Former Panther Alert: Bills sign Shaq Thompson LB!

[RiotAct]

4 hours ago, JoeF said:

McDermott the training camp after the Panthers drafted Shaq...

 

Q -- What does linebacker Shaq Thompson, Carolina's first-round draft pick, bring to this defense?

McDermott -- "A dynamic athlete. A young, humble player. He fits right in. I like to say he's wired like a Panther. Again, it goes with the culture. A very selfless approach, so he fits right into the mold in terms of off the field. On the field he's athletic and loves to play. He has those instincts you love to coach. We think he's got that ‘it' factor."

at first I was wondering “why would McDermott, the Bills head coach, be going into detail about what he thinks of one of the Panthers’ players?”

 

Then it dawned on me… he was still the Carolina DC at the time!

[Jauronimo]

4 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

He could be Edmunds father!

[DapperCam]

21 minutes ago, K D said:

This is likely Milano's last year so they must be feeling pretty good about Dorian Williams because they haven't drafted anybody else yet.

Could go the free agent route next offseason. This is probably a big year in terms of evaluation for Williams.

[BigAl2526]

Was a pretty good athlete coming out of college.  Smallish and athletic like McDermott seems to like them.  Biggest issue is he carries the same injury concern as Milano.  Can he stay healthy?  He's played six games total in the last two seasons and he's coming off an Achilles issue suffered last October.  It's hard to imagine he's completely recovered this soon.  My guess is the Bills will be hoping he could be available by mid-season if necessary and not suffering from the long-term effects of a bad Achilles too much by then.   

[Allen2Moulds]

4 hours ago, HappyDays said:

Shockingly only 31 years old. I thought he was a good bit older.

LB's seem to age similar to RBs. I would still say old is accurate.

[BillsFanForever19]

9 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Tore his achillies less than a year ago.  Is he PUP?  Late season insurance?

 

Had a solid 2022.  Broke his leg in the second game in 2023, tore his Achilles in game 4 last season. 

 

If he can get healthy, seems like a nice addition.

 

He tore it on 9/30/24. It will be over 11 months come Week 1. Modern medical Achilles rehabilitation in the NFL has made leaps and bounds from the old days. It used to be a Full Year or more. In recent years, we've seen guys return much quicker than that.

 

I think it's very likely he's ready to roll Week 1.

 

As for the signing itself, I love it. I've been saying all offseason that I was surprised we did nothing for the LB room. Especially at Middle Linebacker. It was crazy to me that they didn't even bring in so much as some competition underneath Bernard - where we only had Joe Andreeseen and Baylon Spector.

 

Thompson missed the past two years with injuries. Before that though, he was a very good starter. A broken leg shouldn't hamper someone long term. An Achilles can, but not as much as a Torn ACL. If he can stay healthy, I think he has the potential to be a great Backup. I'd def feel more comfortable with Shaq than Buffalo Joe and especially Spector.

Edited yesterday at 12:49 AM by BillsFanForever19

[MikePJ76]

Joey Bosa is going to need someone his age to talk to while he is standing on the sideline in his jeans all year.

 

So this is perfect! 

[billsfan89]

I like it, Bills needed some depth at LB they didn’t draft anyone there so after the top 3 it’s Spector whose a decent backup and then Ulo a 5th rounder from last year who didn’t have an impressive rookie campaign. Adding in a vet to the back end depth mix is smart business.

[hondo in seattle]

5 hours ago, FireChans said:

At some point, this pipeline has to age out of the league. It's been almost 10 years!

 

I get the joke but...

 

A lot of players, especially the marginal ones who get signed in the spring, bounce from team to team.  So while the Panthers only account for roughly 3% of the players in the NFL at any given time, the number of players who once were on Carolina's roster is roughly (I'm guessing) 10% of the league.  With a spring roster of 90 guys, we should expect about 9 ex-Panthers on the Bills at this time of year.    

[Shaw66]

22 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I get the joke but...

 

A lot of players, especially the marginal ones who get signed in the spring, bounce from team to team.  So while the Panthers only account for roughly 3% of the players in the NFL at any given time, the number of players who once were on Carolina's roster is roughly (I'm guessing) 10% of the league.  With a spring roster of 90 guys, we should expect about 9 ex-Panthers on the Bills at this time of year.    

Well, that's interesting, but I don't think it's correct, for a couple of reasons.  First, of the 90 guys on the roster, probably 40 of them were either drafted by the Bills or were undrafted free agents who've never been on other teams.  So that means that if your 10% is correct (probably about right), there should be four or five ex-Panthers, not nine.  In the early years of McBeane, I'd guess that there were more than that.  I didn't mind - there's a real benefit to having guys who are familiar with what you're doing.  In those years, I think the Bills had more than four or five.  

 

Lately, however, I think you're correct.  The joke continues, but the Bills aren't picking up every guy the Panthers let go, not by a long shot.  Makes sense.  Thompson is one of the few guys left who were with the Panthers when McBeane were there. 

[boyst]

2 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I'm having some right now, and they seem to be just as "good" as always. 🤷‍♂️

They're different. I don't know how but they're somehow different. 

[jcamm1966]

has there ever been a season where a Panther has not been signed

[DrDawkinstein]

Just now, boyst said:

They're different. I don't know how but they're somehow different. 

 

No doubt. Any food that is so processed, over 20-30 years, that process is gonna change.

 

@Not at the table Karlos and I took this discussion to the PMs so we could really dig in, and I agree when he says they are more "airy". I think they used to be a little thicker/heartier. If that makes sense.

[OZBILLS]

Camp fodder

[billsfan714]

Anyone have a list of former Panthers we signed and have any of them been any good.   Seems like its been a lot of swings and misses like Star and Tolbert.

Edited Tuesday at 10:54 PM by billsfan714

[billsfan89]

14 minutes ago, OZBILLS said:

Camp fodder

The depth at LB is not great. He is gonna compete for those last two LB’s spot with Ulo and Buffalo Joe neither of whom are great backup LB’s. The Bills needed a good vet LB for back end Competition 

[OZBILLS]

4 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

The depth at LB is not great. He is gonna compete for those last two LB’s spot with Ulo and Buffalo Joe neither of whom are great backup LB’s. The Bills needed a good vet LB for back end Competition 

 

Hopefully one of these guys who get a chance and become all pro

[Simon]

5 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

All time GOAT snack. Have half a bag sitting in the pantry as well.

 

Everybody has half a bag I think cuz that texture gradually gets a little shadier the deeper into the bag you get.

I don't buy them at home for that reason, but they always end up in the vehicle during longer multi-day/week roadtrips and there's always half a bag left when I clean out the truck. 

 

 

[Buffalo716]

1 minute ago, Simon said:

 

Everybody has half a bag I think cuz that texture gradually gets a little shadier the deeper into the bag you get.

I don't buy them at home for that reason, but they always end up in the vehicle during longer multi-day/week roadtrips and there's always half a bag left when I clean out the truck. 

 

 

Damn I usually just knock out the entire bag cuz they're addicting and they go well with whiskey haha

[Simon]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

No doubt. Any food that is so processed, over 20-30 years, that process is gonna change.

 

@Not at the table Karlos and I took this discussion to the PMs so we could really dig in, and I agree when he says they are more "airy". I think they used to be a little thicker/heartier. If that makes sense.

 

I've read two things digging around and can confirm neither.

 

Fwiw:

1) Potatoes have been phased out of several of the varieties and those flavors are now all corn.

2) They used to have hydrolyzed wheat gluten in them but it's no longer used.

 

7 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

and they go well with whiskey haha

 

Yeah, but what doesn't? 🤷‍♂️