Sierra Foothills

Matt Ryan's name is being thrown around largely because he delayed his roster bonus to allow the Falcons to pursue Deshaun Watson. The Falcons failed to sign Deshaun Watson. It's not clear if Ryan feels disrespected about being treated as a secondary commodity and whether he would try to force his way out of Atlanta. My gut feeling is that he forgives the organization and remains with the Falcons. Just a guess.

I'm super curious to see what Bobby Wagner eventually signs for.

The two "value" RBs I wanted the Bills to pursue have both signed elsewhere. Both played for Tennessee last season. D'Onta Foreman signed with Carolina while Dontrell Hilliard re-signed with the Titans. Foreman has elite size:speed and is very physical. Hilliard is an excellent all-around back who has also returned kicks and punts. Foreman averaged 4.3 punishing yards per carry (same as Derrick Henry). Hilliard averaged 6.3 yards per carry (56 carries 350 yards) both filling the void left by the injury to Henry.

McBeane? Is that you?

After drafting Clyde Edwards Helaire 32nd overall in 2020? They're not gonna do it.

Such as ?

Intriguing thought. Ultimately though I think it's best for this team to have a backup with a proven track record. FWIW Keenum went 2-0 in his starts for the Browns last year. Mayfield went 6-8.

In consideration of the fact that Ryan Tannehill is his QB, I have zero concerns about the Bills having to deal with Robert Woods.

How likely is it that Cleveland will allow Baker to go to Indy?

Keenum is a much more accomplished QB than Barkley so it's hard to imagine there will be any camp battle. Barkley will return because 1) he and Josh are good friends and because 2) though physically underwhelming, Barkley understands how to play QB so he's very useful in film study and game prep. Barkley's a solid number three who in a disaster situation can do a fair impersonation of a competent NFL quarterback. Meaningless? Perhaps less meaningful but I fail to see how his track record as a QB is meaningless. But maybe that's because I can still do everything I could 5 years ago.

Wiki: On March 31, 2017, Keenum signed a one-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Due to an injury to Sam Bradford, Keenum started the Week 2 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, completing 20 of 37 passes for 167 yards in a 26–9 loss. In the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns as the Vikings won by a score of 34–17. Through Weeks 4–7, Keenum averaged 196 yards with a total of two touchdowns and two interceptions, but a record of 3–1 over the span. During Week 8, he had two touchdowns and 288 yards against the winless Cleveland Browns to enter the bye-week. After a Week 9 bye, Keenum threw for 304 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions against the Washington Redskins as the Vikings won their fifth straight game, 38–30. In the next game against his former team, the Los Angeles Rams, Keenum threw for 280 yards and a touchdown, resulting in 6 straight games won. On Thanksgiving Day, during Week 12 against the Detroit Lions, he finished with 282 passing yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings won 30–23. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for November after passing for 866 yards with seven touchdowns and just two interceptions. In 15 games (14 starts) of 2017, Keenum finished with 3,547 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 98.3. He was ranked 51st by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018. The Vikings finished the 2017 season with a 13–3 record, clinching the NFC North Division. In the NFC Divisional Round against the New Orleans Saints, Keenum finished with 318 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception. With only 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Keenum threw a pass to Stefon Diggs, who ran 61 yards for the game-winning touchdown, giving the Vikings a miraculous 29–24 victory.

That was your takeaway?

All good points but remember that Tre'davious White was drafted in the 1st round by the current administration.

That's not necessarily true. We don't know what Beane will do if Minny (or some other team) offers him that much. The Bills still might match if the offer exceeds the 2nd round tender of $3.9 million. Put differently the fact of tendering him at the "original round" level doesn't preclude the Bills from signing him for more than that. Tendering him at the original round level might just be a calculated risk of trying to get him at a lower price point. They might still be willing to pay him more if forced to. Anyways we'll all find out soon enough.

Many mention his injured Achilles which he suffered in Week 4 of the 2020 season, on October 4, 2020. From browsing online most NFL players will recover their "explosive movements" in 9-12 months. Of course this varies between individuals but it means that Howard possibly regained full physical capabilities around Week 4 of last season. In the games before his injury he averaged 15.3 yards per reception. In the games after his injury he averaged 9.6 yards per reception.

That might be the case but the Bills offered that money to McKissic first so that's probably a clear indication of how they felt about the two players. Just watching video of OJ Howard he seems to lack suddenness to his movements. That piqued my interest so I went back and found that his vertical jump at the combine was only 30 inches and his broad jump was 121 inches. Those numbers seem pretty ordinary for a guy who ran a 4.51 at 6'6" and 251 pounds... a guy many describe as a physical freak. Maybe our strength and conditioning staff can bring out his full potential. It seems his upside is like a Jared Cook type.

They might get tired running on and off the field doing their rotations. You're right. Miller's value will be: 1) on passing downs 2) in the 4th quarters of tight games 3) in the playoffs. I think Ed Oliver led all Bills DLs in % of snaps played at just over 50%. They need to save and ration out Miller over the course of a long 17 game season. Shaq Lawson is not a great player. He's a solid all-around end who is a better run defender than pass rusher, though he can break through for sacks on occasion. Lawson's value to a team (like all players) is dependent upon how much he is making. At Miami he was overpaid (3 years $30 million). It's not that he hasn't played well. The problem was that Shaq was over-signed as a free agent and then acquired by teams hoping he was someone he's not. In the right scheme at the right price with the right expectations he's a solid veteran player. Yes the Bills blew it with Epenesa by asking him to lose weight. His greatest asset at Iowa was his strength and ability to hand fight and defeat blocking with leverage. In his senior year against USC he manhandled Miami 1st round OT Austin Jackson. Epenesa needs to play at 275-280. The Bills will never make him into a speed rusher. Denver tried doing the same thing with Robert Ayers and failed miserably. By asking him to lose weight the Bills took away Epenesa's greatest strength... his strength.

Fair enough... it seems that way.

If by masters you mean good at racking up lots of credit card debt, yes they are.

Not to mention all the legalized gambling revenue the league has just started collecting. On a related subject I notice a huge reliance on Spotrac and an under reliance on OvertheCap: https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space/ I've found that their numbers often differ, especially on individual player projections, Levi Wallace being a good example of that.

McKenzie's contract is about half of Grant's. To paraphrase the old Irish saying, "The Devil you know..." McKenzie has been with the Bills for 3 years. They know him, his character, abilities, and personality. He is a known quantity. He's well-liked and well-respected within the organization. On his only punt return in 2020 he scored an 84 yard TD. I would definitely consider this exploding through the middle of the coverage: I believe Lil' Dirty has untapped potential as a returner, especially after studying under Andre Roberts. I believe his benching last year was botched by McDermott. Moreover I'm not convinced that Jakeem Grant is a better investment than McKenzie. Especially at twice the cost.

We joke about the Cheatriots getting comp picks but I think historically the masters of that manipulation have been the Ravens.

Damn, I like Foreman very much as a power back. I was hoping that somehow the Bills had an interest in him. Great size/speed ratio. Could have played the AJ Dillon role for us (it's the Neanderthal in me... and you). Oh well.