Star released. Pre-6/1 per Joe B, $1.5M cap savings.

[1ManRaid]

55 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

We are getting really low on whipping boys. Bease and Star gone. Knox improved. It’s down to edmunds and ford catching all the hands. 

 

Don't forget the mediocre at best punter we kept while Pro Bowl punters are getting cut by other teams.

 

As for Star, I feel he still offered more value on the field than was being saved financially in cutting him, but I understand Beane's "screw it, we're winning NOW, cap be damned" moves.  We got kind of screwed on the contract (bad deal notwithstanding) by him opting out for Covid for a year and forcing the issue.

[fergie's ire]

22 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

He isn't even close to the worst FA signing. He was an average to touch above average starting 1 tech for 3 seasons and opted out of another season. He was overpaid, sure. But worst FA signing? Not close for me.

I think it's also important to remember where the Bills were when they signed him.  I remember articles about how no free agents wanted to come to Buffalo (very different from today).  Other than getting a QB, Beane's priority seemed to be to stabilize the line on both side of the ball (very smart) even if he had to over pay to do so.  I remember another GM being furious about how much we paid Nsehke in free agency.  Yes, we did overpay but stabilizing the lines helped make us competitive again and then built on that to the point we are now where players want to come here and we are a SB favorite.  Like Nsehke I think that A) Lotulelei was good but not great B) was a position where we needed someone solid C) We overpaid to get him to come here.  So, though an overpay I think it was a really smart signing and I can't argue with the team results.

[Governor]

7 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Does Kelvin Benjamin count?  He was a trade I guess.  How about the Eric Wood extension?  Extension of player under contract though.

 

I'm torn between Trent Murphy and AJ McCarron. 

Murphy: signed for the pass-rush chops he demo'd before he tore his ACL, became a run defender who was a liability in pass pro, and had a huge cap hit in 2020 for being a healthy inactive 6 regular season and 2 of 3 playoff games.

McCarron: signed to be our "bridge" QB and let Allen sit and learn.  Apparently could not grasp the offense and wound up being traded right before the season, leaving us with a horrible QB room of Peterman and Allen.

 

Must give Honorable Mention to Vontae Davis (we've come a Long Way)

 

Tolbert

[billsfan714]

6 minutes ago, longtimebillsfan said:

Don't forget our punter.   

Zach---time me with sun dial Moss is still here also.   Would like to see him replaced with a draft pick.

[ddaryl]

3 minutes ago, Virgil said:

I thought there was zero savings in releasing Star?

he saved us 1.5 million this year, but the next lowest contract moves up the list so it was about $800k. Basically nothing..  

Edited March 18, 2022 by ddaryl

[Alphadawg7]

13 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

He did say that he didn't love football, he wanted to play football in order to take care of his family (said in an article on him pre-draft) but I'm told that is being misinterpreted and quoted out of context.

 

As we have discussed before, I’ll provide the additional context here for those who aren’t familiar with what really happened in terms of that quote.
 

Correct…Star never said that.  A reporter said that years ago to convey the strength of Stars love and motivation for his family.  
 

People twisted this to be something it’s not.  Same article praises his work ethic and his dedication to helping and fighting for his teammates.  
 

It’s a total farce that Star didn’t love football based on people inaccurately attributing a journalists comment to Star.  Just like it was a total farce he never played here like people say when he didn’t miss a single game until week 1 this year, the only game he ever missed with us due to injury.  He had COVID complications that led to a few more games missed this season.  

Edited March 18, 2022 by Alphadawg7

[YoloinOhio]

1 minute ago, billsfan714 said:

Zach---time me with sun dial Moss is still here also.   Would like to see him replaced with a draft pick.

A dark horse! I think Basham has potential too. 

[Virgil]

1 minute ago, ddaryl said:

he saved us 1.5 million this year, but the next lowest contract moves up the list so it was about $800k. Basically nothing..  

 

Strange. 

[MAJBobby]

2 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

he saved us 1.5 million this year, but the next lowest contract moves up the list so it was about $800k. Basically nothing..  

unless a post June 1. Then that savings is over 4M

[GETTOTHE50]

couldnt wait to get rid of him. hypocrisy personified with the covid crap

[Warcodered]

1 minute ago, MAJBobby said:

unless a post June 1. Then that savings is over 4M

but only after the 1st and the cap hit rolls over into next year.

[No_Matter_What]

2 minutes ago, MAJBobby said:

unless a post June 1. Then that savings is over 4M

It was already reported that it is NOT post June 1

[billsfan714]

5 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

A dark horse! I think Basham has potential too. 

Boogie made more plays in 1 year than Epenesa did in 2.   I could see AJ inactive for some games next year.

[letsgoteam]

Maybe making room now so they can match whatever Bates is going to get from other teams?

[Billy Claude]

27 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

I actually do think Star is the worst FA acquisition of the Beane era.  He's a perfectly okay starter, but he was getting paid to be better than that, and then you have to factor in his game-day availability which seems unreliable at this point.  

 

I know we can point back to guys like Kelvin Benjamin, Vonte Davis, and Josh Norman, but those guys didn't cost much and were mainly just warm bodies who were signed as place-holders while we built a legitimate roster.  I'm pretty sure Beane and McDermott expected Star to be a real cornerstone of the D-line, and that never happened.  

 

(Edit: I know we traded for Benjamin -- I was thinking of player acquisitions a little more broadly than just FA.)

 

 

I think the Trent Murphy signing must be up there.   It was only for about half the guaranteed money but at least you got a useful player with Star while Murphy was injured half the time and pretty much worthless the rest (except for the one playoff grame).

 

I know everyone hates PFF but at the time they rated the Murphy and Star signings as the worse FA signings of that year and they may have been right.

[billsfan714]

I think it really was about his dedication to the team with the opt out, then not getting vaxed, then he gets covid.  I think that was it for Beane.

Edited March 18, 2022 by billsfan714

[Don Otreply]

59 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Punter.  Haack still here.  Epenesa.  Maybe Basham?

 

I'm actually surprised by the timing of this.  I thought they would likely hang onto him through the draft and see who they got before making a call.

 

Either they feel very comfortable that Settle can play 1TDT (or that Phillips has changed and will now do it), or they feel very decided that Star isn't "all in" and his space in the locker room is more valuable than whatever he might contribute. 

 

Will be interesting to see if he's pre- or post-June 1.  From the timing, I'm actually thinking "pre"

I would assume that Philips is gonna do whatever he’s asked to do or he’s gone, not like he has any leverage per say, 

[Ralonzo]

1 minute ago, billsfan714 said:

Boogie made more plays in 1 year than Epenesa did in 2.   I could see AJ inactive for some games next year.

 

AJ actually has sudden-ness off the line but fails to press his advantage due to either lack of strength or lack of technique. If it's more the latter, then this is the guy I would expect Miller's leadership to influence most positively.

[cwater10]

1 hour ago, Shake_My_Head said:

No worries.   It's TSW superpower to find someone to tar and feather.   That won't be ANY problem going forward.

Exactly this.  This week has been so exhilarating, something feels kind of off.  So this morning, driving past that neighbor who is out working on his lawn, you know the one that always has the most beautiful lawn on the block and makes me feel lazy and not special at all... I impulsively threw a ***** right at his feet on that beautiful lawn.  Felt balanced immediately...  Thanks for the inspiration TSW.  Go Bills!

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

Never a terrible player, but definitely an overpay from day 1 that snowballed after opting out of 2020. 

 

Still can't wrap my head around how he opted out an entire season due to COVID and then never got vaccinated. Was he the only NFL player that opted out and then didn't get vaccinated?