RuntheDamnBall

You guys are on fire. I can't keep up. Meanwhile I have some beer to clean off of my screens.

Thanks for bringing some sunshine into a thread that I was about to litter with swear words.

BrLOLwns Possibly? The guy also couldn't rectify the issues with the run defense, has exactly one year as a solo DC under his belt, and hasn't been a HC above the high school level. Then, the hiring process for the guy basically showed everyone around that he was Plan J. So, there's that.

The conditional 7th rounder is a guarantee that they get a player that was possibly going to be cut and freely available on the market.

But the problem is that that best outcome (for the Bills) depends on Byrd signing the franchise tender. He was going to refuse to do that until God knows when, maybe week 6, maybe never. He holds the cards at that point, and is untradeable. The tag is a tool for teams but it doesn't make players automatically compliant. It gives them outs, too, if they want to play hardball. The contract that Byrd just signed is proof that he was right. He was worth more on the open market - and I am sure the Saints felt they would roll the dice and give him the best possible offer, instead of taking him on with a franchise tag hanging over him, and hoping to work out a deal with exclusive rights where the Bills could not.

Eek. It's not to be discounted that there have been at least three separate regimes during that time - with a constantly churning set of defensive strategies - but agreed, it's a pretty piss-poor return. Here's hoping that more stability means more good players stay.

I understand how you feel, but also understand how Whaley might not have wanted to antagonize the situation with a guy that the locker room clearly respected. I could see Byrd making things very difficult on the team with another year of this. You're just setting it up for yet another showdown and a lot of bad blood in 2015. Yes, they'd have another year of market rate control and no obligation, but I don't think that's the way Whaley wants to deal. It's not necessarily a strategy we can all see eye to eye on, and it will look REAL weak if they don't address their holes. But I respect Whaley at the very least on the stance here. If Byrd was not going to stay -- and it really looks now like he didn't want to -- keeping him around another year was going to be counterproductive. I also respect that Byrd played under 4 different DCs and was about to play for his fifth. I cannot blame him in the least for seeking out a more stable situation. If he were the difference between playoffs and not, or between a playoff run and a Super Bowl run, I'd definitely have tagged him. He won't make or break the defense. Good God, no.

I don't disagree, but I still think the time to have done something about that was last year. He did hurt the Bills' ability to do that with the PF issue - legit or otherwise. I tend to think it was legit but also a reason to not rush back into action.

Weird that spotrac and Roto seem to consistently differ on these numbers.

I know Mario wasn't listed. I listed him. And I didn't see where Biscuit's statement was exclusively about re-signing players (you can read it. It wasn't). He said "get players who want to be here." Just pointing out that a premier player wanted to be here. Not sure what you're getting at.

No doubt. I do think that compared to baseball (where you can really manipulate outcomes with qualifying offers, etc) it's far less transparent and reliable. I wouldn't count on those picks, is all - and I wouldn't let it be the difference when considering adding strong talent to the team.

Mario Williams is pretty frickin' close, and he wasn't asked to stay here, he was actually lured here. How many winning seasons did the Niners have pre-Harbaugh? Much of the same crew. This is the most tired criticism that gets trotted out here.

F--- the picks. Get good players.

Fans will turn on you about a hundred times more quickly than they grow to love you, that's for sure. It's a basic fact of sports for just about every player who isn't Derek Jeter.

I think he's talking about Defensive End Marco Ware from the San Antonio Talons.

They've also re-signed their starting center to a pretty top-shelf contract, have picked up Mario Williams (whom the Texans let go without getting anything in return), re-signed Kyle Williams, re-signed Aaron Williams, re-signed Fred Jackson, re-signed Leodis McKelvin, etc. Most teams lose somebody. It's what being a free agent is about. You determine your value on the market. I am comfortable with the Bills not paying Byrd $28M guaranteed -- again, that's more than Mario was guaranteed. By a good deal. You put a value on your assets and you let them go if you can't match up on it. The problem is not letting these guys go -- it's letting them go without adequately replacing them. Name NE's starting safeties the past ten years. Can you, without looking them up? I can't.

QFT. Niners just lost their starting Pro Bowl safety and traded for J. Martin and Blaine Gabbert... an offseason that might get them compared to NFL laughingstocks without the aid of context. Difference is that they already have a strong team and have shown they will make moves to address their holes. Now, if the Niners also pick up Mark Sanchez, I think we can legitimately laugh at them.

The Bills aren't a good team yet. Byrd certainly won't make or break that, but they need to fill the void he is leaving.

Technically, they lost last season. They probably should have dealt him around the last draft, or to a desperate contender in the middle of last season, to try to get a player into the system sooner. Now they are going to wait and see what if any shakeout there is from the compensation picks, and maybe get a seventh rounder into the fold in 2015. It could be that they end up with nothing. I do think that if they had tagged him (and not signed him) it would have been difficult to move him for anything, and I have at points expressed the same opinion you're sharing here. I just think it's a lot easier to move Gabbert (not tagged and not set up for a very expensive contract) vs. Byrd (who likely wanted to test the market no matter what).

Spotrac doesn't show a bonus but says $18MM guaranteed. http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/tampa-bay-buccaneers/dashon-goldson/

Obvious trade is obvious. Reunites him with Harbaugh, low risk move for a stable and competitive team. Miami spins a first rounder into... what exactly? Lots of this happening right now - same with Gabbert going to SF for a low pick. Teams don't mind dumping high picks to recoup something out of it, now that first round salaries don't kill you.

Yeah, I don't think so, but as noted in the Shoutbox: they cannot possibly cut him before year 4 without eating a ton of cap space, and they just gave him $4MM more guaranteed than we gave Mario Williams. Sick money. On a safety. I thought closer to the Goldson contract was reasonable, even if expensive.

I think Byrd will do well there but that's a lot of bread for a safety. Consider that he got 10 million more per year guaranteed than Goldson, and a million more per in average, plus another year.

Well, there it is. Adios, Byrdman. Seems like there isn't much the Bills could have done here.

My word, they are "discussing a visit." Lions: "Hey Scott, can you visualize what your trip here would be like?" SC: "Yes, I imagine I would book a plane ticket, drive to the airport, fly there, land, be picked up by someone from your team, drive to the stadium, perhaps have my agent meet with your contract negotiator, and if we have time, I could take a look at your facilities and discuss your program."