Is Clements worth the $$$$$$$$$$

[alohabillsfan]

I really hate to pay that kind of cash to 1 player I think it hurts the retention of other upcoming players. Here is my prediction,

Franchise him and trade (ala Peerless) to the Washington Redskins (re-united with GW) Snyder throw around the $$$ and it's atleast in another conferance. Plus it should be around the 10 spot based upon nothing scientific just a wild a$$ guess. that would give TD 2 #1's a #2 and 2 #3's to work with! I see a team being built for the long hall and you can't keep them all! Your thoughts?

[footballhottie]

why not? hes a great player and thats what he wants...we should give it to him

[AndreReed83]

Nate Clements is, imo, the best all around CB in the league. He needs to stay.

[Captain Obvious]

I really hate to pay that kind of cash to 1 player I think it hurts the retention of other upcoming players. Here is my prediction,

Franchise him and trade (ala Peerless) to the Washington Redskins (re-united with GW) Snyder throw around the $$$ and it's atleast in another conferance. Plus it should be around the 10 spot based upon nothing scientific just a wild a$$ guess. that would give TD 2 #1's a #2 and 2 #3's to work with! I see a team being built for the long hall and you can't keep them all! Your thoughts?
If your talking 63 million for 7 years with an 18 million signingbonus, which is what Champ Bailey got last year; I say no. If I'm TD I just can't give him that kind of contract. I like the idea for franchising him and trading him, but Washington has already traded their 1st round pick next year to Denver.
I'm pretty sure the Redskins will have over 20 million $ in dead cap space next year, can't see them giving Clements the kind of contract he wants.

[Crisis]

HELL YES he's worth it.

The guy is like a linebacker in run support and the best CB in coverage.

IMO he's way better than Winfield was in run support, and 100000x better than he was in coverage.

[kevinj22]

Pat Williams (nah), Jonas(nah) Nate Clements (YOU DAMN RIGHT). This guy is a shut down corner and a superb tackler. Let's not forget his special teams play. I say we pay him what he wants, it's not like we have a gaping hole to fill via free agency next year.

[camelcowboy]

yeah, have to keep him. He's one of the best at his postion. You can't find diamonds in the rough for every player your about to loose. You have to open the check book, up for him and Mcgee. Both are young, talented and a stength of this team.

[Marvelous]

Umm guys theres a reason why we could get a high 1st for him. We paid a 20th overall to drafdt him and is the best CB in the league. Nobody wuill argue that he is not top 3-5 atleast. He is young and the kind of player we build the whole defense around. Screw the picks. We cut someone if it comes down to it because he is that good of a --
-shutdown corner
-tackler. He is one of the best tacklers on the team.
-Hands/ints
-Punt returner
You telling me someone with a 2 mill contract shouldn't be cut to keep him?

*I know the Nate Clements type, they wan't the biggest contract just so they get that recognition for being the best. But we could backload the piss outta the deal and have a somewhat cap friendly deal for the first 3 years.

[Night Train]

While I'd like to keep him, he may price himself off this team. You can't blame the players for going for the big $$ when they achieve UFA status. If Nate is seeking close to what Baily is paid, then he's gone. I wouldn't hold any ill will towards TD for making that decision. I'm sure he's trying to sign him to a reasonable offer but won't overpay.

[ryjam282]

I agree with CamelCowboy on this one. I just don't think we can keep letting these top talents leave us and keep hoping that our #2's can step it up and not miss a beat. We got lucky in the past and it doesn't happen every single time. It may happen in Denver with RB's but great CB's aren't as frequent. I think we should pay him what he wants, bargain with him at first and see if he caves to something TD wants to give him and if not we have to give him the farm. According to what other CB's are getting, he is worth it IMO.

[colin]

TD and co think they can find solid palyers all over the place, and they have done so.

they also feel they can get good players for not too much, london, Vincent, sam adams, posey even spikes.

so we have the foundation, we need super stars to elevate us beyond that. that is what clements is, no corner drafted since is half the player clements is, and he is a beast hitting as well. if he slows down in 8 years, he will be the best FS in the NFL. i see him as the next rod woodson, it is worth keeping him on at a huge price.

one thing i notice about TD and co, they tend not to super backload contracts as much as say the skins do. they sign players to contracts they have a decent chance of playing out, which gives us credibility. champ is going to get cut at some point, everyone who ever signed with denver gets cut, players and agents know this and i think we will be able to fit clements in under the cap.

[Sportsuser101]

Clements is arguably the best cornerback in football. He's 25 years, has been a model citizen and hasn't not started a game since he came into the league. As a bonus he can return punts if Parrish were to go down. Pay the man.

[dannyek71]

I dont see us trading him for a first round pick. He is about the same talent as surtain, and mia only got a 2nd for him.


If we could get a #10 pick for him however, id take it

Corners are overrated, NE won it all last year and they had troy brown playing there

[Mr. Miyagi]

I dont see us trading him for a first round pick. He is about the same talent as surtain, and mia only got a 2nd for him.
Absolutely nonsense. :shakeno:

Clements is by far better than Surtain, even Bailey.

Fork it up for the man.

[AndreReed83]

Hell, Clements is way better then Bailey. You know why Bailey made 81 tackles last year? Because Champ got beat, A LOT. I remember CBSSportsLine.com talked about how Clements barely made it to the superbowl (as an alternate, I do believe) yet was more then deserving compared to Champ and some other AFC Cornerback. He used the fact that they all played against Chad Johnson and while Clements had absolutely monster game against him, these two other corners contributed to well over 1/4 of Chad's 1200 yards receivings and over half of his touchdowns.

[Voltron]

I think we have some decent depth at the position and would rather not break the bank for him if we didn't have to. Greer has impressed at camp and in the preseason. Would I like to see Nate stay? Hell yeah! Do I want to lose other good players because we won't be able to afford them because of Nate's contract ... no. One thing about TD is that he will not over pay for a player. He will however always pay for good talent when he thinks it is worth it. No matter what you hear from Nate about wanting to stay in Buffalo I wouldn’t believe it. In today’s NFL no one gives a crap where they play. They only care who will pay them more.

[don137]

The question is with the depth of the secondary would the Bills be a better team letting Clements go and spending the money on areas that are a bigger weakness since the Bills have great depth at the position or forking out the cash to one of the best DBs in the game today at the expense of not improving in other positions or not being able to re-sign a couple other players.
I say based on his age and his ability to return kicks the Bills should re-sign him.

[alohabillsfan]

Hey Clump, what would a contract similar to Champs do to our CAP next year? Who else is an UFA?

[Mr. Cynical]

No. CBs in this day and age with the current rules and defenses aren't worth that kind of money anymore IMO.

[Mike13]

why not? hes a great player and thats what he wants...we should give it to him
My thoughts exactly.

[Dantheman1280]

Clements is A DAMN GOOD CORNER! BUT to pay him or anyone that much money is just stupid. I would love for him to stay, but I dont see it happening. If he leaves we wont be as dominant on defense, but we wont drop out of the top 10! So if we don't keep him I can live with it!

[SyraBillsLican]

perhaps this entire decision lies in the hands of (who else) but JP. If JP proves that he can carry the offense enough that the D doesnt have to be top 5 for the bills to make it to the SB, TD will cut loose nate. Greer WILL NOT be as good as Clements, but maybe we dont need 2 shut downs(mcgee will become just a notch below clements imo). BUT if we cant afford clements *knock on wood*, we had better see some improvement in the D lines ability to rush the passer, hence causing a less of a nececity for corners. we cant keep commiting our entire linebacking corps to sacking the QB, though it worked against GB.
anyway, thats just my $.02

[Indy Bills Fan]

Are any of them really worth the $$$$? They are only playing a game. That being said, the going rate for a top 5 cb is pretty steep. We should pay him now because it is only going to go up. On top of being an all around excellent CB he is a model citizen off the field. I hope they keep him, I am tired of watching so much talent leave.

[Billsman12]

Im really hung up on this.. I mean don't get me wrong I love Nate and think hes a great corner..Hes only 25 and only gonna get better but I don't know if we should pay him what hes gonna ask for... As someone else said we won't be as dominant on D but we won"t drop too far out of the top spot... TD is usually the kind of guy that says If your gonna try to break the bank then see ya...but whatever happens happens.

[Kenny]

Is he worth the $$$? No, but do we really have a choice?
Clements, is not a top3 corner, and it's very debatable if he even cracks the top5. But let's face it... if we dont pay him, how comfortable would you guys be if McGee was our #1 CB? IMO, Im still not sold that he's a solid #2.

[Ed]

If CB's aren't worth the big bucks anymore or Nate's not as good as he thinks, what makes people think any other team's going to jump at the chance to make him the highest paid CB in the league?

I say we give him a contract similar to Champs and be happy that we have one of the best CB's in the league locked up for the next 7 years. If you want great players then you have to pay for them. That's just the way it is. Nate's done it all over the past four years and he's never gotten hurt. He's definitely a guy we should build around.

[jmb1099]

I initially didn't think he was worth the money until I saw him in the GB game. If possible sign him.

[colin]

here is the problem:

real life isn't madden, you don't just ditch a top guy and all of a sudden a top player is there to spend on. there are no top LTs available for us to sign instead of clements.

then next issue is: what do you get with the new talent? you don't know how this new player will impact your team, busts are more common than success in the FA market. so you get rid of 100 tackles, 6 ints, nearly a turnover or ST/D score a game and our best run stuffing and lock down corner for a guy who MIGHT get us 12 sacks or an upgrade on the o line.

keep the known talent.