Which NFL team had the best offseason so far? Which has had the worst?

[BullBuchanan]

19 hours ago, SoTier said:

Personally, by the end of the fourth round, I was wondering if the Bills should take a flyer on Shedeur to upgrade the backup QB position, even if it was highly unlikely that Beane would ever make that kind impromptu move.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. Follow the old packers model of having a premier backup waiting in the wings on a rookie deal. I think a place like Buffalo owuld have been perfect for Sanders. All the hype could die down, he'd get to learn under an elite offense and just get his reps in. If Allen were to ever be injured for an extended period of time, I'd feel much better about a young player with potential salvaging our season, than a guy like Mitch Trubisky or Mike White. Those guys are ideal for a game or less.

At a 5th round pick, you'd be risking very little, and if he showed up in pre-season, you could turn that into a high pick down the road, ala Rob Johnson, Matt Shaub, Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck, etc.

[BillsfaninChicago]

I call this the Rex Ryan “The Annual Build a Bully Award”🥇 

[GunnerBill]

On 5/3/2025 at 1:40 AM, SoTier said:

 

Trevor Lawrence is in the final year of his rookie contract, so the Jags seriously need to decide if he's worth a second contract

 

They've already paid him and there is no way of getting out of it until after the 2027 season. I hate the big trade up slightly less than you for that exact reason. They don't need those picks for a QB. Lawrence is their guy for at least the next 3 seasons. If they see Hunter as a receiver first then it's kind of a final swing at the fences in terms of putting the pieces around Trevor to help him succeed. It might be throwing more assets at an already sunk cost but if the QB is no good they are not gonna be a good team the next 3 years anyway. 

[GASabresIUFan]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/44249852/nfl-free-agency-2025-experts-big-questions-signings-trades-contracts

 

I thought this was an interesting read.   

 

Teams on their backwards list

49ers, Chargers, the Bills (because we didn't add a CB or a top WR), KC, Seattle, and the Cowboys.

 

I'd add the Jags and Bengals to my backwards list. 

 

Note: They think our signing of Bosa was one of the best FA signings

 

Teams on their improved list

Bears, Panthers, Vikings (They lost their starting QB, not sure that counts as improvement), Pats, the Raiders and Commanders.

Edited yesterday at 05:18 AM by GASabresIUFan

[Doc Brown]

On 5/3/2025 at 4:24 PM, BullBuchanan said:

I was thinking the exact same thing. Follow the old packers model of having a premier backup waiting in the wings on a rookie deal. I think a place like Buffalo owuld have been perfect for Sanders. All the hype could die down, he'd get to learn under an elite offense and just get his reps in. If Allen were to ever be injured for an extended period of time, I'd feel much better about a young player with potential salvaging our season, than a guy like Mitch Trubisky or Mike White. Those guys are ideal for a game or less.

At a 5th round pick, you'd be risking very little, and if he showed up in pre-season, you could turn that into a high pick down the road, ala Rob Johnson, Matt Shaub, Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck, etc.

I would never do it with Sanders's kid because the slight possible upgrade in backup QB is not worth the noise that comes with it.  You'd be naive to think there wouldn't be noise as one of the reasons Sanders slipped in the draft was because no team thought he or his father would be fine with him as a backup.

 

Logically, it makes sense maybe 20 years ago but how often do you see NFL teams fall for the Rob Johnson type bait anymore.  The four QB's you just quoted were traded before the Obama administration.  I can't remember a QB that was taken in the later rounds of the draft that was flipped for a significantly better pick since Schaub.  The only thing you really see now are small transactions like the Pats drafted Milton in the 6th round and he was flipped for a 5th with the Cowboys.  Maybe 25 years ago he gets flipped for a 1st.

[machine gun kelly]

As one other poster mentioned, it’s in a way a misleading question as the teams at the bottom who had cap space were able to improve the most, and those that were already talented would look like they added the least.  Overall, I think the Bills had a decent off season, and time will tell if the defensive upgrade will work.

[Ralonzo]

6 hours ago, GASabresIUFan said:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/44249852/nfl-free-agency-2025-experts-big-questions-signings-trades-contracts

 

"They needed a game-changing wide receiver heading into free agency. Though Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel bring a lot to the table, it's hard to get excited about the addition of Palmer, who has never proven he can be a game changer. The Bills could also use a new starting cornerback and a 1-technique defensive tackle in 2025.

 

- Eric Moody, fantasy football writer"

 

I thought this was an interesting read.   

 

No, it was a puerile read born of nescience and/or pedanticism. I only wish he was in the studio to take his beating from Beane with the other WGR fantasy jocks because everything said applies to him to an even higher degree, mentioning CB and DL along with WR.

 

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/42128547-3534-455e-bd33-156852fa6da8

[SoTier]

1 hour ago, machine gun kelly said:

As one other poster mentioned, it’s in a way a misleading question as the teams at the bottom who had cap space were able to improve the most, and those that were already talented would look like they added the least.  Overall, I think the Bills had a decent off season, and time will tell if the defensive upgrade will work.

 

This is what I thought, too.   It's way things usually go.   Some of the views of the best and worst FA signings were interesting.

[Commish]

12 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

 

No, it was a puerile read born of nescience and/or pedanticism. I only wish he was in the studio to take his beating from Beane with the other WGR fantasy jocks because everything said applies to him to an even higher degree, mentioning CB and DL along with WR.

 

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/42128547-3534-455e-bd33-156852fa6da8

is that you, Squidward? 

 

[Ralonzo]

5 minutes ago, Commish said:

is that you, Squidward? 

 

Words mean things. To elucidate - puerile because it's such an immature take. Nescient because he's apparently unaware that the Bills drafted a first round CB to start, or DLine with their next 3 picks. Pedantic because he judges the Bills WR's apparently through a filter of, the best roster construction for a f@N+@Sy d0M1n@nC3 is to have 1 god-tier X receiver and a covey of incompetent boobs surrounding him.

 

Perhaps it irks me when people cash checks in exchange for that level of ignorance. So I'll just say: Stick to drafting Bengals and leave the winning to your betters.

[Commish]

1 hour ago, Ralonzo said:

 

Words mean things. To elucidate - puerile because it's such an immature take. Nescient because he's apparently unaware that the Bills drafted a first round CB to start, or DLine with their next 3 picks. Pedantic because he judges the Bills WR's apparently through a filter of, the best roster construction for a f@N+@Sy d0M1n@nC3 is to have 1 god-tier X receiver and a covey of incompetent boobs surrounding him.

 

Perhaps it irks me when people cash checks in exchange for that level of ignorance. So I'll just say: Stick to drafting Bengals and leave the winning to your betters.

All in fun - although I had never heard of "nescient" before

[SoMAn]

On 4/30/2025 at 4:01 PM, SoonerBillsFan said:

NE is going to be #2 in the AFCE by end of season.

 

 

I think that's very possible. Maybe even (*gulp*) # 1, depending on injuries, head to head, and other yet to be determined factors that could derail the Bills' hopes for a 6th straight division title.

 

They gave the Bills a run for their money in the late December game in Buffalo when the Bills were still fighting for their playoff positioning.

Of course the Pat won the final in NE, but I don't count that one since the Bills were playing reserves in a game that was meaningless as far as playoff seeding was concerned. 

Edited yesterday at 01:35 PM by SoMAn

[buffblue]

Patriots easily had the best in my opinion. They are going to be significantly better with the defensive additions, Vrabel, and the added weapons on offense. The offensive line is still a bit of a concern even with drafting Campbell, but overall their offseason has been impressive. Couple that with an exceedingly easy schedule (there are literally only 4 tough games - BUF x 2, CIN, BAL) and I expect the Pats to win 10 games and snag a wild card spot. New England is already head and shoulders above Miami and the Jets.

Edited yesterday at 01:51 PM by buffblue

[Ralonzo]

3 hours ago, Commish said:

All in fun - although I had never heard of "nescient" before

 

No worries, it's a Latin etymology from nesciens "ignorant, to be unknowing", and related to the more common "prescient" to which it is the ne-gation. Let me point out that no invective is directed your way, just at the ESPN guy. I know their network has fallen off but they're hardly even trying with stuff like that. It just pissed me off being the irst thing with my morning coffee because I'm old and foul-tempered.

[BillsShredder83]

On 4/30/2025 at 5:14 PM, BullBuchanan said:

Cleveland is giving themselves as many kicks at the QB can as they can. I can't fault them for doing it as they clearly understand that without an answer, they are finished before they start. Every team that doesn't have certainty at the position should do the same thing.

I agree and get it, but at that point: draft a different one or grab some extra UDFA.  I can't see this going well.

 

Seems like Sanders was pretty convinced he'd go by #3 at Giants at worst.... then got passed on by Cleveland, what like 5 - 7 more times when you account for the extra picks they got. You think that's gonna be forgiven and forgotten just because they eventually took you?

 

I sincerely thought his best case scenario was getting picked up by a non qb needy team. A team that said hey we weren't big in QB market but by the 5th round we had to take a guy like this.

 

Atleast then hes coming in with a clean slate on a team. Dude hasn't even hit his 1st TC rep yet and proli resents the team already 

[BullBuchanan]

22 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said:

I agree and get it, but at that point: draft a different one or grab some extra UDFA.  I can't see this going well.

 

Seems like Sanders was pretty convinced he'd go by #3 at Giants at worst.... then got passed on by Cleveland, what like 5 - 7 more times when you account for the extra picks they got. You think that's gonna be forgiven and forgotten just because they eventually took you?

 

I sincerely thought his best case scenario was getting picked up by a non qb needy team. A team that said hey we weren't big in QB market but by the 5th round we had to take a guy like this.

 

Atleast then hes coming in with a clean slate on a team. Dude hasn't even hit his 1st TC rep yet and proli resents the team already 

Why do they care how he feels about it? They have a 5th round pick invested in him. They could cut him out of camp and it wouldn't be a big deal. They had a higher grade on Gabriel, so you'd have to assume he's higher on the depth chart right now anyway.

12 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

I would never do it with Sanders's kid because the slight possible upgrade in backup QB is not worth the noise that comes with it.  You'd be naive to think there wouldn't be noise as one of the reasons Sanders slipped in the draft was because no team thought he or his father would be fine with him as a backup.

 

Logically, it makes sense maybe 20 years ago but how often do you see NFL teams fall for the Rob Johnson type bait anymore.  The four QB's you just quoted were traded before the Obama administration.  I can't remember a QB that was taken in the later rounds of the draft that was flipped for a significantly better pick since Schaub.  The only thing you really see now are small transactions like the Pats drafted Milton in the 6th round and he was flipped for a 5th with the Cowboys.  Maybe 25 years ago he gets flipped for a 1st.

He's a rookie - any "noise" he makes would be completely shut down and/or ignored by the vets. This isn't a situation where you brought in competition for a middling vet. The most ikley outcome is Watson to IR, Flacco Starts the year, Gabriel is first man in, and Sanders only sees the field if Gabriel struggles.

People are acting like they drafted Sanders in the 2nd or even 3rd. There's absolutely no downside to taking him where they did. His ego is now completely shattered. These trades don't happen much anymore because teams draft QBs that should go in the 4th round in the 1st round these days. The Market is so skewed to QBs that teams will do anything to try to get one, even when they're guys like Kenny Pickett. From the 2020 draft there are 0 QBs on active rosters drafted int he 4th round or later. That's crazy. It's possible that there may be no QBs from the 2021 draft after the 1st round still active int he NFL next year, as rookie contracts expire this year.

What his brother said about their Dad representing them probably says a lot.

Edited yesterday at 06:35 PM by BullBuchanan

[BillsShredder83]

On 4/30/2025 at 6:22 PM, Iiiiiiiiive Got a Feeeelin said:

https://www.buffalobills.com/video/rex-ryan-thinks-they-won-the-offseason-17269486

This is a bad omen lol dangit

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, BullBuchanan said:

Why do they care how he feels about it? They have a 5th round pick invested in him. They could cut him out of camp and it wouldn't be a big deal. They had a higher grade on Gabriel, so you'd have to assume he's higher on the depth chart right now anyway.

He's a rookie - any "noise" he makes would be completely shut down and/or ignored by the vets. This isn't a situation where you brought in competition for a middling vet. The most ikley outcome is Watson to IR, Flacco Starts the year, Gabriel is first man in, and Sanders only sees the field if Gabriel struggles.

People are acting like they drafted Sanders in the 2nd or even 3rd. There's absolutely no downside to taking him where they did. His ego is now completely shattered. These trades don't happen much anymore because teams draft QBs that should go in the 4th round in the 1st round these days. The Market is so skewed to QBs that teams will do anything to try to get one, even when they're guys like Kenny Pickett. From the 2020 draft there are 0 QBs on active rosters drafted int he 4th round or later. That's crazy. It's possible that there may be no QBs from the 2021 draft after the 1st round still active int he NFL next year, as rookie contracts expire this year.

What his brother said about their Dad representing them probably says a lot.

He was a 2nd round talent that dropped to the 5th round because teams wanted to avoid the headache of having him as a backup.  If any team wanted to employ your strategy he would've been taken in the 3rd or 4th round.  Not worth the headache.  

[GASabresIUFan]

11 hours ago, Ralonzo said:

 

No, it was a puerile read born of nescience and/or pedanticism. I only wish he was in the studio to take his beating from Beane with the other WGR fantasy jocks because everything said applies to him to an even higher degree, mentioning CB and DL along with WR.

 

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/42128547-3534-455e-bd33-156852fa6da8

Wow! Your 10th grade English teacher would be very proud of your word choice, except being concerned at time the article was written wasn't pedantic at all.  In fact Beane's failure to sign a replacement for Douglas or get a "no. 1 WR “ was a huge concern on this site and in the Bills world.  What might have been "ignorant" (nescience) was his failure to understand that Beane isn't currently investing in over priced No. 1 WRs.

 

My disagreement with the writer stems more the fact that he had already upgrade the DL and the receiving group had been improved with Palmer.  The Bills clearly hadn't gone backwards, they just hadn't improved enough at the time the article was written.  

Edited 23 hours ago by GASabresIUFan

[dorquemada]

On 4/30/2025 at 5:06 PM, balln said:

In the preseason …

 

Preseason is going to be the thing. When the browns put him in during the 4th quarter in the second game, and he throws a 6 yard completion (final stat line, 1/3 for 6 yards, 2 sacks) the media pressure to force the Browns to have him as the starter after that will be unlike anything we've ever seen.  Mel Kiper will threaten to retire (or worse!)  unless Cleveland does what all the very smartest NFL pundits already decided was going to happen