Which Former Bill Are We Going to Miss The Most

[ganesh]

10 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.

 

we had the best OL coach and him retiring leaves a bigger hole than anything. Hopefully the new coach can continue to keep this line playing at a high level 

LT was a problem all year.  Now with David gone LG is a huge problem considering we have not drafted one. May be our 4th round pick takes that spot.  

[BigAl2526]

I'm not sure we miss anyone all that much.  The popular pick by a small margin is Milano.  I didn't pick him because he has no place in Jim Leonhard's defense.  He played weak side outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense.  The outside linebackers in Leonhard's 3-4 alignment are edge rushers more than anything else and are 20 -30 lbs heavier than Milano if not more.   Nothing against Matt Milano.  He's been a great player for the Bills for along time.  I went with Edwards because he was an every down player on offense.  I don't necessarily think the Bills will have problems with Alec Anderson or Austin Corbett, but we knew we could depend on Edwards.

Edited May 29 by BigAl2526

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

Not McClappy.

 

[Sierra Foothills]

9 hours ago, MJS said:

I think he was appreciated appropriately.

 

I think he was approximately appreciated appropriately.

 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

I voted for Shaw Lawson only because I never heard of him … maybe he played during Shaq Lawsons time here?

[Victory Formation]

David Edwards for sure, but I'm hopeful that we bring Matt Milano back.. Milano would be more than serviceable at ILB..

[Don Otreply]

I really don’t think we will miss any of them, how many are high performers on a football field any more? 

[dgrochester55]

Gilliam for Impact, not sure if anyone on the roster can replace what he quietly added to the team.

 

Overall, White, Milano, and Taron Johnson, they were all past their prime and replacements who are likely to be upgrades were found, but they had impactful careers here, and I wish that things worked out differently so that they were able to get a Super Bowl ring.

Edited May 29 by dgrochester55

[CSBill]

Gilliam: Just a solid football player who helped in so many ways.

 

But the real loss may be Prater; I just don't have confidence in Bass. I do hope I'm wrong, but I think we all will be holding our breath when he walks onto the field for that first big one. 

[Kirby Jackson]

16 minutes ago, CSBill said:

Gilliam: Just a solid football player who helped in so many ways.

 

But the real loss may be Prater; I just don't have confidence in Bass. I do hope I'm wrong, but I think we all will be holding our breath when he walks onto the field for that first big one. 

This might sound terrible, but it would almost help the Bills if he has like a nagging muscle strain in camp. I never wish injury on anyone but the Bills need to save themselves, from themselves, when it comes to Bass. They’ve been WAY more bullish on him than he has earned. He is obviously talented but inconsistent and you can’t count on him. Unless they’re forced to go with someone else, it’ll be him. I’d rather another year of Prater and draft the next guy in 2027.

[Alphadawg7]

Im not sure we miss anyone.  Its easy to think about someone like say Espenesa...but to miss him means the guys taking his snaps perform worse, and I don't actually think they will.  I like the projected rotation a lot there even though I do agree AJE was undervalued by a lof this fan base.  

 

So I am not looking around at what left thinking we are going to miss that guy.  I think some quality players left (Milano, Tre, Thompson, AJE, to name a few) but I think the guys stepping into more snaps, the defensive change with Leonard, etc are going to net better results.  So I can't see myself half way through the season going I really miss this specific guy.  

 

I think the player with the most potential to be missed is Milano given the level of play hes been at in the past.  But I also am not sure he can play at that same level today or last a whole season even...so I am not expecting to miss him TBH even though as a fan I will just because I liked him.  Not sure I "miss him" in the sense that the defense is "worse" without him.  I really think the defense is going to be noticeably better this year with the new faces, coach, and scheme.

[Fan in Chicago]

5 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I’d rather another year of Prater and draft the next guy in 2027.

My guess is that there is worry about Prater's leg standing up to a 20 game season. Else, he is much more reliable than Bass. 

As for the draft, I was quite sure they would draft one this year and was surprised we didn't. 

[Puckman5]

Curtis Samuel is on the list?  We already missed him the last two years.  

 

Edited May 29 by Puckman5

[schoolhouserock]

The Bills have called a great many QB sneaks and Allen almost always went left - behind Edwards. If those sneaks start to fail at a higher percentage than in years past, Edwards will be very missed.

[Desert Bills Fan]

Edwards. He left for a big $ contract.

then Gilliam, same reason, signed away…

 

white, Milano, Lawson and epenessa remain unsigned. An indication of their value…

[BeyondTheProcess]

22 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Great topic!!

 

There have been some sneaky good responses too:

- I think Trubisky is 1,000x better than Kyle Allen (who stinks). I’m still hoping someone else is the number 2 and he can be Josh’s buddy on the PS. 
- Gilliam was a very important piece but I think that the Bills will use Hawes in that spot with the tush push. They should still be good there but will miss him on teams.

- I trust Prater way more than Bass.

- They have depth guys to adequately replace the OL and DL IMO.

- Tre had a GREAT year but this scheme feels so different and not to his strength. I don’t think he would fit well. 

 

I guess that my answer will be: Milano, Thompson and Brandin Cooks. That’s kind of cheating but they provided a high floor, veteran presence that could be counted on. The Bills did not lose any impact guys so I’m going with 3 guys that I trust more than the guys currently penciled into those roles. The current guys MAY all end up as upgrades over those guys but they all MAY end up as worse players. 

Hoping Kyle Allen is cut and starts his podcasts again, as he was really good at it.   Was called the QB Room or something like that, with Jordan Palmer and multiple guests.   JA17 was on once , among lots of others.  It is his calling.... 

[Pete]

To me, Milano, Gilliam, Edward’s, and Daquan are the biggest losses.  I love Tre too- just like everyone else.  Everyone else is replaceable, and easily upgradable 

[Kirby Jackson]

2 minutes ago, BeyondTheProcess said:

Hoping Kyle Allen is cut and starts his podcasts again, as he was really good at it.   Was called the QB Room or something like that, with Jordan Palmer and multiple guests.   JA17 was on once , among lots of others.  It is his calling.... 

He’s honestly only here because he’s Josh’s buddy. He’s awful. I would think that he’s pretty much promised at least a PS spot. They probably gave that to Josh. I’m hoping Buechele beats him out, or better yet, someone better is added. I’m good with Kyle Allen sitting in meetings and having dinner at Josh’s house. I just don’t want him playing for a month (or a snap) if Josh goes out for a brief period.

 

I will check out his podcast. He seems like a smart guy and Palmer is great. Appreciate the tip!!

[uticaclub]

I chose Milano because I love screaming “Matty Muscles,” and there aren't many goombas to root for in the NFL, but I think not having any competition for Bass is a MAJOR concern.

[Kirby Jackson]

One of the things that we need to consider when answering the question is that, “who will we miss the most” and “who is the best player to leave the Bills” are not interchangeable. I would say Edwards is the best player to leave the Bills and his contract would agree.

 

With that being said the Bills have NFL starters in Corbett and Anderson (and maybe others) to fill the spot. The dropoff shouldn’t be too dramatic because the other options are solid. This question really is as much, or more, about the guys replacing them than it is just the guys that left.