BarleyNY

That’s fair. I don’t think it’s an easy call. Even if Jones disappoints this season they only have to keep him one more year.

Gotta look at what the effective guarantees are: Rodgers: 2 years, $107M Jackson: 4 years, $208M but can be shortened to 3 years, $185M Jones: 2 years, $86M Carr: 2 years, $70M or 3 years, $100M Rodgers and Jackson carry the most risk because they’re the highest AAV. Carr is getting paid market value. Jones is above MV (IMO) so I guess I go with him. Still, it’s only two seasons and he gives the Giants a chance to find their next QB in that time. Still, I think he will disappoint.

Good question about Hines. It’s ridiculous. The issues with RBs are that: - the best only have a small positive impact on their team compared to an average one - the supply outstrips demand - they have a short shelf life (short careers before a big drop off) - they tend to have a high risk of injury and - teams have realized that a stable of good RBs who share the workload is preferable to one bell cow back. That’s due to cost and injury protection.

No, new RB contracts are not setting the market. Obviously that’s the exception to the general rule, but it is what’s happening. RB salaries - especially those at the top of the market - have fallen. For example, the franchise tag peak for RBs was in 2017 at $12.120M. It was $8.655M in 2021 and is $10.091M this season. Franchise tag history for all positions.

Cap spaced used in a single season is not going to give that accurate of picture of how a team is allocating their resources. Something like a rolling three year cash spend would be a better metric.

https://www.nfl.com/_amp/nfl-expands-rule-against-misuse-of-helmet-guardian-caps-required-in-regular-seas “2. The Guardian Caps that were worn during training camps last season will now be mandated at every preseason practice, as well as every regular-season and postseason practice with contact. Players at position groups where head contact is seen most are required to wear the Guardian Cap, with running backs and fullbacks joining the previously included linemen and linebackers. The only positions not required to wear the caps are kickers, punters, quarterbacks, wide receivers and defensive backs. Last season, players were only required to wear the caps up to the second preseason game, although several teams wore them throughout the season. The league's data showed that if one player is wearing the Guardian Cap at the time of a helmet hit, the cap will absorb 11 to 12 percent of the force. If both players are wearing the cap and have a helmet-to-helmet hit, the force of the impact is reduced by around 20 percent.“ Looks like the NFL is moving toward using them more. No word on regular season game use however.

Let me just chime in to say thank you for pointing out your pun. I think a lot of us might’ve missed otherwise.

Yup. $14M in guarantees is nothing. He was already set to make $6.3M this season so it’s effectively guaranteeing next season. And it’s probably back loaded.

Torrence did get mocked in the late first round by some. But I also saw him graded as a late day 2 and even round 4. Concerns include him being power scheme specific and lacking lateral agility - especially in pass pro. Basically that he’s a huge, strong, mauler, but he isn’t particularly fleet of foot. I’m glad that the OL was addressed in the draft, but we will have to wait and see how he pans out.

When fans cry about the team not having cap space they tend to forget that it’s only because it already got spent on something. It’s a choice made, not a random tragedy that’s befallen the team.

no carbs in wings. keto friendly

Agreed

Agree. It also seems like he kept it in house for awhile. He obviously didn’t think it was getting resolved that way. Due to the situations with the WR corps and his contract there really wasn’t much choice but to make it work. I think that if things go badly this season that issues will likely arise again.

My wife almost always goes with the regular Beef on Weck. I go wings, but I do enjoy sitting at the bar in EA and watching them carve it. And she gets a few wings and I get a couple bites of her sandwich so it all works out.

I noticed that the take out in E Aurora was different than the main bar too. Still, if the wait to get into the restaurant is long, then getting takeout and heading into Aurora Brew Works is a good way to go. (They allow outside food to be brought in.)

I told my friend and his wife what I thought. They’d only been to the Williamsville one and thought it was great so they didn’t believe me about E. Aurora. Then a couple months later they went to it and got wing there. He said he could t believe it but I was right, E. Aurora was just better. He said he talked to the bartender about it and he said that it’s the experience of the people there and the equipment. They’re just more dialed in. I do think the sauce is a little different too. I’m a medium guy at E. Aurora but medium hot at Williamsville.

The Bar Bill near me in the Williamsville/Clarence area is not as good as the original in East Aurora. But it is still pretty good though - and better than most of the alternatives. I’d expect the one in Rochester to be on par with that.

Honestly, the best I can come up with is Philadelphia. It’d be a killer trio with Diggs, Brown and Smith. And Diggs would certainly have his shot at a SB. Maybe SF could be a possibility depending on how they feel about their QB situation. The other option is to wait until a contender has a major injury at WR and is desperate. Then maybe we could get real value. Again, I do not see it happening, but I’m good having fun gaming it out.

Diggs would only cost a team that traded for him $1.42M this season. That’s obviously very, very cheap. Seasons after that would be expensive - $18.75M in 2024, $18.255M in 2025, $19.347M in 2026 and $17.75M in 2027. The issue I see is finding a team to trade something of value for him. Scratch any rebuilding teams. They would not want an already 30 year old WR that will be very expensive after this season - especially one that seems to prize winning a SB as highly as Diggs does. He won’t be happy on a team that can’t compete. OTOH I don’t see how it works out with any team ready to compete. We are not sending him to an AFC contender like KC or Cincy. I am looking to see if there is a realistic option.

This is a very nice breakdown of the cap ramifications of trading Diggs. I posted effectively the same thing a couple times, including that the biggest issue would be finding a replacement at reasonable cap hits this year and next. It’s a good exercise to go through because it is effectively the same as if Diggs were to tear an ACL or have some other major injury in TC. The Bills would have to find a replacement and cap space somehow someway.

I believe that the extensions are a public vote of confidence for McDermott and Beane. It gives the impression that the Pegulas are strongly behind this regime (and they very well may be). It certainly can’t hurt. But without the contract details there is no way to tell how much of that is sincere versus PR. The important aspect is the guarantees. If the contracts are fully guaranteed through 2027, then that’s a huge vote of confidence. If there are no new guarantees, then it’s just PR. We don’t have any way of knowing which it is - and I don’t expect those details to come out. That usually only happens after a firing - and not always even then.

You’re so tired of it that you started yet another thread about it.

Spotrac - Diggs If the Bills traded Diggs today they’d gain $1.7M in cap space this season. (Current cap hit of $14.9M less $13.2M dead cap.) The 2024 dead cap would be an absolutely brutal $31.1M however. That may seem completely unmanageable - and it’s very bad - but Diggs currently is set to have a cap hit of $27.9M in 2024 - or only $3.2M more than if he got traded. So, while it would be painful, the Bills could make the numbers work. The other cap addition related to this would be part of the bigger problem. It is, of course, replacing Diggs on the field. Some player’s salary would be added to the cap in his place. That player would likely need to be a stellar WR. Those are usually not cheap. So that’s where this goes from unlikely to nearly impossible. Technically some team could trade a stud WR on their rookie deal or eat a bunch of a vet WR’s salary to acquire Diggs. But why would any team do that?

Yup. Best burger! Best wings. Etc. There’s a WNY place called Bill Gray’s that has “Best Burger” plastered everywhere. I have eaten there twice and the second time was not by choice. The burgers I had there were both disappointing.

AFC contender? I guess all 16 AFC teams are contenders at this point. It’s like referring to an actor, show or book as “award eligible”. I’m going to start reffering to all coaches, FO personnel and players this way, i.e. MVP candidate Zach Wilson. It’ll be a hoot. Don’t know what Zeke has left in the tank at this point, but he still should be serviceable rotational back for NE or another team.