Tag: Bills

2022 NFL free agency grades, Day 3: Raiders earn high marks for multiple moves; Ravens, Bills add pass rushers

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We are now officially in the midst of the 2022 league year in the NFL. At 4 p.m. ET, the league rang in the new year, meaning teams are now able to make all of their free-agent agreements they reached during the two-day legal tampering period official, along with any trades that have occurred to this point. Of course, there has been plenty of action leading up to the start of the new league year, and several superstars are going to officially land with their new teams Wednesday. 

While it’s technically the first day of free agency, it’s really Day 3 when factoring in the legal tampering period and the deals that have been agreed to over the last few days. In this post, we’re going to dive into the top new moves that were made Wednesday and hand out our grades for those transactions across the league. 

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Von Miller leaves Rams for Bills

Von Miller was traded from the Broncos to the Rams in the middle of last season, and he helped L.A. win a Super Bowl. Buffalo is hoping Miller can do it again, as the Bills stole him from the West Coast with a six-year, $120 million deal that includes $51.345 million guaranteed, per CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson. The deal is constructed a bit differently, as it’s not $20 million per year. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says the deal is backloaded, and averages $17.5 million over the first four years.

The length of the deal and the dollar amount are pretty shocking, but the bottom line is that this makes the Bills immediately better. It took a lot to steal Miller away from the Rams, Broncos, Cowboys and other suitors, but they were able to find a way to do

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2022 NFL free agency team-by-team grades: Raiders, Bills, Buccaneers, Chargers, Rams and Jets among winners

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The 2022 NFL offseason is officially upon us. Several big-name quarterbacks found new homes ahead of the kickoff of the legal tampering period Monday, but now dozens of notable veterans are actually hitting the market, free to negotiate with other teams. From blockbuster moves to bargain-bin shopping, we’ve got you covered below with a running tracker of every team’s 2022 additions, including external signings and trade acquisitions:

Acquisitions:

It’s not that the players the Cardinals added or retained are bad; Conner and Ertz are vital to their offense. But paying those two a combined $50M+ on long-term deals? What is this, 2017? Arizona went all in on older and/or injury-prone veterans a year ago, but it’d be nice to see the team go a little greener if its gonna spend big money. It has also got pass rusher to address.

Locking up one of the NFL’s most accurate kickers is fine. But they’ve got lots of holes still to fill, especially if they plan on competing with Matt Ryan (or, somehow, Deshaun Watson) at QB. Letting Russell Gage walk may haunt them. They did recently take a step in the right direction by inking Casey Hayward to a two-year deal to be the team’s No. 2 corner. 

There are other areas (OL, DL) that need addressing, but Williams is a top-flight ball hawk who will instantly improve their defense in transition, especially alongside a healthier Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, etc.

Von Miller will be a huge difference maker on defense. They basically swapped out Daryl Williams for Saffold, which isn’t an obvious upgrade. Settle is a solid pickup for the D-line, as is Howard for the offense.

Foreman gives them big-bodied insurance for Christian McCaffrey, which is smart. And Corbett is their best O-line investment in two years. Woods, meanwhile,

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Prisco’s NFL picks for wild-card round: Bills roll over Patriots in AFC East rubber match, 49ers upset Cowboys

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Like some of the NFL teams did with their players, I rested last week. That awful showing you saw with my picks came from my backup. It wasn’t me. Blame the backup. He was terrible. I was getting ready for the postseason.

OK. It was me. I played, and I got abused. LOOOOOOSER.

That certainly is not the week I wanted heading into the playoffs. I went 7-9 ATS, 8-8 straight up and 2-4 with my Best Bets as part of the Pick Six Podcast. That brings my season records to 144-125-3 ATS, 168-103-1 straight up and 59-54 with my Best Bets.

I do like the Super Wild Card Weekend games this week, so I am getting back on track.

My backup did a terrible job last week when I sat out, so I am ready to go.

Bring on the playoffs.

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

Latest Odds:

Cincinnati Bengals
-5.5

The Raiders got into the playoffs by beating the Chargers on Sunday night, while the Bengals are coming off a loss where they rested most of their top players. That’s an edge to the Bengals. Cincinnati has an explosive offense, but the Raiders counter with a wicked pass rush. This will be decided by how well the Bengals can protect Joe Burrow. I think they do it well enough to win the game, but it will be close. The Bengals win their first playoff game since the 1990 season.

Pick: Bengals 27, Raiders 24

Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)

Latest Odds:

Buffalo Bills
-4.5

This is the third game featuring these two this season, with each winning on the other’s field. New England won the first meeting in a wind storm in early December, while the Bills dominated the Pats at their place in late December.

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NFL Week 16 picks, odds: Rodgers makes MVP statement on Christmas, Patriots hand Bills another bitter defeat

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Week 15 is up there in terms of the most insanely bizarre NFL weeks I’ve ever seen. Obviously having two games Monday and two games Tuesday is a good start to that, 

The Texans scored 30 points in a cakewalk victory, the Lions beat the Cardinals and Tom Brady scored zero points in a home, prime-time loss. It was a weird week all around, fittingly coming in the longest week in NFL history. 

Hopefully everyone can have a winning and happy Christmas, and in the spirit of Christmas miracles, I’m going to write up fewer of these picks and toss some scores for meaningless games at the bottom. 

My ATS record against the spread this year is just awful, but 9-5 last week is strong. A strong close to the season can salvage this year ATS so let’s get hot over the holidays. 

All NFL odds are via Caesars Sportsbook

NFL Week 16 Picks

Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NFL Network | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Follow: CBS Sports App

Latest Odds:

Tennessee Titans
+3.5

Week 15 featured plenty of underdogs barking loudly, so I’m a little hesitant to jump onto a road favorite on a short week. But the 49ers are starting to cook. Deebo Samuel appears to be the catalyst for this run game, with his presence in the backfield wrecking havoc on opposing defenses. Kyle Shanahan’s playcalling has been outstanding and the Niners appear to have a pretty good stable of backs capable of producing on a weekly basis — with Elijah Mitchell out, Jeff Wilson stepped up nicely against the Falcons. Tennessee has been good against the run this season but the 49ers should be able to stretch them horizontally. The one thing I’d be wary of if you’re backing Jimmy Garoppolo and Co.

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