BillsFanForever19

Because we want to sit our entire starting Offensive Line. On the active roster, we have both Offensive Tackles covered in Ryan Van Demark and Tylan Grable and two/thirds of the Interior in Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and Alec Anderson. So elevating an OT wouldn't have made sense. It would have either been Will Clapp or Mike Edwards.

You'd give up Two 1st's, Two 2nd's, Two 4th's, Two 5th's, and Three 6th's for one DE? Eleven lottery tickets and players under Rookie deals for a single player that we'd also have to designate a massive amount of cap space to? Thank God you're just a message board poster...

The signings that cancelled out picks are already figured into the calculation. We only made 3 signings that qualifed for cancellation. Those being Curtis Samuel, Austin Johnson, and Mack Hollins. Everyone else we signed did not qualify as they were league minimum signings, under 2.5m, and/or players that were cut from other teams that weren't unrestricted free agents on lapsed contracts. Those signings cancelled out a possible 6th Round Pick for Tyrel Dodson (Curtis Samuel signing), a 7th Rounder for Dane Jackson (Austin Johnson signing), and a 7th Rounder for Tim Settle (Mack Hollins signing). https://overthecap.com/compensatory-picks

Yes, cheer for the Broncos to beat the Chiefs. If that doesn't happen, hope the Dolphins have beaten the Jets (both games are at 4:25). If the Broncos lose to the Chiefs and the Dolphins lose to the Jets - cheer for the Steelers to beat the Bengals in the Sunday Night game. Even if the Broncos lose and the Dolphins lose, the Bengals still have to win. If the Dolphins and the Bengals lose, the Broncos still get in even with a loss.

It's actually 4. I've amended the original post as I forgot that the deal for Diggs was their 2nd in exchange for Diggs and our 5th.

I'm thrilled that the deck is stacked against Cincinnati. Doesn't really matter to me if it's the Broncos or the Dolphins. But I want nothing to do with the Bengals. They've gotten too hot and the Burrow to Higgins and Chase connection has looked terrifying. Thankfully, they fumbled the ball so hard earlier in the year that they're in this position. The Broncos have to lose to the Chiefs Backups - I favor the Broncos The Dolphins have to lose to the hapless Jets - I favor the Dolphins even with Huntley The Bengals have to beat the Steelers who aren't sitting their starters - tough game for the Bengals

It's because Gabe Davis went out for the year and only ended up playing 10 games for Jacksonville. I knew it was coming when he tore his ACL.

I would believe it. Initially, it was supposed to be a 4th and a 5th for them. A 4th for Davis and a 5th for Floyd. My guess is it dropped to a 5th bc Davis ended up being lost for the season in Week 11. The Edmunds pick dropped from a 3rd to a 4th last year bc they changed the rules of the compensatory formula on a dime to take into account void year money and carefully written contracts that skirted comp pick cancellations. That in conjunction with Edmunds missing a couple games made the pick come in less than expected. This years projections took the new rules into account when they were made. We're already getting less than expected bc of Davis' injury with 2 5th's instead of the initial projection of a 4 and a 5. I really don't see us getting less than that or them changing the rules to be more strict on a dime once again. It was too much of a headache for the league last season dealing with all the appeals. And generally when they make an unpopular change that makes things more difficult on teams one year, they take it easier the following year (ie Cap figures coming under unexpected one year are made up for the next). Currently, our expected picks are as follows: Round 1 Round 2 Round 2 (from Minnesota Vikings for Stefon Diggs and our 2025 5th Round Pick) Round 4 Round 4 (from Chicago Bears for a 2024 5th Round Pick) Round 5 (Compensatory for Gabe Davis) Round 5 (Compensatory for Leonard Floyd) Round 6 Round 6 (from New York Giants for Boogie Basham and our 2025 7th Round Pick) Round 6 (from Cleveland Browns with Amari Cooper for our 2025 3rd Round Pick)

Could very well be. But the "in a few weeks" line is eyebrow raising. Makes me wonder if he knows that they're talking contract right now. I know general smart thinking is you don't pay a Running Back. It's a line of thinking that I generally subscribe to. However, over this past year i've found myself thinking Cook is an exception. You can find a decent Running Back in the Draft if you have a good Offensive Line. But the things Cook does is not something you find easily. We spent years Drafting Running Backs like Devin Singletary and Zack Moss and signing inexpensive guys only to have an average to below average Running game. In Cook, we've found the most explosive RB and Running Game we've had since at least Marshawn Lynch (albeit a very different Back and running style). There are games that he takes over without Josh needing to do anything, or much of anything. This year's running game and Cook in particular is a large part of what has made our Offense the best it's ever looked this season. He was a Pro Bowler last season and was honestly robbed of the Pro Bowl this year. If we can do an extension that is backloaded, keeps his number next season the same, has a couple low cap hit years in the beginning with bonuses, and an out after 2027 - i'd honestly be all for an extension for Cook.

Yay! We're playing the "go get Yannick Ngakoue" game for the 3rd time in less than a year! 🙄

He will be. Whether it's us winning a ring and him retiring on a Super Bowl win or us releasing him - his contract was always viewed as a 3 year deal. Cutting him this past offseason would have done us more harm than good and after he gave us the option to rework his deal, WAY more harm than good. This is why your original post is getting universally downvoted. Opining that he shouldn't be here and that the incentives are stupid is actually quite the opposite of the situation, given the circumstances surrounding his being here v. not being here this year.

He volunteered to take a massive pay cut this past offseason. This act saved us significantly more cap than cutting him this year would have. Releasing him instead of keeping him on the reworked deal for 2024 would have been cutting off our nose to spite our face.

Since he's been signed, over the past month, we've needed to do four Safety call up's. We've had both starting Safeties out in back to back weeks. They called up Kareem Jackson twice and Lewis Cine twice. When asked of Hyde's role on the team after the signing, McDermott verbatim said "not much". After that he's repeatedly said his role is to "help the team". You look at the Patriots game as a "meaningless game". That's the exact situation you would get him out on the field to evaluate where he's at. Waddle, as you said, was an extreme case of practically not having a choice. If they had the opportunity to get him some reps before the Super Bowl, they absolutely would have. As long as he's on the roster, it's not a *total* impossibility. But this is an extremely conservative staff. The idea that they'd just put him on the field in the Playoffs a year removed from being on the field (where he performed poorly btw), when they desperately needed help and didn't play him, and now have essentially a Pre-Season game where they can get him some live action to get his feet under him with this year's Defense, as well as evaluate where he's at, and still won't play him - seems pretty far fetched to me. I guess we'll see. You seem to really want it, so I hope you get to see it. But I'm far from the only person who's reading this writing on the wall.

Really not that weird. He/they saw how the season was going and the level they were playing it. A Super Bowl ring looked at the time (and still could be) a very real situation. So sign on at the end of the season on the PS just to be a part of it. Be in the building and the sidelines. Help bring along Cole Bishop and the Safety room. Boost team morale even further by being there. Get a ring. It's not about money. If he really planned on playing and they really planned on him being a significant part of the team, he'd have been here sooner, would have been given a spot on the 53, and would have put him on the field by now or at least this weekend.

I just looked it up and you're right. Is this a new rule over the past couple years? I thought it was always twice? Well, now I stand corrected. I was wrong. It's actually 3.

Mike White has also been elevated twice already as well (12/1 and 12/15). Kind of puzzling they didn't save one for Week 18. But it's going to have to be Josh back in just handing the ball off or an emergency QB if Trubisky goes down.

Cine's already been called up twice (same as Jackson). Hamlin needs to get play coming back from injury and Bishop needs more reps. So they'll go with Hamlin, Bishop, and Lewis at Safety.

Good point. I brainfarted and just thought TD instead of receiving TD. My bad 😄

I think Hamler might be the only WR who can be called up. Shavers has been called up twice. I'm pretty sure Virgil has been called up twice as well, in between his stint on the 53. Samuel has been out for a couple weeks now and appears ready to go. So i'd expect him to be taking most of the snaps to get him back. Hollins and Coleman (who's also just getting back in the swing of things as well after injuries) will also probably get a lot of play. White makes a lot of sense. But I think he's also been called up twice. So that might put us in a precarious situation where we have no choice but to put Allen back in if Trubisky gets hurt. That's not going to happen. I took a lot of flack for suggesting Hyde is likely to not see the field at all and was just brought on as a player coach and to possibly get a ring. As time has gone on, it really seems that's the case. Our Safety core has been decimated with both starters injured at the same time. Kareem Jackson and Lewis Cine were both called up twice since Hyde's been brought in. If there's a Safety injured in the Playoffs, I really think you'll see one of them come in. If you read between the lines of things both McDermott and Hyde have said, it really doesn't seem like playing him was ever in the cards.

We've only got 2 Practice Squad Call-ups. I'm pretty sure James Cook will be active so that he can get his 19 yards to reach 1k rushing before being shut down. So Frank Gore being active isn't a given. And when it comes to the PS WR's, Shavers has already got a TD and been called up twice. I'm pretty sure Virgil has been called up twice. So the only WR I think that can be called up that doesn't have a TD is KJ Hamler. Again, not a given he'll get a call up as we only have 2 and Samuel is probably going to get a lot of play as he's missed time. So all that said, I think Gilliam or Trubisky on a goal line sneak are much more likely as we know both will definitely be active and will get a lot of play.

I mean - if it's a matter of just expecting the worst and hoping for the best, I guess resigning yourself to it makes sense in that scenario. But personally, I don't understand resigning yourself to it. They have the least chance to get in and I'm quite thankful for it. If the Broncos win against the Chiefs - they're in. The Chiefs are resting Mahomes and a number of their starters, so it's very possible. Even if the Broncos lose - if the Dolphins beat the Jets, they're in. And the Jets are a broken team. They're in pack it in and go home mode. I don't see the Dolphins with their season on the line losing to the hapless Jets. And even if the Broncos lose to the Chiefs backups AND the Dolphins lose to the Jets - the Bengals still have to beat the Steelers who will not be resting their starters.

I don't think he'll be 5 either, but honestly it wouldn't surprise me. He's def earned at least a 1m raise. I'd imagine he'll have offers in the 4m range from other teams. I think he'll want to stay here. But offering him just a 400k range is a bit of an insult. Has to be 3.75, at the least.

He's on a 1 year 2.6m deal now, coming off a 0 TD year as a journeyman. You think he's only earned a 400k raise?

Not to pick on you or anything bc I've seen this from a lot of posters on a number of players. And him being "just fine" isn't a ringing endorsement. But you say Terrel Bernard is performing better in the past month. Gunner says the past couple weeks Ed Oliver has been performing better (clearly he did in Detroit). Kaiir Elam has staunch defenders saying he has performed well in the past couple weeks in Douglas's stead. Yet with all of these players supposedly performing better, the Defense during this past month has looked worse than it has all season. And by a large margin (save for Baltimore). I'm not saying Bernard is awful. I'm not saying it's all on him (as it could be Babich's scheming with him v. McDermott). But he was great last season. He was popping off the screen on a regular basis. This year, he's not doing that nearly as much and the middle of the field is a civ.

I know he was excellent against the Lions. Didn't notice him as much against New England. I share the same sentiment in hoping he plays like he did against Detroit throughout the Postseason.