Signing Edmunds to an extension vs. drafting Bernard and signing him to an extension

[DrDawkinstein]

Letting Edmunds walk was the right choice. Especially at his 4/$72M number.

 

Bernard is a much more instinctual player than Edmunds will ever be. He just doesnt have the size to go with it. But at 4/$50M its a little easier to swallow.

 

The good news is, we can get out of the Bernard contract pretty easily after 2026. And he isnt costing us a ton in the meantime. Still less than we're paying Samuel to be a healthy scratch.

 

 

[corta765]

Edmunds was a better player overall then Bernard but wanted more money which he cashed in on and we wouldn't pay. Bernard was a good value signing with upside for what they wanted but he is a little lesser then Edmunds.

 

From what I have read in Chicago he has been fine but people do think he is too expensive there and I won't be surprised if he gets cut in a year or two for cap reasons.

[Brand J]

None of you will convince me that “Edmunds was a better player than Bernard.” By what metric? He was certainly bigger and more athletic, but he didn’t exploit those attributes. He wasn’t physical. In one famous play, he had a full head of steam on a blitz and got stoned by a Patriots RB. I had never seen that before.
 

All this talk about how he dissuaded QBs from throwing over the middle yet I have vivid memories of Edmunds standing there and chasing a completed pass within 5 yards of his zone. His awareness was putrid. If an OL got hands on him, it was over, he’d move backwards like he was on skates. In no universe was this gentle giant a better football player than Bernard. I’m not falling for that bull jive. Letting Edmunds go was the right move. The only question is was extending Bernard at 4/$50M the right move?

[Charles Romes]

Edmunds got a max contract extension and Bernard got a solid starter extension. 🍎s to 🍊s.

[Sojourner]

24 minutes ago, corta765 said:

Edmunds was a better player overall then Bernard but wanted more money which he cashed in on and we wouldn't pay. Bernard was a good value signing with upside for what they wanted but he is a little lesser then Edmunds.

 

From what I have read in Chicago he has been fine but people do think he is too expensive there and I won't be surprised if he gets cut in a year or two for cap reasons.

Yeah, Edmunds had some rough moments but like others have said, his presence in the middle of the field is sorely missed. 
 

Bernard makes his fair share of plays so when you factor in salary and production, they did make the right choice regardless of the player. 

[Virgil]

Okay, I'm in the sky is falling section with most people, but even I'm not rethinking if it was a good idea to let Edmunds walk.  Edmunds did not deserve the contract he got and had zero big play ability.  Benford isn't playing great right now overall, but he is still making the occasional play.  

[RunTheBall]

Holy god do you guys remember how bad Edmunds was in the playoffs? Mahomes ABUSED him every time we played KC. The guy had elite traits and ZERO instincts as a LB. They wanted to run him out of Chicago his first 2 years. The Cover 1 myth that he was affecting the passing game so much yet had zero stats to show for it lingered for years. He’s not a bad dude, just not a good LB and he fleeced Chicago with that contract. 

[gobills404]

I’m glad they didn’t resign Edmunds, especially considering what he ended up getting paid. I do think it’s funny though how Bernard has somehow escaped the “plays too soft” allegations Edmunds received even though Bernard has a higher missed tackle rate and gets completely removed from the play every time an OL lays a finger on him.

[corta765]

1 hour ago, Sojourner said:

Yeah, Edmunds had some rough moments but like others have said, his presence in the middle of the field is sorely missed. 
 

Bernard makes his fair share of plays so when you factor in salary and production, they did make the right choice regardless of the player. 

 

Yep.

 

And the defense is so out of whack right now I think guys like him and Benford who had been good to at times great are feeling it which is weighing them down. Outside of Oliver & Walker I am not sure anyone else has looked good and doing what they should and that has a domino effect on the roster.

[poblano]

6 hours ago, Donuts and Doritos said:

C.) Neither - get a big line backer who can stop the run & cover the pass. 

You forgot that also can  rush the passer  🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

 

 

 

 

 

 

And for the cheap🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

[Donuts and Doritos]

1 hour ago, poblano said:

You forgot that also can  rush the passer  🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

 

 

 

 

 

 

And for the cheap🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

 

My bad. Yes, I wish to add those to the order as well Amazon if it isn't too late.

 

And I need it delivered in the next 2 weeks. 😉

[billsfan714]

The Bears are actually worse than us in defensive rushing yards allowed per game, no I dont miss Edmunds.

[Mr. WEO]

Edmunds is a bum. 
 

When he’s a bum without a contract, Beane will sign him as a”mentor” or “locker room leader” or “essentially another coach” or whatever such nonsense gets attached here to Beane’s charity signings of “guys he knows”

[BillsFooteball]

Bernard has been frustrating last year and half now with durability and play on the field,

but Bernard’s 2023 was greater than all of Edmund’s years in Buffalo combined 

[BillsFanForever19]

Letting Edmunds walk was the right move. Especially since he wanted to test Free Agency and we'd have had to match or beat the offer Chicago made. 

 

Drafting his replacement in Bernard in the 3rd Round was the right move. 

 

Signing Edmunds' replacement to a long term deal, paying Bernard decent money was the *wrong move*. 

 

With how Bernard regressed in 2024 and how he's playing in 2025, the right move was to save that cap and Draft Bernard's replacement, like we did with Edmunds. It's insane to me after taking a step back last year that they rushed to extend him before they had to. I'd have definitely at the very least waited on seeing how his 2025 went before thinking about doing it. 

 

His play since 2024 is not difficultly replaced. Middle Linebacker is not a premium position. You can find a top MLB prospect without spending a 1st. Very possible you could have upgraded with a 2nd or 3rd and kept some money for upgrades elsewhere.

Edited 19 hours ago by BillsFanForever19

[T master]

Seeing the production of Bernard vs Edmunds I am glad Edmunds is with the Bears Bernard is much more instinctive and his production for the money has dwarfed what Edmunds did while here . I wish Bernard was built more like Edmunds with his instincts that would be a awesome thing but I'll take him as he is .

 

Just a much better player of the money !! 

[colin]

2023 bernard blew me away, i think that says something about mcd as dc vs the trash bag stuff we've had since.

 

bernard has been hurt too much, and he has been pretty garbage this season.  i hope he and the whole d really turn it up, but he and shakir and benford have not been living up to their contracts so far, which i thought were ok to good at the time.

[gobills404]

Bernard is obviously meant to be a WLB (was listed as Milano’s backup his rookie year) and the only reason they put him at MLB in 2023 was out of necessity. They should seriously consider moving him to WLB after this season where his skillset can be better utilized then going out and getting a more traditional MLB. Would give us a good chance to upgrade both LB spots.

[Mikie2times]

Edmunds made the defense better based on his range in coverage, size, and athletic ability. While Bernard is unequivocally a better pure football player, this is the NFL. You don't just get to subtract 3 inches, 30 pounds, a massive wing span difference, and a tenth of a second on the 40 and call it a day. It matters. McD went from Luke Kuechly to Edmunds to Bernard at a critical position that defends the entire middle / intermediate area of his defense in zone. Edmunds prevented a lot of pass attempts and a lot of plays that led to a lot of positive things for our defense. To pony up the money he wanted was not an easy decision and I'm not faulting the regime for that move, but I will 100% fault the regime for extending Bernard. That was a classic example of us locking up moderate talent at a critical position and then no longer pursuing ways to get better.