Kirby Jackson

@Magox now the Rousseau deal makes more sense. I’m sure that they swung on Garrett, and presumably Hendrickson, then pivoted to Rousseau. They’ll still add to the DL but when the top of the market wasn’t available, they moved down the list. I still don’t love the Rousseau contract but if Garrett wasn’t an option, it is a little better.

You can’t do all of that now. Sweat OR Allen might be an option. I’d say Allen liklier than Sweat. Again, look at the math and cap allocation above. You aren’t going to see the Bills commit 35-40% of the cap (in terms of AAV) to the DL. They already have big commitments at LB, OL, QB and soon Benford and maybe McGovern. It just isn’t realistic.

My guess is that if they could have gotten Garrett or Hendrickson, they wouldn’t have signed this deal. They’ve made those calls I’m sure. Again, the vets or even Allen at DT are possible still. The top of the market though is off the table. That’s why the Bills locked up Rousseau. I think using these percentages as a rough guide to % of cap allocated to each position is fair. Clay has 10% to edge. That would be roughly $27M AAV based on the current cap. Yes I understand that it goes up. I also understand that you’ll be higher or lower in certain areas. I understand that QB importance is 27% and that will never be the number. I’m just not sure that you will see the Bills go to 21% or whatever AAV on edge. That’s what you’ll be looking at with Garrett or Hendrickson. They are likely off the table.

He’s currently 8th in AAV. I understand that will change over the next few years, but I don’t know if he is a top 20 edge. If you think that they are going to pay a top 3 edge AAV (Garrett or Hendrickson) and top 8 (Rousseau) we disagree. That doesn’t feel likely. It’ll play out though. We will see if that’s the case. The other guys, specifically Bosa or Mack feel more realistic. They may take shorter term deals. This Rousseau extension was a mistake because it gave the Bills another solid player instead of selling out for a great one. As @FireChans wisely said, I’d rather trade a 1, 2, and Rousseau (more if needed) for Garrett and pay him $34M AAV than Rousseau at $20M AAV. The Bills have enough good players and not nearly enough great players.

Garrett and Hendrickson are probably off the list with this extension (Sweat maybe as well). You can’t pay $48M AAV to 2 edge players.

Some people irrationally overrate Bills players and underrate other players around the league. Rousseau is okay. He’s a starter in this league and does everything pretty well. You love those guys on rookie deals or cheap vet deals. You don’t pay those guys like they are elite. Teams learned that when they kept resetting the QB market with game managers.

It was worth the gamble when they signed him. He was playing well before the injury. He played well last year also. He’s just more of a situational pass rusher now. I’d be open to him in that role at the right price.

I’m sorry, to clarify, I’m not just referring to the players list. There are some others but, by most metrics, the Bills had 2 (3 if you count Cooper). Spencer Brown is cuspy and Benford is probably too. Maybe said differently, you need a bunch of guys in the top 10 at their position and a handful that are top 5. The top 10 guys are “top 3rd ish” at their position (of starters). Top 5 would be top 15%. Right now the Bills have a few guys between 5-10 (McGovern, maybe Bernard, Shakir in the slot, maybe Oliver, Brown, Benford, Cook) and only 2 top 5 (Josh and Dion). Now they have the most important position covered but they need less “quality role players” like Rapp or Edwards and more top 5 guys. This isn’t an overreaction to Philly’s elite roster either. I’ve always believed this. They need a couple of dudes alongside Josh.

I guess that I’m a “hater” because I don’t think that you should pay role players top 10 AAV. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Lol, there are lots of steps between “everything the Bills do is right” and “everything the Bills do is wrong.” This isn’t a great deal IMO and potentially prevents them for going all in for Garrett. Garrett is a 1,000,000X better player than Rousseau.

So elite rosters with game managing QBs? That’s not this Bills team. It is Josh and a bunch of guys. That may work for the Eagles but not the Bills. They need to worry about a 4-6 game stretch.

I think Samuel was injury related. He got better as the year went along. Cooper was hurt as well. The offense got much better once they traded for him. The threat of Cooper kept teams from loading the box and jamming the middle of the field. Why the Bills entered the season with no one to play the boundary is beyond me. Mack Hollins being your only guy on the outside is crazy. I believe both Samuel, and Cooper should they bring him back, will be more productive this year than last year. Those people that thought Samuel was the Diggs replacement though were never going to be right. That’s not the style of play that he brings.

It should lower it by quite a bit.

They have starting openings. They NEED top 100 players. They don’t need guys; they need dudes. Everybody eats is fun and can make for a good team. You need stars to win championships. The Bills have 1 of the top 90 players in football right now. They need 4 when the season kicks off (Dawkins probably makes 2). The top of the roster needs to get better.

Samuel isn’t a boundary receiver. He never was. He’s a converted RB that is fast. His game is a lot like Shakir but with more speed and less power. He has a role but it isn’t as a X or Z. He’s a chess piece.

Fair

Okay, cool. I think Sweat is the better player. Paying Rousseau $20M AAV feels like a mistake. Time will tell…

Not a horrible deal but my least favorite of the 3. This feels like an overpayment but 🤷🏻‍♂️. If he becomes a 10-11 sack guy it’s okay. He doesn’t need to become Myles Garrett but he needs to becomes Josh Sweat. They still need 1 or 2 top 100ish players. The top of the roster needs to get better.

This would be perfect (sorry @GunnerBill). Tyrod and a developmental guy likely for the PS. I am okay with Trubisky too. I’m not okay with Mike White.

It’s also my birthday.

I think that this is a tick below market. Benford, is arguably, a top 5 corner. They’ll work on that and use the tag next year if need be.

Feels like a reasonable number as does Shakir’s deal. I’d do the exact same deal for Cook. Benford is going to cost more and I’d trade Rousseau.

They have no 3rd but have 2 seconds. They also will have 2 fours I think. The Bills have 10 draft picks right now I believe.

Most injuries aren’t season ending. Look at it through the lens of a month. If he went out for 4 weeks, you’d probably have to be 2-2 to still have a shot at the division. That’s how they should view it. If he’s back healthy by the playoffs, and you win the division, you’re in the same spot that you’ve been in for 5 years entering the postseason.