Estro

Byrd will be a great weapon for NO. He turns the ball over better than any other S in the league and better than most CB's. When you turn the ball over and give a QB like Brees a short field they turn into points quickly. This signing will be a very fruitful one for the Saints, IMO. And for everyone saying he won't see all 6 years, you're probably right, and the Saints really don't give a crap. All the guaranteed money will be paid out within the first 3 years, and this is a team that has a 2-3 year window to win another championship with Brees. Years 4-6 are just window dressing. We lost a great S today, who deserves to be paid at the top of the market, and the Saints gained one. It's really that simple.

I think there will be a handful of teams, the Patriots and Jets to name a few, that will be interested in signing Emanuel Sanders. I think the Bills like Goodwin a lot, but he got hurt last year on a couple of occasions so it wouldn't shock me if the Bills were interested in Sanders. Sanders is the type of WR that you can get the ball to quickly and let him pick up some YAC, the type of WR the Bills are rumored to be looking for in FA. Plus there's the whole Whaley/Pittsburgh connection.

Ricky Jean Francois started a total of 5 games in his first 4 NFL seasons, accumulating 33 tackles and 3 sacks over those 4 seasons. The Colts signed him to a 4 year - $22 million deal during last years FA period. The salary cap this year is up roughly 8% from last year and will see similar jumps in the next 2 years. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and teams have tons of cap space. I think the $$$ will be very free flowing in a couple of days.

1 - Last year the Patriots tried to sign Emanuel Sanders as a RFA, and would've parted with a 3rd round pick had the Steelers not matched the contract. Julian Edelman is unsigned, as of now, and there's rumors that they may part with Amendola in the coming days. Sanders would be a perfect fit as the slot receiver in NE, and I think the Pats will be quick to sign him. 2 - Jared Allen is a good 4-3 DE who wants to play for a championship caliber team. The current champions, the Seahawks are set to lose one of their DE's, Michael Bennett. This one just makes too much sense. 3 - And lastly, Alex Carrington. Mike Pettine raved about this guy last year at training camp. Even said of all the DL that Carrington played with he best leverage and would have a big role on the D in 2013. Injury got in the way of those projections, but you can fully expect Pettine to sign Carington quickly. It's a mutually beneficial signing: Carrington gets $4-$5 million per year (more than other teams would be willing to pay him) and a starting job in a scheme he knows, and Pettine buys in low on a player who knows his scheme and fits it well.

Given the way Mike Pettine spoke of Alex Carrington at last years training camp, I fully expect him to be a Cleveland Brown very shortly. Pettine was quoted saying something to the effect that of all the D-Lineman, Carrington played with the best leverage and consistency. The Browns will happily give him $4-6 million a year, with all of their cap space, and have a starting DE that is already familiar with Pettine's scheme,.

Okay I said I'd guess at the end, so here's my guess: 5 years - $52.5 million, $24.5 million guaranteed, Cleveland Browns.

I'll be locking this thread in a few hour get your final predictions in ladies and gentlemen

Sorry guys I forgot to include which team signs him. For those that already responded please include that. One more time.......need to predict contract length, contract value, guaranteed $$$$, and the team that signs him. Must hit all 4 on the nose to win the gift card. You don't have to include the signing bonus, I realized that makes this competition nearly impossible. Have at it.

I enjoy trying to figure out what the market will be for UFA's on the open market. To make things interesting I'll send a $25 Amazon.com gift card to anyone who nails it. Obviously, it'll be very difficult to nail, none the less it's worth a chance of guessing. One guess only, no second guesses, no edits (any members who second guess or edit are out. I'll close it up in a few days. And just to be clear in order to nail it ..... you need to get the # of years, total contract value, guaranteed money, and finally the team that signs him, all of them right on the nose. So a guess would look something like this (for example purposes only:) 10 years - $25 million, $10 million guaranteed - Montreal Alouettes. I'll make my "real" guess just before I close the competition. If two guesses are exactly the same whoever posted first will win. Like I said, extremely difficult, just want to see if anyone is as good as Eugene Parker! Have at it.

Russ Brandon - "We will leave no stone unturned" Translation: "We will let Eugene Parker outclass us once again"

Which is another reason this team is a joke. They will not draft a QB this year because they've sold themselves into the belief that EJ Manuel needs to be the sole QB on the roster with potential. In 1 season he's shown no ability to stay healthy, no ability to consistently throw the ball accurately, and no pocket presence, yet the Bills will stand pat at the position. And it's why we will endure another 6-7 win season.

Russ Brandon is an individual who is a salesmen and a good one at that. He has sold Ralph Wilson Jr. on 3 promotions over the last 15 years. The same 15 years in which the Bills have failed to make the playoffs once. He is now head dog for the Bills, and I'm still trying to figure out what he's accomplished to warrant the title he holds. It's garbage in, garbage out over at One Bills Drive. It's embarrassing and inexcusable to go a decade and a half and not qualify for post season play once. Deciding against the franchise tag today was amateur hour. If you value the guy at $10 mill a year for 3 years then why don't you value him at $8 mill for 1 year. And please don't tell me theres to many moving parts to pull together a trade. We could've snatched a 3rd rounder at an absolute minimum in this years draft by trading him to a team that covets safety help. Instead the Bills have just let a guaranteed 3rd round draft pick walk out the door today. The Bills let a 3rd rounder out the door because they feared having to pay $8.5 million to a player if no trade market developed. Instead of taking that gamble, they worried about the money side of it and folded like a cheap chair. I like the possibility of a trade or even Byrd playing 1 last season with the Bills over no draft picks and no Byrd at all. Today was no different then selling 1 of our home games to Toronto. It's a money first operation at one Bills Drive. Money first, winning second. It's why winning has been secondary the last 15 years.

I agree. I know Boyd has become an after thought since the draft evaluation process has started, and his stock has dropped like a rock, but I'm still a believer. I think he will be a good starting QB in the NFL. Like you pointed out he has a very nice deep ball, and I just like his overall game. I thought he was a 1st/2nd rounder after his last college game. It now appears he will be available in the 3rd round maybe even later than that, and I'd love to see the Bills pick him up. Doubt it'll happen though. I will also add, not that this is going out on a limb, but Marcus Mariota looks like an absolute terrific QB prospect in next years draft. Favorite to be the 1st overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, and for good reason. His game really impresses me. If things go the way I think they'll go with EJ Manuel, the Bills might have a shot at him next year (obviously I don't have much faith in our current QB).

Trent is/was viewed as a full time back. A guy that could handle the load to the tune of 20-25 carries a game. Now I looks like Indy might've guessed wrong, but I don't think any team would view Spiller as the type of back that can carry the full load. He's more of a situational "Reggie Bush" type back. He's looking to avoid contact on the football field.

I can't envision a scenario in which CJ Spiller is resigned by the Buffalo Bills, therefore I would jump at the opportunity to take a 2nd rounder for him. I also believe there isn't a single team in the NFL that would value Spiller enough to part with a 2nd rounder. He's a situational player, and in the 2nd round you're still hopeful of finding a starter not a part time player.

Did you guys see Benjamin do the WR drills at the combine??? I'm curious to get your take if you did. I happened to watch him, and I thought he looked very stiff and the opposite of fluid in the drills. Seemed to have problems tracking the ball in the one drill where you have to catch the pass over your outside shoulder. I know not to put too much stock into the combine, but I was entirely unimpressed by him. He also looked slow as molasses in the 40 yard dash especially his get off (10-yard split), seemed really sluggish to accelerate. Guys that impressed me thoroughly for all of the opposite reasons of Benjamin were Brandon Cooks, Odell Beckham Jr. and Martavis Bryant. I especially liked them in the gauntlet drills as well as the drills where they had to track the ball and catch it over there outside shoulder on the go routes. All looked fast, quick and fluid. All looked to be natural catchers of the football.

Daryl Smith will be 32 this April. Daryl Smith's contract last season paid him $1.125 million. The franchise tag number for LB's this year is $10.9 million. If you think the Ravens would even consider slapping him with the franchise tag and nearly 10x'ing his salary from last year, you're way off base. 32 year old ILB's don't 10x their salary, and they certainly don't get paid that kind of money. As they say on the show, C'MON MAN.

Not bold, but Alex Carrington will sign a deal with the Cleveland Browns within 24 hours of free agency opening. I can't forget Mike Pettine's face lighting up whenever given the chance to talk about Carrington.

Liked the way Alan Branch played, but at the time of his signing I was a bit steamed because I knew it'd cost the Bills a 3rd or 4th round compensatory pick this year (Levitre leaving).

I think his physical condition at the combine will determine whether or not he is draftable. If he's out of shape he's doomed. If he comes in and looks talented I'd have no problem spending a 5th on him.

First, I have to credit Joe Buscaglia for pointing this TE out on Sal Capaccio's Saturday WGR show. The dude is oozing with talent. Big size: 6'5" - 240 lbs., good blocker, soft hands, athletic as hell. Oregon used him all over the field, in line as a traditional blocking/pass catching TE, out wide as a TE/WR and in the back field as an H-back. In the H-back position he actually saw quite a few carries ala Aaron Hernandez, and was quite impressive. So why haven't I or you heard about him up until last week? He quit the Oregon football team back in October 2013, and was arrested for cocaine possession a couple of weeks after that. Clearly some huge red flags, which will really hurt his draft stock, but there's no denying his talent on the football field. I believe he's a Combine invite so the way he shows up physically and conducts his interviews there will go a long way in determining what round a team will be willing to take the chance on him. Kiko Alonso and Duke Williams both came into last years draft with some "character" dings, not nearly to the extent of Colt Lyerla's, so you can't completely rule out the Bills taking a risk on a player who is as talented as Lyerla. Check him out on youtube:

Coldplay

With a couple of teams already announcing season ticket prices for the 2014 season, I'm expecting the Bills will be doing so themselves shortly. If memory serves me right I believe there was no increase in prices last year, so I'm sure the Bills are debating whether or not they can "afford" to raise the prices. There are a lot of moving parts.......Reasons to not raise the prices would be: 1 - coming off a 6-10 season, 2 - More than likely no shiny new QB via the draft, 3 - Last year they failed to sellout a game or 2 and had to manufacture another sellout or 2. Reasons why they might bump prices: 1 - New renovations at the Ralph, 2 - If they sever ties with Toronto, they'll certainly be looking to recoup some of that revenue. My guess is that they stay flat for another season. Anybody have any insight? One other note to keep an eye on is this new tier pricing some NFL teams are doing, similar to the Sabres having different prices for more in demand games. I could see the Bills exploring this idea, as our early season games (September & October) always seems to command a much higher price than the later ones, for obvious reasons.

How about the Gatorade color prop bet. The first cooler they dumped on Pete was orange. Then a few minutes later as he was getting ready to trot on the field another group of players dumped another cooler of yellow Gatorade on him. Interesting to see how they'll grade that one!

There's something special about Russell Wilson. He's been flying under the radar a bit, as of late, but I think he save his best for last. I see Wilson raising the Lombardi trophy later tonight.