Archives for August 29, 2017

'Bills 2017 record: 5-11.'

'By trading for Ragland, the Chiefs will be on the hook for the rest of his rookie contract, which runs through 2019. Ragland will have a salary cap charge of $715,517 in 2017 (fully guaranteed), $981,034 in 2018 and $1,246,551 in 2019. But the dead money of the contract — which totals $612,067 every year through 2019 — will be picked up by the Bills, not the Chiefs, which means his contract will be cheaper for the Chiefs to carry than it otherwise would for a second-round pick.'

'The Chiefs run a defense that has much more in common with the one that Ragland played in at Alabama, where he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2015, and the one he learned under Ryan at Buffalo than with McDermott's system.'

'The 26-year-old Wenning has yet to play in an NFL game since being selected by Baltimore in the sixth round of the 2014 draft. At college, he set the Ball State career record with 11,402 yards passing and 92 touchdowns.'

'The Ragland trade did not come as a surprise a day after coach Sean McDermott acknowledged the player was still fighting to win a spot on the roster. Ragland was having difficulty adjusting to a new defense introduced by McDermott, who was hired in January after Rex Ryan was fired in the final week of the season.'

'The ruling that found Washington not guilty came Monday after a nonjury trial in Hamilton County Municipal Court.'

'Ragland played only three defensive snaps in Buffalo's 13-9 preseason loss Saturday night to the Baltimore Ravens. He had moved to the third team after a week of practice this summer in favor of veteran Gerald Hodges.'

'In each of the last two regular seasons, Dareus has started on the suspended list. One game in 2015, four games in 2016, for violating the league's substance abuse policy. During a four-week span in May 2014, he was arrested on a drug-possession charge and then accused of drag racing after crashing his vehicle into a tree. That came on the heels of being late twice to meetings near the end of the 2013 season, and getting benched by then-head coach Doug Marrone.'

'The Bills previously traded 2016 fourth-round pick Cardale Jones to the Chargers, 2014 first-round pick Sammy Watkins to the Rams and 2015 second-round pick Ronald Darby to the Eagles. Buffalo also released 2014 second-round pick Cyrus Kouandjio in May. As a result of trades, the Bills own six selections in the first three rounds of the 2018 draft.'

'It is unclear whether Washington will face discipline from the NFL, which conducts its own investigations under the personal conduct policy.'

'This summer alone, the Bills have traded Ragland, receiver Sammy Watkins, cornerback Ronald Darby, and quarterback Cardale Jones. In return for all of those players, they netted a fourth-round pick, a second-round pick, a third-round pick, and a seventh-round pick. And don't forget what the Bills did in the draft, when they gave the Chiefs the 10th pick for the 27th pick, 91st pick, and a 2018 first-round pick.'

'Wenning, 26, is familiar with Rick Dennison's offense from his time spent with the Baltimore Ravens. Wenning has also spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Giants.'

'With the link, it also means there is likely a fair bit of familiarity with the scheme that Dennison runs, enough to get the Bills through the preseason finale. Wenning joins rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman as the only two healthy quarterbacks on the roster for Thursday night's game at New Era Field.'

'Ragland, a prototypical thumping 3-4 inside linebacker really wasn’t suited well for a role as an athletic middle linebacker in head coach Sean McDermott’s scheme. Now, he gets a chance in Kansas City with the defensive scheme he’s made for.'

'The conversation we had, we spoke in deep, deep thought. We spoke even after practice and we have a thorough understanding. So, we’re just going to continue to move forward with what we’ve got going and make this run this year.'