Buffalo Bills Free Agent Signings

[Mahoney]

1 hour ago, Deranged Rhino said:

 

And a new team, possibly.

[Ann]

4 hours ago, Ann said:

Well that interview ended on a bad note. He chose ranch over blue cheese.  

😛

Nice save  🤣

 

 

[Deranged Rhino]

The Athletic on the Hollister signing

(snipped from this main article here - https://theathletic.com/2441246/2021/03/19/bills-sign-te-jacob-hollister-latest-free-agency-news-grades-and-analysis/ - sign up for their site if you haven't, it's worth it)

 

Bills sign TE Jacob Hollister to one-year deal

After a lack of production all last season, the Bills hinted several times that they needed to improve the tight end position in the offseason. By adding Jacob Hollister, the Bills found a player who can help them both as a run blocker and pass catcher, enabling them to run more 12 personnel along with Dawson Knox. Last season, anytime the defense saw blocking tight end Lee Smith on the field, they knew a running play was likely. Hollister will change that for the Bills while also providing some flexibility to line up in the backfield as a fullback. He was a college teammate of Josh Allen’s at Wyoming and a highly productive one at that. Hollister caught 32 passes for 515 yards and seven touchdowns from Allen during the 2016 season. Hollister has also played a lot of special teams snaps throughout his four-year career, which adds to the value of the signing for the Bills after losing some supporting special teams players this offseason. While this doesn’t prevent the Bills from adding another tight end, it does make it far less likely that they’ll go after Zach Ertz this offseason if the cost isn’t to their liking.

Grade: B

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Deranged Rhino

[Hedge]

 

 

[Fansince88]

9 hours ago, Hedge said:

 

 

So the measuring stick. Is he a step up or equal to Lee Smith? Price tag is defiantly better

[Foxx]

Expect to see a few contracts reworked this coming week.

 

2021 NFL Free Agency: Buffalo Bills will need to create cap space for more moves

... With the fifth day of the league year set for Sunday, several pending roster bonuses could be converted to signing bonuses and pro-rated, but once they are paid on March 21st, that option is gone. ...

 

... As it stands now, the Bills don’t even have the cap space to process the Feliciano or Trubisky contracts according to Spotrac, who says they have $1.1 million in available room (ithout accounting for the Tyler Matakevich extension, which likely dropped his $3.7 million hit). Feliciano’s cap hit will be above $4 million and Trubisky’s is $2.5 million. That’s before Buffalo needs to account for signing rookies at ~$1.8 million in cap space.

[Ann]

https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/1373247547741966337

 

[Ann]

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/BuffaloBills/status/1373329238057713669

[Ann]

on my off days I'd grab my iPad & watch the Bills & the routes they were running ...
 

 

 

 

 

[Alaska Darin]

 

This is a short interview but this dude says a lot of poignant things.  He seems like a great get.

[Uncle Joe]

2 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

This is a short interview but this dude says a lot of poignant things.  He seems like a great get.

" don't care if we're slinging it or throwing it" 🤣

[Hedge]

 

 

[Ann]

 

 

https://twitter.com/DeeJaizPhotos/status/1374006749418512387

[Ann]

This is more on the Kraft interview, but I am highlighting the Buffalo parts since I already posted about the Kraft article in the NE thread. Note the Bills spending from 2017-2020. They have a winning record over that period, something the other four teams in the top five do not.
 

FMIA: Free-Agency Millions Or NFL TV Billions
 

</snip>
 

In a boomerang way, this reminds me of 2001, when the *Patriots were tight against the cap and signed 23 free agents—for collective bonuses of $2.5 million. Mike Vrabel and David Patten and Otis Smith became valued pieces on the *Patriots’ first Super Bowl team. But that was a different time and place. Now, Buffalo and Miami make the 2021 AFC East a beast of a division. What Belichick has done with this free-agent roundup is ensure the *Patriots can be a factor in the division and the conference. “He went and improved his football team by leaps and bounds,” said the agent for three new *Patriots, Drew Rosenhaus, on my podcast this week. “I think everybody would agree this roster is incredibly improved from the one that they ended the season with.”
 

“We’ll see,” Kraft said with some caution. “I do remember we always made fun of the teams that spent a lot in the offseason. So we know nothing is guaranteed, and I’m very cognizant of that.”
 

Intermission: Per the website Over The Cap, here are the five teams that spent the most in free agency from 2017-20, with the composite spending and their regular-season records over the period:
 

Jacksonville, $494.1 million, 22-42.
N.Y. Jets, $463.0 million, 18-46.
Buffalo, $457.1 million, 38-26.
Detroit, $444.7 million, 23-41.
Cleveland, $436.2 million, 24-39-1.
 

</snip>
 

• BUFFALO did what smart, good teams do in free agency: sign their own very productive players (tackle Darryl Williams, tackling machine Matt Milano) to reasonable deals. They’ll average $10 million over the next seven years, combined.
 

</snip>

[Ann]

Signed, sealed, delivered...
 

 

 

[Hedge]

 

 

 

[Hedge]

 

 

[Joe]

3 hours ago, Hedge said:

 

 

I love this. Mackenzie was a real playmaker for us last year

[Fansince88]

49 minutes ago, Joe said:

I love this. Mackenzie was a real playmaker for us last year

And potentially a great returner

[Hedge]