Compensatory picks

[DesertFox24]

Do you guys think we will get a comp pick. We lost bryd carrington and the lb that signed with steelers unfortunately forgot his name but can see his face. We signed spikes Dixon and rivers and chris Williams. So we will probably get screwed and not get anything again. Well NFL might give us a crappy 7thwhile the pats get a third

[gonzo1105]

No, we will not get anything. Everyone tries to make out the compensatory picks to be this complicated thing.

If the net players added is more than subtracted said team gets= no picks
If the net players added are equal to the players lost than it is determined by who lost the better players. If you lost the better players =7th round pick. If you gained the better players= no pick
If the net players added are less than the players outgoing is where you get the compensatory picks. Unfortunately, Buffalo is never in this situation because of their lack of talent over the years. Even when they do have someone like Jairus Byrd who gets 8 million a year, they still sign more players than they lost.

If there are not 32 eligible compensatory picks then 7th rounders get added starting with the team drafting number 1 until all compensatory picks are allotted.
Players who are released from their previous team do not count against the net add or subtract. The team chose to get rid of them. So for instance if the the Bills signed Josh McCown, it would neither be considered a net add for the Bills or a loss for the Bucs. There is also a deadline for players to sign if they are to be eligible to this formula. So for example, if Kyle Orton was a free agent in Dallas last year and the Bills signed him when they did he would also not count towards the formula. Not sure the exact date on that.

Going through the Bills roster:

The Bills lost:
Jairus Byrd
Alex Carrington
Arthur Moats

The Bills added:
Brandon Spikes
Anthony Dixon
Chris Williams
Corey Graham
Keith Rivers

So the Bills added 5 formula eligible players and only lost 3 formula eligible players. This means that Buffalo will not receive any compensatory pick. I can't recall if Spikes was released or if he was signed after the deadline but even if he doesn't count the Bills lost 3 and gained 4 so still no difference.

[sudzy]

Some teams know how to use the system and some teams don't. The Bills clearly don't, while some teams seem to get multiple draft choices every year. And those teams seem to be regular playoff teams. Signing players that are cut rather then FAs from other teams and other loopholes. I'm not sure how much a third day draft choice would help, but, they would have a chance to help more then garbage signings like Rivers and Williams. The Bills seem to make a couple of these garbage signings a year while losing some of the highest paid FAs.

[YardRat]

Somebody (cinci?) has a thread from about a month ago that indicated only the top 32 players are considered in the process, so guys like Williams and Rivers might not figure in at all. Even if they aren't, the Bills wouldn't be due any comps. I believe Baltimore is one of the teams that was noted as 'knowing' how to use the system, they let their guys walk and limit their signings.

[stuckincincy]

Somebody (cinci?) has a thread from about a month ago that indicated only the top 32 players are considered in the process, so guys like Williams and Rivers might not figure in at all. Even if they aren't, the Bills wouldn't be due any comps. I believe Baltimore is one of the teams that was noted as 'knowing' how to use the system, they let their guys walk and limit their signings.

It's in the NFL Zone section.

Redux:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2015/02/07/cincinnati-bengals-football/22950443/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=

[DesertFox24]

It really sucks that we lose a guy who signs one of richest safety deals in the league and we get squat. At least a 4th or 5th would seem to be fair considering of all the deals we signed only Graham and Williams were making any real money. Oh well we won 9 games and it is rare that a 4th or 5th rounder will really do all that much to help your team out. It just would have been nice this year to get an extra 4th or 5th to offset not having a 4th.

[DesertFox24]

The other factor I guess I am not including is teams like ravens and cincy also have been and are in the running for the playoffs the last 5 years so getting FA players not as a high a priority as it is for a team like us.

[stuckincincy]

The other factor I guess I am not including is teams like ravens and cincy also have been and are in the running for the playoffs the last 5 years so getting FA players not as a high a priority as it is for a team like us.

That's a decent point. Also, clubs will occasionally buy a "name" player - generally a flashy RB or WR, in order to pump up the gate.