BillsFanForever19

So I just went back and re-watched it and, yeah, it was kind of an odd standoffish, telling response from Beane. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Unless: a.) They've talked to him and his agent and he's not interested in doing an extension, wants to test his market next season, and it's the full hit or nothing. b.) They know Tre White is going to be back by Training Camp, they feel comfortable it's not going to hamper him, and he's open to a non-guaranteed extension. c.) They truly feel that Elam was really hampered by his injury last season and it appears they do as Beane brings it up constantly. They truly feel John Butler was really doing him a disservice with his coaching and how he treated him. Reportedly, he wasn't a fan of Kaiir and if you're a young player that has a bad relationship with your coach - I imagine that will mess up your development. And ultimately, that they truly feel that what we saw in the Pittsburgh game is something he can do consistently, if healthy. If all of those things are true, then I can understand where Beane is coming from. I would hope they'd bring back Dane Jackson to go with Tre, Benford, and Elam to provide even more insurance. I imagine he will be and fairly close to minimum. It's tough for me to see him go as I think he and Benford are CLEARLY the safest top 2 CB's on the team. But I've always felt that keeping 3 very good starting Outside CB's in Douglas, Benford, and White on the squad at the same time didn't make sense to me - in the situation we're in cap wise and the amount of starting holes we have at other positions. I would hope though that if this is the plan, that they're able to trade him rather than just cut him. I know we got a 5th back - but we did give up a 3rd Round pick for him. If you could trade the 5th you got for him with him and get a 3rd back, then it was essentially a rental. Not getting anything in return and losing a 3rd (even with a 5th return) just for half a season - that's a little steep. Maybe he becomes a player that is moved on Draft Day as part of a trade?

Steve Smith was not kind to Devontez Walker. But he absolutely DESTROYED Johnny Wilson! Smith: 6'7" 237 lbs - he is not a good multitasker. That boy can't chew gum and tie his shoes at the same time. You hear this about a lot of people; "he's a freak".... I mean, maybe at night But it ain't on the Football field! I'm just telling ya.

I'd expect Harty to go, but not Hines. Beane's said he has him in his plans for this season. Hines has said he's going to be here. Seems fairly obvious that Beane told him he'd give him a shot this year if he didn't make an issue with the NFLPA over us being able to clear some cap space by not paying him much of anything. And ultimately, what sense does it make for us to have kept him around and paid him anything last season when we could have just cut him right then and there to turn around and cut him now? He's going to be here in Training Camp. And I'm sure he'll have his figure reduced. But if you're waiting for him to show up on a Released list anytime soon, you're in for a let down.

Hey, now you're cooking with your feet on the ground, WarriorSpikes! Curtis Samuel to me is the top end of something we can feasibly do in FA. Take him, put him with Diggs, a 1st Round Pick, and a double down later - to go with Shakir and Kincaid and we got something. Diggs (Round 1 or Trade up from Round 2) Shakir (Slot) Samuel (or likewise FA) (Round 4 - Possible trade up into 3) Shorter That's how I see it playing out this year.

Yeah, but we won't be replacing Diggs this year. And we have to replace Davis this year. So..... ? And with the way Beane talked about not wanting big dead cap hits, it's not a guarantee he'll want to get rid of Diggs next year either. Especially if, finally given a quality WR opposite him that can roll less coverage his way, he has a really good season. Worthy is going to cost at least a mid 2nd Round Pick, if not our 1st. And we'll be using that to fill the hole at WR2 this season. Not a potential hole at WR1 next season. At most I see us grabbing a guy to replace Davis in Round 1 and then doubling down in mid Rounds to bolster our core to a point where if we do have to move on from Diggs next year, we hopefully have two solid guys for the future. And if he has to next season and both guys don't work out, we'll Draft another guy in 2025 for that role or sign a guy when we're actually in halfway decent shape cap wise. But I don't see a scenario where Beane is focusing on replacing Diggs this season. I don't believe he's sure he's going to right now. I see the best case scenario for WR in the Draft being 1 in Round 1 and another at the bottom of Round 3 or top of Round 4, in a trade up from 4. I don't see him doing 2 in the first 3 picks and I really don't see 2 in the first 2 picks. And maybe they do line up Diggs in the slot a little more. But he's going to be on the perimeter WAY more often than not. We have two very good slots in Shakir and Kincaid. We don't have the Outside guys to take one of them off the field and stick someone else on the Outside.

Yet your guy is Xavier Worthy?

I don't think he will be either. But it does show that they are doing their homework on 1st Round Defensive Lineman prospects with the amount of meetings we're allocated to.

First player to say he's met with the Bills and it's a 1st Round DT

He's a True Slot WR. Even Steve Smith who was raving about him said "you don't take him from what he was doing in College and expect to stick him Outside". So with that said, what sense does it make to take a player that would be removing Khalil Shakir or Dalton Kincaid from the field when we're specifically looking for a guy to replace Gabe Davis on the boundary? Malachi Corley doesn't do that. Draft him and you still have the hole on the Outside we're specifically Drafting a WR to fill.

You can read a million different things into anything someone says. And many posters on the board always read more into what's said than what they're actually simply saying. Personally, I take that as face value. A humble guy being humble. He realizes his age and his cost. And that they approach him on a yearly basis to play with his contract. He's a guy who doesn't take things for granted. So when he was asked if he'll be back, he simply said that he'd love to if they'll have him. Players often say a version of "that's not up to me" when asked that question. It's the truth. Yet people love to take it as "he must know his job isn't safe" or in Diggs' case "oh, he doesn't want to be here". It's a really standard answer that simply means what it means. He said he wants to be here. Beane says the OL is in the best shape it's been since he got here and raves about it. And any OL coach will tell you, continuity is one of the most important things in a successful OL. Change one piece and you change the flow of how the unit plays off itself in terms of compatibility and comfort. We don't know what Beane will do with anything until they do it. But listening to Beane rave about the OL, knowing that continuity is extremely important to that, Morse was not a liability last season, that he wants to be here, and has always been amenable to do things with his contract to help - I see it as incredibly unlikely he's outright cut. It would take him or his agent saying "I will not do anything to my contract, you pay me or cut me" for that to be considered IMO. And given where he is in his career and what he'd be looking at if he were to be cut, I don't see any way that happens.

I'm saying they can't in terms of where we're at and what we need to do. Can they physically do it? Sure. They could spend all their money on One guy and put 4th through 7th Round guys to Undrafted guys on the field to start. But that's not something an NFL GM is going to do. Especially one as judicious as Brandon Beane. Playing the "can't" as a strictly possible v. impossible is a really moot point. It's black and white while ignoring the many, MANY shades of grey that go into decisions. When I say they "can't" - I'm taking everything into account. Where we're at financially and roster wise, what the move would entail in ramifications across the board, what he says, and how he performs as a GM.

No, they can't. Or at the very least, they won't. If you want to look at some mid tier guys or guys who will be a little expensive, sure. But the guys I mentioned - even if we did pay them less in Year 1 and went more in on bonuses - you're still looking at a Year 1 hit that is more than we can afford. Maybe 10 mil instead of the 25m annually that a Mike Evans is expected to yield. If you're getting your hopes up for a Mike Evans, Chris Jones, Brian Burns type - you're in for a let down. He's already said that we "won't be shopping at Tiffany's" and that it's going to be "the same sort of stores we went to last year". As I said, we can get some guys and we will. But the Day 1, Big Splash, Bidding War types? They aren't happening. They're pipe dreams. The cap can be finessed and it will be. But we still have FAR too many bodies to fill to yield a complete roster to go crazy on one player at any one position.

Yeah, I don't see Morse being cut. I'm sure they'll approach him to do something to get his number down and I'm sure he'll be open to it, just like he was last season. But Beane on multiple occasions with different interviews mentioned that he was thrilled with the OL last season and that he felt it was the best he's had there since he's been here. I don't think he wants to mess with that continuity in any way this season. Maybe he Drafts a guy in the mid rounds with an eye towards next year. But with the way he talked, I'd be very surprised if he changed the Starting 5 at all. One thing that people don't take into account when discussing Douglas' age is the fact that he was a very late bloomer. He didn't become the Douglas he is today until the past couple seasons. And he spent a good number of years before then as a Reserve or Practice Squad guy, not getting much or any usage there. Thus negating wear and tear. There's always the concern that as he really gets up there in age that he'll have a more natural loss of step. But he's not the standard 30 year old player.

They don't have cap for "whatever". Yes, we'll get under some. And yes we'll got some stuff done to fill some holes with some decent guys. But the Mike Evans, Chris Jones, Brian Burns - Top of the List, Day 1, Bidding War guys? Can't make any of that happen.

"He's not a boundary WR"... then why even bother talking about him for us in the early Rounds?

Okay, so I did get a chance to sit down and watch Beane's presser. And just as I expected and mentioned - it was a matter of Sal Capaccio specifically asking Beane about "explosive players". Just like he specifically asked McDermott. He's the one who's really pushing the narrative, Beane and McDermott are just answering the question - not so much banging the table there themselves. To that end, the conversation went as such: So that's what he said when he was specifically asked about "explosive players". Later in a conversation with Mike Catalana, he was asked what he looks for in a WR and his answer was different: So long story short, reading quotes in tweets from Beane or McDermott don't take into account whether they themselves brought these things up impromptu, or they were brought up specifically by others and they're replying to them. With the "explosive" thing you keep hanging your hat on, that's one guy constantly asking them and they're replying to it. When asked what he really looks for, it wasn't even mentioned. That's not to say it isn't important - but it's not the be all end all you're reading into it to be. There's much more he's looking for than just speed and Sal's favorite buzz word, explosiveness. I don't think he's just looking for speed or that he's just looking for size - I think he's looking for both in a guy that has great hands and a great feel for the position.

If being 23 is old as dirt, I don't want to know what that makes me 😆 He spent 5 years in College, so he's 1 year older than your average Senior coming out. I don't know. It makes him 1 year older and he'll be 28 when his Rookie deal is up instead of 26 or 27. But I don't see it having a massive barring on whether or not he can be a success in the NFL just because he's 23 instead of 21 or 22.

In a situation where we went DL in Round 1, I would hope that Beane would move up from 60 in Round 2 to make sure that he got at least one of the last true Outside guys of value. But in a scenario where we did go DL, then weren't able to move up in Round 2, and he was the last WR left of good value - i'd take him then. But that's about the only scenario. I just don't see Beane taking a guy that small (as Steve Smith put it, "he's 170 lbs leaving the Thanksgiving table") who played only 60% of his snaps Outside last season at WR2. Fast as hell and explosive. But Beane is a "check the boxes" guy, who values the prototypical, athletic, physical specimens with his early picks. And I don't see Worthy checking enough boxes.

We simply cannot afford to do that this season. The cap can be finessed. But in the situation we're in, both with where we are financially and roster wise, it can't be finessed THAT much. The stud veteran difference makers are going to be Franchised (Higgins already has been and Pittman most likely will be) and Mike Evans is going to be an all out bidding war amongst the teams with large amounts of space, costing probably over 100m with the Cap jump. Guys like Odell Beckham Jr. or Marquise Brown are much more likely, but they're probably going to be overpaid and out of our range too. We have 22 FA's that we need to re-sign or replace. FIVE starters and important rotational or depth pieces. We're 37.5m over the Cap. And the Draft is only going to yield 2 starters. So unfortunately, we can't afford to pay extravagantly for a guy like Evans and field a full roster. The best we can do is provide Diggs with help. He's not going anywhere. Beane said today he's not doing anything where he's paying large amounts of Dead Caps for anyone. His money is guaranteed so we're paying that regardless of whether he's here or not. He's going to be here. And when it comes to that help, veteran wise we're looking at guys like Curtis Samuel, Darnell Mooney, DJ Chark, Josh Reynolds, Kendrick Bourne, and Noah Brown representing the top of what we can afford in FA. Even a couple of them will probably cost more than we're willing to pay. The best we can do with what's available to us is get one of those guys and then Draft a guy in Round 1, doubling down later and hoping we find a Benford to Elam type at WR later.

This is why I'm out on Xavier Worthy too, just in the opposite way. He's an inside/outside flex guy. If he were to be available later in the mid rounds, i'd be fine with it. But we need to get a true Outside guy for WR2 early and he doesn't fit that bill to me. And he'll be long gone before we'll look to double dip in a more liberal type of WR.

Another TE and a RB?

Yikes - what a difference a year and a few months make around here.

Whether people like it or not, Hines will be in Training Camp on a reduced number and given every opportunity to earn a roster spot as a Reserve Back and Return Man. Outside of that, I'm looking at the best vet minimum will get us at RB and then a 6th or 7th Round Back. If we can get a better RB than Johnson at the same price, I'm open to it. But if it's a penny more, I'm bringing back Johnson.

Everyone agrees that Harrison Jr., Nabers, and Odunze are the top 3 guys. Pretty much everyone agrees Thomas Jr. is the 4th. But after that, literally everyone has a different opinion of the next guy. One guy will say it's Franklin. The next guy won't even Franklin have in the Top 10 WR's off the board. One guy will say Xavier Legette and the next guy will say he's a Day 3 guy. Someone will say it's Adonai Mitchell and then I'll look at another list and not find his name on Page 1. It's an absolute logjam mess after the first 4. Which goes to show the depth of talent in this years class. I don't think we'll have a clearer picture of the rankings until after the Combine and Pro Day's and when people start hearing whispers from league circles. Right now, I'm just looking at the prototypes when it comes to an Outside WR (as Beane always looks for specimen athletes), eliminating players I don't think are a fit for what we're looking for, and letting my eyes judge what I see. As it gets closer, I'll pay more attention to what the prognosticators are prognosticating.