Why we'll keep Mario...

[coloradodude]

Mario Williams deal finally done in Buffalo

The Buffalo Bills have finally landed Mario Williams after three days of talks according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.

The move will be officially announced at a 12:30PM ET press conference. Contract terms are not yet available, but the Bills are widely expected to make Williams the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. Bears RE Julius Peppers has held the honor since March 2010, when he signed a six-year, $84 million deal that included $42 million guaranteed. It's a safe bet Williams' deal will dwarf those numbers.

Jay Glazer of FOXSports reports the deal includes a staggering $50 million guaranteed, making it the largest free-agent contract ever signed by an NFL player. It's a six-year deal with a maximum value of $100 million.

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So this guy is better than Julius Peppers? I've watched Peppers get triple teamed. Mediocre tackles can handle Williams by themselves.

Mario Williams may have the BEST agent in NFL history.

[Keith]

I liked Mario, thought he got too much unfair criticism related to being picked ahead of Bush and Young and later for a couple injuries. But I think it says something when a team lets their first round pick hit the open market like this. It doesn't happen often for a player of Mario's caliber, esp one with a #1 overall pick pedigree.

Pass rush wins championships though. It will be interesting to see how the Texans respond. I like Barwin and Reed, too, but that's not enough.

[barrett]

Not an ideal end game, but the right decision at the moment. I have no idea if Mario was open to a more reasonable extension in the last year, but we could not pay what buffalo did.

I think good deal for buffalo though. They have to spend to the cap ceiling and nobody good ever wants to take there money.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by Keith

I liked Mario, thought he got too much unfair criticism related to being picked ahead of Bush and Young and later for a couple injuries. But I think it says something when a team lets their first round pick hit the open market like this. It doesn't happen often for a player of Mario's caliber, esp one with a #1 overall pick pedigree.

I'm still trying to work backwards on this. The team had to know after last year's FA signings that it would be nearly impossible to re-sign Mario this year. They had no idea how Wade's defense would perform, nor did they know whether Barwin and Reed would produce. Of course they didn't yet know about Reed, nor that he would be pressed into action.

It seems pretty clear that they have known for at least a full year that they would not be able to re-sign Mario. I wonder what would have happened if Mario had stayed healthy and put up 16 sacks.

[Joshua]

Agree that there is no way the Texans could match what Buffalo put on the table. Like others have said, if there is a complaint, it was that the Texans allowed it to get to this point.

Honestly, I can't believe they didn't renegotiate him 2 years ago because his cap number has been so large the last 2 years. I suspect he would have taken a 6 year deal with about $30 mill guaranteed 2 years ago and this would have locked him up long term and lowered his cap number the last 2 years to boot.

For good or bad, he was probably the best player on our defense for the last 5 years. To see him walk, in his prime, with nothing in return stings. I find it hard to believe it had to come to this. I've seen several comparisons to Reggie White hitting free agency. Now, clearly, Mario is not Reggie White but it does say something when people have to go back 20 years to find an analogous situation. Suggests maybe the Texans dropped the ball.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Joshua

boot.

For good or bad, he was probably the best player on our defense for the last 5 years.

I think that statement might get you a couple arguments.

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I think that statement might get you a couple arguments.

Clearly opinions may vary, although I don't know who, other than maybe Demeco, that people would argue was a bigger part of our defense over the last 5 years. And, in my defense, I think Mario's deal today supports me, since nobody else on our defense, if released today, would be getting a $100 million dollar contract.

[chuck]

I think it's fair to say that Mario was certainly the defense's best player over the last five years. I can't think of anyone else who comes close. I would also expect that there are several Texans defenders who will make a larger overall impact than will Mario over the next five years.

[NBT]

If the Texans did know they were not going to resign Mario last year (and by going $20M over for other FAs, that seems pretty evident), hindsight would seem to make them pretty smart. I guess they figured they didn't want to pay top money for an often injured player.