Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus , frustrated with contract negotiations, is “delusional” if he thinks he’ll get an extension similar to Ndamukong Suh‘s deal with the Dolphins, tweets former agent Joel Corry. Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap essentially agrees with that assessment, suggesting that Suh’s contract is one of the biggest outliers in the NFL, made possible by the fact that Suh reached the open market when the Lions were too cap-strapped to franchise him.
As Corry tweets, Dareus may have a hard time topping Mario Williams‘s contract with the Bills – which was worth $16MM per year – since pass-rushing edge defenders are typically paid more than even the best interior defensive linemen. On the other hand, Fitzgerald argues that the fact the Bills were willing to make Williams the highest-paid player on their team with that massive deal three years ago means that Dareus could be right to assume they’ll do it again. In Fitzgerald’s view, the team may not “have a leg to stand on” in offering the star defensive tackle less than $16MM annually.
As we wait to see if the Bills and Dareus can reach a compromise before the season begins, let’s check out some other items from around the AFC East….
- The one-year deal Matt Flynn got from the Jets is a minimum-salary pact that includes a guaranteed $60K signing bonus, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter).
- Pelissero also provides some details on Red Bryant‘s new one-year contract with the Bills, tweeting that the veteran defensive lineman got $80K to sign, and can earn up to $100K in playing-time incentives on top of his minimum salary.
- As Brian Costello of the New York Post details, Dan Quinn and Todd Bowles were viewed as the consensus top coaching candidates among assistants at the end of the 2014 season, and the Jets and Falcons each had interest in both coaches. Bowles had been scheduled for a second interview in Atlanta following his second meeting with the Jets, but New York came away so impressed that the team decided not to wait on Quinn, hiring Bowles instead.