Charles Clay signed by Bills, becomes 4th highest paid TE in league. (1 Viewer)

[-CE-]

5 years, $38MM. 50%+ of his contract is guaranteed.

Rotoworld:

Bills signed TE Charles Clay, formerly of the Dolphins, to a five-year, $38 million contract with $20 million guaranteed.

The Dolphins refused to match the exorbitant offer sheet, instead letting Clay, 26, head to Western New York. Miami recently signed Jordan Cameron to a two-year, $15 million deal and is happy with Dion Sims behind him. In Buffalo, Clay replaces Scott Chandler as the starter, but can do a lot more than his predecessor as a "move" tight end with the ability to line up in multiple spots. Still, making Clay the league's fourth-highest paid tight end at $7.6 annually and guaranteeing a whopping 52.6 percent of his contract is a questionable call by the Bills.

 

[AngryPatriot]

Wow, that seems crazy for Clay. I'm glad they're not going all in on a QB upgrade.

 

[zamboni]

Certainly does appear steep considering he's going to be part of a run-based offense with two good receiving options in Watkins and Harvin and a halfway decent third WR in Woods. Never read that Clay was an accomplished blocker either, which would at least make more sense.

 

[-CE-]

Clay always appeared talented, but last season he was pretty dinged up and didn't show much. For the Bills to give him this contract means they either know much more than I do (likely) or they got really locked in on their guy and had to have him at any price (likely) or they got ripped off by Clay's agent (likely) or they are a dysfunctional organization (true) that just hired a head coach from another dysfunctional organization (true).

Either way you slice it, the cap hit for a franchise tag on the TE position just got a little uglier.

 

[Stinkin Ref]

MIA comes out the winner here IMO....divisional rival giving up a ton of cash......some might prefer to have Cameron over Clay to begin with and they get Cameron for two years and a total $5 mil less than what Clay got guaranteed.....these numbers usually start indicating "difference maker" and I must be missing something cause "difference maker" and Charles Clay weren't really sniffing each other IMO......

with Watkins, Harvin, Woods, McCoy spreading the field I probably would have been okay with a huge (cheaper) target like Chandler helping out Cassel/Manuel every once in awhile...

BUF may have done MIA a favor steering them towards Cameron....

 

[Sabertooth]

Who is the presumed Qb here? does Manuel get a chance with all these weapons?

 

[-CE-]

Who is the presumed Qb here? does Manuel get a chance with all these weapons?

Manuel will have a chance at the job, but Cassel probably has the inside track on the week 1 start.

 

[Van Dyman]

Dolphins reaction

 

[Sabertooth]

Who is the presumed Qb here? does Manuel get a chance with all these weapons?

Manuel will have a chance at the job, but Cassel probably has the inside track on the week 1 start.

I think if that's the competition, both will get some starts.

 

[OldMilwaukee]

Who is the presumed Qb here? does Manuel get a chance with all these weapons?

This year? I think it will be EJ

2016? Quarterbacks will be lining up to come to Buffalo. (Breese,Rivers,Cutler....)

 

[Zyphros]

If you think about how long all these guys that go to Buffalo are getting locked up for, it kind of makes sense. Clay is there for 5 years, Sammy has 3 more on his contract, McCoy for 5 years. That's a pretty solid core of offensive weapons. All they need to do is find a QB in the next 3 years and they are almost instant super bowl contenders. I'm not sure about some of their defensive contracts but I assume it's pretty set for the years to come.

 

[ChuckLiddell]

If you think about how long all these guys that go to Buffalo are getting locked up for, it kind of makes sense. Clay is there for 5 years, Sammy has 3 more on his contract, McCoy for 5 years. That's a pretty solid core of offensive weapons. All they need to do is find a QB in the next 3 years and they are almost instant super bowl contenders. I'm not sure about some of their defensive contracts but I assume it's pretty set for the years to come.

The bolded is no small task. Especially with no 1st rounder this season, and a ton of money tied up elsewhere. Cant draft the QB of the future likely till next year - and even then its a bit of a crap shoot (i.e. EJ Manuel himself). It would seem on the surface that they will have a tough time signing a big time free agent due to financial concerns after tying up a huge chunk at RB and a TE, after already having a significant investment on the defensive side of the ball. They also are solid enough on the rest of the roster that their draft picks in the coming years are unlikely to be top 10, further decimating the chance of drafting a blue chip QB. Of course they may pluck a gem out of the second or third rounds, but again, no small task.

Rest of the team looks awesome, but the "all they need to do" stipulation is a whole other issue. Certainly can be done, but as a Fins fan, I have been waiting since Marino retired in 1999 to have a super bowl caliber QB in South Florida. I know first hand how difficult is is to find one. Jay Fiedler is probably our most accomplished passer since Marino, excluding Pennington's one magical season. Packers and Colts fans have a different story to tell, so its certainly possible - just not easy.