Rumor: Byrd staying in Buffalo.........

[better days]

I was just listening to Eagles talk on Sirius radio.

Safety FA's they could sign was brought up.

The guy from Philly said it doesn't look like they could get Byrd because it looks like he will be staying in Buffalo.

I hope that guy knows what he is talking about.

[don137]

WGR said Tim Graham said the talk between Byrd and the Bills were going well. However, it's all hear say until I see anything official.

[Ed]

They might be assuming that Byrd will get tagged again even if they can't work out a deal, which is probably realistic. I don't see the Bills just saying oh well and letting him hit free agency.

[Meathead]

pls jairus for the love of dog get your head on straight and dont risk another season on the tag. im sure you can work a deal that will make you rich and provide all the hot bflo white women you can eat as long as you drop that ridonkulis demand to be the highest paid ever

[stuckincincy]

My foot hurts.

[swiper]

You better not be lying kid.

[DesertFox24]

I was talking with my friend who is a browns fan about this Byrd thing.

He and I agree that a safety is probably not work 8.5 to 9 million a year, but I told him keeping Bryd would show that the bills are different team and will be willing to pay their good young drafted players, which we for too long have let go.

Yes Bryd is a great safety and has 3 pro bowls in 4 years and is deserving to be paid.

I just wrestle with paying him that much money when I am not sure the safety position is all that important. If he covered TEs then maybe I woudl not have as much of a problem.

In summary if we let him go and he signs a deal making more than 8.5 I will not be all that mad about, if we sign for a deal making more than 8.5 million I will be happy and fully convinced the bills want to sign their drafted players and are willing to pay. However, if we let him walk I will not say we will never pay anyone. I think it will just show the bills want to be frugal and sign positions they deem important. Now if they let Dareus, Gilmore, and Glenn walk then we have majore problems.

[justasportsfan]

He's not a game changer like Polamalu which is why I don't think he should get top safety $.

[Dr. Lecter]

He's not a game changer like Polamalu which is why I don't think he should get top safety $.

Byrd has 22 Ints in 4 years (5.5 per year)

Polamalu has 32 ints in 11 years (call tit 3 per year)
Of course there is more to it than that for sure - but it is not as simple as you might think it is

[Oaf]

When we sign our own, we later ask to trade them/can't believe we settled for THAT at starting WR/starting DE.

[justasportsfan]

Byrd has 22 Ints in 4 years (5.5 per year)

Polamalu has 32 ints in 11 years (call tit 3 per year)
Of course there is more to it than that for sure - but it is not as simple as you might think it is

Don't care what the stats are. People gameplan for Polamalu. Byrd definitely deserves to get paid, but not get paid like he's the best.

[stuckincincy]

Don't care what the stats are. People gameplan for Polamalu. Byrd definitely deserves to get paid, but not get paid like he's the best.

Yes.

Polamalu disrupts center's cadence, make qbs check off, chases qbs out of the pocket or tackles them, plugs holes and stuffs rbs, or catches them past the line, is a sure tackler, disrupts receiver routes, denies the middle, is there on the outside routes.

Every AFC North club has game planned against him throughout his career.

[feldspar]

The Bills have the cap space to sign him. Who cares what fans think he's "worth" as if it's their money...and he "deserves" whatever he's capable of getting, and it's not our decision to make.

But who in their right mind would ever say "good, Jarius Byrd is no longer a Bill?" An idiot might say that, or a fan of the team to which he goes, if it comes down tot that.

[BertSquirtgum]

Fool's gold.

[ParanoidAndroid]

He's not a game changer like Polamalu which is why I don't think he should get top safety $.

I think they are both game-changers with the only difference that Polamalu changed games that actually mattered and everybody was watching.

[mightysimi]

With the cap going to 133 maybe 135 and I heard on Sirius this morning maybe as much as 150 in 2 years, no need to squabble. Pay him 8 and call it a day. Although it would be nice if Earl Thomas got a deal in the next week or so to set a limit.

[stuckincincy]

With the cap going to 133 maybe 135 and I heard on Sirius this morning maybe as much as 150 in 2 years, no need to squabble. Pay him 8 and call it a day. Although it would be nice if Earl Thomas got a deal in the next week or so to set a limit.

That's a big increase. Food, tix, parking, trinkets have to rise. TV cable, dish, too.

[SquishDaFish]

Wth is trinkets LOL

[Meathead]

its not about what the fans want, its about whats good for the team long term

you simply cant pay every single guy coming up on free agency as the highest paid player at their position just bc they happen to be the best free agent at that position at the time. you think ticket prices are escalating now, just imagine what would happen if every team capitulated every time one of their top guys approached free agency

they went out and paid mario bc they thought they were close and wanted to get over the hump. DEs are also a lot harder to get and have a bigger impact on the field. the situation isnt the same for byrd, so its actually pretty generous to pay him as the third highest safety

if hes smart he will be happy to accept that. but even if he isnt the bills are doing the right thing not to set that precident and they should hold the line even if they have to tag and trade him for a somewhat deflated value

[better days]

its not about what the fans want, its about whats good for the team long term

you simply cant pay every single guy coming up on free agency as the highest paid player at their position just bc they happen to be the best free agent at that position at the time. you think ticket prices are escalating now, just imagine what would happen if every team capitulated every time one of their top guys approached free agency

they went out and paid mario bc they thought they were close and wanted to get over the hump. DEs are also a lot harder to get and have a bigger impact on the field. the situation isnt the same for byrd, so its actually pretty generous to pay him as the third highest safety

if hes smart he will be happy to accept that. but even if he isnt the bills are doing the right thing not to set that precident and they should hold the line even if they have to tag and trade him for a somewhat deflated value

Byrd is a Pro Bowl player & I can tell you fans of other teams would love to see their team get him.

[YardRat]

Byrd has 22 Ints in 4 years (5.5 per year)

Polamalu has 32 ints in 11 years (call tit 3 per year)
Of course there is more to it than that for sure - but it is not as simple as you might think it is

9 of those came in one season...that's an anomaly. A full one-third of his PD's came in the same season also. Polamalu has been plugged in predominantly at SS, not FS. The importance rankings of the front seven of course depend on the base, but as far as the shell FS is probably the least important priority in a cover1. A team is better off spending money on shut-down corners and a stud SS.

All of that being said, I can understand some's views on salary cap room, the value of re-signing your own, etc, but my biggest concern is the effect it will have on the overall defensive performance. A C1 FS has to be football-smart, and fast...the first quality for Byrd is debatable, the second isn't. Especially with the possibility of his plantar fascitis flaring up, he simply does not have the wheels for the part.

If they do re-sign him, I certainly won't agree with the move, but will hope like hell that it does eventually work out for the best for the team's and the fans sake. Obviously, I have my doubts that it will.

[Turf]

We must create a culture of signing our own when they emerge, or we have no hope of ever being a successful franchise.

[swiper]

In other news, The Eagles just extended Jason Peters (http://articles.philly.com/2014-02-27/sports/47744005_1_jason-peters-howie-roseman-eagles) for 5 years and $51.3 million dollars.

[YardRat]

In other news, The Eagles just extended Jason Peters (http://articles.philly.com/2014-02-27/sports/47744005_1_jason-peters-howie-roseman-eagles) for 5 years and $51.3 million dollars.

I'll be interested to see the details of that deal...gotta be back-loaded pretty heavily.

[BillsFever21]

It was around 19+ million in guaranteed money for the Peters deal.

[feldspar]

its not about what the fans want, its about whats good for the team long term

you simply cant pay every single guy coming up on free agency as the highest paid player at their position just bc they happen to be the best free agent at that position at the time. you think ticket prices are escalating now, just imagine what would happen if every team capitulated every time one of their top guys approached free agency

they went out and paid mario bc they thought they were close and wanted to get over the hump. DEs are also a lot harder to get and have a bigger impact on the field. the situation isnt the same for byrd, so its actually pretty generous to pay him as the third highest safety

if hes smart he will be happy to accept that. but even if he isnt the bills are doing the right thing not to set that precident and they should hold the line even if they have to tag and trade him for a somewhat deflated value

Earl Thomas will be the highest paid safety, and if you look down the line a few years, Byrd will drop further down the list of highest paid safeties. If you have good players, it's going to cost you to keep them. Dunno about "every single player," but you gotta pay 'em to keep 'em. It's not very complicated. If you look around later and see a lack of talent, you don't really need to wonder why. Getting these guys in the first place is hard enough.

[GingerP]

I'll be interested to see the details of that deal...gotta be back-loaded pretty heavily.

Actually, that is a pretty cheap contract, likely because of Peters age (he is 32). He signed a 4-year extension and ends up with a $9.575M APY on his remaining deal. That is 7th at LT in the NFL right now. To contrast that, the franchise tag for OL this year is $11.654M. Peters one of the best OL at any position in the NFL. That is a great deal for the Eagles.

At any rate, here are the details:

Signing Bonus: 2014 - $5M

Guaranteed: $15.75M full, $2.8M of his 2015 salary and $1M of his 2016 salary guaranteed for injury, becomes guaranteed fully on 8th day of each respective league year

Roster Bonus: 2014 - $5M, 2015 & 2016 - $500K each year split into per-game roster bonus

Workout Bonus: $250K per year for the life of the deal

Base Salary: 2014 - $1.75M, 2015 - $6.8M, 2016 - $7.55M, 2017 - $9.95M, 2018 - $10M

Cap Number: 2014 - $8.292M, 2015 - $8.55M, 2016 - $9.3M, 2017 - $11.2M, 2018 - $11.25M

The contract also has up to $3M in possible escalators tied to Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections.

This is a great deal of the Eagles. They can pay him less than $20M over the next 2 years and then if he isn't worth it get out of the contract with only $3M in dead money. If he is still paying at a high level, they can keep him for only $8.3M in cash for 2016, $10.2M in cash for 2017 and $10.25M in cash for 2018, but can easily get of the contract since very little is guaranteed in those years. They have little risk beyond the next 2 years, and get him at reasonable money for a player of his ability.

[JoeMama]

its not about what the fans want, its about whats good for the team long term

you simply cant pay every single guy coming up on free agency as the highest paid player at their position just bc they happen to be the best free agent at that position at the time. you think ticket prices are escalating now, just imagine what would happen if every team capitulated every time one of their top guys approached free agency

they went out and paid mario bc they thought they were close and wanted to get over the hump. DEs are also a lot harder to get and have a bigger impact on the field. the situation isnt the same for byrd, so its actually pretty generous to pay him as the third highest safety

if hes smart he will be happy to accept that. but even if he isnt the bills are doing the right thing not to set that precident and they should hold the line even if they have to tag and trade him for a somewhat deflated value

No, that's largely irrelevant under today's CBA because of its new salary cap provisions.

Clubs have minimum cash spending requirements which ultimately translates into a "cash-spend floor." The intention is to force traditionally cheapskate clubs to offer more competitive compensation deals for the talent they obtain.

Teams have to spend an average of 89% of the cap over a four year period (starting last season, ending 2016) to meet this requirement. Any shortfall is paid directly to the players by the NFL. IE; a form of punishment.

Although, no doubt teams can unleash "creative" accounting methods to get around this rule under some flimsy pretense or another. The NFL is a non-profit organization, so the league and its owners are no strangers to getting cute with the financials.

Regardless, the NFL is trying to make teams spend the vast majority of their cap space over the next 3 years, so it's just a matter of who we spend that money on.

FWIW, ticket prices are largely set according to other factors. Like previous win %, average or median income of the region, population of the region, and whether a team is playing in a new stadium (or an expensively renovated one).

Pinning ticket prices on Jairus Byrd is stupid.

[alohabillsfan]

8 mil per for a free safety is moronic IMO.

[YardRat]

No, that's largely irrelevant under today's CBA because of its new salary cap provisions.

Clubs have minimum cash spending requirements which ultimately translates into a "cash-spend floor." The intention is to force traditionally cheapskate clubs to offer more competitive compensation deals for the talent they obtain.

Teams have to spend an average of 89% of the cap over a four year period (starting last season, ending 2016) to meet this requirement. Any shortfall is paid directly to the players by the NFL. IE; a form of punishment.

Although, no doubt teams can unleash "creative" accounting methods to get around this rule under some flimsy pretense or another. The NFL is a non-profit organization, so the league and its owners are no strangers to getting cute with the financials.

Regardless, the NFL is trying to make teams spend the vast majority of their cap space over the next 3 years, so it's just a matter of who we spend that money on.

FWIW, ticket prices are largely set according to other factors. Like previous win %, average or median income of the region, population of the region, and whether a team is playing in a new stadium (or an expensively renovated one).

Pinning ticket prices on Jairus Byrd is stupid.

Yes, but it's a cash spent floor, not a cap floor, which are two different things. Because of Buffalo's 'cash-to-cap' philosophy the last few years, they are actually already probably meeting that requirement.

[Downinfloflo]

Any news on the franchise tag and Byrd??

Hard to find info about the Bills, No one talks about them..

[GingerP]

Any news on the franchise tag and Byrd?

He hasn't been tagged yet. The deadline is Monday at 4 PM EST.

[Meathead]

oh hes getting tagged

[feldspar]

oh hes getting tagged

If they don't come to an agreement by Monday (4 PM?), the Bills will tag Byrd. I'd bet my left nut on it, and I particularly like that one.

I don't bet that nut lightly.

[TedMock]

If they don't come to an agreement by Monday (4 PM?), the Bills will tag Byrd. I'd bet my left nut on it, and I particularly like that one.

I don't bet that nut lightly.

Agreed, and I'd bet your left nut on it too.

[swiper]

Your girlfriend says your left nut is over-rated.

http://a.gifb.in/1234184827_hot%20chick%20in%20the%20audience.gif

[coastal]

Byrd isn't signing here. Him and Parker will be shopping a sign and trade option.

Carrington will be gone too.

One perennial probowl safety and a quality DE/DT, both of whom won't be getting out of their rookie contracts.

more drafted and developed talent that's never really going to become part of this organization.

but hey we will sign Chandler and talk about how safties aren't worth $8 million and how some agents just aren't worth dealing with.

and 15 years will come and go.

[YardRat]

Tick, tick, tick...

[Meathead]

my left nut has never been the same since it stepped in front of a slapshot so its no big loss really

only the pressure of the tag is going to force them to figure out if they have any chance at a deal. if they dont make quick progress then yeah hes gotta be traded

[Dr. Lecter]

WGR is now reporting that they are not going to tag him and that it is unlikely a deal will be made.

He is gone.

I hate, loathe and depise Buffalo sports.

[alohabillsfan]

Only buffalo can screw this up! It's so pathetic it's funny :/

[SpikedLemonade]

WGR is now reporting that they are not going to tag him and that it is unlikely a deal will be made.

He is gone.

I hate, loathe and depise Buffalo sports.

I don't understand why they would not tag him. It can be removed.

[JoeMama]

WGR is now reporting that they are not going to tag him and that it is unlikely a deal will be made.

He is gone.

I hate, loathe and depise Buffalo sports.

http://media1.giphy.com/media/NZhO1SEuFmhj2/giphy.gif

Which means, as always, the Ralph Wilson/Russ Brandon fanboys will get their wish and we'll tell yet another stud to pack his **** and get the hell out.

Then we'll resume with our playoff drought for all eternity.

And they'll keep telling us how smart they are and how good players secretly totally suck because they cost money.

I thought we were building through the ****ing draft?

Impossible to follow through on that when we let everybody walk after their rookie contracts.

"Hey kid, we'll patiently develop you, let you learn the ropes, watch you turn into a stud, but once you "make it"... we're not interested, go be awesome somewhere else, idiot!"

[Yasgur's Farm]

Joe Buscaglia ‏<s>@</s>JoeBuscaglia <small class="time">16m (https://twitter.com/JoeBuscaglia/status/440165303444463616)</small> I'm hearing the <s>#</s>Bills (https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bills&src=hash) explored all their options including a trade of Byrd and now they're unlikely to tag him.

Joe Buscaglia ‏ (‏@JoeBuscaglia)<s>@</s>JoeBuscaglia <small class="time">14m (https://twitter.com/JoeBuscaglia/status/440165767082827777)</small> The offer to Byrd was explained to me as "substantial." The <s>#</s>Bills (https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bills&src=hash) made a big effort to sign him long-term from what I'm told.

[SpikedLemonade]

Joe Buscaglia ‏<s>@</s>JoeBuscaglia <small class="time">14m (https://twitter.com/JoeBuscaglia/status/440165767082827777)</small> The offer to Byrd was explained to me as "substantial." The <s>#</s>Bills (https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bills&src=hash) made a big effort to sign him long-term from what I'm told.

"Well they tried. What more can they do? Let's just be happy there still is NFL football in Buffalo. Thank you Mr. Wilson...."

[YardRat]

Good riddance. Stupid not to try and get something in return, though.

[sudzy]

"Well they tried. What more can they do? Let's just be happy there still is NFL football in Buffalo. Thank you Mr. Wilson...."

Don't worry!!! Be happy!!!!

[jdaltroy5]

Good riddance. Stupid not to try and get something in return, though.
I know right?

What a great day for Buffalo sports!

Multiple pro bowlers in their prime just want too much money.

Think of how many players we can sign off of other team's practice squads with the savings!

[jdaltroy5]

I guess I can put my Dareus jersey on ebay now."Dareus is fat, slow, selfish, terrible against the run and not good in this system. He only sacks rookie QBs by accident when they run into his arms. He only made the pro bowl because it's a popularity contest."

-Ralph Wilson fanboys circa 2015 when he walks

[JoeMama]

I know right?

What a great day for Buffalo sports!

Multiple pro bowlers in their prime just want too much money.

Think of how many players we can sign off of other team's practice squads with the savings!

You gotta remember, his name is YardRat for a reason.

Rats never get the choicest cuts of a meal. They're loathsome scavengers that settle for the scraps rotting in the trash bin, but it tastes like a meal fit for a king to them all the same.

Guys like Andy Levitre and Jairus Byrd are too good for a rat. That's why rats only like things they have access to, like the scraps rotting on the Raiders' practice squad.

That's been YardRat's MO on this site for as long as I can remember. He's the ultimate Wilson/Brandon toadie.

Doesn't understand talent. Is more concerned with Ralph's wallet than winning.

[jdaltroy5]

You gotta remember, his name is YardRat for a reason.

Rats never get the choicest cuts of a meal. They're loathsome scavengers that settle for the scraps rotting in the trash bin, but it tastes like a meal fit for a king to a rat.

Guys like Andy Levitre and Jairus Byrd are too good for a rat. That's why rats only like things they can have access to, like the scraps rotting on the Raider's practice squad.

That's been YR's MO on this site for as long as I can remember. He's the ultimate Wilson/Brandon toadie.

Doesn't understand talent. Is more concerned with Ralph's wallet than winning.I don't understand why any fan gives two ****s about how much a player makes.

I could understand if we were anywhere close to the cap and we had to make a decision on which great player to keep, but we're not.

It's like they're managing a lemonade stand for their abusive uncle who counts every penny.

Our ONLY concern as fans should be to have as much talent on the field as possible.

[GingerP]

I don't understand why they would not tag him. It can be removed.

The tender can be rescinded only if it is not signed. Once Byrd signs it, it becomes a fully guaranteed 1-Year deal and can't be withdrawn. Of course, he didn't sign it last year, but he may want to do so this year to guarantee he gets the $8.4M. The risk for the Bills would be if another team didn't want to trade for the player and also sign him to a huge contract. It is one thing to sign a guy to a big contract, it is another thing altogether to do so and surrender a draft pick (especially in a very strong draft year).

The Bills may want to let him to go FA and find out his value, thinking their deal is fair and he will come back to them if he can't find anything better. The down side to that is his agent may already have a idea of what another team will offer him, so he may just go take that deal.

It will be interesting to see what the Bills have for plan B. Do they take what they were going to offer Byrd and go for T.J. Ward? Do they (gasp) bring back Donte Whitner? Do they go with the young guys? Do they bring in Louis Delmas, who Schwartz had in Detroit?

Also, does this affect how active the Bills are in FA? If Byrd signs a big contract elsewhere, they would be entitled to a late 3rd round pick next year in compensation. However, they only get that if they don't sign a comparable FA. If they sign a guy like T.J. Ward,Geoff Schwartz or Rodger Safford, that would cancel out losing Byrd and they wouldn't get the compensatory pick. Do they let that affect their FA strategy?

[GingerP]

BTW, here is a link to the story:

http://www.wgr550.com/Source--Bills-unlikely-to-keep-Byrd/18497378

[JoeMama]

I don't understand why any fan gives two ****s about how much a player makes.

I could understand if we were anywhere close to the cap and we had to make a decision on which great player to keep, but we're not.

It's like they're managing a lemonade stand for their abusive uncle who counts every penny.

Our ONLY concern as fans should be to have as much talent on the field as possible.

Amen, sister.

As a fan, I don't factor money into the equation unless I know there's a looming cap crisis in the making 2 or 3 years down the line. That's when you need to start making hard decisions.

Kind of like when John Butler spent all that money in the late 90s under the pretense that Ralph Wilson didn't have much longer to live. So he got a nod and a wink to bury the team in debt to win it all as soon as possible. That was a calculated risk that backfired.

Skimping on Byrd's payday just looks petty and small at this point. We have cash to burn and no cap problems on the horizon.

[SpikedLemonade]

I maintain that the Bills are operating with an internal salary cap that is substantially lower than the real cap. It was the premise that Ralph handed the reigns over to Russ.

[YardRat]

You gotta remember, his name is YardRat for a reason.

Rats never get the choicest cuts of a meal. They're loathsome scavengers that settle for the scraps rotting in the trash bin, but it tastes like a meal fit for a king to them all the same.

Guys like Andy Levitre and Jairus Byrd are too good for a rat. That's why rats only like things they have access to, like the scraps rotting on the Raiders' practice squad.

That's been YardRat's MO on this site for as long as I can remember. He's the ultimate Wilson/Brandon toadie.

Doesn't understand talent. Is more concerned with Ralph's wallet than winning.

Awwwww....I didn't know you cared. You may achieve Ron Burgundy status in my book eventually after all.

Just to alleviate any confusion in the future, I'll go on record right now as supporting re-signing both Dareus and Spiller. Depending on what kind of season Dareus has this year, I may even support top shelf money. Spiller, however, should settle for fair market value relative to his production...if he 'Byrds' us and looks to be the #1 paid RB in the league, he can walk also.

Finally, I never said Byrd sucked, and have stated more than a few times that he is a better fit for cover 2 scheme, which we didn't run last season. I have, however, said that his statistics as a measure of performance are skewed because of his rookie season (which they are) and that he is too slow to be a cover 1 FS (which he is).

[The Jokeman]

Amen, sister.

As a fan, I don't factor money into the equation unless I know there's a looming cap crisis in the making 2 or 3 years down the line. That's when you need to start making hard decisions.

Kind of like when John Butler spent all that money in the late 90s under the pretense that Ralph Wilson didn't have much longer to live. So he got a nod and a wink to bury the team in debt to win it all as soon as possible. That was a calculated risk that backfired.

Skimping on Byrd's payday just looks petty and small at this point. We have cash to burn and no cap problems on the horizon.

A damn shame we didn't have better money guys when Butler was around. As John definitely knew talent but was lousy at managing the cap.

[YardRat]

I don't understand why any fan gives two ****s about how much a player makes.

I could understand if we were anywhere close to the cap and we had to make a decision on which great player to keep, but we're not.

It's like they're managing a lemonade stand for their abusive uncle who counts every penny.

Our ONLY concern as fans should be to have as much talent on the field as possible.

Than you should want more speed at free safety...that would be putting more talent on the field.

[Dr. Lecter]

I maintain that the Bills are operating with an internal salary cap that is substantially lower than the real cap. It was the premise that Ralph handed the reigns over to Russ.

Except that was disproven in Gaughan's article today.

Spending has not been there problem. How they spend has been

[MikeInRoch]

And the unfortunate fact that they have to over-spend many times to get people in.

[YardRat]

The tender can be rescinded only if it is not signed. Once Byrd signs it, it becomes a fully guaranteed 1-Year deal and can't be withdrawn. Of course, he didn't sign it last year, but he may want to do so this year to guarantee he gets the $8.4M. The risk for the Bills would be if another team didn't want to trade for the player and also sign him to a huge contract. It is one thing to sign a guy to a big contract, it is another thing altogether to do so and surrender a draft pick (especially in a very strong draft year).

The Bills may want to let him to go FA and find out his value, thinking their deal is fair and he will come back to them if he can't find anything better. The down side to that is his agent may already have a idea of what another team will offer him, so he may just go take that deal.

It will be interesting to see what the Bills have for plan B. Do they take what they were going to offer Byrd and go for T.J. Ward? Do they (gasp) bring back Donte Whitner? Do they go with the young guys? Do they bring in Louis Delmas, who Schwartz had in Detroit?

Also, does this affect how active the Bills are in FA? If Byrd signs a big contract elsewhere, they would be entitled to a late 3rd round pick next year in compensation. However, they only get that if they don't sign a comparable FA. If they sign a guy like T.J. Ward,Geoff Schwartz or Rodger Safford, that would cancel out losing Byrd and they wouldn't get the compensatory pick. Do they let that affect their FA strategy?

-That bridge is burned, IMO.
-I would be stunned if Parker hasn't talked to other teams already and doesn't have a grasp on what they may pay for Byrd.
-That would mean moving A.Williams to FS...he's definitely faster than Byrd, so he may be a better fit.
-Getting a third would obviously be better than a tag-and-trade fourth, but not at the expense of restricting other signings.

[jdaltroy5]

Than you should want more speed at free safety...that would be putting more talent on the field.
I don't care about speed.

I care about production.

We can have the re-incarnation of Jesse Owens in the backfield, but it won't make a lick of difference if he doesn't produce turnovers.

[The Jokeman]

And the unfortunate fact that they have to over-spend many times to get people in.

All teams over spend on players, but what you get out of the rest of the team that your not overspending is what separates the great teams from the non great teams. The main reason the Bills have made the playoffs in recent years is poor drafting (most drafts have yielded only one or two players) and an inability to add talent to what base they already had yet 2013 looked different when we drafted guys like Alonso, Woods and EJ and got some good play from Lawson and Hughes. Now if this source is true that we're letting Byrd walk then we had better find an above average FS to replace him and find more players to fix the rest of the holes on the D and O. Case in point I'd I'm okay letting Byrd walk if can bring in someone like Delmas to replace him as while he might not be the ballhawk Byrd was he might be better suited for the D that Schwartz plans to bring in but we also bring in other guys to improve the rest of the team and use up the cap space we lost by not keeping Byrd.

[better days]

-That bridge is burned, IMO.
-I would be stunned if Parker hasn't talked to other teams already and doesn't have a grasp on what they may pay for Byrd.
-That would mean moving A.Williams to FS...he's definitely faster than Byrd, so he may be a better fit.
-Getting a third would obviously be better than a tag-and-trade fourth, but not at the expense of restricting other signings.

If the Bills don't get a comp pick for Byrd because they signed a FA or two comparable to Byrd, I'm on board with that.

[jimmifli]

Except that was disproven in Gaughan's article today.

Spending has not been there problem. How they spend has been
Really? I didn't find it compelling at all.

[SpikedLemonade]

Really? I didn't find it compelling at all.

I think the Bills made moves with respect to the cap to inflate their actual spending.

[MikeInRoch]

All teams over spend on players, but what you get out of the rest of the team that your not overspending is what separates the great teams from the non great teams.

If you think that the Bills have to pay the same amount for the same free agents as most other teams, I'm sorry, but you are delusional.

[YardRat]

I think the Bills made moves with respect to the cap to inflate their actual spending.

How would one inflate actual spending?

[Skooby]

How would one inflate actual spending?

Give my wife a credit card.

[sudzy]

I guess I can put my Dareus jersey on ebay now.

And Spiller and Gilmore and Kiko. What incentive does anyone have to buy a Bills jersey for anymore? $140 for something you can only wear 4-5 years.

[Skooby]

And Spiller and Gilmore and Kiko. What incentive does anyone have to buy a Bills jersey for anymore? $140 for something you can only wear 4-5 years.

If we draft Evans & he takes #83, I can recycle one in my closet.

[BillsFever21]

And Spiller and Gilmore and Kiko. What incentive does anyone have to buy a Bills jersey for anymore? $140 for something you can only wear 4-5 years.

I quit buying jerseys years ago for that very reason. The last one I purchased was a Marshawn Lynch jersey after we drafted him. A couple years later he was playing in Seattle.

It was getting old buying jerseys and then the player wasn't around 4-5 years later. It happened with every jersey I've ever bought. Either that or the player ended up sucking. Now I just have them same jerseys and wear the old ones of players no longer here when I go to the games or on Sunday. The hell with spending that kind of money for nothing.

If you are going to buy a jersey then you better do it when they are a rookie. Pick out one that you like or one that is playing good so you're not stuck with Aaron Maybin or crap like that. At least you can get 4 years out of the jersey. If you wait until they're already a couple years into their career then you have two years to wear it before they become obsolete.

[DBrown77]

I was just listening to Eagles talk on Sirius radio.

Safety FA's they could sign was brought up.

The guy from Philly said it doesn't look like they could get Byrd because it looks like he will be staying in Buffalo.

I hope that guy knows what he is talking about.


Might want to stay away from "The guy from Philly" source next time.

[YardRat]

Tick, tick, tick...

[Bert102176]

Byrd does not want to be in Buffalo he turned down being the top paid safety in the league so screw him, and the Bills stated today they will not use the franchise tag this year which means we won't get anything for Byrd leaving what a smart front office at one bills drive damn ass wipes. no wonder the Bills never win anything.

[Bert102176]

just bought my soon to be 3 yr old son a Mario Williams jersey for $2.99

[DBrown77]

Tag Byrd and get one year out of him again while rebuilding? Whats the point? They obviously shopped potential trades too.

[JoeMama]

Didn't see this posted yet.



Soon-to-be free agent safety Jairus Byrd says that just because the Bills didn’t put the franchise tag on him, that doesn’t mean he’s definitely leaving Buffalo.

“The door is not closed on anything. I’m not closing the door on any opportunities at all. The lines of communication are still open,” Byrd told ESPN.com. “I’ve talked to [CEO] Russ [Brandon] and [general manager] Doug [Whaley] a couple days ago. We’re talking. So it’s not anything that’s hard feelings or anything like that. The conversations that we’ve had, we know what’s going on. We’re all on the same page. We’ll go from here.”

Byrd suggested that a report saying he turned down a three-year, $30 million contract from the Bills was incorrect.

“I don’t want to get into details, but I will say any time you have something where it’s a source, an unnamed source, and the full details of the situation aren’t revealed, you can’t really believe everything you hear,” Byrd said.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/04/jairus-byrd-says-hes-still-talking-to-the-bills/

[jimmifli]

Didn't see this posted yet.
"I just want everyone to know, I've got hard feelings about their lowball bull**** offer and how they're lying to the media about it"

[JoeMama]

"I just want everyone to know, I've got hard feelings about their lowball bull**** offer and how they're lying to the media about it"

Probably sad but true.

Whenever I see unnamed pro-front office offers floated around, my first reaction is, they're trying to drum up ill will toward the player in question so if he does leave, the fans direct all their ill will toward the player instead of themselves.

And it works.

Look at the litany of Bills fans on these forums who loved him the past few years and have already bought into the idea hook, line, and sinker that Jairus Byrd wants nothing to do with Buffalo.

It's posturing, no doubt, which is part of the process.

But still. It's like they're pushing the narrative that Byrd wants out no matter what in order to soften the blow and absolve themselves of low-balling him in the event he does bail.

And the narrative they're leaking seems to get a lot of serious traction from the average Bills fan.

We don't know how this ends yet. Although I'll admit it's not looking good.

[BillsFever21]

This is just the normal whenever the Bills let their good players walk. All of a sudden they don't want to be here, they're not that good, our backup is just as good, it's an easy position to fill and they won't get that money anywhere else.

Too many fans try to talk themselves into thinking the players that leave aren't that good after years of talking about how great they are. Then at the same time they try to talk themselves into thinking every Bills player are better then they are...That is until the good ones leave and then they become "average" players in the matter of 24 hours.

[YardRat]

This is just the normal whenever the Bills let their good players walk. All of a sudden they don't want to be here, they're not that good, our backup is just as good, it's an easy position to fill and they won't get that money anywhere else.

Too many fans try to talk themselves into thinking the players that leave aren't that good after years of talking about how great they are. Then at the same time they try to talk themselves into thinking every Bills player are better then they are...That is until the good ones leave and then they become "average" players in the matter of 24 hours.

The problem the last 15 years has been more over-hyping their value while they are here.