Troupe off the market....

[gr8slayer]

Bucs agreed to terms with Ben Troupe on a two-year contract, according to NFL Network's Adam Schefter. A nice fit for the athletic pass-catching tight end. Troupe will have to learn the offense, but he'll get a chance to compete to start with incumbent Alex Smith. While he's worth keeping an eye on, the Bucs tight ends will probably cancel each other out.

[tampabay25690]

I had a feeling he was going to sign here..

That sucks I really wanted him to play in a BILLS UNIFORM....

I bet we sign Anderson now and I think he will come pretty cheap as well....

[YardRat]

****. Looks like we'll be going into the draft with TE as a priority. Not good.

[Mitchell55]

****. Looks like we'll be going into the draft with TE as a priority. Not good.



The #1 TE on the market is in buffalo right now. Relax.

[YardRat]

The #1 TE on the market is in buffalo right now. Relax.

Please. Anderson will struggle to make the team, let alone beat out Royal.

[Philagape]

We should draft a TE regardless. The TE market was dead once the Colts tagged Clark.

[circlethewagons]

would have been nice to sign him, but im not convinced he was an upgrade from royal. im curious what kind of contract he got

[YardRat]

We should draft a TE regardless. The TE market was dead once the Colts tagged Clark.

I agree...But it would be nice to go into the draft without having to get one, and I don't want a rookie starting there anyway.

[bigbub2352]

what about Utecht?
Wouldnt mind throwin some money his way i think he has potential more than Troupe, although i wanted him in a bills uniform, time to get at least one more vet in here

[Nighthawk]

Sorry, but Anderson is a pile of garbage that does not upgrade that position one bit. Waste of money if they sign him.

[jpdex12]

The #1 TE on the market is in buffalo right now. Relax.

I felt bad for Anderson listening to his presser. He sounds like he's on his last leg as far as hope for a team signing him. Although I felt bad, he really sucks! I was wishing that we would have took a chance on Troupe as well. He seemed to have more potential. At least he looked like a better pass catching TE.

I can't believe that we were too cheap to sign Troupe. Maybe his injury still caused concern with OBD.

[patmoran2006]

Is ERic Johnson still out there?

And please dont tell me Ralphy already blew his load and will get outbid for any FA we're interested in that comes to visit.

[Throne Logic]

I'd be happy to get Utecht. I think he has an upside we've not seen since he's been mostly behind Clark, yet performing when called upon.

Everyone else out there is just another Royal, including Troupe. No loss here. Maybe a saving grace he signed elsewhere. I'm tired of the massive amount of mediocrity we've been filling up the roster with under the category of TE.

I miss Pete.

[jpdex12]

I'd be happy to get Utecht. I think he has an upside we've not seen since he's been mostly behind Clark, yet performing when called upon.

Everyone else out there is just another Royal, including Troupe. No loss here. Maybe a saving grace he signed elsewhere. I'm tired of the massive amount of mediocrity we've been filling up the roster with under the category of TE.

I miss Pete.

If you miss Pete, then I know you miss Keith as well!

[Meathead]

lets remember the titans would rather take a risk on a gimpy has been crumpler than resign troupe

so perhaps the bills know what theyre doing

[YardRat]

lets remember the titans would rather take a risk on a gimpy has been crumpler than resign troupe

so perhaps the bills know what theyre doing

I'd rather have either one of them than Anderson, or even Royal locked in as starter for another year.

[lordofgun]

Why don't we just send two second-rounders to San Diego for Gates? :rolleyes:

[casdhf]

I didn't want a player whose name rhymed with poop anyways

[Mitchell55]

Is ERic Johnson still out there?

And please dont tell me Ralphy already blew his load and will get outbid for any FA we're interested in that comes to visit.




That who I meant. I thought he was the one that was in Buffalo for some reason.

[raphael120]

I'd rather have either one of them than Anderson, or even Royal locked in as starter for another year.
i dont want to see Royal on the field ever again. He's cost us so many games and held us back more than helped us into success. Anderson is a bum too.

Draft a TE and get it over with, the reason the Bills have always been a losing franchise is because we pick up bums like Royal and Anderson and expect them to suddenly do well. Well guess what, they dont.

Since we got decent pickups on the defense, don't stop there and don't settle for crap on the offensive side. Do people need to remember that as bad as our defense was, our offense was worse. HISTORICALLY BAD

[Michael82]

Damn, I was hoping we would get him. :sigh:


Now, let's see Ben Utecht come in for a visit this weekend. He's my first choice.... :pray:

[Kenny]

Im indifferent about signing him.

While Im happy with the guys we picked up, -I'd rather build through the draft.

[yordad]

Where is Eric Johnson??

What did Troupe sign for??

[Tatonka]

wow.. troupe took a job for back up tight end money to be a 2nd string guy in tampa.. and your telling me we couldnt pull him in for cheap money? that blows.

the draft is fine, but no rookie tight end is going to come in and contribute.. vernon davis didnt.. dallas clark, heath miller...

in all likelyhood.. we will have royal starting again.. who blows.. some douche like anderson who shouldnt even have a job in the nfl.. and a rookie that wont help us at all for the forseable future.

at least there was the potential of troupe's ability to help us. oh well.

[lordofgun]

I liked Gaines.

[Tatonka]

i liked gaines too .. better than royal..

[Michael82]

I liked Gaines.
Me too. They definitely dropped the ball with him. The Bills thought they could let him hit the market and get him back for cheap, but they blew it and were wrong.

With how this offseason has started and now, I'm actually kind of disappointed. They must really believe the offense is good right now, and it was all because of our OC. I hope their right, but I doubt it. We definitely need major help at WR. Bryant Johnson will do good there, hopefully he is a Bill by the weekend. We also are desperate for TE help as all we have is Robert Royal, Teyo Johnson (someone that none of us heard of before the signing), and Derek Schouman who was a late round pick and didn't do **** as a TE. He looked better as our H-Back. I also expect another C to be drafted and maybe a guard, as Melvin Fowler is our weakest link on the OL, and Butler doesn't impress me too much. Then there is the QB situation. If we are really going to trade JP, we should do it asap, well there is still capable backups out there. So we can replace him with someone else.

[Goobylal]

wow.. troupe took a job for back up tight end money to be a 2nd string guy in tampa.. and your telling me we couldnt pull him in for cheap money? that blows.
What does it tell you about a player who would rather accept backup money and BE a backup?

[Tatonka]

it tells me that he didnt have many options.. but most teams in the nfl dont have 3 sacks of dog **** as a TE group.. we do.

i dont care how you cut it.. there is no excuse for not offering a talent (production or not) like troupe a cheap contract.. he wanted to be a bill.. he was clear about it.. he was a team player and cleary upbeat with a little bit of cockiness, which we need. we currently have no swagger on this team.

it just sucks.. there is nothing left on the FA market in regards to TEs.. utecht i guess.. eric johnson is average at best.. he doesnt give us a vertical threat.

i guess they think teyo johnson is going to be a stud. lol

[The Spaz]

I am upset about this as well. I'm sure he was signed for cheap and we have plenty of money, so yeah it blows....

[Al the Bills Fan]

I have mixed feelings about this! I am upset because I feel that he may have been able to finally play up to his potential here in Buffalo. He is big and athletic TE which I feel we need desperatley.

On the other hand, I am not upset because he hasn't really done anything in his career thus far, and therefore I cannot be upset about not getting a guy who hasn't lived up to his billing.

I don't know! I wish him well in Tampa.

[Goobylal]

it tells me that he didnt have many options.. but most teams in the nfl dont have 3 sacks of dog **** as a TE group.. we do.

i dont care how you cut it.. there is no excuse for not offering a talent (production or not) like troupe a cheap contract.. he wanted to be a bill.. he was clear about it.. he was a team player and cleary upbeat with a little bit of cockiness, which we need. we currently have no swagger on this team.

it just sucks.. there is nothing left on the FA market in regards to TEs.. utecht i guess.. eric johnson is average at best.. he doesnt give us a vertical threat.

i guess they think teyo johnson is going to be a stud. lol
Eric Johnson has better numbers than Troupe. And Utecht has consistently put up better numbers than Troupe. Yet none are a slam dunk. Which is why the Bills didn't offer Troupe a ton of money. And probably why few other teams did as well. But time will tell.

[Night Train]

Sounds like the Bills weren't impressed at all with his visit and playing history.

A reminder that TE has never been deeper in a draft.

[Romes]

Sounds like the Bills weren't impressed at all with his visit and playing history.

A reminder that TE has never been deeper in a draft.

Agreed, the Bills could possibly pick up someone as late as the 4th round whom has more potential than Troupe.

At this point I'd rather have someone who has the potential to be great, rather than one we already know is average. The Bills already have an average TE his name is Royal.

[njsue]

:cry:

[YardRat]

Agreed, the Bills could possibly pick up someone as late as the 4th round whom has more potential than Troupe.

At this point I'd rather have someone who has the potential to be great, rather than one we already know is average. The Bills already have an average TE his name is Royal.

It doesn't (didn't) have to be a choice between one or the other. We could have (should have) had both...a vet TE w/'upside' and a rookie w/'potential'.

Two shots at a single target always give you better odds of hitting it than one. Why limit your opportunities when they are there for the taking?

[Tatonka]

Sounds like the Bills weren't impressed at all with his visit and playing history.

A reminder that TE has never been deeper in a draft.

that will do us a ton of good. 2-3 years from now.

[Tatonka]

Agreed, the Bills could possibly pick up someone as late as the 4th round whom has more potential than Troupe.

At this point I'd rather have someone who has the potential to be great, rather than one we already know is average. The Bills already have an average TE his name is Royal.
a 4th round TE with MORE potential than troupe? who might that be?

[Romes]

It doesn't (didn't) have to be a choice between one or the other. We could have (should have) had both...a vet TE w/'upside' and a rookie w/'potential'.

Two shots at a single target always give you better odds of hitting it than one. Why limit your opportunities when they are there for the taking?

I agree to some point but Teyo, Royal and to some degree Schoumann are all vets with upside. Take a chance on a rookie at this point.

[Romes]

a 4th round TE with MORE potential than troupe? who might that be?

Carlson and Bennett (for example) have both been projected to drop that far.

edit: I meant possibly drop that far...of course its impossible to say now.

[jmb1099]

We had a few good aggressive singings this year with guys that stand to make an immediate contribution. While I am not saying that the front office isn't capable of screwing things up big time, I have to wonder if they just weren't impressed with what they saw or heard.

[madness]

It looks like Troupe couldn't offer anymore then...

Tay-O Tay-O

Ben come and me wanna go
Tay me say Tay me say Tay Me say Tay me say Tay-o
Ben come and me wanna go home

[DraftBoy]

wow.. troupe took a job for back up tight end money to be a 2nd string guy in tampa.. and your telling me we couldnt pull him in for cheap money? that blows.

the draft is fine, but no rookie tight end is going to come in and contribute.. vernon davis didnt.. dallas clark, heath miller...

in all likelyhood.. we will have royal starting again.. who blows.. some douche like anderson who shouldnt even have a job in the nfl.. and a rookie that wont help us at all for the forseable future.

at least there was the potential of troupe's ability to help us. oh well.

Alright lets dispell this myth right now here are some rookie TE numbers;
Heath Miller-39 catches, 459 yards, 6 TD
Zach Miller-44 catches, 444 yards, 3 TD
Dallas Clark-29 catches, 340 yards, 1 TD
Alge Crumpler-25 catches, 330 yards, 3 TD
Bubba Franks-36 catches, 363 yards, 1 TD
Tony Gonzalez-33 catches, 368 yards, 2 TD
Greg Olsen-39 catches, 391 yards, 2 TD
Jeremy Shockey-74 catches, 894 yards, 2 TD
Alex Smith-41 catches, 367 yards, 2 TD
Ben Troupe-33 catches, 329 yards, 1 TD

Rookie TE's in this league do produce with decent numbers so to say we cant draft a guy at the TE posistion who can come in and produce is hogwash. Aside from Franks and Gonzalez these are all recently draft TEs.

I see no reason to fret over losing Troupe, when we only have to get a guy to improve on; 25 catches, 248 yards, and 3 TD. That's not going to be too tough, imo.