GunnerBill

Right now? Win the AFCE and make the playoffs. I can say that even without knowing what the rest of the roster looks like because we have Josh Allen. But this is going to be a 30-40% roster turnover based on the moved this week. So it is way too early to be any more specific than that.

At football.

We couldn't have drafted Evans or Mack at our original spot. Mack went #5 right after we took Sammy at #4. And I think Evans went at #7 and we originally were at either #9 or #10 if memory serves. I remember because Evans was my guy that year. Wanted him so bad. OBJ did go later. He would have been on the board at our original pick.

Yea but that probably means we can afford to sign a qualifying player or two. If we have 4 or 5 of our guys signed and still end up with 3 or 4 comps.

Definitely possible. He did sit out there a while last year, but it is a possibility.

But Ford was a former 2nd round pick. Teams tend to look at them and say "if we can just get that untapped potential out..." I agree though the Bills likely weren't cutting Bates if they couldn't trade him.

https://x.com/Cantguardmike/status/1765796816212439047?s=20 Gets better.

It is as though Mike Tomlin is handicapping himself intentionally and seeing if he can still keep the no losing season record intact.

The Bills moved on from those guys because the age and injuries didn't in their view match the financials. They could have found a way to keep all 3. They'd have had to punt some money ahead into the future years but that is doable. Because it is an accounting cap not a salary cap.

I agree that is the earliest it will happen. And yes, I'd love to be wrong. But it is wish rather than hope that I'd be young haha.

So I'd pay him more than Gabbert for the same reason I'd rather have Trubisky than Kyle Allen - he's better. Browning had a nice year last year. I actually liked him as draftable the year he came out. But it has taken him 5 or 6 seasons to get on an NFL field. I have been clear I'd draft a kid too on day 3 and be willing to carry a 3rd on the roster in 2024 while you let the day 3 guy learn and develop with the hope that the next 3 years he is your backup at a day 3 rookie contract number. But those are, to an extent, lottery tickets.

$5.25m over 2 years. $2.7m guaranteed. Looks right about where I pegged it.

Poyer's issue was lack of opportunity (and then when he did get it his last year in Cleveland injury struck). Hyde's issue in Green Bay was his versatility hurt him. Wherever a guy went down they'd move Hyde there so he never got to shine in a single spot - but he was always an excellent player and I said so the day he was signed here. I just think it is so obviously a schematic thing with Elam that he isn't in the same conversation as those other guys. And even more than that it is transitions. The mechanical awkwardness moving from vertical to lateral and moving from backpedal to close and vice versa. It makes being a good zone defender really hard. If that was an easy fix I think it would have happened by now.

I hope you are right and a light just suddenly comes on. I don't see it though. But he might never have the potential to start for five years for this team in this defense. I think he is more like Jerry Hughes than Wyatt Teller. Hughes could have stayed in Indianapolis for 5 years longer and not broken out the way he did for the Bills because his skillset wasn't fitting what he was being asked to do.

If that is the case I'm fine with it. I am fine with Taylor Rapp being our 3rd safety and playing some dime. I'm less fine with him being pencilled in as a starter.

Yes, I am. Is that any worse than continuing to have him not on the field from a PR perspective? I just suspect they will come to the conclusion by the end of camp that it isn't going to work out. Last camp they gave him first crack at starting and he ended up 3rd in a 3 man race. I don't think he can play in this defense. My gut feeling is that will be staring everyone in the face by the end of camp.

I don't think the rumour is literally that Butler was saying to McDermott "don't play this guy, he sucks" but more that the relationship between Butler and Elam was restricting his development. That is more believable because players spend the most time with their position coaches and if that relationship breaks down it is a problem. That isn't me saying I believe the rumour by the way.... or that I think it is the real reason Elam hasn't worked out. I don't think he has worked out because the issues he had on tape in transition in college are there when you see him play in the NFL too and this scheme really shows those weaknesses up. They took a chance on their ability to "fix" it because the physical potential was so high. It hasn't worked.

I think Dodson could well net us a pick too.

A team that plays much more man. And for something like a 5th that becomes a 4th if he hits certain indicators. Ravens feels like a possible given they have guys like Darby and Ya-Sin as impending FAs but hard to say until post FA and the draft. I suspect this is an end of camp trade btw rather than anything in the short term.

My gut says traded.

He is a serviceable 1T. Didn't have a great year last year from what I understand from my Jaguars supporting friend but was solid enough for them in 2022 and before that with the Jets.

So I liked the Hyde signing. A lot actually. I didn't know anything about Poyer. On Rapp we have seen him in this defense. He isn't a total liability on the field but he os what he is. A replacement level starter.

I still think we should draft a late round guy AND I really hope Trubisky isn't getting $5m. That would be an overpay. His value isn't what it was when he came here before. I think $2.5m-$3m MAX is where I'd consider it value.

Yep. And he wasn't the same guy without Taiwan on the other side. Gunners have to work in tandem. Taiwan and Siran were a great tandem. He wasn't the same without him. To me this always likely came down to one of Neal or Gilliam for 2024 and Gilliam "does more" in non-ST roles.

I suspect, though I don't know, it is related to the injury. If they'd cut him with an immediate designation then because he couldn't pass a medical the roster bonus, which is guaranteed for injury, accelerates onto the cap so your savings are not $6m they are $4.5m. Maybe with a post 1 June cut the point at which he has to be able to pass the medical is then - even though technically he is a FA now? I don't know that last sentence to be true. Others might know more on how that works. But that is my guess.