Dark Horse Candidates and Surprise Cuts

[dpberr]

Surprise cut:  Mike Edwards (S):  Availability is the best skill to have in any profession, and he missed all of minicamp, most of OTAs, and is now out for a week with a hamstring injury.  

 

[Cash]

3 minutes ago, Logic said:

Nice!

Personally, the way I'm wired, I'd always rather see a longshot guy with potential and great physical talent like Shavers make the roster over a career JAG like MVS.

Shavers is 6'4", with a lean and tapered frame. Reports are that he's running good routes, catching the ball well, and that he knows all three WR spots AND excels on special teams. McDermott says he's Mr Consistency and Mr Work Ethic.

 

I'd rather take a shot on a guy like that all day -- particularly one that plays special teams, which is a pretty important thing for a WR5 to be able to do -- than keep MVS on the roster solely because of his veteran experience. 

By all means, let the best man win. If MVS outplays Shavers, then so be it. But if Shavers is playing better, or even if it's a tie, you go with the youngster.

 

Totally agree with that logic (pardon the pun), but I still don't see why it's one or the other.  Who do you see the 6 WRs being if MVS is cut?

Edited July 29 by Cash

[Logic]

5 minutes ago, Cash said:

 

Totally agree with that logic (pardon the pun), but I still don't see why it's one or the other.  Who do you see the 6 WRs being if MVS is cut?

Based on what I've been reading lately, I see Hamler as the WR6 because he seems to be the primary return man. Given this year's kick return rule changes, I think they want a dynamic player there.

I think Hamler could replace some of the over-the-top speed they'd lose by cutting MVS, but with the added bonus of his being able to return kicks.

Part of why I'm even discussing MVS not making the roster at all is that he seems to be falling down the training camp depth chart while other players like Hamler and Shavers and even Isabella are getting more opportunities in his place.

[ColoradoBills]

8 minutes ago, Cash said:

 

Totally agree with that logic (pardon the pun), but I still don't see why it's one or the other.  Who do you see the 6 WRs being if MVS is cut?

 

 

I see MVS on the bubble with Claypool and Hamler.  One of those vets make it.

I don't see Coleman (a rookie), Shavers (UDFA) and another UDFAs making the roster.

Too early to see who is ahead.

[nedboy7]

At this point we’re a few days into training camp so we can factor that into the equation. The wide receiver room in Buffalo has a ton of uncertainty so it’s a position where a surprise could easily find a way onto the roster.

Special teams will have to factor in, but just a few days into camp, Shavers is catching some eyes. He spent last season on the Bills’ practice squad:

One player that I haven’t noticed as much as other media members — Tyrell Shavers — is by all accounts making a push for the WR 5/6 job. Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been a no show throughout training camp

[The Wiz]

49 minutes ago, dpberr said:

Surprise cut:  Mike Edwards (S):  Availability is the best skill to have in any profession, and he missed all of minicamp, most of OTAs, and is now out for a week with a hamstring injury.  

 

I get the feeling they might stash him on IR with the new IR rules and bring someone else in.

[HappyDays]

MVS is trending towards being cut. From Joe B's article today:

 

Quote

To begin training camp, the Bills appeared to have a pretty well-defined top five of the wide receiver group. That included Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mack Hollins. But as camp has gone on, there are clear signs that the top five may only be four, with Valdes-Scantling needing to battle his way back into it. Valdes-Scantling has faded into the background in the last few practices. He has yet to make a strong impression in the passing game during team drills, and his opportunities with quarterback Josh Allen and the top unit have dwindled.

 

It was to the point that when the Bills split their roster in half for one session of team drills, leading the first-team offense to take on the first-team defense on the main field, with a few subs for each side of the ball, Valdes-Scantling was over on the other field with the second and third units. It was even more noticeable due to Chase Claypool missing practice with a toe injury.

 

Perhaps it was merely a message for Valdes-Scantling to pick things up. It’s still early, after all. But it’s clear that he has not been one of the top five receivers this summer thus far. Second-year player Tyrell Shavers has outplayed Valdes-Scantling and offers more versatility than the former Packers and Chiefs receiver. Chase Claypool has also had his moments before getting injured and has worked in with Allen more consistently than Valdes-Scantling more recently.

 

However, if the Bills wanted to move on from Valdes-Scantling, it’s not a clean-cut. The receiver’s $1.125 million base salary is guaranteed, and he would be a $2.25 million dead cap hit for the Bills to release him. But the Bills have shown in the past that they won’t let the threat of some dead cap get in the way of not keeping their top 53. This situation is reminiscent of tight end O.J. Howard, who lost a roster spot in his first year with the team to second-year, former undrafted player Quintin Morris. There’s a long way to go, and plenty of time for Valdes-Scantling to turn it around. But if the current trend continues, he could be at risk of being the next O.J. Howard in Buffalo.

 

[Bills!Win!]

Mvs Seems like a good sixth option or practice squad guy

[Pete]

4 hours ago, Logic said:

It's trending that way right now, but there have only been four practices, todays was the first day in pads, and there haven't been any preseason games yet.

I'm not prepared to call this one already.

Shavers is big WR, who also is an experienced special teamer.  MVS does not play special teams, and is trending down.  It should be clearer by next week IMO 

[GASabresIUFan]

I wrote in the Surprise Cut thread on July 11 that MVS would be cut.  The response was swift and angry.  The Bills would never cut a guy with a $2.25 mill dead cap hit they said.
 

The truth is MVS is a lousy wr with a career 50% catch percentage.  He is Beane’s biggest mistake this summer.  He should have never been signed.

[3rdand12]

12 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

I wrote in the Surprise Cut thread on July 11 that MVS would be cut.  The response was swift and angry.  The Bills would never cut a guy with a $2.25 mill dead cap hit they said.
 

The truth is MVS is a lousy wr with a career 50% catch percentage.  He is Beane’s biggest mistake this summer.  He should have never been signed.

It would no longer be a surprise  lol.

 

[ColoradoBills]

16 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

I wrote in the Surprise Cut thread on July 11 that MVS would be cut.  The response was swift and angry.  The Bills would never cut a guy with a $2.25 mill dead cap hit they said.
 

The truth is MVS is a lousy wr with a career 50% catch percentage.  He is Beane’s biggest mistake this summer.  He should have never been signed.

 

The only positive is Beane has $900k diverted to the 2025 cap.  The $900k covers a Shavers salary of $799k.

I have to believe the contract was structured exactly for a scenario like that.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/25275/marquez-valdes-scantling/contract/cap

[JohnNord]

20 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

I wrote in the Surprise Cut thread on July 11 that MVS would be cut.  The response was swift and angry.  The Bills would never cut a guy with a $2.25 mill dead cap hit they said.
 

The truth is MVS is a lousy wr with a career 50% catch percentage.  He is Beane’s biggest mistake this summer.  He should have never been signed.

Josh was the one who help recruit.  When he wants a WR that’s reasonable to attain (I.e. Beasley, Brown, Coleman) Beane usually gets him

[GASabresIUFan]

3 hours ago, JohnNord said:

Josh was the one who help recruit.  When he wants a WR that’s reasonable to attain (I.e. Beasley, Brown, Coleman) Beane usually gets him

The problem for me was we dump Diggs who fell from a 70% receiver to 61% after week 6 (66.9% for the season) and let a 53% receiver in Davis walk.  He kept his 3 other top receivers Cook (81.5%), Kincaid (80.2%) and Shakir (86.7%) as well as signing Samuel who caught nearly 70% of his targets with a crappy Wash team.
 

If the goal was to have guys who actually catch the football why bring in a guy  who in 2 seasons in KC only caught 51.2% of his throws from Mahomes.  He was actually was worse in GB with only 49.8% catches with Aaron Rodgers as his QB.  

 

 

[TPS]

Since Brady mentioned him today, which prompted me to look into his background, I'll go with Zach Davidson TE as the dark horse candidate.

6'7", 4.62 40 time, has near-NFL punt skills, and has worked on long-snapping.  Intriguing player who could be hard to let go if he shows some skills in pre-season.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

20 hours ago, dpberr said:

Surprise cut:  Mike Edwards (S):  Availability is the best skill to have in any profession, and he missed all of minicamp, most of OTAs, and is now out for a week with a hamstring injury.  

 

Paraphrasing Frasier Crane's remarks regarding Rebecca Howe: "Well, Sam, if he was a horse, we could shoot him."

[Paup 1995MVP]

On 7/28/2024 at 2:57 PM, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Right now Cam Lewis is our number 1 slot depth. That’s more of his natural position. He’s played every DB position though. The Justin Jefferson play we all remember he was playing safety.

 

He’s not really special teams depth. He’s a key player. I don’t see any other slot depth on the roster. He’s a roster lock.

 

If he is a key player.  Lets hope he keeps getting better, and stays injury free.