Who is our next 2026 FA pick up

[Billzgobowlin]

18 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Shavers will never be more than a PS player that gets called up.  Right now the top 5 are..

 

Moore

Shakir 

Palmer

Coleman 

Bell

 

Sherfield amd Hardman are next up then everyone else. Shavers is another feel good story Bills fans like to root for.

Shavers is a different player than all of those guys.  I would say he is the only true outside other than Coleman and more likely to see the field before Coleman

I could see a scheme fit LB (not Milano and Shaq) being signed but I think otherwise they like what the roster is right now.

[SoonerBillsFan]

Just now, Billzgobowlin said:

Shavers is a different player than all of those guys.  I would say he is the only true outside other than Coleman and more likely to see the field before Coleman

Never gonna happen.  Shavers hasnt beaten anyone out for a top position by now and he isnt going to.  He is a depth player.

[Billzgobowlin]

1 minute ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Never gonna happen.  Shavers hasnt beaten anyone out for a top position by now and he isnt going to.  He is a depth player.

I disagree about it never happening.  I think he will stay on the team longer than Coleman.  The only reason Coleman is still here is his high draft stock.  Shavers just looks the part more.  Give him Coleman's snaps and guarantee he gets more catches.

[SoonerBillsFan]

Just now, Billzgobowlin said:

I disagree about it never happening.  I think he will stay on the team longer than Coleman.  The only reason Coleman is still here is his high draft stock.  Shavers just looks the part more.  Give him Coleman's snaps and guarantee he gets more catches.

He had colemans snaps last year.  Shavers is what he is,a 5/6# WR.  And thats ok, he can play a long time in this league and make really good money doing that.  And I really like him here for us in that role.

[colin]

i heard shaq want's to get paid after his cheapo deal last season.  for what he thinks he's worth (and he just might be) i don't think we sign him.

[Kirby Jackson]

19 minutes ago, colin said:

i heard shaq want's to get paid after his cheapo deal last season.  for what he thinks he's worth (and he just might be) i don't think we sign him.

Last year they signed him to a 1 year $1.255M deal. Would he accept the same deal that CJGJ got (1 year $3.5M)? The Bills can make 2 moves like that. 

[colin]

23 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Last year they signed him to a 1 year $1.255M deal. Would he accept the same deal that CJGJ got (1 year $3.5M)? The Bills can make 2 moves like that. 

 

the way i heard it is he wants real money, which i think is like 6+ per season.

[JP51]

38 minutes ago, colin said:

 

the way i heard it is he wants real money, which i think is like 6+ per season.

Me too... the problem is he isnt getting it or at least hasnt to this point... lets see what happens, but he may have to accept he is a 1-2mm guy on a year to year or two year deal... 

[GASabresIUFan]

18 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Draft picks are confirmed at $3.3M with where we are at. Keep $4Mish for in season and you have $5Mish in cap space. That’s 2 CJGJ level deals (1 year $3.5M with $2.4M cap hit). They will use void years, etc if needed. 

I pounded the numbers and agree there is about 5 mill they can spend.  However, I’m not sure they’ll spend it

 

Here is what I think the full 53 player roster looks like heading into camp.

Offense (24)

QB - Allen & Allen

RB - Cook, Davis, Johnson

WR - Moore, Coleman, Shakir, Palmer, Bell (r)

TE - Kincaid, Knox, Hawes

FB - Acker/VanSumeren

OT - Brown, Dawkins, Grable & Bowry (r)

IOL - McGovern, Anderson, Torrence, Corbett, Cushenberry, Reed-Adams(r)

 

Defense (24)

DT - Walker, Oliver, Sanders, Carter, Durant (r)

DE/Edge/OLB - Rousseau, Chubb, Hoecht, Jackson, Parker (r)

ILB - Bernard, Williams, Andressen, Orr (r)

CB - Benford, Hairston, Alford, Hancock (s), IGB (r) & Pride (r)

S - Bishop, Gardner-Johnson, Stone & Kilgore (r)

 

Specialists (5)

P - Wisnowsky/Doman(r)

PK - Bass

LS - Ferguson

Gunner - Franklin (s)

Returner - Hardman (wr)

 

Right now Hamlin, Mathias, Solomon, Lundt, and SVPG are all on the cut list.  ILB is the most obvious need, but I think they believe that Orr can win the starters job as a rookie. I think the most vulnerable players on the above roster are one of Cushenberry, Corbett or Reed-Adams on the OL, Carter and Jackson on the DL, Pride at CB and Hardman at KR/WR.  Carter and Jackson’s vulnerability stems from injury concerns.  One of Corbett or Cushenberry look like trade candidates. 

Edited May 5 by GASabresIUFan

[buffaloboyinATL]

I voted Milano.  I am honestly surprised that he is not re-signed yet.  I loved the way Shaq played for us last year, but I am guessing his price tag will be a bit out of our range.  

 

If Milano hs anything left in the tank, he will be back.  

[Kirby Jackson]

18 minutes ago, colin said:

 

the way i heard it is he wants real money, which i think is like 6+ per season.

I’m sure that he does. Will the market support it? I expect Shaq back. It might not be until closer to the season though. He may wait out the market to see if the money he is looking for appears.

 

That’s part of the reason that I thought Cooks was equally as likely. It seems like, assuming both sides still see a fit, the money shouldn’t be too much of a hold up. The Bills and Cooks agreed to circle back after the draft.
 

I’m a fan of Skyler Bell but I’m not sure a WR picked on Day 3 prevents the Bills from bringing Cooks back. They were definitely drafting a WR it was just a matter of when. If they took someone at 26, he wouldn’t have been back. It feels like you can bring in Cooks to raise the floor and stretch the field. He can play opposite Moore or be more of a role player. While he doesn’t play ST, Palmer was a gunner early in his career. He can do more of that. Your WR room would be: Moore, Cooks, Shakir, Coleman, Palmer and Bell. 

[billsfan89]

18 hours ago, GASabresIUFan said:

Spotrac has us at 12.7 with a draft pick estimate of 7.5.   We need to keep at lease 4 mill for the practice squad and injuries. 

The draft picks total out to 3.3 million so the Bills have about 9.4 million in space after the draft. Gotta reserve 4 million for the PS and another 3 million for in season money.

 

Means the Bills have about 2.4 million (give or take) to work with in expendable money. They have some smaller levers they can pull like converting Groots money to add 3 million more. So in the end if the Bills want a vet or two they have enough to work with to be truly competitive in the market.

[Kirby Jackson]

9 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

I pounded the numbers and agree there is about 5 mill they can spend.  However, I’m not sure they’ll spend it

 

Here is what I think the full 53 player roster looks like heading into camp.

Offense (24)

QB - Allen & Allen

RB - Cook, Davis, Johnson

WR - Moore, Coleman, Shakir, Palmer, Bell (r)

TE - Kincaid, Knox, Hawes

FB - Acker/VanSumeren

OT - Brown, Dawkins, Grable & Bowry (r)

IOL - McGovern, Anderson, Torrence, Corbett, Cushenberry, Reed-Adams(r)

 

Defense (24)

DT - Walker, Oliver, Sanders, Carter, Durant (r)

DE/Edge/OLB - Rousseau, Chubb, Hoecht, Jackson, Parker (r)

ILB - Bernard, Williams, Andressen, Orr (r)

CB - Benford, Hairston, Alford, Hancock (s), IGB (r) & Pride (r)

S - Bishop, Gardner-Johnson, Stone & Kilgore (r)

 

Specialists (5)

P - Wisnowsky/Doman(r)

PK - Bass

LS - Ferguson

Gunner - Franklin (s)

Returner - Hardman (wr)

 

Right now Hamlin, Mathias, Solomon, Lundt, and SVPG are all on the cut list.  ILB is the most obvious need, but I think they believe that Orr can win the starters job as a rookie. I think the most vulnerable players on the above roster are one of Cushenberry, Corbett or Reed-Adams on the OL, Carter and Jackson on the DL, Pride at CB and Hardman at KR/WR.  Carter and Jackson’s vulnerability stems from injury concerns.  One of Corbett or Cushenberry look like trade candidates. 

Good analysis.

 

I would assume that 1 LB is added. If they add 2 guys, IMO the other one could come from DT, WR, CB or TE as a sleeper. There is also the possibility that an injury comes up during camp and that’s when the other spot is filled. 

[No_Matter_What]

18 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Draft picks are confirmed at $3.3M with where we are at. Keep $4Mish for in season and you have $5Mish in cap space. That’s 2 CJGJ level deals (1 year $3.5M with $2.4M cap hit). They will use void years, etc if needed. 

You keep forgetting about $4M you need for PS and almost $2M you need for 52nd/53rd player. If Sportac is correct we have about $3.5M effective cap space, which is just a little more than we usually need for basic in season moves.

 

16 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

The draft picks total out to 3.3 million so the Bills have about 9.4 million in space after the draft. Gotta reserve 4 million for the PS and another 3 million for in season money.

 

Means the Bills have about 2.4 million (give or take) to work with in expendable money. They have some smaller levers they can pull like converting Groots money to add 3 million more. So in the end if the Bills want a vet or two they have enough to work with to be truly competitive in the market.

Almost agree with this, but you still didn't account for the last two players on 53 man roster. That's $1.8M more, so it leaves us with about $0.6M for any FA. That's good for one $2.5M FA if you push $1M to the next year.

 

So we are either signing really cheap vets or one more restructure will be necessary.

[frostbitmic]

2 hours ago, colin said:

i heard shaq want's to get paid after his cheapo deal last season.  for what he thinks he's worth (and he just might be) i don't think we sign him.

I read late last season or after the season that Shaq wants to be a starter and wants to be paid like one. I'm guessing he'll find those things elsewhere.

[Kirby Jackson]

22 minutes ago, No_Matter_What said:

You keep forgetting about $4M you need for PS and almost $2M you need for 52nd/53rd player. If Sportac is correct we have about $3.5M effective cap space, which is just a little more than we usually need for basic in season moves.

You’re right although I’m assuming closer to $3M for PS.
 

There are some other contracts where they’ll open space throughout camp before they need the 52 & 53 contracts. For example Wishnowsky, SVPG, Buechele, Stone, Hamlin, Hardman,  Broeker, Strong and Logue are all firmly on the bubble at best. Each of those guys represents over $1M cap savings if released. There will be some guys replacing them that are smaller numbers. 

Edited May 5 by Kirby Jackson

[SoCal Deek]

3 minutes ago, frostbitmic said:

I read late last season or after the season that Shaq wants to be a starter and wants to be paid like one. I'm guessing he'll find those things elsewhere.

I’m sure he does (all players do), but if that’s indeed the case why hasn’t he inked that deal with one of the 31 other teams? 

[GASabresIUFan]

40 minutes ago, No_Matter_What said:

You keep forgetting about $4M you need for PS and almost $2M you need for 52nd/53rd player. If Sportac is correct we have about $3.5M effective cap space, which is just a little more than we usually need for basic in season moves.

 

Almost agree with this, but you still didn't account for the last two players on 53 man roster. That's $1.8M more, so it leaves us with about $0.6M for any FA. That's good for one $2.5M FA if you push $1M to the next year.

 

So we are either signing really cheap vets or one more restructure will be necessary.

I pounded the numbers using Spotrac and @Kirby Jackson is right.

 

Here is the math.

Current cap space 12.75 - subtract 2.15 for spots 52 & 53 (Andressen and Vansumeren) - 4 for the PS.  That leaves 6.6.  
 

Spotrac has the draft picks at 12.1 mill, but now you have to dump 10 current players in the top 51 whose jobs the draft picks are “taking.”  I have those 10 guys as Shavers and Strong to IR, and Wisnowsky, SVPG, Mathias, Logue, Broecker, Hamlin, Solomon & Buchele being cut/waived.  These 10 contract save a net 9.80 (contract amount less dead cap cost).  The net cap hit of the draftees is only 2.3 mill. 

 

6.6 - 2.3 leaves 4.3 to spend. I round down to 4+ mill to reflect other dead cap hits for guys signed for camp. Use a void year and we could easily spend $5 on a new contract or two.

Edited May 5 by GASabresIUFan

[No_Matter_What]

10 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

You’re right although I’m assuming closer to $3M for PS.
 

There are some other contracts where they’ll open space throughout camp before they need the 52 & 53 contracts. For example Wishnowsky, SVPG, Buechele, Stone, Hamlin, Hardman,  Broeker, Strong and Logue are all firmly on the bubble at best. Each of those guys represents over $1M cap savings if released. There will be some guys replacing them that are smaller numbers. 

Cheapest PS players (rookies/1yr) get $13.750 per week in 2026, which is $247k per 18 weeks. Vets get more, up to $400k. So even if you fill PS with rookies it is $4M (16*250k). And there will be vets, so it's gonna be about $4.5M in fact.

 

As for those cuts I am not sure what do you mean. All those players have $1M to 1.25M cap hit. Even if you cut them, you need to replace their cap hits with the same number. They represent ZERO cap savings (or close to it).

 

For example Wishnowsky. Has a cap hit of $1.25M, with a dead cap of $150k if cut. Doman has cap hit of $918k. So if Doman wins the job (which I expect), it will represent grand total of $182k in savings. We are not talking millions here, but up to $200k per player at best (it's less in most cases).

[colin]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I’m sure that he does. Will the market support it? I expect Shaq back. It might not be until closer to the season though. He may wait out the market to see if the money he is looking for appears.

 

That’s part of the reason that I thought Cooks was equally as likely. It seems like, assuming both sides still see a fit, the money shouldn’t be too much of a hold up. The Bills and Cooks agreed to circle back after the draft.
 

I’m a fan of Skyler Bell but I’m not sure a WR picked on Day 3 prevents the Bills from bringing Cooks back. They were definitely drafting a WR it was just a matter of when. If they took someone at 26, he wouldn’t have been back. It feels like you can bring in Cooks to raise the floor and stretch the field. He can play opposite Moore or be more of a role player. While he doesn’t play ST, Palmer was a gunner early in his career. He can do more of that. Your WR room would be: Moore, Cooks, Shakir, Coleman, Palmer and Bell. 

I'd be good w that