I know, I know – Jason Peters was terrible last year. He was out of shape, unprepared, and allowed a league-high 13.5 sacks. Hardly worthy of the highest-paid-lineman-in-the-NFL contract he’s seeking. But you know what? The Bills should pay him anyway. Here’s why:
For years the Bills have simply let their premium talent walk away and winning football teams can’t afford to lose top talent, especially in its prime. The Bills haven’t made the playoffs in a decade because they keep letting their best players go once they get expensive and then have to use their top draft picks on replacements. This means the team can never even come close to fixing all of its holes. Top-quality NFL players are hard to find; if you have some you need to do what it takes to keep them even if it means overpaying.
The club let Pat Williams walk and he’s since gone to 3 Pro Bowls. Marv Levy then wasted a first rounder on his failed replacement, John McCargo. Nate Clements and Antoine Winfield both were allowed to go and the Bills had to spend last year’s first round pick on Leodis McKelvin. Sure Clements is overpaid but all of these guys were let go in their primes. The Patriots aren’t afraid to release good players, but they do so once these guys are on the downside of their careers, like Drew Bledsoe, Mike Vrabel, or Ty Law. The Bradys, Mosses, and Seymours of the world they pay and they keep.
The Bills have been doing the same recycling in the backfield for years too. Draft a good back (and lousy father) in Travis Henry. Then waste another first round pick replacing Henry with Willis MacGahee. Then trade MacGahee and spend another first rounder on Marshawn Lynch. This is a recipe for failure. When you use draft a good player you should pay and keep that player and then use the draft to fill other positions in subsequent years. It’s like replacing the front door to your house every 3 years and never doing anything about the leaky windows.
The Bills have a highly-talented, in-his-prime player at a vital position – left tackle. Sure he wants too much money and he was shit last year, but he still has the ability and he should be locked in so the Bills can use their picks elsewhere. Ths is the kind of move successful teams make and Russ Brandon and Dick Jauron simply need to get it done.
I am not sure what to think. He would be overpaid if he has a half-decent season and he would be monumentally overpaid if he plays like he did last year.
Have to agree that they end up getting rid of these guys and then having to plug the holes with draft picks and not ending up plugging their original holes. On the other hand, the teams that got Henry, McGahee, Williams, Winfield, Clements have not fared all that much better than the Bills over the years…no Super Bowls for them plus they ended up overpaying for the majority of those guys.
My feeling is to get rid of him because I don’t think he is that good, but I can see the validity in your points.
Forget Peters. Flip Trent Edwards and a pick to the Broncos for Jay Cutler.
I don’t think you can blame those Ex-Bills for the fact their teams haven’t gone to Super Bowls. Most of them have played very well since leave 1 Bills Drive.
Peters may not be that good – yet. I do think he can be one of the best linemen in the league right now. I respect the view that you can trade him instead of pay him, but if you’re going to do that you sure as hell better have a plan. I don’t see that trading Peters for a first rounder that then gets used to draft a tackle does much to help the team and that’s likely what would happen. This is exactly what I meant in my original post that the team would simply be spinning its wheels.
Jon my friend, you are nothing if not bold. I’m not sold on Cutler at all. He’s got all the physical tools, but I don’t think he’s got enough between the ears (despite his Vandy education) to be a consistent winner. He’s not a great decision maker on the field and the whole controversy in Denver seems like it’s simply a product of Cutler’s ego and immaturity.
Even if the Bills did do this, I’d suggest it’s still in keeping with their dreadful recycling policy. I don’t honestly think Cutler is that big of an upgrade on Edwards and this move would have the added drawback of losing a pick that the team needs to spend on a more pressing need – TE, DE, OLB, S, OG. The Bills need to put a better team around Edwards so they can keep him upright, give him weapons, and see what he can really do. I think he’s got it in him to be a solid QB with a decent squad supporting him.
I’m sure Tom Donahoe would love the idea but I don’t see that it would really help.