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What about Demetrius Bell?


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Have mixed feelings about retaining Bell. On one hand, he has been injured a lot. On the other hand, he's still young and Bills have to retain their own since we will never be a top free agent destination. The cycle of letting good players walk and trying to replace them in the draft has prevented the Bills from building a playoff contender.

If Bell were able to stay healthy, it's a no-brainer. But he can't, so the decision is whether you gamble that he can stay healthy. I'm sure the Bills have offered him a contract tied to playing-time, but if I were him, I'd take my chances on the market and look for the guaranteed money.

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Bell is nothing special at LT but in a system that is designed to get the ball out of the QBs hands in less than 2.36sec on average he is serviceable for the handful of games that he has been healthy for the last 2 years.

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I would be surprised if Bell does not get a substantial offer in free agency. I realize some people here do not agree but Bell has shown more than enough to be thought of as a better than average NFL LT. The injury concerns may limit interest somewhat, but some team will snap him up and pay him accordingly. I can't really argue with the Bills not wanting to overpay based on his history, but cannot blame him for testing the waters either. I do not expect Bell to be back. I would love to have him, but the Bills need to be able to count on the starter in that position and they seem to be making the judgement that he cannot be counted on to be healthy. I expect this to be the number 1 pick.

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I can see him getting a 5 year 30 million dollar contract. I think we will most likely draft Rielly Reif (if available) or more likely Jonathan Martin OT stanford. There is no way we can go into the season with Hairston as our starter at LT.

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I can see him getting a 5 year 30 million dollar contract. I think we will most likely draft Rielly Reif (if available) or more likely Jonathan Martin OT stanford. There is no way we can go into the season with Hairston as our starter at LT.

 

He's a great story but he's done absolutely nothing to earn that money.

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I can see him getting a 5 year 30 million dollar contract. I think we will most likely draft Rielly Reif (if available) or more likely Jonathan Martin OT stanford. There is no way we can go into the season with Hairston as our starter at LT.

 

I'd rather go into the season w/ Hairston as our LT than having absolutely zero pass rush like we did last season. Hairston performed admirably last year at LT and there's no reason to think he wouldn't approve upon that.

 

I do agree though, that that's what's going to happen (Bell gets a big contract and we draft a LT). We better sure as hell address DE in free agency then. And I kind of think we will do that too.

Edited by metzelaars_lives
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I'd rather go into the season w/ Hairston as our LT than having absolutely zero pass rush like we did last season. Hairston performed admirably last year at LT and there's no reason to think he wouldn't approve upon that.

 

I do agree though, that that's what's going to happen (Bell gets a big contract and we draft a LT). We better sure as hell address DE in free agency then. And I kind of think we will do that too.

The problem is there are no great 4-3 DE available in the draft. Coples is the best, but he has questionable motivation. The answer of course is to sign Mario Williams.

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Why do people say he is an average LT. Is there such a thing? I thought he was playing "above average" last year until he got hurt. I have more confidence in the Bills evaluators of line talent than this boards. If he is worth it talentwise I think he will be kept around. Unless of course they need the cash for Super Mario

Edited by bmur66
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Why do people say he is an average LT. Is there such a thing? I thought he was playing "above average" last year until he got hurt. I have more confidence in the Bills evaluators of line talent than this boards. If he is worth it talentwise I think he will be kept around. Unless of course they need the cash for Super Mario

Let me clearify my point some.

He is a solid LT WHEN healthy. The problem is over the past two season's he has missed a total of 15 games. Roughly an entire season's worth. To me, the first step to being great at what you do, is reliablitly.

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I can see him getting a 5 year 30 million dollar contract. I think we will most likely draft Rielly Reif (if available) or more likely Jonathan Martin OT stanford. There is no way we can go into the season with Hairston as our starter at LT.

6 mil a year for a pretty good left tackle is a bargain these days. I would like to keep him for that price. It was his shoulder last year that got hurt IIRC. Bell is extremely athletic and thats something that shouldnt be overlooked

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Bell will benefit from being the tallest midget.

 

Only real LT in this class of FA. His age and possible upside will net him something close to the $6mil OP stated. May even get to $8mil with incentives for p.t.

 

Good for him. Somebody else can pay him a bunch of money for inconsistent play when he is actually healthy for a handful of games a year.

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Good for him. Somebody else can pay him a bunch of money for inconsistent play when he is actually healthy for a handful of games a year.

He's a Bill! You should support the players on the roster! You must not be a true fan.

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