This Date In Transactions History: Bills Trade Sammy Watkins, Ronald Darby

[Saxum]

Should have posted yesterday but did not see until today.

https://www.profootballrumors.com/2022/08/this-date-in-transactions-history-bills-trade-sammy-watkins-ronald-darby

Quote

On this day five years ago, the Bills swung two trades. Those deals, one in particular, helped the franchise transform its position in the NFL hierarchy. Shortly before noon CT that day, the Rams acquired Sammy Watkins and a 2018 sixth-round pick in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick and cornerback E.J. Gaines. Minutes later, word emerged that the Eagles had obtained Ronald Darby for a third-round pick and wide receiver Jordan Matthews.

 

[mushypeaches]

One of the first key steps in disinfecting the toilet bowl of a culture that McBeane inherited, and building up the draft capital to eventually draft a franchise QB

[freddyjj]

Thanks @Limeaid!  I remember hearing this and thinking why?  In retrospect, three things at work here.  Two about coaching and one about the long play.

1. Sammy was out of control drinking and smoking and McBeane knew this was not part of their Process.
2. Darby was a press man guy and didn't fit their scheme.
3. Beane needed draft capital to get a QB in 2018

[dorquemada]

Yeah when they picked Watkins, my son and i were like "wait, isn't Khalil Mack still on the board?"

 

i guess things worked out but boy howdy was that a pick

[Freddie's Dead]

Why the Bills drafted Ron "the Lookout" Darby was always a mystery to me.  The dude stood guard while Rapeis Winston sexually assaulted (allegedly) women at FSU.  Total POS, and we actually drafted him.  Jesus it's so good to have Whaley gone.

[ColoradoBills]

[Big Turk]

Funny everyone thought that meant we were tanking

[Roundybout]

15 minutes ago, freddyjj said:

Sammy was out of control drinking and smoking and McBeane knew this was not part of their Process.

 

Wait really? What's the source on this? I haven't heard this story before. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Best day ever. It's the day I knew we had a FO with an actual plan

 

[Juice_32]

I loved it then and I love it now. Big day in franchise history for sure.

[Big Turk]

18 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

 

Wait really? What's the source on this? I haven't heard this story before. 

 

Oh man...you really need to go find it and read it...Watkins was talking some psychotic stuff like demons stalking him and other crazy stuff.

 

UPDATE: here It is...

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/wild-sammy-watkins-story-includes-how-constant-drinking-and-smoking-led-to-his-buffalo-problems-155348976.html

 

That talks about the Tyler Dunne story and some things in it, but if you can find the actual story it gets ever crazier.

 

UPDATE: and here the original story by Dunne is:

 

https://www.golongtd.com/p/the-sammy-watkins-effect

Edited August 12, 2022 by Big Turk

[Starr Almighty]

16 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

 

Wait really? What's the source on this? I haven't heard this story before. 

Sammy Watkins is the source

[Saxum]

16 minutes ago, Starr Almighty said:

Sammy Watkins is the source

 

He is his own dealer? 

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/wild-sammy-watkins-story-includes-how-constant-drinking-and-smoking-led-to-his-buffalo-problems-155348976.html

Quote

Sammy Watkins partied every night in Buffalo

Watkins’ story is a familiar one in the category of draft busts.

 

Watkins, who detailed his tough upbringing in Florida for Dunne, said he had friends follow him to Buffalo and he’d go partying "every night,” drinking and smoking.

 

"I would go out and get wasted," he told Dunne. "Wasted wasted."

Sounds like reports on Ravens QB Lemur.  There are multiple photos of him at parties including some on days he was not able to practice due to health.

[Don Otreply]

35 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

 

Wait really? What's the source on this? I haven't heard this story before. 

    Iirc, I read a while back that in an interview he said he was using drugs and drinking a lot, during the aforementioned time period, alluding to pot, cocaine, alcohol type of thing,

 

    Sammy also ascribes to the earth being flat…, so as a point of personal behavior and intellect, Management knew almost immediately they had to move on from him when they did player interviews to ascertain who was on board with the new way of how things were going to happen after they got to Buffalo. 

[Logic]

I was absolutely shocked when I saw that Beane traded away Watkins and Darby. 

It seemed immediately clear that he was clearing the decks to rebuild the roster and the culture and that he was obtaining draft capital to go after a quarterback.

On the other hand, once I saw that he also immediately replaced the positions he traded away (WR and CB) with Matthews and Gaines, I thought "hmmm....he may be rebuilding this team, but he's also not going to tank".

Sure enough, that notion proved true. The Bills rebuilt on the fly, but never stopped trying to win, as evidenced by their making the playoffs in year one under McDermott. People can say "oh, they backed in, it was total luck"...whatever. In order to even be IN POSITION to "back in" to the playoffs, you have to win enough games to be on the cusp. The Bills did.

I was immediately impressed by McDermott because he was able to get so much out of a roster that was so lacking. I was immediately impressed by Beane because he both acknowledged the reality of needing to rebuild basically from scratch, but also committed from the beginning to doing so in a way that didn't involve purposely losing.

Make no mistake: the Beane/McDermott rebuilding program was massively impressive, rare in its vision and execution, and is THE model that other teams in the NFL should try to follow when rebuilding.
 

Edited August 12, 2022 by Logic

[ColoradoBills]

56 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

Best day ever. It's the day I knew we had a FO with an actual plan

 

 

Yep.  That was back in the infancy days of the "process".

Man oh man, there was a lot of posters who hated McDermott and Beane back then.

 

If we all had a dollar for every time we read a post with "choir boys" in it!

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, Joe in Winslow said:

Best day ever. It's the day I knew we had a FO with an actual plan

 

 

One of the greatest leadership books I ever read about a guy who was sent in to fix failing companies talked about the first thing you have to do when you get to a new place is to identify the wrong people you need to get OFF the bus prior to getting the right people on the bus.

 

Pretty much exactly what happened there.

[Charles Romes]

Unloaded all the talent on the roster for future assets and somehow made the playoffs.  

[KCNC]

Remember it well.  Was totally shocked at the time and was convinced they were officially tanking.

[Rc2catch]

I understood even at the time all the moves for the most part. 
The biggest puzzler to me was Jonathan Williams. It still bugs me. Not sure why, he wasn’t a high pick or anything and I wasn’t like a big fan or anything. I just couldn’t grasp cutting a guy who makes next to nothing on a rookie deal on a team with little talent.