he had 2 years left on his 4 year deal. Was due to make 445k in 2008 and 530k in 2009. Not sure why this came about now.

My guess is they did it in anticipation of him getting better each year and in 2 years wanting a hefty raise. Extending him now potentially saves some dough.

Except with a right guard, and earlier in his career, he won’t hold out hopefuly before his contract is up. It was evident during preseason that he is a very good player as his absence showed a big drop off in talent. I like Butler and am glad to hear the Bills doing this.

Fine and Butler sign today!!!! That, plus the fact that I am bored, calls for a new AVATAR as promised.

If we’re going to work on extending players, I really hope we aren’t sitting and waiting on these guys, Peters especially.

I’m glad to see Butler get extended, he’s a solid player, but in the pecking order of resignable players, he would be pretty far down the list.

Butler was a solid RG last season. I’m a bit sleep deprived but I think he actually graded out higher than the other 4 linemen. He’s a consistent snap-to-whistle guy who also seems to have a fair amount of natural talent. Now that he’s two years removed from his shoulder injury he will hopefully continue to get stronger.

Peters came into the league as a tight end while Butler came in as a RT. Both men changed positions. Peters didn’t see a whole lot of playing time at TE his first seasons (although I think he caught Losman’s first ever TD pass) and Butler was injured his first season. Both Peters and Butler showed promise and were rewarded by the Bills based partly on potential but also in recognition for what they had done. The team has been consistent in dealing with players like Peters and Butler.

Following that thought, Peters has justified the faith the team placed in him and produced. I believe that the Bills are working on a new deal for Peters, one that recognizes his contributions. Besides, two of the OL already out-earn him and now that number might be 3.

All we can do is hope that the team won’t extend Fowler…

Chris Brown at buffalobills.com has a blurb up about needing to extend Fowler for the much vaunted continuity. I’m all for continuity if the players in question are all great players. If they aren’t then they should always be worried about being displaced by someone better—not certain that they’ll keep getting paychecks just because they’ve been there for a while.