(10-28-2017, 02:54 PM)Jags02 Wrote:

(10-28-2017, 12:19 PM)JagNGeorgia Wrote: All possible cuts and savings for 2018:

Lewis - $3.75 million
Jackson - $9.5 million
Bortles - $18 million
Ivory - $4 million
Parnell - $5 million
Hurns - $7 million

Unless I'm missing someone (which is possible), I didn't see anyone else that we would have any real financial gain by cutting. The problem is that if we cut Bortles, Parnell, or Hurns, then we don't have anyone serviceable behind them. Ivory is all but gone IMO. If we cut Ivory and Hurns, we can sign Robinson for a $10 million-ish 1-year prove it deal.

What I foresee happening is that they sign Bortles to a 3-year $30 million-ish deal which would eliminate a lot of extra cash on his current $18 million number, release Ivory / Hurns, and sign Robinson to a prove-it deal. This would give us a couple years to develop another QB and figure out if we need to sign Robinson to a bigger contract.

Wow, they have a lot tied up in that DL.

I hate to use the word "renegotiation" because it reminds me of the trouble we got into with Michael Huyughe trying to keep the '99 roster intact. However, Linder might be a prime candidate because his deal was front loaded. They could easily shave about $6 mil off Linder's cap hit with a fat signing bonus that's split up against the cap over his remaining years. 

The numbers for the contract since a lot of folks have asked are posted on spotrac.....
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/jacksonville-...reus-7718/

in a nutshell 2017 salary is gonna be about 5.7MM, then 10.2MM in 2018, 11.6MM in 2019, 14.6MM in 2020, 14.7MM in 2021.

This for a player who has flashed the ability to be an All Pro on one side. who averaged about 7 sacks a year between 2011 to 2014.
The other side that we're not talking about here is the reason Buffalo wants to trade him.  After 2014 the Bills picked up his option year for 8MM, then turned around and signed him to an extension through 2021 for a landmark 96MM contract.  His stats have gone downhill since signing for the big money.  His numbers have gone down each year, partly because of his drug use suspensions (two in about a year and a half for smoking pot) and partly for coming in each year way out of shape and injuring himself, so that when he did play he was constantly playing with nagging injuries he didn't have when younger.  Last summer he supposedly checked himself into rehab, but later it came out that he never really went.  One more fail of a NFL drug test and he's getting suspended for a year.  They felt they couldn't take a chance on a player who was someone they could not count on for being a team player and was the highest paid player on their team.  This preseason he was inactive for breaking a team rule and not showing up in time to travel with the team to a game.  Most fans talking about this player on the Bills websites are not happy with getting a 5th or 6th rounder for a player who was so dominant 3 years ago.  The team is going to need the space he frees up to sign the "team first" multiple players they are hoping to add with all that freed up space over the next few years.  No one expected the Bills to really win more than 3 or 4 games this year.  With them dumping 5 players for future draft picks (3 good players and 2 backups for late picks....Dareus, Watkins, Darby, Reggie Ragland and Cardale Jones) they are going to need space to sign people over the next few years and all those extra draft picks.  Just about every reporter under the sun has been talking about them trying to trade for one f the top QBs in next years draft with all those draft picks bundled.  If they do go that route and manage to convince a team at the top to trade them a top 5 pick or so, they will need the cap room to sign the QB longterm, as well as be players in free agency to upgrade depth which they are severely lacking at many spots and extend the folks who have contracts ending that they just got (Jordan Matthews and EJ Gaines who are both starters.....in addition to their starting MLB Preston Brown).  Yes they are biting the bullet to get Dareus' contract off the books by eating deadcap this year and next, but they also are putting themselves in place to be a top 3-5 ranked team for cap space now in 2019-2021.  It was closer to Brock Osweiler to the Browns to help the Texans be able to breathe, instead of the Bills giving the Jags a 2nd rounder to do it though, they got a 6th or 5th from them (because of the character concerns and lack of results on the field making it more of a risk on the Jags part).  When paired with great people next to him Marcel excelled once (Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Jerry Hughes), The FO prolly figured he would be just as good in Jacksonville with Doug's urging.  Buffalo paid him 20MM for his first for years(rookie contract) and it was a good deal at the time.  But having him count about 20MM the last couple seasons hasn't worked out.  They tried everything they could to reform him back to a good player, who put his team first.  But he has shown time and again that he is selfish, immature, can't stay out of trouble, whether it's drag racing or drugs, or showing up to camp looking like the Stay Puft Marshmellow man (hence his nickname).  This is his chance to turn his career around.  He's not a bust, but is he worth being the highest paid player on a roster?  Time will tell.  If Bills new headcoach is motivating a squad that was supposedly tanking into a top 5 draft pick to a level where they are playing 4-2 ball that is 2 plays away from being 6-0 ball, and Dareus is only playing about 33% of those snaps on defense.....are the Jacksonville players and coaches going to be able to get through to him?  Or are we just viewing it through rose colored glasses like the Bills fans do each year?

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