Dont Stop Billeiving Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 Good news, hope it's a restructure and not a release. Hughes is still a productive player. Hughes and Oliver are the two mainstays on our defensive line. With Star hopefully returning as well, that should allow Ed to play his preferred 3-Tech and attack the QB and Star should also eat up blockers for Edmunds and the LBs. Having missed out on Watt (I would have loved bringing him to Buffalo, but he did get a ton of money and has struggled with injuries so there is some risk), I hope we can bring in a Ryan Kerrigan or similar type of player to play the other end after cutting Butler and Addison. Then bring in Tyler Shelvin or Alim McNeill in the third round and an edge rusher on Day 2 or early Day 3. I don't think there will be any edge prospects left at pick #30 that will be good value. Joe Marino on the Locked On Bills podcast did a great episode the other day examining how ineffective pass rushers picked in the last quarter of the first round have been. Final defensive line group in this scenario: Hughes/ 4th Round Pick Jordan Smith from UAB / Bam Johnson Star / Harrison Phillips / 3rd Round Pick Tyler Shelvin from LSU Oliver / Jefferson / Zimmer Kerrigan / Epenesa I think Star's presence would allow everyone to play in the spots that suit them best especially Oliver and Jefferson and that Shelvin could develop and become our future 1-Tech. Oliver and Epenesa will hopefully take the next steps in their development as well. Phillips ended the year strong and will be another year on from his injury. Kerrigan could provide the steadiness and production that Murphy couldn't in his time with the Bills and mentor the younger guys. Jordan Smith is the type of toolsy pass rush prospect I love in the mid-rounds, think he has a chance to be great. Bam Johnson is mostly a special teamer at this point, both he and Zimmer who I like would have to fight it out for the last spot on the roster in this situation. Excited to get your thoughts, Go Bills!
Big Turk Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 1 hour ago, Hebert19 said: Pretty sure this is a no brainer and hopefully they are doing the same with John Brown as well. What player would ever NOT want a restructure? They are getting upfront bonus money to reduce their base salary and spread their cap hit over extra years. It is a no-brainer and a win-win situation.
Rc2catch Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 34 minutes ago, PRBills said: I could be wrong, but hasn’t he been consistently top 10 in the league in quarterback hurries? either way, I do not want to see Jerry go anywhere. Why create more holes when we have so many other needs A hurry doesn’t carry the value it once did. For years jerry would speed rush the left tackle and run 3 yards past the quarterback allowing them to easily step up in the void his rush created while he tried to come from behind. That counts as a hurry for forcing them out but in reality they have a wide open window to throw and zero actual pressure most of the times. The last couple years he seems to be trying to rely less on speed and power rush more. I have no issue with Hughes game we all recognize he’s on the decline though. I don’t think we would see a horrible drop off in production running Epenesa, Johnson, a free agent and a rookie from the defensive end spots. Edge is a young mans game. At the end of the day sacks, hits, and turnovers are the key stats if the defensive line is playing at an elite level. We can be #1 in hurries all day long but that don’t mean much if those hurries are completed passes.
Buffalo_Stampede Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 (edited) They could easily cut Hughes and try to upgrade. There's sentimental feelings there but the DL should be rebuilt this offseason one way or another. Other than Oliver and Star (Cap reasons) everyone is a question mark. Hughes hopefully restructures but we have to remember one thing about Hughes. Yes he gets pressure but he's rarely a focus of other teams, meaning he's 1 on 1 most of the time. Edited March 5, 2021 by Buffalo_Stampede
Reed83HOF Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 The narrative that Hughrs sucks and is on the decline is irritating as hell on this board. Remember his effectiveness as an individual rusher is a sum of the parts around him, leading to more double teams and chip blocks vs single coverage. That being said: Yes he is getting older...dropping off, meh a tired excuse to push a narrative... You add 2 to 3 years to his deal (IIRC, his last year on the contract is 2021) and lower the hit the next season or 2... This is easy... 4 1
dave mcbride Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 7 minutes ago, Rc2catch said: A hurry doesn’t carry the value it once did. For years jerry would speed rush the left tackle and run 3 yards past the quarterback allowing them to easily step up in the void his rush created while he tried to come from behind. That counts as a hurry for forcing them out but in reality they have a wide open window to throw and zero actual pressure most of the times. The last couple years he seems to be trying to rely less on speed and power rush more. I have no issue with Hughes game we all recognize he’s on the decline though. I don’t think we would see a horrible drop off in production running Epenesa, Johnson, a free agent and a rookie from the defensive end spots. Edge is a young mans game. At the end of the day sacks, hits, and turnovers are the key stats if the defensive line is playing at an elite level. We can be #1 in hurries all day long but that don’t mean much if those hurries are completed passes. 6 sacks in his last 4 playoff games. Postseason performance, baby. 3
TheFunPolice Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 One thing Beane and McDermott have done is spend $$ on the DL. I can absolutely see them going after a free agent DE for top $$. We need a pass rush, and they obviously just watched Mahomes fail to score a single TD in the Super Bowl.
iommi Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 (edited) The same account indicates the team is seeking a contract restructure with Beasley and that the team will move on from Barkley. Edited March 5, 2021 by iommi
Rc2catch Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 3 minutes ago, dave mcbride said: 6 sacks in his last 4 playoff games. Postseason performance, baby. Can’t deny that. Like I said I’m a fan of his, I think he takes more abuse than any end I’ve watched play with the refs allowing it. 1
Thurman#1 Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Rc2catch said: A hurry doesn’t carry the value it once did. For years jerry would speed rush the left tackle and run 3 yards past the quarterback allowing them to easily step up in the void his rush created while he tried to come from behind. That counts as a hurry for forcing them out but in reality they have a wide open window to throw and zero actual pressure most of the times. The last couple years he seems to be trying to rely less on speed and power rush more. I have no issue with Hughes game we all recognize he’s on the decline though. I don’t think we would see a horrible drop off in production running Epenesa, Johnson, a free agent and a rookie from the defensive end spots. Edge is a young mans game. At the end of the day sacks, hits, and turnovers are the key stats if the defensive line is playing at an elite level. We can be #1 in hurries all day long but that don’t mean much if those hurries are completed passes. A hurry absolutely carries the value it always does. A hurry forces a QB to do something he doesn't want to do, whether it is to move from his spot or to throw early, force him into the arms of another player or whatever. Hughes is still getting the job done. Unlikely to be a candidate for a cut. We need more pass rush, not less. Edited March 5, 2021 by Thurman#1 2
dave mcbride Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 2 minutes ago, Rc2catch said: Can’t deny that. Like I said I’m a fan of his, I think he takes more abuse than any end I’ve watched play with the refs allowing it. I don't think it was as bad this past season. Seriously. It could be that the refs have put him in the team-captain elder statesman category, and aren't harassing him as much as a consequence.
DrDawkinstein Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 Cutting or trading away Hughes would be a major red flag on Beane for me. Especially when looking at how he (mis)handled the DL last offseason. Jerry at $9M is one of the best deals in the entire NFL. He is our best DL. You don't improve a team by replacing your best guy. You improve by adding talent to the top of the list and getting rid of your worst guys. I dont even see the need to restructure Hughes' deal unless we're thinking about making it a small extension to keep him around in 2022 as well. 1 2
TPS Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 27 minutes ago, CA OC Bills Fan said: I see many posts implying that he may not do it. Although "restructure" could include pay cut, I thought that typically when they say restructure it's to add take a portion of the upcoming or current year's salary and make it a signing bonus. For the team, it reduces the hit this year, increases in future years, but costs no extra. For the player, they get more money upfront and the same amount total. The only reason for the player to reject it is if they really want to move on. This works only if you have more than one year left on your contract, which allows you to spread the converted value over more than one year. He's only got one year left, so there's no spreading a bonus. It'll be interesting to see what is done in this case...?
TheyCallMeAndy Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 Also, I’ve played the off-season game for too long to believe ANYTHING I see on the internet lol 9 more days, friends!
The BLUES Brothers Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 He may be getting older but that fumble return he had for a defensive TD this year was awesome! He didn't go down - kept running until he made it count. 1
BillsShredder83 Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 If Jerry gets cut or traded, be on the lookout for a splashy move at DE. No way you get rid of your best pass rusher when thats the teams biggest weakness 1
Buffalo_Stampede Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 17 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said: Cutting or trading away Hughes would be a major red flag on Beane for me. Especially when looking at how he (mis)handled the DL last offseason. Jerry at $9M is one of the best deals in the entire NFL. He is our best DL. You don't improve a team by replacing your best guy. You improve by adding talent to the top of the list and getting rid of your worst guys. I dont even see the need to restructure Hughes' deal unless we're thinking about making it a small extension to keep him around in 2022 as well. I think he's more of a situational player at this stage. His tackle stats have dropped considerably the last two seasons. Still can get pressure but he should be a situational pass rusher at this stage.
HappyDays Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 7 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said: If Jerry gets cut or traded, be on the lookout for a splashy move at DE. No way you get rid of your best pass rusher when thats the teams biggest weakness Yep if we do cut him it's because they have an upgrade planned. I expect us to make one relatively big free agency move for a pass rusher. Cutting Hughes would be one avenue to making sure we can afford it. And I'm not gonna complain if Beane has finally realized 32 year old edge rushers aren't sufficient. 1
Buffalo_Stampede Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 (edited) Most people, including me, have been saying to cut Addison but he had more Sacks, tackles, and tackles for loss than Jerry Hughes has had the last 2 seasons. Bills need to upgrade DL anyway possible. My hope is to have Hughes coming off the bench in a rotation and not our best edge defender. Edited March 5, 2021 by Buffalo_Stampede
YoloinOhio Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, PrimeTime101 said: Soooo I don't know if anyone follows @nflrums or not but he has lots of close contact some how with a lot of these teams and Is usually spot on If that’s the case then John Brown is getting cut and Beasley restructured. He reported all of that this week but didn’t know how much credence to give it. Edited March 5, 2021 by YoloinOhio 1
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