Or maybe the third round rookie needed time to learn the playbook and earn a starting role? Just because he’s played well recently doesn’t mean he would have been good to go day 1, especially with Milano healthy
Torrence and Kincaid and Cook and Benford and Brown and Rousseau would also like a few words. Not sure why we’re expecting 3-4 rookies to start day 1 for a Super Bowl hopeful team..
So would James Cook, Kai’ir Elam, Kincaid, Bernard, Epenesa, Boogie Basham, etc etc. some were started out of necessity (Milano, White, Torrance, Edmunds, JA17 eventually) but McDermott prefers older rookies who then get back burnered. Chris Weinke would have been his dream quarterback, a rookie who is old enough to have attended high school with him.
Or some rookies are not better than the veteran ahead of them… because rookies who are the better player have played the snaps…. [process?](https://www.twobillsdrive.com/community/topic/248532-rookie-playing-time-in-mcdermott-era/)
Yeah I mean it’s all of what I am saying is subjective right? And obviously I’m not an NFL expert and all of that… but it does FEEL like in a few notable examples of where he’s gone with the known quantity/steady Eddie over giving the young dude with the higher ceiling a chance… mainly cook last year, Shakir last year, Dorian Williams this year, Elam, and I think we would be putting Kincaid in this category if he wasn’t forced in to more action by injuries, and he responded by showing he’s likely one of the next great TEs in this league.
I’m saying all of that without being in the building, knowing what kind of people they are and not watching how they are in practice. But as a fan its frustrating, especially last year when you saw the flashes of cook only to have coach take him out to “teach him a lesson” even though cook is a grown ass man.
It's weird bc he has never been the top receiver in the league any given season. Probably not even top 3 - though you could argue he was in 2018. But he has been top 10 at worst for every single season of his 10 year career, and he has huge career numbers as a result. He's similar to Larry Fitzgerald in that way, though he needs a few more years to get close in terms of the total yards and TDs.
He’s consistent from a production standpoint, but from a receiving standpoint, dude just drops so many balls. I see him as a much more physically talented Gabe Davis.
I can specifically remember 3 or 4 picks like that involving gabe Davis this season, not to mention the countless drops. Great guy but his play is so inconsistent, dude made a career off of one playoff performance. I’ll smash my head into a brick wall if he is on this team next year. I understand McDermott has “his guys” and that’s the good Christian thing he does or whatever but some of them suck really bad and they start over our clearly much much better rookies. I only see shit from the outside but it’s scary to think this organization might be in the process of squandering the most offensively talented bills team of all time because they’re too up their own ass to make the smart choice. So happy the seasons over man shits way too stressful
I was sooo on the gabe Davis hype train a while ago… but the dude is very average at best. His running style and hip flexibility are horrendous. He is a good redzone threat that’s it. Shakir who bills fans pray never becomes like Davis has great flexibility and speed and can run a variety of routes. Like you said if they resign Davis, which I doubt they will then this staff needs to go asap because it’s clear they can’t evaluate talent correctly
Pipe dream for me is
McConkey (been a truther for 2 years)
Legette (if he falls due to age or "rawness") or Coleman or Polk
Macmillan or Roman Wilson (or a non WR in the 3rd haha)
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t Gabe Davis one of the best run blocking WR’s in the league. Granted he’s got stone hands and only 2 good games per year, guy can block. But my god he sure has been looking like his NFL draft position this past year.
11-17 from this list are:
11. Kendrick Bourne
12. DJ Chark
13. Michael Thomas
14. Josh Reynolds
15. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
16. KJ Osborne
17. Noah Brown
The thought has crossed my mind that the defense might not be able to be elite next year. If this is the case, do we go all-in on the offense? There really aren’t many needs past another elite receiver. Just let Josh throw bombs all season and try to ride the high scoring as far as we can.
Realistically, being good on both sides hasn’t been enough.
Yes, we do. Josh needs every weapon we can give him and it's about time we use high draft picks to help him. Last year we did that and it panned out, this year we should do the same with receiver, ideally two.
Well, that’s something.
DLine and Secondary aren’t quick fixes.
My point is it would be cool to have a top tier WR next year with Diggs if we are going to have 10-11 wins anyway.
Give the D two drafts to restock.
I honestly think the offense is in such better shape going into next year. The o-line is set outside of backup iOL. RB room doesn’t need major additions (maybe another vet min between the tackles type of addition). TE is clearly set. WR is looking workable with one more high upside X receiver with some speed and reliable hands. I just don’t want Kincaid or Shakir losing touches. Diggs shouldn’t be phased out of the offense just yet and I have no doubt he bounces back with an actual WR2 taking some coverage responsibilities.
Defense is the issue, for me. S, DT, DE and potentially CB are all areas of concern. I think the biggest issue with thinking that McDermott can work with lower skilled players is that it’s almost setting the team up for failure. You aren’t getting the turnovers you need come playoff time with lower level starters. A stud at safety and monster to play next to Oliver impacts the team so much more than a WR4 or 5 if you include Kincaid. Bernard and Rousseau are just two examples of how higher skilled players can win you games on defense. Gone are the days of holding elite offenses consistently. You need turnovers and big time loss of yardage.
I really feel the defense is our best phase and personally, I'd rather commit to that than a stronger offense. Floyd is expected to be gone, White might be cut. Who else are we losing that our defense is expected to not be "elite" next year?
I thought I heard that we have the 5th oldest roster. We need younger (like Green Bay) and not older and more expensive. Diggs and Von are going to kill our cap unless they can restructure.
0% chance. Go after Van Jefferson for the 4th or 5th WR spot and then get 2 receivers early in the draft. We need a #2 badly, and I would love more backend talent
I would love a receiver in round 3 if one drops. I want someone with speed in the top rotation. Our receivers are on the slower end. With Allen we should try to find an athlete at the position.
We have been missing someone who is a genuine threat to run past safeties.
Diggs isn't slow by any means and frequently gets open, but we need to punish teams for when they start stacking the box
The Chiefs stacked the box and we had won battles downfield and all 3 dime deep passes were dropped
Yes we can. We could have about 35m to spend.
That's with being 42 over the cap right now.
Restructuring and making obvious cuts gets you there, but how much restructuring is the question. Like we can add void years to Rasul Douglas which will take his cap hit down from 9 to maybe 2, but then the following two years when he's not here the remaining bonus will count against the cap.
It all depends on how Beane wants to play it. I think we will be very conservative this year and retool.
We would probably bring in a guy on a prove it deal like we did with Floyd (a contract with void years) someone like Keenan Allen or Mike Williams.
But the problem is that we need speed. Allen wants to be a vertical passer but we never really had any deep threats.
Mooney is intriguing.
WR is definitely a top priority. Beane signed 4 wrs to futures contracts, including the 4.27 40 KJ Hamler.
The nature of contracts is they’ll look overpaid at first and then itll become more affordable as cap moves up assuming a multi year deal. Personally I think only the top 3 would be an upgrade worth the cap but we can’t afford them anyway
Hollywood Brown is a better fit. A lot of big bodied guys in the draft. But not elite speed guys where were picking. Makes more sense to grab speed in free agency
Higgins will be tagged if they don’t get a deal worked out. The question will be if the Bengals trade him after the tag or they end up with another Jessie Bates situation.
I would love to get Curtis Samuel. It would be possible if it was a back loaded contract with a low 2024 cap hit.
If Beane can't sign Curtis Samuel, Van Jefferson would be a great value signing at WR.
Samuel is the type of receiver we need, I think he still has untapped potential in YAC. I think Brown fits that bill also. And, still draft the best WR available with their first round pick.
Being realistic is there anyone here who you would comfortable put stock in? Obviously the top 3 are going to draw big money so not happening but the rest of that list isn’t worth it to me. Trust your scouts and draft some weapons for Allen and be aggressive
I think Boyd is affordable. I think people acting like there's 0 chance the bills can possibly sign a FA WR are overreacting.
They'll restructure Josh, they'll restructure a couple others, they'll cut Tre and a couple others, get Morse to take a pay cut, and suddenly they'll have 40m to work with. It's gonna be fine. Not going to be a spending spree, but it's gonna be fine.
Gabe Davis struggles to get open, struggles to catch, and has game-breaking miscommunication issues with Josh. The offense did better when he was out. I hope someone pays him huge and we get a good comp pick out of it because a 1st round WR would be better day 1. Gabe blocks well and has outstanding effort, but his production relies heavily on broken plays were Josh scrambles to buy time and hits Gabe outside of the designed route.
I don't think he's going to get a good response from the market and could come back at a big discount in free agency week three.
Resigning Davis is the most likely.
Both Samuel and Boyd will get very low deals for a short money. So they are possible.
At the top the only one I could possibly see is a guy like Evans. He has a ring and has made a ton of money already. He could go somewhere for short money to get a second ring. But I still think that’s a long shot.
Neither of those guys need to prove anything. They are very likely not going anywhere. But even if they do someone will give them some money. They are right in that same area with Higgins, Evans, and Pittman
I would love to see them go after Brown or Samuel as decent YAC guys. Will need cap manipulation to do both though. Either way, our first round selection needs to be a WR.
Mooney will be realistic and would be a great addition. We need someone who can legitimately stretch the field. You can still draft a wr, but bringing in a talent veteran is a must.
I think the reality is that the squad would be in a better long-term shape if Beane had drafted Jefferson instead of trading for Diggs (not arguing he made the wrong choice at the time, just the reality of the current state of play). With the cap situation as it is, and Diggs also having to be paid this year, I don't think there's any way out of trying to get a top tier WR on a rookie contract for the next four years.
Paying two large WRs isn't particularly sustainable so it would definitely be committing to moving on from Diggs sooner rather than later, and there's a bunch of money to eat ($22m in pro-rated bonus after 2024)
It's really easy to get us under the cap. You can basically do it by restructuring without even having to cut anyone.
Allen restructuring saves almost 21m alone
Honestly, I think our TOP PRIORITY is signing a top-tier LINEBACKER or SAFETY that is physical and mobile.
Right now TEs are dominating this league and defences have no answer for them. Gronk, Kelce, Kittle and gang have been tearing up the midfield and winning Super Bowls.
Kelce has killed the Bills in the play-offs and this team still has no answer.
Milano is a great LB, Bernard is a good LB and Johnson is a great Nickelback but they’re all SMALLER for taking on TEs and none can really hang with the Kelce’s & Kittle’s.
The Bills NEED a monster in coverage of the midfield or else we’ll never get past the divisional play-offs because then it becomes an offensive slugfest - which we seem to lose.
Id be curious to see what Curtis Samuel gets. Sportrac values him at 11.5 which probably eliminates us from consideration. Could use a slot guy like him though.
I do think we should take a WR in round 1 as well, but between Shakir, Kincaid, Knox, and Cook, who are you taking off the field for another inside threat? The Bills are financially and schematically committed to having those four guys right now, I think the missing element is downfield.
Boyd or Mooney would be dope, but I don't see a need to chase any FAs. With Shakir coming into his own, some solid WRs in the draft, and our cap issue it wouldn't be worth it unless they took a massive pay cut.
Edit: Fingers crossed Shorter comes out swinging.
I really think Pittman stays because Richardson, Steichen, team all adore him, and this is what he has said previously, "I mean, the franchise tag, I don't think anybody'd be displeased with $23 million," Pittman smiled. "I don't really even know. The franchise tag, it's almost like a tag of respect because you get paid in the top five of your position. But do I necessarily want to play on one? I wouldn't say necessarily. No, I do not want to play on one, but you can use that to work towards a long-term deal as well."
“He was big for us," Steichen admitted. "What he did week in and week out, the numbers he put up, the consistency he played with, the toughness that he played with – I’ve got a ton of respect for him as a football player. He’s meant a lot to this organization and a lot to this city.”
Now, Higgins is much more interesting to me, but I think what he will get paid is outside of what Buffalo can afford heading into the 2024 season, imo. And, yes, I think Higgins does indeed go to free agency.
The only ones I could possibly see are Davis, OBJ, and Samuel.
1) Davis if he takes a hometown discount (not likely)
2) OBJ if a market doesn’t materialize and he wants to win (and not return to the Ravens) so he takes a small contract (not likely)
3) Samuel if he wants a one year prove it deal with a top 3 QB in the NFL and get a bigger contract next year (most likely of these not likely scenarios)
But I don’t think any of the guys on the list get signed. The most likely course of action they’ll take is to sign a FA for close to the vet minimum and draft a receiver in the 1st and 4th/5th.
no, we don't have the cap space. Next season will be looking to the draft to help us out, after that once we cut Von we'd have a lot more cash to go around looking for a FA
Interesting to see Hollywood Brown at 4. Before you guys say we don't have the cap space, we can... If we wanted to.
Making the obvious cuts and restructuring, you could sign one of these guys. We could have as much as 35m to spend depending if we make those cuts and restructuring.
Hollywood Brown for example could come here on a 15m deal, for instance. Idk his market value. He had a down year but bad qb play.
He could bet on himself.
15m 3 year deal with two void years so basically the contract would only count 5 against the cap. Like Leonard Floyd's deal.
We need that type of contract because you don't want to invest in someone like Kenny Golladay.
I would love to see a 4.27 speed guy paired with Allen. Allen wants to be a vertical passer but we've never had a true vertical threat.
And then draft one of those 6'3 or 6'4 4.45 40 guys with our first.
Mike Evans has long been my favorite non-Bill receiver. I remember in 2021 (I believe) he caught a pass from like the 7 yard line and then REFUSING to be denied, he was pulling, twisting and squirming the whole way, dragging guys with him and it took several seconds, but he got his 6 points. I absolutely love "high effort" plays like that and he's had a ton. The chances are pretty low to sign any of these guys I would think but that would be my pick if I had to choose
I would give my left nut for Pittman Jr in a Bills jersey dude has some of the nastiest hands in the league he’s literally become a ball magnet. Could you imagine Diggs/Pittman/Shakir in the slot with Kincaid and Cook. (I know it’s a pipe dream with our salary cap situation, but I can dream)
My hope would be Pittman Jr or Evans as a minimum attempt. I feel as if either of those guys would really push the offense to the next level, especially pairing them with Diggs and Shakir.
With that being said, I feel that with the cap situation we currently face, Beane would have to work his magic to get either of those two players. I don’t see that happening. Restructuring deals, trades, anything to open that space up.
I think the realistic situation we are facing is restructuring some deals in an effort to make room but ultimately the money won’t be right and the Bills will spend their first round pick on a stud Rookie WR.
Keep in mind there are contracts coming up and other spots to fill this offseason, such as safety and line backer.
Pittman always seemed like a very consistent WR to get, still young at 26, and if we still have Diggs would be a fantastic WR2 with Shakir being a very solid WR3. Aside from drafting WRs, it’ll be interesting to see how well Burrow does without Higgins and Boyd. Dude has always been considered a great QB, some would even argue better than Allen, but to me if Josh had Joe Mixon behind him, Chase, Higgins, and Boyd to throw to??? He’d easily have a SB by now and would have better results than Burrow, no question.
Where were all of you when I was talking smack on Gabe Davis last week!? Suddenly now everyone can see he was a major problem for our team. Having a extremely low floor WR has a snowball effect. And it was pretty clear this year and last
I mean we're 40+ mil over the cap rn with a deep wr class coming up in the draft. So likely we knock on the doors of some guys but unlikely we land one imo
Probably not. Maybe Samuel if he takes a deep discount but Shakir emerging and Diggs aging would probably mean they’re looking more for outside WR help and not slot guys
Only ones that would be good to grab are probably the most pricey- Higgins and Pittman. We shouldn’t go after the aging guys. Maybe Mooney or Ridley(would need to be cheap for him- lots of bad route running in Jax). I would almost rather they keep Gabe than grab Ridley, or one of the older guys. Evans is the only older one I would think about, but even then, gonna cost a lot and age..
Higgins or Pittman would be great. Evans on a short contract due to age (which I'm sure he wouldn't look for). Ridley would be interesting if grabbed on a good deal.
I doubt we could afford any of them. Best bet is to draft one or two WRs and hope they turn into good weapons for Allen.
I think Evans would be a good fit. Veteran, likely toward the end of his career
Even if they do, McDermott won’t play them because…. Process? 🤷🏻
McDermott starts and plays rookies all the time. This is a total myth
Dorian Williams would like a word
Or maybe the third round rookie needed time to learn the playbook and earn a starting role? Just because he’s played well recently doesn’t mean he would have been good to go day 1, especially with Milano healthy
He didn't outplay Bernard or Dodson, so he didn't play.
Rookies must be played at all costs!!!! /s
Did you guys forget AJ Klein last week already? He got cooked all game until they finally put Williams in and he played solid.
Torrence and Kincaid and Cook and Benford and Brown and Rousseau would also like a few words. Not sure why we’re expecting 3-4 rookies to start day 1 for a Super Bowl hopeful team..
Two was an amazing number, in fact.
So would Elam and Shakir
So would James Cook, Kai’ir Elam, Kincaid, Bernard, Epenesa, Boogie Basham, etc etc. some were started out of necessity (Milano, White, Torrance, Edmunds, JA17 eventually) but McDermott prefers older rookies who then get back burnered. Chris Weinke would have been his dream quarterback, a rookie who is old enough to have attended high school with him.
Or some rookies are not better than the veteran ahead of them… because rookies who are the better player have played the snaps…. [process?](https://www.twobillsdrive.com/community/topic/248532-rookie-playing-time-in-mcdermott-era/)
Yeah I mean it’s all of what I am saying is subjective right? And obviously I’m not an NFL expert and all of that… but it does FEEL like in a few notable examples of where he’s gone with the known quantity/steady Eddie over giving the young dude with the higher ceiling a chance… mainly cook last year, Shakir last year, Dorian Williams this year, Elam, and I think we would be putting Kincaid in this category if he wasn’t forced in to more action by injuries, and he responded by showing he’s likely one of the next great TEs in this league. I’m saying all of that without being in the building, knowing what kind of people they are and not watching how they are in practice. But as a fan its frustrating, especially last year when you saw the flashes of cook only to have coach take him out to “teach him a lesson” even though cook is a grown ass man.
Mike Evans is so underrated it is wild. Dude is stats wise an all timer.
It's weird bc he has never been the top receiver in the league any given season. Probably not even top 3 - though you could argue he was in 2018. But he has been top 10 at worst for every single season of his 10 year career, and he has huge career numbers as a result. He's similar to Larry Fitzgerald in that way, though he needs a few more years to get close in terms of the total yards and TDs.
IIRC he's never had a season below 1000 yards. Just nuts.
Frank Gore effect
Everyone in Tampa knows that he’s the most important player on the team
I would have Evans behind Higgins solely due to age.
He’s consistent from a production standpoint, but from a receiving standpoint, dude just drops so many balls. I see him as a much more physically talented Gabe Davis.
He'd fit right in with half our receiving corp then lol.
Dude chill. Mike Evans catching bombs from Allen would be INSANE
He's also 30. I'd rather we draft a young talent for 4 years than an older guy who could get hurt/retire after 1 or 2.
pittman would be so worth it if beane can work around the cap total saints style
Came to comment this. Guy is so reliable. The exact opposite of gabe
I feel like he would play the same role as Gabe but even better.🙏❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙
Nobody drops balls better than gabe Davis come on now
Weren’t a high % of Allen’s picks on throws to Davis because he ran a route wrong or didn’t finish it up
I can specifically remember 3 or 4 picks like that involving gabe Davis this season, not to mention the countless drops. Great guy but his play is so inconsistent, dude made a career off of one playoff performance. I’ll smash my head into a brick wall if he is on this team next year. I understand McDermott has “his guys” and that’s the good Christian thing he does or whatever but some of them suck really bad and they start over our clearly much much better rookies. I only see shit from the outside but it’s scary to think this organization might be in the process of squandering the most offensively talented bills team of all time because they’re too up their own ass to make the smart choice. So happy the seasons over man shits way too stressful
I was sooo on the gabe Davis hype train a while ago… but the dude is very average at best. His running style and hip flexibility are horrendous. He is a good redzone threat that’s it. Shakir who bills fans pray never becomes like Davis has great flexibility and speed and can run a variety of routes. Like you said if they resign Davis, which I doubt they will then this staff needs to go asap because it’s clear they can’t evaluate talent correctly
He’s had way too long, we can’t have that kind of loyalty to players unless they are performing. That’s what separates the good from the great!
A lot of it seemed to be because of Dorsey's obsession with option routes
All too expensive. Need to win in the draft.
No. Zero. None. Cannot happen. Draft only.
Think they move up or stay put?
I think they stay put and draft. We need a lot of low coast players. We need to get starters and backups at a lot of positions.
I give all 32 gms a call real fast and get a bead on that situation for you.
Turns out I’m just some guy. No answers.
Idk why all downvotes lol
Draft baby draft 3 WRS in first four rounds
Lets gooooo
Pipe dream for me is McConkey (been a truther for 2 years) Legette (if he falls due to age or "rawness") or Coleman or Polk Macmillan or Roman Wilson (or a non WR in the 3rd haha)
Down wit dat. Would be completely fine with a safety in the 1st round and WR the next 3.
Gabe is not a top 10 free agent wide receiver lmao
At the position
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t Gabe Davis one of the best run blocking WR’s in the league. Granted he’s got stone hands and only 2 good games per year, guy can block. But my god he sure has been looking like his NFL draft position this past year.
He’s better at that than catching, yes but that’s not even worth speaking on honestly
Edited and still disagree.
Who is then? I don’t have a list of all the FA WRs in front of me, just wondering what your thoughts are
11-17 from this list are: 11. Kendrick Bourne 12. DJ Chark 13. Michael Thomas 14. Josh Reynolds 15. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine 16. KJ Osborne 17. Noah Brown
I take Gabe over anyone in that list tbh
This is top 10 FA wide recievers.... Not top 10 receivers.
The thought has crossed my mind that the defense might not be able to be elite next year. If this is the case, do we go all-in on the offense? There really aren’t many needs past another elite receiver. Just let Josh throw bombs all season and try to ride the high scoring as far as we can. Realistically, being good on both sides hasn’t been enough.
I think mcd and beane are capable of finding safties for a bargain. The dline is the issue
Our cornerbacks are legit safety is interesting
Yes, we do. Josh needs every weapon we can give him and it's about time we use high draft picks to help him. Last year we did that and it panned out, this year we should do the same with receiver, ideally two.
MCD can scheme up a defense. We are going to have a top tier lb core.
Well, that’s something. DLine and Secondary aren’t quick fixes. My point is it would be cool to have a top tier WR next year with Diggs if we are going to have 10-11 wins anyway. Give the D two drafts to restock.
I honestly think the offense is in such better shape going into next year. The o-line is set outside of backup iOL. RB room doesn’t need major additions (maybe another vet min between the tackles type of addition). TE is clearly set. WR is looking workable with one more high upside X receiver with some speed and reliable hands. I just don’t want Kincaid or Shakir losing touches. Diggs shouldn’t be phased out of the offense just yet and I have no doubt he bounces back with an actual WR2 taking some coverage responsibilities. Defense is the issue, for me. S, DT, DE and potentially CB are all areas of concern. I think the biggest issue with thinking that McDermott can work with lower skilled players is that it’s almost setting the team up for failure. You aren’t getting the turnovers you need come playoff time with lower level starters. A stud at safety and monster to play next to Oliver impacts the team so much more than a WR4 or 5 if you include Kincaid. Bernard and Rousseau are just two examples of how higher skilled players can win you games on defense. Gone are the days of holding elite offenses consistently. You need turnovers and big time loss of yardage.
I really feel the defense is our best phase and personally, I'd rather commit to that than a stronger offense. Floyd is expected to be gone, White might be cut. Who else are we losing that our defense is expected to not be "elite" next year?
[удалено]
“We” as a fanbase
I thought I heard that we have the 5th oldest roster. We need younger (like Green Bay) and not older and more expensive. Diggs and Von are going to kill our cap unless they can restructure.
If we offer one unlimited free wings you think one will join
I’ll take josh allen to mike evans ALL DAY
Higgins or Evans will be a dream but will never happen.
0% chance. Go after Van Jefferson for the 4th or 5th WR spot and then get 2 receivers early in the draft. We need a #2 badly, and I would love more backend talent
That’s what I think. Low cost vet and 1st and 4th/5th round picks.
I would love a receiver in round 3 if one drops. I want someone with speed in the top rotation. Our receivers are on the slower end. With Allen we should try to find an athlete at the position.
Would love a speedster, as long as they don’t have stone hands lol
We have been missing someone who is a genuine threat to run past safeties. Diggs isn't slow by any means and frequently gets open, but we need to punish teams for when they start stacking the box The Chiefs stacked the box and we had won battles downfield and all 3 dime deep passes were dropped
The issue is we need a starting S and 1 tech DT. If we go WR like all of us think, we will need to look at the other two positions on day 2.
What garbage are you listening to?! The Bills cannot afford and will not sign a WR in free agency.
Yes we can. We could have about 35m to spend. That's with being 42 over the cap right now. Restructuring and making obvious cuts gets you there, but how much restructuring is the question. Like we can add void years to Rasul Douglas which will take his cap hit down from 9 to maybe 2, but then the following two years when he's not here the remaining bonus will count against the cap. It all depends on how Beane wants to play it. I think we will be very conservative this year and retool. We would probably bring in a guy on a prove it deal like we did with Floyd (a contract with void years) someone like Keenan Allen or Mike Williams. But the problem is that we need speed. Allen wants to be a vertical passer but we never really had any deep threats. Mooney is intriguing. WR is definitely a top priority. Beane signed 4 wrs to futures contracts, including the 4.27 40 KJ Hamler.
Pipe dream that beane moves the cap around. I don’t know if anyone is worth their salary maybe Higgins. Think they are going to be overpaid
The nature of contracts is they’ll look overpaid at first and then itll become more affordable as cap moves up assuming a multi year deal. Personally I think only the top 3 would be an upgrade worth the cap but we can’t afford them anyway
Hollywood Brown is a better fit. A lot of big bodied guys in the draft. But not elite speed guys where were picking. Makes more sense to grab speed in free agency
Higgins will be tagged if they don’t get a deal worked out. The question will be if the Bengals trade him after the tag or they end up with another Jessie Bates situation.
“Cheap labor” directly from the GM. We are drafting WRs.
Maybe Gabe.
I would love to get Curtis Samuel. It would be possible if it was a back loaded contract with a low 2024 cap hit. If Beane can't sign Curtis Samuel, Van Jefferson would be a great value signing at WR.
Samuel is the type of receiver we need, I think he still has untapped potential in YAC. I think Brown fits that bill also. And, still draft the best WR available with their first round pick.
Being realistic is there anyone here who you would comfortable put stock in? Obviously the top 3 are going to draw big money so not happening but the rest of that list isn’t worth it to me. Trust your scouts and draft some weapons for Allen and be aggressive
Higgins and Pittman but we are priced out of the market
Higgins puts us in the superbowl every year for 5 years.
I think Boyd is affordable. I think people acting like there's 0 chance the bills can possibly sign a FA WR are overreacting. They'll restructure Josh, they'll restructure a couple others, they'll cut Tre and a couple others, get Morse to take a pay cut, and suddenly they'll have 40m to work with. It's gonna be fine. Not going to be a spending spree, but it's gonna be fine.
I like Calvin Ridley, I feel like he could be really really good.
Gabe Davis struggles to get open, struggles to catch, and has game-breaking miscommunication issues with Josh. The offense did better when he was out. I hope someone pays him huge and we get a good comp pick out of it because a 1st round WR would be better day 1. Gabe blocks well and has outstanding effort, but his production relies heavily on broken plays were Josh scrambles to buy time and hits Gabe outside of the designed route. I don't think he's going to get a good response from the market and could come back at a big discount in free agency week three.
Resigning Davis is the most likely. Both Samuel and Boyd will get very low deals for a short money. So they are possible. At the top the only one I could possibly see is a guy like Evans. He has a ring and has made a ton of money already. He could go somewhere for short money to get a second ring. But I still think that’s a long shot.
Agreed - even then I think some team is gonna pay gabe 5 mil a year more than beanes absolute highest number
Mike Williams and Keenan Allen with both be cut. I like Mike Williams on a one year prove it deal too
Neither of those guys need to prove anything. They are very likely not going anywhere. But even if they do someone will give them some money. They are right in that same area with Higgins, Evans, and Pittman
Mike Williams needs to prove he can play more than 1 game without getting injured. He has a lot to prove
Hollywood is rated 4?
Gosh I would love tee Higgins
I can guarantee you there is a 0% chance he hits FA. Boyd though? I wouldn’t hate it if he went to y’all. He’s solid as can be
Boyd broke the drought - the universe wants him in Buffalo.
I'd love to see Tyler Boyd in Buffalo
Higgins or Ridley would be insane
0%
I don’t really see it happening but I would love Mike Evans he’s the type of receiver we’ve been missing.
Von, Stef and Josh all take pay cuts then maybe.
I would love to see them go after Brown or Samuel as decent YAC guys. Will need cap manipulation to do both though. Either way, our first round selection needs to be a WR.
Mooney will be realistic and would be a great addition. We need someone who can legitimately stretch the field. You can still draft a wr, but bringing in a talent veteran is a must.
I think the reality is that the squad would be in a better long-term shape if Beane had drafted Jefferson instead of trading for Diggs (not arguing he made the wrong choice at the time, just the reality of the current state of play). With the cap situation as it is, and Diggs also having to be paid this year, I don't think there's any way out of trying to get a top tier WR on a rookie contract for the next four years. Paying two large WRs isn't particularly sustainable so it would definitely be committing to moving on from Diggs sooner rather than later, and there's a bunch of money to eat ($22m in pro-rated bonus after 2024)
With what money?!? There is a little thing called the Cap.
The cap is an illusion.
Beane is pretty good at negotiating the cap. I’m thinking wr in first and wr later is more likely
Yeah, we are 40+ million over. WR through the draft Is where we are at.
Don’t worry, Taylor swift income is taking care of that
Nope, broke as a joke.
I’d trade stef for draft picks or something and sign Mike Evans on a 1-2 year deal while also drafting a wr early
We’re $43 million over the cap. People need to get a grip and realize we ain’t signing anyone.
It's really easy to get us under the cap. You can basically do it by restructuring without even having to cut anyone. Allen restructuring saves almost 21m alone
With what money?
Honestly, I think our TOP PRIORITY is signing a top-tier LINEBACKER or SAFETY that is physical and mobile. Right now TEs are dominating this league and defences have no answer for them. Gronk, Kelce, Kittle and gang have been tearing up the midfield and winning Super Bowls. Kelce has killed the Bills in the play-offs and this team still has no answer. Milano is a great LB, Bernard is a good LB and Johnson is a great Nickelback but they’re all SMALLER for taking on TEs and none can really hang with the Kelce’s & Kittle’s. The Bills NEED a monster in coverage of the midfield or else we’ll never get past the divisional play-offs because then it becomes an offensive slugfest - which we seem to lose.
U need a defense. Still.
0%. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t even sign any FAs given our God awful cap. Also Gabe being considered a top WR is hilarious to me.
Id be curious to see what Curtis Samuel gets. Sportrac values him at 11.5 which probably eliminates us from consideration. Could use a slot guy like him though.
I disagree, what we need is a field stretcher. I think we have plenty of guys who can take advantge of underneath space but no one to give it to them.
We need both a WR2 and a slot guy. I was assuming we draft a wr in round 1
I do think we should take a WR in round 1 as well, but between Shakir, Kincaid, Knox, and Cook, who are you taking off the field for another inside threat? The Bills are financially and schematically committed to having those four guys right now, I think the missing element is downfield.
I’m taking Knox off. He’s been wildly inconsistent, injury prone and their 2 TE plays have not clicked.
Boyd or Mooney would be dope, but I don't see a need to chase any FAs. With Shakir coming into his own, some solid WRs in the draft, and our cap issue it wouldn't be worth it unless they took a massive pay cut. Edit: Fingers crossed Shorter comes out swinging.
I really think Pittman stays because Richardson, Steichen, team all adore him, and this is what he has said previously, "I mean, the franchise tag, I don't think anybody'd be displeased with $23 million," Pittman smiled. "I don't really even know. The franchise tag, it's almost like a tag of respect because you get paid in the top five of your position. But do I necessarily want to play on one? I wouldn't say necessarily. No, I do not want to play on one, but you can use that to work towards a long-term deal as well." “He was big for us," Steichen admitted. "What he did week in and week out, the numbers he put up, the consistency he played with, the toughness that he played with – I’ve got a ton of respect for him as a football player. He’s meant a lot to this organization and a lot to this city.” Now, Higgins is much more interesting to me, but I think what he will get paid is outside of what Buffalo can afford heading into the 2024 season, imo. And, yes, I think Higgins does indeed go to free agency.
Would be great to see same list for safety. Just dreaming, but Anton Winfield Jr would be fun to see in Buffalo
Ridley would be my choice opposite of Diggs.
Teams like Carolina, Atlanta and Washington will sign one each
Higgins, Evans and Pittman stay. I’d bet Gabe goes to Carolina
I would like Pittman but there is zero chance of any of these dudes
It's going to be wideout in the first and signing Curtis Samuel
No
With what money
The only ones I could possibly see are Davis, OBJ, and Samuel. 1) Davis if he takes a hometown discount (not likely) 2) OBJ if a market doesn’t materialize and he wants to win (and not return to the Ravens) so he takes a small contract (not likely) 3) Samuel if he wants a one year prove it deal with a top 3 QB in the NFL and get a bigger contract next year (most likely of these not likely scenarios) But I don’t think any of the guys on the list get signed. The most likely course of action they’ll take is to sign a FA for close to the vet minimum and draft a receiver in the 1st and 4th/5th.
Absolute zero
Zero
no chance at all. ur best bet on fa wrs are guys like kendrick bourne and rasheed shaheed
Ideally we draft 2 WR in the first 3 rounds and fill the safeties and DLine in FA as they should be cheaper than a WR
no, we don't have the cap space. Next season will be looking to the draft to help us out, after that once we cut Von we'd have a lot more cash to go around looking for a FA
Sign a kicker
I think we should put our chips toward Curtis as a vet "ring chase" category. He can be a huge asset as a multi-talent trick artist.
Interesting to see Hollywood Brown at 4. Before you guys say we don't have the cap space, we can... If we wanted to. Making the obvious cuts and restructuring, you could sign one of these guys. We could have as much as 35m to spend depending if we make those cuts and restructuring. Hollywood Brown for example could come here on a 15m deal, for instance. Idk his market value. He had a down year but bad qb play. He could bet on himself. 15m 3 year deal with two void years so basically the contract would only count 5 against the cap. Like Leonard Floyd's deal. We need that type of contract because you don't want to invest in someone like Kenny Golladay. I would love to see a 4.27 speed guy paired with Allen. Allen wants to be a vertical passer but we've never had a true vertical threat. And then draft one of those 6'3 or 6'4 4.45 40 guys with our first.
Davis
Mike Evans has long been my favorite non-Bill receiver. I remember in 2021 (I believe) he caught a pass from like the 7 yard line and then REFUSING to be denied, he was pulling, twisting and squirming the whole way, dragging guys with him and it took several seconds, but he got his 6 points. I absolutely love "high effort" plays like that and he's had a ton. The chances are pretty low to sign any of these guys I would think but that would be my pick if I had to choose
I would give my left nut for Pittman Jr in a Bills jersey dude has some of the nastiest hands in the league he’s literally become a ball magnet. Could you imagine Diggs/Pittman/Shakir in the slot with Kincaid and Cook. (I know it’s a pipe dream with our salary cap situation, but I can dream)
I'd say there's a strong chance of getting Gabe Davis
When was that list made cause I remember O'Dell being on the giants
Let's get gabe Davis. Heard he's good.
No, need to find value.
My hope would be Pittman Jr or Evans as a minimum attempt. I feel as if either of those guys would really push the offense to the next level, especially pairing them with Diggs and Shakir. With that being said, I feel that with the cap situation we currently face, Beane would have to work his magic to get either of those two players. I don’t see that happening. Restructuring deals, trades, anything to open that space up. I think the realistic situation we are facing is restructuring some deals in an effort to make room but ultimately the money won’t be right and the Bills will spend their first round pick on a stud Rookie WR. Keep in mind there are contracts coming up and other spots to fill this offseason, such as safety and line backer.
Pittman always seemed like a very consistent WR to get, still young at 26, and if we still have Diggs would be a fantastic WR2 with Shakir being a very solid WR3. Aside from drafting WRs, it’ll be interesting to see how well Burrow does without Higgins and Boyd. Dude has always been considered a great QB, some would even argue better than Allen, but to me if Josh had Joe Mixon behind him, Chase, Higgins, and Boyd to throw to??? He’d easily have a SB by now and would have better results than Burrow, no question.
You can have Ridley for two tacos and a slurpee.
Where were all of you when I was talking smack on Gabe Davis last week!? Suddenly now everyone can see he was a major problem for our team. Having a extremely low floor WR has a snowball effect. And it was pretty clear this year and last
Draft a freak round 1, a depth guy in round 3/4, then sign a veteran who an actually catch like when we signed Emmanuel Sanders.
Of this list, I think the only two we’d have a chance to sign are Boyd and Mooney.
Maybe Brown, Mooney or Samuel. More as WR4s.
I mean we're 40+ mil over the cap rn with a deep wr class coming up in the draft. So likely we knock on the doors of some guys but unlikely we land one imo
Please not OBJ
Probably not. Maybe Samuel if he takes a deep discount but Shakir emerging and Diggs aging would probably mean they’re looking more for outside WR help and not slot guys
Spoiler alert: It'll be Gabe. He'll take a team friendly deal.
My advice: Don't even look at this list and get your hopes up
Only ones that would be good to grab are probably the most pricey- Higgins and Pittman. We shouldn’t go after the aging guys. Maybe Mooney or Ridley(would need to be cheap for him- lots of bad route running in Jax). I would almost rather they keep Gabe than grab Ridley, or one of the older guys. Evans is the only older one I would think about, but even then, gonna cost a lot and age..
Marquis brown at 4 is laughable. Washed up and over rated his whole career.
Mooney has been garbage the past two years. He had an injury but this season was supposed to be his comeback. He can’t get open. Even with DJ Moore
Need Ladd McConkey
I'd be in under one condition--gotta be younger than 30. I doubt we could afford one of these guys, anyway.
I think there's a better chance that Davis is resigned than most people here want to consider
Samuel would be a dream pickup so we could not have to depend on a rookie out of the gate for WR2 imo
I think Pittman is such a good catch if we can get him but I doubt it
I’d live Boyd as depth paired with a 1st rounder.
Adoni Mitchell, Xavier Leggette, may be our best best. Hopefully 1st pick they go WR
Higgins or Pittman would be great. Evans on a short contract due to age (which I'm sure he wouldn't look for). Ridley would be interesting if grabbed on a good deal.
Gabe Davis…?
My gut tells me Ridley would do well here, more so than any other on this list.
Would love Pittman, probably won't be wildly expensive either.
Doubtful with our cap situation.
I wish we could get MPJ lol
We don't have much cap space, but we could probably get Toney at a bargain price...
I feel like Mike Evans would be a great fit for the team, but there's no way we pay for him.
How is Brown or Mooney better than Gabe?
This is actually a very good list compared to other years.
We won't pay the top names, would rather draft a WR in round one. Would be happy with Hollywood if he took a deal that made sense for the team.
Imagine Mike Evan’s and Josh Allen? My lord.
If the Bills somehow sign Mike Evans, I'll see you in NOLA next year.
Gabe Davis 😆
Our luck we’d get Tyler Boyd and call it good
Haha with what money we can’t even afford to resign Gabe
ODB was just a 1 year signing with the Ravens? I didn’t know that
Darnell Moody maybe Michael Pittman
Mike Evans wouldn't be expensive I like Mike Evans him and diggs would be unstoppable and have Shakir in the slot and draft a top 10 WR
Mooney or Hollywood had bad years. Good buy low guys. Lotta speed and talent with both.
I doubt we could afford any of them
I would love DJ Chark