Shaq is back (Thompson, signed to the practice squad)

[davefan66]

Love the signing!

 

Guy played very well last year and made some great tackles!

[BuffaloBillyG]

9 hours ago, 0017 said:

I wonder what’s up with cooks and Milano, both would be great stashes on the PS too. 

There's only a certain number of veteran spots on the PS. Milano, loved him while he was here, but he's not really a scheme fit. Cooks, look he served his purpose last year. But he didn't exactly light the world on fire. Even tossing out the interception/catch in the Denver game, guy still had drop issues. He's at the tail end of his career. And in his case it's telling that no one else has brought him in either. He's played long enough and for enough teams that he has connections and friends all over the league. We also have WR spots 1-5 covered. I'd rather see them give a guy like Maclin the call up if we need a WR.

Edited September 1 by BuffaloBillyG

[RyanC883]

love this.  They did a real nice job with the practice squad overall.  

[Kirby Jackson]

8 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

There's only a certain number of veteran spots on the PS. Milano, loved him while he was here, but he's not really a scheme fit. Cooks, look he served his purpose last year. But he didn't exactly light the world on fire. Even tossing out the interception/catch in the Denver game, guy still had drop issues. He's at the tail end of his career. And in his case it's telling that no one else has brought him in either. He's played long enough and for enough teams that he has connections and friends all over the league. We also have WR spots 1-5 covered. I'd rather see them give a guy like Maclin the call up if we need a WR.

I think the other thing with Cooks is that he has made $125M on the field in his career. He’s not Ian Wheeler trying to find an opportunity. He doesn’t need to try to “catch on” with the Raiders or something. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
 

He can stay home and wait by his phone for a call from the Bills. Maybe he would consider a return to the Rams? Maybe he sees if there’s an injury with a contender? Maybe he doesn’t want to do anything? He’s in a unique position where he can be extremely particular about “when, where and if” he decides to play again. 

Edited September 1 by Kirby Jackson

[colin]

i think this is a bit of a fire on bernard.  he will be asked to play near a 2023 level (honestly, that season was the only thing making me have some hope for him.  he was a legit monster) or else KEO, williams, and now thompson will be moved up to replace him and the team will eat the contract after the year.

[Logic]

The Bills seem to me to be one of the better teams in the league at balancing useful vets and young upside bets on their practice squad.

At ILB, they have Keonta Jenkins, but now they also have Shaq.

At WR, they have Jamori Maclin, but now they also have Greg Dortch and Trent Sherfield.

At DB, they have Kani Walker, but they also have Geno Stone.

I don't keep up with every team's practice squads, but I like the way the Bills seem to utilize theirs to its full potential. In all honesty, the "53 man roster" days are over. The rule change to allow veterans on the practice squad essentially expands NFL roster sizes, particularly if you stock them the way the Bills do.

[chris heff]

9 hours ago, 0017 said:

I wonder what’s up with cooks and Milano, both would be great stashes on the PS too. 

Glad Thompson is back, I have been on the fence with Cooks and Milano. I’m kind of surprised Tre White hasn’t been brought back, the CBs worry me.

[SCBills]

9 minutes ago, chris heff said:

Glad Thompson is back, I have been on the fence with Cooks and Milano. I’m kind of surprised Tre White hasn’t been brought back, the CBs worry me.

I think some of it is they need to want to come back.  
 

Im surprised, honestly, that Shaq took a Practice Squad role.  
 

Does Tre want to join our PS?  Probably not or I’d guess he’d be there.  If we can make a roster spot for him, does he want to be CB4 Gameday Inactive?

 

Same dilemma goes for Cooks. 

[PoundingDog]

It's pretty simple. He stated he wanted more money in the off-season. - he signed with Bills 2025 for vet minimum. But apparently no one thinks he's worth more than that. He had workouts here and there. Bottomline: He's signed to a practice squad, our practice squad where the chance of getting called up is probably better.

 

I won't say he has the ILB size (listed at 230lb). Bobby Wagner at 240lb is and he's sitting at home now. But Wagner is 4 years older than Thompson, highly decorated (10 time pro-bowler). There is no way Wagner would go on to anyone's Practice squad. 

[Dillenger4]

I'm glad Shaq is back! Good depth if we need him. But I seriously hope KEO balls out!

[chris heff]

15 minutes ago, SCBills said:

I think some of it is they need to want to come back.  
 

Im surprised, honestly, that Shaq took a Practice Squad role.  
 

Does Tre want to join our PS?  Probably not or I’d guess he’d be there.  If we can make a roster spot for him, does he want to be CB4 Gameday Inactive?

 

Same dilemma goes for Cooks. 

There are only three boundary CBs, Benford, Hairston and Igb. Are you comfortable with those last two starting? White could very well come back as CB2.

[SCBills]

9 minutes ago, chris heff said:

There are only three boundary CBs, Benford, Hairston and Igb. Are you comfortable with those last two starting? White could very well come back as CB2.

There are four when factoring in Alford. 
 

And yes, we should absolutely be giving Max & IGB runway to prove they have what it takes in Leonhards Defense. 
 

I don’t even know if Tre can play in this Defense.  As of now, every outside corner we have can be left on an island because they have physical attributes that are necessary for that philosophy.  
 

Tre doesn’t.  Hes more of a zone corner at this point in his career.   Kani doesn’t either, it’s why he’s on the PS. 
 

 

[colin]

Just now, SCBills said:

There are four when factoring in Alford. 
 

And yes, we should absolutely be giving Max & IGB runway to prove they have what it takes in Leonhards Defense. 
 

I don’t even know if Tre can play in this Defense.  As of now, every outside corner we have can be left on an island because they have physical attributes that are necessary for that philosophy.  
 

Tre doesn’t.  Hes more of a zone corner at this point in his career.   Kani doesn’t either, it’s why he’s on the PS. 
 

 

 

exactly.

 

we have a slot (alford) who can go outside, we have 2 safeties (cj and hancock) who can play slot.  on D we are rolling with more interior linemen and outside LBs/pass rushers and fewer specialized dbs than before, more interchangeability.  

[chris heff]

10 minutes ago, SCBills said:

There are four when factoring in Alford. 
 

And yes, we should absolutely be giving Max & IGB runway to prove they have what it takes in Leonhards Defense. 
 

I don’t even know if Tre can play in this Defense.  As of now, every outside corner we have can be left on an island because they have physical attributes that are necessary for that philosophy.  
 

Tre doesn’t.  Hes more of a zone corner at this point in his career.   Kani doesn’t either, it’s why he’s on the PS. 
 

 

I hope you’re right, but if that “runway” proves to be short, they have a problem.

[SCBills]

Just now, chris heff said:

I hope you’re right, but if that “runway” proves to be short, they have a problem.

I hear ya, but that’s what happens when you’re relying on young, unproven players.   We have a 1st and 2nd invested in two outside corners.. at some point, you just have to let guys sink or swim.  
 

Our Defense is fascinating because it’s so up in the air in terms of a ton of youth and a bunch of important guys back off injury in Bernard, Hoecht and Oliver. 

[Kirby Jackson]

1 minute ago, chris heff said:

I hope you’re right, but if that “runway” proves to be short, they have a problem.

You have a 1st round corner and a 2nd round corner. Every team in this situation would give those guys a chance to earn one spot. You don’t need a vet taking reps there.

 

If neither can play (which is unlikely) you have the option to kick Alford outside and Hancock to slot. You can also use Kilgore or CJGJ there. That versatility is why you don’t need another boundary corner at this point. If there are no injuries, that’s the way they’ll role this year. They can always trade for a depth guy or sign someone like Tre at any point. There’s no need to protect against the “bottom dropping out” when the 2 guys you’re counting on were top picks and talents. You have to give them the chance.

[Jauronimo]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

There's only a certain number of veteran spots on the PS. Milano, loved him while he was here, but he's not really a scheme fit. Cooks, look he served his purpose last year. But he didn't exactly light the world on fire. Even tossing out the interception/catch in the Denver game, guy still had drop issues. He's at the tail end of his career. And in his case it's telling that no one else has brought him in either. He's played long enough and for enough teams that he has connections and friends all over the league. We also have WR spots 1-5 covered. I'd rather see them give a guy like Maclin the call up if we need a WR.

I think Cooks is an instant upgrade at WR2.  I am hoping we haven't seen the real Palmer yet but I think we have and its nothing opposing defenses are worried about.

[eball]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

The Bills seem to me to be one of the better teams in the league at balancing useful vets and young upside bets on their practice squad.

At ILB, they have Keonta Jenkins, but now they also have Shaq.

At WR, they have Jamori Maclin, but now they also have Greg Dortch and Trent Sherfield.

At DB, they have Kani Walker, but they also have Geno Stone.

I don't keep up with every team's practice squads, but I like the way the Bills seem to utilize theirs to its full potential. In all honesty, the "53 man roster" days are over. The rule change to allow veterans on the practice squad essentially expands NFL roster sizes, particularly if you stock them the way the Bills do.

 

I don’t know whether Beane is “ahead of the curve” on this or not, but I’ll at least give him credit for not being slow to adapt. If just a couple of these high round picks could hit…

 

[ngbills]

Finally done with all the McD guys. See how no one else wants them.

 

Shaq is back. Great move by Beane. 

 

In seriousness. I like Shaq. He is a good football player. Cant hurt to have him on PS for when one of our LB's go down, which happens every year. 

1 hour ago, Logic said:

The Bills seem to me to be one of the better teams in the league at balancing useful vets and young upside bets on their practice squad.

At ILB, they have Keonta Jenkins, but now they also have Shaq.

At WR, they have Jamori Maclin, but now they also have Greg Dortch and Trent Sherfield.

At DB, they have Kani Walker, but they also have Geno Stone.

I don't keep up with every team's practice squads, but I like the way the Bills seem to utilize theirs to its full potential. In all honesty, the "53 man roster" days are over. The rule change to allow veterans on the practice squad essentially expands NFL roster sizes, particularly if you stock them the way the Bills do.

Since they changed the rules on PS most teams grab a few vets if they can and store them there. 

[TheBrownBear]

37 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

I think Cooks is an instant upgrade at WR2.  I am hoping we haven't seen the real Palmer yet but I think we have and its nothing opposing defenses are worried about.

I'm not sure about that, but at a minimum, Cooks would be a great guy to have in the locker room to serve as a mentor to the young receivers.  I won't be surprised if he gets signed if Coleman and Bell struggle to make an impact or there is an early season injury.