Free Agent Lull.... are we done minus bit players or more to come?

[machine gun kelly]

It’s similar every year in that the tampering days are busy, the things tail off pretty quick.  I’m more concerned with extending Benford now before he costs too much as we can’t lose him.

[freddyjj]

14 hours ago, OldTimer1960 said:

The CBs on the roster currently comprise 1 4th round pick (Taron Johnson), 1 6th round pick (Benford), 1 7th round pick (Dane Jackson) and two undrafted guys (Cam Lewis and Jamarcus Ingram).  They currently have NOBODY who could be a credible season opening starter.  

Do you not think Benford is a quality NFL starter?  

 

And just for a point of reference, in 1964, the AFL champion Bills drafted Butch Byrd in Round 4 and started him at CB where he made 2nd team All AFL as a rookie alongside Booker Edgerson who was an UFA signee in 1962.  Edgerson made the AFL All Star team in 1965.  Pedigree does not assure performance as Elam pick proved. 

[SoonerBillsFan]

3 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

I wonder if there's a restructure or two that hasn't been announced yet? Because otherwise - we have absolutely NO cap space right now.

 

According to Spotrac, which is up to date on all the extension, restructures, and pay cuts up to the Milano move - we are only $662,978 under the cap.

 

And that doesn't include the contracts of Ty Johnson, Reggie Gilliam, Dane Jackson, and Kendrick Green because they don't have the exact numbers for those yet.

 

There's gotta be a restructure that we don't know about and/or one (or more) coming bc we're more than right right now with what's reported. We're nowhere.

 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/cap/_/year/2025/sort/cap_total

Their site is incorrect right now.  The main page says we are 10 mill over the cap.  It does that sometimes.

[MJS]

16 hours ago, OldTimer1960 said:

The CBs on the roster currently comprise 1 4th round pick (Taron Johnson), 1 6th round pick (Benford), 1 7th round pick (Dane Jackson) and two undrafted guys (Cam Lewis and Jamarcus Ingram).  They currently have NOBODY who could be a credible season opening starter.  

Starters aren't determined by their draft round. Taron Johnson is a great starter. So is Benford.

[ProcessTruster]

we are done with FA.   With only $5m of cap left, that will pretty much be used up for draftees and UDFAs. 

 

Actually Beane probably needs another $5m of cap space, so watch out, could be more changes / contract restructures coming.   

[MrEpsYtown]

The guy that there were rumors about Samuel...is still around. I just really hope they add a legit starting corner, otherwise, they are telegraphing their first round draft pick once again. 

[OldTimer1960]

2 hours ago, freddyjj said:

Do you not think Benford is a quality NFL starter?  

 

And just for a point of reference, in 1964, the AFL champion Bills drafted Butch Byrd in Round 4 and started him at CB where he made 2nd team All AFL as a rookie alongside Booker Edgerson who was an UFA signee in 1962.  Edgerson made the AFL All Star team in 1965.  Pedigree does not assure performance as Elam pick proved. 

I do think Benford is a quality starter - who is under contact only for this year.  I also think Taron Johnson is a quality starter.  There is nobody else at corner that fits the description of even a credible stop-gap starter.  That's my concern and I'm not crazy about hoping that a starting caliber rookie corner drops to pick 30 (or 56 or 62).  They are in a position of weakness and I'm hopeful that they'll add someone who could start and not be a glaring weakness if the draft doesn't fall the way they want or in case they don't hit on the drafted CB.  

If they go into the draft as-is at CB, they will almost be forced into taking a corner at 30 - and that could cause them to have to pass a player at another position that they might rate higher.  For example, they may be forced to reach for Azereah Thomas and pass on, say, Derrick Harmon at DT.  I don't like the option of trading up in round 2 for a CB much because to get far enough up from pick 56 to make a difference, they'll have to give up both 4ths (or equivalent) - and even then that doesn't move them that far - they might be able to trade 56, 109 & 132 (their 2 4ths) to get to pick 45.  

1 hour ago, MJS said:

Starters aren't determined by their draft round. Taron Johnson is a great starter. So is Benford.

You're right on that.  I should have said that they have nobody on the roster who can be a credible starter along with Benford and Johnson - that was what I meant.  And I agree that it's *possible* that they could find a CB in round 4, 5 or 6 that could become a decent starter this year - but I would argue that depending on that is not a good strategy.

[TheBeaneBandit]

36 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said:

I do think Benford is a quality starter - who is under contact only for this year.  I also think Taron Johnson is a quality starter.  There is nobody else at corner that fits the description of even a credible stop-gap starter.  That's my concern and I'm not crazy about hoping that a starting caliber rookie corner drops to pick 30 (or 56 or 62).  They are in a position of weakness and I'm hopeful that they'll add someone who could start and not be a glaring weakness if the draft doesn't fall the way they want or in case they don't hit on the drafted CB.  

If they go into the draft as-is at CB, they will almost be forced into taking a corner at 30 - and that could cause them to have to pass a player at another position that they might rate higher.  For example, they may be forced to reach for Azereah Thomas and pass on, say, Derrick Harmon at DT.  I don't like the option of trading up in round 2 for a CB much because to get far enough up from pick 56 to make a difference, they'll have to give up both 4ths (or equivalent) - and even then that doesn't move them that far - they might be able to trade 56, 109 & 132 (their 2 4ths) to get to pick 45.  

You're right on that.  I should have said that they have nobody on the roster who can be a credible starter along with Benford and Johnson - that was what I meant.  And I agree that it's *possible* that they could find a CB in round 4, 5 or 6 that could become a decent starter this year - but I would argue that depending on that is not a good strategy.

All this talk just reaffirms we need another CB before the draft. Samuel would be ideal if his stingers check out but Gilmore on a one year deal would absolutely do the trick as well. They would probably have to restructure Dawkins and possibly another guy or two but it must be done.

[Shaw66]

I read the title of this thread and thought that Lull was a free agent I should know about. Does he play offense or defense?

[DapperCam]

2 hours ago, MJS said:

Starters aren't determined by their draft round. Taron Johnson is a great starter. So is Benford.

Ability isn’t determined by draft round, but speed usually is. The fastest guys with ability get taken high (they don’t all work out). We have one of the slowest secondaries around.

[MJS]

26 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

Ability isn’t determined by draft round, but speed usually is. The fastest guys with ability get taken high (they don’t all work out). We have one of the slowest secondaries around.

We really don't. Christian Benford has good speed. He has an 8.14 RAS. Good size and athleticism. Cole Bishop is very athletic and fast. He has an RAS of 9.82. Even Damar Hamlin was a decent athlete with an RAS of 7. He wasn't slow or unathletic like some claim. Evan Cam Lewis is fast. He ran a 4.44 40 time. He is plenty athletic.

 

Taylor Rapp is probably a little slow, I'll give you that. Elam was very explosive, but he is gone now and he sucked anyway.

 

So, there isn't any truth to the Bills secondary being slow or unathletic. That is just a myth.

Edited March 21 by MJS

[ColoradoBills]

3 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Their site is incorrect right now.  The main page says we are 10 mill over the cap.  It does that sometimes.

 

$10M over the cap is for all players.  The Top 51 is at $662K.  The Top 51 is all that matters right now.

[Freddie's Dead]

Who is this Free Agent Lull?  I don't see anyone with the last name of Lull 

[DapperCam]

1 hour ago, MJS said:

We really don't. Christian Benford has good speed. He has an 8.14 RAS. Good size and athleticism. Cole Bishop is very athletic and fast. He has an RAS of 9.82. Even Damar Hamlin was a decent athlete with an RAS of 7. He wasn't slow or unathletic like some claim. Evan Cam Lewis is fast. He ran a 4.44 40 time. He is plenty athletic.

 

Taylor Rapp is probably a little slow, I'll give you that. Elam was very explosive, but he is gone now and he sucked anyway.

 

So, there isn't any truth to the Bills secondary being slow or unathletic. That is just a myth.

We’ll see if Cole Bishop starts. I hope he does, but the combo of Rapp/Hamlin was slow as molasses. Cam Lewis isn’t a starter. Elam wasn’t a starter. Benford ran a 4.53 which is slow for a boundary CB. Taron Johnson ran a 4.5 which is slow for a boundary CB (which is why he’s in the slot).

 

If we can have Bishop at SS, Forrest at FS, and we can find a CB2 with wheels then we’ll have some decent speed in the secondary.

[MJS]

6 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

We’ll see if Cole Bishop starts. I hope he does, but the combo of Rapp/Hamlin was slow as molasses. Cam Lewis isn’t a starter. Elam wasn’t a starter. Benford ran a 4.53 which is slow for a boundary CB. Taron Johnson ran a 4.5 which is slow for a boundary CB (which is why he’s in the slot).

 

If we can have Bishop at SS, Forrest at FS, and we can find a CB2 with wheels then we’ll have some decent speed in the secondary.

That is not slow for cornerbacks. Hamlin isn't slow. Rapp plays faster than his 40 time suggests, I think. His slow 40 time was a surprise.

 

Look, we don't have a bunch of burners, but they are not slow as a group. It just isn't the case. Go around the league and look at 40 times for corners and safeties and you'll see that ours are perfectly average.

Edited March 21 by MJS

[atlbillsfan1975]

14 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Benford was an outlier given his draft position (we drafted a punter before him) and about half of first round picks are busts.  Odds of that happening again are slim.  Just because Elam was a swing and a miss doesn't mean you take another swing.  I think they draft at least one with their first three picks and then one in the later rounds.

One of the first three picks is fine, but to think it has to be the first is misguided. I agree also taking one later. 

14 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

I have no idea how you put that logic chain together. CB is a four down starting position in the NFL, and you need TWO of them. We currently have one. You believe we should roll some mid-round rookie out there? Would you say the same for any other four down position either on offense or defense? 

I think CB is proving to be one of the least difficult positions for this team to fill. It all starts with the line. Then build up the middle, lastly is the corners. So to answer your question, corner is the least priority position in this defense. 

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

I read that Von is coming back

[RyanC883]

14 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

So it’s going come down to who’s available when the Bills number comes up. DT and then CB….or CB and then DT. Potato, potato. 

 

or somehow WR Golden is there, and then.....

[JP51]

3 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

I read the title of this thread and thought that Lull was a free agent I should know about. Does he play offense or defense?

Yes his name is Lull Abye he is a sleeper prospect out of Northwest Southeast Slumber college LOL ... WR kind of a lumbering 40 time... but has this hypnotic effect on DBs... and then makes his move... 

[DapperCam]

34 minutes ago, MJS said:

That is not slow for cornerbacks. Hamlin isn't slow. Rapp plays faster than his 40 time suggests, I think. His slow 40 time was a surprise.

 

Look, we don't have a bunch of burners, but they are not slow as a group. It just isn't the case. Go around the league and look at 40 times for corners and safeties and you'll see that ours are perfectly average.

Hamlin literally looks like he's running in mud. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.