Peters may be willing to sit all season

[PromoTheRobot]

I don't think it's a bluff at all. He'll sit out and play the last six like other players do.

 

He knows that the team will eventually fork over whatever they can if they did it for Docker, Walker, Williams and guys like Peerless Price to a lesser extent.

 

He also knows that this team doesn't have a chance in hell of improving offensively if he's not here.

 

The Bills balls are in a vice on this one and Peters' hand is on the handle.

Hardly. The Bills hold ALL the cards. How much value will Peters have after 3 years of not playing? I'll take my chances without Peters before I cave in to extortion which is what this is.

 

PTR

[BuffaloRebound]

I don't think it's a bluff at all. He'll sit out and play the last six like other players do.

 

He knows that the team will eventually fork over whatever they can if they did it for Docker, Walker, Williams and guys like Peerless Price to a lesser extent.

 

He also knows that this team doesn't have a chance in hell of improving offensively if he's not here.

 

The Bills balls are in a vice on this one and Peters' hand is on the handle.

 

If Peters truly wants a new contract from the Bills, he should fire his agent. All his behavior is doing is backing the Bills into a corner making it impossible for the Bills to re-do his deal even if Brandon wanted to.

[krazykat]

Not so simple. Peters did take a bonus and re-sign because he was probably playing for the NFL minimum, or close to it. In this instance, the Bills had all the leverage.

Now, the tables have turned. You have a probowl LT making less than Dockery, let alone Fowler who is average at best. Any sane person can see the inequity of this equation. Can you? Yes or no?

The answer's no Bill. Many of these people are happy to have a condo in the stained underwear of the team's ruling elite.

[d_wag]

Not so simple. Peters did take a bonus and re-sign because he was probably playing for the NFL minimum, or close to it. In this instance, the Bills had all the leverage.

Now, the tables have turned. You have a probowl LT making less than Dockery, let alone Fowler who is average at best. Any sane person can see the inequity of this equation. Can you? Yes or no?

 

the inequity of the situation has absolutely nothing to do with it - i could care less whether he's paid a fair value or not.....he put himself in this situation by signing an extension......if he didn't sign that extension (and take his signing bonus) he would have been a free agent and could have done whatever he pleased.....he made his choice

 

if he would have reverted to a PS caliber player after signing his extension ralph wouldn't have got a penny of the signing bonus back...that is the risk the bills took when they signed him to an extension........their reward for taking that risk is getting years on a contract.......peters is in the wrong, just as any player is in the wrong if they holdout when they have a contract in place.......you sign an extension, you honor the years, as per the CBA that the players negotiated with the owners......guys such as peters are operating outside the terms they negotiated in the CBA, and that is why the system is breaking down......if the players aren't happy with the system take it to the bargaining table where it belongs.....in the meantime, honor your deal and operate within the system in place

[PromoTheRobot]

Who says he wants sympathy?

 

He wants money. He wants more than Williams, Walker, Dockery, Spencer Johnson, Kawika Mitchell, etc.

 

ShEEt, Brad Butler got $9M in new money in a new deal.

 

This team is run by the pathetic. When are most of you going to say something about it?

Your posts show you as someone lacking a clue. The Butler deal is proof Peters would get a new deal if he showed up to camp. You wouldn't know good football management if it sat in your lap and called you mama.

 

PTR

[MDH]

Would it kill him to at least be in Rochester and ask for a renegotiation? But Peters and his agent decided to filp the bird to the Bills and his teammates. Bill, no one is faulting Peters for wanting a fair contract. What the problem is how he's doing it. Peters and his agent are showing no respect to a team that has taken good care of Peters all along. They want the Bills to come crawling to them. Sorry. If the Bills cave in, then expect the line to form right after. It sucks but don't blame the Bills.

 

Peters can sit out forever as far as I'm concerned. Then he can get a real job.

 

PTR

 

For once, Bill is right here. If a player fails to live up to expectations the team cuts him and doesn't "honor the contract" yet if a player uses the only thing they have to force a negotiation (their presence) , the fans and teams throw up their hands in disgust. The guy is making a business decision and likely a pretty smart one given the violent nature of his job - his career could be over on any practice play (and then the Bills wouldn't never give him an extension).

 

I don't fault the guy for sitting while waiting to be paid like he should.

[H2o]

Peters is holding out for what? Money. If he sits at the house too long what is he going to lose alot of? Money. He wants to be paid as a top tier LT in this league. I can't blame the guy, but he is under contract for 3 more years. He'd be killing his own career if we played "hardball" with him and he would REALLY lose money. It won't happen though. I think we will give him more money, after we get Crowell and Evans re-signed. When that is done, then they will give Peters his due. Hopefully he doesn't follow every word of his tard agent, shows up to camp, and is patient until then.

[PromoTheRobot]

For once, Bill is right here. If a player fails to live up to expectations the team cuts him and doesn't "honor the contract" yet if a player uses the only thing they have to force a negotiation (their presence) , the fans and teams throw up their hands in disgust. The guy is making a business decision and likely a pretty smart one given the violent nature of his job - his career could be over on any practice play (and then the Bills wouldn't never give him an extension).

 

I don't fault the guy for sitting while waiting to be paid like he should.

Again.....the question is NOT should Peters get more money. The question is whether making zero contact with your team the way to do it?

 

PTR

[scribo]

I don't think it's a bluff at all. He'll sit out and play the last six like other players do.

 

He knows that the team will eventually fork over whatever they can if they did it for Docker, Walker, Williams and guys like Peerless Price to a lesser extent.

 

He also knows that this team doesn't have a chance in hell of improving offensively if he's not here.

 

The Bills balls are in a vice on this one and Peters' hand is on the handle.

I'll stand by my opinion that this is likely a bluff by Peters. If he sits out the season, his career may very well be over. If he sits out 10 geams and then comes back, there is no way he'll garner the accolades he did last season. Failing to keep in mind that Peters still has THREE years on his contract with the Bills could lead one to believe Peters has some kind of leverage here.

 

I believe Peters is the best player on the team, but the Bills cannot allow themselves to to be bullied in this way. I have no problem with the team giving Peters a much larger contract to be fair, but Peters needs to do this the right way, which is to at least open direct communication with the team.

[Astrobot]

You're right about the owners liking parts of this system - which include the exorbitant fines and such that can occur. Look, both sides (players and management) enjoy the system, as players realize that they're not going to get 100% guaranteed contracts like Baseball or basketball, but 60% is darn close depending on the contract.

 

Jason Peters and his agent are in the wrong here Bill. When other players have griped about their contract, at least they voiced their opinion. In the case of a guy like Schobel, he griped, he showed up, he got paid. If they give in to Peters' demands now without any discussions or a show of good faith on his end, what are we going to do when Mitchell declares he's underpaid? Or heavens forbid, Poszluszny?

 

Brandon, Levy, Donahoe, Butler, whomever. You're the GM, you draw lines in the sand and cannot allow the kids to run the playground.

Amen.

Especially if you are a new GM. If the inmates were running the asylum, we'd go broke.

[ricojes]

The problem is that there has been absolutely no direct contact with the Bills brass regarding this situation. RB was on WGR yesterday and is quoted in the paper today stating that he has no contact with Peters since the end of last season. He said he is dealing with his agent, but that was to get Hardy signed as they have the same agent. So, how do you begin to renegotiate a contract without dialog? I don't blame Peters, but I think his agent isn't doing anything necessary to resolve the issue. If Peters just sits back and pays his fines while his agent does nothing, then he really does need a raise because he obviously isn't too smart with his money...

[silvermike]

The Bills seem to be taking a hard line against holdouts - show up to camp, and we'll work with you to get a fair deal. They have a track record of making fair deals with players. I can't argue with that too strongly.

[Kelly the Dog]

Here is the way I see it:

 

1. Both sides are right, from their own POV, both sides are slightly wrong, and both sides will very likely eventually get their way -- meaning, eventually Peters will get a massive contract, and eventually The Bills will have a Pro Bowl tackle on the field.

 

2. Peters and his agent are doing what is best for them, and it's smart, at least now when nothing has really been lost yet. They are taking a stand and seeing if the Bills flinch. He's right that he's grossly underpaid, he's right that he deserves the money, he's right that he's the 3-4 highest paid lineman on the team, and he's saying show me the money. The Bills will flinch, meaning they will eventually pay him the big bucks. The only question is whether it is this year or next year.

 

3. Peters and his agent obviously want it this year, in case he gets hurt or something happens, or just to make him paid commensurate with his talent. It's a matter of respect with these guys (right or wrong) and they feel disrespected if they are not paid accordingly.

 

4. The Bills want to pay him, they just don't want to pay him right now, for several obvious reasons. They already spent $100 mil on the OL in the last year or so. They want to sign Lee Evans to a monster deal to lock him up and don't want to pay two of those size contracts at the same time. They don't want to set a precedent for a player with three years left bullying them. Which brings us to --

 

5. Marcus Stroud. He has three years left at 3 mil a year, too. Should they cave with Peters maybe he all of a sudden wants more. Or if he has a good year this year, for sure he will want a new contract next year. They just don't want to do this. Which brings us to --

 

6. The only important number in this whole deal is not how much Peters will get paid or other people got paid or how much he is worth or how many Pro Bowls he went to, the only important number is "three", the number of years he is under contract for. He can't sit out the whole year. The Bills are just going to say "Go ahead", which is what they are doing now.

 

7. So all this really means is a weak game of chicken that will likely rile the fans up into an uproar, but will surely end with Peters starting at LT when the Bills line up against the Seahawks on opening day. The Parker/Peters camp is going to talk tough for a certain period of time, hoping the Bills cave. The Bills won't cave unless the amount Peters is asking for is not outrageous (which would be hard to believe). They will both find a way to save face, and IMO Peters will make the big contract next year. There is next to no chance of the Bills losing him or trading him.

[d_wag]

For once, Bill is right here. If a player fails to live up to expectations the team cuts him and doesn't "honor the contract" yet if a player uses the only thing they have to force a negotiation (their presence) , the fans and teams throw up their hands in disgust. The guy is making a business decision and likely a pretty smart one given the violent nature of his job - his career could be over on any practice play (and then the Bills wouldn't never give him an extension).

 

I don't fault the guy for sitting while waiting to be paid like he should.

 

so why should a team EVER sign a player to an extension? what is the reward they get for their risk (i.e. the fat signing bonus that comes with an extension)? if you allow guys to not honor the terms of their contacts then extensions become worthless because they are then a no risk/all reward proposition for the players and a no reward/all risk proposition for the owners

[ndmanley]

Normally I would agree but we have a new OC and they are installing a lot of new things to the offense.

 

Fair point. Kugler taking over for McNally probably bolsters your point further. However, I would be more worried if he played a skill position. I still think he will be fine come September. I am more worried about McKelvin.

[apuszczalowski]

If they cave in what prevents him from holding out again?

 

Fine him the max, when he comes back assign him special teams and tell him he needs to earn the LT again.

Considering he never went to Pro Bowl due to off season surgery and Bills have not seen him play after the surgery it is myu opinion he is looking for a big signing bonus in case he does not return to form.

 

Or perhaps he joined the Ricky Williams church in offseason and is letting his body clean itself out of testable toxins before coming back.

thats my biggest problem with it, lets say the Bills cave and give him what he wants, he comes back and is named a Pro Bowler again, would he then be underpaid again because he signed it when he was only a 1st time Pro Bowler and now he is a 2x Pro Bowler? If he comes in and doesn't make the Pro Bowl again and looks average, or he re-injures his groin, is he going to sit out next offseason until the Bills re-negotiate his deal to lower his contract back down to his value?

 

He hasn't even played out half his contract yet. When he signed that deal, he was a RT, and half way through the first year he was switched to LT. Him and his agent had to know at that point that the Bills would be looking at moving him over eventually and trying him as a LT too, so why would you accept a long term deal if you are just going to demand a new one because you will be paying a bigger position on the line that should mean higher pay? Face it, his agent screwed him over and is trying to make up for it right now

 

And if the Bills are the first to call and just give him what he wants, whats to stop anyone else from doing it? Why shouldn't Lynch sit out now and demand a new deal? He was one of the top RB's in the league last year in his rookie season. He's underpayed now. I don't have a career that requires negotiations, but even I can tell that "just pay him his money" and that they should have contacted him about this are not ways to run a buisness and negotiate. Unless of course you want your buisness to fail rather quickly. The Bills are doing the right thing. Sure the team might suffer a bit losing such a great player, but he is going to lose a ton of money in fines, as well as not get paid for sitting out. he is the one with demands for a new contract, he is supposed to be the first to make contact initiate discussions. Its not like the Bills are the ones wanting to pay him more money, they would be ecstatic to keep him at what he is making now. And right now Brandon is saying everything right. Show up to camp, work out with the team, get ready for the season and we will talk. They aren't saying they won't re-do the deal, but they are saying we won't if you hold out. Look around the league, you have a guy like Winslow in Cleveland who wants a new deal, but he said he did not want to become a distraction to his team so he is there at camp working out and working on a new contract. Teams may look at your demands a little better if you are working with them instead of threatening them.

 

And bill, no one is saying that Peters shouldn't get more money (not even the Bills FO are saying that) people are just frowning upon a player that the Bills took off the scrap heap and molded, trained and turned into a star, and now not even half way through his contract he is sitting out and trying to force a new deal. And we all understand that he is a key player in a very imortant position, but even if it was a RB, or QB, or WR, no one would feel differently about it, it would probably just get more media attention because those players are higher profile. I guess though you would feel differently about the situation if it wasn't a linemen and it was someone like Whitner or McGee wanting a deal because they are only DB's and good ones are a dime a dozen?

[Dan]

The Bills seem to be taking a hard line against holdouts - show up to camp, and we'll work with you to get a fair deal. They have a track record of making fair deals with players. I can't argue with that too strongly.

Exactly!

 

Plus to those railing on the FO.... what did you say 2 years ago when they gave a nice fat raise and extension to a rather unproven guy? You loved them for the move, I'll bet. We had just locked up a future probowler to a very reasonable salary. Now, after 2 years, that player that we were so happy to have has decided he wants even more. And you blame the FO for not giving in? Incredible really.

 

I asked this in another thread, but what do you do if 1 or more of our other young players with multiple years still on his contract has a probowl year? Do you extend them all and give them top 5 pay because they want it?

[dave mcbride]

Sean Gilbert sat out a whole year. The key to Peters situation is that he has three years left. There is zero chance he sits out the whole year. He may threaten it but it is nearly impossible.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp...&id=2116504

In the end, Gilbert made out like a bandit too, as I recall.

[eball]

You read this board. There are posters who base virtually every opinion they voice on stats.

Players such as Jason Peters are what matter most to a football team. We lucked into one, and posters are grumbling because he wants more money than guys who are clearly inferior.

It makes no sense.

Bill, the reasonable minds on this board with just a touch of real-life experience acknowledge that Peters has valid arguments for the renegotiation of his contract. What sticks in my craw is the juvenile way in which he has apparently chosen to handle the situation.

 

Act like an adult, and perhaps he'll be treated like one.

[stuckincincy]

Exactly!

 

Plus to those railing on the FO.... what did you say 2 years ago when they gave a nice fat raise and extension to a rather unproven guy? You loved them for the move, I'll bet. We had just locked up a future probowler to a very reasonable salary. Now, after 2 years, that player that we were so happy to have has decided he wants even more. And you blame the FO for not giving in? Incredible really.

 

I asked this in another thread, but what do you do if 1 or more of our other young players with multiple years still on his contract has a probowl year? Do you extend them all and give them top 5 pay because they want it?

 

The majority here were supportive of the B'gal's FO, for telling Ocho Dinko (also under contract) to shove it...