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I almost NEVER say that the Bills should, let alone must, sign any player, but, if ESPN's report that Anthony (Booger) McFarland has been released by Indianapolis is true, then I have to make an exception to this and state that the Bills absolutely need to do whatever they can to sign McFarland.
It won't be easy.
There have been reports that the Bills are preparing to sign a big WR and perhaps even a TE at the outset of free agency. And, no doubt, they have to try to address those positions, if they can, in free agency. But, I would suggest that, with the sudden appearance of McFarland on the free agent market, the Bills newly restructured front office should readjust its sights and make McFarland their top free agent target.
If they have targeted other players at other positions, however, shifting their attentions to McFarland at this late hour will test whether the Bills new FO has the kind of nimbleness to move quickly to make a significant move for a player in the kind of short time span that often represents the only chance that a team like the Bills may have to acquire a higher caliber player.
I don't know if McFarland is a player that the Bills anticipated would become available as a free agent this offseason, but I do know that he is a player that the Bills had tried to acquire previously: when Indy acquired McFarland from Tampa Bay, the Bills were reportedly very upset because they thought that they had worked out a deal for him with the Bucs before Indy stepped in and Tampa Bay decided to ship him off to the Colts. So, he has been on the Bills' radar as a player that they felt could help fix their run defense in the middle.
And, I'm sure that McFarland and his agent are aware of the Bills' previous interest in him. Which should mean that theywill be anticipating getting a call from the Bills now that he is available again. The question is whether the Bills will call and whether they will be willing to ante up whatever it will take to get McFarland signed before one of the other teams that runs a Tampa 2 defense jumps in and locks him up.
McFarland may not be the "be-all-and-end-all" at DT and he may be getting up there a bit in age, but he has been a very respectable run-stopper in a Tampa 2 front for both Tampa Bay and the Colts. Some have credited his play with helping the Colts run defense to perform so impressively during their playoff run to the Super Bowl title two years ago. If he is healthy, he knows how to play the position and can step into the starting lineup for the Bills immediately, he has performed effectively enough as a run-stuffer in the past to, at the very least, give the Bills a player who would help to make the other players around him better at defensing the run, and, having played on Super Bowl winners, he would give the Bills a veteran leader who has been to the "big dance" and won.
At this stage, "Booger" McFarland is the best DT available in free agency and IMHO he would represent an immediate upgrade in the middle of the defensive line for the Bills. Which is something that everyone knows that they desperately need.
While the Bills could hope that Glenn Dorsey drops to them on Draft Day or they could draft one of the other DTs who will be available later in the draft--and I think that they should still draft another DT, even if they sign McFarland--Dorsey may come with injury concerns and none of the other DTs in the draft will be able to make anywhere near the kind of impact that McFarland can on the Bills' run defense immediately: it will take any of the DTs other than Ellis and Dorsey at least a year to the NFL and become a truly effective player. McFarland, who should still be able to be effective for another 3 years, would give the Bills options at the DT position that they have not had in the last couple of years.
If the Bills are going to continue to run some variation of the Tampa 2 defense, McFarland is a perfect fit for them and a player that they must make every effort to acquire.
Now, McFarland won't come cheap. You have to know that, at his age, he is looking for that one last big pay-day. And, who can blame him? And, he and his agent both know that the Bills have been very interested in him in the past and that they can really use him, so they are going to be looking to see how much they can get from the Bills. They also, undoubtedly, know that there are other teams out there that are going to be very interested in signing McFarland as well (Denver, Detroit--if they trade Rogers to Denver, St.Louis, N.O, etc.). So, if the Bills want McFarland, they are going to have to ante up for him, big time.
Still, given what McFarland can do for their defense, I believe that the Bills have to be prepared to make a big push for him starting at 12:01 on Friday morning and they have to be prepared to pay whatever it will take to get him signed. At this point, I don't think that there is any free agent who can make as much of a positive difference for the team at any position and that he should become their primary free agent target.
IMHO, if that means that Ralph Wilson and the Bills have to dig deep to get their fingers on this "Booger, so be it!
It won't be easy.
There have been reports that the Bills are preparing to sign a big WR and perhaps even a TE at the outset of free agency. And, no doubt, they have to try to address those positions, if they can, in free agency. But, I would suggest that, with the sudden appearance of McFarland on the free agent market, the Bills newly restructured front office should readjust its sights and make McFarland their top free agent target.
If they have targeted other players at other positions, however, shifting their attentions to McFarland at this late hour will test whether the Bills new FO has the kind of nimbleness to move quickly to make a significant move for a player in the kind of short time span that often represents the only chance that a team like the Bills may have to acquire a higher caliber player.
I don't know if McFarland is a player that the Bills anticipated would become available as a free agent this offseason, but I do know that he is a player that the Bills had tried to acquire previously: when Indy acquired McFarland from Tampa Bay, the Bills were reportedly very upset because they thought that they had worked out a deal for him with the Bucs before Indy stepped in and Tampa Bay decided to ship him off to the Colts. So, he has been on the Bills' radar as a player that they felt could help fix their run defense in the middle.
And, I'm sure that McFarland and his agent are aware of the Bills' previous interest in him. Which should mean that theywill be anticipating getting a call from the Bills now that he is available again. The question is whether the Bills will call and whether they will be willing to ante up whatever it will take to get McFarland signed before one of the other teams that runs a Tampa 2 defense jumps in and locks him up.
McFarland may not be the "be-all-and-end-all" at DT and he may be getting up there a bit in age, but he has been a very respectable run-stopper in a Tampa 2 front for both Tampa Bay and the Colts. Some have credited his play with helping the Colts run defense to perform so impressively during their playoff run to the Super Bowl title two years ago. If he is healthy, he knows how to play the position and can step into the starting lineup for the Bills immediately, he has performed effectively enough as a run-stuffer in the past to, at the very least, give the Bills a player who would help to make the other players around him better at defensing the run, and, having played on Super Bowl winners, he would give the Bills a veteran leader who has been to the "big dance" and won.
At this stage, "Booger" McFarland is the best DT available in free agency and IMHO he would represent an immediate upgrade in the middle of the defensive line for the Bills. Which is something that everyone knows that they desperately need.
While the Bills could hope that Glenn Dorsey drops to them on Draft Day or they could draft one of the other DTs who will be available later in the draft--and I think that they should still draft another DT, even if they sign McFarland--Dorsey may come with injury concerns and none of the other DTs in the draft will be able to make anywhere near the kind of impact that McFarland can on the Bills' run defense immediately: it will take any of the DTs other than Ellis and Dorsey at least a year to the NFL and become a truly effective player. McFarland, who should still be able to be effective for another 3 years, would give the Bills options at the DT position that they have not had in the last couple of years.
If the Bills are going to continue to run some variation of the Tampa 2 defense, McFarland is a perfect fit for them and a player that they must make every effort to acquire.
Now, McFarland won't come cheap. You have to know that, at his age, he is looking for that one last big pay-day. And, who can blame him? And, he and his agent both know that the Bills have been very interested in him in the past and that they can really use him, so they are going to be looking to see how much they can get from the Bills. They also, undoubtedly, know that there are other teams out there that are going to be very interested in signing McFarland as well (Denver, Detroit--if they trade Rogers to Denver, St.Louis, N.O, etc.). So, if the Bills want McFarland, they are going to have to ante up for him, big time.
Still, given what McFarland can do for their defense, I believe that the Bills have to be prepared to make a big push for him starting at 12:01 on Friday morning and they have to be prepared to pay whatever it will take to get him signed. At this point, I don't think that there is any free agent who can make as much of a positive difference for the team at any position and that he should become their primary free agent target.
IMHO, if that means that Ralph Wilson and the Bills have to dig deep to get their fingers on this "Booger, so be it!
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