Shakir, Benford, Cook and Bernard: Who Gets a Contract Extension?

[HappyDays]

34 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Concussions aren't random.   It wasn't random that Benford got them in back-to-back games.  The first one was the primary cause of the second one.

 

Morse stopped getting them when he changed behavior and became less physical of a blocker.   Eric Wood made a similar alteration to his game at center after breaking his leg and tearing his ACL when playing hard instead of smart.  He went from a tone setting brawler to a guy who had to play angles and block edges of defenders to survive.  That's why he was trash in Marrone's man blocking run game.  

 

But back to Benford........once you've rung that concussion bell to the point that Benford has......they become easier to get.   Think of it like a sprained brain stem.  If you badly sprain a joint it's easy to re-sprain that joint for a long time.  Having had a very bad one, I know.  And Benford is not a Center playing in closed quarters most of the time.......he is going to have to tackle runners at high speed in the open field and he is going to be the victim of high speed friendly fire at the tackle point.   If you recall, the last concussion Morse had was a blitzing LB hitting him at high speed.   Not your typical interaction at center.  As messed up as Benford was after that second brain injury there is no chance I am extending him.   That could quickly turn into a full waste of all guaranteed money.   

 

I think we pushed him back on the field way too soon. I remember seeing Banged Up Bills post something about how players on average clear concussion protocol faster for playoff games. Nothing suspicious about that of course. So yes I'm sure the second concussion was a direct result of the first one which makes me sick to think about. But as far as I can remember those are the only two concussions he's suffered in his career. In recent NFL history Tua is the only player I can think of who has had his career really disrupted by a tendency to get concussions. It's just not something I worry about with Benford. Maybe I'm wrong and we'll get burned if we extend him early. But he's a very good player, he's a scheme fit, he fills a premium position, and I don't think he'll blow up the market. I'd take the risk.

[BADOLBILZ]

12 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I think we pushed him back on the field way too soon. I remember seeing Banged Up Bills post something about how players on average clear concussion protocol faster for playoff games. Nothing suspicious about that of course. So yes I'm sure the second concussion was a direct result of the first one which makes me sick to think about. But as far as I can remember those are the only two concussions he's suffered in his career. In recent NFL history Tua is the only player I can think of who has had his career really disrupted by a tendency to get concussions. It's just not something I worry about with Benford. Maybe I'm wrong and we'll get burned if we extend him early. But he's a very good player, he's a scheme fit, he fills a premium position, and I don't think he'll blow up the market. I'd take the risk.

 

 

Guys drop out of the league from concussions all the time.  Andrew Luck and Luke Kuechly were both trending toward first ballot HoF before concussions did them in.   Luck had 5 over the course of 3 years.    I like my chances of replacing a good zone CB greater than replacing that $60M to $90M in cap space.  They found Benford in the 6th round to replace Tre White.   You pay scouts to avoid having to risk that kind of money.

[Buffalo716]

6 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Guys drop out of the league from concussions all the time.  Andrew Luck and Luke Kuechly were both trending toward first ballot HoF before concussions did them in.   Luck had 5 over the course of 3 years.    I like my chances of replacing a good zone CB greater than replacing that $60M to $90M in cap space.  They found Benford in the 6th round to replace Tre White.   You pay scouts to avoid having to risk that kind of money.

I stopped playing D1 ball because concussions.. I had around 5 in a 2.5 year span because I always came back to fast to try and play 

 

Never fully recovered , and smaller hits would then be more impactful 

 

I was also a run support corner which didn't help but yeah I've seen so many head injuries end careers

[BADOLBILZ]

2 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

I stopped playing D1 ball because concussions.. I had around 5 in a 2.5 year span because I always came back to fast to try and play 

 

Never fully recovered , and smaller hits would then be more impactful 

 

I was also a run support corner which didn't help but yeah I've seen so many head injuries end careers

 

Yeah it's not random from my lesser experience either.    Once I knew it was sprung I could feel that instability with sudden head movements.   That was totally unexpected to me.  I'd never felt my brain moving in my skull before that.  

[Saint Doug]

The only impact player on this list is Benford. I get that these other players are decent, but if you play them all $10-15M, we’ll have no room for true game breakers. I’d rather pay for elite and non-elite than a bunch of average players. 

[Buffalo716]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Yeah it's not random from my lesser experience either.    Once I knew it was sprung I could feel that instability with sudden head movements.   That was totally unexpected to me.  I'd never felt my brain moving in my skull before that.  

For sure it's not fun... I think Benford is a very tough and talented cornerback 

 

Head injuries is just one thing you have to be careful with because they don't get better 

 

The change of play you're talking about with wood and other players... It's a big thing with scouting the best high school lineman to college... The one thing we look for is sound technique 

 

A straight Mauler who pancakes players into other players.. and is constantly putting his other teammates knees etc at risk isn't a five-star player or 4 stars player because he's always at risk of hurting his teammates 

 

Blocking soundly up front, while executing assignments and technique while not hurting your teammates is huge.. there's plenty of guys who pancakes players into the back of their own players kneecaps and you can't have that at the highest level 

 

Technique with ability is huge... It's a smart man smart as much as a tough guys

Edited February 15 by Buffalo716

[Big Blitz]

Benford and Shakir are the only locks.

 

 

To me, Rousseau, Bernard, and Cook are all trade candidates.  Get picks.  We need to find new contributors hopefully studs on rookie deals on defense.   
 

Can’t pay everyone.  And those last 3 will all be overpaid.  
 

Draft a thumper at LB to go with Milano and Dorian.  
 

Draft lots of D line.  
 

Draft a CB.  
 

Sign Holland to go with Bishop and Rapp.  

[BillMafia716ix]

Benford is the only guy I’m paying. Benford is elite. The other guys are OK players.

 

19M for Shakir who hasn’t even had a 1000 yard season is insane.

 

Bernard is not elite. He’s an average undersized LB who is poor in run defense. 
 

Cook is good but doesn’t play even half the snaps and is poor in pass pro so paying him the 15M price tag he wants is insane. I really like Ray Davis. I think he has potential to be a 3 down RB.

[BuffaloButt]

All.  It's the Buffalo way!!

[Straight Hucklebuck]

2 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Yeah it's not random from my lesser experience either.    Once I knew it was sprung I could feel that instability with sudden head movements.   That was totally unexpected to me.  I'd never felt my brain moving in my skull before that.  

Yeah - that mini headache wave when you turn your head quickly? 

[Straight Hucklebuck]

12 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Beane shouldn't extend any of them or the other candidate in Rousseau.

 

They are all just in an awkward position where they either haven't played to their capability yet(Rousseau), have concerning injury issues(Bernard and Benford) or play devalued/easily-replaceable positions(Cook as a RB and Shakir as a slot-only on a team with 2 other starter-invested WR who would be better in the slot and 2 highly invested TE's).

 

There is nothing wrong with waiting on the group of 5 extension candidates.   Sometimes that's the play.   And not extending ANY of them avoids any resentment or appearance of preferential treatment between teammates.

 

Draft replacements in these next two drafts where they will likely have like 20 picks over the two years.

I just don’t trust the FO at WR.

 

They’ve shown over and over that they do the bare minimum. 
 

And Cook is the only back they’ve really hit on their entire tenure. 

Offensivelt the personnel around Allen has been weak since he arrived in Buffalo. 

 

Bernard is 50/50. He is not a physical tone setter. To your point, $6.7M is still 3x - 4x higher than a draft pick. 

So that might be a player that you let walk and just replace. 

 

Paying $22.6M for Benford? Yeah the Bills model has mostly been continuity in the secondary as long as humanly possible before age or injury destroys it - Tre White, Poyer, Hyde, now Rapp and Hamlin, Benford. 
 

Completely agree on not extending. Bills couldn’t get out of that contract if he gets another concussion. 
 

And even without the concussions, a $22.6M corner?  With how up and down that position is year to year? 

[Jay_Fixit]

12 hours ago, nedboy7 said:

Why not cut them all and get some undrafted rookies and have Josh carry the team.  I been reading about how we got zero talent. 

When you say we, do you feel like you’re a part of the team?

[UKBillFan]

I want Shakir to sign long term. Chemistry is key and he seems to have it more than anyone else with Josh. That said, he would be too big a luxury at the amount stated. Get him down to around $15m and have him sign.

 

Cook is the same, sign him up but not at that amount. $10m-$12m is about right.

 

Benford is elite but made of glass. Agree with those who said let him play out 2025 and judge his concussion status.

 

I think Bernard is the only one on the list who works when it comes to both salary level and health.

[SoTier]

20 hours ago, NoName said:

Here is my unpopular answer.

I'd say keep all four but if you had to let one go, I would let Cook go.  I think Cook is better at his position than the others but I think they could could draft a good RB in the first or second rounds. 

 

I think you have to keep Shakir. He's the best receiver they have and arguably Josh's 2nd best weapon. I think Bernard's number isn't too bad and he's the QB on defense so you keep him.  Benford would be my third choice and would rather sign him but could live with losing him.  

 

I totally agree.  A side benefit of having an outstanding OL and WRs willing to block is that RBs are much easier to replace because they have holes to run through.

[frostbitmic]

I think going public on Instagram with his contract fantasies has probably ruffled Beane's feathers. If they weren't looking at RB's before, they certainly are now.

 

Did he really remove his Bills stuff from his social media ? ... If so that's not a negotiation tactic, it's a childish burn the bridges tactic and I don't think Beane will reward that.

 

When they drafted Davis last year I knew he was going to be Cook's replacement, Cook could force that a year earlier than I anticipated. Johnson is also a FA and a damn good 3rd down back, re-sign him. We also have the son of Gore on the roster and the draft coming up. I think Cook will be traded.

[LabattBlue]

IMO Bernard is too small for the position(especially in the run game), and if they let him go, McD will just replace him with someone of equal size.  That being said, it would be cheaper than what Bernard will be asking for. 

[TheBeaneBandit]

9 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

IMO Bernard is too small for the position(especially in the run game), and if they let him go, McD will just replace him with someone of equal size.  That being said, it would be cheaper than what Bernard will be asking for. 

Dorian Williams is right here waiting for you 😆. He'd be a little bump up in size as well. They need to restructure Milano though to buy a couple years before finding his replacement.

[LabattBlue]

For those who don’t want to extend Shakir because “slot wr is easy to replace”, take a look at the slot production the year after they kicked Beasley to the curb?

[nedboy7]

9 hours ago, Jay_Fixit said:

When you say we, do you feel like you’re a part of the team?

I mean all of us except for you. 

[Spiderweb]

I would say that Cook could be last in line of this group.