BarleyNY

That’s a good point. That may be their plan. Are they for sure moving him from OT to C? I know he played a little C for us but missed anything about a permanent switch.

Milano and Williams are our most prominent FAs. I’m not using it on either of them. The only other very outside possibility is using it on a punter, which I can’t imagine happens.

I get why the Bills would go this route. They interior OL does need the stability of him being there. I don’t think the risk is worth it though. I just can’t believe that he will finish the season without another concussion and I expect the the next one will probably be it for him. Finding a capable back up - which we absolutely don’t have right now - is a must. Mongo really helped in that regard last season.

I was expecting him to be a cut and another center to be signed - possibly even Mongo returning. While this is certainly better than paying him what he was due, I’d have probably still gone that route. One more concussion and I don’t see how you ever put him back on the field. I’d be shocked if we don’t draft a center this year.

Looking at his contract, he’s done. Or at least done as a Saint. He’s only on the books for $1M of new money this season and we know that’s not happening. That - and some voidable years - are just there so that the Saints can designate him a June 1 release and move a bunch of his cap hit to next year. Brees contract details

That’s the game the NBA stars play. They can get max money anywhere so they group up into a couple of all star teams. Those teams dominate the league, they stay in the spotlight and the shoe, Gatorade and other endorsements money keeps rolling in. I’m very happy that the NFL’s dynamic does not lend itself to that.

That’s why he insisted on a 4 rather than a 5 year deal like Dallas wanted him to take.

Looks like Dak wanted 4 years/$160M while Dallas wanted 5 years/$200M.

Yup. I have no problem with a player maximizing their earnings. But if they take that over winning then I’m glad to see another team sign them.

I don’t think the Bills will have a problem recruiting players looking to play for a contender this year. I have always wondered how much of an impact the different aspects of cities have on the players they attract and deter though. A case can certainly be made that cities like Miami and LA can attract players who are more concerned with the off the field lifestyle than team success. It sure looked like Mario Williams took that Miami contract in order to semi-retire. I think a lot of different cities have their own pitfalls and challenges. One thing is for sure though, a winning culture sure helps you get good players at more reasonable rates.

Woosh! Thanks. That’s on me

Lawson would be a great pickup. But sadly I hear that he will not make it to FA one way or another. Casey would be a nice rotational guy for a year or so - and should be paid as such.

It always funny to see someone start a thread or conversation to tell the world how little they care about something.

It is expected that mid tier free agents will be the ones to take it in the shorts in times like these. There will be lots of one year deals for players who don’t get the offers they’re expecting and who want to bet on themselves. The expectation of the big dip this season along with a very sizable jump next is the key there. But that will also allow teams that want a higher level player on a long term deal to pay them well. They can minimize this year’s cap hit and then have plenty of space in 2022 and beyond to handle the much larger hits. People will be surprised by the size of the contracts the elite FAs sign.

Cleveland has to be BS. The Browns have two top 10 guards in Bitonio and Teller so they don’t need him. Also he’s a terrible fit in their zone scheme so they wouldn’t even want him for depth.

Agree on Princess Bride. And on the players. It’s really tough to make this call unless we know what they are asking for in their contracts. Spotrac has Milano’s MV at 3 years, $41.5M and Williams’ MV at 2 years, $15.7M. Using those numbers I don’t see how there’s much of a decision to be made. You obviously take Williams. I think Milano’s contract estimate is high and Williams’ is low, but not enough to change my mind. I love Milano and he is a damn fine coverage LB but he’s not great against the run. Williams it’s pretty darn good in both run and pass blocking. If we can only retain one, then he’s my guy.

I do not think it is silly. I think the NFL decided to let a lot more go in terms of offensive holding this season which really hurt pass rushers overall and a certain style of pass rusher more than others. Teams just didn’t know what was coming when they signed these rushers. That said, giving that much guaranteed money to Addison at his age was not a good move. That cap space might cost us a free agent this season.

Morse is due $7.6M in cash this season. That’s the cap hit a team that traded for him would take on. That would put him 10th for centers this season. (His cap hit to us would be $10.3M which puts him 4th.) Teams - including the Bills - have to be concerned about his concussions. I just don’t see a lot of teams rushing to trade anything for a guy that they have to pay well and who carries an elevated risk of not actually solving their problem at center. I don’t go down that road if I’m a GM unless I don’t have other good options.

Tough to prove if he says it’s physical. Players his age have wear and tear and if it’s pain or headache related there’s not much you can disprove. When Wood retired he started talking about retiring and set up a press conference. Then he cut the PC short and changed his tune. That was due to perception of why he had to spot playing and the related money. If the player plays the game right then he’s going to keep his signing bonus and get his future guaranteed money. Possibly but I’m sure his agent will want him to get every cent possible.

That’s actually a pretty stellar line of thinking. Heck, if Seattle is willing to pay Dak then the Cowboys could include him in the deal after they tag him.

So you want him to start negotiating low? He can ask for whatever he wants, but what he agrees to tells us a lot more about what he really believes - and what the Cowboys and/or league really believes.

That and the money.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

Correct. $750k last season, $7.6M this season. His salary is fully guaranteed this season and $2.5M of it is guaranteed in 2022. He’d have a $5.1M dead cap in 2022 if released after this season. If he chooses to retire for personal reasons we obviously would not have to pay the guaranteed salary, but I do not expect that. If anything it would be an Eric Wood situation where he claims his body can’t handle it anymore and, thus, he’d get to collect his remaining guaranteed money.

I want to clarify what the term “team option restructure” refers to. It is an option that is already in a contract that allows a team to convert salary into a signing bonus. The upshot is that there is no need to go through the motions of getting players with that clause in their contracts to agree to restructure. It’s just a matter of the team executing that clause. There is no downside to the players since they get cash sooner and it just saves paperwork.