Rumor: Joique Bell signed to Bucs Active Roster

[ZacGriffi~82]

per wivb.

[mysticsoto]

I knew it would be a mistake not to sign him - especially if they would like to trade Lynch. IDK, maybe they want to keep Lynch...

[YardRat]

Well, that's how it goes. Wish him well.

[Mr. Pink]

He played well enough to warrant a roster spot somewhere.

And in Tampa he might get significant carries by the midpoint of the season considering Cadillac gets hurt constantly.

Good landing spot for Joique, hopefully he makes the most of the opportunity.

[BillsWin]

Draftboy is curled up in a ball crying his eyes out right now.

[BillsWin]

The kid is going to be a starter somewhere someday and as much as I like Bell and wish him good luck, we have three good backs so its not a huge loss football wise. Spiller is going to be a big star.

[tampabay25690]

WOW perfect spot for him....

The Bucs did there homework

[Michael82]

Damn it! I don't know why we didn't keep him. He would have been a good replacement for Lynch or Jackson next season.

[Dr. Lecter]

Little surprised. Usually these RBs are not snagged like that.

Good luck to him.

[Demon]

Damn it! I don't know why we didn't keep him. He would have been a good replacement for Lynch or Jackson next season.

Because just because we got a new coach, doesn't mean they run things any differently. Our front office is still loaded with idiots.

[Dr. Lecter]

Damn it! I don't know why we didn't keep him. He would have been a good replacement for Lynch or Jackson next season.
And they can find a RB as good as him next season if they need to.

He looked good in the pre-season, but I don't see this as a huge loss.

[BILLSROCK1212]

last time the Bucs snagged one of our RBs it was the dude from Louisville, i forget his name...didn't work out too well...hope for Joique it turns out better

[chubluv]

I still dont get what Chan and Buddy are thinking. Why only 3 RB's when 2 of them are coming off recent injuries.

[TigerJ]

The Bucs were paying attention. That's the way it goes sometimes. The Bills hoped to sneak him on to their PS. I wonder why the Bucs didn't go ahead and sign him before the Bills signed him to their PS. If one of the Bills RBs gets hurt and Buffalo needs to go looking, they will have some other options (Chad Simpson, another veteran free agent, or one of the young RBs hanging around on other teams' practice squads). Aside from Simpson they'll all need a little time to learn the Bills playbook though.

[Michael82]

That's the thing that I don't get. Why are we only keeping 3 RBs when we are planning on being a run first, smash mouth offense? We are also going to use lots of 2 back formations and only have 2 healthy RBs. Apparently Jackson is healthy or else they wouldnt go into the game with only 2. At least I think they wouldnt't.

[ServoBillieves]

Weren't Lionel Gates, Xavier Omon and Shaud Williams also good in the preseason?

...

Anyways, the dude will be good, shame he didn't get on the PS.

[Kelly The Dog]

Did anyone actually see this report themselves?

[BertSquirtgum]

where's the proof? i really hope this isn't true. he showed some good qualities in the pre-season.

[YardRat]

Did anyone actually see this report themselves?

Nothing on the web yet, or wivb's page.

[cocamide]

Three RBs should be enough. Besides the few elite RBs out there, running backs are a dime a dozen. I would have liked Bell to stay with the Bills and be here next year after Lynch is gone, but it shouldn't be too hard to find a serviceable replacement.

[Mad Max]

Weren't Lionel Gates, Xavier Omon and Shaud Williams also good in the preseason?

...

Anyways, the dude will be good, shame he didn't get on the PS.


Bell was much better than Omon and Omon MADE the team. Who knows maybe Bell was a libility on ST.

[Kelly The Dog]

Bell just put a couple tweets on his twitter page a few minutes ago and didn't say anything about it. Still seems a bit strange to me.
http://twitter.com/BellShow

[Mr. Pink]

Just did a search through the internets and haven't found anything that says TB signed Bell.

[Romes]

Also, did a search... I got nothing.

Bell updated his twitter when the Bills signed him. You think he would too if he signed with another team.

[BertSquirtgum]

i'm not buying it.

[mrbojanglezs]

idk why we didn't keep 4 rbs on the roster

[PromoTheRobot]

Because just because we got a new coach, doesn't mean they run things any differently. Our front office is still loaded with idiots.
You know 53 players is not a lot when you consider all the positions you have to fill on a team. You act like it's a no-brainer to carry 4 RBs but then you have to have one fewer elsewhere. What position on the team do you want to thin out just to stash a RB who would barely see the ball this season? Hard decision, no? Not made by idiots.

PTR

[ServoBillieves]

Still not seeing anything on it. Again, not a huge deal since we have 3 above par/great RB's on the team, but with Freddy aging, it would be nice to have 3 very good, young, and talented RB's in the future.

[zone]

like I said Bell would be claimed...

http://billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=195229

[better days]

like I said Bell would be claimed...

http://billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=195229

This may be B.S. I have not seen ANYTHING about this anywhere, has anyone else?

[kingJofNYC]

I looked at a couple of Bucs boards, nothing.

[Mad Max]

I checked the Bucs site and it mentions they picked up two players today (not Bell).

[patmoran2006]

I didn't know anything about this, but now that I've read this I've sent out a few emails to try and get something confirmed for you guys.. I personally have no direct contact for Joique Bell, but know a few people who do.

[ZacGriffi~82]

Their report maybe be inaccurate but I assure you that WIVB (Paul Peck) reported this tonight on the 10PM news.

[patmoran2006]

I asked Tim Graham if he's heard anything about it, he says he hasn't but also said he's in full blown Revis coverage mode, and they are having a teleconference with him right now.

So I dunno.. Z-- Im certainly not suggesting your lying, I believe you.. I just am shocked nobody would have any published reports..

[kingJofNYC]

Honestly, the timing is terrible. With the Revis deal going down, everyone is just focusing on that. Probably find out in the morning.

[ServoBillieves]

****, let's drop everything, 1 player in the NFL decided to do his job. ESPN/NFL.com/everything else can have it's field day while other **** happens in the NFL and goes unnoticed. Damn your failness Revis.

[Billz_fan]

Dam if this is true I hate it. This kid played well enough to earn a spot here. Personally I would have flat out released Lynch. ahh Im just mad about losing what I think is a dam fine young player.

[Johnny Bugmenot]

Their report maybe be inaccurate but I assure you that WIVB (Paul Peck) reported this tonight on the 10PM news.
Well, in all fairness, Peck has been off his game lately.

http://stilltalkintv.com/2010/09/ch-4-sports-fumbles-interception/

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

like I said Bell would be claimed...

http://billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=195229

If the reports are not true, are you going to post that you were wrong?

[mayotm]

All of this anxiety over a guy that wasn't likely to contribute anything this year? Really? Sure, he played well during the pre-season and it would have been nice to keep him on the practice squad. However, aren't Lynch and Jackson both (along with CJ obviously) still under contract next season? So when exactly were the Bills going to get a major contribution from Bell?

[X-Era]

This is from Paul Peck and lists Bell as on our PS. It was updated at 7:12 last night.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/sports/bills_and_nfl/roosevelt-on-bills-practice-squad

[TacklingDummy]

Should have cut Lynch instead.

[Beautiful East]

There is absolutely no indication that Bell could have signed with the Bucs or any other team. IMO, this thread is complete and total BS.

[Historian]

Should have cut Lynch instead.

I agree.

The 400 yards Lynch is going to get you this year, could have easily be attained by Bell.

It's gotta be a financial decision in some way.

[Dr. Lecter]

I agree.

The 400 yards Lynch is going to get you this year, could have easily be attained by Bell.

It's gotta be a financial decision in some way.

Lynch makes more than Bell. Bell makes the rookie minimum. Lynch does not. What are you basing the financial thing on? It is a baseless accusation

And cutting him ahead of Bell is using emotion and dislike of the person and not actual football ability. Not to mention silly and shortsighted when a team wil giv eup something for Lynch if an injury occurs.

[Historian]

Its not an accusation, it's a guess.

Cut Lynch, you accellerate the rest of his signing bonus against the cap, right?

My guess is that they do not want to spend cap space for a guy who is not on the roster.

[Historian]

Not all cuts are about ability. (Even though they should be)

Most are financial decisions unfortunately.

[Dr. Lecter]

Its not an accusation, it's a guess.

Cut Lynch, you accellerate the rest of his signing bonus against the cap, right?

My guess is that they do not want to spend cap space for a guy who is not on the roster.


There is no cap this year.

[Jan Reimers]

There is absolutely no indication that Bell could have signed with the Bucs or any other team. IMO, this thread is complete and total BS.
I agree. The Bucs website says they claimed a RB, Gregg Lumpkin, off waivers. No mention of Bell.

[shelby]

The Bills have added an eight year vet at TE. David Martin, who played in Miami and Green Bay has signed. Buffalo also claimed guard Kraig Urbik off waivers from the Steelers. To make room, TE J.P. Foschi and DB Dominique Harris were released.

Martin had 34 catches two years ago with Miami. His first six season were with the Packers while the other two were with the Dolphins. He's played 101 games in the NFL and has started 43. He and Jonathan Stupar are Buffalo's only tight ends until Shawn Nelson's four game suspension is over.

Urbik was drafted in the third round of the 2009 draft by the Steelers. Despite being on the roster for every game, he was never active for a game last season. He was All Big 10 twice with the Badgers.

Added to the practice squad so far are WNY native WR Naaman Roosevelt, RB Joique Bell, FB Rodney Ferguson and T Jason Watkins. All four were undrafted free agents signed by the Bills after the draft. Roosevelt played at U.B., Bell Wayne State, Ferguson New Mexico and Watkins Florida. He joins David Nelson who also made the team as a undrafted free agent out of Florida.

http://www.wgr550.com/Buffalo-Bills-ink-Martin--announce-part-of-the-pra/8077256

[Buddo]

http://www.wgr550.com/Buffalo-Bills-ink-Martin--announce-part-of-the-pra/8077256

While that's the last 'Official' thing you can see, the 'unofficial' reports of Bell to the Bucs, came much later, and until some real confirmation is found, are still a possibility, providing he is put on their roster.

Looking around NFL.com, the Bucs are showing the other guy on their roster, Lumpkin (sp?), but not Bell.
The Bills are shown as having Bell on their PS.

[Yasgur's Farm]

http://www.nfl.com/teams/buffalobills/transactions?team=BUF
http://www.nfl.com/teams/tampabaybuccaneers/transactions?team=TB
Looks like a BS rumor.

[Nighthawk]

Lynch makes more than Bell. Bell makes the rookie minimum. Lynch does not. What are you basing the financial thing on? It is a baseless accusation

And cutting him ahead of Bell is using emotion and dislike of the person and not actual football ability. Not to mention silly and shortsighted when a team wil giv eup something for Lynch if an injury occurs.

Sounds like somebody I know when talking about Brown vs. Brohm. Wonder who that could be?

[DieHrdBillsFan23]

If this report is true, which i cant find anyone reporting it, i am pretty sure that the Bucs cant sign Bell without us having the right to first refusal. I believe if someone was to sign him off the practice squad, we have the right to match the offer, but we immediately put him on our active 53 man roster.

[Ebenezer]

I will defend Zac....I saw the same report on Ch. 4 last night...Peck did report the rumor.

[Kelly The Dog]

If this report is true, which i cant find anyone reporting it, i am pretty sure that the Bucs cant sign Bell without us having the right to first refusal. I believe if someone was to sign him off the practice squad, we have the right to match the offer, but we immediately put him on our active 53 man roster.
I'm not positive about how it actually works, but I don't think there an official right to match the offer as part of the process. The rule is only that any team can sign a player to a contract who is on another team's PS as long as they put him on the active roster for a few games. So what happens is, Tampa Bay would inform Bell's agent of a contract offer like they would any UFA. The agent would then talk it over with his client, and, in all likelihood, inform the Bills of the offer. The Bills in turn, would decide if they wanted to put Bell on the active roster and make the agent a counter offer for Bell.

Usually, for these players, it's a league minimum contract or close to it, so they will often just match it, and the player if he likes where he is will usually choose to stay, as long as it is for the same money. They could sweeten the pot, too. There could be a minor bidding war, as there seemed to be with Brohm when the Bills offered him two years and a small bonus.

So while teams may "match" the offer, it is really just the agent trying to get the best deal and get his client to the team he prefers.

That's also what could have happened or be happening with Bell right now. Peck's report could be right (I'm skeptical). The Bucs wanted to sign him and made an offer. Bell's agent could then go to the Bills and say do you want him on the active roster and how much will you pay to keep him. If that were the case, we would probably know the decision by now though.

[TacklingDummy]

And cutting him ahead of Bell is using emotion and dislike of the person and not actual football ability.
I'd be cutting Lynch because his lack of vision, slow, stamina, inability to stay healthy, his big whopping 2 yards this pre-season, etc... His off the field issues would have little to do with it.

[HHURRICANE]

News Flash: Joquie Bell was not that awesome. He played well and deserved a PS spot but guys he's not better than Lynch.

I wonder if people around here actually watch Football.

Same thing wth Brohm. He was not better than Fitzpatrick. Matter-of-fact if Brown hadn't been so ibad I doubt he would have made the roster.

Just because you like a player more than another player that doesn't make them better. This has been the same stupid Brohm argument for 8 months now. Enough already.

[better days]

Not all cuts are about ability. (Even though they should be)

Most are financial decisions unfortunately.

I think most cuts are a combination of both ability & finance. If a player is making a lot of money, he should give bang for the buck.

[Dr. Lecter]

Sounds like somebody I know when talking about Brown vs. Brohm. Wonder who that could be?
Did you look in the mirror?

When did I post much of anything about Brown vs. Brohm? Fitz vs Brohm? Yes I did. And I used facts and data and history to support my opinion.

[Thief]

You know 53 players is not a lot when you consider all the positions you have to fill on a team. You act like it's a no-brainer to carry 4 RBs but then you have to have one fewer elsewhere. What position on the team do you want to thin out just to stash a RB who would barely see the ball this season? Hard decision, no? Not made by idiots.

PTRUsually. Except this time the Bills kept 10 LBs and 6 safeties.

[Thief]

I agree.

The 400 yards Lynch is going to get you this year, could have easily be attained by Bell.

It's gotta be a financial decision in some way.Yeah, they kept the 1st round pic and cut the undrafted FA for financial reasons.

[BuffaloBlitz83]

Yeah, they kept the 1st round pic and cut the undrafted FA for financial reasons.

lol

[Beebe's Kid]

I agree.

The 400 yards Lynch is going to get you this year, could have easily be attained by Bell.

It's gotta be a financial decision in some way.

:skooby: Jinkies, you're right!! It's just gotta be a financial decision. Another move by the Bills and their penny pinching that is just one in a long list of moves made by this team trying to **** MY LIFE!!

So now we know it's "gotta" be financial...this may take some doing. Lynch makes much more that Bell...has guaranteed money....and time left on his contract.

Now, we do know that Bell is going to follow all 1 other D-III RB's to success in this league...He tore up 3rd stringers, just imagine what he'll do to the 1st string!! I know he would have gained more that the 1,000 yds Lynch has in his only 2 full seasons.

We also know that there is NO WAY Marshawn will play this year. That is in contradiction with what Gailey has said, and although we had two RB's injured in the first 2 plays of the preseason, we already know that our guys will not get hurt again. Depth is way overrated anyway...if there are two good players at a position, you need to make an emotionally charged, uneducated pick of a favorite, and demand the other player be traded immediately.

Wow...

Next Sunday is a long, long time away.

[Historian]

You're reading too much into it.

Ralph shelled out a lot for ML.

He's going to try to get some return on the investment, that's all.

[Ebenezer]

You're reading too much into it.

Ralph shelled out a lot for ML.

He's going to try to get some return on the investment, that's all.
Which would be typical RW.

[Nighthawk]

Thought this would end any speculation regarding Bell to Tampa. Straight from Bell on Twitter.

http://twitter.com/BellShow/status/23173740671

[Dr. Lecter]

The Bucs also signed Legarrette Blount. 9Schefter tweet)

I think Bell turned them down

So I have a diffucult decision to make...letchu guys kno tomorrow wut I decide..."J5''

From his Twitter a day ago.

[Beautiful East]

Which could be interpreted as "Bell chose the Bills' PS over the Bucs' active roster"? Could it?

[YardRat]

Which could be interpreted as "Bell chose the Bills' PS over the Bucs' active roster"? Could it?

Doubtful.

[Beautiful East]

Ok, gimme another shot.

Could be interpreted as "Bell was given a perspective by the Bills' FO that was more attractive than the one the Bucs' would offer"?

[Thief]

You're reading too much into it.

Ralph shelled out a lot for ML.

He's going to try to get some return on the investment, that's all.Ralph is a business man. He would not continue to sink money into something if he can get equal return for something else that cost less. Continuing to spend more for the same thing does not make financial sense. Unless you are getting more, which would make it a football decision.

I am one who believes many of the decisions are contract influenced. It is likely a tie breaker in some cases. However it make no sense in this case. No offense; I guess you may have been mildly joking.

[mysticsoto]

Ok, some of the things being talked about here are ridiculous.

1st, this had nothing to do with financials. Lynch makes MUCH more money than Joique does.

2nd, Lynch is much better than Joique. From an ability POV, it would be stupid to pick Joique over Lynch.

The only reason Joique makes sense to keep, is if the Bills are confident in that a trade might materialize, but scared they might lose Bell to another team. But even though I liked Joique a great deal, he would be at best a 3rd stringer and they don't do much except on STs. The Bills might be thinking that Simpson or any other RB might be able to fill in a pinch if we should get more injuries in that area. But since nobody can seem to verify that the Bucs signed Bell, it stands that he is still currently on our PS and still available to us.

[Mad Max]

News Flash: Joquie Bell was not that awesome. He played well and deserved a PS spot but guys he's not better than Lynch.
..............................

Depends on your definition of "better".

To me a guy that pretty much always got positive yardage whenever he touched the ball, showed heart, comes cheap and is hungry is a better player overall than a guy who is a malcontentent, relatively expensive, rarely breaks a tackle, and rarely makes 4 ypc (oh yeah and is an overall douchebag...which don't get me wrong I wouldn't mind a douchebag on the team if he had actual skills like say Marino or Rodney Harrison, but if you're a douchebag and have very little skills then what goood are you?).