Trading Roscoe....Why??

[VJ91]

Now the teams are coming out of the woodwork to line up and trade their 4th or 5th round draft pick for established return star and lightning fast veteran receiver Roscoe Parrish. Although I have said my last word on Jason Peters, I did read Alan Wilson's article this morning where he basically echoed what I have been ranting about that trade all along.

 

What I will take out of that article is Wilson mentioning Ralph Wilson whining last season about the Bills need more talent. I guess Ralph meant to say his Bills need more cheap talent. Once again, these other teams looking to trade for one of our players know very well how much money he earns, and they know they will have to continue to pay him that much or even offer him a bigger contract extension. The Bills on the other hand, have decided he is no longer worth the money they were paying him.

 

Why? When did Parrish become less of a threat returning punts? When did he start dropping passes? Oh wait, the Bills already have McGee and now McKelvin to return those kicks that Parrish was doing, so now he is too....expensive, right??

 

And, they signed T.O. for one whole season, so of course they need to dump Roscoe's 3.5 Million dollar salary. Excuse me, but if you were the starting FS of a defense facing the Bills this coming season, and you had T.O., Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish lining up against you at the same time, how in the world would you defend all of that talent and speed??

 

Please comment fellow posters, especially the ones who seem to be on board with this insane trade for another late round draft choice. But tell me how this is a way for the Bills to become more talented. Good luck with that.

[Max997]

i dont get it either...he averaged 15.3 yards per punt return last year and even better the year before

 

it doesnt matter how many receivers they have because he is worth keeping just a punt returner

[bluenews]

I think Buffalo wants the ability to move up in the draft. Trading a pick or player to jump ahead a few spots to guarantee they get the player they want key!! Creating a buzz about Roscoe Parrrish can only help. The Bills have two good returners in Terrence McGee and Leodis McKelvin. They can't trade either of those players...Rosoce is expendable. The Bills still have Bobby April!!!

[Coach Tuesday]

Because we have so many other needs, he's a luxury. They need the draft picks so that they can aquire better players at key positions (center, guard, tight end, olb, de, LT). And McKelvin can return punts. And punt returners tend to decline pretty quickly.

[Erik]

Now the teams are coming out of the woodwork to line up and trade their 4th or 5th round draft pick for established return star and lightning fast veteran receiver Roscoe Parrish. Although I have said my last word on Jason Peters, I did read Alan Wilson's article this morning where he basically echoed what I have been ranting about that trade all along.

 

What I will take out of that article is Wilson mentioning Ralph Wilson whining last season about the Bills need more talent. I guess Ralph meant to say his Bills need more cheap talent. Once again, these other teams looking to trade for one of our players know very well how much money he earns, and they know they will have to continue to pay him that much or even offer him a bigger contract extension. The Bills on the other hand, have decided he is no longer worth the money they were paying him.

 

Why? When did Parrish become less of a threat returning punts? When did he start dropping passes? Oh wait, the Bills already have McGee and now McKelvin to return those kicks that Parrish was doing, so now he is too....expensive, right??

 

And, they signed T.O. for one whole season, so of course they need to dump Roscoe's 3.5 Million dollar salary. Excuse me, but if you were the starting FS of a defense facing the Bills this coming season, and you had T.O., Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish lining up against you at the same time, how in the world would you defend all of that talent and speed??

 

Please comment fellow posters, especially the ones who seem to be on board with this insane trade for another late round draft choice. But tell me how this is a way for the Bills to become more talented. Good luck with that.

 

Say it with me now...because Roscoe is not that good. Sure he's a hell of a punt returner but let's save the luxuries for the Steelers and Patriots of the world. He makes 3.5 a year and can't contribute on offense. We have too many holes to be spending that much on a guy who can only positively contribute to 4 or 5 plays a game. But I guess Roscoe will get the Crowell treatment now and everyone will make him out to be better than he is because the team is dumping him. He's had plenty of time to develop into a receiver but he hasn't done it so far...what makes you think that he will do it at all?

[Max997]

Because we have so many other needs, he's a luxury. They need the draft picks so that they can aquire better players at key positions (center, guard, tight end, olb, de, LT). And McKelvin can return punts. And punt returners tend to decline pretty quickly.

 

i would agree with that if they were going to get a 2nd or even a 3rd in return but is trading one of the best punt returners if not the best in the league for a 4th or 5th round pick worth it? what are they possibly going to get with a 4th or a 5th that will come anywhere close to the production that they will get from Parrish?

 

i understand they have McKelvin and McGee but McKelvin is going to play more corner this year and eventually start and I just dont see the Bills using 2 of their top 2 or 3 corners on returns so I dont think we see McGee returning kicks this year

 

the guy makes just over a mil which is nothing these days and is a game changer...and is it a bad thing having more then one guy that can return? worked out last year

[Bufcomments]

Now the teams are coming out of the woodwork to line up and trade their 4th or 5th round draft pick for established return star and lightning fast veteran receiver Roscoe Parrish. Although I have said my last word on Jason Peters, I did read Alan Wilson's article this morning where he basically echoed what I have been ranting about that trade all along.

 

What I will take out of that article is Wilson mentioning Ralph Wilson whining last season about the Bills need more talent. I guess Ralph meant to say his Bills need more cheap talent. Once again, these other teams looking to trade for one of our players know very well how much money he earns, and they know they will have to continue to pay him that much or even offer him a bigger contract extension. The Bills on the other hand, have decided he is no longer worth the money they were paying him.

 

Why? When did Parrish become less of a threat returning punts? When did he start dropping passes? Oh wait, the Bills already have McGee and now McKelvin to return those kicks that Parrish was doing, so now he is too....expensive, right??

 

And, they signed T.O. for one whole season, so of course they need to dump Roscoe's 3.5 Million dollar salary. Excuse me, but if you were the starting FS of a defense facing the Bills this coming season, and you had T.O., Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish lining up against you at the same time, how in the world would you defend all of that talent and speed??

 

Please comment fellow posters, especially the ones who seem to be on board with this insane trade for another late round draft choice. But tell me how this is a way for the Bills to become more talented. Good luck with that.

 

I completely agree with Wilsons article this morning.

 

and I completely agree with this post .

 

The most important thing you said was Ralph is looking for cheap talent. If you look at the TO trade the Bills got him for pretty cheap.

 

The only reason I see them doing this is to add picks so they can trade up and get one of the top 3 OT in the draft

 

I hope it works out cause i see 7-9 again this year

[SouthGeorgiaBillsFan]

The Bills could be planning to trade whatever pick they acquire for Roscoe to move up in the draft. With an abundance of picks now they do have that luxury. But I don't personally believe that is what's going on here. I am inclined to think after the Peters deal that the Bills are positioning themselves to acquire more veteran talent - possibly a TE or DE/OLB via a trade for some of their abundant draft picks. After losing Peters we obviously need to expend a high draft pick to fill the void, and thus it would make sense for the Bills to move to fill one of their defensive holes via a trade or free agent. I think they have their eyes on Jason Taylor, and a move like that might give me back some hope of a successful season. But unlike with the Peters trade, in this case I have to agree that paying Roscoe Parrish 3.5 mil is absolutely insane. Good punt returns are set up by good blocking by the punt return team and nothing else. Granted, a good returner can turn a solid return into a touchdown, but nobody on Earth can return punts without blocking, and the Bills will continue to have that regardless of Parrish. I think trading Parrish and using the picks to acquire far more desperately needed talent is a great idea. I'm not sure what makes people think he is so awesome, but at 3.5 mil he is exorbitantly priced for what minimal contributions he provides.

 

Basically, Roscoe Parrish, at best, is a career role player. He is not above average NFL talent (and I'm really not sure he could be considered even average talent), despite his good speed, which is why he returns punts in the first place. It's the easiest way to utilize his speed, because they don't have to rely on him getting open or catching the ball in coverage. Another small speedy player will always be available to return punts - it is not a position you spend 3.5 mil on.

[richNjoisy]

i would agree with that if they were going to get a 2nd or even a 3rd in return but is trading one of the best punt returners if not the best in the league for a 4th or 5th round pick worth it? what are they possibly going to get with a 4th or a 5th that will come anywhere close to the production that they will get from Parrish?

 

i understand they have McKelvin and McGee but McKelvin is going to play more corner this year and eventually start and I just dont see the Bills using 2 of their top 2 or 3 corners on returns so I dont think we see McGee returning kicks this year

 

the guy makes just over a mil which is nothing these days and is a game changer...and is it a bad thing having more then one guy that can return? worked out last year

 

I absolutely love the excitement of having Roscoe back there with the possibility - every time - of a game changing return.

 

Having said that, I am still FOR a trade since he is almost (I said ALMOST) worthless outside of punt returns. I do remember his great series of catches last year against Oakland - with a wrist/finger injury too as I recall. My huge problem with him is his consistent inconsistency when playing regularly at WR. When Reed went down, instead of taking this opportunity it was like he was not on the field. I started watching him and Trent and I noticed time and again that Trent would throw and Parrish would be in the wrong place (my take IS that Trent threw correctly and Roscoe botched the pattern).

 

If I am correct, Roscoe will never be much more than an occasionally brilliant playmaker but otherwise unreliable WR.

 

With the addition of TO and Johnson coming on plus the return of Hardy, the Bills simply cannot afford to waste the roster spot on Parrish. I hope they use the trade value wisely but who knows.....

[jahnyc]

I also agree with Alan Wilson's article and this post.

 

A game changer and player that can impact field position the way he does is not a "luxury." His total yards per game probably exceed most if not all of our other wide receivers.

 

The Bills will not be moving up from their first pick. I am sure they have no interest in paying more money for that pick by moving up and all of the top LTs will be gone by the time they do pick.

 

Parrish will be a loss. Peters is a devastating loss. Andy Reid is right that it all starts with the lines. We will not win many games if Chambers, Bell or McKinney are starters for the Bills this year. By the way, our defensive line is also weak, in part because we are overpaying for players like Williams and Johnson (and Ellis has not shown anything yet).

[Ray]

The odds of finding an impact player in the 4th or 5th round are quite low. You have a known impact player in Roscoe. He changes field position for the team all the time and teams are content to kick away from him and take a 30 yard net. Why trade a known commodity who definitely helps the team for a player who 80-90% will not even be on the team or NFL in three years. That is dumb.

[bobblehead]

Parrish was exciting- until he had to make a decision on something.

[SouthGeorgiaBillsFan]

The odds of finding an impact player in the 4th or 5th round are quite low. You have a known impact player in Roscoe. He changes field position for the team all the time and teams are content to kick away from him and take a 30 yard net. Why trade a known commodity who definitely helps the team for a player who 80-90% will not even be on the team or NFL in three years. That is dumb.

 

I am just wondering where was this sentiment when the Bills were about to trade away their most talented player at football's second most critical position? You guys think our pro-bowl left tackle is expendable but that our wildly inconsistent WR/punt returner isn't? WTF?? (BTW - its the Bills punt return team that sets up those great returns, not Roscoe Parrish)

[Ray]

Look at some of Roscoe's returns and he makes 5-6 guys miss! That is not the return team setting him up. Plus, he is a very low cap hit the next couple years so you get a lot of band for your buck. Paying a LT that gives up the most sacks in the NFL 12M per year is very poor value. Peters was BELOW average for a LT last year and anyone who objectively evaluates football could be that. One very good year in '07 does not warrant a 12M/year extension. He played no better than K Chambers last year who filled in for him.

My point is simply Roscoe for his cap number provides a lot of value so why trade him.

[Bufcomments]

I am just wondering where was this sentiment when the Bills were about to trade away their most talented player at football's second most critical position? You guys think our pro-bowl left tackle is expendable but that our wildly inconsistent WR/punt returner isn't? WTF?? (BTW - its the Bills punt return team that sets up those great returns, not Roscoe Parrish)

 

Well my view is that Peters didnt want to be here. I dont like the fact that they traded him either but it was clear that he didnt want to play for the Bills

My thing is the return they got for him, that my sticking point.

 

Roscoe is worth a roster spot because he can take it to the house on any play. Can Hardy do that? Reed? Johnson?

 

You dont get better by trading Roscoe for a draft pick. That my line and im sticking to it

[BillsVet]

I also agree with Alan Wilson's article and this post.

 

A game changer and player that can impact field position the way he does is not a "luxury." His total yards per game probably exceed most if not all of our other wide receivers.

 

The Bills will not be moving up from their first pick. I am sure they have no interest in paying more money for that pick by moving up and all of the top LTs will be gone by the time they do pick.

 

Parrish will be a loss. Peters is a devastating loss. Andy Reid is right that it all starts with the lines. We will not win many games if Chambers, Bell or McKinney are starters for the Bills this year. By the way, our defensive line is also weak, in part because we are overpaying for players like Williams and Johnson (and Ellis has not shown anything yet).

 

The Bills pride themselves on having excellent special teams. They've scored points and had good field position from many a PR and KR. Parrish may never be a #2 or #3 WR, but trading him for a 4th or 5th does absolutely nothing to help this team this year. I would file the Peters trade under that same category.

 

What are the Bills doing to help themselves this year? That's the central question, which, IMHO, is very little. TO is a start, but the OL is in serious trouble. Now it appears likely Buffalo will trade perhaps an outstanding PR because he doesn't fit perfectly into their WR depth chart.

 

Draft picks in all probability will not help in 2009. Yet, we're told they know they need to win this season. I don't understand the logic is trading experienced players for future rookies. If it's cap hit, well, would Bills fans rather have a team far below the cap that struggles to 7-9, or one which is going for broke (as they should after 9 non-playoff seasons in a row) that is closer to the cap max?

[todd]

Why? Because he's overpaid for the role he plays with us, and with our talent at WR he won't see the field ever. Not only that, a KR/PR is easy to replace and we likely have one or two on our roster RIGHT NOW. The Bills would be remiss not to get value for a guy who is, as much as a few fools would deny this, expendable and easily replaceable. Getting value for him would allow the bills to expand the TALENT on the team by moving up in the draft or using the picks gained to get another solid veteran at another position.

 

Parrish is replaceable on KR/PR by both McGee AND McKelvin. He's replaceable at WR by any WR currently on Buffalo's roster because Parrish has done nothing at WR.

 

I'm not saying that I don't think Parrish can be electrifying and is a fantastic returner - he is. I'm just saying it would be wise to get value for a guy who is expendable and might not make the team, anyway.

 

For all the bitching people do about how the Bills are never like the patriots in their personnel moves, this is one instance where they are doing EXACTLY what the patriots do. They are interested in getting value for an overpaid player, who has a replacement (or two) right on the roster. Makes perfect sense.

 

Now the teams are coming out of the woodwork to line up and trade their 4th or 5th round draft pick for established return star and lightning fast veteran receiver Roscoe Parrish. Although I have said my last word on Jason Peters, I did read Alan Wilson's article this morning where he basically echoed what I have been ranting about that trade all along.

 

What I will take out of that article is Wilson mentioning Ralph Wilson whining last season about the Bills need more talent. I guess Ralph meant to say his Bills need more cheap talent. Once again, these other teams looking to trade for one of our players know very well how much money he earns, and they know they will have to continue to pay him that much or even offer him a bigger contract extension. The Bills on the other hand, have decided he is no longer worth the money they were paying him.

 

Why? When did Parrish become less of a threat returning punts? When did he start dropping passes? Oh wait, the Bills already have McGee and now McKelvin to return those kicks that Parrish was doing, so now he is too....expensive, right??

 

And, they signed T.O. for one whole season, so of course they need to dump Roscoe's 3.5 Million dollar salary. Excuse me, but if you were the starting FS of a defense facing the Bills this coming season, and you had T.O., Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish lining up against you at the same time, how in the world would you defend all of that talent and speed??

 

Please comment fellow posters, especially the ones who seem to be on board with this insane trade for another late round draft choice. But tell me how this is a way for the Bills to become more talented. Good luck with that.

[Magox]

i would agree with that if they were going to get a 2nd or even a 3rd in return but is trading one of the best punt returners if not the best in the league for a 4th or 5th round pick worth it? what are they possibly going to get with a 4th or a 5th that will come anywhere close to the production that they will get from Parrish?

 

i understand they have McKelvin and McGee but McKelvin is going to play more corner this year and eventually start and I just dont see the Bills using 2 of their top 2 or 3 corners on returns so I dont think we see McGee returning kicks this year

 

the guy makes just over a mil which is nothing these days and is a game changer...and is it a bad thing having more then one guy that can return? worked out last year

If Parrish gets us a fourth, and that fourth may be able to help get us a Brian Waters or John Henderson, then I'm all for it.

[Phlegm Alley]

Remember when Dante "The X-Factor" Hall was arguably the best return man in the league for the Chiefs a few years back?

 

He was traded to the Rams for a 5th round pick. I would say that Roscoe's skills compare to that of Hall's. He was a OK slot receiver with amazing return skills, but his play declined tremendously after the trade.

 

I would have to say that Roscoe is a luxury. He is exciting when he gets his hand's on the ball, however if you take into account what our WR corps looks like this year, will he even have a chance to sniff the field other than on punt returns?

 

Get what you can for him, then, like other posters have mentioned, package that pick with another to either trade for a veteran (Scheffler, Henderson, Waters) or package it to trade up in the draft to select someone that they want to target.

[VOR]

We need to put this in perspective. In 13 games last year, Parrish had 21 punt returns for 322 yards (15.3 average) and a TD. That's an average of 1.6 punts for 24.8 yards, and 0.08 TD's, a game. While it would be nice to keep him, I can't justify keeping him for over $3M.

 

If several teams are interested, the Bills could get a good pick out of this. And with Freddy averaging 16.6 YPR on punts last year, its not like they have no one to potentially replace him.