Archives for June 3, 2017

'In his case, though, it's more about being able to preserve what is left of his stature in the NFL after taking a $10-million pay cut over two years to remain with the Bills. That only happened because the rest of the league, including some of its most quarterback-needy teams, spoke loudly about how it perceives Taylor.'

'Now, the group I’m most concerned about is linebacker. Lorenzo Alexander is nothing more than a third-down pass rusher, Preston Brown is mediocre, and Reggie Ragland is essentially an unproven rookie coming off a serious knee injury. They just signed Gerald Hodges. OK, whatever. Ramon Humber? Plus, neither of the rookie draft picks figures to play much. Let’s hope Doug Whaley was right about Ragland when he drafted him in the second round in 2016.'

'No one can argue that wide receiver is one of the Bills' weakest positions. The Bills' top three receivers entering the season are Sammy Watkins, Zay Jones and Andre Holmes. Watkins is a dynamic player when healthy, but a foot injury limited him in 2016. Zay Jones should be a quality addition to Buffalo's offense, but the rookie is currently dealing with a knee sprain. Holmes, Buffalo's top free agent addition at receiver, is coming off of a 14 catch campaign. There's plenty of question marks with Buffalo's top three and beyond.'

'And so now, a less than a month later, it’s time to give Beane his share of credit. Not only does the organization have the alignment it’s lacked—assistant GM Joe Schoen worked with Beane in Carolina, and with VP of player personnel Brian Gaine in Houston—the Bills didn’t have to push candidates into jobs where they weren’t qualified.'