Archives for June 29, 2017

'The Bills have second-round draft pick Zay Jones, but he has yet to take a professional snap and faces a substantial transition from small-school East Carolina to the NFL. They signed a slew of free agents, but all are seen as competing for second, third, and fourth roles and only being used in the top spot in a pinch.'

'"I would love to play under these rules," Kelly said during his 30th annual youth football camp. "The quarterbacks are protected more, which, if you hear anybody complain about it, ask them to complain after the quarterback that they're pulling for gets hit, is out of the game and the backup's in the game. You don't want that.'

'“He’s got all of the physical talents, the God-given talents,” Smith told Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal. “He just needs to learn how to be a pro now. There’s a difference between being a college player and being a pro in the NFL. That’s the process that he has to undergo. We all had to go through it."'

'The latest, his third, is for at least one year, according to ESPN's Field Yates. No reason for the suspension was given in a tweet from Yates' account.'

'"Every team is still in play," said Barnidge. "I'm just waiting to find out. It's gotta be the right situation and the right amount of money. I've played long enough so I think it's gotta be the right situation. Teams are just waiting to see what they have too. Teams have all these young guys and they know what they're getting from me as I've played nine years… So they were just looking through minicamps and OTAs. I'm just waiting to see who's going to call and what the right situation [is], but every team is open right now."'

'Left tackle Cordy Glenn was PFF's 22nd best offensive tackle with an 82.8 grade. Glenn has flown under the radar a bit in his career, but he's always provided Buffalo with quality play at the most important position along the offensive line.'

'Buffalo released Williams after one season. The running back showed up out of shape to minicamp and was suspended in July of 2016 for the first four games of the regular season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. The Bills parted ways with the running back in August.'

'Wednesday's news conference in Detroit, and another in Buffalo on Thursday, will unveil “State of Play,” three separate reports on the access, quality and participation in youth sports in and around Detroit, Buffalo and Rochester. The independent assessments by the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program are the first of their kind in the nation, according to the Aspen Institute.'

'Williams already had one game left on a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.'

'“I didn’t just give out money and not be there. I was always there to see it…It really made myself and family, just proud. Just giving back to the community.”'