Kyle Van Noy given the road by the Dolphins.
Simms has some interesting takes on the draft QBs
Can you do the honours and throw up the full article?
Cheers
Will fire it up when on the laptop in the morning
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Cheers, much appreciated
Good player if he can stay healthy. Think there will be a lot of free agents taking one year prove it deals with the cap decreasing. The top FAs will still get paid though
J.J. Wattâs two-plus weeks of free agency came to an end Monday when the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year tweeted a picture of himself lifting weights in an Arizona Cardinals t-shirt. It was a fitting end to a process that seemed to play out through a string of social media posts. In the end, the Buffalo Bills were often mentioned as in the mix but didnât end up landing the star defensive lineman.
Watt went to the highest bidder. He didnât have the chance to do a traditional free agency tour, but it wasnât necessary. Watt and his camp had done their homework on the various opportunities. They knew what the Bills had to offer in terms of culture, the roster and cap space. He knew he would have a chance to play for a Super Bowl contender under a coach who would know how to maximize his ability to extend his career with a heavy rotation on the defensive line.
He also knew the Bills made an offer and didnât budge. They set their price internally, presented that to Watt and didnât waver. By last week, Watt had offers in the neighborhood of $20 million guaranteed. The Bills didnât offer that much and werenât compelled to do so when they werenât the highest offer. Those offers helped Watt get an even better contract from the Cardinals that is reportedly worth $23 million guaranteed and $31 million total over two years. That was a price the Bills werenât going to to touch.
Part of this was a salary cap issue for the Bills. They are tight up against the cap and canât afford to take a multi-year risk on an injury-prone and declining player. Two years ago when the Bills had more cap flexibility and Watt was still playing at the level of a defensive player of the year, the Bills may have gotten this done. Now the Bills can take fewer swings and have to be selective about what they do. Even so, there are questions about whether Watt is worth the contract he got.
Watt isnât quite what he once was. Some in the NFL believe if another player who played at Wattâs level in 2020 were available, the buzz wouldnât have been the same. In 2018, Watt had 16 sacks and seven forced fumbles. In 2019 and 2020, Watt combined for nine sacks and three forced fumbles. Wattâs name recognition drove the frenzy. The star defensive end played into that, too. His camp made it known through various channels he wanted to play for a contender. But that wasnât the only factor in his recruitment.
According to Ed Werder of ESPN, quarterback play, supporting cast and money were among Wattâs priorities when considering teams. The Bills checked all of those boxes but didnât come particularly close to the best financial offer. Thatâs not to say winning isnât a priority for Watt. The Cardinals have an exciting young quarterback in Kyler Murray, pieces in the front seven who could help Watt flourish and a familiar coach in defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who was in Houston with Watt from 2011 to 2013.
The Cardinals arenât as much of a threat to win the Super Bowl in 2021 as the Bills are. According to BetMGM, the Bills have 12-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cardinals are 40-1. Arizona could definitely compete in the next two seasons, so itâs not as if Watt chose a bottom feeder, but he did pick the best offer on the table. No team was offering what the Cardinals did in terms of guaranteed money. The Bills werenât close to that ballpark. Watt could have taken a below-market deal to chase a ring, but instead he got his worth and will play for a team that should be competitive in 2021. Itâs not a bad situation for Watt, and he helped out the rest of the NFL veterans by not taking less than he is worth and throwing the market out of whack.
As for the Bills, they wonât lose too much sleep over Watt choosing to go elsewhere. As Brandon Beane has said often since his arrival, he looks into everything. Thatâs not just lip service. This particular inquiry got farther along than others. The Bills had legitimate interest but only at their price. As the process dragged on, it became clear Watt was going to command and get a higher number than the Bills were comfortable paying. Even if the salary cap comes in at a higher number than expected, the Bills werenât wavering from the price they set. Thatâs the way Beane has done business since he arrived.
Knowing him, this wonât be the Billsâ last swing in free agency, either. Theyâll have to make some roster moves to get a more comfortable salary cap situation, but by pursuing Watt, the Bills showed theyâre in the market for impact defensive linemen. They also showed that a contract worth $10 million per season isnât going to prohibit them from pursuing a player despite their cap situation.
The Bills didnât land Watt, but Beane will have them in the mix for other noteworthy veterans. He and Sean McDermott werenât satisfied with the way their team looked against the Chiefs. Previous offseasons have shown them to be self aware decision makers capable of identifying and fixing the flaws of their team. Watt wasnât their only chance to upgrade this offseason. He was just the first. The rest will likely be more affordable.
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Dunno, he seems to always drop the big ones.
Injuries have curtailed what was an impressive opening stint at the Raiders tbf.
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Cheers bud 
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Jared Cook and Josh Hill given the road by the Saints. Big year coming for Adam Trautmann
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The Cards should consider picking up one of them as well. I dont think Arnold is very good.
Gobshites.
Kyle van Noy released from the dolphins seems an odd oneâŚ
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Hardly a surprise,
A championship defence, Ben is a safe pair of hands, what else are they gonna do? They need to sort out the run game
The Steelers did not disclose the terms, but a source told ESPNâs Adam Schefter that Roethlisberger willingly reduced his pay to $14 million from $19 million in this final year of his contract and spread the cash payment through 2022. The move lowers the teamâs salary-cap hit by more than $15 million.
He might come home
Getting a lot of pieces backâŚ
Chung and hightower especiallyâŚ