Archives for March 2017

'“I love Corey Davis out of Western Michigan,” Davis told Buffalobills.com. “He’s run a ton of routes. He runs inside routes. He runs outside. He has great concentration on the football. Speed is going to be a question.'

'The Browns, Jets, Bears and 49ers are the teams with the biggest need for a starting quarterback, so they figure to be in the mix along with the Bills (again, if the team releases Taylor) for players like Kaepernick and Glennon.'

'Alexander's breakout season very well may have priced him out of Buffalo. He deserves to chase one final big payday coming off his breakout year, and the Bills simply don't have the space under the salary cap to give it to him. It would be great to get Alexander back, but his age, contract expectations and scheme fit all add up to him being a better fit elsewhere.'

'The Bills need to draft a quarterback this year, especially if they cut ties with Tyrod Taylor, and as fate would have it, none of the three highest-rated prospects — Clemson’s DeShaun Watson, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky — is considered to be a worthy choice at No. 10 overall.'

'“For three years I primarily played in the slot at East Carolina,” said Jones. “I wasn’t an outside receiver. And then Coach Phil came to me and said, ‘Hey, if you want to play in the National Football League, you’ve got to play some outside. With your frame, with your size, with your skill set and your ability, we’ve got to get you outside.’”'

'Kamara is forecast as a second-round pick. If he is taken in round two that is something he’ll have in common with McCoy, who was a second-round pick of the Eagles in 2009.'

'According to La Canfora, Whaley, team president Russ Brandon and senior vice president of football administration Jim Overdorf decided at the end of the 2016 season to move on from Taylor, who was benched for the Week 17 season finale after Rex Ryan was fired.'

'Gilmore, who had a career-best five interceptions last season, was known to have been seeking at least $15 million per year, putting him in line with fellow cornerback Josh Norman, who received a five-year, $75-million package to join the Washington Redskins as a free agent in 2016.'

'Excluding quarterbacks, who will be analyzed in depth in Sunday’s Buffalo News, here are 10 prospects the Bills might consider, especially given their positional needs.'

'There's no need to re-sign Brown. A new coaching staff should build depth in the secondary their own way. The only mild case that could be built for Brown is his familiarity with special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, but that's not enough to keep him around.'

'“I think the wide receiver class is good,” said NFL Network’s top draft analyst, Mike Mayock, who listed three players as consensus first-round talents — Clemson’s Mike Williams, Washington’s John Ross, and Western Michigan’s Corey Davis.'

'For the season, Williams caught 98 passes for 1,361 yards and 11 TDs, the yardage total the third-best in school history behind only current NFL stars Sammy Watkins of the Bills (1,464) and DeAndre Hopkins of the Texans (1,405). It was an impressive showing because he missed all but 12 plays of the 2015 season after suffering a neck injury in the opening game.'

'“It was funny,” Gettleman said, “when Doug Whaley called me about Sean, we talked about all of these positives and he said ‘Well, what’s the negative?’ And I said ‘The same negative you and me had when we got our GM jobs. We don’t know what we don’t know.’ So Sean is ready. I think he’s going to be great for the city. He’s got the same mentality, you know, blue-collar, hard-working people. I was there for nine years. I loved it. Great folks, and good pizza and wings. Sean’s ready. He really is.”'

'Lawson's 'skills' on the diamond were lacking. Aaron Cheslock of FOX Carolina captured Lawson's first pitch which went far to the left of the plate, or as Bob Uecker's Harry Doyle character would say, "Just a bit outside."'

'According to Jason La Canfora of CBS, the Bills' front office prefers to move on from Taylor and pursue Tony Romo or Brian Hoyer. Buffalo's new coach staff, including Sean McDermott, are fine with rolling with Taylor as the starting quarterback in 2017 and paying him the contract he signed back in August. La Canfora notes that McDermott has quickly become close with Bills owner Terry Pegula.'