Bernard signs 4 year, 50 mill extension

[DrDawkinstein]

22 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

Another extension not negotiated on social media, solid signing

 

Literally no one in the FO cares about this. Nor does it change the offers at all.

 

I'm sure by now Beane has made his offer to Cook's camp. There is not a lot of back and forth in early extensions because the team does not want to negotiate against itself. They typically make an offer, and unless the player's camp comes back with a change in their starting number, won't keep making new offers.

 

The only folks that care about social media are fans (aka grown ass men with apparently nothing else to do).

[stlbills13]

I don't know that I LOVE the deal but he would get more in the open market for sure

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

10 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

He hasnt been a whipping boy in YEARS. The current one is Cook.

 

Agreed on the rest.

 

I’ve seen numerous threads about the Bills defense being “too small,”switching to a 4-3, etc. Bernard has always been the main culprit for these posters. I’ve never seen anybody actually call him a bad player, but that the overall scheme relies too much on small, speedy players. 
 

As far as Cook. It’s not a good look posting contract demands on Twitter with your brother chiming in also. We’ve been down this road before. He deserves to be the TBD villain. He brought it on himself

Edited Friday at 02:37 PM by ChronicAndKnuckles

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

13 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

The current TBD whipping boy. People complaining about his size. All he does is make huge plays at clutch moments. One of the only true elite players on this team. Thank God he is finally locked up. 

Starting to dislike the word “elite” … way overused in relation to our roster. Is he good? Yes.  Outstanding?  Sometimes. Elite?  Nope. 

[ddaryl]

Just now, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Literally no one in the FO cares about this. Nor does it change the offers at all.

 

I'm sure by now Beane has made his offer to Cook's camp. There is not a lot of back and forth in early extensions because the team does not want to negotiate against itself. They typically make an offer, and unless the player's camp comes back with a change in their starting number, won't keep making new offers.

 

The only folks that care about social media are fans (aka grown ass men with apparently nothing else to do).

 

 

I ***** care and so do alot of others

Just move along you know my feelings

[DrDawkinstein]

Just now, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

 

As far as Cook. It’s not a good look posting contract demands on Twitter with your brother chiming also. We’ve been down this road before. He deserves to be the TBD villain. He brought it on himself

 

You guys spend a lot of time on social media, huh?

[Low Positive]

This is good to get out in front of the cap. Actual money doesn't matter to me because it's not my money. What matters is the percentage of the cap. The cap keeps going up and contracts go up with it. So any extension at the current cap will be good value by this time in two years. And the fact that this is a good deal at the current cap means it will be of tremendous value in 2 years.

[SoTier]

5 minutes ago, todd said:

25 mil guaranteed for a very good (and sometimes great) starting LB is a fantastic thing. So many people not liking this is confounding. Who else of the same caliber could you get at that price for 4 years? 
 

hint: nobody.

 

Some nay-sayers are five years or more behind the times when it comes to NFL salary levels.  Then there are some GM wannabe posters who simply hate on anything and everything that the Bills do. 

[DrDawkinstein]

Just now, ddaryl said:

 

 

I ***** care and so do alot of others

Just move along you know my feelings

 

Luckily my feelings, your feelings, and anyone else here's feelings dont matter one bit.

[Ralonzo]

10 minutes ago, Bill51390 said:

That’s a good deal money wise and cheaper than what Edmund’s got and Bernard is better. 

 

That's a low bar to clear. My take is, I'm not as worried about keeping the band together on a defense that's the sole reason the Bills have not played in a Super Bowl in the Allen era. The positions Beane is targeting for resigning are the devalued ones - slot receiver, linebacker. I don't hate the deal - I thought that's a lot of bucks for a slot on the Shakir deal too. But on the D side of things, doing the same old is just not working and hasn't worked for 5 years. If you're gonna keep the players and the scheme that's a fail. If you keep the players and change the scheme, maybe it works better and maybe not. This just strikes me like the Knox deal, eating cap space for non-premium positions.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

1 minute ago, stlbills13 said:

I don't know that I LOVE the deal but he would get more in the open market for sure

Drafted & developed in Buffalo, extremely talented, great attitude, and is the shot caller on defense. What’s not to love? James Cook should take notes. 

[Ralonzo]

Also LB Derrick Barnes of the Lions just extended for 3/25.5M total, $16M guaranteed. Hmm.

[MrEpsYtown]

14 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

Hmm not a fan of this at all. We'll see what the actual contract looks like I guess. Paying a small injury prone player at a non-premium position coming off a down year is just not good business. I'm getting a bit worried that their mindset this offseason is "run it back." That can't be the plan. There needs to be an infusion of more high end talent which is going to be a challenge when we're paying good not great players.

 

Yeah, I am with this. Off-ball linebackers are really not the rage these days. It seems high but I'll wait for some of the details. He's missed a good amount of time and really only had 1 productive season. He was ok this year. 

 

And I am not a huge re-sign Cook guy...but if they give Bernard this contract, and let Cook walk, it's a problem imo. 

Edited Friday at 02:44 PM by MrEpsYtown

[thenorthremembers]

At this very moment its a moderate overpay.   That said, you were able to get your 25 year old starting inside linebacker locked up for 4 years and not have to pay him a top 5 at his position.  Forward looking contract and for far less than the Bears paid our former MLB.     

[SectionC3]

14 minutes ago, SCBills said:

It’s a good deal (if) we build up the DL in front of him.  
 

Just like a Rousseau extension makes sense (if) he’s a supporting actor on the DL.

 

I think Bernard is a monster when able to play in space.  
 

The hesitation is simply that we have guys who are dependent upon getting better around them, which is emblematic of the lack of game changers we’ve had lately.  
 

 

This.  We need better play in front of Bernard.  

[billsbackto81]

32 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Hopefully the plan is to put a much better DL in front of him that allows him to thrive in space. 
 

Something he didn’t have last year, and it showed. 

Beat me to it, well said. 👍

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

For the cap nerds out there, do these extensions with Shakir and Bernard basically create a bunch of cap room this year by shifting this year’s money to signing bonuses?  

[TBBills Fan]

Best off-season ever!

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

4 minutes ago, AlCowlingsTaxiService said:

Starting to dislike the word “elite” … way overused in relation to our roster. Is he good? Yes.  Outstanding?  Sometimes. Elite?  Nope. 

143 tackles, 6 1/2 sacks, 3 picks, 3 fumble recoveries, 10 TFL in 2023 

 

That is one of the best stat lines I’ve ever seen from a LB and he passed the eye test as well. He is absolutely elite IMO. Last year was plagued by injuries, but I can think of only a 3-4 other LBs I’d rather have than Bernard when he is fully healthy. He also tends to make plays during the most crucial moments. The Mahomes interception to ice the Chiefs regular season game comes to mind.

 

[billsfan89]

Beane locking up both Bernard and Shakir takes care of 2 out of 5 2026 pending free agents. I suspect Beane is going to try to get one more done at a minimum. 
 

Good business so far, paying both players for how they currently are producing but these deals become tremendous bargains if they produce more which they could only entering their 4th seasons.