CodeMonkey Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 Levitre's girlfriend (a former Bills cheerleader I believe) tweeted back to Sully saying that his tweet is absolutely wrong... Why wouldn't he shop around? The only way you know your fair market value is by talking to other teams and see what they offer. He would be stupid not to shop around, even if his preference was to stay in the b-lo.
billsfan89 Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 I would franchise Levitre I think our O-line is too good a unit to put a hole in it. Byrd would be tough to lose, but I think its going to be easier to sign him if the Bills put up a good offer. God I just hope we tag one of them and get a long term deal done. No need to lose both guys.
jimmy10 Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 So maybe he really wants to be here AND plans to shop around. The two aren't mutually exclusive. I don't begrudge a single one of these guys looking for their payday.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 I wonder if Andy and his girlfriend are having a big fight right around now.
Fan in Chicago Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 Why wouldn't he shop around? The only way you know your fair market value is by talking to other teams and see what they offer. He would be stupid not to shop around, even if his preference was to stay in the b-lo. Â I agree. He owes it to himself to, proverbially, shop around. He has been resilient, steady and an excellent guard. I wish we retain his services else it will be a huge hole in an otherwise promising OL. I am not sure we have to make a choice between Byrd and Levitre as we should have enough money to sign both. Plus, push comes to shove, Fitz should be asked to re-structure to save cap space.
2003Contenders Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 (edited) Franchising Levitre is not a viable option. For whatever reason, under the existing CBA, the calculation for determining the tender averages the top salaries of offensive linemen in general rather than just guards, tackles or centers. As good as Levitre is, he is not worth the nearly $10 M it would cost to keep him here in 2013. No guard is. I hope the team can get him to sit down and work out a long term extension. Â Now, Byrd is another story. The franchise tag for him would be about $3 M less than it would be for Levitre in 2013. You can best believe that OBD is aware of these numbers too. Edited January 1, 2013 by 2003Contenders
T master Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 https://mobile.twitter.com/TBNSully  He's most likely gone unless franchised, it would seem.  According to what he told BB.com " on a scale from 1 to 10 if he would like to stay with the Bills he said a 10, great city, great team & wants to stick around to finish what they started" GET ER DONE !!!
papazoid Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Levitre is absolutely worth the franchise tag to keep him...he will wind up getting logan mankins money 6yr/$50 mil. he is better than mankins. Â Â Byrd is over rated....he can't cover a tight end or wide receiver, he gets faked out by runners easily......he is a ball hawk ( if you call 5 int's special) and his tackling has improved over last year. Â a safety is alot easier to replace.
Big Turk Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Levitre isn't going anywhere if they decide to franchise him. Hopefully they can work a deal out with one of these guys and then franchise the other, or dream scenario would be to work out a deal with both guys and not have to use the franchise tag...
Punch Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 According to what he told BB.com " on a scale from 1 to 10 if he would like to stay with the Bills he said a 10, great city, great team & wants to stick around to finish what they started" GET ER DONE !!! Â You left out the part about how much he likes the coaching staff.
buffalo1983 Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Someone please show me when Nix/Whaley have failed to re-sign a FA that they wanted to keep.  Until then, I have a few examples of pending UFAs for you to consider:  Kyle Williams Erik Pears Stevie Johnson Fred Jackson Scott Chandler Kraig Urbik Fitzpatrick George Wilson  Now, you may not agree that they should've paid the above, and that's fine. However, it's folly to say that they don't re-sign their own when they want to. In fact, the only guys they've let walk without a fight were Whitner and Poz. Clearly, they wanted to move in another direction, since they didn't even make an offer.  Let's see what happens with Levitre, but my guess is that both he and Byrd are re-signed.  Thank you! They have signed there players and these players have wanted to stay in buffalo.
Billsguy Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 https://mobile.twitter.com/TBNSully  He's most likely gone unless franchised, it would seem.  Cut Kelsay and give that extra money to Levitre.
BillsCelticsAngelsBama Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 You left out the part about how much he likes the coaching staff. Doh !!
KOKBILLS Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 (edited) Not sure. WGR reported that when asked how much he'd like to be back in Buffalo on a scale of 1-10, he said "10". That's not a guy chasing top dollar as his sole priority. Â Agreed...I heard part of the Levitre exit interview...He said he wanted to make sure he did what was best for him, but he certainly did not sound like a guy that was looking bolt at all...In fact he sounded pretty positive about coming back...To me at least... Edited January 1, 2013 by KOKBILLS
Dragonborn10 Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 As far as I'm concerned, they'd be letting the best guard in the game slip through their fingers. Sure, it's a more fungible position than most, but this would be a mistake. He is far from the best guard. He is probably 5-10. If he agrees to a salary that would place him at #3-5 then it is worth it to overspend a bit to avoid creating another hole to fill. I am sure there are other FA guards to spend money on and they could use the cash to go after Bowe. As has been pointed out several times it is far cheaper to tag Byrd then Levitre.
Buffalo Barbarian Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 https://mobile.twitter.com/TBNSully  He's most likely gone unless franchised, it would seem.  hope he stays, but you can't blame em, it's your job to get the most money you can before you retire. if he goes we can find another Guard and Rinehart and Brown have done well in the past so it wont be the end of the world.
jethro_tull Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 I just heard last night on the radio that the Bears are going after Levitre. The Bills better not let him go and should get serious ASAP.
apuszczalowski Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 I just heard last night on the radio that the Bears are going after Levitre. The Bills better not let him go and should get serious ASAP. Bills still have over 2 months to negotiate with Levitre before the Bears can even express any interest in Levitre
jethro_tull Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Bills still have over 2 months to negotiate with Levitre before the Bears can even express any interest in Levitre areed. just a little anxious given the Bills history of letting good players go.
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