Archives for March 2, 2005

‘As Van called the opening kickoff I remember predicting the final score to my father: fifty-one to zero, Buffalo Bills. A half-hour later the gut feeling gave way to the sick feeling that I may have finally predicted a Bill’s game correctly, only backwards.’

‘With the midnight deadline expiring the Buffalo Bills let Jonas Jennings, Pat Williams, Marcus Price, Izell Reese, Bradford Banta, Shane Matthews and Drew Haddad hit the open market.’

‘The Bills did not tender RB Joe Burns or G Mike Pucillo making them unrestricted free agents.’

‘The Bills are expected to be looking for offensive line help, because they are sure to lose left tackle Jonas Jennings. Jennings is the only left tackle in the NFL who started last year and is unrestricted, so he is likely to hit the jackpot. Defensive tackle is another question mark for the Bills, because they are likely to lose starter Pat Williams. He’s the best of a thin group of available defensive tackles.’

‘Early speculation centered on Jennings drawing interest from the AFC East rival New York Jets and Chicago Bears. Williams could land in Minnesota and a reunion with former Bills defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. The Jets, Cincinnati, Miami and Arizona are other possibilities.’

‘The offense is in flux, but could get a quick reprieve with strong indications that left tackle Jonas Jennings is close to signing with the Jets.’

‘By tendering offers on the team’s Restricted Free Agents (RFA) – a player who just finished his third season in the league and his contract is about to expire – the Bills will be given draft-round compensation should the players sign elsewhere.’

‘Below is a complete list of Buffalo’s 2005 free agents, broken down into their respective categories…’.

‘Unless some last minute deals are made, Marcus Price, Ryan Neufeld, Izell Reese, Shane Matthews, Drew Haddad and Bradford Banta will also become unrestricted free agents.’

”’They definitely had their chance. I wanted to come back,” Jennings told The Associated Press on Tuesday. ”But I have to go and let my star shine somewhere else.”’