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00:00Let's get to some football.
00:01Sal Capaccio with us on the Western Hotline.
00:03I was checking out a Bill Barnwell column today at ESPN.com.
00:08He went through every team or maybe just every contender
00:12and what he thinks they might still need in free agency.
00:16And for the Bills, he put left guard.
00:18You know, makes sense.
00:20I read this.
00:21Edwards leaving.
00:22And he brought up two names, two veteran names,
00:24Joel Batonio and Kevin Zeitler,
00:26been in the league a long time each as possibilities.
00:30How pressing a need is that, Sal?
00:32Would you expect the Bills to sign somebody,
00:35even maybe a name we would know at left guard,
00:38or might they have a different plan?
00:41I would expect another veteran to join this group at some point.
00:44I think it's kind of been their MO for, you know, the last several years.
00:47Maybe not the last couple years because they've kind of pretty much
00:50had 10 guys intact.
00:52But if you go back, you can name some names,
00:54but they would bring in guys that, you know,
00:56guy played for the Jets here, Patriots there.
00:58And, you know, he's just a little bit of depth piece
01:00in case we need somebody.
01:02And, you know, maybe by the end of training camp,
01:04he's just no longer on the team
01:05because they feel good about what they have.
01:06Or he actually winds up being somebody on the team.
01:09I would expect that at some point.
01:11I mean, let's face it, guys.
01:12They have 64 guys in the roster now.
01:13You've got to get to 90.
01:14Well, how are you going to do that?
01:15And you need offensive linemen for camp.
01:17So it would just make sense by numbers they do that.
01:20And I would expect some sort of veteran.
01:22That said, I think you go to OTAs right now,
01:26and it's Alec Anderson starting at left guard.
01:28That is your left guard right now.
01:30And it's basically his job to lose to me.
01:32They're going to roll with Alec Anderson
01:34until he gives them a reason not to roll with him.
01:37And losing David Edwards was tough.
01:39He's a good player.
01:41He made $15 million from the Saints.
01:43I mean, that's to me, you're going from $15 million
01:45to paying Alec Anderson $3 million.
01:48I know Alec Anderson isn't the player David Edwards right now in his career,
01:51but I don't know if there's a $12 million difference there.
01:53And I think the Bills can live with that
01:54as long as they get the kind of play they think they can get from Alec Anderson.
01:57But behind him, they do have guys who've been with them a little bit.
02:01Chase Lunt was drafted last year.
02:04He's a tackle slash guard.
02:06He can play both.
02:07They'll figure out what they want to do with him.
02:09And then, of course, you have Tylon Grable,
02:11who was the swing tackle for Ryan Vandermark two years ago.
02:15And then he got a concussion last year, and Vandermark took it over.
02:17And now we have the Vandermark offer sheet situation.
02:19But they do have guys that I think they feel like they could put there,
02:24but I think they have to add numbers.
02:25Not only did Edwards get that big money,
02:27but I read this piece by Barnwell that Mike is referencing as well,
02:30and he pointed out that Edwards, he couldn't find another player
02:34who got guaranteed money in the third year of a free agent contract,
02:38and Edwards did.
02:40Good for him.
02:42I also think it'll be one of the – maybe you say it's Anderson's job to lose.
02:48I get that.
02:49Somebody's got to be the top guy in the pecking order.
02:52But I would expect that to be somewhat competitive, right?
02:56I mean, I think if you're the Bills, you want to leave open the opportunity
02:58that either one of the other guys you mentioned, Grable or Lunt,
03:02could win the job, or this veteran that we don't know yet,
03:05Mekhi Becton or somebody.
03:06I don't know, depending on how the marketplace looks when you get to –
03:10you know, it's like even into May.
03:12Yeah, if you bring a guy like Bittonio, I mean, that's a name.
03:16Then we're going to watch, right?
03:17We're going to be like, okay, let's see what happens here.
03:22And when you're an Alec Anderson or somebody else
03:25and you have a Joel Bittonio behind you,
03:26things can play out a little bit different there.
03:28And you're looking over your shoulder knowing that guy's ready here.
03:31And why do you bring a guy like that in?
03:32Maybe it is to start.
03:33But, you know, we'll see.
03:35Now, Wyatt Teller was out there.
03:36I believe he signed with the Texans now, though, right?
03:38But that's a guy that you would tie to the Bills
03:40and think that, you know, if they really want to kind of push Alec
03:45or have a need there to go over top him, maybe that'd be a guy.
03:48They never did that.
03:49So I think this team, knowing what I know about how they feel about Alec Anderson
03:54and just how they operate,
03:56I think they're leaning on Alec Anderson right now to be that guy.
03:59But they certainly can be open to it,
04:01and they're going to create some more competition.
04:02I have not seen that really that Cedric Van Praan Granger could play guard
04:08since he came into the league.
04:09I think for a hot minute at training camp his rookie year,
04:11they put him there for a minute,
04:12and then they put him right back to center.
04:14But I do wonder, because his path to center is blocked now,
04:19like to start, I just do wonder if they kind of experiment with that
04:23and see it throughout OTAs.
04:24That's the time to do that, just to see if he can do it.
04:26Yeah.
04:26I saw Ryan Bates' name on this list, too, of veteran free agent guards.
04:32Old friend Ryan Bates, just to throw another name in there.
04:37And by the way, versatile guy, right?
04:39They love the versatile guys.
04:41They love all their – Alec Anderson's versatile.
04:42Chase Lund is versatile.
04:43Tylan Grable's versatile.
04:44All these guys, he would fit that.
04:46Yeah, I think I even asked you last week one day if Anderson could fall prey
04:51to the same thing Bates used to fall prey to, right?
04:53Like, he's so valuable being able to play three positions that we don't want
04:58to assign him one as a starter because then we lose that flexibility.
05:03And I've wondered that about Anderson.
05:05So I don't think a significant veteran guard ad myself is in the cards.
05:12Someone to compete, sure, but not like a value, he's going to be our starter guy.
05:17I suppose it could end that way through a competition.
05:20Where is – is there a spot on the roster still?
05:23Like, I know they got pretty busy late last week with the secondary
05:27and a couple of safeties, and we're feeling a little better about that.
05:30Is there a spot on that defense specifically that you think still could use a guy
05:37who could matter, who would play, you know,
05:40a significant part in a rotation?
05:42I'm thinking maybe nose tackle because Walker is sort of – he's the size for that spot,
05:50but I'm not sure that you're not limiting what he can do for you if he has to play
05:55nose tackle and just, like, eat up blockers in space because I feel like he's –
06:00even though he's got the frame for it, I feel like he can do more than that.
06:04So I'm wondering if there's not – like, DJ Reader's name is still coming up a lot
06:08and he's still out there.
06:09Like, I think that idea has really warmed up for me.
06:13I've – this is the first year that I was not pounding the table for the Bills
06:16to sign DJ Reader because I love DJ Reader so much,
06:18and then now suddenly, like, DJ Reader is out there and they can go –
06:21I'm like, yeah, okay, right?
06:22But, like, seriously, like, I've always been like, okay, that ship has sailed.
06:25I've tried that enough.
06:26I agree with you.
06:27I agree on everything you just said.
06:29Deion Walker, I think, to me, is their idea right now.
06:32But you might be pigeonholing him to a spot where you're not maximizing
06:36what he can do for you by doing that, right?
06:38And is he a true, like, what you want for that position?
06:42You don't have to have this unbelievable anchor, big dude at nose tackle
06:46to run the defense they're going to run.
06:47You don't have to, but you'd still like to have that option to have somebody there.
06:50And, yeah, a guy like DJ Reader, but I do think that's the spot.
06:53To me, it's the up the middle.
06:56It's the interior.
06:57And, by the way, if you listen to or read, Brandon Bean did something
07:02with the Buffalo News and Sal Marana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
07:06And inside those pieces, basically, was him talking about Deion Walker
07:10being able to play nose, Dwayne Carter being able to play nose,
07:13and also Ed Oliver playing the three techniques.
07:16So, sliding out, not being over the nose.
07:18And same thing with T.J. Sanders.
07:20That's where those guys are going to be.
07:20Remember what we talked about last week?
07:22Five-man surface.
07:23You're going to have a nose guard.
07:24Those two guys will be outside of them.
07:25Then you'll have your Chubb and your Rousseau outside of them
07:28to give you your five players up front.
07:30So, I think that.
07:31And then I do wonder about up the middle at linebacker.
07:36Although, you guys know, I give way more credence to them thinking
07:41that maybe Dorian Williams can be a starter at that position
07:43than maybe a lot of other people would.
07:46If you guys have your pen and paper out, cross off Greg Dortch
07:50as a potential wide receiver signing.
07:53He's going to Detroit, reportedly.
07:55Sal, can you see another veteran receiver signing
07:59or a veteran receiver signing?
08:01And is it going to probably be somebody like the guys we've seen
08:05the Bills run through in the last couple years,
08:08which is to say, you know, maybe a deal like this for Dortch in Detroit
08:12one year and not a lot of money?
08:14Could you see that?
08:16I could see it, sure.
08:18Again, numbers.
08:18They need numbers.
08:19What do they have right now?
08:20They have how many receivers on the roster?
08:21They have nine.
08:23DJ Moore, Kalisha Keir, Keon Coleman, Josh Palmer, eight.
08:26Tyrell Shavers, McColl Hardman, Stephen Gossinell, and Jalen Virgil.
08:30I mean, there's room.
08:31You're going to have to.
08:32Guys, they typically bring like 17 receivers to camp, right?
08:35Something like that, I think.
08:36Maybe a little less than that.
08:37But there will be somebody out there.
08:41But you know what you do?
08:42You wait until the draft happens.
08:43You maybe figure that out.
08:44Or you could say, let's add to the depth before the draft.
08:48That way we don't have to worry about that a little bit
08:50in the later rounds of the draft.
08:51So absolutely, I could see that.
08:53Maybe let the market settle a little bit
08:54and figure out if there's somebody out there.
08:56But there's no doubt they usually do something like that anyway.
08:59Who do you want for the Sabres in the first round?
09:04Now, I would love for them to beat Boston.
09:07It would make me so happy.
09:09Just play Boston and beat them.
09:10But since I can't guarantee a win, I want the best way to advance.
09:14And right now, that looks like Detroit.
09:15So I think that's what I would go because I'd be all about winning.
09:19Not necessarily just saying what makes me feel the best.
09:21Unless you could guarantee me they beat Boston,
09:23which I think they can still beat Boston.
09:24That would be the team I would want to play.
09:26I said Detroit, too.
09:28And part of my thinking, I think you'd agree,
09:29is that could be a really fun series
09:33with fans going to games in either city.
09:36It's accessible.
09:38Both teams have been out of the playoffs for so long.
09:40Isn't Detroit second on the list of droughts?
09:43Yes.
09:44I mean, yeah, they're beatable.
09:46I guess I've got to say at this point, for the Sabres,
09:49they're all beatable.
09:50But Detroit, I agree.
09:52And I think that could be a fun one.
09:54There's no playoff history, literally, between the Sabres and the Red Wings either.
09:58Let's start some.
09:59Yeah.
10:00We've got to jump back to football because you mentioned Vandermark
10:03and the offer sheet in the course of talking about this left guard point
10:06from the Barnwell piece at ESPN.com.
10:09But take us through what exactly happened.
10:12There's an offer sheet.
10:13The Bills have some rights.
10:15How likely is it you think that they match?
10:17They've got four days left, I think, to match, right?
10:21Yeah, I didn't think they would even give him the qualifying offer
10:23because I thought that was a little too rich for a swing tackle
10:26when you already didn't give that same qualifying offer to Alec Anderson
10:29and got something less from him, right?
10:30You negotiated a deal with Alec Anderson.
10:33Alec Anderson was in the same boat.
10:34They didn't want to give him the $3.5 million or they didn't give him
10:36the $3.5 million offer sheet, the lowest qualifying tender.
10:40They worked out a lower deal, $3 million.
10:42So to me, it didn't seem like you'd do that for Vandermark.
10:44They did.
10:45Maybe knowing, okay, well, let's just see where this goes.
10:47But we like the player.
10:48Obviously, they do.
10:49So last night, Aaron Wilson reported, after it was reported that he got the offer sheet,
10:54Aaron Wilson, who covers the Texans, put out a tweet that said,
10:57the offer sheet from the Vikings is one year, $4.2 million.
11:02Shortly after that, that tweet disappeared, but everything else about it
11:05was still the same except the number.
11:07And he also added the agents in there.
11:09And I'm thinking, just me thinking, because I know how this game is played.
11:12I'm thinking the agents were like, hey, don't put the amount in there.
11:15We don't want that out there, but we'll still give you the info.
11:17So I'm going to assume it's one year, $4.2 million, but I don't know that.
11:22That's about $700,000 more guaranteed than Bills were already willing to pay.
11:26So the question is this.
11:27Do the Bills feel that $700,000 is too much for them to say, no, we were already maxed
11:32out, or that's not that much.
11:34We can absorb that.
11:35It's less than a million dollars.
11:36Or do they say, you know what?
11:37Good for Ryan Vandermark.
11:39He's not going to start for us.
11:40That's too much to pay.
11:41A non-starter.
11:42It clears our cap a little bit, and we're going to let them walk.
11:45They do have five days to make that decision, four days now.
11:48Yeah, it's not an easy equation.
11:50I was talking about this with my son last night, and I'm like, $700,000, $800,000.
11:55You like the player enough to put the 3.5 on them, so just pay the markup.
12:00It's not that big a deal.
12:01But, yeah, I don't know how the equation works.
12:04What kind of value is there in that for a backup player?
12:08I mean, there's comfort in having a backup you feel like you can trust, but it's also
12:13a lot of money overall.
12:16$4.3 million is a lot of money for a backup, I think.
12:19So maybe it's not an easy just match.
12:23But at first blush, I thought, oh, they'll just match that.
12:26That's not that much money.
12:28The other thing to note for everybody here is the Bills get no compensation if they don't
12:32match because Ryan Vandermark was not drafted.
12:35If he had been drafted in the seventh round and everything exactly the same happened the
12:39way it is, they'd get a seventh round return if they matched it.
12:42But because he was undrafted, it basically goes to the original round compensation, which
12:48original round is UDFA.
12:50So they get nothing, and they also wouldn't get anything from the NFL with a comp pick if
12:54they don't match.
12:55So it's basically just, do they want to pay him or not?
12:57Right.
12:58Okay, Sal, maybe we'll run into you tomorrow.
13:00We'll see you.
13:00Have a great day.
13:01All right, you too, guys.
13:02Thanks a lot.
13:02That's our Sal Capaccio on the Western Hotline.
13:05His appearances are brought to you by New York's only outlet, Liquor.
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