Clements: Deal or Franchise?

[juice]

Would a trade scenario now benifit the Bills more than using the Franchise Tag at seasons end? Rumors are floating around that the Skins are interested in his services and I think they hold the #9 pick.

Maybe someone with the knowledge can detail the effects on the Cap that using the franchise tag would hold as opposed to trying to deal him now and trying to get a young CB like Rolle from the draft.

Keeping Nate at seasons end should be a priority but if he's gone, then lets make the best of the situation whether that is now or at season's end.

If he is Franchised then another team would have to give up 2 first round picks to get him or whatever the Bills Brass see as fair compensation if I'm not mistaken, If the Bills retain his services then we're required to pay him the average salary of the top 5 CBs in the League or something like that.

What effect will the 5 yard contact rule have on the CB market next year and would there be any suiters for a top 3 CB next year with picks and players to offer for "Nate Compensation"?

I realize it's all foresight but would it be better for the Bills to shop in the draft now or franchise later?

[clumping platelets]

Keep him, attempt to re-sign, then franchise if necessary

[justasportsfan]

Keep him, attempt to re-sign, then franchise if necessary:up:

[Pride]

deal him, he is overrated

[djjimkelly]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64229-2005Apr18.html


Buchanon is not the only veteran cornerback currently available. The Miami Dolphins are trying to deal veteran Patrick Surtain for draft picks, but, after an initial phone call, league sources said the teams have not been in touch. Some in the league are also watching Buffalo star Nate Clements closely; Clements, drafted by Williams when he was the Bills' head coach, has one yeLike Oakland, the Bills lack a first-round pick. Gibbs denied any trade discussions with Buffalo last week and Clements's agent, Neil Cornrich, declined to comment on any potential interest in Clements yesterday, but during a conversation last week spoke glowingly of the player's bond with Williams.

"Nate tremendously enjoyed playing for Coach Williams and he seemed to be a very good fit for Gregg's system," Cornrich said. "Nate led the Bills in interceptions every year he played for coach Williams and he's certainly one of the best defensive coaches in the NFL."

The Redskins and Bills have not discussed a Clements trade, sources said. If negotiations for Buchanon break down, the Redskins could still look to trade down and accrue more draft selections, although the prevailing opinion about the lack of star power available in this draft and number of teams looking to drop down could make finding a trade partner more difficult.


LOL now someone come and neg me again as i am pointing out that clements rumours are unsubstantianted HORSE PUCKY rumours. and pure wishful thinking on the part of the redskins.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Henry for Barber, straight up. Clements for Skins #9. It's almost like getting #9 for Henry. Barber is not a dropoff from Clements IMO. But, I tend to agree the Clements rumor is precisely....."HORSE PUCKY." :D

Franchise him.

[Dicknoze69]

Keep him, attempt to re-sign, then franchise if necessary

Took the words out of my mouth.

[thebuffalobills4]

we are not trading clements.if we do :blamelog:

[DraftBoy]

Trade him

[juice]

Keep him, attempt to re-sign, then franchise if necessaryI don't see Tommy "Too Tight" Donohoe offering Nate the type figures to get him to re-sign.. I think TD would take more pride in having drafted a player, developed that player into a top 5 performer at the position, and then maximized that players value and using it to bring in more talent and youth to the team as a whole.

If he were to franchise him he would have to be prepared to pay him an average of the top 5 CB in the league, right? With the introduction of the 5 yard contact rule I dont know if TD will invest those type #s into the CB position, a sign that the CB position has been devalued due to the rule changes imposed last season.

[EDS]

Henry for Barber, straight up. Clements for Skins #9. It's almost like getting #9 for Henry. Barber is not a dropoff from Clements IMO. But, I tend to agree the Clements rumor is precisely....."HORSE PUCKY." :D

Franchise him.


Barber is a dropoff from Clements.

[juice]

Barber is a dropoff from Clements.Not if you look at career stats.. Barber is a HoFer.

Nate has youth on his side.. probably a HoFer himself if he avoids injury.

Barber is the only CB in the League to put up better #s over the past 5 years than Nate.. Nate can hope to put up career type #'s that Barber has over the past decade.

[askabry]

Barber is a dropoff from Clements.

He is ... but not terribly. I could live with a defensive backfield of Milloy, Vincent, Barber, and X plus whatever the # 9 pick in the draft brought us.

I wouldn't assume we'd stay at #9, either, although to pick up a physical freak like Merriman would be incredible.

[camelcowboy]

Don't get me wrong, Clements is great, but if TD knows we can't resign him before the free agent market next year then this is how i would deal with the situation. Keep in mind this years draft is very deep with good corner back prospects.

If you could trade clements to Washington, Arizona, for their first round pick. In this case it would be pick 8 or pick 9. Then i would trade the pick down to aquire more draft picks. A team looking to draft alex barron the tackle such as the Texans, or Carolina would love to trade up. Or if pac-man Jones, or Rolle fall to these picks then i can see kansas city, or the saints trading up.
You can continue to trade down with other teams, aquiring more picks as you head to the bottom of the first round. With the low first round pick you can grab a good corner, such as Darrent Williams, Brandon Browner, or Corey Webster. You can take a gamble on matt jones, Heath miller. With the extra 2nd and 3rd round picks the bills can position themselves fill holes, at guard,DT, kicker, and Tight end.

I know this seems unlikely but washington did this in 2002 when the traded down from a pick in the mid teens, to the 32 pick to select Patrick Ramsey.

If your still not happy with corner situation keep in mind the Titans Andre Dyson is still on the market.

The moral is clements is great player, but with the cap the bills should stock pile draft picks, The more picks a team has the more flexibility, and power a team has

[zone]

Year G Total Tckl Ast Sacks Int Yds Avg Lg TD PassDef

# 22 Nate Clements
2004 16 73 53.0 20 0.5 6 77 12.8 35 1 7

# 24 Terrence McGee
2004 16 92 75.0 17 2 3 21 7.0 21 0 11

Terrence is definitly a force.

If we can deal Nate and end up with Jones and Ty Law and he can post these number I would be very pleased.

2003 15 73 60.0 13 0 6 112 18.7 65 1 17

[jamze132]

I have said it before, we better Trade Clements before it's too late.


What if we do franchise him next year and we can't trade him? Do we franchise him again the next year? And then the next year? Of course this is all hypothetical. What if we can't sign him longterm for the money that Donahoe wants to pay him? What about McGahee in a couple of years? We can't just try to manage the cap from year to year. You have to think a couple years ahead.

If I could, I would trade Clements ASAP to maximize his return. The rest of the league knows that we don't have to trade him and yes, we can always franchise him, and yes there is a chance that he will sign longterm here, so therefore we would get the max in return for him now. I would just rather not have to guess on what Clements is going to do after the season. Who's to say he would even consider resigning with Buffalo? He may say he wants to stay here, but in this world of smokescreens, I would rather not be in the middle of one.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Keep him, attempt to re-sign, then franchise if necessary
With P.Surtain, A.Dyson, and T.Law still available, I don't think that any of the proposed trades can or will happen. If Washington won't give up its pick at #9 for P.Buchannon, they won't trade it for N.Clements, either.

[Ron C.]

It's amazing how overpaid and overvalued 1st round picks are. The teams that draft Pacman Jones and Rolle hope that someday one of these will make the Pro Bowl. Remember the hype with "shut-down" corners like Terrence Newman and Quentin Jammer. I think we did well choosing Clements.

If we are going to consider trading Clements, it's going to take more than the #9 overall. Personally, I would let Nate play out his contract (a modest amount) and then franchise him if a long term deal is not reached. If someone wants to overpay, then I would consider it.

[juice]

In todays NFL the name of the game is the 3-Ds.. Draft Players ~ Develope Players ~ Deal Players for picks.. I'd take a 1st and a 2nd not to have to deal with the issue at season's end especially with TD's history of not spending on FAs.

[BuffaloRanger]

From the Buffalo News:

"NBC is happy about taking over Sunday night games. ESPN is giddy to get Monday Night Football. But when the NFL announced its new broadcast package, the happiest ones of all were the players and agents. Total broadcast revenue will increase by at least 50 percent when the new deals go into effect in 2006 - from $2.45 billion a year to at least $3.75 billion. The players get 65 percent of revenues, so you can expect a big bump in salaries in '06. It'll be a great time to be a free agent. Nate Clements, are you listening?"

Big salary cap increase = Nate is gone.

[YardRat]

Trade him now if the deal is right...keep him and hope you can franchise then deal him later if it's not.

[chubluv]

Trade him now if the deal is right...keep him and hope you can franchise then deal him later if it's not.


I agree :clap:

[McClane]

Here's what I'd do as GM of Dream World:

1. Trade Nate Clements, Travis Henry and swap 2nd rounders with Arizona for their 1st pick (#8) and LJ Shelton. (Arizona gets their CB and RB, both proven, plus still have a 2nd round pick in tow..)

2. Trade #8 overall and our 3rd round pick to Minnesota for their #18th overall and their 2nd Rounder (#44 overall). (Minnesota moves up 10 spots, drafts #7 and #8 in the draft, getting 2 quality players.)

3. Draft Matt Jones (#18), David Baas (#44), Mike Nugent (#49).

4. Sign Ty Law.