Schefter: Bills To Release Aaron Schobel Wednesday

I don’t get releasing him either, especially when they were fairly clear that that wasn’t happening the other day. The only thing I can think of is that Nix/Wilson feel like helping out a guy who played here for so long.

I cant believe they would release him. At least look for a trade, I am at work right now and I just want to swear up a storm…this is crazy. If this comes back to bite us this season its going to suck really bad. I wouldn’t count one of the AFC east teams to look at him I know they all play 3-4 but you never know

We were going to have to sever ties with him sooner and later. and The chances of getting anything decent in return was slim. He has served the Bills well, but we just free’d up a lot of room and ended this drama.

Yep, pretty much sums up Buffalo.

Schobel’s contract really is only an issue if Buffalo tries to trade him to a team that Schobel doesn’t want to play for. If Buffalo could have traded him to a team Schobel wanted to go to, Schobel and the other team could have agreed to a new contract. Schobel’s current contract was basically just a way for him to veto being traded to Oakland.

make him freaking retire. he signed the contract extension in 07, when the team was bad, and the team is still bad. letting him manhandle us like this isn’t a very good sign, imo. It sets a bad precedent.

That’s terrible….I mean at least “explore or be open to trade offers”….basically Buffalo just gave up and didn’t want this distraction interferring with their camp but still it would have been nice to get something out of it

I’m not going to freak out because we’re not in the front office and have no idea on the discussions that they have had with other teams.

Other than that – it is curious and I expect Nix to be asked the question at some point in an interview. So I will be patient and wait for his response.

If it’s not what I want to hear then I will freak out, but I do feel that his contract prohibitive for trading. But that doesn’t mean that something couldn’t get worked out.

Even if they ultimately got nothing for him, you still hold on to him and make any potential suitor wait. I agree that it looks as this point to just be Nix and Gailey wanting to be finished with a headache. This is why GMs get paid the big bucks. Unless there’s something we don’t know, this is ridiculous.

Schobel did meet with Ralph Wilson at some point after last season, I believe. Maybe the old man got sentimental and decided to cut Schobel loose. If so, let’s hope his sentimentalism extends to something like keeping the Bills in WNY after he departs this earth.

The other day I was impressed with how the front office was handling this situation…

I hope I don’t have to eat my words, but if this is true, looks like Nix is fixing me a plate…

This is just nuts.

If Schobel had reported to the Bills (or even threatened to report), he’d have to come off the Did Not Report list and put on the active roster. Additionally, I seem to remember that he had some sort of roster bonus ($2 million maybe?) due 3/1 of this year, which I believe the Bills would have to pay as soon as 1) he was on the active roster, and 2) he passed his physical. Therefore, if he shows up and passes his physical, he meets the conditions of the roster bonus. This is why I believe the Bills cut him—they couldn’t find a trade partner and they wanted to save the $2 million roster bonus.

Unrelated to Nix at all, but still relevant: how RIDICULOUS does Schobel’s seven-year, $50.5M extension in August 2007 look now?!

Play hardball with Lynch to show the players you mean business, but let Schobel play his game with you and win! This is ridiculous and CHIX just lost some of my respect/approval.

I hope Schobel does play a couple more years, doesn’t make the playoffs and watches the Bills make it to the playoffs during that period, the years he was contracted to play here.

Normally a team will put a player on waivers, then the very worst team to the best team get to put a claim in if they want him. Is this not in effect or can the Bills by-pass waivers and just give Schobel is outright release????

.

if we are to let this guy walk and get nothing. At least force his hand….. don’t release him until he makes the “bad guy” move and shows up but won’t play. Giving away assets is a sure fire way to run your business into the ground.

ps, this is why i consider this a major embarrasment (via pft, think of it what you may):

After insisting that Schobel would not be released, the Bills now reportedly plan to simply set him free. (For those of you who wonder why the team has been so mediocre-to-bad lately, we hope you’re paying attention right now.)

and in the comments:

Let’s go Buffalo. To Toronto.
It’s sad to watch a franchise with such a rich history tank year after year. I’m not even a Buffalo fan and it bothers me. I can only imagine what the folks who root for this amateur organization must go through. My condolences…

The Bills are the biggest joke in the NFL. Raiders fans can rejoice that they no longer hold that title/bear that burden.

you can talk all the junk about PFT that you want, but this is the national image of the Bills, and this situation makes it a bunch worse.

Not a big deal to me. There was no trade market for him because he barely wants to play this year let alone beyond that. Had he never openly said he was considering retiring we might have been able to sneak a trade through but once he did what team is going to give up anything substantial for him with him only playing one year? Neither side has played hard ball to this point and for Nix to start now would be a bit of a dick move. They are taking the high road with a player who has done nothing but earn the right to be treated this way. I believe him when he says its a family issue more then anything and I don’t see the Pat’s offering more then 8 million to play out of his normal position. It’s not like its simply a contract issue where he’s not making enough and wants out of town to the next highest bidder. I’d rather this F.O. earn and keep a reputation that if you earn it they treat you right and if not Lynch is your example of what happens when you haven’t earned it.

That Schobel might sign with the Pats, because derrick burgess and they already tried another OLB earlier. I hope this dosn’t happen because i hate the pats.

As many have said they didn’t want to pay his roster bonus.

As far as trading his $6 million base salary… ? I thought they could pay a portion of it to make a trade more palatable? Then you are essentially buying a draft pick, and an expensive one at that, but this is also an uncapped season.

No. It seems pretty clear to me this was purely a money decision.

I’m trying to rationalize. Rather than make the ubiquitous ‘ralph is cheap’ remark, I think it tells us all about where the Bills think they are: far from competing (no sense in spending even if there are no lingering effects on cap.)

Go Bills?

he’s already damaged his value by not showing up and playing his word games for the last eight months. Plus he’s getting paid a salary the Bills were suckered into negotiating because they felt he was really a team player so who would want to pay that amount for an above average aging pass rusher? The Bills could either be vindictive and as unprofessional as Shobel was and hold on to him just for the hell of it or take the higher road and get rid of someone who didn’t give a damn about the team or fans anyway. I commend them on making the right decision.

They might want to use the extra cash to land a player they need?(LT?)

And reading some great responses here, I’d have to believe a few things:

1. Schobel wants to play
2. He wants to play close to home and/or for a winner
3. The Bills want the situation/any drama resolved ASAFP.

I think most will agree with those. Now I would have to believe that more likely than not:

4. The Bills didn’t care to entertain offers
OR
5. Schobel’s contract is too much of a hindrance for any trade.

I think the former is more likely. Schobel could always work a trade to a team of his choice, AND agree to a revised contract involving a pay cut. I really don’t think the Bills wanted to bother working a trade for him, for whatever reason. The timing of the release seems to be a real indication of that to me. If my hunch is true, Nix should get a big fat stamp of disapproval for the handling of this situation. I really want to give him the benefit of the doubt here, but signs point to him “punting on 3rd down”. Prove us wrong Buddo!

but signs point to him "punting on 3rd down"

Between the player cutting and coaches firing last season, to the coaching snubs from the big names coaches like Cowher, Shanahan, and Gruden, to the NFL Free Agency Snub by McNabb, now we are dealing with one of the last draft picks holding out on us and veterans that don’t want to play for us anymore that were faces of our franchise.

When does it all end??? Hopefully with a winning record and playoff berth in a few years.

Schobel should be the one to suffer over this not the Bills. The OBD should keep there stance of retirement or trade. I am always held to any contracts I sign why should he be different. And I don’t take Sheftler’s reporting as always truth. He’s a bad reporter as far as I am concerned.

As you stated this makes NO sense. We have to cover his contract, we don’t get anything for him, and he is open on the market (Bills cannot hand pick his landing location). We could have negotiated a trade for him and paid some of his salary, couldn’t we? (I actually don’t know, but it happens in baseball all the time). Then we wouldn’t be on the hook for all of his guaranteed money.

Great the poor get poorer.

Buddy Nix has made a few highly questionable moves to me
- Not tendering Incognito (should have tendered/traded him)
- Not re-signing Josh Reed (this guy produced and our WR corp is VERY week past Evans)
- Not providing ANY answer at Left Tackle
- Not providing ANY answer at Quarterback
- Signing Green (goes against everything “the plan” stands for… Old, fill in the void guy).

I am sure you guys will defend him tooth and nail, but what has he done for us lately? Is Gaither on our team yet!?!??!

Are the Bills required contractually to compensate Schobel even though he was not on the active roster and did not report to camp. It seems to me unless Schobel had something in his contract that required us to pay him even though he did not report there would be no reason to release him outright. Why not force his hand to retire or trade with the Texans if he wants to play there so bad. That being said I would hate to see Schobel take his unrestricted free agent status and sign with someone in the division….Patriots. It’s unlikely I know, but crazier things have happened. Hence, Brett Farve playing for the Vikings

but honestly now i don’t care.

He obviously wants to play and not for us. He has had a good career for us and now wants to be close to home and on a team with a chance to win some games and maybe make it to the playoffs (not that i think the Texans will make it to the playoffs, because i don’t).

I also do not think that he would have been that big of a contributor for us in the 3-4 system. Nix and Gailey are evaluating this team this year and looking for the future. Schobel would only take away playing time away from young guys that can either plays or not. If we were looking to play for a super bowl this year, we would probably not have drafted C.J and we would probably have signed more FA’s.