2013 - Free Agents. Who should the Bills go after?

[BertSquirtgum]

The Bills have a number of needs this off season. Some of these needs could be filled through free agency. I am going to list the guys who I think the Bills should go after. I know signing every one of these guys is not realistic. What do you guys think the Bills should do?

I consider each of these positions necessity needs for us, in order of importance.

QB: The only quarterback worth wasting effort on is Joe Flacco and Matt Schuab. I also don't believe the Ravens will let him get to free agency. Houston might go with TJ Yates instead of paying Schaub. Matt Moore is much more consistent and a better option than Fitzputrid, IMO.

Joe Flacco - age 27 - Baltimore
Matt Schaub - age 31 - Houston
Matt Moore - 28 - Miami

LB: Some of these are worthy are going after. Most of the guys worth signing come from a 3-4. I don't know how they would translate to the 4-3.

Shaun Philips - age 30 - San Diego
Bradie James - age 31 - Houston
Leroy Hill - age 30 - Seattle
Erin Henderson - age 26 - Minnesota
Will Witherspoon - age 32 - Tennessee
Manny Lawson - age 28 - Cincinnati
Philip Wheeler - age 27 - Oakland
Daryl Smith - age 30 - Jacksonville
James Laurinaitis - age 26 - St. Louis

WR: I believe the Bills need a 1b option at the receiver position. Nelson and Jones should be nothing more than slot receivers. They are both RFA in 2013.

Dwayne Bowe - age 28 - Kansas City
Mike Wallace - age 26 - Pittsburgh
Greg Jennings - age 29 - Green Bay
Ramses Barden - age 25 - NYG
Brandon Gibson - age 25 - St Louis
Devery Henderson - age 30 - New Orleans

CB: It's clear that don't have a #2 at this point. Ron Brooks might turn out to be that guy. Leodis can handle the nickle positions if the Bills resign him.

Chris Houston - age 28 - Detriot
Tracy Porter - age 26 - Denver
Quentin Jammer - age 33 - San Diego - Although aging, he's still very good. Look at what Woodson did for Green Bay at the same age.
Brent Grimes - 30 - Atlanta
Jason - McCourty - age 26 - Tennessee

RT:
Phil Loadholt - age 26 - Minnesota
Sebastian Vollmer - age 28 - New England
Jermon Bushrod - age 28 - New Orleans
Will Svitek - age 30 - Atlanta

S:
Tanard Jackson - age 27 - Washington
Kenny Phillips - age 26 - NYG
Laron Landry - age 28 - NYJ
Kerry Rhodes - age 30 - Arizona
Yeremiah Bell - age 34 - NYJ

C (backup): Don't know many quality players or backups even for this position.
Jeff Faine - age 31 - Cincinnati
Dan Koppen - age 33 - Denver

[Slim]

I know he hasn't proven much, but I wouldn't mind bringing in the Pharaoh at WR. I watched him play a few times at Cal Poly and was very impressed. Love his size.

[better days]

I would love Flacco. Be happy with Schaub. Accept Moore because he is better than Fitz even if not by much.

I think resigning McKelvin would be the best option at CB & Easley may turn out to be the WR we need.

[BertSquirtgum]

I missed Schaub signed an extension. He signed a 4 year extension. I did my best to make sure all of these guys were going to be free agents after the season.

[EDS]

Doubt the Bills could afford many of these guys particularly given that Byrd and Levitre need to be the top two priorities, since there are no obvious in-house replacements.

[coastal]

Their own.

next.

[Mr. Magoo]

I really like James Laurinaitis, he is still young and a decent LBer

[GingerP]

I really like James Laurinaitis, he is still young and a decent LBer

He isn't a FA, he signed an extension earlier this year:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000059735/article/james-laurinaitis-signs-fiveyear-contract-extension

[BertSquirtgum]

Laurinaitis was a last minute addition. Can't catch them all. He would have been a great addition to this team.

[ServoBillieves]

Laurianitis would've been key, but as of that list unless we can't re-sign Byrd and Levitre I see only draft choices and maybe Ramses Barden. Dude is huge and is finally crawling out of the depth chart in NY

[stuckincincy]

CIN- Faine stepped in when CIN was in dire need when starter Cook went out in pre-season. Did a more than decent job in picking up the line calls, acceptable pass protection, but he's not good in run blocking, Been out for 4 games or so, with a hamstring. And was cut from CIN today as Cook returned.

Manny Lawson is just ok - if Thomas Howard wasn't IR'd early during practice with a knee, rookie Burfict would have eventually pushed him to the bench.

Lawson's a good guy, has smarts, shows up to play, but he's pretty much a starter out of necessity IMO. If you have roster space, he'd be a very worthwhile bench addition. Subject to the draft, I'd guess CIN re-signs him.

[Extremebillsfan247]

First they should get Byrd under a new contract. If Gailey is still the HC next year, go get Bowe. Our secondary could use a decent veteran presence, maybe Jammer, or Grimes if they couldn't find better. A lot can still happen between now and the opening of free agency so I'll stop there. JMO

[BertSquirtgum]

Their own.

next.

The Bills will already have signed their own by the time free agency rolls around.

Next.

[justasportsfan]

to offset the fans disappointment of bringing back Chan, Russ Brandon signs Dwane Bowe. Fans forgive the FO and season tickets start selling again.

[Ed]

Dwayne Bowe would probably be at the very top of my free agent wish list. If we could land him I wouldn't care if are only other free agents additions were just some affordable depth players.

We really need another legit WR and a rookie could take time to develop or be a bust. QB and LB free agent options don't look that good, so I'd rather focus on those positions early in the draft and remove WR from the list of needs via free agency.

[coastal]

The Bills will already have signed their own by the time free agency rolls around.

Next.
Urbik, McMarbles, Levitre and Byrd all resign?

i hope you're right.

[justasportsfan]

Dwayne Bowe would probably be at the very top of my free agent wish list. If we could land him I wouldn't care if are only other free agents additions were just some affordable depth players.

We really need another legit WR and a rookie could take time to develop or be a bust. QB and LB free agent options don't look that good, so I'd rather focus on those positions early in the draft and remove WR from the list of needs via free agency. Bowe is familiar with Chan so I don't think the transition in learning Chans system will take long.

Plus, Nelson will be back. I like!

[trapezeus]

i dont need to see a big name signed this offseason. i'd just like a lot of depth added. and then see the draft get the qb we need. not to take a qb for qb sake, but to get the best one we can.

[BertSquirtgum]

Urbik, McMarbles, Levitre and Byrd all resign?

i hope you're right.

Urbik is a RFA. Byrd will get franchised if he can't be signed before FA and I believe Levitre will get signed.

[GingerP]

Urbik is a RFA. Byrd will get franchised if he can't be signed before FA and I believe Levitre will get signed.

Urbik was a restricted free agent last year and was tendered a one-year deal by the Bills:

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Bills-tender-RFAs-Rinehart-Urbik/e235ed30-7e21-4160-b398-aa29f1817bbb

Though he didn't play at all his rookie season (2009), he was on the Steelers roster and earned a year toward free agency. He will be unrestricted after this season.

I think it makes sense to make a hard push to sign Levitre to an extension first, as the tag is a greater value for S. Either way, they probably make a strong effort to keep both players before next March. I don't think it is time to panic, there is plenty of time.

[Ed]

Urbik, McMarbles, Levitre and Byrd all resign?

i hope you're right.
I don't know if they'll want to bring back McKelvin, but there's no reason they can't have these guys back. The Bills can free up money by not bringing back certain players.

It looks like Thigpen and Spencer Johnson's contract are both up, which cost them about 6.5 mil this season.
Kir Morrison's release saves them about 1.5 mil.
Cutting Kelsay would save about 4.2 mil.
Cutting McGee saves another 2.1 mil.
Cutting George Wilson saves about 3.4 mil.
Cutting Brad Smith could save about 2.8 mil.

They have options. If Nix wants to keep those guys they can make it work. They're probably not going to be able to make a huge splash like they did last year, but they should have enough flexibility to sign their own and make some moves in free agency.

[coastal]

Like I said I hope you're right.

to me it's more of a question of whether they even want to be here.

[The Jokeman]

The Bills have a number of needs this off season. Some of these needs could be filled through free agency. I am going to list the guys who I think the Bills should go after. I know signing every one of these guys is not realistic. What do you guys think the Bills should do?

I consider each of these positions necessity needs for us, in order of importance.

QB: The only quarterback worth wasting effort on is Joe Flacco and Matt Schuab. I also don't believe the Ravens will let him get to free agency. Houston might go with TJ Yates instead of paying Schaub. Matt Moore is much more consistent and a better option than Fitzputrid, IMO.

Joe Flacco - age 27 - Baltimore
Matt Schaub - age 31 - Houston
Matt Moore - 28 - Miami

LB: Some of these are worthy are going after. Most of the guys worth signing come from a 3-4. I don't know how they would translate to the 4-3.

Shaun Philips - age 30 - San Diego
Bradie James - age 31 - Houston
Leroy Hill - age 30 - Seattle
Erin Henderson - age 26 - Minnesota
Will Witherspoon - age 32 - Tennessee
Manny Lawson - age 28 - Cincinnati
Philip Wheeler - age 27 - Oakland
Daryl Smith - age 30 - Jacksonville
James Laurinaitis - age 26 - St. Louis

WR: I believe the Bills need a 1b option at the receiver position. Nelson and Jones should be nothing more than slot receivers. They are both RFA in 2013.

Dwayne Bowe - age 28 - Kansas City
Mike Wallace - age 26 - Pittsburgh
Greg Jennings - age 29 - Green Bay
Ramses Barden - age 25 - NYG
Brandon Gibson - age 25 - St Louis
Devery Henderson - age 30 - New Orleans

CB: It's clear that don't have a #2 at this point. Ron Brooks might turn out to be that guy. Leodis can handle the nickle positions if the Bills resign him.

Chris Houston - age 28 - Detriot
Tracy Porter - age 26 - Denver
Quentin Jammer - age 33 - San Diego - Although aging, he's still very good. Look at what Woodson did for Green Bay at the same age.
Brent Grimes - 30 - Atlanta
Jason - McCourty - age 26 - Tennessee

RT:
Phil Loadholt - age 26 - Minnesota
Sebastian Vollmer - age 28 - New England
Jermon Bushrod - age 28 - New Orleans
Will Svitek - age 30 - Atlanta

S:
Tanard Jackson - age 27 - Washington
Kenny Phillips - age 26 - NYG
Laron Landry - age 28 - NYJ
Kerry Rhodes - age 30 - Arizona
Yeremiah Bell - age 34 - NYJ

C (backup): Don't know many quality players or backups even for this position.
Jeff Faine - age 31 - Cincinnati
Dan Koppen - age 33 - Denver


Teams don't let above average QB just walk away in free agency so I think that crosses Flacco and Schaub off the list. Matt Moore to me is nothing special. One name that seems more then likely to be available is Michael Vick, I will say that I don't like the idea of adding him but he would give this team some buzz if added so he might be a guy we pursue unless we draft someone high.

At LB we we need a WLB and MLB and none of the names you mentioned really intrigued me except for Laurinaitis but as mentioned he's not available.

WR could be a position we could get someone, I know he signed long term but based on his struggles this year Robert Meachem might be available and we liked him last offseason so we might get him on the cheap this offseason. Other names you listed that I think are likely are Brandon Gibson and maybe Greg Jennings yet he's a big time question mark.

CB is an interesting position Brent Grimes name rings bells as know he picks off passes but haven't really studied your list in great detail.

RT, I think we keep things as is as Erik Pears being healthy makes a world of difference. Yet I'm all for drafting an OT in Round 4 or 5 of the draft to shore up more depth.

S, keeping Byrd is vital but I'd be all for getting a depth guy to compete with George Wilson to start at SS.

C, finding a veteran depth guy important but I haven't looked to see who's out there. Koppen's age scares me but if he playing only a handful of games I'm okay but still might look to draft a guy in 5 or 6 to add depth.

[BertSquirtgum]

Teams don't let above average QB just walk away in free agency so I think that crosses Flacco and Schaub off the list. Matt Moore to me is nothing special. One name that seems more then likely to be available is Michael Vick, I will say that I don't like the idea of adding him but he would give this team some buzz if added so he might be a guy we pursue unless we draft someone high.

At LB we we need a WLB and MLB and none of the names you mentioned really intrigued me except for Laurinaitis but as mentioned he's not available.

WR could be a position we could get someone, I know he signed long term but based on his struggles this year Robert Meachem might be available and we liked him last offseason so we might get him on the cheap this offseason. Other names you listed that I think are likely are Brandon Gibson and maybe Greg Jennings yet he's a big time question mark.

CB is an interesting position Brent Grimes name rings bells as know he picks off passes but haven't really studied your list in great detail.

RT, I think we keep things as is as Erik Pears being healthy makes a world of difference. Yet I'm all for drafting an OT in Round 4 or 5 of the draft to shore up more depth.

S, keeping Byrd is vital but I'd be all for getting a depth guy to compete with George Wilson to start at SS.

C, finding a veteran depth guy important but I haven't looked to see who's out there. Koppen's age scares me but if he playing only a handful of games I'm okay but still might look to draft a guy in 5 or 6 to add depth.

George Wilson sucks. He needs to be replaced.

[GingerP]

CB is an interesting position Brent Grimes name rings bells as know he picks off passes but haven't really studied your list in great detail.

I like Grimes. Not the biggest guy, but a battler who can cover. However, he tore his achilles earlier this season, which is a scary injury for a CB. He got Atlanta's franchise tag last year, but I don't think anyone will give him much guaranteed money as a FA. It usually takes half the season back playing to get back to form after an Achilles, if it is to happen. I think he ends up looking for a 1-year deal with incentives to allow him to earn more, so he can prove he will be the same player post-injury. If he can recover, he'll be 30, so he probably lost his chance to get a huge contract.

[Generalissimus Gibby]

Schaub, Bowie, Byrd, and one or two of our OL

[Don't Panic]

We are not going after a QB in free agency, at least not one of starter quality. And how some of you conclude tha Matt Moore is better than Fitz is comical to say the least.

Bowe would be ideal, and WR is a great place to go with FA, especially considering where we're at right now. DB is another great area to look at in FA. LB would be best addressed through the draft IMO.

[better days]

We are not going after a QB in free agency, at least not one of starter quality. And how some of you conclude tha Matt Moore is better than Fitz is comical to say the least.

Bowe would be ideal, and WR is a great place to go with FA, especially considering where we're at right now. DB is another great area to look at in FA. LB would be best addressed through the draft IMO.

Moore would win a fair competition against Fitz every time. NOTHING funny about that.

[BertSquirtgum]

We are not going after a QB in free agency, at least not one of starter quality. And how some of you conclude tha Matt Moore is better than Fitz is comical to say the least.

Bowe would be ideal, and WR is a great place to go with FA, especially considering where we're at right now. DB is another great area to look at in FA. LB would be best addressed through the draft IMO.

Have you even watched a game this year? Fitzputrid is awful.

[BertSquirtgum]

Moore would win a fair competition against Fitz every time. NOTHING funny about that.

Exactly. This team's current QB situation is so bad that I would choose Matt Moore over the current starter. Just awful.

[Don't Panic]

You guys are jaded... it's almost like talking to two PTSD victims. Fitzpatrick may be vanilla, but Moore is garbage.

[X-Era]

Schaub and Flacco are pretty much going nowhere. I would take either. Moore I have no interest in.

[BertSquirtgum]

If Vick becomes available, I would rather the Bills go into next season with Vick instead Putzputrid. Fitz will never lead this team to anything more than a 6-10 record.

[Ed]

Well looks like Chris Brown has crushed my hopes of getting Bowe in his weekly Fan Friday Q&A:


3 – Hi Chris,
Just looking ahead at the possibilities of the Bills filling in some holes with Free Agency and how active they might be this coming off-season. I would love for them to make upgrades at corner, wide receiver, and linebacker (quarterback too, but that would likely be addressed in the draft). How much cap space do the Bills currently have to work with in the off-season? I know that re-signing Byrd and Levitre will be top priorities for them, but once they’re taken care of, how much room will they likely have to work with, if any at all? Would love to see Dwayne Bowe in a Bills uniform!

As always, love the coverage you provide for us … please keep up the great work!

Paul

CB: Thanks for the kind words. I am not in a position to provide cap space figures, but I can tell you that Buffalo has a lot of young players coming up for contract consideration. You mentioned Byrd and Levitre. They’ve also got Kraig Urbik, Chad Rinehart to consider for their offensive line. Restricted free agents include David Nelson and Donald Jones. Leodis McKelvin is another unrestricted free agent of note. So very quickly just for the Bills to keep their own they’ll be eating into heavily into their cap space if they decide to do some long terms deals with any of the aforementioned players.

One free agent to be that hasn’t garnered much attention is Kyle Moore, who will also be unrestricted at season’s end.

That’s why the thought of Dwayne Bowe in a Bills uniform is a pipe dream. Buffalo is already heavily invested in the wide receiver position with Stevie Johnson. They likely intend to invest more with Nelson and Jones. So to try and add Bowe, who is looking for upwards of $10M a season, it’s just not going to happen.
Other veteran free agents of note include Bryan Scott, Corey McIntyre and Spencer Johnson.

[BertSquirtgum]

Bryan Scott is beyond terrible, Corey Mcintyre can be replaced by anybody, and Spencer Johnson is equally as terrible as Bryan Scott. I have no idea why the Bills would want to resign these guys.

[Mr. Pink]

Weak FA class.

[more cowbell]

quentin jammer = farts.

[better days]

You guys are jaded... it's almost like talking to two PTSD victims. Fitzpatrick may be vanilla, but Moore is garbage.

When given the chance to play this year, Moore has not looked like garbage, Fitz has.