CodeMonkey Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 Not sure what all the angst is about. He agent will shop him around and gauge the interest then they will evaluate all offers including the Bills and make a decision. The Bills not making the early "offer you can't refuse" like they did with Mario could bite them if another team does pull a Mario while Levitre is visiting. But it is what it is.
Never NEVER Give-up Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 Look, if the Bills want him, they will sign him (or tag him) before he ever gets a sniff at Free Agency, before he knows who may be interested in him. If the Bills don't want him, nothing will happen, he will simply become a FA when his contract expires (I think it's March 1st or sometime in March that corresponds to the end of the "League year"). That's also when Free Agency starts. Same goes for Byrd. Since Buddy believes in keeping good players, and these guys are good, there's no reason to worry that they won't be re-signed. Neither has said they want to leave town. Contrary to the popular notion that Ralph is cheap, he really isn't, he has always deferred to his football people. Neither player is looking to be the best paid player at his position, so again, there is no sane reason to believe that they won't be re-signed.
Coach Tuesday Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 I have this outrageous, recurring fantasy in which a member of the Buffalo sports media manages somehow to provide an update about whether the Bills have started discussions with Levitre and Byrd, and if so, how it's going, and if not, why not. I know I know - like I said, it's just a fantasy. We all have them.
McBeane Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 How about this one? "Andy Levitre made it pretty clear at locker clean out this morning that he intends to shop for the best offer in free agency. Smart move." I remember when that came out there was a thread on here discussing that. That was the same time as he made the statement I referenced. I found it odd for Levitre to say what he said and then Sully to come out with that. Found the blog by Chris Brown that contains the quote I referred to. http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2012/12/31/levitre-on-wanting-to-be-back/
atlbillsfan1975 Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 I remember when that came out there was a thread on here discussing that. That was the same time as he made the statement I referenced. I found it odd for Levitre to say what he said and then Sully to come out with that. Found the blog by Chris Brown that contains the quote I referred to. http://blogs.buffalo...ing-to-be-back/ Ok so if your Levitre what would you do? He has played on a losing team for 4 years. Played for 2 HC and has no reason to give the Bills a discount. So if say a teamthat has been in the play offs 3 out of the last 4 years came knocking and was able to offer more money, what would you do? I still think he stays. The moves the Bills are making signifies they are going to spend money. I would be amazed if Levitre is not back. Buddy and Whaley want a good line and have shown they will pay their guys to stay. Smart business move on Levitre to test the waters some. i am sure his agent has already put together a list of teams in need of interior line help that have money and also have playoff potential/experience lately.
nonprophet Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 Levitre is 6'2". Buddy likes his offensive linemen in the 6'6" range. Buddy also wanted to experiment with Manute Bol at QB until he learned of his death.
Captain Hindsight Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 Alot of contract talk gets started at the combine when so many agents are around. The Bills waited a while before signing Johnson last year, I have no doubt they will make a good offer to keep these guys.
McBeane Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 Ok so if your Levitre what would you do? He has played on a losing team for 4 years. Played for 2 HC and has no reason to give the Bills a discount. So if say a teamthat has been in the play offs 3 out of the last 4 years came knocking and was able to offer more money, what would you do? I still think he stays. The moves the Bills are making signifies they are going to spend money. I would be amazed if Levitre is not back. Buddy and Whaley want a good line and have shown they will pay their guys to stay. Smart business move on Levitre to test the waters some. i am sure his agent has already put together a list of teams in need of interior line help that have money and also have playoff potential/experience lately. You make some good points. I do not believe that him wanting to stay, and wanting to test the FA market are mutually exclusive things (not saying you said that). I have a hard time believing that he will be let go unless he gets a HUGE offer from a contender. I would not be surprised to see him signed shortly before FA starts, e.g. Stevie.
QCity Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 Look, if the Bills want him, they will sign him (or tag him) before he ever gets a sniff at Free Agency, before he knows who may be interested in him. If the Bills don't want him, nothing will happen, he will simply become a FA when his contract expires (I think it's March 1st or sometime in March that corresponds to the end of the "League year"). That's also when Free Agency starts. Levitre wants to test FA, it has nothing to do with the Bills "wanting him." Of course they want him. It's in Levtre's best interest to field other offers from other teams. What agent wouldn't want that kind of leverage at the table? FA starts March 12 and you can bet Andy will be one. It's the nature of the business. I've touched on this in other threads as well, but I'll say it again - there is about 0% chance he will get tagged. The tag price averages in all linemen and comes in around $10M+ this year. Not only would that make him the highest paid guard in the league (and piss him off), but it's also higher than most tackles make. Even our front office isn't that incompetent. On the other hand the tag price for safeties is a reasonable $6M+, so that means it is extremely likely you will see Byrd in a Bills uniform next season, one way or another.
buffalobillsgrl Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 I've had the gut feeling for a while now that the 2012 season would be Andy LeVitre's last as a Buffalo Bill. I just don't think the Bills are going to spend big money at the G position, and I don't think LeVitre is going to give any hometown discount (do they really even exist!?). I know LeVitre will be looking to make north of what Ben Grubbs got last year, and I don't think the Bills are going to spend $7+ million on a solid guard. There are 2 other things to take notice of: 1. There is no was we use the franchise tag on him, as it's way too expensive for OL, and it needs to be saved for Byrd if a long term deal can't be worked out with him. 2. I think the Bills focused on gettig the Urbik deal done when they did, because they knew there was a high likelihood that LeVitre would be looking for more than they're willing to offer. I don't want to downplay the significance of losing a really good player, because the Bills certainly don't need to be creating holes on this team, but..................with that said, I can't say that I disagree with the Bills philosophy of not spending beaucoup bucks on an OG. It's not an overly valued position in the NFL for a reason. If LeVitre was as good vs. the run as he is vs. the pass then, maybe, I'd be more adamant that we can't let him go, but truth be told he doesn't really get much push in the run game. The priority this offseason is clearly Byrd. The dropoff from LeVitre to an okay guard like Brandon Moore (FA G of the Jets) isn't nearly as steep as the drop off from Byrd to a so so safety like Eric Smith (another FA S of the Jets.) Bottom line, is there are WAY more servicable G's in the NFL than there are S's. This is why I've been saying Byrd was of much higher importance to retain over LeVitre for the better part of a year. It was an unpopular thought at the time, but I think the Bills front office sees things similarly. I would be willing to bet they would sign levitre before byrd. There are safeties out there in free agency or we could draft one. pick up some undrafted, or move aaron williams.
atlbillsfan1975 Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 You make some good points. I do not believe that him wanting to stay, and wanting to test the FA market are mutually exclusive things (not saying you said that). I have a hard time believing that he will be let go unless he gets a HUGE offer from a contender. I would not be surprised to see him signed shortly before FA starts, e.g. Stevie. That is kind of my thought too. These agents and teams all know how to play the game. An agent knows before FA officially starts who and what they will pay for their clients services. Kind of like the deal that Haynesworth made with the Redskins at 1201 to start FA a few years back.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Exactly. He would have to be a moron to burn any bridges. Plus any other teams that might be considering him might think of him as a locker room problem if he made a negative statement. Basically nothing to lose and everything to gain by keeping it classy like he did. I disagree a bit (and I'm splitting hairs a bit here). Why say anything? More so, why say that your desire to stay with the Bills is "a ten out of ten" if you think there's a good chance that you'll leave? What he does possibly have to lose is that people here will forever think of him as a guy who's full of shyt if he leaves. He could have said something a lot less emphatic ("In a perfect world I re-sign with the Bills but the world's not perfect. Hopefully it works out that I can stay.") and still not burn any bridges. Trying not to burn any bridges? Perhaps. But more likely IMO is that he genuinely would like to stay.
Dr. Trooth Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) This is called the Mario Williams effect. They saw Mario get his money without any problems, then watched him disappear for most of the season. If I am Andy Levitre, and I happen to be the best FA guard option, then I want my money too. Why should I have to give a hometown discount, when Mario didn't. Plus the OL has higher franchise numbers than FS. So which one is considered a more important position? Great. I guess the message is let some other team show Andy the money and let him disappear ala Mario. On a side note, but definitely related , I can't think of any player on the Bills in the past 10 years that the Bills showed the money to and they played much better than they played before they got shown the money. Roscoe, Kelsay, Fitz, Fred, Wilson, Merriman, Stevie, Chandler, Kyle. Aint seen any of them lead the team to a playoff game or even make 1st team AFC. Can anyone help me out here? If the Bills show Andy & Byrd the money, say $13m between them, are they gonna kick it up a couple notches or are the Bills paying for the same level of play they've been getting? Is there an upside to these two? Are they gonna get better & better each year? Mario had a reputation. Outside of Buffalo Andy & Byrd never commanded the type of attention Mario did and arent really considered in the top 5 at their position, otherwise we'd be looking at 1st team probowlers. Edited February 13, 2013 by Dr. Trooth
CodeMonkey Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 I disagree a bit (and I'm splitting hairs a bit here). Why say anything? More so, why say that your desire to stay with the Bills is "a ten out of ten" if you think there's a good chance that you'll leave? What he does possibly have to lose is that people here will forever think of him as a guy who's full of shyt if he leaves. He could have said something a lot less emphatic ("In a perfect world I re-sign with the Bills but the world's not perfect. Hopefully it works out that I can stay.") and still not burn any bridges. Trying not to burn any bridges? Perhaps. But more likely IMO is that he genuinely would like to stay. Some people in Buffalo would hate him if he leaves if he said anything or not. And the reason he said anything at all was because he was asked. He may well prefer to stay in Buffalo. But at the end of the day it is a business decision and he will play for whatever team makes the most sense. Most people, even most Bills fans, realize that.
papazoid Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 100% he is staying......one way or the other......he either signs a long term deal or he will be Franchise Tag'd.... he's more valuable than Byrd. i don't want to lose either......but, it will be alot easier to replace Byrd than Levitre.
first_and_ten Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) 100% he is staying......one way or the other......he either signs a long term deal or he will be Franchise Tag'd.... he's more valuable than Byrd. i don't want to lose either......but, it will be alot easier to replace Byrd than Levitre. I am pretty sure the franchise tag would be huge. I don't think they tag him. They don't differentiate between guards, centers and tackles when determining the tag figure for offensive linemen. So I'm thinking around 9.5 to 10 million to tag Levitre. That's too much. Edited February 13, 2013 by first_and_ten
DonInBuffalo Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Here's an article on the Bills cap situation: http://buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130213/SPORTS/130219671/1003 According to the article, the Bills don't save much money by cutting Fitz. They would have to get him to renegotiate his contract to do that. But since they aren't really saving space by cutting him, I don't see how they have much leverage to get him to re-do his deal. Looks like Kelsay, McGee, and possibly Brad Smith could be cap casualties once the Bills determine how much money they need/want to sign other players.
papazoid Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 I am pretty sure the franchise tag would be huge. I don't think they tag him. They don't differentiate between guards, centers and tackles when determining the tag figure for offensive linemen. So I'm thinking around 9.5 to 10 million to tag Levitre. That's too much. Levitre is special.....i'm talking Top 5 Left Guard in the league......he is exceptional at everything......he is flat out our best O-lineman.......he is worth franchise tag money......he will easily get a 5yr/$42.5 million contract or more somewhere else.....there is absolutely no one on this roster who can replace him.....tagging him is money well spent. Byrd on the other hand is easily replaceable (aaron williams, mckelvin,brooks, searcy) by moving over a corner. Byrd can't cover a tight end, cant cover a wide receiver, gets his azz faked out by RB's all the time.....his 5 interceptions, to me, is nothing special. all he is very good at is basket hanging 20 yards deep looking for over thrown balls.
atlbillsfan1975 Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Levitre is special.....i'm talking Top 5 Left Guard in the league......he is exceptional at everything......he is flat out our best O-lineman.......he is worth franchise tag money......he will easily get a 5yr/$42.5 million contract or more somewhere else.....there is absolutely no one on this roster who can replace him.....tagging him is money well spent. Byrd on the other hand is easily replaceable (aaron williams, mckelvin,brooks, searcy) by moving over a corner. Byrd can't cover a tight end, cant cover a wide receiver, gets his azz faked out by RB's all the time.....his 5 interceptions, to me, is nothing special. all he is very good at is basket hanging 20 yards deep looking for over thrown balls. You think? That is more than Grubbs or Nix got last year, right?
BuffBill Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) 100% he is staying......one way or the other......he either signs a long term deal or he will be Franchise Tag'd.... he's more valuable than Byrd. i don't want to lose either......but, it will be alot easier to replace Byrd than Levitre. I hope you are correct, but I think he is gone. Unless the BIlls cut another 3-4 veterans that they probably don't want to, they won't have room under the cap to sign him, much less franchise tag him. Clueless Buddy Nix has already said he wants to hit free agency for a WR, TE and LB among others, so in order to have the cap room for that and signing the draft picks, plus Byrd (he WILL get tagged before Levitre does). Any hope at all of keeping Levitre hangs pretty much in cutting Kelsay and getting Fitzworthless to take a pay cut (cutting him would be too big of a hit-damn it!). Edited February 14, 2013 by BuffBill
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