BarleyNY

I totally agree. LMAO

At least one RB (Karlos Williams) is going to be suspended for 4 games to start the season. He won't count for a roster spot until he comes back, though. But he was being counted on to be the #2. Jonathan Williams is a potential suspension due to the DUI arrest, though that is by no means certain. A good team plans for it, though. Those are 2 of the top 3 backs on the roster. Even assuming Gillislee is carried as a 4th back (3rd while Karlos is suspended), the RB corps could be hurting to start the season even if everything else goes well. But what if it doesn't? What if Karlos misses 4 games and still comes back out of shape? What if Shady's hamstring is still bothering him? What if any one of the top 4 RBs gets injured in training camp or preseason? I don't blame Whaley one bit for looking at RBs. No need to pull the trigger just yet, but why not see who's available and be ready to move if needed? They'd just better not be all he's looking for.

You are embarrassing yourself here. Gillislee has 8 career games played and 3 career TDs. Shady has 102 career games played and 59 career TDs. Each had 3 rushing TDs last season (McCoy also had 2 receiving). It's idiotic to put the two into the same category. Gillislee is obviously a lot closer to a rookie than he is to an elite back going into his 8 season.

1) Rodgers 2) Brady 3) Brees 4) Newton 5) Ben He's been a great QB. I do worry about his transition as he gets older. Part of what has made him so successful is his ability to shake tacklers, extend plays and find receivers downfield. As he gets older he won't be able to take those hits like he did and he's going to have to get rid of the ball earlier. It'll be interesting to see how he adjusts.

1. I agree. EJ did get dealt a bad hand here. At this point there's not much to be done about it except part ways as soon as reasonably feasible and wish each other well. 2. I don't think anyone is saying he'll cost the same after this season as he does now. It's just that the added risk of signing him now wouldn't be offset by the savings. With the contracts going to players with limited starts - like Osweiler - Tyrod would be expecting a big deal. It's better to be sure of what we have and give him a bigger deal if he proves himself. Or, if he doesn't, move on. 3. I see the biggest risk with Taylor having to do with shouldering more of the offensive load. If he passes more, then he'll see defenses focus more on stopping the pass. Health is also a concern - even from the standpoint of judging him fairly. Also I would have liked to have seen the Bills focused more on improving the offense this past offseason. Judging Taylor fairly means putting him into position to succeed and I don't think they've done enough to help him there. It's an easy answer if he's a lot better or worse than 2015, but what if he's about the same? That's a tough call and it's what I see as the most likely scenario.

I see you're still worried about the team hurting Taylor's feelings. Do we really need to go down this path again?

This topic has been beaten to death prior to this thread, but I'll recap my position: - EJ is a dead man walking in B-lo. There's really no plausible scenario where he's here next season. The sooner both parties move on, the better for both. - CBs like Gilmore are necessary to run Rex's defense, which puts a lot of pressure on the position. I see a deal getting done prior to the season. - Taylor hasn't yet earned the deal he would accept and the Bills aren't in a position where they are forced to make a move with him. His contract (and where he plays in 2017) will be determined by his play this season. Taylor really has no choice but to bet on himself. He can't hold out because so much is riding on his play and he needs all of the preparation possible. The Bills are wary of giving Taylor a big deal now as the risks far outweigh the rewards. The franchise tag is available next offseason if needed.

I read your post as stating Hughes had an $8M-$10M per year contract, not that there was that much left over. I was just working through the numbers for clarity.

Certain transgressions - bouncing checks, drug or gambling habits, etc. - are risk indicators for fraudulent behaviors too. Anyone with the ability to steal directly or indirectly from a company or who opens him/herself up to blackmail with their actions has to be let go in many circumstances. It's not always fair, but there can be a lot of exposure for a company. As for NFL players, certain behaviors are locker room poison. There's an excellent LT playing in Canada right now. He is plenty good enough to be a top NFL LT, but he'll never play in it because no team will have him. His transgression? A consensual sexual relationship with his sister when he was younger. I won't give his name, but you can google it. I'm curious to see how the Browns players respond to Crowell after his resent tweet. My guess is that he will have a lot of repair work to do before training camp or he is in deep trouble. He's started that with an apology and statement that he's donating his first game check to the Dallas Police Officer's Fund, but he probably still has a long way to go.

I disagree on several points. You can't compare a contract from 2 years ago with one this offseason. Hughes would have gotten a fair bit more than $9M a year if that deal was done today. It'd probably push $11M a season. It'd certainly be over $10M. They'd have another $8M-$9M left to spend, but the combined production of upgrades from that wouldn't come close to touching the impact of Von Miller had over what Hughes has had. They aren't remotely comparable in terms of impact.Nobody said Von Miller was the only reason the Broncos won the Super Bowl. But he was the single player that did the most to get the Broncos that championship. And it really wasn't even close. The article that Yolo posted explains it better than I can:

Totally agree. That's my 5 too, in pretty much the same order.

"A great game?" You must've missed the rest of his career. He is an exceptional player at a premium position who is just coming into his prime and he got rewarded with the huge deal that he earned. That's not a mistake. The mistakes Denver/Elway are making center around their QB position.

As well you should.

I'm going to quit saying nice things about players/team units. I gushed over Lawson. Torn labrum. I just said how happy I was with the RB corps. J. Williams gets a DUI and K. Williams gets a 4 game substance abuse suspension. Dammit.

Y'all are crazy. Denver doesn't win the Super Bowl without him. He's probably the only player I'd say that about on that team. Which explains why he was SB MVP. He got paid large - and he deserves it.

Ah. Thought he meant to cut Gilmore. I do not see a lot of cap relief from a new contract for Gilmore though. Your example of a potential contract illustrates that.

That would be an absolutely awful idea even if it were possible. Which it really isn't. 5th year options are fully guaranteed on the first day of the league year, which was in March. The Bills are on the hook for the full amount unless they were to trade him. But why dump Gilmore? There's no one to take his place opposite Darby and Rex's scheme needs CBs like him. Any unused cap space can be carried forward into the next season. That doesn't apply to Gilmore's 5th year option because it is fully guaranteed.

We see this over and over again. Often times - such as in this case - it's just a national media "personality" viewing the teams that are less popular nationally and in smaller markets as AAA affiliates of the more popular, larger market teams. It's not "What can Tyrod do for Buffalo?", it's "Can Denver find its QB answer in Buffalo?" At best it's pandering.

You mean that's not him?

All true. Virtually any job that requires driving usually stipulates that a DUI is grounds for termination. Many companies have various other stipulations. I can't imagine how much stuff doesn't get reported and I know crazy stuff goes on everywhere. One story I was privy to involved a high ranking financial institution executive who had been tagged as their next CEO. But some hookers he was doing blow with decided he was a good mark for some big, quick cash from some branches. That FI paid large to keep the story from going public. The exec immediately left his position to spend more time with his family, but faced no criminal charges. (Not sure what happened to the hookers.) I know crazy stuff goes on with NFL players, too. I've heard some of those stories as well. I think the real problem with players using Uber is that some don't make a decision about how to get home until they're wasted. Gotta make that decision ahead of time and prearrange a sober friend or service to drive you - both ways. Or maybe just don't get hammered.

I think I covered this pretty well already, but here goes. SJ is on a 3 year, $10.5M deal. RW is on his 4 year rookie deal at $4.9M. As I said, RW has potential for upside and is cheaper than SJ, but SJ isn't expensive for a WR. There is room and definite need for both on the roster. It is not an either/or situation. I just thought it odd to see people saying that one of those guys sucks and the other is going to be a stud as the #2 this season. One last thing. RW is going into the final season of his rookie deal. This is where he has to earn his next contract.

And why shouldn't it be? It's the livelihood of the players, coaches and front office people.

It's almost as if money is a motivating factor for him or something.

Sorry, man. I didn't mean to bust your balls here. I do appreciate you passing along what you've heard. I'm just so tired of so many posters talking about every rookie like they're going to be an All Pro. Sorry to take that out on you. My bad.

That's a bad idea. Carryover rules mean there is no advantage to doing that. It's much better to maintain some cap flexibility.