Archives for May 11, 2014

‘Jacobs, a Gibson native, said he had free-agent offers from the New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans and New England Patriots, but he decided to sign with the Bills, which he said gave him the best opportunity to make the team’s 53-man roster and play.’

‘The moves followed a busy two days for Whaley, who took over after Buddy Nix stepped down last year.’

‘”Yeah, I was definitely surprised,” Brown said. “But I think it’s a great opportunity for me to come in and be able to contribute any way that I can. I’m excited about the journey. And I can’t wait to get started.”‘

‘The Eagles and Bills also swapped seventh-round selections in this year’s draft, with Philadelphia moving up from the 237th overall pick to the 224th pick.’

‘The Bills have their own crowd at running back, including C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson and a total of seven players at the position who will count $13 million against the 2014 salary cap.’

‘Doug Whaley has been wheeling and dealing over the last two days and the Bills’ GM continued the trend on Saturday, picking up RB Bryce Brown from the Eagles.’

‘Cockrell started 13 games at Duke in each of the last two seasons (he missed one game in his senior season with an ankle injury) and was named to first-team All-ACC following his junior and senior years. Referred to as, “off the charts smart” by Bills Director of Player Personnel Jim Monos, Cockrell was a political science major and earned his degree from Duke in just three and a half years.’

‘Richardson started all 13 games during his final season with the Bears, and is a two-time winner of the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award. He was also a 2013 Outland Trophy finalist last year.’

‘A top recruit coming out of high school, Henderson was originally headed to USC. He reversed course and instead headed to Miami, following NCAA punishment of Southern Cal’s football program. Henderson comes with some character issues, including multiple suspensions while playing for the Hurricanes, plus a reported positive drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine. He does have the size the Bills have been trying to collect for the offensive line, standing 6’7″ and weighing 331 pounds.’

‘Brown offers breakaway speed with the power to grind out yards between the tackles. At just 22-years of age the physically gifted back has his best football in front of him. He’s just hoping after a couple of disjointed years in the college ranks that his NFL career can gain a sturdy foothold in Buffalo.’

‘I run hard and I run with a lot of effort. I think that speed is kind of my thing. I really rely heavily on my speed and I’m very confident in my speed as well. That’s something I would say.’

‘”We see him a little bit as a ‘Mike’ (middle linebacker) right now, but he’s versatile enough (to play outside),” said Monos. “He can do both in my opinion. He’s done it, but that will be more up to the staff.”‘

‘Just being around the ball as much as possible. That’s one thing I try to do, I try to be around the ball and slide to the ball. Pursuit, I’m always going to be the guy trying to rip the ball out and be around the ball. Any aspect of being around the ball I feel I’m going to be there.’

‘That is what jumps out right away: his size. You love his size and he’s played there and competed well every year there. He’s a winner, has ball skills, has good speed. Every guy we’ve taken so far has been a part of winning program and that is a big thing we’re stressing.’

‘”I had heard about this defensive back who was pretty good out of Charlotte, so we’re out on the practice field and I threw a go route and I underthrew it a little bit and he played it really well and he intercepted it,” Lewis told Buffalobills.com. “And I was like, ‘Who is this kid?’ And from then on I kind of came to know who he was.”‘