Archives for March 22, 2017

'"Whether it was paperwork, or mishandled paperwork, I'm not really sure," Holmes said. "I'll just kind of leave that to the NFLPA" to explain "what exactly happened. As far as my side, I just saw that there was a report that I signed and I just wanted to put out there nothing had happened yet, because my phone was ringing and that kind of stuff.'

'It's unusual to see a player "visit" his former team in free agency, although it makes a little more sense in this case since the Bills have a new coaching staff under Sean McDermott.'

'"You're taking three acres of property off the tax rolls and giving the Buffalo Bills another tax break," said Legislature Majority Leader Joseph C. Lorigo, C-West Seneca. "The point isn't the dollar amount. It's the principle. We shouldn't be giving additional tax breaks to NFL teams."'

'Given the state of free agency, the draft is the best avenue left for the Bills to find that player. It's a toss up between wide receiver and cornerback as to which position is the biggest remaining area of need on the roster, but given the perceived depth of the defensive backs in this year's class, I'd lean toward making wide receiver the choice at 10th overall. In fact, I don't think it can afford to be anything else. Teams always say they want the "best player available" and don't draft for need, but I've never bought into that.'

'"Before Dolphins fans go nuts, it was close," Schein said. "And it's March. And I still wanna see Ryan Tannehill take the next step. But I love that Buffalo retained Tyrod Taylor. He's a good quarterback who will get even better now that he's no longer a pawn in a corrosive game between the coach, GM and owner. New head coach Sean McDermott is a gem, a buttoned-up guy who's a true workaholic. He's just the kind of guy this organization needed: the antithesis of Rex Ryan. The defense will take a major step forward. And the penalties will go down."'

'"Yeah it was pretty crazy," Holmes said. "All of sudden my phone, I was getting a lot of text messages and then my twitter was going crazy. It was weird I was just kind of sitting down watching The Office and not understanding what was going on, because I didn't any pen to paper or anything. It was pretty crazy, you know it was pretty hectic."'

'"You know I really don't know my role right now," Groy said Monday. "Obviously last year was fill in wherever I was needed, maybe blocking tight end, or do this or that. I am not really sure, I haven't talked to the coaches enough to understand to know where I am going to be at. Obviously they have something in mind, I just don't know what that. I am going to do whatever they want me to, whatever I can do to help this team." '

'"It was very surprising," Manuel said. "You know, obviously being 2-2 and after losing to Houston, coach Marrone made the change and it was something I never dealt with as a competitor, as an athlete. So, it was definitely one of those things that I had to humble myself and understand that this could happen to anybody, you know what I mean?'

'“Basically from my perspective I know my agent was kind of discussing some terms with the Bills personnel, nothing finalized or anything just kind of negotiating,” Holmes said. “The way it works is the agent is supposed to send any type of proposal to the NFLPA and somehow, somewhere in there I don’t know exactly how it came out someone thought that I had signed.'

'“Sometimes young guys continue to get a chance to grow and fight through those growing pains and I just wasn't afforded that opportunity. I just kind of had to roll with it, and just keep rolling,” Manuel said.'

'Brown, 27, led the Bills last season with 149 combined tackles, and finished with the second most tackles in the league. Brown also finished the season with four sacks, four passes defended, an interception and an invitation to his first career Pro Bowl.'

'According to a league source, Brown will visit with the Bills on Wednesday, and it comes after the linebacker fired his prior agency representation.'

'“Oh man it is a blessing to be where I am at,” said Tate. “Just hard work, dedication and one day at a time. Tradition man I am going to try get a couple touchdowns out there for the Bills fans and give them something to cheer about.”'