Stop calling Sammy Watkins a stud

[Valhalla]

I think the fact that the Bills traded away Watkins should decrease his value a tad. They might be just hedging a bit, but no team wants to let potential superstar players go. They had enough doubts to part ways instead of giving him one more year to prove his potential and then try to keep him long-term.

In superflex/2qb leagues, I would be looking to buy low on Goff this offseason. Also, Gurley is a good target if the owner is down on him at all as he should get a bump with Watkins taking some attention away and Goff hopefully taking a step forward.

They put forward an earlier sign of doubt when they didn't offer him a 5th year

[Jason3123]

I got an offer of Landry and John Brown (R.I.P.) for Sammy today.

[Jason3123]

I think the fact that the Bills traded away Watkins should decrease his value a tad. They might be just hedging a bit, but no team wants to let potential superstar players go. They had enough doubts to part ways instead of giving him one more year to prove his potential and then try to keep him long-term.

In superflex/2qb leagues, I would be looking to buy low on Goff this offseason. Also, Gurley is a good target if the owner is down on him at all as he should get a bump with Watkins taking some attention away and Goff hopefully taking a step forward.

I want to agree with you regarding letting him go but the Bills are also an atrocious organization, so I can't side with them.

[Kramer]

I think the fact that the Bills traded away Watkins should decrease his value a tad. They might be just hedging a bit, but no team wants to let potential superstar players go. They had enough doubts to part ways instead of giving him one more year to prove his potential and then try to keep him long-term.

In superflex/2qb leagues, I would be looking to buy low on Goff this offseason. Also, Gurley is a good target if the owner is down on him at all as he should get a bump with Watkins taking some attention away and Goff hopefully taking a step forward.

They put forward an earlier sign of doubt when they didn't offer him a 5th year

That could at least be argued to be due to them wanting to hedge guaranteed money should he get hurt again. There is a difference between hedging with the potential star player still on your team vs getting what you can for him from another team.

[pjoner]

just to give everyone an idea of the market for Sammy, here are the current offers on my table

Watkins/2018 3rd for J. Matthews, Brit and Burkhead
Watkins/Watson/K. White for ARob, C. Henderson, P. Lynch and 2018 3rd
Watkins/AJ Green for Cooper, J. Matthews and Britt
Watkins/Gillislee for Pryor and 2018 1st

I do not plan on accepting any of the offers...

[IBall2]

just to give everyone an idea of the market for Sammy, here are the current offers on my table

Watkins/2018 3rd for J. Matthews, Brit and Burkhead
Watkins/Watson/K. White for ARob, C. Henderson, P. Lynch and 2018 3rd
Watkins/AJ Green for Cooper, J. Matthews and Britt
Watkins/Gillislee for Pryor and 2018 1st

I do not plan on accepting any of the offers...

On that last trade, if you could get another piece added to the Pryor side, I would consider it. I think Pryor is still being undervalued and could put up some more good numbers this year in a better offense. The only difference between Pryor and Watkins is age and injury. Pryor being older hurts his value but he's proven to be reliable every week of the season.

[rubber_duck]

I think the fact that the Bills traded away Watkins should decrease his value a tad. They might be just hedging a bit, but no team wants to let potential superstar players go. They had enough doubts to part ways instead of giving him one more year to prove his potential and then try to keep him long-term.

In superflex/2qb leagues, I would be looking to buy low on Goff this offseason. Also, Gurley is a good target if the owner is down on him at all as he should get a bump with Watkins taking some attention away and Goff hopefully taking a step forward.

They put forward an earlier sign of doubt when they didn't offer him a 5th year

That could at least be argued to be due to them wanting to hedge guaranteed money should he get hurt again. There is a difference between hedging with the potential star player still on your team vs getting what you can for him from another team.

Kramer, I agree with you. There is more to this story.

The most likely scenario I see: Buffalo is concerned about the long term health of Sammy Watkins. It would explain why the 5th year option was not picked up (which provides a salary guaranteed against injury.) It would also explain the organization trading him away.

If that is not the case, and Sammy is truly healthy and a pro-bowl level talent, then there must be something else.

Is there something personal with Sammy? Maybe Watkins hates being in Buffalo and was quietly telling the organization he would refuse to play? I don't know, but there must be something else if it isn't his health.

[Kramer]

They put forward an earlier sign of doubt when they didn't offer him a 5th year

That could at least be argued to be due to them wanting to hedge guaranteed money should he get hurt again. There is a difference between hedging with the potential star player still on your team vs getting what you can for him from another team.

Kramer, I agree with you. There is more to this story.

The most likely scenario I see: Buffalo is concerned about the long term health of Sammy Watkins. It would explain why the 5th year option was not picked up (which provides a salary guaranteed against injury.) It would also explain the organization trading him away.

If that is not the case, and Sammy is truly healthy and a pro-bowl level talent, then there must be something else.

Is there something personal with Sammy? Maybe Watkins hates being in Buffalo and was quietly telling the organization he would refuse to play? I don't know, but there must be something else if it isn't his health.

Yeah, agreed. Hopefully there are indications from the two sides about what may have led to this trade and we can have some clarity, but probably not.

[Friction]

He had some Lebronesque idiot gaffe on social media last year that voiced his displeasure with fans/general public questioning his heart, attitude, and ability to play with or through injuries. I cannot remember the exact details since so many athletes put their foot in their mouth (to put it VERY lightly) on social media nowadays. Not saying it was bad enough to lead to something like this, but I think it turned a lot of his supporters locally in Buffalo against him. Like a lot of things of that nature, success on the field would have changed many a viewpoint towards him and that "incident", but he did not exactly atone for it on the gridiron.

[sugbear65]

I find I'm netrual on the move from Buffalo to LA. I don't think it's a better or worse situation. Similar if anything.
Sammy is still a FA after this year, same as when he was in Buffalo. Unless he signs long term, from a dynasty standpoint I don't see how this has moved the needle really in one direction or another. But I prefer LA to Buffalo for the foreseeable future, I think the rams are on the up(from dead bottom that is). So even if we are forecasting a franchise tag or long term deal, I prefer this spot to the old one.

[Cameron Giles]

I find I'm netrual on the move from Buffalo to LA. I don't think it's a better or worse situation. Similar if anything.
Sammy is still a FA after this year, same as when he was in Buffalo. Unless he signs long term, from a dynasty standpoint I don't see how this has moved the needle really in one direction or another. But I prefer LA to Buffalo for the foreseeable future, I think the rams are on the up(from dead bottom that is). So even if we are forecasting a franchise tag or long term deal, I prefer this spot to the old one.

Yeah, I prefer LA's offensive staff over the Bills. I'm a huge fan of Sean McVay. If Watkins is coming at a discount now, I'd be very interested. Health is still an issue, but Watkins is the perfect fit for McVay's offense.

[ericanadian]

It may just be that Dennison strongly prefers tall WRs in the lead role. He started his career by shuffling Rod Smith into the sunset, whom he replaced with Javon Walker (6'3"). He then moved on to Brandon Marshall (6'3") before going to Houston where he had Andre Johnson (6'3"). The year Johnson got hurt, he still nearly led the WRs in receiving yards. When he went to Denver again, he had DT (6'3") as his lead. These trades bring in JMatt (6'3"), who has that height, whereas Sammy (6'1") does not.

[Cowboysfan33]

At first glance, I thought Watkins to the Rams was a downgrade but after looking at it closer, I think it's at least a slight upgrade. They've made some improvements to the o-line and I still think Gurley is a stud RB, plus adding Everett through the draft, so to me, it still comes down to health with Watkins, as usual. I'm also a fan of McVay, as it looks like he's a bright young coach after a good showing in D.C.

[Valhalla]

http://buffalonews.com/2017/08/15/bills ... iver-room/
From the article:
"We’re building a team, we’re not accumulating talent," the coach said. "We’re building a team and that comes down to roles, it comes down to chemistry, it comes down to camaraderie, and it comes also down to unselfishness. That’s the qualities we are looking for in our football players."

"In our room, there's no entitlement," second-round draft pick Zay Jones said. "I don't think anyone feels entitled, starting with Anquan. He's the most decorated and prestigious receiver in the room, and he comes to work just like all of us. His work habits are unbelievable and that's something that I look at and really feed off of."

From Sammy:
"I don't care what's going on over there. I don't care if he's open. When I get one on one, just target me."
"But for me, I need the ball at least 10 times - I need 10 targets - and I'll be fine with however many yards I get. And that's what I addressed in talking with my agent. We reached out to a couple people and tried to pull some strings like, 'Hey, I need my targets. You came up to draft me and I'm not getting targets - that's a problem. You're making me look bad and you're making yourself look bad. Why not make both of us look good?'"

And there you have it. I don't doubt the possibility that the Bills are predicting further injuries coming, but did they even need that reason? They ditched him and brought in a guy that may not be as gifted, but has his entire reputation built on being an excellent teammate while also being a decent, team first player.

Also from Sammy:
"...you would love those 15 targets that Julio gets, those 20 targets that Odell gets. Of course I'd have 100 yards every game and a TD, if I'm getting 20 targets."
I'd love to find out what would happen if Odell got 320 targets...

[kmbryant09]

http://buffalonews.com/2017/08/15/bills ... iver-room/
From the article:
"We’re building a team, we’re not accumulating talent," the coach said. "We’re building a team and that comes down to roles, it comes down to chemistry, it comes down to camaraderie, and it comes also down to unselfishness. That’s the qualities we are looking for in our football players."

"In our room, there's no entitlement," second-round draft pick Zay Jones said. "I don't think anyone feels entitled, starting with Anquan. He's the most decorated and prestigious receiver in the room, and he comes to work just like all of us. His work habits are unbelievable and that's something that I look at and really feed off of."

From Sammy:
"I don't care what's going on over there. I don't care if he's open. When I get one on one, just target me."
"But for me, I need the ball at least 10 times - I need 10 targets - and I'll be fine with however many yards I get. And that's what I addressed in talking with my agent. We reached out to a couple people and tried to pull some strings like, 'Hey, I need my targets. You came up to draft me and I'm not getting targets - that's a problem. You're making me look bad and you're making yourself look bad. Why not make both of us look good?'"

And there you have it. I don't doubt the possibility that the Bills are predicting further injuries coming, but did they even need that reason? They ditched him and brought in a guy that may not be as gifted, but has his entire reputation built on being an excellent teammate while also being a decent, team first player.

Also from Sammy:
"...you would love those 15 targets that Julio gets, those 20 targets that Odell gets. Of course I'd have 100 yards every game and a TD, if I'm getting 20 targets."
I'd love to find out what would happen if Odell got 320 targets...

In all fairness, aren't those quotes from Sammy Watkins from 2015 or early 2016? That was a different coaching staff that he was sending a message to, and in his defense, he was correct. He was clearly the ONLY receiving weapon on the team and there seemed to be weeks where he wasn't even involved in the game-plan. It's at least part of the reason why the previous coaching staff was finally let go...