Bernard signs 4 year, 50 mill extension

[BillsFan130]

The good news is his contract shouldn't overlap with Milano.

Im guessing 2025 will be Milanos last year- So 2026 Bernards extension will kick in and most likely his running mate will be Dorian Williams who will still Be on a cheap rookie contract 

[Einstein's Dog]

7 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

No, Beane DOESNT CARE. He was asked his opinion and gave his general stance that he would "prefer not to" which is literally what anyone and everyone would say. But it doesnt affect anything. As evidenced by him turning around and doing the same thing.

 

Boo hoo hoo to the fanbase who are in their bag of feelings. Build a bridge and get over it. We should all have other things to be concerned with in our lives.

"Doesn't Care" and "prefer not to" are not the same thing.  Beane when asked his opinion could have said "I don't care" but he did not say that.

 

This conversation started by asking why was Cook the whipping boy.  It's because he made public his outrageous salary request.  It's frustrating to fans to have a good, exciting RB overvalue himself.  It's a sign of trouble to come.

 

 

[Shaw66]

I think people who say that his production was down last year aren't seeing his true value. 

 

This is a guy who gets to where he's supposed to be virtually all the time, because he's smart, motivated, and quick.  He's a solid tackler.  In pass defense, he regularly is IN the play, instead of AROUND the play, which was one of the problems with Edmunds.  

 

I like Dorian Williams, too - love his speed and his tackling.  But the Bills defense operates by having 11 players managing their assignments on every play; Bernard does it on every play and Williams may do it on 8 or 9 out of 10.  On the plays where Williams doesn't do his job, the whole defense suffers.  I'm hoping he'll show the same improvement from year 2 to year 3 that he showed from his rookie year to last year.  If he does, with him beside Bernard, the Bills will be said backing up the line. 

[JohnNord]

2 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

My thoughts were we could afford to re-sign one of Benford and Rousseau (I lean Benford) and one of Shakir, Cook, Bernard (I leaned Shakir). Extending too many good not great players, especially at non-premium positions, eventually catches up to you. That's my issue with this deal. Every year there is a player or two that we could really use to sign in FA or trade for and we can't afford them because of deals like this.

Yeah I get what you are saying but you can’t afford to have an entire roster of “great” players. 
 

My problem is when they re-sign a good player for great money.    This is why they were reluctant with Edmunds and likely will be Rosseau.   You are argue they did this with Dawson Knox.  
 

Both of the Shakir and Bernard’s contracts were reasonable in my opinion.  I think they fit in well with what the team wants to do on offense and defense.  
 

I do think that Buffalo figures out a way to get Benford and Cook to re-sign.  I’d predict that Rosseau is gone unless he puts up a monster numbers 

[Coach Tuesday]

I just don't see why this was a priority offseason event.  He was under contract for next year.  He's more valuable in our system than anyone else's - I am not too worried about a bidding war breaking out after next season.  And if it did?  That money would be better used on a premium position.

[MrEpsYtown]

13 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

My thoughts were we could afford to re-sign one of Benford and Rousseau (I lean Benford) and one of Shakir, Cook, Bernard (I leaned Shakir). Extending too many good not great players, especially at non-premium positions, eventually catches up to you. That's my issue with this deal. Every year there is a player or two that we could really use to sign in FA or trade for and we can't afford them because of deals like this.

 

I had this argument with my wife about our bills. Microtransactions kill us. That's what this is IMO. 

[LABILLBACKER]

2 hours ago, Buffalo Junction said:

Okay…. Now Beane needs to upgrade the D line to keep him clean. 

Without this ^, the extension is meaningless. 

[Kirby Jackson]

Feels like a reasonable number as does Shakir’s deal. I’d do the exact same deal for Cook. Benford is going to cost more and I’d trade Rousseau. 

[GunnerBill]

11 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

My thoughts were we could afford to re-sign one of Benford and Rousseau (I lean Benford) and one of Shakir, Cook, Bernard (I leaned Shakir). Extending too many good not great players, especially at non-premium positions, eventually catches up to you. That's my issue with this deal. Every year there is a player or two that we could really use to sign in FA or trade for and we can't afford them because of deals like this.

 

I sort of agree although I do think they have a bit more flexibility than that. I'd be surprised if they sign all 4 of the 2022 cohort. Now looks like Cook is the odd man out. They may well wait a year on Benford given the concussions. I think Groot is the one I'm increasingly leaning towards not signing. I'd argue that the thing that has actually held them back from adding difference makers from outside more is the middling vets (FA or Trade) they have signed. The likes of Settle, Harty, Samuel, Douglas, Edwards... I'm missing some. But I think signing all four/five including Groot of their own guys would be too much of a settling move. 

[ColoradoBills]

10 minutes ago, BillsFan130 said:

The good news is his contract shouldn't overlap with Milano.

Im guessing 2025 will be Milanos last year- So 2026 Bernards extension will kick in and most likely his running mate will be Dorian Williams who will still Be on a cheap rookie contract 

 

I was just going to say the same thing.  Beane is doing well with positional spending in this area.

I bet when we see the yearly breakdown the first year that Bernard gets bigger money will be in 2027 when Milano is an UFA.

Shakir's contract is set up the same way.

 

Or as you said, Milano is let go next season, which I'm not believing yet.

[DrDawkinstein]

12 minutes ago, Einstein's Dog said:

"Doesn't Care" and "prefer not to" are not the same thing.  Beane when asked his opinion could have said "I don't care" but he did not say that.

 

This conversation started by asking why was Cook the whipping boy.  It's because he made public his outrageous salary request.  It's frustrating to fans to have a good, exciting RB overvalue himself.  It's a sign of trouble to come.

 

 

 

No one asked that. We all know why he is the whipping boy no matter what side we're on. He made a couple of social media posts, and some fans are really fired up about that. Yikes.

 

Totally different convo is whether folks believe it affects negotiations between the FO and his agent. Which it doesnt. Beane has his number. He isnt changing it because of some social media posts.

 

[khlax3]

14 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I just don't see why this was a priority offseason event.  He was under contract for next year.  He's more valuable in our system than anyone else's - I am not too worried about a bidding war breaking out after next season.  And if it did?  That money would be better used on a premium position.

getting these guys signed now let’s you know what their contracts will look like for years to come before getting to free agency. These extensions actually help us know how to structure free agent deals and what space we will have not just this year but in the years to come. 
 

also with the cap continuing to explode this is actually a pretty cheap deal. I think people are going to have some sticker shock when FA opens.

 

pre free agency this makes Bernard the 8-10th high paid linebacker. By the time this extension actually kicks in he is likely in the 15-20 range and only 25 million is guaranteed 

 

 

[GASabresIUFan]

A little surprising the Bernard was completed before Benford.  No idea if the money to right, but I trust Beane.

[VW82]

I don't mind doing extensions for younger guys we like coming off down years, but part of that has to be we're getting a bit of a discount. This feels like we paid full bang. I don't get it. There has to be more to this contract. 

[Kirby Jackson]

5 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

A little surprising the Bernard was completed before Benford.  No idea if the money to right, but I trust Beane.

 

2 minutes ago, VW82 said:

I don't mind doing extensions for younger guys we like coming off down years, but part of that has to be we're getting a bit of a discount. This feels like we paid full bang. I don't get it. There has to be more to this contract. 

I think that this is a tick below market. Benford, is arguably, a top 5 corner. They’ll work on that and use the tag next year if need be. 

[ColoradoBills]

11 minutes ago, VW82 said:

I don't mind doing extensions for younger guys we like coming off down years, but part of that has to be we're getting a bit of a discount. This feels like we paid full bang. I don't get it. There has to be more to this contract. 

 

Bernard's early ankle injury was nothing but bad luck.  I don't link that to any worries concerning his size.

The October pectoral strain if anything may be a training issue.

 

IF Bernard stays relatively healthy throughout this contract, I think it's a win for the team.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

1 hour ago, MrEpsYtown said:

 

Point being, I would have waited another year to see if he could stay healthy and be as good as he was in '23. This is early for an extension that wasn't really earned yet. That's just my opinion. 

I’ve noticed Beane does a lot of his extensions early basing them more on potential so he ends up getting them cheaper than if he had waited. 

1 hour ago, harmonkillebrew said:

Elite?? He showed well in 2023, but was not as much of an impact player in 2024. Only 1 sack,  5 TFLs, no FFs, 2 INTs

Dorian Williams outpaced him in tackles and they had the same TFL, despite Dorian not starting the last 5 games. 

 

I think re-signing him is a good move, but like Shakir, it's a little pricey for a guy that hasn't really had consistent production. Bills seem to be giving home town upgrades for guys they believe will keep getting better.  I'm ok with that in Shakir's case. Bernard I worry is a little more risky, due to injury from being undersized

He was out for 4 games. 

[ProcessTruster]

3 hours ago, Nephilim17 said:

Hmmm. I like the best of his tenure but not completely thrilled either. Maybe he needs a better D line to play his best. I hope we find out this season.

Beane will cover him up with a monster 1 tech this spring, prob both via draft and FA

[BuffaloBill]

3 hours ago, Buffalo Junction said:

Okay…. Now Beane needs to upgrade the D line to keep him clean. 

 

This^^^ The Bills season next year will be made or broken by how well the Bills D line can be upgraded.

[MrEpsYtown]

2 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I’ve noticed Beane does a lot of his extensions early basing them more on potential so he ends up getting them cheaper than if he had waited. 

He was out for 4 games. 

 

Yeah, I think that could be a smart play by Beane. And like I said I do like the player. I was one of the few defending him during his redshirt year as I thought he was pretty good in spot duty. I like the idea of keeping our own, I just would have liked to see a little bit more from Bernard before committing. I don't really care about his size and stuff. This braintrust clearly likes what they see so I think it's fair to try to get this done early.