HappyDays

The Saints did it every year until Drew Brees retired and then they took their medicine. It was never a problem for them in their elite QB window. Beane himself did it when he took over the Bills, spent 1-2 seasons tearing the roster down and getting the cap into good shape. This is a billion dollar operation with a cash-rich owner... they will figure it out. You're correct that some day we will need to account for previous spending but that day is much further into the future than you make it out to be. The reality is that most teams only have about 5 players that really belong in the "core" of the team. The rest are guys that spend no more than 2-3 years on the team or guys on rookie deals. So spending future cap space on Hopkins is not going to drastically change the fundamental structure of the team. At worst it will merely push out some of those 2nd and 3rd tier guys that aren't in the long-term plans anyways. The core will remain. For example by adding Hopkins I think it becomes almost impossible to extend Ed Oliver or Gabe Davis next year no matter how well they play. But neither of these players appear to be in our long-term plans regardless. They are caught in the same position that Edmunds was in last year. When you're paying a QB you can't pay above market value for average or lower production which is exactly what guys like Edmunds and Davis and Oliver end up securing in free agency. A player like Hopkins on the contrary is not easily replaceable and has legitimate season-changing production. Pushing out some of our roster's middle class in exchange for an upper class player is a net positive. That's the "poison pill" you're worried about.

The Rams added OBJ. The Eagles added AJ Brown. The Chiefs added Kadarius Toney. Every one of these additions ultimately changed the fortune of their team. IMO you're living in the past if you don't think adding a top tier WR can push a team over the hump. The Bills did it just 3 years ago and it revolutionized our offense.

Per my usual source, word for word from them - "The Bills are HEAVILY interested in DHop. It's already beyond a call being made. Work is being done." Teams became aware that Hopkins would be released several days ago. Around that same time the Bills conducted an imaging review of Tre White's knee to make sure they would be comfortable tying themselves to his future in the event of a necessary restructure. White has performed very well at OTAs and the team is more confident than ever about his future. That's all I have.

Are you Leonardo Di Caprio?

He got extra attention because he was the 2nd option in our offense... and he simply didn't meet the moment.

I'm begging you Brandon. Please get this done.

Davis would become what the Bills call WR4. Right now that is supposed to be Harty's role but Davis has been more consistent than Harty. WR4 in the Bills offense is the primary backup/rotational outside WR who also plays some in the slot. Davis was excellent in that role in 2020 and 2021. He is at his best when defenses aren't paying close attention to him because they have too many other weapons to worry about. He had a number of deep catches on blown coverages in 2020 and it's easier to make some of the contested catches he made that year when he's matched up against the 3rd CB on the opponent's depth chart.

If Donovan Smith is the reason the Chiefs can't afford Hopkins that is amazing luck for us.

I didn't say Davis was the only reason. But he failed to make a few plays that would have earned us the #1 seed. He dropped a pass against the Bengals that was our last hope of at least staying in the game. And now there is an obvious upgrade available. Think about what you're saying here - your argument is that because the team has multiple problems, we shouldnt bother trying to fix one of them? That doesn't make any sense at all.

I don't think adding him makes any sense for most teams though. He's older and he's going to be expensive. The teams that can most afford to pay him are not really in their Super Bowl window. The one wild card I could see is the Lions maybe.

No.

A game that could have been played against the Jaguars, giving Hyde one more week to come back and maybe we face the Chiefs instead of the Bengals the following week. If you're going to try and make the argument that losing the #1 seed was unimportant, I think you know that that is an unwinnable argument.

I could point to a minimum of 2 plays from Gabe Davis last year that directly led to us missing out on the #1 seed last year.

So you're saying there's a Carolina connection 🤔

The last post of this thread should be a simple "Yes"

This is really happening all over again. It's fun being a good team.

We know Hopkins wants to be here so that gives us a chance. Beane will have to work some magic but I really think we can make this happen.

Ed Oliver. The player that everyone wants traded away will be as determined as ever in a contract year. I expect him to finally show more consistent flashes of what made him a top 10 pick. Wouldn't surprise me if he is our best DL until Von Miller is fully recovered.

It's funny because Mahomes had the same problem in his 5th season that Allen just had in his 5th season. He ignored too many open short throws in favor of deep throws he had no business throwing. He got a little lazy reading the defense. To quote an earlier poster/troll, that "implosion factor" directly led to him single handedly choking away the AFCCG to Cincy last year. And then the Chiefs made a bunch of changes. They traded away their deep threat in Tyreek Hill. They redesigned the offense to incorporate more short passing and more running. Mahomes took the philosophy change to heart, throwing for the lowest intended air yards per attempt of his career. Just like that he's back to MVP level. I expect Allen and the Bills offense to undergo a similar change this year. Adding Kincaid and Torrence and Harris and Harty signals to me that they are investing heavily in players that punish defenses who drop into deep zones. I also believe Allen when he says he is more focused on football than he ever has been before. He has an unmatched ability to identify his own flaws and work to correct them. I think all of these ingredients are going to come together to create the most balanced and efficient offense of Allen's career. The big asterisk of this entire post is Ken Dorsey. He certainly has every tool an OC can reasonably ask for. Now he just needs to put the rubber to the road.