Did you see the upfront money Charles Woodson got?

[BillsFever21]

He hasn't played a full season in 4 years and he got that kind of upfront money? I don't see Nate being here past this season. That is highly unlikely.

Hopefully Youboty will end up being a good player and can replace him. I don't see the Bills dropping that kind of coin on Clements unless he has a great season and even then the odds are low.

[casdhf]

keep franchising him

[eyedog]

keep franchising him

Exactly.
Thats what Seattle did with Walter Jones for a couple of years and he finally signed a long term deal.
If they just let Clements walk away and get nothing in return then they are just plain stupid.
I hope they get him signed long term. And don't worry about him sitting out any games because it won't happen. He may miss some camp time but he won't miss that first paycheck.

[Ickybaluky]

Exactly.
Thats what Seattle did with Walter Jones for a couple of years and he finally signed a long term deal.
If they just let Clements walk away and get nothing in return then they are just plain stupid.
I hope they get him signed long term. And don't worry about him sitting out any games because it won't happen. He may miss some camp time but he won't miss that first paycheck.

That doesn't make a lot of sense. You will be paying him $7.226M this year, and he will get a 20% raise on that number if franchised next year ($8.67M). If you franchise him a 3rd year he gets QB tender money, which would be unreasonable.

Franchising him back-to-back years would cost $15.897M. If you pay him that in a signing bonus you could sign him long term.

[Stewie]

Charles is gonna make 17 million over the first two years of his contract.. Including his signing bonus... Which is just a little bit more than Nate is gonna make over the next two years (if he's franchised again next year).

So how is this a great deal for Woodson? Seems to me like he got screwed but his agent made out by being able to lie and say its a 50million+ contract. We all know that's bogus money. Well, maybe Charles doesn't know. But everyone else does.

[eyedog]

Ok NE39 we have two years to get him signed according to your #'s.

Did you have a little wishful thinking hoping he would land in Boston ??????
BTW, who exactly are the corners gonna be up there this year ?

[Drive 4 Five]

NE wouldn't pay his ass that kind of money and neither should we. I like Nate. I think he is a solid football player. I think he can do even better in the new defensive scheme we will use.

I agree with NE39. If you're going to keep slapping the tag on him, you'll end up paying just as much as if you sign him long-term in which case you may as well just pay him. I hope he will sign the tender offered at the moment, shut his trap, and play for a new contract.

I'm worried though. I'm thinking this guy does not want to be here and he wants a HUGE payday. In part because he knows we won't pay him and he will end up some place else anyway.

Regardless. If he can't be reasonable then trade his ass and quit wasting time.

[eyedog]

Either way he's franchised this year and he will play at that number if he likes it or not.
I think New England would pay him but if they didn't somebody will becuse he is a top corner in the league who is still young.
If the Bills are really serious about winning they will lock him up now because good corners are tough to come by.

[Ickybaluky]

Ok NE39 we have two years to get him signed according to your #'s.

Did you have a little wishful thinking hoping he would land in Boston ??????
BTW, who exactly are the corners gonna be up there this year ?

You missed the point.

First of all, of course I'd like to see him in NE, they guy is a good player. I doubt the Patriots would sign him, because it isn't their MO to go out and sign free agents for big money. If they pay big money, it is usually to keep their own guys.

Also, the Pats starting CB right now are probably Ellis Hobbs and Asante Samuel, with Eric Warfield, Randall Gay and Chad Scott trying to surpass them. If you are curious about their depth chart, you can find it here (http://www.ourlads.com/secure/depthchart.cfm?index1=NE).

Now the point I was trying to make was that it isn't smart to franchise the guy back to back years and pay him $17M over that period. If they plan on paying him that kind of money, why not give it up front in the form of a signing bonus and spread it over the life of the deal, making it more cap friendly? If they wanted to franchise him a 3rd year, you would be talking QB money. You can't franchise a guy for a 4th year.

I was only pointing out, if the Bills plan on franchising Clements for two years, they are better off paying him the signing bonus and keeping him long term, that's it. Remember, if you franchise him twice straight and then decide to keep him long-term you are paying him $17M for two years and then that much up front in a signing bonus again. Makes no sense.

Personally, I think the Bills will work out a contract and keep the guy. If they can't come to a deal, I'd be surprised if he were franchised again because it would be so expensive.

[OpIv37]

He may miss some camp time but he won't miss that first paycheck.

sounds just like something Clements would do- the guy's all about himself.

I wouldn't put it past him to hold out in camp then show up not ready to play just so he gets paid. He had a horrible year last year and the Bills are installing a new defensive system.

**** Clements- I'm sick of his ****.

[eyedog]

First of all he didn't have a "horrible' year. Granted he didn't play as well as '04 but he wasn't horrible.
NE39 has laid out the franchise scenario, and if true, I agree they need to lock him up now. If not, somebody will pay him the $$$$$.

[OpIv37]

go back and watch the tapes- he had a horrible year. He started strong, but once he got exposed he was toast.

[Ickybaluky]

the guy's all about himself.

You want him to be about someone else? Sounds like that guy on Mr. Reality's delivery route.

Just because a player wants the best deal he can get doesn't mean he is a bad player. Ty Law is the ultimate mercenary who will go to whomever will pay him the most. He also is a team player who will play hard and make his team better. The two are not mutually exclusive. Personally, I want the best players on my team and I could care less how much they are paid. I let the team worry about that (I'd take Law back in a heartbeat).

Clement's play definitely wasnt' up to his '04 standards last year, but the guy has been a good player throughout his career. The Bills in general had a poor season defensively, and that contributed to his play. I think you need to judge players over the majority of their careers, and he has been a good, improving player for the majority of his time in Buffalo. Not only is a good CB, he also is a top notch punt returner, which adds to his value. I think the Bills feel that way as well, or they wouldn't franchise him.

[OpIv37]

You want him to be about someone else? Sounds like that guy on Mr. Reality's delivery route.

Just because a player wants the best deal he can get doesn't mean he is a bad player. Ty Law is the ultimate mercenary who will go to whomever will pay him the most. He also is a team player who will play hard and make his team better. The two are not mutually exclusive. Personally, I want the best players on my team and I could care less how much they are paid. I let the team worry about that (I'd take Law back in a heartbeat).

Clement's play definitely wasnt' up to his '04 standards last year, but the guy has been a good player throughout his career. The Bills in general had a poor season defensively, and that contributed to his play. I think you need to judge players over the majority of their careers, and he has been a good, improving player for the majority of his time in Buffalo. Not only is a good CB, he also is a top notch punt returner, which adds to his value. I think the Bills feel that way as well, or they wouldn't franchise him.

When I say he's "all about himself" I mean he doesn't give a **** about the team or winning as long as he gets paid. Of course players want the best contract they can get, but the good ones care about winning too- Takeo Spikes for example.

In 04 against Jacksonville, Clements went for the INT on 4th down instead of knocking the ball down. We lose, and end the season one game short of the playoffs. His selfish attempt at stat-padding screwed us over.

His whole career, he has gambled to pad stats- usually biting to try to get INT's- when it works, he looks like a genius. Against Chambers, he didn't want to give up the big play, so he was playing too far off of him (Don't blame Jerry Gray-t he 10 yard gap should be closed by the time you're 25 yards down the field).

He's not a team player and he's not as good as everyone thinks he is. I hope he shows up this year cuz we don't have anyone else who can start. But hopefully next season, King or Youboty will be able to take over- I don't want to see Nate get a big contract.