Bye Week - The 2025 Cap & Roster

[Lost]

I'm really iffy on resigning players over 30 for 4 year contracts after the Von Miller fiasco.   

[WotAGuy]

Unless Cooper really blows up, I don’t see him staying beyond this year in Buffalo - I assume he can get more money and a longer contract than the Bills can and should give him. Time to keep adding youth to the WR corps because it’s such a high priced position. 
 

Benford will be expensive but they should sign him and let Douglass go, as it will be tough to keep both. 
 

As long as they keep drafting well, they will need to keep cap space available in future years to sign the keepers. That means limiting the big dollar, long term contracts to older vets. 

[appoo]

3 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

I would happily sign Cooper to a 2 year deal but nothing beyond that.  I'm sure he'll want at least 3 years. Emphasis has to go to Groot, Shakir, Benford & Bernard.  And yes I'm still drafting a speed wr in April. Douglas is as good as gone.  God knows what they're going to do with Elam?

Didn't he start the one week where Ras wasn't available? I think McDermott still likes him

2 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

Unless Cooper really blows up, I don’t see him staying beyond this year in Buffalo - I assume he can get more money and a longer contract than the Bills can and should give him. Time to keep adding youth to the WR corps because it’s such a high priced position. 
 

Benford will be expensive but they should sign him and let Douglass go, as it will be tough to keep both. 
 

As long as they keep drafting well, they will need to keep cap space available in future years to sign the keepers. That means limiting the big dollar, long term contracts to older vets. 

I don't think the Bills win without Cooper's big plays against the Chiefs. 

 

He's such an incredibly skilled WR, that it's going to be next to impossible to replace him without spending a lot of capital. Keon looks like a future star of the physical WR type, and I think Shakir has a long future ahead of him as a slot guy. But when you're thinking of the guy opposire Keon who's an elite route runner with high end body control and technique? I mean I think that's going to be really invaluable as Keon becomes more and more unguardable in 1 on 1 matchups. 

 

I get the philosophy of not giving big contracts to older players, but I think Von was worth it, and I think Cooper is as well. It's nice to have that as a general philosophy but there should be exceptions

[WotAGuy]

8 minutes ago, appoo said:

I get the philosophy of not giving big contracts to older players, but I think Von was worth it, and I think Cooper is as well. It's nice to have that as a general philosophy but there should be exceptions

Really?  You are one of the few I’ve seen that feels Von was worth it.  As for Cooper, he has to want to be here as well, and I suspect he will prefer a warm weather team for his next and maybe last big contract. 

[appoo]

6 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

Really?  You are one of the few I’ve seen that feels Von was worth it.  As for Cooper, he has to want to be here as well, and I suspect he will prefer a warm weather team for his next and maybe last big contract. 

 

You can assume older players will get injured, but I think assuming someone like Von was gonna get a torn up knee that held him back 2 years is another thing.  

 

When he tore his ACL he was playing at an all-pro level, and he may very well have been the difference in that Chiefs game.

 

I loved the signing when it happened, I thought it was well on its way to working out well for the Bills, and I think it's unfair to use the ACL tear to retcon that choice into a bad one

Edited 3 hours ago by appoo

[Straight Hucklebuck]

5 hours ago, appoo said:

To start, the Bills will carry just $5.4M in Dead cap ($68M this season) with 5 players with Tre White having 4.1M of that.  

 

Total Cap Liability - 266M

Top 51 - 260M

Total Projected Cap space - 8M

Total Roster - 45

 

Probable Cuts

• Von Miller,  8.4M Net cap savings, 15.4M Dead cap
• Jalen Virgil - 1M
• Austin Johnson - 0 (Void year)

 

After Cuts

Top 51 - 250.5M

Cap Space - 9.5M

Roster Size - 43

To get to 54 - 11

 

Extension: 

• Josh Allen - 8 year, 400M, 15M Signing Bonus (Drop his 2025 Base Salary to ~2M, ~ savings of 10M in 2025)
• Gregg Rousseau - 5 year 100M, 20M Signing Bonus (Drop his 2025 Base to ~ 3M, ~ savings of 7M in 2025)
• Rasul Douglas - 2+2 year 8M, 3M Signing Bonus (Drop his 2025 Base to ~1M ~ Savings of 2.5M  in 2025)
• Amari Cooper - 4 year, 60M, 10M Bonus ~ 10M 2025 Cap Hit

 

After Extensions:

Top 51 - 240M

Cap Space - 10M

Roster Size  - 43

 

Restructures

• Ed Oliver ~ 6.5M Savings
• Dawson Knox ~ $7M Savings

 

After Restructures

Top 51 - 225M

Cap Space - 35M

 

Roster Make up

 

Starters Needed

 0

 

Upgrades Desired (obviously up for discussion)

1 - Safety over either Rapp or Cole Bishop

1 - Corner over Rasul Douglas

 

Depth Needed

1 RB

2 WR

1 TE

1 OT

1 DT

1 EDGE

1 Safety

 

Draft Picks - 8 Total

1st Round Pick (Buffalo)

2nd Round Pick (Buffalo)

2nd Round Pick (Minnesota, via Houston)

4th Round Pick (Buffalo)

4th Round Pick (Chicago*)

6th Round Pick (Buffalo)

6th Round Pick (New York Giants)

6th Round Pick (Cleveland)

 

Thanks for all the work on this - good work to level-set the cap space and draft picks the team has to work with. 

Two high-end 6th Round picks from the Giants and Browns.

 

After the Cooper trade, I took the stance that I did not want the Bills to re-sign him. I think the Bills should invest at WR, get younger and faster at WR. 
 

And while I think Cooper is still in his late prime, the pragmatic thing to do is save that money for our own up and coming players - Shakir, Benford, Bernard and keep runway for players best years. 

Rasul Douglas is in the same boat for me. He’s very good, but paying 30 year old corners? 
 

Someone like London Fletcher bit the Bills letting him go at 31, Andrew Whitworth walking crippled the Bengals line for years, so like anything else there are no guarantees. 
 

8 Draft Picks - Needs would be DT, DE, LB, S, CB - Bills really have no young perimeter corners beyond Douglas and Benford. Basically the Bills would need reinforcements at every position group. Start preparing for life without DaQuan Jones. 

 

Offensively, I’d keep Knox’s contract the same and invest at WR, search for an X.
 

OT, IOL - two offensive lineman that are best available. 
 

Cook will be in his last year, Ray Davis on a rookie deal, probably good enough to come back, but Cooks ypc has come down every year, another back with speed would be helpful, and Ty Johnson has become the Bills 3rd down back. Ray Davis is not a #1 back. 
 

 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Straight Hucklebuck

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Cheers @appoo for the detail on this. I am thinking the offseason moves as far as re-signing players would be Groot and Benford. If they were going to try to extend Douglas, I think you would have seen it last off season.

 

Cooper I am really not sure what to make of it. With Shakir, Samuel and Coleman all guaranteed back next year (plus Kincaid and Knox), I don’t see this as something they’re going to over extend themselves on.

 

If my prediction of Benford isn’t right, then its likely going to be a Bernard or Shakir extension. They’ve got a couple young up and comers that need new deals and you can’t wait on all of them. If they want a guy long term, best to do it now. 
 

Long story short, they really are in a solid position moving forward. 
 

Best QB in the league

OL and RB room returning

Shakir, Samuel, Coleman, Knox, Kincaid under contract

 

Groot Epinessa Oliver Carter 

Milano Bernard Williams

Benford Rapp Bishop

 

A lot of cap room and still plenty of draft capital.

 

I think CB2, 1T DT, DE and WR are where we can look to improve or will need help.