BarleyNY

It is more of a tool for teams already in big cap trouble to free up space to sign draft picks and some bargain basement free agents. It won't help with Mario at all, for example, as it would be a minimal deferral of $1.6M. Also any moderate or large contracts the Bills ink this season will be easy to structure so that they have a lower cap hit in 2016 than in subsequent years so there's not much point in using the post June 1st deferral. It really wouldn't help because 2017 would be cap hell if they were so tight in 2016 that they needed to defer money that way. Some vets are going to go or take a pay cut. But the Bills need to be judicious about that. Spending sprees in free agency rarely yield good results. Yes, cut some fat. Don't gut a unit though. Kyle in particular is someone I leave alone this year. I don't like losing two of the four starting DLmen at once and next season there'll be a lot more flexibility with him. He'll be tough to replace for the $5M saved and as much as I'd love a guy like Wilkerson I just don't see that happening for a variety of reasons. Oh, and I was wrong about the Sanu contract. As you said, $3.5M per year is certainly fair and reasonable for him. Don't know where my head was. I do see him as more productive in the slot though and maybe backing up the outside though. The Bills sure could use that skill set and he'd be a good fit.

Oh I think understanding the decision is a very good reason for bitching.

Here is a good link regarding post June 1st cap cuts and cuts designated that way: http://overthecap.com/explaining-the-june-1st-designation/ Something many don't realize is that the current contract of a player cut using the post June 1st designation stays on the books until June 1st. All the designation really is is a way of teams protecting themselves from players they intend to cut post June 1st from getting injured (and thus being on the hook for their salary) and from having to pay offseason bonuses, but still getting the post June 1st cap hit delay. In return those players get to hit free agency early instead of in the summer when the cap dollars have dried up.

That doesn't paint an accurate picture of the Bills' situation at all. The current cap situation is this:$6.2M over an expected cap of $150M (this might be as high as $154M) with a carryover of $5.2M. Harvin's exit is accounted for and they'll gain $7.5M from the Clay restructure. So they're sitting at $6.5M in space before any moves. Mario will likely be cut adding $12.9M (less $500k for offsetting player's salary) for a total of $18.9M in space - but the team will need a starter to replace him. Other players will be cut too, but all will need replaced. Cutting Kyle would save $5M, but his replacement is going to cost too and interior DLmen aren't cheap. $3-$4M can be gained in 2016 by signing Gillmore to a long term contract though. Then there's retaining or replacing Glenn, Incognito and Harvin. 1st year cap hits can be minimized, but you have to keep an eye on 2017 and beyond. Glenn's yearly average will likely be in the $10M-$11M range, but the 1st year hit could be $6M-$7M. Cogs is worth something like $7M-$8M a year, but the first year hit would be less and he might come at a discount due to his past. But it won't be $3.5M. Sanu or a quality starting WR will be more expensive too. $3.5M doesn't buy much on the open market for WRs. And then there's finding a RDE replacement, which will be costly. The Bills can draft some help, but you can't expect much immediate impact from many rookies. Oh and those rookies need paid too. The real issue at hand is that there can be a lot of moves made, but for every starter or quality back up cut or with an expiring contract there has to be an addition. The more cuts made, the more likely a team is to find themselves coming up short on talent or cap space. Unfortunately I fear that's where the Bills are headed. Edit: Actually $3.5M per year is about right for Sanu, but I do see him as more of a slot WR than an outside. The Bills could use one of each and Sanu could slide to the outside in event of injury so he's actually a pretty good fit. Still, he's not the impact WR I'd like to see across from Watkins to open him up.

Sure are. He's not at all realistic. Over the cap has his expected contract at 5 years, $73M-$79M. That is way too rich for the Bills. http://overthecap.com/2016-nfl-free-agency-defensive-ends-overview/

Dammit, indeed. Actually thought Rex was smarter than this.

I guess Philbin is smarter than I gave him credit for.

One is a s*** sandwich with ketchup, the other is a s*** sandwich with mustard.

That's a fact. Patricia is also intriguing. Those are my top two right now.

As far as EJ is considered, is there anyone here that thinks he sticks with the Bills beyond next season? I don't see any realistic way that he is. What would his route to that end be? Little to no playing time. Nope. Significant playing time where he looked like he did last season? Nope. Significant playing time where he looks good? Assuming Taylor looks good too, then no. Taylor is the man here and Manuel would be in demand and go elsewhere where he could compete for a starting job. If Taylor implodes and EJ lights it up, then he stays and Taylor goes. But who is betting on that to happen? Not me, that's for sure. Even the low odds of a draft pick are better than that. The Bills do have EJ's $1.4M guaranteed salary to contend with. It has offsets in the event he catches on elsewhere, so that's good. I'd add a vet and a rookie, but I'd keep him around until I either got something in trade or until cut downs to protect the team against injuries, suspensions, etc.

Another tidbit was that Marrone's reason for bailing was that he was uncomfortable with his contract situation. That is vague, but I think it has to mean that he wanted an extension and the Pegulas wouldn't give him one. That's not new news, but it's good confirmation and it makes sense why teams would question that. I've been somewhat critical of Whaley, but I've got to give him credit. He didn't pull what Marrone did even though he could have. He showed he wanted to be here and was willing to earn his place under the new ownership. Marrone could have done that, but bailed. It really speaks to the difference in character between the two.

Lol Thanks

Will PM you. Don't want it public.

I'm hearing that teams, including the Browns, have been wary of Marrone due to how he left Buffalo and that he's been asked about that situation by the teams he's talked to about a HC job. It's definitely been an obstacle.

The cumulative effect of their moves and lack of success puts them in a difficult position. I'd put them in bottom 5 in the league. I didn't say they'll be okay. They might be, but they also might have a real problem staying even with this year. Then there's 2017. A lot of the contracts that we are discussing here are going to have much lower numbers in 2016 than they will in 2017 so the horizon isn't great either. Many of the fans were overexuberant to be sure, but I wasn't and neither were a lot of other people. I thought that the Bills would be good, but I thought their chances of winning a championship were negligible. The lack of a proven franchise QB was a big part of that. I thought that the defense would be better and that the Bills would squeak into the playoffs, then lose in the WC round. Their ceiling was one playoff win if they got a good draw. Their floor was 6 or 7 wins depending upon QB play and the time it took to adjust to the new schemes. That's not the time to push in free agency. They've got to draft their way out of this and I have little faith in their ability to do so (but it could happen). After all, that's what got them into the situation that they are in. They've had to try to make up for poor drafting by going the free agency route and that has to change or things will get worse, not better.

Wow, I don't see it like that at all. The standard model for a title run is to build through the draft with reasonable free agency spending, then to retain players at reasonable contracts (usually via extensions prior to their contracts expiring). During this time the cap is managed so that there is flexibility. Then when the team is ready to compete for the title they can spend up to the limit. If the window is short, then the team can overspend and suffer after the run when the rebuilding starts. It makes no sense to go on a spending spree and hurt your long term plans to get to mediocre or just above mediocre.

That's certainly a big part of it. You also have to take issue with them going all out spending without a realistic chance at a title. Not having a franchise QB is also part of that (obviously).

The base cap for 2015 was $143.28M. The 2016 cap hasn't been determined yet, but all of the quality sources for estimates are in the $150M-$154M range. The Bills will gain $7.5M in 2016 from converting Clay's roster bonus to a signing bonus. Cutting Mario yields another $12.9M. Gillmore's number would reduce if signed to a long term deal. They'll have $5M or so in carryover. It's not hopeless, but they've got some expensive players hitting FA and other needs - Glenn, Incognito, Bradham, a QB(s) besides Taylor, Mario's replacement, WR( Harvin won't be back), etc. They won't be cheap to keep or replace and only so much can be done with draft picks. I'd include the Bills on a list of worst cap management in the league right now. They aren't the Saints or the Dolphins, but they aren't in good shape and they've made some poor decisions with their space. When you're dumping guys like Mario for the space, but have signed guys like Clay to big deals you've got issues. The Bills already made some decisions about who stays and who goes when they inked the Clay, Shady, Harvin and Hughes deals. Now we see if they can navigate through some very rough waters.

Smart move by Cardale. You're exactly right. Tebow was a client too and look where he got over drafted.

Sexton is THE agent for coaches. His client list is unbelievable*. Gase switched to him a year ago and since then the media has portrayed every team looking for a coach as infatuated with him. Yet he didn't get hired last season. He's a good candidate and he might make a very good HC, but the hype is unreal. * Saban, Malzahn, Freeze, Jim Mora Jr., Schwartz, Rex Ryan, Gase, Marrone, Suh, Julio Jones, etc., etc.

Gase is also Sexton's client. And if the media is to be believed every team is about to offer him a bajillion dollar contract - just like Marrone! When I saw how similar the media reports of Marrone and Gase were I had a pretty good guess who his agent was. Yup. Sexton. Not sure about the Lovie Smith firing either. It did seem like he had that team headed in the right direction. I wonder if there was some major disagreement with the front office or some kind of power struggle?

I know there were some HGH rumors around Willis and some strong suspicions that he and some other players were allowed to retire rather than face suspensions and increased testing. I can't remember if Borland was on that list or not. I'm not saying that Megatron has the same issue, just explaining some other retirements. Still, maybe he is just done. It happens.

I despise the injury excuse/explanation because: 1) It is indicitive of a loser's mindset, one where excuses are made in lieu of attempts to overcome obstacles. 2) It is often used by people only looking at their team and they usually fail to notice the injuries on their opponents/competitors.

"I thought that it was legal." - Bill Belichick

That's the most responsible choice, but if an NFL owner can get the public to finance/heavily subsidize a shiny, new, moneymaking stadium I can't help but think that's the way it's gonna go.