Archives for January 29, 2016

'“I was just talking to one of our video coordinators,” said North Dakota State quarterbacks coach Randy Hedberg by phone Thursday, “and I said, ‘What teams would you think?’ And one of the teams that was here the most was the Bills. They’ve been in our building quite a bit and in our practices."'

'Phillips isn't the only member of the Broncos' coaching staff with ties to the Bills. Defensive line coach Bill Kollar was with Buffalo in the same role from 2006-08, while assistant defensive backs coach Samson Brown had the same role from 2013- 14 on the staff of former Bills coach Doug Marrone. Outside linebackers coach Fred Pagac also was with the Bills in 2014 as a linebackers coach.'

'“It needs to make sense for our community and it has to have a macro appeal to our fan base,” he said. “We also have to be practical as we move forward.”'

'Florida’s Antonio Morrison, 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, could be one potential fit. Known for playing through a whistle – having an edgy temperament – Morrison had 96 tackles (11 for loss) on a very stingy Gators defense last season. In a rout against Chad Kelly’s prolific Ole Miss offense, he had 16 tackles (3.5 for loss).'

'Duke Williams struggled mightily in Rex Ryan’s scheme and will have to fight for a roster spot next season, while Jonathan Meeks provides the team some special teams value and serviceable depth, but isn’t considered a viable option to start.'

'The Bills are in no position to feel pressure here. If Taylor wants to ride it out, fine. They’ll have another 16 games to judge, another year in Greg Roman’s system (who knows if he’d be around for a 3rd year), and a franchise tag to use at their discretion. The tag on a QB is approximately 19 million dollars for one season. Is that crazy for Taylor? Probably not. If you’re going to ride it out, and he plays well enough, 19 isn’t tough to justify. Sam Bradford is currently asking for 25 million per season.'

'"Of course I want to be the long-term guy," Taylor told Around The NFL on Wednesday night at the Pro Bowl draft. "I love playing for the organization, I love playing for the coaches, I love being around the guys. Like I said, I want to be the long-term guy for them. Ultimately that's up to them. I know I'm under contract for another year, but right now I'm out here just taking it all in."'

'“This is why we’re so excited, we could go at any position, and that opens the board for us and makes it a lot more exciting where we’re not narrowing our focus,” he said. “So this is going to be a really good offseason and I think we’ll be up to the challenge to add some playmakers to this team.”'