Source: LB Matt Milano looking for “top dollar” in FA

[HOUSE]

I left my wallet in the car

[DrDawkinstein]

9 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Would you all Pay Milano 3 years/$40M? 
 

That seems reasonable And feasible, and what sportrac in the OP’s article Estimated in terms of his market value. 

 

No I would not. That money should be invested in the trenches.

[ProcessTruster]

1 hour ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

Coming into this year, I felt Milano was a candidate for extension if he had a great season and stayed healthy. 

 

Instead he was dinged up more than both years prior and in the Playoffs, his skills as a cover guy on TE's were non-existent.

 

Considering the upgrades we need to make and the amount of key contributors that are FA's, I was kinda against re-signing him to begin with. Top Dollar? Hahahahahahahahahahaha

My non-medical, pull out of as- viewpoint is that is that body type (not compact), makes him great in coverage but , like Edmunds, perhaps prone to "reaching-type" injuries to extremities.  An AJ Klein probably can't jump more than a foot off the ground or sprint , but his compact body doesn't get dinged on the edges the way TE and MM's can and do.   I'd rather have the guy who can stay on the field and be above average than have the super athlete type who gets picked off every 6th game.  I'm guessing (there I go again) that most NFL LBs probably can't even get into the situations that caused TE and MM's injuries, which in a way is good (?)

[BuffaloRebound]

8 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Would you all Pay Milano 3 years/$40M? 
 

That seems reasonable And feasible, and what sportrac in the OP’s article Estimated in terms of his market value. 

No.  I’d much rather trim the fat on the DL and give Leonard Williams $20m per year than give Milano almost $14m per year.  

[Niagara Dude]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

If you look at a salary tracking site like Overthecap, you will see that 8 teams have >$20M over a projected cap of $176M.  16 teams have $7M or more free.

All Milano needs is one team with free cap $$ and a need for a LB of his skill set.

 

Was that the math you had in mind?

Were not one of those teams with loads of space,   i believe we are over right now.  I do not believe it would be wise to cut players so we can throw big money at a LB who is not elite or even in the great category. I think there will be plenty of players that get cut/released this offseason for salary cap reasons,  this is what the Patriots did for years.  They let many players walk over the years that were not great and replaced them so they could stay competitive . When i think of Milano i think of his huge missed tackle on Watson in the playoffs last season and his swing and a miss tackle on Mahomes this season,  then you add Kelce doing whatever he chooses along with our LB'S being worse in the NFL covering TE'S.   Yes i will agree he is a good player,  i just don't believe you pay him a mountain of money because that is saved for difference makers.

[DrDawkinstein]

15 minutes ago, Figster said:

Only because he deserves mentioning when you talk MVP's

 

Fair enough. And to that point, lets look at those guys who were recently re-signed.

 

Dion Dawkins, our starting LT. And Tre White, our all-pro #1 CB.

 

Both signed new long term deals, and both are in the $13M-14M/year range. Dawkins never even reaches $14M across his entire deal.

 

So if Milano wants $10M, then maybe. But I'm not paying him the same as our LT and #1CB.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

Just now, Niagara Dude said:

Were not one of those teams with loads of space,   i believe we are over right now.  I do not believe it would be wise to cut players so we can throw big money at a LB who is not elite or even in the great category. I think there will be plenty of players that get cut/released this offseason for salary cap reasons,  this is what the Patriots did for years.  They let many players walk over the years that were not great and replaced them so they could stay competitive . When i think of Milano i think of his huge missed tackle on Watson in the playoffs last season and his swing and a miss tackle on Mahomes this season,  then you add Kelce doing whatever he chooses along with our LB'S being worse in the NFL covering TE'S.   Yes i will agree he is a good player,  i just don't believe you pay him a mountain of money because that is saved for difference makers.

 

He's a good, even great player at times.  But with Allens extension looming - and UFAs all over the offensive line (a unit that needs upgrading), it may just be poor timing.  

 

The reduced cap will hit free agents hard, but if hes considered a difference maker by a team - he will still command in the 12-15 per year range. 15M would put him as the 3rd highest AAV hit among ILBs.  

[RunTheBall]

The Wizard Beane will have a solid offer for Milano. He has to in order to send a message to the rest of the team that guys will get paid commensurate with their production and availability. I don’t think it will be enough but it’s possible in this low cap upcoming season that it will be. I’d expect Beane to have a few guys on the radar in the same salary range as offered to Milano that we could make offers to to plug that hole if Milano leaves. There are going to be a lot of guys on the FA market who are salary cap casualties this season. I don’t think he will draft his replacement in the first.

 

Edmunds is here to stay at MLB. McD LOVES the guy. I don’t necessarily agree but all this talk about Edmunds going to WLB or whatever is never going to happen. We are going to pick up his 5th year option no question and unless he implodes he will be at MLB for a loooooong time.

 

No way Ford goes to RT, that experiment is over. I think he may be a bust but I’m hoping this season was all a result of injury and he can fill a guard spot as a solid starter. IDK. I expect Morse to get cut and Feliciano to slide over to center for this season and we draft his eventual replacement.

 

I agree with others and hope we can retain Williams. We probably need to offer him more than we’d like but I can see Beane doing that considering what a solid job Williams did and goal #1 has to be to improve that O-line and get some running back in the offense.

 

[RangerDave]

11 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

I left my wallet in the car

And which car is yours, exactly???  🤑

[DrDawkinstein]

For some reason I've always pictured Milano in a Colts uni. Seems like a fit there, and they have the cap space. That's my bet on his landing place.

[RichRiderBills]

23 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Would you all Pay Milano 3 years/$40M? 
 

That seems reasonable And feasible, and what sportrac in the OP’s article Estimated in terms of his market value. 

 

No...sorry.

[appoo]

So this is the downside of McDerott's system, which uses 2 Backers on he field almost all the time. You gotta PAY 2 backers who can be 3 down backers in any situation, AND be able to have them blitz. Those dudes are rare, and you usually find them in the first round (it's why Micah Parsons is gonna go in the first).

 

There is an excellent argument to be made to let one of Edmunds or Milano go, and then switch to a tradtional 4-3. have a traditional Mike, and traditional Sam/Will backers, who you ask to be more run stuff + flat + blitz off the edge. Those guys are cheaper, and then when you have pure pass downs, fields 6 DBs, and on hybrid situations, you can still run a nickel to be able play both run and pass. AJ Klein can be your 2nd backer on 3rd and 5, if the opposition is in 11 personnel. You can let Edmunds cover the middle and Klein run the flats. What you can't ask him to do is play a huge zone on 3rd and 10. Right now the Bills basically split the field between Edmunds and Milano, and that works against the non-elite TE teams.

 

Milano should be an Alpha dog MLB on a defense. The Bills D requires 2.

 

Let him go and get paid elsewhere, adjust your base system so you don't need 2 super talented backers.

Edited February 1, 2021 by appoo

[DrDawkinstein]

1 minute ago, appoo said:

So this is the downside of McDerott's system, which uses 2 Backers on he field almost all the time. You gotta PAY 2 backers who can be 3 down backers in any situation, AND be able to have them blitz. Those dudes are rare, and you usually find them in the first round (it's why Micah Parsons is gonna go in the first).

 

There is an excellent argument to be made to let one of Edmunds or Milano go, and then switch to a tradtional 4-3. have a traditional, and traditional Sam/Will backers, who you ask to be more run stuff + flat + blitz off the edge. Those guys are cheaper, and then when you have pure pass downs, fields 6 DBs, and on hybrid situations, you can still run a nickel to be able play both run and pass. AJ Klein can be your 2nd backer on 3rd and 5, if the opposition is in 11 personnel. You can let Edmunds cover the middle and Klein run the flats. What you can't ask him to do is play a huge zone on 3rd and 10. Right now the Bills basically split the field between Edmunds and Milano, and that works against the non-elite TE teams.

 

Milano should be an Alpha dog MLB on a defense. The Bills D requires 2.

 

Let him go and get paid elsewhere, adjust your base system so you don't need 2 super talented backers.

 

Our base scheme IS a 4-3. But in the pass-happy modern NFL, teams run a Nickel more than anything else so it becomes the de facto "base", hence the 2 LBs.

 

Also, Milano plays OLB.

[appoo]

2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Our base scheme IS a 4-3. But in the pass-happy modern NFL, teams run a Nickel more than anything else so it becomes the de facto "base", hence the 2 LBs.

 

Also, Milano plays OLB.

 

When the Bills go 5-2, they use basically a Will and a Mike, but not really an outside backer. McDermott's system isn't really a 4-3. He has that package to deploy though, as he uses it the rare times Klein is on the field.

 

The NFL is pass happy, but when you have 2 top notch backers, I think McDermott's scheme is awesome. Having a backer who can cover a huge amount of space, blitz, and still play the run is a real weapon, and when you have 2, it's like having a Unicorn defense.  That's why the Bills are almost always in a 5-2.

 

Literally, I don't think the Bills have run a dime look this year. The Chiefs used that as their primary defense against the Bills last weekend.

realize "5-2" can be confusing. What I'm meaning is a 4-2-5. 

[JohnNord]

5 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

https://fansided.com/2021/02/01/bills-free-agent-matt-milano-looking-top-dollar-free-agency/

In the latest Stacking the Box column, FanSided’s national NFL reporter Matt Verderame has heard from a source that linebacker Matt Milano is looking for “top dollar” in free agency.

“Per source, Milano is looking for top-dollar at his position,”  writes Verderame. “Although he’s without Pro Bowl or All-Pro accolades, Milano has been a playmaker and culture-maker. The fourth-year man has racked up 101 tackles in 2019 and then 3.5 sacks and win hits in 2020, while providing quality coverage. He’ll have a strong market.”

https://fansided.com/2021/02/01/deshaun-watson-trade-rumors-super-bowl-preview/

I saw this on my timeline....can you please explain to me who in the blue hell Matt Vanderame is?  It seems that he’s a blogger which is the equivalent to a site like Buffalo Rumbling.  
 

Hardly Adam Shefter here.

 

But he’s probably right.  Milano switched agents and he’s gonna paid.

 

If I’m Buffalo, I look into getting rid of Tremaine Edmunds and using the money that we planned to allocate toward resigning him, to Milano.  
 

IMO Edmunds will go down as Beane’s biggest draft miss

Edited February 1, 2021 by JohnNord

[Figster]

31 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Fair enough. And to that point, lets look at those guys who were recently re-signed.

 

Dion Dawkins, our starting LT. And Tre White, our all-pro #1 CB.

 

Both signed new long term deals, and both are in the $13M-14M/year range. Dawkins never even reaches $14M across his entire deal.

 

So if Milano wants $10M, then maybe. But I'm not paying him the same as our LT and #1CB.

I agree on $10M, Buffalo needs to meet Milano somewhrere in the middle IMO.

[Hebert19]

Good luck.  No one will pay top dollar for a guy that can't stay healthy.   He's a nice player but plug a rookie in and we won't see much drop off. 

[Big Gun]

I like Milano but not that much. He's not worth top dollar and IMO can be comparably replaced by a cheaper guy.

 

Our LB weren't stellar by any means  and he just may have been the best of an average group, which might make him feel and seem better than he actually is.

 

But if the price is right, for sure keep him around.

[DrDawkinstein]

3 minutes ago, Figster said:

I agree on $10M, Buffalo needs to meet Milano somewhrere in the middle IMO.

 

$10M is my middle. I'd rather pay him $8M, he could probably get $12M.

[Rock-A-Bye Beasley]

2 hours ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

So if he leaves say this March, do we get the extra pick in 2021 or would it be the 2022 draft?

2022