Would you do a hypothetical situation with Fred Jackson

[BillsFever21]

Fred Jackson is a good player and played great for us until his injury last year. With that said he is also going to be 31 years old going into next year and we have a young RB that we drafted high in the 1st round two years ago who finally showed some promise when he had the chance to play on a regular basis. Spiller definitely wasn't the reason why we were losing. If anything his play on offense was the only thing that gave us a chance.

I think the Bills should try to extend Jackson THIS offseason for a cap friendly two year deal. If we are unable to sign him or for the right price I would shop him before or during the NFL Draft in April and try to get something of value out of him when we have a chance.

This team is still a long ways away from contending for a playoff spot. If you could get a high/middle 3rd round draft pick for him this upcoming draft along with another 3rd round draft pick the following year that could turn into a 2nd round pick depending on his play would you make the deal?

I love Jackson as a player and would hate to see him go but from a business standpoint for the future of our team if we couldn't sign him to a reasonable extension I would pull the trigger on a deal like that. We could get some draft picks in return to try and find a starter and build depth and get some use out of Spiller instead of the pick turning into a wasted #9 pick.

I believe in one RB getting the majority of touches with somebody else relieving him to keep him healthy and fresh in the right situation. Unless you don't have one good RB who can be the man by himself then splitting carries rarely ever works because the RB can't get into the flow of the game. I would have no problem getting something out of our investment with Spiller under them circumstances mentioned above.

If we couldn't get the right compensation or sign him cheap for a short-term contract then I would keep him and let him play out his contract next year and see where the chips fell. If we could get decent compensation for him I would hate to see him go but wouldn't blink to hand over the reigns to Spiller and let him try and grow with the team.

Jackson's injury really hurt a possibility of getting real good compensation for him though. Had he stayed healthy and continued what he was doing a deal like the above may have been achievable by a contending team in dire need of a good experienced RB that can step in and perform right away. It also gave Spiller the chance to show if he is capable of anything too so I guess it works both ways.

[SquishDaFish]

I see your points and agree to a point. But I wouldnt take anything less than a 2nd this year maybe even late 1st

[Stewie]

No team is going to give up what it should take to get a player of his caliber, because he's a 31 year old running back.

Pay the man, let him retire as a bill, hopefully he's got 2 more kickass seasons left.

[BillsFever21]

I see your points and agree to a point. But I wouldnt take anything less than a 2nd this year maybe even late 1st

There is no way we could get a 1st for him or a guaranteed second. Even a conditional 2nd rounder may be a stretch with his age and coming off an injury. I would take the 3rd this year and either a 3rd or a conditional 2nd next year though.

Jackson has been great for us but he is too old to be a part of our future. We are still many years away. If we could get decent compensation for him I would be more then content to take it and let Spiller grow into the role for better or worse. He showed a lot the last 6 games of the season.

[Extremebillsfan247]

Jackson is a good compliment to Spiller. Spiller is just going to continue to get better. As he does, the Bills will still need a back in place to give him a rest when needed. Who better to do that as he gets older than Jackson? The good thing about Jackson is that he started his NFL career late. He has less wear and tear on his body at this stage in his career than others. That means he will probably last longer than the average NFL RB in his age class. Spiller would probably help prolong his career by an additional 3 or 4 years in my opinion. I wouldn't part with Jackson as long as he is still serviceable.

[better days]

The Bills only got a 4th & 6th for Lynch who is MUCH younger & had a couple years left on his contract. There is no way they could do better than that for Jackson because of his age.

[Mr. Miyagi]

We need to get off the mindset that any time we have a star player we need to trade him away. For what, a draft pick that could turn out to be a bust?

No, we keep Freddy.

[EDS]

Fred Jackson is the teams best player. Why would they trade him away again?

[ZAZusmc03]

I say you do what you can to keep him. We need his skill and leadership on this team. Extend him and let him retire as a Bill.

[Johnny Bugmenot]

Fred Jackson is the teams best player. Why would they trade him away again?
An equally good player at a position that actually fills a need. No picks. Player for player trade. Whatever happened to those, anyway?

[The Jokeman]

Give him a two year extension with bigger money but don't close the door on letting Spiller over take the starting job. As again the Bills need to keep the little talent they have and supplement it. As I have no problem over paying guys and have them ride the bench keeping them versus not having them and have tons of cap room.

[stuckincincy]

Jackson is a good compliment to Spiller. Spiller is just going to continue to get better. As he does, the Bills will still need a back in place to give him a rest when needed. Who better to do that as he gets older than Jackson? The good thing about Jackson is that he started his NFL career late. He has less wear and tear on his body at this stage in his career than others. That means he will probably last longer than the average NFL RB in his age class. Spiller would probably help prolong his career by an additional 3 or 4 years in my opinion. I wouldn't part with Jackson as long as he is still serviceable.

Good post. But I'll add - Spiller is - a somewhat - compliment to Jackson, not vice versa.

They finally ran the Spill up the gut so he could pop one, with good results, if not wins. I've posted that they should give such a try for a long time.

If Fred is ok after the injury - sign 'em. I posted a while back about Priest Holmes, too old according to some. Right...

I don't give 2 cents about extending Spiller's career. So far, and IMO, he's yet another flash player rollicking on the big contract and I guess enjoying the jingle. Don't get me wrong - he seems a nice fellow. However, he's proven nothing to justify his pick by his numbers.

Which I think is a concern noticed by the Bill's PR machine. I think they had him out wide in the hope that his speed would peel off other coverage. That struck me as a PR stunt - dunno.

There is no way - yet - he has the moves, the pattern running, the reflex to come back into the play that a wr has. If conventional wisdom holds, it takes a year or two for most wrs to get into the groove. But we see Spiller with his rb shoulder pads, flanking out. Dumb and desperate.

Question: BUF hasn't been on tv here in Cincy since 2007. Is Spiller an adequate blocker, for the qb or getting into the play for another ball carrier? Downfield blocking?

[doug45]

Jackson is a good compliment to Spiller. Spiller is just going to continue to get better. As he does, the Bills will still need a back in place to give him a rest when needed. Who better to do that as he gets older than Jackson? The good thing about Jackson is that he started his NFL career late. He has less wear and tear on his body at this stage in his career than others. That means he will probably last longer than the average NFL RB in his age class. Spiller would probably help prolong his career by an additional 3 or 4 years in my opinion. I wouldn't part with Jackson as long as he is still serviceable.


Jackson is twice the player that Spiller will ever be. Maybe they could get something for Spiller before he ends up like all the other crap picks they have made the past 10 years or more.

[Night Train]

I understand the point and it's just tosssing an idea out.

I don't wish to diminish depth at a position of strength.

I like Freddie and if he does hit the wall in a year or 2, so be it but I want him to do it here because currently, he a very good player that can help us. Spiller can spell him and also line at at WR.

[Mr. Pink]

Would like to extend him for about 3-4 years this offseason.

If that can't be worked out, trading him isn't that bad of an option.

Basically what I'm thinking is if we can't work out an extension this offseason I don't think we'd be able to that next offseason either. Getting something instead of nothing is always a better option.

Then this offseason we sign a big bruising back to compliment Spiller in short yardage and goal line situations.

[Jeff1220]

Fred is a beast and my favorite player on the team. They better keep him for a few more years!