Bills Must Avoid Rookie Camp Holdouts

Signing the other 6 was huge, but these 3 are going to be the most important, obviously… I think that Carrington and Troup will be signed well before camp and Spiller will be right there, or a few days late. I hope to god we dont have another Maybin-like holdout this year… that hurt Maybin alot.

I doubt Troup or Carrington will hold out. If they do, they’re crazy! Those deals should fall into place pretty soon, especially Carrington’s. Both guys come from smaller schools, especially Carrington again, so holding out would really set them back.

As we saw last year, hold outs can really hurt a player. Maybin, Andre Smith, and BJ Raji all had wasted first years buoyed by their holdouts. Michael Crabtree had a good year once he signed, but he missed a third of the season. In 2008, Derrick Harvey held out and has barely had an impact since. JaMarcus Russell held out and his career was a total waste, although that was probably going to happen whether he signed before the draft or when he did.

Another issue is the perception from teammates. I don’t remember there being any outspoken critics of Maybin last year, but I’m sure many players were thinking it. Jacksonville’s Mike Peterson said this about Harvey while he was holding out:

"He’s slotted. I have a hard time understanding what is the problem…To me, basically it’s how bad a guy wants to be in camp to take the high end of the slot or the low end or meet in the middle."

Obviously, vets don’t like seeing rookies do that unless it’s absolutely necessary. They understand it’s a biz, but they also realize that these guys haven’t done squat yet and need to be apart of the team ASAP. Gil Brandt’s agrees and finds the rookie holdout very risky:

NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt, a long-time personnel director for the Cowboys, said of rookie holdouts, "Any player who misses more than three days of camp is taking a serious risk".

Brandt added, "What rookies see at OTAs and minicamps doesn’t compare to what they see at training camp. Everything is accelerated 100 percent". Often rookie holdouts have proven Brandt’s words correct as injuries (hamstrings especially) and missed time often spell disaster to a rookie’s chances of making an impact in year one. A rookie holdout can also sometimes derail their entire NFL career before it even begins. This unfortunate fact was shown by the classic case of former Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Tony Mandarich, who held out for 43 days entering the 1990 NFL season and never really got the traction or learning needed to be a quality offensive lineman in the NFL. Mandarich was dominated from the start of his rookie year to the finish – only played in 9 offensive series — and was eventually released by the Packers after several disappointing seasons.

For Spiller, missing any training camp time might not hurt him as much because of the position he plays, but it will certainly hurt him in terms of speeding up his progress and gaining playing time from Jackson and maybe Lynch. If Spiller wants to not only be a major part of the O (which he should be regardless) right away and the main kick and/or punt returner, missing a chunk of camp isn’t going to help him achieve that. I hope he sees how the holdout can hurt his rookie year progress and potentially set him back permanently. Let’s hope he and the Bills can get the deal done by the end of July….

rec’d

(Our guess is four, but we’ll see.)

Brian has a mouse in his pocket.

My guess is that Suh and McCoy will holdout the longest waiting to see who will want to get more $ since they are playing similar positions. The Rams will probably have Bradford signed by training camp so he doesn’t miss anytime as he is penciled in to start (unlike codiene syrup boy Russell from 3 years ago, where it took him to the first part of the season to finally sign… what a joke he is!)

I would guess Bryant will be a long holdout too (like Crabtree last year) and will want starter money or something.

Finally whichever rookie that has Eugene Parker as their agent (I wonder if it will be any of the OT’s taken?) will be a long holdout too.

Spiller… signs on Day 6 of training camp.

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2010/3/2/1243643/history-of-the-ninth-overall-pick

“the Bills will pay any non-QB they draft at No. 9 $5.22M a year. A five year, $26.1M contract is about what you would expect.”

Make it happ’n, cap’n.

This organization must make it clear how important it is for Spiller to be here from the onset of camp.

What do Arrelious Benn, Jimmy Clausen, Everson Griffen, Taylor Mays, Jason Taylor, Dwight Freeney, Terrell Suggs, Keith Bulluck, Antonio Cromartie, Elvis Dumervil, Darren Sproles

and C.J. Spiller have in common?

As I’ve tried to explain in the past, Spiller holding out of camp is going to be a bigger deal than Lynch missing OTAs. While its not a given Spiller will hold out, I think its dang close to be being so. Lynch will have plenty of time to make up ground and make a good impression on the coaches while Spiller is missing time. Lynch is also a veteran, and Spiller will have a tougher adjustment period when he does get into camp. Top ten picks are very hard to get into camp on time, especially when they come with the playmaking pedigree of a CJ Spiller. I’m curious how patient the fanbase will be with Spiller if/when he holds out? I can only hope the kids good personality and make-up can help him override his agents advice.

So true but the NFLPA likes it that way, they figure the more the rookies make the more the vets will eventually get. To me it seems the rookies keep getting more and only a small % of vets get the large contracts.

but i’m curious to see how difficult it would be for Buffalo to agree to terms with a top 3 pick next season, especially if that pick is a QB or LT. We all clamor for the next big thing, but having that thing agree and feel compensated by this organization might not prove as easy as drafting them.

Thinking about this really has me hopeful that one of these QBs—one of these LTs on the roster, will pan out.