EJ Manuel Signed

[BLeonard]

Per V-Text

All Draft Picks now signed.

-Bill

[Don't Panic]

Per v-text. All picks now signed.

[BidsJr]

NM

[Don't Panic]

Should have known I wouldn't be the only one... Mods, please merge.

[whkfc]

On a side note not thread worthy Tarvaris Jackson went back to the
Seahawks

[PromoTheRobot]

Per V-Text

All Draft Picks now signed.

-Bill


Ralph is cheap.

PTR

[swiper]

Now go sign Byrd.

[The Jokeman]

The only thing I don't like is it was only a 4 year dear but guess that's the norm but prefer we sign him as long as possible and thought 1st Rounders have the ability to be signed to 5 year deals.

[MidnightVoice]

Here is NFL's draft tracker (only 8 1st rounders signed)

http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/0ap1000000168476/article/signing-status-for-2013-nfl-draft-firstround-picks

[Homegrown]

Cue the GR-550 "Mighty Taco" ads

[justasportsfan]

Wow! Cheap Ralph got EJ to be the the 8th 1st rd pick signed instead of trying to lowball him?

[OLDSRIP]

Here is NFL's draft tracker (only 8 1st rounders signed)

http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/0ap1000000168476/article/signing-status-for-2013-nfl-draft-firstround-picks

Why are the Bills the only one who can't sign their draft picks? The Bills are cheap. Brandon doesn't know what he is doing. Did I get them all?

[trapezeus]

i think that point if true is valid. why is it a 4 year deal? if he ends up sucking, we'll be happy...but honestly i thought one of the points of reaching for your qb was to get the extra year in case he needs to learn.

i think this makes it likely that he'll be starting sooner than later.

[BillsFever21]

That's the upside and downside of the new rookie cap. Before you would get them guys for 5-7 years depending on how high they were drafted but at a much higher price. The tradeoff for the rookies getting a lower salary is a shorter term contract. If they end up being a good player then they can hit FA in their mid 20's and just entering their prime instead of having to wait a couple more years. On the long end they can end up with another contract when they're around 30 years old instead of being on the wrong side of 30.

You have to take the good with the bad. Although if they do work out and you could lose them sooner I like the rookie cap. Teams will have to pay up for them if they are a good player and want to keep them around. The downside for a team like the Bills is we have a hard enough time keeping the guys to stay in the first place and now it's a shorter amount of time before they become a free agent.

The position it helps the most is probably running backs since they have the shortest shelf life in the NFL. Before if they had to wait 6 years before they became a FA they would be around 28 years old already when they usually start breaking down around 30 years old. That limited their ability to get a bigger FA deal after their rookie contract ended. Now they will be around 25 or so and just entering their prime and teams won't hesitate to give them a 5 year deal at a higher price.

[SquishDaFish]

That's the upside and downside of the new rookie cap. Before you would get them guys for 5-7 years depending on how high they were drafted but at a much higher price. The tradeoff for the rookies getting a lower salary is a shorter term contract. If they end up being a good player then they can hit FA in their mid 20's and just entering their prime instead of having to wait a couple more years. On the long end they can end up with another contract when they're around 30 years old instead of being on the wrong side of 30.

You have to take the good with the bad. Although if they do work out and you could lose them sooner I like the rookie cap. Teams will have to pay up for them if they are a good player and want to keep them around. The downside for a team like the Bills is we have a hard enough time keeping the guys to stay in the first place and now it's a shorter amount of time before they become a free agent.

The position it helps the most is probably running backs since they have the shortest shelf life in the NFL. Before if they had to wait 6 years before they became a FA they would be around 28 years old already when they usually start breaking down around 30 years old. That limited their ability to get a bigger FA deal after their rookie contract ended. Now they will be around 25 or so and just entering their prime and teams won't hesitate to give them a 5 year deal at a higher price.

The point of the question was that with the new and current CBA is 1st round picks can be signed to 5 years hence the reason people wanted a QB in rd 1. But he only got a 4 year deal which is for 2nd rd picks and lower. Doesnt make sense.

[The Jokeman]

i think that point if true is valid. why is it a 4 year deal? if he ends up sucking, we'll be happy...but honestly i thought one of the points of reaching for your qb was to get the extra year in case he needs to learn.

i think this makes it likely that he'll be starting sooner than later.

I've done some further research and appears under the current CBA all players drafted in the 1st Round are automatically given a 5th option year. Yet most interesting is that the salary for a top 10 pick is different then a pick 11-32 which might be why we traded down to acquire Manuel as
As for first round draft picks, the amount of salary they’ll receive in their fifth year of play if their option is picked up by their respective team, depends upon where they were selected in the first round. According to Slough, “If a player is picked 1-10, then the 5th year option is going to be the average of the top-10 players at the respective player’s position. So, if you’re quarterback and go number-two in the Draft, then your fifth year option salary will be the average of the top-ten quarterbacks. The option is exercised after the third season, so it would be based upon the top-ten quarterback salaries at that time. If you’re picked 11-32, then the 5th year club option is the average salary of the top 3rd through 25th player in that position.” according to: http://rulingsports.com/2012/04/25/the-structure-of-nfl-rookie-contracts/ So the Ralph is cheap mantra may begin now.

[Meathead]

why do the initial reports always say 'terms of the deal were not disclosed' when that information ALWAYS comes out a few days later? why not just include that info in the announcement and get it over with

[kishoph]

I've done some further research and appears under the current CBA all players drafted in the 1st Round are automatically given a 5th option year. Yet most interesting is that the salary for a top 10 pick is different then a pick 11-32 which might be why we traded down to acquire Manuel as according to: http://rulingsports.com/2012/04/25/the-structure-of-nfl-rookie-contracts/ So the Ralph is cheap mantra may begin now.

The reason we traded down was to get 2 extra picks, including a 2nd rounder, not to save a couple of Million dollars.

[The Jokeman]

The reason we traded down was to get 2 extra picks, including a 2nd rounder, not to save a couple of Million dollars.

I liked the trade down and before the draft I thought we might have gotten the Rams 1st, 2nd and 6th Round pick. The only question which still remains if Manuel was worth picking at 16.

[BLeonard]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/22416983/bills-sign-first-round-pick-ej-manuel


Terms of the deal, via FoxSports.com's Peter Schrager: four years, $8.9 million -- fully guaranteed -- with a $4.84 million signing bonus.

-Bill

[BillsFever21]

Wow fully guaranteed contract. Manuel made out pretty well.

[kishoph]

I liked the trade down and before the draft I thought we might have gotten the Rams 1st, 2nd and 6th Round pick. The only question which still remains if Manuel was worth picking at 16.

Only time will tell, but I think they had to pull the trigger when they did. Too often we have heard, "we had him targeted, but"......

[Night Train]

Awesome. Can't wait to see him grow as a player.

He'll make his rookie mistakes but it's year 1 of Marrone and I want ALL the kids to play and grow together. I don't expect much THIS season but a long term plan that shows improvement and eventually pays off.

Go Bills !

[DraftBoy]

Fantastic to read just getting back from a vacation. Camp is right around the corner.

[coastal]

He's week one starter.