Which Former Bill Are We Going to Miss The Most

[TheyCallMeAndy]

Crazy to think a strong argument could be made for Gilliam. 

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, T.E. said:

The Van Denmark/D. Edwards loss is a bit of a double whammy that makes me nervous.

 

I've always thought our o-line was a bit overrated and losing two reliable pieces can't help matters.

 

I agree - I think Edwards because presence stabilized the left side and even though he was not worth the money - his experience and communication helped Dion outside with  blitz recognition.

 

Van Demark also was a nice piece to allow Anderson to be that 6th lineman.  
 

I think the Bills have the depth to cover, but I think it really hurts them early in the season with a tough schedule- especially as I do not expect them to get much time during the preseason and I think they will struggle against some aggressive defensive lines early.  
 

 

[transient]

🤔 Cam Lewis... now I have to find someone else to b!tch about....

 

 

 

Though I will begrudgingly admit that he played relatively well when called on from the KC game onward last season. 

Edited May 28 by transient

[Jester]

I said Jordan Phillips because .... who is going to hoist JA in the air after a beautiful TD pass?? 

 

But seriously, I'm going with Shaq Thompson or a healthy Milano.  😢

[US Egg]

Trubisky, most important backup position on any team. Felt he could have “held serve” during a brief period should Allen be out for a bit. Not so with Josh’s pal.

Edited May 28 by US Egg

[machine gun kelly]

Yeah, I’m with the Gilliam thing.  Many don’t appreciate the value of a high performing Fullback.  The rest of the list is almost depressing for not being impressive.  Thank god we have Josh SuperAllen Allen.

[Stenbar]

14 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Yeah, I’m with the Gilliam thing.  Many don’t appreciate the value of a high performing Fullback.  The rest of the list is almost depressing for not being impressive.  Thank god we have Josh SuperAllen Allen.

I not only think we will miss Gilliam and all he brings on offense and special teams, but am more irritated that he ended up withe Pats. That's two years in a row they pillaged the Bills for arguably one of our best special team players and a productive WR in Collins. Those players seem like they were good for the locker room and on the field. You need those type of players to win. You lose too many of them and you will see the difference on the field before long. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

I went with taron johnson.  Milano feels like a similar loss as they've both been here their entire careers.  

[NewEra]

Personally, I’ll miss Tre and Milano.  Tre for his charisma who he is as a person.  Milano, because he’s an Italian-American linebacker.  Don’t see many of them and when you do, they’re more than likely not going to achieve first team all-pro.  
 

I’ll add Jordan Poyer to the list as well.  He’s been my favorite player not named Josh Allen over the last several seasons.  I loved his style of play, leadership qualities and his ability to pass on his knowledge of the game (see Cole Bishop).

 

David Edwards’ departure will be the biggest loss in terms of play on the field….but I won’t miss him very much

Edited May 28 by NewEra

[Kirby Jackson]

I think that one of the themes is that the Bills had some solid role players. The Bills have not had a very top heavy roster in the Allen era. They have an average NFL roster players 2-10 but have probably had one of the best NFL rosters players 11-53. They have invested in depth players and role players in a manner that some more top heavy rosters have not. So while you can replace guys like: Gilliam, Epenesa, Thompson, Cooks, Cam Lewis, Vandy, etc… it will be tough to have a better 43rd best player than what has left.
 

I don’t know if that makes sense and I’m not articulating my point very well but there’s something to it. As guys like Gilliam, Vandy, Trubisky, or Cam, gets nice contracts, you’re likely replacing them with less accomplished, and cheaper, options. It doesn’t mean that it will definitely be a downgrade but when quality role players hit FA, you have to be prepared to let them walk and hope to develop their replacements. The Bills have paid a premium for depth guys over time but have had to make sacrifices to pay guys at premium positions (Moore, Chubb, Oliver, Rousseau, Brown, Benford, Dawkins).

Edited May 28 by Kirby Jackson

[EssexBill]

David Edwards because he was a starter and at least tried to keep Dion’s fat *ss on his feet, if a new guy replaces him (rather than Anderson who knows what to expect) then I expect there to be some fireworks in camp and certainly in the locker room during the season when Dion’s decline continues and the new guy realises what he’s dealing with 

Edited May 28 by EssexBill

[Amaru523]

I went with Milano, but would've chosen Shaq T. if he was on the list. I'm very worried about our LB corp going into the season, I think it's easily our weakest position group. I wouldn't be surprised if they bring Milano or Shaq back or end up trading for a LB at the deadline.

[BillsShredder83]

2 hours ago, boyst said:

David Edwards was a starter on a top line in the league. He's the only obvious choice. However, that does not diminish the roles of several key players on the roster in 2025. Tre White filled in admirably in 2025 having one of his best seasons on paper. Taron Johnson was a starter but phased out in the system as the season went on and we are moving to a whole new scheme where he may not have been a factor. Reggie Gilliam was a pivotal piece for our team to contribute on special teams and offense. He was a consistent guy to depend on given any situation. Cam Lewis was a universally available piece on understood the McD defense to a T playing 4 positions (FS, SS, NB, Field CB). AJE made himself irrelevant on this team, as did the other guys who are aging out. Matt Milano will be missed for his loud vocal presence commanding the team in his outgoing way. (I kid). His constant anchor of the defense was huge for a long time and I wish I could find my quote when we were debating Tremaine Edmunds early on and I said Milano would be more important than Edmunds ever will be - and I was right. 

 

I hope we bring White, Edmunds, Lawson back. I'd even take a flier on AJE. 

I re-read this twice before it clicked LOL

[BillsShredder83]

3 hours ago, T.E. said:

The Van Denmark/D. Edwards loss is a bit of a double whammy that makes me nervous.

 

I've always thought our o-line was a bit overrated and losing two reliable pieces can't help matters.

 

The biggest miss im not seeing anyone post here is Aaron Kromer.  If given a choice between bringing back any one player on a fictional no-cost deal, or having Kromer back..... id take him 10 outta 10.  That one is going to sting for a while.

 

He groomed  Spencer Brown to a borderline all-pro, and did the same thing with a castoff like Edwards.  By far my favorite unit on this team for, what, 5 years?  No matter who went down I felt ok, and we know he was installing the run game for Brady too.

 

Being able to count on them the way we did, and the super power of turning cast off/league minimum (and even high draft picks; Brown, Torrence) guys into a dominant unit, is as close to cap circumvention as you can legally get IMO.

 

Happy Retirement Coach!!!

 

[Jauronimo]

2 hours ago, Bray Wyatt said:

I went with Milano as he was a veteran presence in probably weakest position group

I went with Milano because I could see him having an immediate impact with a new team in a way that we actually notice.

[sunshynman]

I choose Milano, but only because Shaq Thompson was not on the list. 

[boyst]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I think that one of the themes is that the Bills had some solid role players. The Bills have not had a very top heavy roster in the Allen era. They have an average NFL roster players 2-10 but have probably had one of the best NFL rosters players 11-53. They have invested in depth players and role players in a manner that some more top heavy rosters have not. So while you can replace guys like: Gilliam, Epenesa, Thompson, Cooks, Cam Lewis, Vandy, etc… it will be tough to have a better 43rd best player than what has left.
 

I don’t know if that makes sense and I’m not articulating my point very well but there’s something to it. As guys like Gilliam, Vandy, Trubisky, or Cam, gets nice contracts, you’re likely replacing them with less accomplished, and cheaper, options. It doesn’t mean that it will definitely be a downgrade but when quality role players hit FA, you have to be prepared to let them walk and hope to develop their replacements. The Bills have paid a premium for depth guys over time but have had to make sacrifices to pay guys at premium positions (Moore, Chubb, Oliver, Rousseau, Brown, Benford, Dawkins).

Otherwise put: top to bottom the roster has been historically strong. We played games with our 5CB and did fine. We lost the playoff game because of a 6th deep defender and a 5th deep safety. 

[Kirby Jackson]

18 minutes ago, boyst said:

Otherwise put: top to bottom the roster has been historically strong. We played games with our 5CB and did fine. We lost the playoff game because of a 6th deep defender and a 5th deep safety. 

Exactly!! The drop off from the guys playing to reserves on the Bills has been a lot smaller than most other teams. Eventually it catches up but a bunch of the guys I mentioned earlier played in important moments and the difference was minimal. 

[BillyJoeBills]

Curtis Samuel bc we failed in our mission to ever recover him after he went MIA

[RobbRiddick]

Tomczak. Was really looking forward to seeing him at TC and pre season