Bills' Marcell Dareus on contract situation: Pay me 'what I'm due'
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is at training camp, but he’s making it clear he’s not necessarily happy.
Dareus, who is set to enter the final season of his rookie contract, has been outspoken about his frustrations with negotiations thus far.
“I want to be a part of the Buffalo Bills,” Dareus said Saturday after a training camp practice at St. John Fisher College. “I want to be a part of the history we’re going to make here. But at the same time, it’s a business and we have to go through negotiations like anybody else in any other career. So we’re just trying to do what we can and move forward and when we get over that hill, we’ll get there.”
One thing making it harder on Dareus, 25, is how he watched Ndamukong Suh sign a six-year, $114 million deal, $60 million of which are guaranteed, with the Miami Dolphins this offseason. Because Suh is widely considered to be the best defensive tackle in football, Dareus’ contract would likely be worth several million dollars fewer than Suh’s deal.
According to Dareus, that’s something he’s fine with.
“I’m not looking, necessarily, for Suh’s numbers,” Dareus said. “I just want to be treated right, just like everyone else.
He later added: “I feel like I should be paid what I’m due.”
Following Buffalo’s 11-10 preseason victory Thursday against the Cleveland Browns, Dareus expressed his displeasure with negotiations and hinted that he might be on his way out of Buffalo.
“They’re making it hard,” Dareus told The Buffalo Newson Thursday. “And it’s just really making me unhappy. I feel like they don’t really want me here.”
According to The Buffalo News, the Bills have offered Dareus a six-year, $90 million contract.
“I might settle for those numbers, but I’m not sure, I don’t play defensive tackle,” Bills head coach Rex Ryan said. “But obviously, that's his business and his agents and our team and things like that. I stay out of the negotiations."
The Bills, of course, could also consider the franchise tag. If Dareus and Buffalo cannot come to an agreement by next February, the tag could be an option to keep Dareus in Buffalo for at least one season, while they explore other options to complete a more long-term solution.
“If that’s something they consider, there’s not really much I can do,” Dareus said before adding that if the franchise tag were to be extended he would “sign the paper.”
Dareus collected 49 tackles, 10 sacks and one forced fumble in 15 games last year. He has 28.5 career sacks.
Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.