Audi Forum » The All-Pro rusher hasn’t played in a season

Youth Taron Johnson Jerseys , but he is a clear top talent in the free-agent market"Heading into the 2019 NFL season, there are only three running backs under contract who are at least 30 years old. The Buffalo Bills employ two of them. Chris Ivory, who turns 31 on March 22, is the oldest running back under contract for next season, and LeSean McCoy, who turns 31 in July, is the second-oldest. Given that both rushers combined to rush 276 times for only 899 yards and four touchdowns, it’s not a stretch to say that the Bills need an influx of youth at the position.With a free-agent market loaded with potential impact players, the Bills could absolutely decide to address the position on the open market. The danger, of course, comes with having to pay top-dollar for a position no longer considered to be one worthy of premium investment. If the Bills want to make a top-level signing, then they could look no further than the biggest name of them all: Le’Veon Bell.The former second-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers just turned 27, and he is coming off of two insanely productive seasons. In his last two seasons, Bell’s averaged a “slash line” of 291/1,280/8. He averaged 80 receptions, 636 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns, as well. Given those numbers, Bell feels that he should be the league’s highest-paid running back, and he very well may be after free agency this year.One big problem with his last two seasons, however, is that the 2018 season isn’t one of them. Bell didn’t miss the year because of injury, of course, as he instead decided to sit out as a result of the Steelers having used the franchise tag on him for the second consecutive season. Bell has not played football since January 14 Taron Johnson Jerseys Stitched , 2018, a 45-42 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in which he carried the ball 16 times for 67 yards and caught nine passes for 88 yards. He added two touchdowns—one rushing and one receiving—in the losing effort.Should the Bills pursue Bell as their replacement for LeSean McCoy and Chris Ivory? Here is the tale of the tape.Scheme FitBell is an incredibly patient runner. He waits for lanes to develop and hits holes hard. He is equally comfortable bouncing outside as he is slamming between the tackles. In Pittsburgh’s zone blocking scheme, he flourished, averaging 4.5 yards per carry since Mike Munchak was hired as offensive line coach in 2014. Munchak’s preference for an outside-zone scheme allows a back to cut inside the tackle or outside of the tight end, and a back with elite vision like Bell can do a tremendous amount of damage. With new Bills offensive line coach Bobby Johnson a disciple of Joe D’Alessandris and Dave DeGuglielmo, men who preferred zone-blocking schemes, Bell would be a natural fit in the offense.Dual-ThreatBell is one of the best backs in the game when it comes to acting as a receiver. He has 312 receptions for 2,660 yards in his 62 NFL games. For comparison’s sake, LeSean McCoy, who is also a great receiver out of the backfield, has 475 receptions and 3,616 receiving yards in his career—which includes 147 games. Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, ran plenty of empty sets last season with rookie quarterback Josh Allen, and a dual-threat running back like Bell would help to create brutal match-ups for defenses. Conditioning and Motivation an Issue?It has to be a consideration, right? On the positive end, Bell hasn’t taken a hit in an NFL game in over a year, which is a good thing considering he has already racked up 1,541 regular-season touches in his NFL career. On the other hand, Bell hasn’t had to prepare for a football season since the 2017 offseason, and recent reports suggested that he may have weighed as much as 260 pounds at some point during his time away from the game. While Bell’s trainer has disputed that notion, and Bell has made light of it, there is legitimate concern about his being in “football shape,” especially given his desire to earn a huge paycheck. Speaking of that paycheck Adolphus Washington Jerseys 2019 , should teams be concerned that Bell was willing to miss an entire year when his team, the Steelers, were viewed by many as one of the only legitimate challengers for the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots? There are plenty of instances from history where a players earns a huge paycheck, becomes complacent, and ceases to perform at the level that helped him to earn that check in the first place. Given the success of his replacement, James Conner, in 2018 (215 carries, 973 yards, 12 touchdowns, 55 receptions, 497 yards, one touchdown), it’s a valid question to wonder whether Bell is worth the money he thinks he’s worth.What Will He Cost?Great question. Bell reportedly wants more than $17 million per season, as he reportedly turned down a five-year deal worth $70 million before last season began. It’s also been reported that he wants more than $45 million guaranteed, which would top the guaranteed money amount given to Todd Gurley by the Los Angeles Rams. In short, Bell will cost a tremendous amount of money, unless a market for him at the rate he desires never materializes, an unlikely scenario given his proven track record and tremendous talent.A record-breaking contract for a running back is not out of the question for Bell, and if the Bills want him, they’ll have to use a big chunk of their cap resources in order to acquire him. This is not a path that I would recommend, as a team with as many needs as the Bills have can more judiciously spend their dollars to improve. Bell would be a splashy signing, for sure, but he wouldn’t necessarily be a smart signing. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills cut Kelvin Benjamin with four weeks left in the season in an indication of how poorly the receiver underperformed during his 13 months with the team.The move http://www.thebillslockerroom.com/authentic-doug-flutie-jersey , announced by the Bills on Tuesday, came as a surprise only in its timing for a player who was not expected to be re-signed by the team once his contract expired following this season.Benjamin had just 23 catches on 62 targets for 354 yards and one touchdown, and was knocked for several drops as well as running poor routes this season.He has topped 50 yards receiving just once — a five-catch, 71-yard outing in a 37-5 loss at Indianapolis in October — and finished with two or fewer catches nine times in 12 games this season.That wasn’t the type of production the Bills were expecting from the 2014 first-round draft pick they acquired in a trade with Carolina on Oct. 31, 2017.Rather than re-establish himself as a top threat following three-plus inconsistent seasons in Carolina, Benjamin wound up being surpassed on the Bills depth chart by second-year receiver Zay Jones, rookie Robert Foster and Isaiah McKenzie, who was claimed on waivers last month.Benjamin had a combined three catches for 52 yards in his past three games.Buffalo also cut veteran receiver Andre Holmes, who was mostly used on special teams, and placed starting center Russell Bodine on injured reserve. Bodine broke his leg in a 21-17 loss at Miami on Sunday.The Bills (4-8), who host the New York Jets (3-9) on Sunday, filled two of the roster spots by promoting defensive end Mike Love and cornerback Denzel Rice from their practice squad.Benjamin’s work ethic was questioned.Before a 20-13 loss at Houston on Oct. 14, a television reporter tweeted an exchange she said she overheard during pregame warmups. The reporter tweeted Benjamin said no when rookie quarterback Josh Allen asked him if he wanted to work on routes.Benjamin and the Bills refuted the story.Four days later, Benjamin was the first receiver off the field following practice while others spent additional time working out with then-backup quarterback Nathan Peterman.Benjamin’s departure comes as the Bills continue grooming Allen, who will make his third start after missing four games with a sprained right throwing elbow. Allen has a 3-4 record and showed significant signs of improvement by going a combined 26 of 52 for 391 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in his past two games.At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Benjamin was selected with the 28th pick by Carolina and immediately showed signs of promise by finishing his rookie season with 73 catches for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns — all career bests. He missed all of the 2015 season with a knee injury and then began having difficulty re-establishing himself as the Panthers’ top receiving threat.Benjamin eventually grew frustrated with his role and demanded out of Carolina, which prompted the Panthers to trade him to Buffalo for third- and seventh-round draft picks.Overall, he has 207 catches for 2,995 yards and 20 touchdowns in 58 games.