So what are the odds that the Bills will re-sign Lee Evans? His contract is up soon, and knowing Ralph, I could see the Bills letting him slip away(i hope not). they're great at losing their first rounders.

I ask because I don't know if i should buy a Lee Evans jersey this year. I hate having jerseys of players the bills traded. any thoughts?

He'll be signed before the first year, possibly, but before the end of the season, definitely

How well do you know Ralph? Were you his dinner guest tonight?

I love Lee Evans but I wonder if he's really what the Bills want in a #1 WR - or if they'd rather have a larger more possession type WR like Boldin, or Colston

We just got Hardy

You consider Colston and Boldin possession receivers?

I was at the fair the other night and a guy was hawking a bunch of bills jerseys so I checked it out, they were all Spikes and McGahee jerseys.

Invest in that Evans jersey after the deal is signed.

Stop skeering away the brand new posters!

I'm guardedly optimistically about re-signing Evans...but I do have a Willis jersey (barely worn) that I can send your way.

Hmm...a guy who catches everything thrown at him and has the ability to take any catch the distance. Yep, I'd say that's what the Bills want in a #1 WR.

The Bills couldn't be better off wrt signing Evans because:

1) He is coming off of a less than stellar year.
2) He has this year left, but seems to want the security of signing now.
3) He seems to like playing in Buffalo.
4) They have the Franchise Tag for next year to use as leverage.

Will they sign him before he is a UFA? I would say it's about 50/50.

Why the pessimism? You ruined a solid, logical post with the last part. All reports are that the two sides are working amicably towards an extension. The odds are 80/20 at worst.

First and foremost, DO NOT buy a new jersey unless he has a new deal.

That being said, I do think Evans will be re-signed. There are multiple reasons, especially the fact that he's a company guy. I think you could have said the same for Moulds when he got his big deal from us. Worst case scenario, they franchise him next year. That does not guarantee that we keep him (the cost of the franchise tag is going up and up with other big deals), but I believe he'll have a new deal with us.

I will say this, if Lee Evans isn't re-signed before the regular season starts- the odds of him being here in 2009 is less than 50%- once a player gets that far, chances are pretty good he will want to test the Free agent market.

What at 430?

Hey, Ralph didn't become a billionaire by passing up the Early Bird Special!

What happens if Hardy actually pans out and does above average? Who's to say the Bills don't look at him as a younger, cheaper WR to build their team around and pass on the older Evans? Evans and Losman are both the last regime's holdovers.

Great, so then the Bills go back to having 1 receiving threat. They not only need to keep Evans, but they also need hardy or someone else to emerge as a real threat opposite him.

I believe it's highly unlikely Hardy will show enough this season to impact contract discussions with Evans. Besides, Lee is hardly "old" -- he's entering his prime.

I agree.

Just playing devil's advocate. What if the Bills decide that Evans wants "too much" and/or someone else will fit their system better? Evans best was when he was paired with Losman, and you can't say they haven't turned the page on the Losman experiment.

90/10 by the end of September, 50/50 by the end of October, 10/90 by the end of November, me thinks..

Here's another take: What if Evans' agent doesn't roll over and wants to hold the Bills feet to the fire? The Bills offense was horrible last year and Evans did not have a great season. If I'm Evans agent, I'm telling him, "Let's listen to their offers. If it's killer, we can consider it. If it's nothing special, then let's test the market. If they can't use you in Buffalo, we'll find another team that will."

this is what i would most likely believe if he isnt signed by the bye week. there are a lot of WR in the NFL but not a lot of good ones. with the run-up in the WR market (thanks to Al Davis), Evans would almost be stupid not to at least see what else is offered. its unfortunate for the Bills, but thats the system agreed to in the CBA.

Franchise Tag!

Get the Jersey, Lee Evans isn't going anywhere

Recall, Edwards visited Evans over the offseason and the two have "sync'd up" -- they've also been money in camp. I don't think Losman is an issue in that regard.

What system wouldn't Evans fit? He's a smart player and the only desired physical attribute he lacks is height.

He's not worth the franchise tag, sorry to bust anyone's bubble. The best WRs find ways to produce, as evidence by a guy like Steve Smith. Evans is not that caliber and paying him like a top 5 WR is not smart.

Emotionally we want to keep him, but not at a high price point. He's not worth Larry Fitz money, and he's should get paid like Bernard Berrian (who was over-paid.

We agree!

I think I hear angels playing harps, could this just be a dream?

I agree, he is definitely a guy you want to keep, and has been very productive. He just isn't in the elite class. He is close though.

With Edwards throwing to him, he never gets to elite.

I hope to God we re-sign him. He has been looking good this pre-season now that we have a offensive coordinator who knows how to use him.

wheresthefaith, sure he will TE / Lee Evans will start resembling Manning / Harrison, or Brady / Moss in the not so distant future

The only things holding Evans back from being considered "elite" are the Bills' inconsistency at QB and the ridiculous offense run by Fairchild. That he put up any numbers at all speaks volumes to his productivity.

You don't have to believe me now. Come talk to me after this season.

Fair enough- we will soon see where he stands.

if what we have seen in the preseason is any indication.....90-100 catches 1200-1400 yrds 9-12 tds

now if the L.Walker experiment at tackle is a mess...then those numbers will be dramatically lower

Is it pessimism e-man? Maybe it is, or could it be realism, no? The OP has a point. Start at 1997, and tell me how many 1st round picks stayed on the team after their original contract. Not a lot, huh?

Now, let me beat you to the punch by stating that no, this isn't all bad. For instance, the deal involving MaGahee was a steal for the Bills. Also, a couple of the picks were just awful. Still, we lost Winfield and Clements (after the franchise tag and the "promise"), choosing instead to continue to chase corners early in the draft.
We did need another receiver, and hopefully Hardy can play. Still, I hope that the idea was to bolster the ranks instead of losing Evans and starting from scratch.

See what I mean?

Not really. Winfield was a different administration so I throw that out the door. Clements was a financial decision (one I agree with, by the way). There is no recent history that equates to the public show of cooperation between the Bills and Evans regarding contract talks. That's why I see no "realism" in what you're saying.

I've got a Pusssssssluzny Jersey.

http://www.wellsvilledaily.com/sports/x1532154107

-Taken from this article (about a week ago):

“Evans is entering the final year of his contract, but, unlike Pro Bowl tackle Jason Peters’ situation, it has not been a concern.
“There has been some dialogue back and forth and that is certainly good news,” Evans said early in camp. “We are moving in the right direction on that, so hopefully we can get a deal done. Last time there was some stuff out there, but there wasn’t a lot of dialogue, so there definitely has been some progress.”
Peters, who still has three years left on his contract, has been a no-show thus far in camp, as well as all offseason workouts, cutting off all communications with the team. He is the only Pro Bowler on the offensive line, but is the lowest-paid and is looking for a raise.
Evans, though, would not compare his situation to Peters’
“Everybody handles things differently and for him, that’s the way he sees it and his way of handling it,” Evans said. “It’s not for me to comment on though. It is really his business and I really don’t know a whole lot about it, but that’s why he is handling it and hopefully something gets done soon so we can get him out here.”
While there is no end in sight to the Peters’ squabble with less than three weeks before the regular season begins, Evans has been hopeful his contract situation could be finished soon.
“It would be big to get that behind you and to move forward,” Evans said. “All that stuff is somewhat out of my hands, so I just try and control the things I can and go from there.”

-From the ESPN article about Peters lacking a cheering section:

"I don't think this makes sense," said one agent who represents a Bills player affected by Peters' holdout. "Holding out right now is negative in a lot of ways."

-I personally wonder if this is Lee’s agent and the Bills are holding up his contract in hopes of working something out with Peters. Regardless, the tone of the Evans article makes me believe he’ll be staying and that definitely puts my mind at ease.

And if he does, you could have a new name plate installed. REED.