The Gregory Rousseau, Boogie Basham thread

[BillsGuy82]

We'll all be following our new DL additions good or bad. Might as well direct our chat here long term.

Rousseau to be mentored by Bruce Smith 😁

[Uncle Buck]

That's a really nice pair of bookend pass rushers.  Lots of potential, and it doesn't get much better than having Bruce Smith as a mentor.  Best of luck with them Bills fans!

[soflbillsfan]

I dont think Beane was expecting to land Basham. Apparently he had a trade offer that would slide them to round 3 with extra picks however he said there is one guy on the board and if he slides to me we are taking him which was the case. I doubt he went in to this expecting to land back to back pass rushers. The interesting news now will be who is the odd man out?

You have Mario Addison on a 1 year deal in which could clear 5.3 mil as a post june 1st cut.
You have Jerry Hughes who had showed the most pressures on the team last year and has been consistent #1 pass rusher for this team for several years so I would be surprised if he is let go but he would clear the most cap if doing so.
Aj Epenesa is going on year 2 of his 4 year deal, being drafted in the 2nd rd I do not see his spot being a risk and I think that Beane is hoping he will come in to his own.
Efe Obada came in on a 1 year 1.5 mil deal this offseason, they pursued him before the draft when he could have been available after the draft so they seemed intrigued by him and would like to see what he can do.
People would think that Daryl Johnson would be the odd man out however still on a rookie deal through 2022 season and being a ST stud I think he will be the one to stick around as he was able to contribute more so on the ST but also came in at times for depth purposes.
Bryan Cox Jr and Brandin Bryant seem to be camp bodies and possibly fighting for PSquad spots.

If the bills stick with what they did last year with 6 DE you have to think Rousseau, Basham, Epenesa, Johnson, Hughes, and Obada are the guys they go with while letting Mario go in the up coming weeks if they want to clear the cap to get another contributor at a different position. If they are happy with what they got then they may wait until preseason is over to let him go if they are confident in the 2 rookies. 

I cant fathom Beane making another mistake like he did last year in which he held on to Murphy rather then cutting him to clear cap space in which they could have used this offseason so I hope if he believes in the 2 youngsters to commit to them and let Addison walk so they can have extra cap space for protection during the season or to roll over in 2022.

Edited May 3, 2021 by soflbillsfan

[BillsGuy82]

Gonna be interesting what they do.. I dont see us dropping Jerry Hughes at this point. With Lotuleilei back in the mix would Vernon Butler maybe? Maybe give Epenesa/Rousseau reps inside. 

[Uncle Buck]

Do you guys run a 4-3 or a 3-4?  I was really hoping to get Rousseau in Jacksonville, where we run a 3-4.  We have already have two EDGE rushers who we took high in the draft the last two years (Josh Allen - 7th overall, and K'Lavon Chaisson - 20th overall). 

I wouldn't want either of those guys to be relegated to the bench, but was instead thinking that Rousseau might be able to add some weight and play up on the line with his hand on the ground.  If you can add him to a lineup that already has two good EDGE rushers, you could really end up with a deadly pass rush.  Just a thought.  I'm not sure if that would be a possibility in Buffalo.

[soflbillsfan]

3 hours ago, BillsGuy82 said:

Gonna be interesting what they do.. I dont see us dropping Jerry Hughes at this point. With Lotuleilei back in the mix would Vernon Butler maybe? Maybe give Epenesa/Rousseau reps inside. 

If anyone would be taking away from reps on the inside I think it would be Basham as he is at 280 but will likely drop to 275 which he is comfortable doing Epenesa may have to put on weight again, as I heard he dropped to the 250-260 range prior to the season last year in efforts to gain speed. Butler is meant to be a 3tech DT to play behind oliver and should go back to that position now that Star is back. Basham is an ideal LDE while Rousseau is on the smaller end even though he is 6'6-6'7 he is only 265 which is ideal for the RDE. I think that Mcdermott will take advantage of moving people across the line but majority should be Rousseau oliver star basham from right to left.

Butler's contract would only clear 1.8 mil in cap space if cut

[soflbillsfan]

3 hours ago, Uncle Buck said:

Do you guys run a 4-3 or a 3-4?  I was really hoping to get Rousseau in Jacksonville, where we run a 3-4.  We have already have two EDGE rushers who we took high in the draft the last two years (Josh Allen - 7th overall, and K'Lavon Chaisson - 20th overall). 

I wouldn't want either of those guys to be relegated to the bench, but was instead thinking that Rousseau might be able to add some weight and play up on the line with his hand on the ground.  If you can add him to a lineup that already has two good EDGE rushers, you could really end up with a deadly pass rush.  Just a thought.  I'm not sure if that would be a possibility in Buffalo.

Bills are said to be a 4-3 but they are more of a 4-2-5 Rousseau will be playing with his hand in the ground majority of the time but in certain packages I could see him rushing from the LB position to throw off opposing teams. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in there at SLB while hughes and epenesa/basham are coming off the ends

[hrubes20]

Not very happy that you guys were able to land Boogie Basham.  I think he's going to terrorize my Fins for years.

[Trentwannabe]

I think Hughes and Addison are both on the roster this season unless Rousseau and/or Epenesa really show something in camp. McDermott has shown he values the veteran presence and wants to rotate. 
 

Right now I think we keep 5 at DE. The two rookies, Epenesa and the two veterans in Hughes/Mario. Only way we keep a 6th is if we only keep 3 IDT which seems unlikely.

[soflbillsfan]

4 minutes ago, Trentwannabe said:

I think Hughes and Addison are both on the roster this season unless Rousseau and/or Epenesa really show something in camp. McDermott has shown he values the veteran presence and wants to rotate. 
 

Right now I think we keep 5 at DE. The two rookies, Epenesa and the two veterans in Hughes/Mario. Only way we keep a 6th is if we only keep 3 IDT which seems unlikely.

So we cut Obada who we just signed and Daryl Johnson who has been a solid contributor on ST, still on a rookie deal and a solid big man rotation? I just dont know. I think Addison is gone there is no justification to keep him at the moment other then he is a veteran. To me this is the whole Trent Murphy situation a year prior and if they have a full offseason which is expected I really do hope they realize that the youth on the team needs to be on the field more so then a 34 year old pass rusher, and clearing 2.1 mil in which they currently only have 3.2 mil is beneficial as well. The cap may have a ceiling of 208 next year but based on the 2022 the bills will be at 201 and that does not count for Rousseau's contract. The 2.1 mil extra plus the 3.2 projected would put the bills around 5.3 mil in cap space which may not be much but that could be a nice roll over amount to look to use in 2022 or find a player that can fill a different positional need. As that would put them around 12 mil before any cuts or extension/restructures. 

[Trentwannabe]

1 hour ago, soflbillsfan said:

So we cut Obada who we just signed and Daryl Johnson who has been a solid contributor on ST, still on a rookie deal and a solid big man rotation? I just dont know. I think Addison is gone there is no justification to keep him at the moment other then he is a veteran. To me this is the whole Trent Murphy situation a year prior and if they have a full offseason which is expected I really do hope they realize that the youth on the team needs to be on the field more so then a 34 year old pass rusher, and clearing 2.1 mil in which they currently only have 3.2 mil is beneficial as well. The cap may have a ceiling of 208 next year but based on the 2022 the bills will be at 201 and that does not count for Rousseau's contract. The 2.1 mil extra plus the 3.2 projected would put the bills around 5.3 mil in cap space which may not be much but that could be a nice roll over amount to look to use in 2022 or find a player that can fill a different positional need. As that would put them around 12 mil before any cuts or extension/restructures. 

It’s not like Obada was some high priced FA we brought in. It was a one year deal with $800k guaranteed. Him not making the team shouldn’t be a surprise. I like Johnson but at some point you need to be more than a special teams player. Bills drafting 3 DE in two years should tell you what the staff thinks of him as a pass rusher.

The Bills cutting Addison would be 4.8 million in dead money. Not going to happen. It’s not the same situation as Murphy because Addison is cheaper than he was and a productive starter. Murphy was a bad contract paired with a bad offseason for the NFL and Epenesa. 

[BillsGuy82]

I also think we roll with 5 DE unless Epenesa breaks out and has a big camp. Easing Rousseau into things would be our best option and Basham might get reps inside should 3 and long situations arise 

[BillsGuy82]

Basham could prove to be a much better Quinton Jefferson 

[soflbillsfan]

4 hours ago, Trentwannabe said:

It’s not like Obada was some high priced FA we brought in. It was a one year deal with $800k guaranteed. Him not making the team shouldn’t be a surprise. I like Johnson but at some point you need to be more than a special teams player. Bills drafting 3 DE in two years should tell you what the staff thinks of him as a pass rusher.

The Bills cutting Addison would be 4.8 million in dead money. Not going to happen. It’s not the same situation as Murphy because Addison is cheaper than he was and a productive starter. Murphy was a bad contract paired with a bad offseason for the NFL and Epenesa. 

To me I dont think the team will care about the dead cap for addison. I just dont see the appeal to keeping him even if its a dead cap what does he offer at age 34 that the younger guys cant? Epenesa, Rousseau, Basham, and Hughes seem like locks. Hughes has been a vet that people say is good to have but he has also had higher production of rushing the qb then anyone on the team. 4 of the 5 sacks addison had were based on the pocket already broken down and the qb was scrambling which any pass rusher can claim an easy sack like that. Its not like he is getting to the passer fast enough to cause the qb to make mistakes he is . I just dont see his worth on this roster, he was average at best. He isnt a leader or voice on the team as he was a newbie last year and the guys talking along that defense are guys like Hughes, Hyde, Poyer, Tre, edmunds, and milano, so the extra voice of veteran leadership doesnt need to be there. Its not like we have a JJ Watt, or a Aaron Donald on the team that can sit there and show the young ones their technique. Just cause he is cheaper then Murphy doesnt mean its still acceptable to keep him. 

I think drafting 3 DE in two years should tell you more about Mario and Murphy being  bad FA acquisitions and it also shows they want to go younger. People can knock special teams but that is what keeps the game in the teams favor is field position and making plays at that time. He is a good depth move and that is why we do not run with 3 RBs cause of guys like Taiwan Jones or the 6th wr the last couple years was Andre Roberts or why Matakevich is getting paid 3 mil to solely play ST. 

As for Obada you are right they could let him go and free up 700k but right now I do not see one clear cut pass rusher on this team that is separates them from the rest and wouldnt be shocked if Addison is the one on the chopping block. We will see though, right now that 4+ mil in cap space of letting murphy go would be nice right now and I would hate to say it about addison at this time next year, so hopefully I am wrong if he is kept.

Edited May 28, 2021 by soflbillsfan

[Trentwannabe]

The way Beane talked about Addison immediately after the draft makes me seriously doubt he is going anywhere. IMO Rousseau and Basham would have to really over achieve in training camp to warrant a move. I think those selections were more about a new DL era in 2022 and beyond then they are about this season.