Tagged Today and Traded Tomorrow?

[Romes]

Good article from Pasq.

Team president and general manager Tom Donahoe insisted Thursday that the Bills still hope to sign Price, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2002, to a long-term contract. But no one had to read too hard between the lines of rhetoric that Donahoe laid out to surmise that Buffalo will explore all their options, including trade offers, in dealing with the four-year veteran. More (http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1511951.html)

He mentions Atlanta as a viable trade option. Also that the Bills don't expect to get 2 first rounders for price but would be happy with a first round then a pick later in the draft.

This is re-assuring to hear from Atlanta.

"He's the guy we need," said one Atlanta source. "Or at least a player who is just like him in terms of stretching the field and forcing teams to back away from the line of scrimmage."

I found this amusing

Buffalo is in relatively sound salary cap condition and does not have to make a decision on Price quickly. Donahoe has cleverly and carefully directed his team out of the cap catastrophe he inherited two years ago. He noted the club has no "dead money," charges for players no longer with the team, in 2004.

"I told Mr. Wilson that," said Donahoe, referring the owner Ralph Wilson, "and he said, 'Yeah, but I might be dead in 2004.' He's always got a sense of humor about this stuff."

The whole article essentially boils down to this

Essentially, the Bills weren't about to allow Price to escape and have zero to show in return. If they cannot get him to agree to a long-term contract, rest assured, the Bills will dangle Price in trade talks. They feel that Price is right for some team, themselves or another franchise, and will work hard to find an option that makes sense.

[lordofgun]

I love how you find these litle tidbits. Good work man!

TD is so good, it's scary.

[Romes]

I am really looking forward to a trade now. Atlanta does not pick till later in the draft but we would still be moving up atleast 20 picks. A lot of good players could slip by us in those picks. I would be all for trading PP for a 1st and 3rd or 4th round pick from Atlanta.

[Romes]

Originally posted by lordofgun
I love how you find these litle tidbits. Good work man!

TD is so good, it's scary.

I'm all about the tidbits. :D

(I'm not sure what I mean by that but I felt I had to say it)

[Novacane]

Great find Romes! I feel a lot better about the Price tagging after reading that article. TD is the man!

[Mr. Miyagi]

Was there ever any doubt? TD IS the man.

:pray: TD

[BillC]

I think Price wil go for a 2nd or 3rd rd pick.

[Shiny Chicken]

why do you say that... I think we can get a first rounder for him... maybe not top 10... but below that is comprehendable.

[BillC]

Because this is a really deep WR draft?

[Shiny Chicken]

But who are you gonna take... an unproven rookie who'll probably take a couple years to develop or a guy who you know has performed well professionally?

[Shiny Chicken]

And apparantly Atlanta really does want him.

[BillC]

Or if you are 5-6 million under the cap- you going to blow your whole nut on one guy?

Or you going to fill other holes. If I'm Atlanta, I could Pay Peerless 5 million and give up a 1st round pick, or sign Boston and keep my first round pick.

[Shiny Chicken]

I didn't say it was the smart thing to do... not all NFL front offices are known to be intelligent, are they?

[BADTHINGSMAN]

Originally posted by BillC
Or if you are 5-6 million under the cap- you going to blow your whole nut on one guy?

Or you going to fill other holes. If I'm Atlanta, I could Pay Peerless 5 million and give up a 1st round pick, or sign Boston and keep my first round pick.


I hear ya BillC. I think the trade to Cinci makes more scence. Price for Spikes. They get a team need the Bills get a team need. Alot of teams wont dangle a 1st rounder in front of the Bills. With trading for Spikes you get better than a 1st rounder. Teams will start taking the Bills a bit more serious.

The Falcons dont have to offer anything. They could get Boston cheaper than Price. Boston was injured and will be cheaper maybe. I dont think Falcons will offer the Bills there 1st rounder.

[venis2k1]

Originally posted by BillC
Or if you are 5-6 million under the cap- you going to blow your whole nut on one guy?

:hump:

Nice quote BillC.

[Fatwhite02]

I say either take the highest first rounder(hopefully Dewayne Robertson but I think he'll be gone) you can get or, Keep price and we will have the most potent offense in the NFL and with room to sign some defensive help via FA. I personally think it is a win win situation.

[kgun12]

Originally posted by BillC
Or if you are 5-6 million under the cap- you going to blow your whole nut on one guy?

Or you going to fill other holes. If I'm Atlanta, I could Pay Peerless 5 million and give up a 1st round pick, or sign Boston and keep my first round pick.

Atlanta can trade for PP and renegociate the contract, they don't have to eat the $5 million, and still fill holes.

[MelK]

He's not going to play for $650 ,000 either.


Renegotiated contract for Price is a worse scenario for the Falcons. They might knock the yearly salary down a few pegs, but then they are forced to hang on to him longer. - If he dosn't come through with all-star numbers, they have a receiver that might cost them 8-10 million in bonus money sal cap hit- If they hang on to him he's going to hurt their cap down the road.

Giving a guy a Moulds like contract works out OK if he's your home grown talent or you picked him up on the cheap in the first place. Giving up a #1 AND getting yourselgf into a cap corner isn't a smart move.

You pay a big gun or two the cash- then you will have to fill out your roster with cheap young players- look at the Bills- Fat contracts to Teague, Brown, JR, and Moulds are offset with el cheapo contracts to Jennings, Sullivan, Henry, Price (last season) Reed- now if you give out a fat contract AND your draft picks- them you paint yourself into a corner.

Atlanta might do it, as a last roll of the dice to buy a shot at a SB in exchange for cap hell down the road (like Balt)- but if they wanted to play it smart- keep the #1 pick

[TypicalBill]

we could get Boss Bailey with Atlanta's pick. If we could also sign simmons from seattle, we would have a very fast and athletic group of linebackers.

[WG]

Originally posted by BillC
Or if you are 5-6 million under the cap- you going to blow your whole nut on one guy?

Or you going to fill other holes. If I'm Atlanta, I could Pay Peerless 5 million and give up a 1st round pick, or sign Boston and keep my first round pick.

I'm totally with ya C! Many think this is a win/win. I think it's very risky.

First of all, I'll believe another team giving up a first-rounder when I see it. If we get a 2nd though, that'd be good too.

But the problem is that we don't have a lot of cap green left to start negotiating with some of the premier players that we need when FAcy opens in a week. We may miss out on some opps while TD is shopping Price in trade. Also, what if an interested team can't come to reasonable terms w/ McGee. He doesn't appear to be rooted in reality or the most level-headed of agents.

I just don't want to miss out on some other players that we need b/c we've tied our hands throughout the initial part of FAcy, which is what we've done. I think we should have let Price go clean and then focused on what our team needs are. Judgement call I realize. But Spikes, Douglas, Peterson are all out of the question now. It would take just about all of our remaining cap room. Even Simmons will cost us most of what's left.

So if it takes until late March or April to dish Price, then it may cost us more than a gamble second-round pick might yield. And what if Price and/or his agent are so unreasonable that they don't accept any other teams trade offers just to spite the Bills and wait for next season. He may say fine, I'll play here for another year, have another good year, and then go away. What, are we gonna tag him year in and year out? Unlikely.

This is a gamble move! I hope it pays off and that TD already has something planned for the first couple of days of FAcy beginning next Friday. Otherwise I'll be scratchin' my head over this, especially if it costs us another player. Keep in mind that we have no viable OLBs, no decent DT, and no impact DE. Tying up all this cap cash, temporary or not, on Price is questionable.

[SoCalBillsFan]

Wys, I don't see it as a huge risk yet because we can still drop the tag without penalty at any time. If TD has a done deal with spikes but not enough cap room, he can either pull off a deal for price or drop the tag and sign spikes. It isn't that risky yet. It's only risky if we hold onto price deep into free agency and limit ourselves then. To start off with a tag on him is not a big deal.

TD is well aware of how the tag is gonna affect his ability to go after free agents. I don't think he's gonne let it stop him, I think he might already have something in the works. and if he doesn't, the tag can always be dropped.

[SoCalBillsFan]

wys, aparently I need to figure out whether or not the tagged can be dropped and at what time...:D

if it can be dropped without penalty, the risk is lowered.

[WG]

I thought the only tag that can be dropped is the transition tag?

Can the FT be dropped too? I am under the understanding that once the FT is put on a player, that he is henceforth bound by that tag and there's no reversal options for the team?

[SoCalBillsFan]

you may be right; if so, then yes, the risk goes up considerably

[WG]

I was just poking around over at NFL.com and I think the FT is permanent. We either need to resign him, trade him, or just honor the 1 year commitment. In any event, I do know that the FT can be used only once and that if it were releaseable, then it cannot be reused this year.

I think the scenario that has TD trading Price is the most favorable. But I also think Price is an overrated WR and not worth a first rounder at that. But heck, even for a 2nd rounder, it'd be good in a draft where we have no 1st.

I guess I'm afraid that we tagged him in order to resign him. I just don't see the wisdom being played out in that scenario at all given our immense defensive needs. We all said last year "one thing at a time" and we addressed our offensive needs. Now it's time to address our defensive needs and resigning Price would hinder that no matter what his contract looks like.

[pmoon6]

Wys,the Bills can lift the tag at any time without affecting the cap.

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by BillC
Or if you are 5-6 million under the cap- you going to blow your whole nut on one guy?

Or you going to fill other holes. If I'm Atlanta, I could Pay Peerless 5 million and give up a 1st round pick, or sign Boston and keep my first round pick.


Only thing is, they were talking about putting the franchise tag on David Boston as well.

[don137]

Clump informed me yesterday that Trotter was franchised last year by Philly but they lifted the tag designation. Since quality FA WR is so thin there is a lot of demand for Price. If TD can't sign or trade Price he can always lift the tag.
Atlanta's current FO isn't predicatble. Last year they spent good money on Warrick Dunn yet still used their first round on TJ Duckett. They really need someone to spread the defense so I wouldn't shut the door on them trading for Price.
Like I said in another thread that even though the draft is deep at WR there is no guarantees that a player can make it in the NFL. Look at David Terrell and Peter Warrick, both are top ten picks but are on there way to being labeled busts. Plus it takes a year or two for WR to get acclimated to the NFL.

[Bulldog]

I am 100% sure that the franchise tag can be lifted at any time. I also have to wonder what Atlanta's cap will look like now that they gave Brooking a huge contract? It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 years, $40 million. No idea what the signing bonus was.

[BufBlue4ever60]

Originally posted by don137
Look at David Terrell and Peter Warrick, both are top ten picks but are on there way to being labeled busts.


Terell is not a bust.

But back to the topic, I think we should trade Price to Washington, who has a higher pick than Atlanta. We could pick up Dewayne Robertson, or William Joseph if he drops that far.

[don137]

I did not say Terrell IS a bust but on his way to becoming a bust. In the 5 games he played this year he had only 9 receptions. For a second year player that was a top ten pick that isn't exactly encouraging.
My point is that Price would be an immediate impact on a team where a drafted WR is a risk and most likely take more than a year to get acclimated to the NFL.

[BillsNYC]

HAVE FAITH IN TD!!!

[WG]

I'll have faith when we get some key defenders! All we have now is Clements, Winfield, and Williams.


BTW, thanks y'all for clarifying!!


137,

I think Price is a risk given that he hasn't done much outside of being on a team that dropped back to throw near 700 times. How will he fare on a team where he'll face much double coverage as the first WR and where his team only passes 2/3 as much.

As well, Atlanta doesn't have a WR to offset Price like Moulds did. Nor do they have a RB that teams have to plan for. Although Vick is a different matter. That's why I made a comment about Vick's armstrength on the run in another thread.

BTW, according to ESPN, Atlanta was only $5.8M under the cap prior to the Brookings signing. I'm sure that at least $4M counts aginst their cap for Brookings. That doesn't leave them much but I don't know who they're planning on cutting. Lots of news next Friday for sure and cap updates.

[don137]

Wys,
Don't you think Price is a lot less of a risk than any WR in the draft except Charlie Rogers?

[Earthquake Enyart]

Terrell is a bust.

He's an immature punk who is always hurt. If you can't beat out Dez White, you aren't very good.

[WG]

Originally posted by don137
Wys,
Don't you think Price is a lot less of a risk than any WR in the draft except Charlie Rogers?

Yeah, but that's not the question.

First of all, how many WRs in the draft are supposedly gonna command a $10-12 M signing bonus in a contract worth $5-6M per year? None I'd say.

Secondly, the question is how well will Price perform in a completely different system?

I mean any #2 WR in a system that only uses 3 WRs and drops back to throw near 700 times is gonna catch 80 or 90 balls. I don't understand why that's such a feat in our system.

The question is how will he perform in a system where he's the #1 guy with no real WR threat opposite him to draw the heat, no runner like Henry, w/ or w/o Vick. That's the question.

Judging by his first three seasons in the league, I'd say that expecting him to post more than the 9 TDs he did this year ever or ever again hitting more than 1200 yards or so is unlikely. Atlanta only passed about a third as much as the Bills. Other than Vick, their O is nowhere near what we had. As well, go look at their schedule for this past season. It wasn't tough.

Price wasn't in the top 10 of receiving yards, 13 WRs had 1,200 or more yards, 22 had 1,000 or more. If Price had a track record of two or three years over 1,000 then perhaps I'd see things differently.

We'll find out next Friday and beyond. I just hope this tag doesn't slow down our efforts to grab some defenders and force us to wait for cuts of over-the-hill vets in June.

[don137]

I agree with you 100% that the system made Price's numbers appear better than he really is but players that are best available at there positon usually goes for more than they are worth. If Price goes to a team like Atlanta he will never match last season's numbers. I really do not see Price getting 5-6 million a season and a 10-12 million signing bonus. Atlanta promised Vick they will upgrade the offense this off-season and after Price and Boston there is a dramatic drop off in the WR talent pool. The signing of Brookings to a 6 year deal actually helped them afford Price. Remember we are talking about a team that spent over 20 million on Warrick Dunn in FA last year and then surprised everybody and drafted TJ Duckett so I would not be surprsed at all they trade for Price.
I also agree that I wouldn't be opposed to a 2nd and 3rd round pick for Price as opposed to a 1st round considering the success of our drafts. With the exception of Ryan Denney our drafts have been outstanding.