Bryant Johnson signs.. With SF

[venis2k1]

I dont understand, if we sign him to a 1 year deal. Whats the worst thing that can happen?

We would have a good understanding for what the player can do as a true #2 in our system.

[Meathead]

something aint adding up

so the contract the bills offered has escalators so that if he produced as a #2 he woulda been paid like the other guys the bj felt he was equivalent to

but instead of accepting those terms he takes a one year deal in the hope that he will produce like a #2 and be able to get a guaranteed contract in that range

now if he does produce at that level he woulda already had what he wanted from the bills. and if he doesnt produce at that level he will be right back where he is right now

seems to me hes lost ground. the only upside is if he goes bonkers and produces like a #1 then he would be better off. but that appears unlikely in sfs offense. the risk/reward doesnt appear to justify that decision

did i miss something cuz this dont make any sense

[Meathead]

mahdummi

[Tatonka]

I'll take Hackett for league minimum.

but you said he blows.. why would you want someone who blows even for league minimum? maybe because your aware your full of ****?

[X-Era]

Here's what happened with Johnson
Today Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 2:26 PM ET | Link


HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED WITH JOHNSON: Since there's been a wide range of opinions on what Johnson would have brought to the Bills had he signed here, and whether the team really wanted him or whether he really wanted to play for Buffalo, I'll outline how things went down between him and the team. The Bills made him a multi-year offer which was very competitive and would have rewarded him further had he produced like a number two receiver.

The Johnson camp was looking for a contract similar to what Donte Stallworth (7-$35M-$10M guaranteed) or Jerry Porter (6-$30M-$10M guaranteed) received in terms of pay per season ($5M per year). The problem is Johnson has never had a 50-catch season, never had a 5 TD reception season and only once has had a season of over 600 receiving yards.

Stallworth has had two seasons of better than 50 catches, 2 seasons of more than 5 TD receptions and 4 seasons of better than 600 yards receiving.

Porter has had three seasons of better than 50 catches, 4 seasons of more than 5 TD receptions and 4 seasons of better than 600 yards receiving.

Sure Johnson can say he had less opportunity as a #3 WR, but you have to do it before teams will pay you like the guys that have. No other team was offering him a multi-year deal in the Stallworth, Porter territory.

At that point the Johnson camp decided they wanted a one-year deal. Buffalo does not give one-year deals to 26-year old players. They are trying to build something over the long haul. A one-year deal doesn't help the team. If they signed Johnson to a one-year deal and he has a big year, then re-signing the player becomes difficult, he signs elsewhere for crazy money and the Bills would be in the same boat they're in now in terms of filling the #2 receiver role.

So by late Thursday the chances of Johnson signing in Buffalo were slim to none. The Johnson camp found a team willing to offer a one-year deal in San Francisco and that's how it ended.

Tampa was never in the mix.

I also don't get the sense at all that the Bills feel not signing Johnson is in any way a setback for the club. He was a viable option they considered to fill a need and they now explore other options, which in my opinion is primarily the draft. There's nothing of any great interest on the free agent market.

---

Well, I agree and dont agree with the Bills.

I agree that they shouldnt be giving him a one year deal.

But, the going rate for a #2 WR is what it is. Thats what Stallworth and Porter are. Johnson is a bonafide #2 who happened to be behind two pro-bowlers. Not 5 mill per? OK, then 4, any less and you just arent gonna sign a FA WR thats worth a crap to a long term deal. As I said before, I expected a deal worth 3-5, if they offered under that (and we may never know), then they are nuts and arent being "competitive".

The truth is we didnt get him, there aint much else worth much out there, so we look to the draft where Im really happy with the prospects.

[X-Era]

something aint adding up

so the contract the bills offered has escalators so that if he produced as a #2 he woulda been paid like the other guys the bj felt he was equivalent to

but instead of accepting those terms he takes a one year deal in the hope that he will produce like a #2 and be able to get a guaranteed contract in that range

now if he does produce at that level he woulda already had what he wanted from the bills. and if he doesnt produce at that level he will be right back where he is right now

seems to me hes lost ground. the only upside is if he goes bonkers and produces like a #1 then he would be better off. but that appears unlikely in sfs offense. the risk/reward doesnt appear to justify that decision

did i miss something cuz this dont make any sense

It feels to me as if they were offering something more like 3 mill per and Johnson and his camp feel like they will prove hes a #2 and he will earn that 5 mill contract next year.

If all we offered was 3 mill per, he probably has a legit reason to go after proving himself on the field to earn more money.

Its over now and I dont care anymore.

[SquishDaFish]

I hope he gets gurt and missed 5-6 games and then hits open market next year That will teach him

[X-Era]

I dont understand, if we sign him to a 1 year deal. Whats the worst thing that can happen?

We would have a good understanding for what the player can do as a true #2 in our system.

No, we dont address the WR position early in the draft thinking our need has been filles with Johnson, Johnson shows hes a #2 or better, we dont pay him or Evans, and we end up holding our shlongs next year at WR.

Thats the worst thing that could happen.

Would it have? who the heck knows.

If the Bills landed him for a longer term contract, and he plays well, we chose to keep him, if not we cut him.

The choice is ours and no longer his with a long term deal.

[X-Era]

I hope he gets gurt and missed 5-6 games and then hits open market next year That will teach him

Thats the risk he takes... true.

Of course the flip side is true too. He could sign here long term, get hurt for 5-6 games, be healthy when the seasons over, and the Bills cut him because hes "injury prone".

[Luisito23]

So he decides he wants to prove himself with a team that has a garbage QB, and a garbage OL??.........Good luck with that.

[SquishDaFish]

He must think Mike Martz is going to have a pass happy Offense and he get big numbers.

[Luisito23]

He must think Mike Martz is going to have a pass happy Offense and he get big numbers.

Or maybe he thinks Montana is coming out of retirement?....

[Meathead]

i guess we need to know what specifically what the escalator money was

if the contract was for three per but would go to four or five if he produced like a number two then he was crazy to turn that down

if it was only a modest bump for production then i could see bjs position. but that doesnt even make sense that the bills would offer that in the first place

i suppose maybe he thinks hes gonna be the man in sf and end up their number one. but a) they already have two starting caliber wrs there and c) sfs offense sucked last year. i guess he might be banking that martz will resurrect the offense

thats a lot of ifs. but oh well he decided to roll the dice thats his call

[Meathead]

i wonder why the bills have zero interest in hackett. it might be his injury history but unless their doctors know something concrete that eliminates him i wouldnt just ignore him. hes produced very well when healthy and since injury problems are usually just bad luck i would think theyd take a look idk

[Michael82]

Anyone else upset that the team has done NOTHING to upgrade their offense and are counting on a draft pick to shine and be a good receiver this year...?

[Jeff1220]

The reason he wants a 1-year deal and the Bills don't want to do them is because next year is looking more and more like it's going to be an uncapped year. He knows the payout will be much larger next year even if his performance is status quo with previous years. If you think salaries and guaranteed $$ is out of control now, wait until that happens!

[Michael82]

The reason he wants a 1-year deal and the Bills don't want to do them is because next year is looking more and more like it's going to be an uncapped year. He knows the payout will be much larger next year even if his performance is status quo with previous years. If you think salaries and guaranteed $$ is out of control now, wait until that happens!

nope. 2010 will be the uncapped year. Not next year.

[Dr. Lecter]

Anyone else upset that the team has done NOTHING to upgrade their offense and are counting on a draft pick to shine and be a good receiver this year...?

There is not much out there Mike. They can't force players to sign here.

[Dr. Lecter]

I dont understand, if we sign him to a 1 year deal. Whats the worst thing that can happen?

We would have a good understanding for what the player can do as a true #2 in our system.

It puts them right back where they are now next year. You are not solving the problem.

[gr8slayer]

but you said he blows.. why would you want someone who blows even for league minimum? maybe because your aware your full of ****?

For league minimum I'd take a lot of people, even players as bad as Hackett. Quit trying to start a pissing match with me, I'm not interested. I've posted my reasons why I feel the way I do about Hackett. So far all you've brought to the conversation is "well he had a couple of good games." If you don't posses the brain power to understand that people won't always agree with you then I can't help you.