A Lot of Bills stars Were at OTA's But 1 Star Was Not .

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Just for perspective, list of players not seen on field by media:

 

The player missing that I'm actually most surprised by is Devin Singletary.

 

Notable that another DT and two vet DEs aren't there either.  Considering they were supposedly all eager to work with our new DE draftees that's a bit disappointing to me.

[TBBills]

3 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Just for perspective, list of players not seen on field by media:

 

The player missing that I'm actually most surprised by is Devin Singletary.

 

Notable that another DT and two vet DEs aren't there either.  Considering they were supposedly all eager to work with our new DE draftees that's a bit disappointing to me.

So basically like most teams vets they weren't needed to be here.  Bucs Bruce Arians said it best to the vets "don't not be here"

Edited May 26, 2021 by TBBills

[Jauronimo]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Don't you roll your eyes at him.  I spent ten minutes watching some vapid chick boil a tennis ball, glue googly eyes to it, and shove her car keys into it because you shared it on facebook and 24 hours later I am still furious!  You are in no position to judge.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

 

 

 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

17 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Don't you roll your eyes at him.  I spent ten minutes watching some vapid chick boil a tennis ball, glue googly eyes to it, and shove her car keys into it because you shared it on facebook and 24 hours later I am still furious!  You are in no position to judge.

 

What the?  I just wrote "weird" in the comments section...it shared it?  Do you have Zuckerberg's contact info?

[Boxcar]

56 minutes ago, wppete said:

Time to give Star his permanent walking papers. Would like to see some of the Younger guys get an opportunity.

Can't. His contract is so bad that the Bills take a bigger cap hit if he retires or gets cut than if he plays. And no one is trading for him.

[wppete]

1 minute ago, Boxcar said:

Can't. His contract is so bad that the Bills take a bigger cap hit if he retires or gets cut than if he plays. And no one is trading for him.

That sucks. I thought this was the year we could get out of that contract. 

[Jauronimo]

8 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

What the?  I just wrote "weird" in the comments section...it shared it?  Do you have Zuckerberg's contact info?

Maybe it wasn't a share but you are the reason it popped up on my feed and I watched it and now I am worse for having seen it.

[atlbillsfan1975]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

"cardiac issue" is a pretty broad definition.   I think virtually every older OL and interior DL player has underlying medical conditions.    Almost all of them played thru them.  

 

I'm not saying that Star isn't one cheeseburger away from a heart attack but having his salary fully guaranteed whether he played or not AND then getting an extra free $350K to stay home would financially motivate A LOT of older players that have just been forced to take a pay cut to stay home.    The writing was on the wall.   This was probably his last NFL paycheck.

 

Also, fwiw I really don't think him not being here for volunataries is a sign of anything.    I suspect he will suck or not play for the Bills at all this season,  but 10 year vets often don't show for these things.   He has the least complex job on the entire defense and this isn't a new install...........even if he didn't suck he wouldn't need to be at this OTA.   

This made me laugh and impressed me for the way you straddle the fence while getting in jabs and also logically reasoning. Kudos. 

[first_and_ten]

2 hours ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Yes, I believe there was a thread about this earlier that said ,"cut his fat ass" .

 

This wish may come true

[Might Rather]

2 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

You’re either of the mindset to get back to work/school/normal or not. 

The word lazy comes to mind for the people who are not.

[BillsfaninSB]

I wish Star was there.  It would have made for better optics.  Even if he just stretched and rode a stationary bicycle from time to time.  But lots of vets skip these things all across the league so I’m not too worried about it. 

[Motorin']

5 minutes ago, BillsfaninSB said:

I wish Star was there.  It would have made for better optics.  Even if he just stretched and rode a stationary bicycle from time to time.  But lots of vets skip these things all across the league so I’m not too worried about it. 

 

I'll start worrying when he shows up to camp vastly out of playing shape. Or doesn't show up to camp at all. 

[BarleyNY]

Star threw it in neutral and has coasted since he signed that big contract with the Bills in 2018.  $27M for poor play and effort so far.  He has another $4.5M in salary this season and $2.5M next - all fully guaranteed.  He also could get up to $250k this season in active roster bonuses and would be getting an additional $250k if he’d bothered to show up to the voluntary workouts going on now.  Similar bonuses are available next season but I doubt he’s here then.  SMDH 

[Inigo Montoya]

Here is Star's contract summary. 

 

https://overthecap.com/player/star-lotulelei/2282/

 

I don't pretend to be an expert on reading these things but a couple things stand out to me.  The first is that the Bills take a huge cap hit if they cut Star this year.  If they cut him during the next two years of his contract the cap hit is manageable.  The second thing that strikes me about his contract is that this season is the last year he is owed any guaranteed salary.  After this year he is not guaranteed any salary.  He does get a part of his prorated signing bonus.  I'm not sure how that signing bonus would be effected if this ended up being his last year in Buffalo.

 

My take away is that there is a good chance that this is Star's last year on the Bills. His salary of $4.5 million is fully guaranteed this year whether he steps foot on the field or not.  Star could show up out of shape and never play a single snap this season and it won't cost him a dime.  I think that is what the Bills are worried about and I think they would like to see Star and get a sense of where his mind is.   I think that is why McDermott seemed irked about the Star no show.

 

I may be wrong on my contract interpretation, if some of you money ball guys get a different sense, please share.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2021 by Inigo Montoya

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

16 minutes ago, Inigo Montoya said:

Here is Star's contract summary. 

 

https://overthecap.com/player/star-lotulelei/2282/

 

I don't pretend to be an expert on reading these things but a couple things stand out to me.  The first is that the Bills take a huge cap hit if they cut Star this year.  If they cut him during the next two years of his contract the cap hit is manageable.  The second thing that strikes me about his contract is that this season is the last year he is owed any guaranteed salary.  After this year he is not guaranteed any salary.  He does get a part of his prorated signing bonus.  I'm not sure how that signing bonus would be effected if this ended up being his last year in Buffalo.

 

My take away is that there is a good chance that this is Star's last year on the Bills. His salary of $4.5 million is fully guaranteed this year whether he steps foot on the field or not.  Star could show up out of shape and never play a single snap this season and it won't cost him a dime.  I think that is what the Bills are worried about and I think they would like to see Star and get a sense of where his mind is.   I think that is why McDermott seemed irked about the Star no show.

 

I may be wrong on my contract interpretation, if some of you money ball guys get a different sense, please share.

 

 

 

Basically we spread salary into guarantee's to 2021 and 2022.  Then he opted out of 2020, so everything essentially pushes back.  

 

He'll be here this year, and honestly I'm not super worried about it because the team needs him on early downs.

[Putin]

2 hours ago, uninja said:

I love how Star has literally done nothing this year so far and he's already the whipping post on this board. Man just can't catch a break 🤣

Are you kidding we haven’t even started with his fat ass 

[Shaw66]

I, too, would have thought he would show up, but I'm not worried about.  

 

McDermott isn't keeping score on such things, at least not yet.   He has a football team to run, and besides all the usual things he has to do, he has to manage the ongoing COVID rules.  

 

When mandatory training starts, the scorecard comes out.  Star not there for mandatory work would be a real issue. 

[first_and_ten]

39 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

I'll start worrying when he shows up to camp vastly out of playing shape. Or doesn't show up to camp at all. 

 

Then he gets cut

[Inigo Montoya]

2 minutes ago, dneveu said:

 

Basically we spread salary into guarantee's to 2021 and 2022.  Then he opted out of 2020, so everything essentially pushes back.  

 

He'll be here this year, and honestly I'm not super worried about it because the team needs him on early downs.

 

Thanks for the interpretation.

 

I know the Bills want him, I think the worry is that Star may not want to play football anymore after taking a year off.  His money is guaranteed this year whether he plays or not, and he wouldn't lose very much money if he decides to hang up his cleats after this year.  He can show up at training camp out of game shape and never play a single snap all season and the Bills are still going to pay him $4.5 million.  With his cap numbers the Bills are not going to cut him. This year's guaranteed salary of $4.5 million is the last big chunk of money he is going to make in his career. 

 

I suspect the Bills have reached out to him about how he is doing and he either hasn't responded, or he has responded and the Bills have some reason to worry about his state of mind, and that is why they want him in OTAs to get a sense of where he is at.