What? The Bills Interested in Levi?

[ghz in pittsburgh]

http://www.profootballcentral.com/2009/05/07/levi-jones-cancels-seattle-visit/

[TacklingDummy]

He couldn't be any worse than the way Peters played last year.

[The Spaz]

If he's healthy and motivated bring him in.

[BillsWin]

sounds about right.

[Lexwhat]

YES!!!!!!!!!!! Come on Russ Brandon get it done!

Levi Jones will be an excellent addition to our team. IMHO, he is nowhere near "washed up."

Everyone should remember that Marcus Stroud was struggling with leg injuries for ~2 years before he came to us. Stroud flourished with a fresh start. If we sign Jones, I believe the same thing will happen.

I'm glad our FO realizes that Langston Walker is a better fit at RT than LT. Walker can play LT in a pinch, but not for an entire 16-game season, IMO.

Brad Butler should be a backup, where he belongs.

[BillsWin]

YES!!!!!!!!!!! Come on Russ Brandon get it done!

Levi Jones will be an excellent addition to our team. IMHO, he is nowhere near "washed up."

Everyone should remember that Marcus Stroud was struggling with leg injuries for ~2 years before he came to us. Stroud flourished with a fresh start. If we sign Jones, I believe the same thing will happen.

I'm glad our FO realizes that Langston Walker is a better fit at RT than LT. Walker can play LT in a pinch, but not for an entire 16-game season, IMO.

Brad Butler should be a backup, where he belongs.

Brad butler was one of the only bright spots on the o-line last season. if anyone deserves a backup spot it is Hangnarter

Jones Levitre Wood Butler Walker

How many times must I say that Wood is a great center and we are wasting his talents.

Maybe I just dont like hang-man...

[Joe Fo Sho]

While I like the idea of giving him a shot, there are soooooo many ifs with our o-line.

IF Jones can play solidly at LT
IF Wood can be a decent C/G, even though he looks like a 10 year old
IF Levitre can be a decent G
IF Hangartner should be a starting lineman
IF the line can gel together

Then yeah, we'd have a good o-line with a bit of depth.

Don't get me wrong, I like the prospects that we have. But when it comes to the Bills and their offseason/draft moves, I always have high/unreachable/never reached expectations.

[Lexwhat]

Brad butler was one of the only bright spots on the o-line last season. if anyone deserves a backup spot it is Hangnarter

I am one of the few on this board who doesn't think Butler should be a starter:

http://billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=173939


Anyways, I think the reason he was a "bright spot" was because we had Fowler / Preston / Dockery on our line and they sucked big-time. Peters was inconsistent.

Butler is a solid player (a fantastic backup), but he's not "great" at any one thing. Anyways, the Bills should explore all avenues to improve their team, and signing Levi Jones would be great.

[ParanoidAndroid]

He hasn't started a full season in 3 years, so..... yeah. If he comes relatively cheap and he's healthy he could compete for a starting job.

[lordofgun]

BrianH has always been extremely accurate. :up:

[elltrain22]

I like it!! Get r done Russ!!!

:sweet:

[OpIv37]

does that website have any credibility?

Honestly I like the idea if it's true, but right now it seems like more of a rumor than anything.

[DynaPaul]

I'd sign him. At worst he'd improve our O-Line depth.

[Dr. Lecter]

Since Denver is listed as a possibility, I might have to throw my bull**** flag on this one. Denver does not need a LT.

[Dr. Lecter]

According to ESPN, Levi Jones is a Bill.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/rank?versionId=1&listId=279

Scroll over the Bills logo. Jones is listed as a "key addition".

[The Spaz]

If true nice.:up::beers:

[Goobylal]

Brad butler was one of the only bright spots on the o-line last season. if anyone deserves a backup spot it is Hangnarter

Jones Levitre Wood Butler Walker

How many times must I say that Wood is a great center and we are wasting his talents.

Maybe I just dont like hang-man...
Why not?

[psubills62]

According to ESPN, Levi Jones is a Bill.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/rank?versionId=1&listId=279

Scroll over the Bills logo. Jones is listed as a "key addition".

Nice find, but I have a hard time believing that's not a typo...they might have meant to put Eric Wood.

[Dr. Lecter]

Nice find, but I have a hard time believing that's not a typo...they might have meant to put Eric Wood.

Eric Woods (sic) is listed. He is the last name on their list.

Regardless, it is probably an error.

[The Spaz]

Nice find, but I have a hard time believing that's not a typo...they might have meant to put Eric Wood.

I know Levi Jones and Eric wood are pretty similar...lol. ESPN makes plenty of mistakes though.

[Tatonka]

Brad butler was one of the only bright spots on the o-line last season. if anyone deserves a backup spot it is Hangnarter

Jones Levitre Wood Butler Walker

How many times must I say that Wood is a great center and we are wasting his talents.

Maybe I just dont like hang-man...

while i dont disagree about butler.. i think the 5 guys who play the best should get on the field.. maybe not having a 2 rookies on the field ends up being a better idea.

[venis2k1]

How many times must I say that Wood is a great center and we are wasting his talents.

Clearly after 3 days of Rookie mini camp we are wasting his talent.

here's a thought, maybe buffalo isn't comfortable having a rookie center calling out line adjustments.

Playing center is as much mental as it is physical.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Brad butler was one of the only bright spots on the o-line last season. if anyone deserves a backup spot it is Hangnarter

Jones Levitre Wood Butler Walker

How many times must I say that Wood is a great center and we are wasting his talents.

Maybe I just dont like hang-man...
OOOOOR let the best man win. We are asking a lot for 2 rookies to be starting at both guards.

[Romes]

OOOOOR let the best man win. We are asking a lot for 2 rookies to be starting at both guards.

Exactly. I don't understand the rush to start two rookies. If Wood/Levitre can beat out the veterans then great but if not Levi would at least give the Bills the luxury of OL depth and the time to develop their two rookie interior OL.

[Devin]

If he is healthy Levi Jones would be a very solid addition, more than contract numbers it will be about how much he will be able to contribute.

[Mitchell55]

Walker
Butler
Wood
Levi
Chambers
Bell
McKinney
Hangartner
Levitre


Look at our depth

[SABURZFAN]

Walker
Butler
Wood
Levi
Chambers
Bell
McKinney
Hangartner
Levitre


Look at our depth


that would look pretty sweet if the Bills sign him.

[Canadian'eh!]

I'm sure there is some interest on the bills part... but i normally take NOTHING PFC posts as confirmation of anything.

[Mahdi]

Brad butler was one of the only bright spots on the o-line last season. if anyone deserves a backup spot it is Hangnarter

Jones Levitre Wood Butler Walker

How many times must I say that Wood is a great center and we are wasting his talents.

Maybe I just dont like hang-man...
Butler should not be a G. He is average as a G. How many 6'7 guards with a slight build are there in the league?

He has trouble in the run game due to his frame. He doesn't get beat often but he doesn't get much push either.

Most of the good teams in the league have a quality depth player for their O, Butler should be that for Buffalo.

Jones - Levitre - Hangartner - Wood - Walker

[Mahdi]

I am one of the few on this board who doesn't think Butler should be a starter:

http://billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=173939


Anyways, I think the reason he was a "bright spot" was because we had Fowler / Preston / Dockery on our line and they sucked big-time. Peters was inconsistent.

Butler is a solid player (a fantastic backup), but he's not "great" at any one thing. Anyways, the Bills should explore all avenues to improve their team, and signing Levi Jones would be great.
Agreed.

[acehole]

I'd sign him. At worst he'd improve our O-Line depth.


"Id sign me...Id sign me so hard.

Buffalo Bill - Silence of the Lambs

[Tatonka]

Clearly after 3 days of Rookie mini camp we are wasting his talent.

here's a thought, maybe buffalo isn't comfortable having a rookie center calling out line adjustments.

Playing center is as much mental as it is physical.

didnt hartgardner get a 48 out of 50 on the wonderlic? i think i read it was the top score for an Olineman ever.

[OpIv37]

Playing center is as much mental as it is physical.

Go watch some tapes of Melvin Fowler last year and see if you still agree with that statement.

[Mahdi]

didnt hartgardner get a 48 out of 50 on the wonderlic? i think i read it was the top score for an Olineman ever.
http://www.buffalonews.com/452/story/593171.html

47/50... yeah.. highest score ever for an OL.

[ddaryl]

Brad butler was one of the only bright spots on the o-line last season. if anyone deserves a backup spot it is Hangnarter

Jones Levitre Wood Butler Walker

How many times must I say that Wood is a great center and we are wasting his talents.

Maybe I just dont like hang-man...


I agree that Butler is one of our better OL. I don't quite understand why others get down on him. He is a little too tall for G, and probably will be a better OL at RT

The center calls the line assignments... and I seriously believe the Bills want to bring Wood along as a center over time. As a rookie they'll set him up to suceed at G while learning the C position. Way too much responsibility to dump on a rookie, and because the Bills have hargartner they don't have too this year.

How you cannot like Hangartner is a head scratcher. You don't know much about him like the rest of us...

[ddaryl]

Go watch some tapes of Melvin Fowler last year and see if you still agree with that statement.


I would.. Fowler was neither very physical or very mental, and it showed

[Dr. Lecter]

It is back on Wiki:



Jones was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round (10th overall) of the 2002 NFL draft.
On July 25, 2006, Jones signed a six year, $40 million contract extension with the Bengals.
Less than a month after the Bengals selected Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith sixth overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, the team released Jones on May 6, 2009.
May 7th, 2009. Levi Jones has Signed a 5 year 21 million dollar contract with the Buffalo Bills


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Jones#Cincinnati_Bengals

(Soon to be deleted, I am sure)

[casdhf]

If all we paid this guy was 21 over 5 years, we are genius.

[Dr. Lecter]

It now says:



May 7th, 2009. Levi Jones has Signed a 3 year 13.5 million dollar contract with the Buffalo Bills


I love wiki!!!!

[casdhf]

:(

[ddaryl]

It now says:



I love wiki!!!!


and now it says

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Jones#Cincinnati_Bengals


May 8th, 2009. Levi Jones has agreed to pay the Buffalo Bills 25 million dollars over 5 years.


this is fun....

[Dr. Lecter]

Wow, they get Jones and he pays them!!

Does this give them a cap discount?

[ddaryl]

Wow, they get Jones and he pays them!!

Does this give them a cap discount?

according to wikipedia it's even better then that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Jones#Cincinnati_Bengals


May 8th, 2009. Levi Jones has agreed to pay the Buffalo Bills 25 million dollars over 5 years. This will give the Bills a 5 million dollar a year credit on there annual salary cap. Since 2010 is an ucapped year for the NFL the Bill will be awarded an extra 1st rd pick #33 overall in 2010.

[Dr. Lecter]

Wiki took the page down. :(

[ddaryl]

Wiki took the page down. :(

no its back up

[Dr. Lecter]

according to wikipedia it's even better then that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Jones#Cincinnati_Bengals

Since the Bills are going to have the worst record in the league next year, that will give them picks #1, #33 and then #34 to start the 2nd round!

[ddaryl]

Since the Bills are going to have the worst record in the league next year, that will give them picks #1, #33 and then #34 to start the 2nd round!

we didn't have to go that route.. did we ???

[Dr. Lecter]

Sorry. :ontome:

[ddaryl]

I would have preffered it to be #32 and #33 in 2010.

I mean this is wiki-fantasy so lets go postive

[yordad]

What the....(?)

[The Spaz]

Wiki is dumb.

[Night Train]

Brad butler was one of the only bright spots on the o-line last season. if anyone deserves a backup spot it is Hangnarter

Jones Levitre Wood Butler Walker

How many times must I say that Wood is a great center and we are wasting his talents.

Maybe I just dont like hang-man...

Brad Butler is being kicked out to his natural RT position because he couldn't anchor and was a swinging door at Guard.

If he was the bright spot, then the 5 watt bulb must have blinded me. He can't play Guard worth a damn. I'm fine with him competing at RT but there's a reason Wood & Levitre were each given a starting Guard position to lose.

[justasportsfan]

I think butler will end up at rt and Chambers back to depth.

[ddaryl]

Wiki is dumb.


uh-oh you've insulted the all knowing Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Jones#Cincinnati_Bengals


Cincinnati Bengals
Jones was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Bengals) in the first round (10th overall) of the 2002 NFL draft.
On July 25, 2006, Jones signed a six year, $40 million contract extension with the Bengals.
Less than a month after the Bengals selected Alabama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Crimson_Tide_football) offensive tackle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offensive_tackle) Andre Smith (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Smith) sixth overall in the 2009 NFL Draft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_NFL_Draft), the team released Jones on May 6, 2009.
May 8th, 2009. Levi Jones has agreed to pay the Buffalo Bills 25 billion dollars over 5 years. This will give the Bills a 5 million dollar a year credit on there annual salary cap. Since 2010 is an uncapped year for the NFL the Bills will be awarded an extra 1st rd pick #33 overall in 2010.
Also, Wiki is not dumb.... The Spaz who posts on Billszone.com forums has insulted the great Wiki, and will be punished accordingly.

[The Spaz]

uh-oh you've insulted the all knowing Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Jones#Cincinnati_Bengals

See what I mean...lol

[DynaPaul]

"Id sign me...Id sign me so hard.

Buffalo Bill - Silence of the Lambs

"Levi puts the lotion on his skin or he gets the hose again..."

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I think Levi Jones was the guy that the Bills had in their sights all along.

A.Watson of the Buffalo News said, I believe it was even before Peters was traded--but when he was saying that Peters was probably going to be gone, that the Bills were going to bring in a big-name player on the offensive line. When he was questioned a couple of weeks ago (in the Friday chat on BN.com) about the Bills not doing that, he said that it was 50-50 that it could still happen.

The initial speculation had been that the guy that Watson was talking about was Brian Waters of KC. But, that proved not to be the case.

However, shortly after Watson first mentioned that the Bills would be bringing in a big-name offensive lineman, Levi Jones first asked for his release by Cincy. The Bengals, rather than releasing him--as many reports had speculated that they would after free agency started, held onto Jones and tried to trade him. But, with teams knowing that he had asked for his release and that Cincy had to release him for cap reasons, they didn't get any takers.

The reason that I say that Jones may be the guy that the Bills had in their sights all along is that they knew how the negotiations with Peters were developing and that they would ultimately fall through. They also knew that, sooner or later, Cincy would have to trade or release Jones and that, especially after Jones asked for his release, no one was going to trade for a player that they could eventually get without trading for him. And, given the way that this FO has gone about their business, I think that they decided to "play chicken" with Cincy and see if they could get Jones "on the cheap". And, it seems like maybe they did.

If he is healthy, this is a great signing for the Bills.

Jones has been a Pro Bowler at LT. At best, if he is healthy, he can give the Bills close to elite level play at the position. If he can't play up to his previous form, at the very least, he gives the Bills a natural LT (which Walker isn't) to fill the position with a veteran while they continue to develop Demetrius Bell. And, he allows Walker to move back to RT, which is his natural position.

If the Bills actually did step forward and sign Jones, I think it is because they had a chance to see the two rookie OGs that they drafted and decided that they would be better off not putting pressure on both of them to be ready to start on Opening Day. Also, the fact that they want to run more "no-huddle" offense would also mean that they will need to have greater depth and flexibility on their offensive line, which this signing would give them.

I just hope that this report is true.

[Dr. Lecter]

To add to LTBF's post (not to make it any longer - egads!!!!) but today during his chat Sullivan made some comment about the Bills still signing a FA and he would not name the guy.

Not sure what it means, if anything,

[Dr. Lecter]

[Comment From Joe]
Do you think the Bills will go after one more free agent? <table><tbody><tr valign="top"><td class="chatmsgname altcaster_text" nowrap="nowrap">2:43
</td><td class="chatmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size">Sully: Yes, but I can't say who at this point. </td></tr></tbody></table>

[Devin]

Brad Butler is being kicked out to his natural RT position because he couldn't anchor and was a swinging door at Guard.

If he was the bright spot, then the 5 watt bulb must have blinded me. He can't play Guard worth a damn. I'm fine with him competing at RT but there's a reason Wood & Levitre were each given a starting Guard position to lose.

:rofl: True. I love the Butler fanatics around here....wtf does that even come from. He looked downright awkward at tmes.

His natural RT spot will be a far better fit.

[Throne Logic]

Brad Butler should be a backup, where he belongs.

This is a rediculous statement. Butler does not "belong" as a backup. He's was a better performer than Jones last year.

[Lexwhat]

This is a rediculous statement. Butler does not "belong" as a backup. He's was a better performer than Jones last year.

What's your point?

First of all, by saying Butler was a better performer than Jones, you are comparing a Guard to a Tackle. Not really "apples to apples."

And who cares about only last year? Using your analogy, McCargo played better than Stroud did in 2007 (when Stroud was in Jax). Does that automatically mean McCargo is a better player than Stroud??

Stroud is a premier DT who was slowed by injuries his last 2 years in Jacksonville (and that suspension). Another example is Kris Jenkins before he was traded to the Jets. In my opinion, I think Levi Jones can fully recover from his injuries and will really benefit from a change of scenery.

Meanwhile, Langston Walker at LT for a full season bothers me. He has played fine in short-term situations, but he's not a natural LT like Jones is. Walker is, at least currently, a better RT than Brad Butler.

Butler is NOT a good Guard. I've been saying it for a while, and even the Bills realized it (which is why they drafted/signed 3 interior lineman this offseason).

If we sign Jones, we can all assume he will be the starter at LT. Meanwhile, let Walker and Butler compete at RT. Butler won't win that battle though, and like I said originally, will be relegated to backup.