Return of the Tre! (Tre White signs with the Bills)

[JP51]

5 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

I was thinking CB in round one, and now not so sure.

\

What is funny to me is that the Chiefs have an inside guy in the Bill's scouting department, so they know what Buffalo is going to do beforehand. Ever since that 2022 draft, when both teams needed a CB and the Chiefs traded up to snag Trent McDuffie. Meanwhile, the Bills scrambled to draft Kaiir Elam with a trade-up.

 

Then last year, with both teams looking at WRs...now this year with both teams needing DL, CB.  Just makes me wonder...this franchise's biggest rival.

I think it is gonna be how the draft board falls you get a CB to drop that you had rated much higher etc.... I dont think this pre empts them from taking that person. Especially if the DL are really not close to BPA... and the draft is deep there...  I think we were taking a DL regardless.  This gives you options ASSUMING he makes the team... we dont or at least I dont know the details... but this could be a signing where we see what he has got and if it isnt good enough, he may not make it past training camp. 

[26TrapDraw]

50 minutes ago, TBBills Fan said:

No, because he played last year. With the Rams he was still recovering. 

 

So he has a normal off-season conditioning program as opposed to rehab

 

He is also a scheme fit and familiar with Buffalo

 

The rams were asking him to be cb1 right after 2 major injuries, we are not 

yes and if he is going to round into form and play well it will be in Buffalo where he's comfortable with scheme and environment. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he plays well this season.

[ngbills]

Wow. Got to see the full terms on this one. But with limited cap, not sure this is smartest way to spend it. Tre is a good guy but would not expect to see up to $6.8M next to his name at this point. 

[BananaB]

2 hours ago, GerstAusGosheim said:

While you're at it, bring back Leslie. This D hasn't been as good since he was pushed out.

Especially at DB. 

[PrimeTime101]

3 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Wow. Got to see the full terms on this one. But with limited cap, not sure this is smartest way to spend it. Tre is a good guy but would not expect to see up to $6.8M next to his name at this point. 

you guys are wrapping yourselves around that 6.8 mil to much.... its not all guaranteed money.. 

[ColoradoBills]

4 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Wow. Got to see the full terms on this one. But with limited cap, not sure this is smartest way to spend it. Tre is a good guy but would not expect to see up to $6.8M next to his name at this point. 

 

Let's wait and see what the terms are.  It is likely about starts and snaps (including playoffs) and interceptions.

He may not even make the team.  If he doesn't then it's only about any guaranteed money.  We don't even know how much (if any) that is.

[Warriorspikes51]

Just now, PrimeTime101 said:

you guys are wrapping yourselves around that 6.8 mil to much.... its not all guaranteed money.. 

 

lot of cap penny pinchers on this board who love to feign outrage.  A tiresome act 

[transplantbillsfan]

3 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

I don't necessarily mind the signing especially since I expect the real salary to be minimal. I just don't want it to turn into a thing where it's week 8 and our highly drafted rookie can't get on the field because Tre is in front of him. From a pure football perspective I feel about this signing the same way that I would if we had re-signed Douglas. Which is to say I hope the intention is for him to be nothing more than depth that happens to have familiarity with the system.

 

I unfortunately don't have any optimism he can get back anywhere near the player he once was. I'd love to be proven wrong but I think physically he is done. I've seen a growing narrative that he was a good player for Baltimore. I mean he was better than he was with LA almost by default, but he also only played 34% of defensive snaps for Baltimore. Brandon Stephens was getting deliberately targeted by their opponents and was widely hated by their fanbase, and they still opted to keep him as the starter in front of Tre. So I would keep the expectations low.

 

My expectations are low and that Tre will be CB3 and a locker room glue guy again.

 

But I also think it's unfair to automatically say "if Tre is starting in week 8 and our rookie is on the bench we're doomed" or even any variation of that kind of negativity. I know it's been a few years but Tre was an Elite CB for multiple seasons until November of 2021. He's 30 and turns 31 January 2026. He was 28 when he tore his achilles and 26 when he tore his ACL. Von was 33 when he tore his ACL and even at 35 he came back this past season at the age of 35 and was probably 70% of the old Von.

 

If Tre looks like he did in those first few games of 2023 before the Achilles why would you just pull him off the field for a rookie?

 

Again, these are not my expectations, but I could see it happening given the timeliness.

 

PS: isn't Tre also counting against the dead cap this year, too?

Edited April 18 by transplantbillsfan

[4merper4mer]

1 hour ago, FireChans said:

 

I mean sure, it's been longer since the injury. That's why I said "later in the process."

 

We are still hoping he can regain some of his form, after having a limited market after injury and poor play post-injury, right?

 

I'm sure there's some argument of what is riskier:

 

Guy A who was playing well pre-injury but hasn't played since

 

Guy B who was playing well pre-injury but was a disaster post-injury, but it's been longer since the injury

 

To me, the situations aren't that different at all.

You couldn’t think of a more negative spin than disaster?  How about cataclysm?  Apocalypse?  Famine? Plague? Pandemic?
 

We signed a guy who is a very smart player, an asset in the locker room, and a mentor.  We did it for close to league minimum with a chance for him to earn more via on field contributions.
 

I haven’t seen anything in this thread with any substantive alternative.  It’s all just keyboard jockey GMs.  It’s like political polls saying candidate x would lose to “generic Republican/Democrat” but as soon as they name names, candidate x is ahead in the poll again.  
 

Is it certain that White will contribute on the field in 2025?  No.  It’s also possible that his recovery was rushed and 2024 wasn’t a real reflection of what he can be.  The risk is low and there aren’t realistic alternatives.

 

If this was Joe Smith who had the same career path for the Bears and then had a rough 2024 on the Jags and Seahawks people wouldn’t be trashing the guy, but because it’s Tre who did so much for this franchise, it seems to be a requirement to bad mouth him.  It’s weird.

[RoyBatty is alive]

18 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

NICE!!!  I wonder if moving him to FS would be considered.  Either way, hopefully he’s healthy and can compete for CB2 / help mentor a rookie

Far too short/small for Saftey.

[Dr. K]

Does this suggest that the Bills consider Tre White better than Rasul Douglas at this point?

[BigAl2526]

I think CB is still in play in either the first or second round of the draft, but in no parallel universe is it a bad think to have Tre White back.

[Livinginthepast]

All in all, its an unusually feel good story for Pro sports that Tre is coming back. I will say that his tenure with the Rams was a disaster but by the end of his time in Baltimore he was actually looking pretty good. The mentorship element is the big piece here for the organization.

[Don Otreply]

1 hour ago, PrimeTime101 said:

you guys are wrapping yourselves around that 6.8 mil to much.... its not all guaranteed money.. 

they gotta have something to piss and moan about, it makes them feel like they’re smart, lol.

[FireChans]

49 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

You couldn’t think of a more negative spin than disaster?

Bro, he was so bad in LA, they traded him for a 7th round pick swap. That's less than what we got for Elam lol. What would you have called his play in 2024?

 

51 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

 

I haven’t seen anything in this thread with any substantive alternative.  It’s all just keyboard jockey GMs.  It’s like political polls saying candidate x would lose to “generic Republican/Democrat” but as soon as they name names, candidate x is ahead in the poll again.  
 

Is it certain that White will contribute on the field in 2025?  No.  It’s also possible that his recovery was rushed and 2024 wasn’t a real reflection of what he can be.  The risk is low and there aren’t realistic alternatives.

 

If this was Joe Smith who had the same career path for the Bears and then had a rough 2024 on the Jags and Seahawks people wouldn’t be trashing the guy, but because it’s Tre who did so much for this franchise, it seems to be a requirement to bad mouth him.  It’s weird.

I'm not even trashing Tre. I just said we are taking the same lotto ticket risk the Rams did. Maybe he was too early in his recovery. Maybe not. The Rams clearly thought he had a shot to not be washed or they wouldn't have paid him to play last year.

 

I said this doesn't impact our draft plans, because a high level rookie will either need to beat out Tre, and if he can't, he's not ready to play anyway.

 

Adjust the chip on your shoulder ffs. You wouldn't be crying crocodile tears for Joe Smith either.  I'm not convinced he makes the team, although I am hoping he comes back to All-Pro status. What a devil I am lol.

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

My guess is low guaranteed, 2-4 mil if he makes the roster, additional 4 mil in possible bonuses

[YattaOkasan]

2 minutes ago, FireChans said:

Bro, he was so bad in LA, they traded him for a 7th round pick swap. That's less than what we got for Elam lol. What would you have called his play in 2024?

 

I'm not even trashing Tre. I just said we are taking the same lotto ticket risk the Rams did. Maybe he was too early in his recovery. Maybe not. The Rams clearly thought he had a shot to not be washed or they wouldn't have paid him to play last year.

 

I said this doesn't impact our draft plans, because a high level rookie will either need to beat out Tre, and if he can't, he's not ready to play anyway.

 

Adjust the chip on your shoulder ffs. You wouldn't be crying crocodile tears for Joe Smith either.  I'm not convinced he makes the team, although I am hoping he comes back to All-Pro status. What a devil I am lol.

Its def similar but I think were gonna give him less than the 3.25 mil that LAR guaranteed at signing.  Signings are even similar in terms of timing.  Probably the biggest difference is hes fighting for number 2 at best, and LAR probably hoped he could be close to a #1 considering who else they had last year. 

 

I think the difference of an extra 12 months post injury (+ offseason training); paying less (assuming true); asking less on the field is enough to make the lotto ticket different than what the Rams did.  His play with the ravens was also not terrible, but that was limited snaps so i agree with skepticism that can scale if called upon.  Thinking he might not make the team is not unfair imo.  thus, i 100% agree this doesnt impact our draft plan other than give us a bit more ability to go BPA. 

 

Not a devil in my eyes for this convo (is that what the "Fire" your username is for lol?)

[Fr. Jerk]

Forget Dre Day, everyday is Tre Day, ya dig?

[ngbills]

22 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

they gotta have something to piss and moan about, it makes them feel like they’re smart, lol.

On the flip side, there is also the "with what money" crowd when there is a guy people want to sign or the team misses out on. When you have limited funds, not sure gambling on a guy that has been either hurt or not productive since 2021. We have gone down this road before (Josh Norman) and expect a different result. 

[JerseyBills]

1 hour ago, Dr. K said:

Does this suggest that the Bills consider Tre White better than Rasul Douglas at this point?

Yes