Buffalo Bills, Stevie Johnson No Closer On Contract Extension, Per Report

the two sides have talked, but have not formally negotiated terms on a new deal for Johnson.

Glass half full: Theyve been talking since Nix’ presser.

Glass half empty: There is still no deal.

I dont think its a huge issue yet, but I hope something gets done before FA because I really dont want him “Testing the market.” A team will overpay for him, and there would be a good chance he could/would leave. Especially because his teams back home, Oakland and SF, are in need of WR’s… And Stevie Johnson could be very good for those types of teams.

but this year’s off-season seems to be really dragging. Perhaps it’s because I got too used to the excitement and allure of the No. 3 overall pick last year. What do you think?

I second this. This year for whatever, the offseason does seem to be dragging itse;f out.

If this adminstration wants to distance itself from the past adminstrations over the last 12 years it needs to resign a player that they have developed into a productive member of the squad. If they let him walk away I will feel that it is business as usual at OBD!! One suggestion show the broken down Merriman the door and use his salary to help pay for Stevie J…

the offseason does seem to be dragging itself out.

It’s probably because the Bills are out of playoff contention by week 13 and the draft is our outlet to look forward too..

.

The Bills made what they felt was a good offer in attempt to keep Posluszny in Buffalo, but the free agent linebacker just chose to go in another direction. “Nothing surprises me in this business,” said Nix. “All you can say about ‘Why did it’ would be speculation. I know we tried to keep him. I know it wasn’t money. You’d have to ask him what his reasons were, and I don’t know that either.”
The Front office made what they thought was a competitive offer for Paul Posluszny and Buddy Nix was quoted saying he was “MUST HAVE PLAYER.” I am very Suspicious of Buddy’s words “We made what we want to keep Stevie Johnson”….
Anyone else feeling the "Déjà vu" that I am?

We cant let this guy get away!

The Sr Bowl is finally here, so I am excited to get a good look at some of the top Srs in action. If last year is any indication, several of these guys will be Bills. Also, the SB is still to come. I am avoiding the coverage, but looking forward to the game. How can a Bills fan not be excited about the opportunity to see Brady get the snot kicked out of him?? Add to that the Peyton Manning situation, which is highly entertaining, and the implosion of the Jets and Fins…..what more do you want? Also, I know Free Agency is coming before the draft. So while the Bills will most likely come out on the losing end of it again, it still makes for some good drama.

To the, “Stevie asked for 7.5 mill/year,” in the middle of the season talk?
Has that story been confirmed or debunked by now?

Because if it true, you gotta think…..just more incompetence at the Ralph…..

Because of the playoffs that is fer sure….

Great games this year…..although I was sickening seeing all the ex-Bills…..

And we never did see….GB vs. NO….

Wahooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

And do you have a link?

I’m wondering what signing Johnson means for Buffalo’s ability to spend to the cap. e.g.: does signing Johnson put Buffalo out of any potential to acquire Mario Williams? That’s kind of what I’m thinking right now.

As far as I’ve researched, Buffalo has spend $95M on players for 2012. The cap was about $121M. The new rookie class comes in at about $10-11M. With the 2011 money, and the 2012 rookie class, Buffalo has $15M in cap room. They’d need almost all of it to sign Williams. The cap would have to go up significantly for Buffalo to afford both Johnson and Williams.

I wonder if the delays on Johnson are intentional, because Nix knows that signing Johnson puts Buffalo on the sidelines for impact free agents.

Again, this argument is based off old data, so if you’ve got a link to 2012 data, please post it. Thanks.

What makes being a Bills’ fan so tough (among other things) is that we a lot of cap space on the cupboard again last year. I am not sure how much because I don’t know how much of fitzy’s and Kyle’s contact went against last
Year’s cap.
My point being, if Stevie was reasonable and signed last year they could of put a lot of it against last year’s cap……
And things would look a lot better now.
Espn ran a afc east story recently (I don’t have the link) but they said we are in pretty good shape. I think they said Miami is too, but a little worse than us. It definitely said the Jets are screwd and…. Oh, it just makes me sick…but they said the Pats are in the best shape cap-wise and that is just awful truth about our ugly ineptitude.

I know you’re are just trying to help but they have Brady which is huge. Then the O-line, established and maybe the best. This is also huge (brady’s big reason for dominating)
Wlelker, the TEs, and the Wilfork and the other D-line guys.
How many great players do we have that have had multiple above average seasons?

But I do love the misses the pats have been having…..

The offseason drags every year, for me.

It seems (to me) that if the season ends and an impending free agent is still unsigned, odds are pretty good that player will at least test the market.

I can’t imagine Stevie signing a contract offer now from the Bills, when in about a month he can field offers from all teams.

I’m more excited for this draft than I have been for a long time because I can see Buffalo’s roster taking shape and the team needs are very evident. If Buffalo is diligent in re-signing their own, the off-season plan of attack is very simple: upgrade the pass rush, upgrade wide receiver talent. In this year’s draft (and likely free agent pool), they’ll be in position to do both. The draft process has a WAYS to go, but if players land where I think they will, Buffalo could easily get a slam dunk pass rusher (in Courtney Upshaw or Melvin Ingram), and a decent prospect at wide receiver (I’m hopeful Alshon Jeffrey slips due to a senior slump, but guys like Brian Quick or T.Y. Hilton would be excellent 3rd round candidates). Can’t wait to start evaluating these guys… I watched a lot of footage of Brian Quick and he has potential to develop into a Brandon Marshall type of player but with much better ball skills. Not to mention we may upgrade WR automatically if Marcus Easely can see the field.

I’d be interested in someone’s opinion on Mario Williams. I don’t catch a ton of Texans games so I was wondering if they actually allow him to play LB, or is he more in the sense their version of Chris Kelsay, essentially playing exclusively a DE role? Also, does he have the mentality to possibly play the 5 technique on the rare occasions Buffalo uses 5-tech DE’s? I’d honestly rather have a guy like Cliff Avril because he’s a better pure pass rusher, and has the athleticism to learn LB, but Williams seems like he could be entering his prime, kind of like when Jared Allen left the Chiefs for Minnesota.

Avril would be free right? And he also could be hitting his prime…..

Williams would call for compensation right?

Losing Johnson would be yet another terrible setback for one of the worst-run franchises in North American sports. This roster is already so bereft of talent to begin with- losing Johnson would just make another hole to fill on a ship that sprung countless leaks in crashing to a pathetic 1-8, last place finish. I see no other way around this- Johnson must be retained and the financial commitment to salaries in 2012 should be raised significantly overall. The excuses are over with in 2012- the hand-holding is over and done with for Chix and ownership.

So let’s get this superbowl thing out of the way so we can start dreaming about these great new young players that will push the Bills over the edge next year!

(I recommend watching “Team Turnarounds” on NFL network)

I will not be in the least surprised to see Nix let Johnson depart. I will be disgusted, though not at all surprised, to see Johnson sign on with an AFC East team and spend the next several years torching the Bills twice per season.