Archives for March 2006

‘The Saints reportedly agreed to terms with free-agent tight end Mark Campbell on a three-year deal Wednesday. The seven-year veteran was a starter for the Buffalo Bills the past three seasons, and before that he started for the Cleveland Browns.’

‘"They took a gamble," said D.S. Ping, Idonije’s agent. "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."’

‘It’s the second time the Bills have tendered an offer sheet to a restricted free agent this offseason. Both times, the offer sheet has been matched by the player’s current team.’

‘"We want Israel back," said Bears general manager Jerry Angelo. "We feel that he’s a young quality player who’s still developing."’

‘The Chicago Bears matched the four-year offer sheet defensive lineman Israel Idonije signed with the Buffalo Bills.’

‘This marks the second restricted free agent the Bills have lost in as many days. On Tuesday, the Arizona Cardinals announced that they officially matched the Bills offer sheet tendered to restricted free agent guard Reggie Wells.’

Lee Evans, London Fletcher, J.P. Losman, Willis McGahee, Terrence McGee, and Josh Reed are among the large group of Bills players taking part in the team’s offseason conditioning program, which officially kicked off Monday at One Bills Drive.

‘The Northwestern State (La.) product was the second of Green Bay’s two fifth- round selections in the 2002 draft. “He’s young, he’s been to training camp, and he’s comfortable with it,” said general manager Marv Levy of Nall. “He’s not the nervous rookie quarterback who is trying to adapt and learn while you’re waiting for him to develop. He’s very much ready to emerge in my opinion. I like his ability to throw the ball.”‘

‘Asked what the signing says about Losman, Levy said, “It doesn’t say anything detrimental at all about him. We’re going to have three quarterbacks here. We said it before we even had Craig on our radar screen, that it’s going to be a competitive situation at quarterback. I think this is a better competitive situation for J.P. . . . not to have the new savior, the new first-round savior draft choice [label] to come in. I think it tends to lead us to a more level-headed quarterback competition. It’s open for all three of them.”‘

‘”I felt he was one of those special guys that the team, the coaches, everybody, fed off,” Fairchild said. “He’s going to be very successful in anything he wants to do. I hope I’m smart enough to get more guys like that around me.”‘

‘Greg Johnson, one of Moulds advisors, told WGR Radio – the situation is beyond any type of repair."They may feel that way,"Johnson said when asked if Eric would return to the Bills under his current contract, if no trade could be worked out."But I’ve got to tell you right now, unfortunately and respectfully, Eric doesn’t want to ever play for the Bills again."’

‘Fowler was orginally drafted by Cleveland after playing his college ball in Maryland. He spent three years with the Browns before leaving for Minnesota.’

‘What exactly does this tell us about the Bills confidence in Losman and/or Holcomb?’

‘Loney said Wells demonstrated his potential last season as a tough kid with a good career ahead of him. That’s what the Bills saw when they gave him the generous offer sheet, a contract that those close to the team thought the Cardinals probably would not match. “We (knew) that (the match) was a possibility,” Bills general manager Marv Levy told Buffalo reporters Tuesday. “We move on.”‘

‘”Buffalo is a great situation,” Idonije said. “They use the same defence as we do in Chicago. They’re not guaranteeing me a starting spot, but I have an opportunity to go in there and earn a starting position.”‘