. For whatever reason Settle never could get it going for the Bills, while Ford could not suit up on Sundays. Being a teammate of Jones and playing at the same spot should help him. Can’t really be worse than our depth last year at DT. 

[BigAl2526]

19 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

You'd suspect wrong. At 317, he's a 3T like Curtis Samuel is an Outside WR. You can put him there from time to time, but 1T is his natural spot. Watch any discussion of him and his fit here by places like Cover 1 and he's always discussed as primarily rotation for Daquan.

 

Does he have some versatility? Yes. But he's not going to be primarily a 3T behind Oliver.

Agreed.  The Bills can draft guys that a 280-300 pounds in any round they want to provide depth at 3 tech.  It's a lot tougher to find a guy who is big enough and strong enough to eat up blockers as a 1 tech.   I think that's where they plug Johnson in.  

[WickedGame]

46 minutes ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

Mmm both??? 😆😆 Always good to have a big Johnson though.

Would you say it’s better to have a big Johnson or to get the Clapp? 

[K-9]

2 hours ago, nucci said:

what was sneaky about it? It's been talked about for a while now

It’s just an expression not to be taken literally. The point is that he has the potential to be a great addition, we were the team that landed him, and I suspect other teams a d their fans may not realize that. 

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, RussellDopeland said:

You forgot- The obvious: Anyone with a pulse is an upgrade from Settle.

I’d like him to be able to clear a higher bar than that. 

[strive_for_five_guy]

24 minutes ago, WickedGame said:

Would you say it’s better to have a big Johnson or to get the Clapp? 

Probably both are needed, if we’re playing complementary football.

[K-9]

1 hour ago, Einstein said:

He has one of the worst PFF grades in the entire NFL. 

Do you know much about him? Are the grades not representative of his play?

 

1 hour ago, Einstein said:

The only way anyone could be happy with this Free Agency is if they expected literally nothing (as you said). As in, they somehow expected us to field a team of 42 players instead of 53.

We have acquired:

- Curtis Samuel

- A defensive end with one of the worst possible grades you could ever imagine (Johnson)
- A LB whose former teams fans were celebrating him leaving (Morrow)

- A backup center

- Mitch Trubisky

Maybe I missed someone?

We have signed scrap heap players. 

He is not a DE, although he has played it in 34 alignments. He’s a solid backup to Jones with position versatility in a pinch. Given what we saw when Jones got injured last season, we’ve upgraded the depth at a critical spot. 

[Dr. Who]

Sure didn't see all these folks pointing out how this fella couldn't play and it was a bad idea before we signed him.

Maybe I just missed it.

[BillsFanForever19]

2 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

I’d still take Sweat at 60 if there

 

Classic Spikes post.

 

"Love the signing! .... wait, that covers a spot that would be designated for someone I'm drooling over? We'll why can't we just have them BOTH?!"

Edited March 24 by BillsFanForever19

[Einstein]

4 minutes ago, K-9 said:

 

He is not a DE, although he has played it in 34 alignments. He’s a solid backup to Jones with position versatility in a pinch. Given what we saw when Jones got injured last season, we’ve upgraded the depth at a critical spot. 

You didn't answer the question. PFF watched every snap of his and ranked him as one of the worst in the entire NFL. And judging by his pitiful contract, there was little market for him outside of a 1 year prove-it deal. 

There is zero evidence that we upgraded depth here, as there is little evidence that he is better than who he replaced.

[LABILLBACKER]

He'd be a very good backup to DQ, considering the inconsistent garbage we saw from Settle, Ford, Phillips & Joseph.

[Einstein]

1 hour ago, Success said:

Wow, are those ever purposely negative characterizations.

 

I simply write the truth of a situation. If it is positive - like last year - then i write about how happy I am with the improvements we made.

When there is little positive, I write about that as well. 
 

1 hour ago, Success said:

 

You left out the players we re-signed.

Re-signing who we already had is important - but it doesnt improve the team. It keeps the team stagnant at that position (which is a good thing if you're re-signing a good player). 

 

[nucci]

29 minutes ago, K-9 said:

It’s just an expression not to be taken literally. The point is that he has the potential to be a great addition, we were the team that landed him, and I suspect other teams a d their fans may not realize that. 

I know. It's an expression that annoys me

[billsfan89]

14 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

He'd be a very good backup to DQ, considering the inconsistent garbage we saw from Settle, Ford, Phillips & Joseph.

I thought Joseph was a solid run stuffer. Right when the Bills signed him the run defense up the middle and overall improved from what I remember. He was a nice fill in for DQ’s run defense.

 

You are right about Settle who’s a complete JAG and Poona Ford was terrible up until the end of the season when he showed a little bit of solid play. 
 

Jordan Phillips always seems to get hurt when he starts to play well. Wouldn’t actually mind bringing back Phillips if he could be a fringe roster camp body. 

[CSBill]

6 hours ago, appoo said:

Not for nothing:

 

https://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2013/03/penn_state_football_who_is_aus.html

 

“Penn State defensive tackle Austin Johnson is a hot name during the second week of the Nittany Lions' spring practice. He's emerged as a candidate to start alongside senior DaQuan Jones on the interior of Penn State's defensive line.”

With those two guys in the middle, maybe they can beat Ohio State this year? 

[Einstein]

On 3/20/2024 at 2:22 PM, papazoid said:

PFF rank #118 of 130 interior defenders (DT's)....not good

 

#16 Arik Armstead

#44 Ed Oliver

#64 Sebastian Joseph Day

#81   Tim Settle

#118 Austin Johnson

#129 Jordan Phillips

 

The Bills could sign a backup long-snapper named Alex Falaffigonobonowitz that no-one has ever heard of, and had an incredible blunder in his only snap ever in the NFL, and there would still be fans here talking like “It’s not hard to see that we got better with this move. Great depth. What a solid signing. Beane strikes again”. 

 

I want whatever LSD these fans put in their morning coffee.

[oldmanfan]

I want people to quit thinking their opinions are facts.

[BADOLBILZ]

17 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

I simply write the truth of a situation. If it is positive - like last year - then i write about how happy I am with the improvements we made.

When there is little positive, I write about that as well. 
 

 

 

The thing is..........last years "positive" "improvement" signings were largely just lipstick.

 

Latavius Murray, Damien Harris, Leonard Floyd, Jordan Phillips, Shaq Lawson, Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty and Taylor Rapp were out injured or making almost no impact by the playoffs.   Lotta' old, high mileage guys(including running Hyde and Poyer back) who ran out of gas or blew a tire down the stretch,  some "WR's" that had had one "decent" season in 6 and a jabroni in Taylor Rapp who had to learn a new system.

 

I'm not very impressed with these signings this year either.........but I DO expect Curtis Samuel to actually produce and be an impact player in January.  He's a real NFL playmaker.  Sheffield and Harty were a joke and I said it then.    And I expect Mike Edwards and Austin Johnson to actually play the whole season and likely be on the field doing their thing come playoff time.    The additions definitely skew younger, mid-career and promise to maybe not force the Bills to sign some AJ Klein type off the street to start a playoff game.   

[K-9]

40 minutes ago, Einstein said:

You didn't answer the question. PFF watched every snap of his and ranked him as one of the worst in the entire NFL. And judging by his pitiful contract, there was little market for him outside of a 1 year prove-it deal. 

There is zero evidence that we upgraded depth here, as there is little evidence that he is better than who he replaced.

The only way I can answer the question is that I put no stock in the PFF ratings. Were his grades based on his play at DE? Not that it matters, really. 
 

We’ve upgraded the depth at an important position in our defense by signing a guy with experience and position flexibility. He’s not an All Pro, but he fills a role better than anyone we had last year. And the fact there was little market for him is another reason I think it’s a sneaky good signing. We shall see.

[Turk71]

54 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

Sure didn't see all these folks pointing out how this fella couldn't play and it was a bad idea before we signed him.

Maybe I just missed it.

I never gave him a thought before they signed him. Why would I, or anyone else for that matter?

He's just a guy, a backup for DaQuan. This wasn't a major move, he's not a difference maker. Beane doesn't tell me who he's thinking of signing. Are we supposed to talk about every bottom of the roster guy in the league? 

[BillsFanForever19]

8 minutes ago, Turk71 said:

I never gave him a thought before they signed him. Why would I, or anyone else for that matter?

He's just a guy, a backup for DaQuan. This wasn't a major move, he's not a difference maker. Beane doesn't tell me who he's thinking of signing. Are we supposed to talk about every bottom of the roster guy in the league? 

 

I mean, is he a Superstar? No. Bottom of the roster though? He started all 17 games for the Chargers last season, all 17 games for the Giants in 2021, and started every single game he's played over the past 3 seasons. Starters are the very opposite of "bottom of the roster guys".

Edited March 24 by BillsFanForever19

[oldmanfan]

Filling in roster spots before the draft.  Nothing more, nothing less.

[Shaw66]

3 hours ago, damj said:

Old news. I saw him at Anchor Bar 20 minutes before DQ's tweet. He was with DHop and OBJ

Love it!

[Turk71]

1 minute ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

I mean, is he a Superstar? No. Bottom of the roster though? He started all 17 games for the Chargers last season, all 17 games for the Giants in 2021, and started every single game he's played over the past 3 seasons. 

Okay, maybe not bottom of the roster. 

 I was replying to someone saying he didn't hear people saying he wasn't good before Beane signed him. Why would anyone be offering opinions on this guy before the signing. It's not like he was some major target we all knew Beane was after. 

He's just a guy! DaQuan's backup, not a big deal.