BillsVet

Then why did they spread Fitzpatrick's cap hit over 2 years as opposed to 1? Dead money, to me, is indicative of bad personnel decisions combined with bad financial ones. But I guess that happens when Jim Overdorf is negotiating your contracts and not the GM/football personnel people as Whaley essentially admitted this weekend. And it makes sense they're comfortable with Mario's 18.8M cap hit in 2014. He's been a solid and often outstanding performer, but it's clear that contract gets them to the minimum. Restructuring it to free up space isn't an option right now for that reason.

Now Parker is pitting the front office/coaching staff against their senior management? Whoa. Talk about a conspiracy theory.

Does this report officially mean Tim is back in TBD's good graces? This is shaping up to be the most interesting off-season since Butler and Wade were fired.

The question now is does anything change? Russ can't send Whaley and Marrone packing, nor are they going to change their organizational priorities. Littmann, Overdorf, and Berchtold are on solid ground and aren't going anywhere either. Russ has his work cut out from him and it doesn't sound like he's making the situation better.

Well, either Tim is making stuff up (doubtful) or the differences are finally being illustrated by a local writer. This franchise has been suspected for years of doing what the new coaching staff is alleging.

I'm not sure where this assumption comes from that says the Bills get a 2nd for Byrd. A team trading for him will have to give him what we all know to be a good sized contract, most likely on average 8.5-9M per for 5 years or more. What if the Bills only get offers for a 3rd? Then what? And even if they get a 2nd round pick, the hit rate there isn't a slam dunk. You could end up with a James Hardy or Torrell Troup because you're drafting for pure need. And this time it would be a self-inflicted wound.

The idea of tagging him is to trade and get value. If they tag with the intent of keeping him, the team would have paid him 15M+ for 2 seasons and all of it guaranteed. I define elite as being a 1st or 2nd team All-Pro, which Byrd has been 3 out of 5 seasons. Perhaps you have another definition. You've also failed to answer my question: How does trading Byrd for rookies make this team better in 2014? After all, it's about winning now, not 2 years from now. As a fan, I'm not interested in reducing their cap hit or cash outlay. I want to win, and this franchise has a better shot at that with Jairus Byrd than without.

8 safeties were voted 1st or 2nd team All-Pro in 2013. Byrd was one of them, as he has now been selected All-Pro 3 times in 5 season. Your player evaluation seems rooted in being against what Byrd wants to be paid, not how he's performed on the field. I've not heard anything about the Bills keeping Byrd, only that they'll explore every option possible. My question remains: How does trading Byrd for a rookie help Buffalo win in 2014? IMO, it means taking a step back at another position for the benefit of saving some cash. And of those re-signed, tell me how many are recognized as elite at their position? No one's arguing Buffalo doesn't re-sign players, rather, the debate is whether they'll keep All-Pro or similar types.

Andy Levitre. Paul Posluszny. Traded Marshawn Lynch for Chris Hairston and Tank Carder. It's also hard to let good players go when your drafts are either so bad or the guys coming up for contracts (Glenn, Dareus, et al) haven't gone far enough in their rookie deals to warrant an extension. And I wouldn't go comparing the Ravens or Steelers with Buffalo. The first two teams have 3 SB titles between them in the last 9 seasons. Buffalo wins, on average, 6 games a year over the same span.

San Francisco allowed Goldson to leave after they'd re-signed Patrick Willis, Navorro Bowman, Joe Staley, Ahmad Brooks, Vernon Davis, and Anthony Davis to contracts totaling more than 70M in guarantees between 2010 and 2013. It's not hard to see why they prioritized those guys over Goldson. http://www.spotrac.c...rancisco-49ers/ The Bills simply don't have the guys coming up who'll need contract extensions and which might preclude them from re-signing Jairus Byrd. And it certainly doesn't matter what us fans think Byrd is worth because the market determines value.

If Buffalo doesn't re-sign Jairus Byrd it'll be hard to see how much has changed considering their cap situation before possible cuts.

I would have to believe most Bills fans don't want to wait until 2015 for a chance to win. Buffalo hasn't developed a lot of their own elite talent over the years, and when they have too many of those players departed either via trade or in UFA without much in return. Glenn is getting to the point where he's going to command good money as he plays a difficult position. I'm not convinced Dareus is at that point yet. Keeping elite/very good talent and losing it simultaneously is a recipe that hasn't worked for this team. That lends itself to my opinion the team isn't investing on par with other franchises and results in the mediocrity we've seen for going on a decade.

Explain how he's had 2 All-Pro selections since then. The anti-Byrd sentiment, much like the anti-Peters talk in late 2008/early 2009 is alarming. Dealing Byrd for a pick does not help the team win in 2014. All it proves is the Bills can't lock up their elite talent and thus are not willing to compete as other teams do.

The Bills are ~25M beneath the cap, have no other name free agents to sign in 2014, no decent backup option to Byrd, and other positions which need addressing. Even if he's tagged to be traded, the pick received will be a rookie and won't provide a relatively similar level of play at safety or another position to help this team reach the playoffs this coming season. Even dealing Byrd sends the wrong message on multiple levels. Marrone didn't sound high on Searcy yesterday as a starter, leaving them with only Aaron Williams as a somewhat experienced starter at safety. I'm having a hard time seeing the wisdom of not keeping him long term considering the scenario Buffalo finds themselves in.

Disagree completely. Buffalo needs more cap space left unspent so that they can lead the league in that category.

Never before in the history of sports has a fan base been more concerned about an owner saving money. And never before in the history of sports has that same fan base been more critical of players who dare to go against their team and want more than what the team wanted to spend. Every Bills player that has any sort of conflict with the team in recent years instantly becomes a pariah. Amazing when you consider the track record of futility this franchise has exhibited going back almost 15 seasons.

From a W-L perspective, if they put a bad QB on the field then yes it'll be bad. I'm trying to make the point that egos are at stake here and this is their guy. They don't want to be criticized for making a bad decision and so I think Manuel will get at least this year. If he's not good, well, they'll spin things. If he is, no problem. Worst case scenario is Thad Lewis or perhaps someone acquired this off-season out-plays their 2013 first round pick and a QB controversy ensues. There's no hiding that.

Marrone may have no choice when it's all said and done. The decision to take EJ was apparently a group one, and while I'm not saying Brandon made the pick, he as team president had to sign off on it as most teams have ownership involved when money is being spent on a player and/or drafted highly. If the Bills were somehow to move away from EJ, it reflects poorly on not only Marrone, but casts doubt on the decision making of the GM and president.

Team depth has been a perpetual issue for this team going back to the Donahoe era, if not before. I don't expect in the salary cap era to have depth at every position, but whenever the Bills lose a starter they scramble to find an option. There wasn't much OL depth last year, their 3rd CB was a rookie UDFA, there wasn't much at LB beyond rookie Alonso and Lawson, the backup QB's were a journeyman and rookie UDFA, and the WR's were a mix of rookie and unproven types. Only the DL qualifies as having decent proven depth, the result of signing Branch. And now they may leave the UFA period with Aaron Williams, Duke Williams, Da'Norris Searcy, and Jonathan Meeks as their safeties. There needs to be a culture change and that means drafting better and keeping your essential talent locked up.

I wanted to look at the team post-Donahoe and to present day. Williams and Winfield are ancient history. Since 2006 the team has flat lined into football mediocrity, winning between 4 and 7 games every season. It is their inability to retain talent that puts them into this category, which has been exacerbated with poor drafts. And the one time they were good on draft day they may be allowing 2 of those 3 players out the door in UFA. That's not how you maintain a good team, let alone build one. The onus remains in them to prove things are different now.

The more things change, the more they remain the same at OBD. 2007 CB Nate Clements (franchised and not re-signed) 2007 LB London Fletcher (left in UFA) 2007 RB Willis McGahee (traded to Baltimore for picks that became Trent Edwards, a pick that was used to acquire Marcus Stroud, and C.J. Ah You) 2009 CB Jabari Greer (left in UFA) 2009 LT Jason Peters (traded to Philadelphia for picks that became Eric Wood, Shawn Nelson and Danny Batten; immediately signed to long term contract) 2010 RB Marshawn Lynch (traded to Seattle for picks that became Chris Hairston and Tank Carder) 2011 LB Paul Posluszny (left in UFA) 2013 OG Andy Levitre (left in UFA) 2014 FS Jairus Byrd? The cost of being competitive seems too high for this organization. It'd be one thing if they had other priority free agents to sign or were close to the cap, but they weren't faced with either challenge from 2007-2014. If Byrd departs, the only decent draft this franchise has had in the past 5 years will have lost 2 of the 3 starters taken that year.

Doug Marrone stops saying the word "obviously."

Still not seeing how getting rid of SJ and/or Byrd helps this team for 2014. It's playoffs or bust and right now they don't, as you point out, have a better option. Marrone has some talented players that he needs to work with, not get rid of because they aren't exactly his type of player. Nix talked late in 2012/early 2013 about moving SJ to the slot, which was a bad decision. SJ may not be the #1 people crave, but he's better on the outside despite not having great speed. It would also help if Manuel could attempt and complete the throws Fitzpatrick did. That's not a statement on either, but I don't think EJ got the ball to receivers who were open downfield. The All-22 seemed to indicate EJ remained gun-shy and it affected SJ's numbers.

Legursky was signed to be primary depth? We know this how? He was getting first team reps in camp and Marrone was clearly not happy with Brown as their starting LG. This is more throwing something against the wall and hoping it sticks. Last year several veteran FA CB's were on the market. Buffalo elected not to sign any, further exacerbating the issue. I fully recognize they could not have anticipated this injury bug, but considering they were going into the season with McKelvin, Gilmore, and Robey as their top 3, shouldn't they have planned ahead a little?

How much do you think a starting RT will cost because they aren't cheap. OT's, even decent RT's don't frequently hit the UFA market. As for a stop-gap G, the team signed one last season in early June, Legursky, who clearly didn't stop much. Last year was a good year for cost-effective CB's, and yet they chose not to sign one despite having the as yet unproven McKelvin penciled in to start. Branch was the only proven quality veteran on the team in 2013 who garnered interest on the market. I don't see a player who'd be depth on the 2013 roster who was paid more than 1M for the season. The Bills weren't overwhelmingly hit by the injury bug last year, though in several previous seasons couldn't handle many injuries. They don't build depth because they've drafted poorly and elected not to spend on veterans who could bridge the gap when a starter goes down. NFL franchises operate to profit. Some simply choose to prioritize this more than others, which typically affects on-field results.