Bills claim Casey rogers off waivers

[HardyBoy]

19 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

D pole?

 

I guess, but I live in Raleigh and usually go to a game or two of Duke and UNC lax once a year...I played high school lacrosse and high level D1 is truly just a different game...it's so fast and physical, it's insane...but yeah, I mean I could see someone being like 6'5" and 240 being insane at lacrosse (Josh Allen size) and then being able to pack on an additional 60lbs of weight by eating a lot. Maybe not a midi, but yeah long stick even d mid or playing attack and just bull dodging or inverting and good luck stopping them on a sweep...the more I think about it the more I can see it, but it still feels unexpected, but just goes to show that you can be really good at lacrosse in so many different ways, it's crazy

[BullBuchanan]

19 hours ago, NeverOutNick said:

Andy Isabella of safeties is better than the Damar Hamlin of safeties. He literally should be making hallmark movies instead of being on a football field, he’s that bad at safety 

Damar Hamlin is absolutely an NFL caliber safety. You need your eyes checked if you think he's unrosterable. Should he be starting for the Bills? no, probably not, but he's absolutely good enough to be the #3 safety on most teams in the league and a starter on weaker secondaries. His biggest flaw is that he's slow.

[billsfan89]

5 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

Damar Hamlin is absolutely an NFL caliber safety. You need your eyes checked if you think he's unrosterable. Should he be starting for the Bills? no, probably not, but he's absolutely good enough to be the #3 safety on most teams in the league and a starter on weaker secondaries. His biggest flaw is that he's slow.

The idea that Hamlin isn’t at least a quality backup well worth a roster spot (bolstered by the fact that he’s a willing and decent ST player) is just insane to me.

[Rocky Landing]

On 5/9/2025 at 4:29 PM, MrEpsYtown said:

I mean this piques my interest some. 

No doubt. McD/Beane love these rolls of the dice. I still harbor fantasies of Travis Clayton as the sixth lineman in a jumbo package, catching a pass, and pancaking anyone in front of him...

Edited yesterday at 02:02 AM by Rocky Landing

[Richard Noggin]

On 5/9/2025 at 7:34 PM, MrEpsYtown said:

He plays the penetrating style of defense the Bills want. He sacks Drake Maye and Shaduer in the video and stops Maye on Qb sneak. Who knows?

 

 

 

"Hey, you never know."

 

That tidy little highlight package certainly shows what the Bills are looking for at 1T: aggressive/disruptive 1-gapping against run and pass. Which is basically the same thing they want at 3T, but with the robust physicality and mentality to consistently line up between the C and OG and fight those phone booth battles. 

 

Defensive position battles are really intriguing this off season; compelling depth battles at all 3 levels, plus CB and S have starting jobs up for grabs.  Not likely that Casey Rogers climbs higher than PS (or maybe gameday inactive), but what do we really know before it happens? Just keep adding and developing. Move on from misses and keep swinging. 

[Richard Noggin]

2 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

The idea that Hamlin isn’t at least a quality backup well worth a roster spot (bolstered by the fact that he’s a willing and decent ST player) is just insane to me.

 

Is he kind of an expensive #3 or #4 S though (2M guaranteed, ~1.3M cap hit)? Maybe his value as a trusted replacement-level depth player (27 starts and >50% STs) on the backend justifies the cost, but he hasn't made many impact plays on those 2,135 snaps (D and STs). Definition of Just A Guy at this point imho. Not the kind of guy who can keep up against playoff competition. 

[billsfan89]

3 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Is he kind of an expensive #3 or #4 S though (2M guaranteed, ~1.3M cap hit)? Maybe his value as a trusted replacement-level depth player (27 starts and >50% STs) on the backend justifies the cost, but he hasn't made many impact plays on those 2,135 snaps (D and STs). Definition of Just A Guy at this point imho. Not the kind of guy who can keep up against playoff competition. 

The minimum salary starts at 860k and tops out at 1.2 million. A stable high quality backup who plays capable special teams for 2 million seems like a good use of a roster spot. The extra stability of good depth at safety with some special teams ability is worth about a million extra dollars over a minimum player. The Bills brought in plenty of competition via a mid round pick and a young vet in Forrest.
 

At worst you have an over abundance of depth at safety and overpaid for a competent special teams player. At best they made sure they have a stable capable backup option who they know can play at a competent level within their system.

[NeverOutNick]

12 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

Damar Hamlin is absolutely an NFL caliber safety. You need your eyes checked if you think he's unrosterable. Should he be starting for the Bills? no, probably not, but he's absolutely good enough to be the #3 safety on most teams in the league and a starter on weaker secondaries. His biggest flaw is that he's slow.

His biggest flaw is that he doesn’t know what he’s doing out there. He’s out of position leaving corners on islands. He was by far the weakest link on our defense last year and it wasn’t close

[T master]

On 5/9/2025 at 5:39 PM, HardyBoy said:

 

Wait, he was going to play lacrosse at Syracuse and then ended up playing football as a DT?!

 

Was he going to play goalie or something...otherwise I'm having a hard time with the logistics of this

Yes he was part of the Tre Da goalie academy which automatically gets you a spot on the roster once you complete the full gauntlet of Tre Da boot camp !!

[BullBuchanan]

7 hours ago, NeverOutNick said:

His biggest flaw is that he doesn’t know what he’s doing out there. He’s out of position leaving corners on islands. He was by far the weakest link on our defense last year and it wasn’t close

I'm going to need to see receipts, because I haven't seen any evidence that this is the case. I've seen FAR more mental errors from Rapp, and especially Bishop than Hamlin.

17 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Is he kind of an expensive #3 or #4 S though (2M guaranteed, ~1.3M cap hit)? Maybe his value as a trusted replacement-level depth player (27 starts and >50% STs) on the backend justifies the cost, but he hasn't made many impact plays on those 2,135 snaps (D and STs). Definition of Just A Guy at this point imho. Not the kind of guy who can keep up against playoff competition. 

No. that's the definition of cheap in today's NFL. He's the 64th highest paid safety.

Mike Edwards made 2.8M from us last year to not play at all.

[Redblood]

You can definitely tell where McDermott is putting his focus.

[hondo in seattle]

15 hours ago, NeverOutNick said:

His biggest flaw is that he doesn’t know what he’s doing out there. He’s out of position leaving corners on islands. He was by far the weakest link on our defense last year and it wasn’t close

 

Funny, I have a very different opinion.  It seems to me Hamlin understands the scheme and knows where he needs to be.  But he just doesn't have the athleticism to excel.  

[pennstate10]

On 5/3/2025 at 11:50 AM, frostbitmic said:

CB - Safe = Benford & Hairston

Next up = White, Ingram, Jackson, Codrington, Strong, Couch ... At least two of these guys make the final roster, maybe 3.

 

Nickel CB - Safe = Johnson

Lewis - Knows the system, plays Nickel and Safety, One of our best ST players

Hancock - 5th round rookie, can play nickel and Safety, not sure about STs, Knows what it takes to win a Championship.

Hardy - 6th round pick last year and nearly made the team, can return punts ... 1 of these 3 will back up Johnson.

 

S - Safe = Rapp & Bishop

2 of these 3 guys will make the team, all 3 if Hancock wins the #2 NCB job ... Forrest, Hamlin, Hancock

 

Best guess starting - Benford, Hairston, Johnson, Rapp, Bishop

Back ups - White, Ingram, Hancock, Forrest, Hamlin

 

On 5/10/2025 at 7:06 PM, BullBuchanan said:

Damar Hamlin is absolutely an NFL caliber safety. You need your eyes checked if you think he's unrosterable. Should he be starting for the Bills? no, probably not, but he's absolutely good enough to be the #3 safety on most teams in the league and a starter on weaker secondaries. His biggest flaw is that he's slow.

Being slow is a pretty serious flaw for a safety. Just sayin 

[Doc Brown]

On 5/10/2025 at 7:06 PM, BullBuchanan said:

Damar Hamlin is absolutely an NFL caliber safety. You need your eyes checked if you think he's unrosterable. Should he be starting for the Bills? no, probably not, but he's absolutely good enough to be the #3 safety on most teams in the league and a starter on weaker secondaries. His biggest flaw is that he's slow.

You know his floor and ceiling at least.  Same goes for Dane Jackson.  We prefer an upgrade but can get by as long as you are the weakest link of this defense.  Problems start when you have too many of these type of players.  Fans that personally bash a player like Hamlin though are just using him as a conduit to express their frustration over McDermott's conservative reputation and his defense annually under performing in the playoff losses the last five years imo.  

[BullBuchanan]

58 minutes ago, pennstate10 said:

 

Being slow is a pretty serious flaw for a safety. Just sayin 

It's really not that big of a deal. There's a reason they move corners who have gotten too slow to safety. It's an area you can hide if you have enough game knowledge. It's especially if you have great ball skills and play a lot of zone. If Hamlin can stick around long enough to acquire the game knowledge due to playing hard and his ST contributions. I wouldn't be shocked to see a guy like him play into his mid thirties as a contributor.

[BillsFanForever19]

On 5/9/2025 at 5:18 PM, The Wiz said:

I believe that puts them at 91 officially.

 

We are officially at 90. So we have one more roster spot open (with the exemption for Clayton).

Edited 6 hours ago by BillsFanForever19

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

We are officially at 90. So we have one more roster spot open (with the exemption for Clayton).

The Justin Simmons dream is still alive.

[billsfan89]

9 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Funny, I have a very different opinion.  It seems to me Hamlin understands the scheme and knows where he needs to be.  But he just doesn't have the athleticism to excel.  

 

That's my read on Hamlin too, I think Cover 1 and some more detailed film junkies on Youtube have said similar things. That Hamlin is very fundamentally sound in knowing where to be in the system while also being a willing tackler he just lacks the speed to close like an elite safety. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

On 5/11/2025 at 7:52 AM, NeverOutNick said:

His biggest flaw is that he doesn’t know what he’s doing out there. He’s out of position leaving corners on islands. He was by far the weakest link on our defense last year and it wasn’t close

 

This is hardly true.  I'd argue Cam lewis was by far the weakest link on our defense last year.  

[nosejob]

I've been hoping the Bills would bring in Julian Blackmon. Unless Forrest impresses, we really don't have a center fielder. I don't think Hancock is noted for his Ball tracking, ballhawking abilities.