BarleyNY

That move literally changes nothing about how I view the Bills' WR corps.

Probably a draft pick. I suspect the Bills will take a QB somewhere in the draft, but the other possibility is a pick up during cut downs. Or maybe both. At this point it make little sense to waste time trying to develop EJ. On the off chance he shows significant improvement he will still be a free agent next season and he's not going to get so good that the Bills would tag him. He's gone no matter what. Also the Bills want to avoid having all of their QBs hit free agency next season. They have to sign a guy beyond that for stability and negotiation purposes. They aren't going to commit to Tyrod before seeing how he does this season (or at least part of it anyway) and they aren't extending EJ so they've got to sign someone else. When they do, EJ becomes expendable. The Bills will probably try to trade him during the draft after they draft a QB.

I believe that EJ lasts only until the Bills either find a QB to supplant him or a trade partner for him. It makes little sense to keep him except for his contract guarantees. On that subject here are a couple of important notes: - He only has accrued three years in the NFL so he'd be subject to waivers if the Bills released him. That means any team claiming him would take on the whole $1.6M. - His contract has offsets so if he cleared waivers and was signed by another team as a FA his 2016 earnings would be deducted from the $1.6M owed to him by the Bills. 4th year minimum salary is $675k so the Bills hit would be under $1M if he was picked up by another team for the full season.

Fitzy had a 42.7 passer rating in the second game and 57.6 in the first game. The Bills had 300 and 280 yards of total offense in those two games. The worst YPG average for any team last season was the Rams with 297.6. (The best was Arizona with 408.3.) Buffalo averaged 360.9. So, again, do tell me about all the great/good defenses the Bills offense did well against - because I don't see any.

Once Harvin was gone teams with good defenses seemed to do quite well against the Bills offense. The Bills beat Houston and the Jets - and we can thank the inept offenses (QBs) on those teams for those wins. What other team with a good defense did the Bills beat?

19 is a good place to land a quality LB or OL. Some team would really have to make it worth my while to drop from there. It'd have to be something like a first next year and a second this year for me to pull the trigger. As mentioned already, 8 picks is plenty. I'm not dropping a handful of spots for a 5th.

We prefer to be called "high motor" or "high effort" guys.

It's an offense that's easy to defend unless there is both a threat at RB and at least two deep threats on the field. Right now the Bills have one of each. That's best case if both are healthy and neither is being rested. A running threat at QB certainly helps, but it isn't nearly enough if the other pieces are not on the field. Right now at their best they don't even have the pieces to run Roman's base offense effectively, much less expand it beyond that concept.

The third WR plays more than a FB or the second TE - and that is when no one is injured. I'm concerned with Watkins and Woods as starters - or rather Woods as the #2. The KC game shows what happens when defenses play press with the CB and also line a safety up over Watkins. Woods can't draw off that coverage or exploit it. The Bills need another speed WR on the outside to stress defenses and keep them from keying on Watkins. Woods is Not a bad WR, but he's not the speed guy needed and that's why I don't want him starting on the outside opposite Watkins. If the Bills found that additional speed WR I'd still want them to improve the depth at WR because they'd still be thin. The Bills are a run first team because they have to be. That was their only choice based on their players. If Taylor improves as a QB and talent is added at WR do you really think they'd stick to the run, run, run, throw deep offense? I sure hope not.

My main concern is what the WR corps looks like after Watkins and Woods. I see no WR that I'm comfortable with in the slot. Then I get queasy thinking about one of the depth WRs stepping in if Watkins or Woods get injured. Or even just rotating in to give one a breather.

Same reason the trade with the Browns fell apart. Kap is owed a ton of money and isn't giving it up. Honestly I don't blame him. His salary is guaranteed for injury and he's unlikely to pass a physical by 4/1 so he's going to get paid if he doesn't budge on his contract. I totally understand why teams would want him to take a cut, too. Sometimes things don't work out for reasons like this. Oh, and on the off chance he does pass his physical and SF releases him, he'll be able to sign a contract much like what's being offered.

Then it'll have to wait for a new CBA. The expected yearly increase in the cap is already factored into deals so that can't be used toward a minimum salary increase. No way does the league raise the percentage of revenue that the players get without a fight and/or concessions.

No, it would still go on 2016 accounting - even the first prorated portion of the signing bonus. If they did something for him during the year they could give him a split signing bonus though. That'd mean he'd get a portion of it (something the Bills could afford) immediately and then the rest at the start of the league year. He'd have the security of his long term deal, some extra cash in hand and the knowledge another big chunk of cash was coming in a few months.

While I agree that the NFL minimum salary should be raised, it would have to be phased in over time. Those huge deals that assume current minimum salaries can't be redone. If league minimum became $1M overnight a slew of teams would move over the cap and into cap hell immediately. It would have to be raised a little bit each year until it got to where they wanted it.

14th is about right IMO. That's where they finished last season if you go by draft slotting (they're 14th if you count draft order from 32 to 19). WTF is the Hogan BS, though? Why does the entire Bills write up have to be about the Cheatriots?

I'd want something more than giving TT warm and fuzzy feelings for a salary bump. It's not like the Bills can't tag him - or that his 2016 salary plus the 2017 tag isn't less than what he's looking for with a new deal. I'd think the Bills would be inclined to give him a moderate deal, but it seems like he wants a big contract. I respect the man for betting on himself because you don't get it both ways. If he does, well, then I'd wager all the bad feelings will be gone when he signs his big deal and gets his big signing bonus in the offseason. If not, then he lost that bet on himself and he signs somewhere else for backup money - and the Bills saved some money.

They could probably find a way to fit an extension under the 2016 cap since first year cap hits often can be minimized, but they still shouldn't do it. I'm not sold on Taylor and even if I was I still wouldn't want him extended yet. He's very cheap this season and even if he earns a big contract in 2016 the money saved by only paying him $3M in salary this season will go a long way toward any increases he earns for a long term deal.

This thread has turned into pure gold

Imagine what those same media personalities would be saying in 9 months if the Bills paid Taylor large only to find out that he showed his ceiling in 2015. Just know this: The national media's perception of a team or player is almost solely based upon the success of that team or player. Teams that do precisely the same things are looked at very differently and the reason is solely their track record. The perception of the Bills will change only when they start winning. Every team (with the exception of some of the large market teams) is treated the same in this regard.

Benjamin Allbright ‏ @ AllbrightNFL 23m 23 minutes ago Not exactly popular opinion on Twitter to right now, but I'll stake my rep on Wentz being the best QB from this class. Cardale might be #2 Here are his QB rankings: Benjamin Allbright ‏@AllbrightNFL Feb 27 QB Spreadsheet will remain pinned for duration of draft season. My work 2008-2016: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_-SienfT3umX0HKxRyQqyXM9BqHrotdcQA6W-V_pDiY/edit?usp=sharing… That spreadsheet goes back for a number of years. Interesting opinions from a guy who still does his own work and doesn't just parrot the prevailing opinion. (And, yes, Tyrod is on there from the 2011 draft.)

Exactly, Yolo. It's best to go into a draft with as few glaring needs as possible. Biermann isn't going to the Pro Bowl, but he can be useful to an NFL team.

I didn't see them either. Just trying to figure out who this guy is. There's not much out there on him.

Dug this up on him. Looks like a depth and run package guy: http://www.sportstalkatl.com/the-good-and-the-bad-atlanta-falcons-season-pff-ratings/ Kroy Biermann (58.4) #80 Edge Defender overall- Biermann has been another guy Falcons fans love to hate. He is nothing special as a pass rusher, but actually graded out really well as a rush defender at (87.6). However, Atlanta is starving for guys who can get after the quarterback, and Bierman is clearly not that. I doubt Bierman is in a Falcons uniform to start next season.

It's a logical change IMO. I always thought having to designate at the time of IRing a player was kinda dumb.

Not worth what the FO should have been able to do with those picks, but definitely worth what the FO would have done with those picks. Why keep obsessing? It's over. Move on.