Bills, CB McGee talking contract extension
by Brian Galliford on Aug 27, 2009 9:02 AM EDT
in Buffalo Bills News
Email
PrintMark Gaughan of The Buffalo News is reporting that the Buffalo Bills and CB Terrence McGee have begun talks on a contract extension. McGee, who will turn 29 this coming October, is in the final year of a four-year, $18 million extension that he signed in October of 2005, and kicked in at the start of the 2006 season. Reportedly, both sides would like to reach a deal before the Bills begin the regular season, on September 14.
As Gaughan astutely points out, it's going to cost a bit more to keep McGee in town this time around - possibly as much as $7-8 million per season, which, as Gaughan mentions, has been the going rate for starting-caliber cornerbacks on the free agent market over the past few seasons.
McGee has been a Bill for seven years, and has been the team's top cornerback for the last two seasons after Nate Clements left for San Francisco in free agency. Also known as an elite return man - a job he no longer holds for the Bills - McGee has 420 career tackles, 16 career interceptions, and has scored three defensive touchdowns (on top of his five career kick return scores). He'll never be considered an elite corner in NFL circles, but he's as dependable as they come, and remains in the prime of his career.
From the sounds of it, McGee would like to finish his career in Buffalo, and the Bills seem willing to provide him with that opportunity. With several promising young players at cornerback, however - including McGee's fellow starter, Leodis McKelvin - it's not imperative that the Bills bring McGee back. Signing him to a reasonable deal would, however, lock in Buffalo's prominent cornerbacks for the foreseeable future.
48 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Good to hear. Hopefully something can get worked out.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
If he gives us a bit of a hometown discount, I want him here his whole career. He’s always been reliable but he’s nearly 30 and his role is going to change in the next few years. DO NOT OVERPAY as we have for certain aging D-Line players, but give him a fair deal to reward him for his efforts and keep him happy.
agreed
I would love to resign McGee, but he’s not the type of player you break the bank for. He’ll be on the wrong side of 30 next year, and as Brian noted, he’s never going to be thought of as elite.
John I.
I hope he doesn't have Peter's agent :-)
"When troops flee, are insubordinate, collapse, or are routed in battle, it is the fault of the general." – Sun Tzu. Yes Jauron, I am talking to you.
Fantastic news
The price does seem a little high, but if the front load the contract so that his salery diminishes as his age gets higher and his abilities slow (which is inevitable) then I would LOVE for him to spend his entire career as a Bill.
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Aug 27, 2009 9:19 AM EDT reply actions
Signing McGee Means
We can concentrate on non CB’s in the first two rounds of the draft for a couple years. I don’t think Juaron would last the third round without drafting one.
Jauron likes DB like Whitney Houston likes crack. They’ll never admit to it, but it’s so obvious that it’s humiliating.
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Aug 27, 2009 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It would be if Jauron was the one making the pick or putting together the daft board. You know there are other people there, right?
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 27, 2009 10:16 PM EDT up reply actions
No way
This is not buffalos style. They do not pay for veteren corners. Look at all the top corners that have left here – Clements, Winfield, Greer – for big money. There is a reason DJ drafts a lot of DB’s – that is to re-stock the corner position with a limited economic impact. I like McGee, but I would be surprised if the Bill’s sign him to that kind of money. I think He could get a Clements kind of deal if he becomes a free agent. We shall see.
I bet the bills offer little more than 5-6 mil per year down the stretch with good bonus
Chances are they draft a corner or two next year…as well as other players stepping up. Secondly, we will probably need to readdress the pass rush (new regime or not) and that could mean a free agent signing.
Basically, unless McGee, who I see more as a very good 2nd corner in the NFL, does not have a very good playmaking year…the Bills will low ball and McGee will sign somewhere willing to pay him Greer type money….St. Louis maybe or some other crappy team
The Bills CAN win any game
You must have missed the part in Gaughan’s article where it says they’d like to get a deal done by the NE MNF game. :)
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"Our style is simple but not that easy. Roll up your sleeves and play good, solid football." -- Marv Levy
by Brian Galliford on Aug 27, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions
I didn't miss that part, Brian. No way McGee is in a Buffalo uniform next year.
Greg in UT has the evidence: Winfield, Clements, Greer. McGee and his agent have got to see the handwriting on the wall.
It certainly could not be clearer to the average fan that the Bills simply don’t value, and will not pay for, established veteran backfield players.
They will ante up for a promising rookie coming out of the draft, like McKelvin, Whitner or Simpson.
They will low ball a second tier Free Agent for a couple Mil a year.
They are perfectly willing to start all over again with 2 or 3 new 5th, 6th or 7th round rookies every camp.
But they are quite content to let guys like McGee walk if they won’t play ball and lower their contract demands.
Personally I think this is a mistake, but I am skeptical, despite the glowing home-town news reports, that McGee is all that hungry to remain in Buffalo. What this amounts to is a personal cost to his bank account that probably runs to several million dollars. That’s a pretty stiff home-town discount.
It seems quite clear what the Front Office strategy is. McGee can back down, or he can walk.
by Defensewinsgames on Aug 27, 2009 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Yep. I don’t see it that way at all. If that were the ironclad method for making decisions, why did they give McGee an extension in 2005? Pretty much the same group of people, minus Donahoe. Then again, Donahoe was the one who let Winfield go to begin with.
Oh, yeah – we signed Greer to a two-year extension, too. ’Course, that was before he emerged as a legitimate starter.
In all of that, I’m not saying it’s a lock that McGee will stay. Nor am I trying to debunk the idea that the Bills have let corners walk, because they obviously have. But the idea that the Bills WILL let McGee walk, because they ALWAYS let corners walk, is faulty.
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"Our style is simple but not that easy. Roll up your sleeves and play good, solid football." -- Marv Levy
by Brian Galliford on Aug 27, 2009 2:01 PM EDT up reply actions
I think what the Bills always do is refuse to overpay for a position they think they can easily replace, whether or not the market dictates it. Sometimes this can be frustrating (Peters), sometimes it can be justified (Clements).
History says there’s no reason the team will pay McGee the market standard for good corners when they think they can get (or have) someone comparable for cheaper. I’d be surprised if McGee is actually signed, just like I’ll be surprised if McKelvin is kept around — the only chance he stays longer is due to the UFA rules of an uncapped year, I think.
Think you're right. (But then, of course, you're agreeing with me).
And please don’t confuse this with the tired cliche argument that RALPH IS CHEAP. Clearly the Front Office, which reports to Ralph, is willing to pay what the market will bear when they think it’s justified. Lee Evans, exhibit #1.
But somehow defensive backfield guys don’t come under that rubric. I could name several other examples.
The Bills have every right to run the business any way they see fit. Ralph owns it, it’s his money, he can do what he likes.
My point is that it’s frustrating for the average fan, like me, to sit back and watch a valuable player, who makes a significant contribution to the defense – and could continue to do that for several more years – get strung along, only to leave the team for better money. And that’s exactly what they’re doing with McGee. Again.
Something tells me that’s not the way winning franchises do it. I don’t think the Krafts operate this way.
Could it be that this way of handling personnel is one of the reasons this franchise has not won in so many years? If that’s not the reason, I would entertain other theories.
Brian, please don’t kill the messenger.
by Defensewinsgames on Aug 27, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks, but don't worry... I'm about to disagree :)
Clearly the Front Office, which reports to Ralph, is willing to pay what the market will bear when they think it’s justified.
I don’t agree. Evans’ contract is not justified. He’s overpaid. True #1 WRs can beat double teams. Owens has done it his whole life. Evans has not. I think the reason he got the contract that he did was because he was not easily replaceable. The front office knows what they have in Lee, and know he can be a superstar with the right complements. So, they paid him.
Denny’s contract wasn’t justified. Kelsay’s wasn’t. Dockery’s sure as hell wasn’t. I don’t think it’s about justification with OBD, I think it’s about ease of replaceability.
A guy like Clements was simply not worth the $10M a year he was asking for. He would have to be HOF good to justify that money, and he’s not. Especially when they had McGee on the roster. Now McKelvin is on the roster and if McGee wants too much, history says they’ll walk away.
I don’t think the Krafts operate this way.
Branch, Samuel, Hobbs… they’re perfectly willing to let talent walk as well. The difference is that they are better at evaluating and grooming talent within their organization.
smoke and mirrors?
I mean sure they’’d like to get a deal done…but on what terms. If it were solely on theirs (OBD that is) than sure, a reasonable contract right now would be good. BUT it doesn’t make much sense for McGee, especially if he feels he is worth as much scratch as Greer was last year.
Personally, I have seen him be lackluster many times, and although he is solid all around, other than that, he has been absent the big play for quite a while on a consistent basis
The Bills CAN win any game
Good news. I love McGee and he deserves this. I just hope the Bills don’t give him a foolish number, like they did Schobel, Kelsay, and Stroud. He is 29 after all, but a good, reasonable deal makes a ton of sense.
With several promising young players at cornerback, however – including McGee’s fellow starter, Leodis McKelvin – it’s not imperative that the Bills bring McGee back.
Why not? Who do we have? Reggie Corner and Ellis Lankster? Those guys aren’t replacing anyone as a starter, so losing McGee means adding another CB via the Draft or FA again.
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
this is good news
McGee is one of the rare Bills vets, who has been there for a significant amount of time along with Schobel, Kelsay, Denney, Moorman, etc. McGee is a pros pro, and rarely misses games due to injury. He leads by example and goes about his business the right way. I don’t think he’s irreplaceable in anyway, but if you can get him signed before 9/14/09, I’m all for it. Makes sense from a cap standpoint, and this group of DB’s needs a leader, and McGee is that guy
MARVelous - "I went from America's team to North America's Team" Terrell Owens
great point who are these great young corners we have? just because you can play in nickel and dime situations doesn’t mean you’re ready to go up against andre johnson, randy moss, and larry fitzgerald. mcgee might be the best overall player on our defense now and giving him a reasonable deal seems like a no brainer. its not like he’s getting clements money and i don’t think the drop off is that sizeable.
Yup
We’re deep at the nickel corner position with Florence, Corner, Youboty and Lankster. Lankster might be the only one that can develop into a starting corner, and that’s being very, very kind. He has a long ways to go before he’s even close to that level though.
I know I don’t want any of those guys as our starter opposite Leo next year….
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
Agreed. While we have good depth that CB, we don’t have anyone that can step in a replace McGee. So I say that if he wants to end his career as a Bill, and at a reasonable price (6 or 7M) then lets make it happen.
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Aug 27, 2009 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Anybody who wants to remain a Bill when they’d obviously have other offers deserves the money!!!!
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
by Kurupt on Aug 27, 2009 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Haha! Rec’d!
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Aug 27, 2009 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions
You think that that’s why they gave Lee more $$$?
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Aug 27, 2009 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions
If you dont sign McGee you will only have McKelvin, Florence, and Corner next year without using a 1st round pick or going into free agency. If they don’t sign McGee they will either need to pay a first rounder some major money (est 3-5 million a year) or sign a mid-priced free agent for 3-5 million a season. I’d rather pay the 7 (assuming it is not much more) to McGee. Front load it this year. $9 million this year and next followed by 17 over the last 3 years. Kind of like they did with Evans.
However, there are a lot of reasons to wait until the offseason to make this deal.
1. Motivation for McGee to be awesome this year
2. Will Dick Jauron be there coach? If not, maybe our new coach would prefer to spend the money to beef up the front 7 first? All depends on style
3. TO? If he is great do we offer him a deal. (If TO is gone that kinda frees up the 6.5 million we spent on him last year).
4. If Trent plays great we will need money to re-sign him.
I like McGee, but I think we need to see how the season plays out before we pay him big money.
But if you wait out the season McGee has no reason to negotiate with the Bills. If you are a Sabres fan you will remember the odyssey that was Chris Drury leaving town. I don’t want the Bills to make the same mistake. The Bills have Denney’s contract coming off the books next year. They can afford McGee if they want.
They can also afford a new contract for Trent since it won’t be that big of a deal and T.O. will be 36 or whatever. Not exactly a break the bank type of deal. They could make it work… plus as of right now there is no cap next year.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 27, 2009 10:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Show McGee the $$$$
It’s about time the Bills stop developing CB’s only to let them go to other teams because they don’t want to pay. The list is long—Winfield, Burris, Clements, T. Smith, Odomes, Greer of the players that left.
They always have to draft CB’s to replace the one’s lost which hurts other positions in need of an influx of talent. No wonder the Bills always have to move up in the draft by trading extra draft picks to get other positional players….
Yea he was too young to get paid now he will be too old when this contract expires—-baloney!!! McGee should be paid along the lines of what Greer is getting, minimum 10 million up front and 6-7 million per season if not more.
It’s great that the front office is trying to lock him up but I’ll believe it when I see it….
I’ll believe it when I see it….
Haha. It already happened with McGee! This would be the second extension they give him…
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"Our style is simple but not that easy. Roll up your sleeves and play good, solid football." -- Marv Levy
by Brian Galliford on Aug 27, 2009 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions
sign him now
next years draft features a plethora of OTackles. Hmmm if I do recall we lost one of those this year didn’t we? And our pass rush, minus maybin, is not getting any younger. Linebackers minus Pos and Harris are aging quickly. It’s about time we stop moving sideways every offseason and start moving forward. This offseason was definately a step forward, but not signing mcgee is regression. He’s not flashy, but solid and versatile. I hope he’s ballin in B-LO for years to come.
Later Losman!
I think it would be great for them to sign McGee. I definitely think he has at least another 3 years of solid play in him. And right now the CB depth with McGee in there is solid, without it, do you move Florence up? Because he has shown when he isn’t in the nickel his production really suffers.
Also lets say they are grooming Lankster (theoretically) to be a starting corner. It is going to take a couple years at least for him to be at a consistent level for me to like (is he even athletic enough? i really don’t know much about Lankster athletically).
Corner is a solid nickel, but it stops there. And I hope no one is thinking about youboty, because his contract ends as well and with his injury history I am sure the Bills let him walk.
Does anyone else think that McGee looks a lot like Method Man in that pick?
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Aug 27, 2009 1:43 PM EDT reply actions
You’re Canadian. The only rapper you should listen to is Snow.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 27, 2009 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions
LMAO, nice… and I’m a Clash and Ramones guy, I shouldn’t know any rappers at all!
Captain of the "Promote Bob Sanders to Deffensive Coordinator" band wagon.
by CanadianBillsFan on Aug 27, 2009 11:49 PM EDT up reply actions
True.
:-)
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 29, 2009 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions
As long as the dollars don’t get up and over 7 mil per year, then I would give him the money. He’s a really good player and Buffalo doesn’t have much money tied up into the defense in the long term. Guys like Denney and Kelsay are gone pretty soon and Whitner and Schobel probably aren’t far behind.
And I don’t get the whole, the Bills let their CBs walk and draft the replacement, argument. Donahoe let Winfield go. Jauron let’s Clements go sign the biggest contract for a DB ever (and one I’m sure SF has pretty much regretted ever since) and then DJ and co. let Greer walk with a 1st round pick sitting on the bench. I’m not sure how any of those situations are similiar to McGee other than that the guys who have left play CB.
I don’t think Buffalo has any specific position by position strategy. Buffalo will determine that McGee is worth X dollars, start the negotiations lower than that and if they can sign him for what they think is an appropriate value, they will. If they think McGee’s demands aren’t reasonable, they will let him test the market next summer.
Oh yea
And on draft day they’ll be looking to pick another CB instead of upgrading the O-line or D-line.
They can't do both?
The drafted two OL this year and signed another starter. They also used their top pick on a DE. When they picked McKelvin, incidentally, he didn’t start year 1. Something to consider is they gave him time to sit and learn.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 27, 2009 10:33 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree but in the past they had to draft for need to replace DB’s that have left in FA instead of upgrading the lines. They will go into the 2010 draft needing an OT, help on the DL and LB, it would nice being able to go into the draft to grab some of the top players at these positions instead of the endless supply of DB’s. I liked the McKelvin pick but again it was necessary because the FO knew they weren’t going to resign Greer.
I hope they can get it done with McGee, they need to start stock piling blue chip lineman on both sides of the ball to be succesful.
When’s the last time the Bills started a rookie at CB? Clements? If they were planning on McGee leaving wouldn’t they have picked a CB this year or is that Florence?
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 29, 2009 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions
You're kidding, right?
McGee’s main contribution to the Buffalo Bills over the years was his fantastic kickoff returning….which they don’t have him do anymore. As a cornerback, he’s a little bit better than, say, Stevie Wonder, might be.
If an opposing receiver is wide open, chances are pretty good McGee is guarding him. We’ve all seen this for several years. Hello!!!
Get rid of the bum…….he’s brutal.
You must be kidding
How long to you expect a CB to cover a receiver when there is litttle pass rush. Greer got a big contract from the Saints—-McGee is worth more then him. Plus, with the Tampa 2 the CB’s play a soft zone!!!
That’s just not true. You’re entitled to not like him but the only game he was abused last year was the Ted Ginn game when he had a bad groin.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Aug 29, 2009 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m not sure where you’re getting that idea. Usually, last year, if a receiver was wide open, he had burned McKelvin.
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott
by Brian Galliford on Aug 29, 2009 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Buffalo Rumblings
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
