LifetimeBillsFan
08-02-2007, 06:04 AM
According to this ESPN report, Colts owner R.Irsay has said that the Colts will release Corey Simon sometime in the next few days (URL: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2957930&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines ).
What is most interesting in what Irsay said about Simon in the article was this:
'"Hopefully, we'll have something worked out with that. I think he may pursue his opportunities somewhere other than here," Irsay said. "I think we may come to an agreement in the next few days and he may pursue other places to play. I think it's better to get it resolved in the next day or two."'
The Bills had expressed interest in acquiring Simon before he went to Indy and have been reported to be closely monitoring his situation. With D.Walker now in Chicago and the Bills admitting that they were interested in adding help at DT, it would seem likely that the team would at least want to talk with Simon once he is released by Indy.
If the Bills do talk to Simon (or his agent), I still think that there would be a few things that would factor into whether the Bills would be willing and/or able to sign Simon: 1.) how the Bills coaches feel about what they have seen so far from the DTs that they have on the roster now, especially J.McCargo and T.Anderson/J.Jefferson; 2.) whether Simon would be interested in playing for the Bills or if he has another team in mind that he really want to try to sign with; 3.) the state of Simon's health--whether he would be willing to have the Bills MDs examine him before signing, whether is healthy enough to pass the Bills' physical, and whether he would be able to play enough this season, even in just in a rotation, to help the team and be worth signing; 4.) how much money Simon would want from the Bills--Simon got a huge contract from the Colts and may feel that he can still command a big salary/bonus from one of the teams that has been reported to be interested in him or he may feel that, having already gotten a big bonus from the Colts, he can afford to take less money, perhaps in a one year deal, in order to demonstrate that he is healthy enough to get back to his previous Pro Bowl form--as much as the Bills could use another talented DT, it is doubtful that they would want to tie up a lot of money in a player whose long-term health is still in question.
If Simon is healthy enough to play even 40% of the snaps this season, he could potentially be a big help to the Bills defense. The Bills have said that they were looking to shore up the position when they traded for D.Walker and were disappointed when they could not work out a deal with Walker. And, it has been reported that the Bills have continued to be interested in Simon.
With Irsay indicating that Simon may be looking to pursue other opportunities once he leave the Colts, I would say that this is a situation that bears watching and that Bills fans may want to keep an eye on over the next week or so. Simon may not want to come to Buffalo or be healthy enough for the Bills to feel that they would want to sign him, or he may want more than it would be prudent for the Bills to spend on him, but there is also a chance that he is a player who could end up in a Bills uni and help the team shore up perhaps its weakest position.
What is most interesting in what Irsay said about Simon in the article was this:
'"Hopefully, we'll have something worked out with that. I think he may pursue his opportunities somewhere other than here," Irsay said. "I think we may come to an agreement in the next few days and he may pursue other places to play. I think it's better to get it resolved in the next day or two."'
The Bills had expressed interest in acquiring Simon before he went to Indy and have been reported to be closely monitoring his situation. With D.Walker now in Chicago and the Bills admitting that they were interested in adding help at DT, it would seem likely that the team would at least want to talk with Simon once he is released by Indy.
If the Bills do talk to Simon (or his agent), I still think that there would be a few things that would factor into whether the Bills would be willing and/or able to sign Simon: 1.) how the Bills coaches feel about what they have seen so far from the DTs that they have on the roster now, especially J.McCargo and T.Anderson/J.Jefferson; 2.) whether Simon would be interested in playing for the Bills or if he has another team in mind that he really want to try to sign with; 3.) the state of Simon's health--whether he would be willing to have the Bills MDs examine him before signing, whether is healthy enough to pass the Bills' physical, and whether he would be able to play enough this season, even in just in a rotation, to help the team and be worth signing; 4.) how much money Simon would want from the Bills--Simon got a huge contract from the Colts and may feel that he can still command a big salary/bonus from one of the teams that has been reported to be interested in him or he may feel that, having already gotten a big bonus from the Colts, he can afford to take less money, perhaps in a one year deal, in order to demonstrate that he is healthy enough to get back to his previous Pro Bowl form--as much as the Bills could use another talented DT, it is doubtful that they would want to tie up a lot of money in a player whose long-term health is still in question.
If Simon is healthy enough to play even 40% of the snaps this season, he could potentially be a big help to the Bills defense. The Bills have said that they were looking to shore up the position when they traded for D.Walker and were disappointed when they could not work out a deal with Walker. And, it has been reported that the Bills have continued to be interested in Simon.
With Irsay indicating that Simon may be looking to pursue other opportunities once he leave the Colts, I would say that this is a situation that bears watching and that Bills fans may want to keep an eye on over the next week or so. Simon may not want to come to Buffalo or be healthy enough for the Bills to feel that they would want to sign him, or he may want more than it would be prudent for the Bills to spend on him, but there is also a chance that he is a player who could end up in a Bills uni and help the team shore up perhaps its weakest position.