Inigo Montoya

Beasley, Sanders, Williams, and Star are vets on the downside of their career. They helped stabilize the Bills' roster when Beane was tearing it down and building it back up and were solid free agent contributors. In each case Beane found younger players to do the job for less at the same or close to the same level. I think it's just the normal churn of an NFL roster in the salary cap era and nothing more.

I don't see what the Bills should have done differently. They heard of an allegation. It might be true, it might be completely fabricated. They have no way to know. They start to look into the matter because Araiza totally denies the accusations. He is entitled to some due process by the Bills. The civil case is filed and now it becomes a media issue and it becomes a huge dark cloud and distraction hanging over the team. Beane and McDermott make the judgement that it is better for the team to release Araiza instead of dragging this anchor around for the entire season. This is a Super Bowl caliber roster and having this distraction could put the season in jeopardy. They cut Araiza for the good of the team. At this point no one knows if these allegations are true or not. If a lawyer calls your place of work and alleges a heinous crime against you that you adamantly deny, what would you want your company to do? I think Beane gave it as much time as he could to look into the matter and try to figure out the truth but ultimately the clock ran out when the civil suit was filed. I think they played it straight and have nothing to apologize for.

The Bills are not going to have enough time to figure out if the allegations against Araiza are true between now and the start of the season. I think they want to give Araiza the benefit of being innocent until proven guilty because some of these cases end up being garbage, i.e. the Duke Lacrosse team. Ultimately though, they just can't go into the regular season with him as the punter if this controversy isn't resolved and I don't see how it gets resolved in the next couple of days. Innocent or not, Araiza is about to get cut and they are going to have to bring in a new punter / holder ASAP to get acclimated with Furgason and Bass.

It's true. I remember that the foot bone is connected to the leg bone. After that it gets a bit dicey for me.

I work in medicine and there are a lot of people with high IQs and low EQs. I'm dumb as a box of rocks but can talk to anyone. I sometimes think that's the better side of the equation.

If my daughter gets raped by a guy(s) I'd either kill him or do everything I could to see him in jail for the rest of his life. I would not ask the guy to give me some money and then walk away instead. There is something wrong with this picture.

I don't have any stats in front of me but is sure seems like Beane uses his strongest witchcraft on day three of the Draft. A 5th rounder gives him another trip to the batter's box. I like it!

I'm not a big Baker fan but I will be rooting for him to hammer the Browns when he plays them Week 1. After that I really don't care what he does.

The Bills were tied with the 4th fewest punts in the NFL last season. Don't see that changing too much this year. I wonder if there is a prop bet on Araiza uncorking a 90 yarder this season? Might be a fun wager.

I don't pretend to be a cap or contract guru but the article said that if the Bills traded him the new team would then pick up his $2 million guaranteed contract on their books and that $2 million would come off the Bills' books. The Bills are on the hook for the signing bonus they already paid him. If they release him outright, which is unlikely, the Bills would eat the entire contract.

The Bills signed him. It's a one year contract and the Bills are on the hook for the signing bonus portion of the contract giving the next team a bit of a discount on the signing. It would cost around $2 million for a team to sign him this year. I don't think it's a prohibitive contract for a team to take on if they need some help in their TE room.

One other way to look at it that the offense has a lot of weapons for Josh to throw the ball to. They are going to be looking for ways to get Diggs, Davis, McKenzie, Crowder, Shakir, (maybe Hodgins) and Knox on the field. That's before you add pass catching backs like Cook and Duke. Maybe they would be willing to let a pass catcher like OJ Howard go because they have enough pass catching depth on the roster to absorb those reps.

Reading an article in The Athletic by Joe Buscaglia today and it mentioned OJ Howard; "Once Allen had adjourned to the sidelines, Howard’s playing time began against the Broncos. Howard, Morris and Sweeney continued to rotate in at tight end, but Howard played more snaps than any of them. Howard took 34 offensive snaps (56 percent) by my unofficial count. He took advantage of a red zone opportunity by bringing in a touchdown at the end of the half. But you have to wonder if the extended time for Howard was the Bills putting their best foot forward to showcase the tight end for a potential trade." https://theathletic.com/3524600/2022/08/20/observations-bills-win-broncos/ With Quentin Morris having a strong camp and roster spots being at a premium, moving Howard before the season starts opens up a spot for a young player that the Bills would probably lose trying to place on the practice squad like Spector, Blackshear, Brandin Bryant, or Isaiah Hodgins. Trading Howard would also take about $2 million off the books this year. Spector in particular might be worth locking up on the 53 man roster. Edmonds, Matakevich, and Andre Smith are all UFAs after this season and Tyrel Dodson will be a RFA. Will Beane really want to let Spector walk when he has flashed all camp and preseason? It becomes a lot easier to use a roster spot and keep an extra LB or one of the other guys listed above if they trade Howard. Beane's roster is deep and players he cuts this year are going to end up playing on other teams. I'm sure he would rather trade than cut and get some value in return.

Mac Jones will be a serviceable NFL QB and will start for the Pats as long as Belichick is coaching there. As soon as he retires and a new regime comes in they will move on from Jones and he will become a professional clip board holder bouncing around the league for a few years padding his bank account. Some say his ceiling is Drew Brees. I don't agree with that, but even if for the sake of argument you agree with that, what kind of career does Brees have without Sean Payton creating that offense around him? Brees had Payton to help elevate his game, Jones doesn't even have a real OC this year. The contrast couldn't be greater.

It looks like Wilson will miss Week 1 and Flacco will be under center. Reports are that Flacco is looking fantastic running the Jets offense. I hope Flacco looks like the second coming of Joe Montana back there just to stir the pot. 😄 https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/football/nfl/player/702/joe-flacco

I've included a link to a youtube video of Jenna Cottrell and Mike Catalana from Buffalo Plus discussing the rookie CBs in training camp / preseason so far. I think they are really solid reporters on the Bills and I watch all of their content. They echo what I have heard from other camp watchers, namely, that Benford is outplaying Elam so far. It would be something for McDermott and Frazier to start the #180 pick ahead of the #30 pick, but if Benford is outplaying Elam they need to put him out there. They need the best CBs on the field regardless of their draft status. This is especially true if Tre White is not ready to go at the start of the season or needs some time to round back into form. We've seen late draft picks force their way onto the field with stellar play before. One of my favorite Bills, 5th rounder Kyle Williams, comes to mind. The Bills just couldn't keep him off the field. Will Benford force McDermott and Frazier's hand and leapfrog him ahead of Elam to start the season? The section talking about Elam and Benford starts around the 4:40 minute mark

I agree, looks like Mac Jones deliberately twisted the guy's ankle. Wonder if he will hear from the League about this? I expect two supplemental draft picks to the Patriots as a result.

I agree. Settle was my choice for breakout candidate this season in a previous thread. The Washington fans were really upset that he was allowed to walk in free agency. The guy was just buried on the depth chart in Washington and never got a real opportunity. When he did rarely get on the field he played great. Von Miller, Oliver, Settles, and Rousseau shoulder to shoulder? They could dominate.

It sounds like things are bad in Beantown. Sure hate to hear that... The Athletic's Chad Graff writes "the point of concern is nearing" for the Patriots offense after it has struggled badly throughout training camp. "The running game struggled," Graff writes. "The receivers didn’t get open. The incompletions mounted." And the quarterbacks have been under constant pressure. With longtime OC Josh McDaniels gone, coach Bill Belichick has handed offensive coaching duties to ex-DC Matt Patricia and former special teams coach Joe Judge. Patricia is coaching the offensive line and calling the plays while Judge is handling Mac Jones and the quarterbacks. Just an utter nightmare. It's a big concern for Jones' development. This offense is completely devoid of playmakers, and the coaching sounds even worse. https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/football/nfl/player/62961/mac-jones

Man, all the Patriots are having inappropriate contact in Florida. First Kraft, now Brady.

Jones threw a dime to Agholor in the end zone in the AFC Wildcard game. Unfortunately for Jones, Micah Hyde gave him back a nickel and five pennies when he picked it off.

"13 Seconds"

Astro deserves his own thread during camp!

I just read the whole thread. I'll come back and read more of it later too. I'd read the bottom of a Kleenex box right now if it made some obscure reference to the Buffalo Bills. Can not wait for this season to get rolling!

Poyer and Hyde are the foundation of our defense and have been since they arrived. They can compensate for iffy CB play and I would love to see them both stay in a Bills' uni for a few more seasons. They are both still playing at a very high level. In an increasingly pass happy NFL you need to have a solid safety group. That goal line INT of Hyde's against the Patriots in the playoff game last season is one of the greatest defensive plays I have ever seen.