Byrd to be tagged.

[coastal]

Per some twitter bull****.

[coastal]

Levitre as good as gone.

[trapezeus]

wow, yet again the front office can not think of a way to get things done before the last minute. and their answer will result in byrd being gone next year.

Russ Brandon should run for congress. he can't get **** done, promises things all the time, never delivers and asks for more time.

[The King]

Maybe Byrd wants to see that the ship is righted before signing long term?

[coastal]

And for those who must validate... This is from Adam Scheftler

[Mr. Miyagi]

Makes sense to tag Byrd for 5-6 million and try to get Levitre a long term contract.

[Skooby]

Byrd's tag was really not that much, maybe it's non-exclusive (less $) & we can get 2 first round picks from somebody ?

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Byrd's tag was really not that much, maybe it's non-exclusive (less $) & we can get 2 first round picks from somebody ?

I like Byrd a lot, but nobody is giving us 2 firsts for him.

And I will wait and see how things shake out before I'm convinced Levitre walks. They met with both agents at the combine, so I'm hoping they just tagged the one they are farther away from signing. We've certainly got the room.

[Pinkerton Security]

wow, yet again the front office can not think of a way to get things done before the last minute. and their answer will result in byrd being gone next year.

Russ Brandon should run for congress. he can't get **** done, promises things all the time, never delivers and asks for more time.

Well, they could have let him walk in general...could be worse.

[justasportsfan]

wow, yet again the front office can not think of a way to get things done before the last minute. and their answer will result in byrd being gone next year.


Brandon? If you are blaming who (IMO) was marketing manager prior to this year for past FO moves ,are you going to him credit for extending Kyle and Freddie?

[jamze132]

Calm down and be glad he'll be in the roster next year!

[TedMock]

No surprise. I think the entire world knew this was coming since December. Standard practice around the league every single year. You try to work something out quickly, it usually doesn't quite get there and then you tag. It's from this point that we will see how the Bills feel about him. Sometimes teams use the tag to buy time to come up with a nice long-term deal. Other times, teams use it to ride out the season and let the guy walk because they feel they have better odds with next year's FA and draft classes.

[The King]

Byrd responds.... It's all good.

[Slim]

Levitre is gone.

[The last buffalo fan]

Makes sense to tag Byrd for 5-6 million and try to get Levitre a long term contract.

:pray:

[JoeMama]

Levitre as good as gone.

With Byrd tagged, doesn't that actually increase the odds we re-sign Levitre?

Now we have like 14 mil in cap space and only one guy on our radar.

Seems doable but I wouldn't put it pass OBD to screw it up somehow.

[Slim]

With Byrd tagged, doesn't that actually increase the odds we re-sign Levitre?

Now we have like 14 mil in cap space and only one guy on our radar.

Seems doable but I wouldn't put it pass OBD to screw it up somehow.

Not with so little time left. For three reasons:

1. Paying a Guard 6-8 million a year, isn't in the best interest of the Bills. You can sign a play making WR or SAF that would have a far greater impact on the field.
2. The difference between Rhinehart and Levitre is smaller than most would like to admit. Levitre is better, but the drop off is minimal. If Marrone isn't a fan of Rhinehart, don't be shocked to see a player like Justin Pugh drafted in April.
3. Eric Wood is a FA next season. He will cost a solid amount when it comes time to negotiate. I know many people would rather re-sign Levtire but a C is harder to find. If the Bills were to re-sign Wood and Levitre, the interior of the line would cost 10 mil+ per season, which is way to high for some of the most interchangeable positions on the field.

[coastal]

With Byrd tagged, doesn't that actually increase the odds we re-sign Levitre?

Now we have like 14 mil in cap space and only one guy on our radar.

Seems doable but I wouldn't put it pass OBD to screw it up somehow.if Byrd signed, the franchise tag still was there for Andy.

leverage we will never have with him.

There is zero incentive for him not to hit free agency now.

He's gone.

[Slim]

if Byrd signed, the franchise tag still was there for Andy.

leverage we will never have with him.

There is zero incentive for him not to hit free agency now.



He's gone.

This too.

[ServoBillieves]

So sick of you mouth breathers...

Can you at least be happy we tagged the guy we wanted? Can you, with your superior intelligence please give us reason not to like the move? If Levitre goes, it sucks but we shouldn't give 2 ****s, since he would be one of 2 great players who wanted to cash out. He will, good for him. Is this a good decision? No, he'll cash out, and he'll do great in Jacksonville.

Prove me wrong Levitre. Prove me wrong.

[alnilla]

He will be signed by mid season. They wont let him walk

[fluteflakes]

Thank god.

Hopefully this means we get a deal done with him next year. If we lose Levitre, yes, that sucks ASS. But at least we're keeping one of our homegrown talents and hopefully we get a deal worked out with him long term asap.

[Pinkerton Security]

He will be signed by mid season. They wont let him walk

One can hope.

[trapezeus]

Brandon? If you are blaming who (IMO) was marketing manager prior to this year for past FO moves ,are you going to him credit for extending Kyle and Freddie?

why do you insist on defending him. he has been the right hand man to ralph in a major capacity once donahoe left. he's promoted himself to GM. he stepped down. he found buddy after missing in 2010 to land a big name like we wanted.

The guy is about as meddlesome as ralph.

To repeat what was true maybe from 98-2002 is exactly the reason why half this board thinks there is a culture change and half of us know this will follow the same path.

These are the same old bills. if byrd plays under this tag, he will outperform it. they'll have wasted a chance to just solidify the position. therefore next year when we still need a ton of pieces because they gutted whatever little depth we had (Nelson, Jones,barnett)., those are the guys you want as solid back ups. we had them as starters.

the whole thing is just too annoying. let's wait for the draft and watch the same bone head mistakes playout. Geno smith, teo, trade up, lose more picks, draft a couple positions where the need isn't immediate.

[fluteflakes]

I'm almost positive that no matter what decision the FO make you still wouldn't be on board.

Jesus we just managed to keep the guy where three years ago he's gone, you know it, I know it, the FO knows it. We kept one of the big two, and still have a chance to retain the other. Can't you just be glad we're not turning into the NFL's farm team again?

[Mahdi]

Not with so little time left. For three reasons:

1. Paying a Guard 6-8 million a year, isn't in the best interest of the Bills. You can sign a play making WR or SAF that would have a far greater impact on the field.
2. The difference between Rhinehart and Levitre is smaller than most would like to admit. Levitre is better, but the drop off is minimal. If Marrone isn't a fan of Rhinehart, don't be shocked to see a player like Justin Pugh drafted in April.
3. Eric Wood is a FA next season. He will cost a solid amount when it comes time to negotiate. I know many people would rather re-sign Levtire but a C is harder to find. If the Bills were to re-sign Wood and Levitre, the interior of the line would cost 10 mil+ per season, which is way to high for some of the most interchangeable positions on the field.

I agree with not paying 7-8 mil to Levitre but the drop off between him and Rinehart is massive. Levitre gets out into space better than most guards in the league. There is no doubt he is very good, but its just not good business to pay him that much when you have so many needs.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

if Byrd signed, the franchise tag still was there for Andy.

leverage we will never have with him.

There is zero incentive for him not to hit free agency now.

He's gone.

We still have the transition tag to use on him to receive the right of first refusal. If someone wants to offer him gonzo money then he's gone anyway.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

1. Paying a Guard 6-8 million a year, isn't in the best interest of the Bills. You can sign a play making WR or SAF that would have a far greater impact on the field.

The ability of all other skill position players is dependent on the OLine. A playmaking wideout is going to have severely diminished returns if our QB is running for his life or our halfbacks can't get out of the backfield to establish a ground threat.


2. The difference between Rhinehart and Levitre is smaller than most would like to admit. Levitre is better, but the drop off is minimal. If Marrone isn't a fan of Rhinehart, don't be shocked to see a player like Justin Pugh drafted in April.

The difference between Reinhart and Levitre is enormous. CookieG broke it down well, with Levitre at LG, that leaves our center free to help Urbik or Reinhart on the right, and Levitre is one of the best pulling blockers in the league right now.


3. Eric Wood is a FA next season. He will cost a solid amount when it comes time to negotiate. I know many people would rather re-sign Levtire but a C is harder to find. If the Bills were to re-sign Wood and Levitre, the interior of the line would cost 10 mil+ per season, which is way to high for some of the most interchangeable positions on the field.

Are C's hard to find or are they interchangeable? I like Wood, but he hasn't finished a season and Levitre hasn't missed a game. If one of them has to walk for monetary reasons, I'd much rather try to replace Wood.

[Slim]

The ability of all other skill position players is dependent on the OLine. A playmaking wideout is going to have severely diminished returns if our QB is running for his life or our halfbacks can't get out of the backfield to establish a ground threat.


The difference between Reinhart and Levitre is enormous. CookieG broke it down well, with Levitre at LG, that leaves our center free to help Urbik or Reinhart on the right, and Levitre is one of the best pulling blockers in the league right now.





Are C's hard to find or are they interchangeable? I like Wood, but he hasn't finished a season and Levitre hasn't missed a game. If one of them has to walk for monetary reasons, I'd much rather try to replace Wood.

When Rinehart has played the last two seasons has the run game noticeably suffered? I don't think so. And, Rinehart is not a liability in the passing game, so any argument about diminished returns for a WR is mute.

We will agree to disagree on your second point. "Enormous" is a hilarious exaggeration by the way. The difference between Peyton Manning and Dan Orlovsky is enormous. The difference between Levitre and Rinehart is moderate at worse. Levitre is a superior player yes, but he is replaceable. BTW, PFF (not the say all end all- I know) actually graded Levitre in the negatives in the run game this last season. Everything is relative.

[justasportsfan]

why do you insist on defending him. he has been the right hand man to ralph in a major capacity once donahoe left. he's promoted himself to GM. he stepped down. he found buddy after missing in 2010 to land a big name like we wanted.

The guy is about as meddlesome as ralph.

It's not about me defending him. It's about you continuously implying it's all Russ' fault. All I'm asking is that you put out more than just your assumptions to defend what you think is going on in OBD.

Why are you insisting that Russ made the decisions over guys like Marv , Jauron and Nix? where are you getting your info from? Who are your sources?

Russ is a marketing expert and has done a great job at it. It doesn't take a genius to know that the best way to market a product is to put out a good one. I'm pretty sure Russ would have wanted more than a Chan. Chan was a Nix pick unless you have sources saying otherwise.

I have not seen Russ involved so much in a coaching/draft search in the past more so than this year, now that he's the CEO.

Both Russ and WHALEY publicly stated Nix took the lead in this years coaching search although I'm sure Russ had input with his SU connection but so did Whaley. They all publicly stated it was a group effort .

It has been publicly stated that Ralph wanted Sherman and Marv wanted Jauron. How is it that Russ was involved in that?

Do you think Whaley would have extended if Russ who isn't a football guy make decisions without asking input from him and Nix who are football guys?

You may be right but so far all I've seen prior to this year is Russ taking the lead when it comes to regionalizing the team. Again, a marketing guy would make sure to ask the football experts about football matters rather than be a know it all which will eventually blow up in his face and get fired if he doesn't produce a good product.

If I was to judge Russ' football decisions, it will have to be with this run with Marrone where it is clear as daylight that he had a major hand in it.

[justasportsfan]

These are the same old bills. if byrd plays under this tag, he will outperform it. they'll have wasted a chance to just solidify the position. therefore next year when we still need a ton of pieces because they gutted whatever little depth we had (Nelson, Jones,barnett)., those are the guys you want as solid back ups. we had them as starters.



there is no way Russ would have made these personnel decisions without input from his own anointed coach. You are setting up your own anointed coach to fail if you make moves he doesn't want. Russ is not stupid, if Marrone fails, it's on his head

[MTBillsFan]

Hopefully, they can get him long term now before next season. He's gonna be good for a long time. As for Levitre, it's a shame they haven't offered him a deal yet. But, now with Marrone as HC, maybe they can coach up a 3rd round guard?

[Bone]

Lol. We tag Byrd, easily top 10 safety in the league and yet people still *****. Where did all the posters go 2 years ago?

[SquishDaFish]

They will either get a long term deal done by Free Agency and drop the tag or try to sign him after the season. NO way in hell are they signing him midseason where we would lose the Franchise tag for the length of his deal. They are going to want to keep that tag open if possible

[Joe Fo Sho]

They will either get a long term deal done by Free Agency and drop the tag or try to sign him after the season. NO way in hell are they signing him midseason where we would lose the Franchise tag for the length of his deal. They are going to want to keep that tag open if possible

Is that really how that works now? If we signed him to a 5 year deal midseason, we wouldn't be able to use the franchise on anyone for 5 years?

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Is that really how that works now? If we signed him to a 5 year deal midseason, we wouldn't be able to use the franchise on anyone for 5 years?

I know that's true of the transition tag, I did not know that it was also true of the franchise tag

[Joe Fo Sho]

I know that's true of the transition tag, I did not know that it was also true of the franchise tag

Hmmm, that makes more sense to me. I've never heard of that in regards to the franchise tag.

[trapezeus]

russ has been ralph's right hand man for the entire time he's been there. he's a suck up. that's the only way you get to be the GM, fail, and then take over as CEO.

He is the culture of "i don't know what i'm doing, let me try something different and then be too scared to follow through" that the entire organization has.

The team never got gutted this year. it is exactly the same with just a new head coach.

This offseason will follow the trends of the last 13 years.

[SquishDaFish]

Im pretty sure its the same for both tags

[Scumbag College]

On one hand, I'm glad Byrd is staying. With Wilson and McGee gone and McFumbles a FA, Byrd and Gilmore are the only two starting caliber players in the defensive backfield. Aaron Williams has been horrific when healthy and the only way I see him playing in the NFL after the next two seasons would be a move to safety... even then he's a question mark. Rogers took a step backwards last year from his rookie season. Who knows if Brooks can get back after an injury to where he was during the preseason.

On the other hand, Levitre has been the only consistent OL for the past few years and is never injured. The rest of the line is either inconsistent or injured.

[justasportsfan]

russ has been ralph's right hand man for the entire time he's been there. he's a suck up. that's the only way you get to be the GM, fail, and then take over as CEO.


he's been the right hand man in terms of running the business from a marketing standpoint IMO


He is the culture of "i don't know what i'm doing, let me try something different and then be too scared to follow through" that the entire organization has.really? If he doesn't know what he's doing, how did he get bills fans to buy into the team every year inspite of not making playoffs for 13 years? He got YOU going to travel to the games in those 13 years hasn't he? He also suckered Toronto into dishing out all those millions for a crappy product. Not bad for someone who doesn't know what he's doing.


The team never got gutted this year. it is exactly the same with just a new head coach.

This offseason will follow the trends of the last 13 years.we shall see. Like I said, unless you have sources saying Russ made the decisions to hire Jauron , NIx, Gailey,Marrio, Wanny, Kyle,etc,etc, the Russ Brandon watch starts NOW with Marrone as far as I'm concerned .

[better days]

He will be signed by mid season. They wont let him walk

Actually the Bills have until July 15 to sign Byrd to a long term deal, which I think they will.

[RedEyE]

Even if they do not lock Byrd up by mid July, the cap space saved with Kelsay retiring is nearly enough to pay Byrd's tag contract. That was the best play Kelsay ever made for the Bills.