Archives for September 3, 2017

'Of the 68 players who were part of the 53-man squad at some time last season, only 27 remain, a mere 14 of them starters, plus punter Colton Schmidt.'

'The Bills’ roster cuts, which were officially announced 10 minutes before the 4 p.m. league-mandated deadline, weren’t all that surprising considering their depth at various positions, including receiver, offensive line and running back.'

'Meanwhile, the speedy Clay could potentially be a downfield threat now that he’s healthy. The 25-year-old, who signed with Carolina in April, caught six passes for 127 yards for the Panthers this preseason. But he has yet to catch a pass in a regular-season game. A 2015 sixth-round pick of Tampa Bay, Clay briefly spent time with Detroit and Baltimore. He averaged 10.6 yards on 23 punts and 24.5 yards on 14 kick returns for the Ravens.'

'At a time when expectations for the team are as low as at any time during the 17-year playoff drought, Reilly was a genuine feel-good story. He also showed, in various summer snapshots, the capacity to make a meaningful contribution.'

'Johnson had a two-yard touchdown run in last Thursday night's preseason-finale against the Detroit Lions.'

'Three of their first five games are on the road, and they all figure to be tough: the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, and Cincinnati Bengals.'

'They completed menial tasks like washing uniforms and changing an executive's flat tire. They emerged from doe-eyed obscurity to be fought over by different departments inside their organizations, to earn sudden, prominent interim roles, to get teased and passed over, to prove all over again they're going nowhere but to the tops of their professions.'

'Beane isn’t tanking it, but his actions bespeak a man who is cleaning up after is predecessors and looking to the future. Sure, he and Sean McDermott would love to compete for a playoff spot, but they know they’ve inherited a weak roster, a difficult situation.'

'The Bills were still my team and remain a scrapbook of my youth. I dodged potholes while delivering newspapers the way O.J. danced around tacklers. I toed imaginary sidelines the way Bobby Chandler did. You have no idea how much I wanted to step on Terry Bradshaw's head the way Jim Haslett did.'

'The Bills announced their transactions shortly before the 4 p.m. deadline which got them down to the NFL-mandated 53-man limit. Like many of the players around the league, mulligans are coming because each team can sign up to 10 players for their practice squad, and it is expected that several of the players the Bills cut will be back on the team Sunday afternoon.'

'Clay will now play for his fifth team since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted him in the sixth-round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Utah. Clay, 25, has never caught a pass in an NFL regular season game but has experience in the return game. He has one punt return touchdown in his career. He also caught six passes for 127 yards with the Panthers this preseason.'

'The Bills will be Kaelin Clay's fifth team. Clay was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2015 draft. He had practice squad stints with Tampa Bay and Detroit in 2015 before the Baltimore Ravens signed him to their 53-man roster. Clay would stay with the Ravens through 2016. This offseason, Clay joined the Panthers before he was traded to Buffalo.'

'In less than four months with the team, Beane is proving that he's serious about building through the draft. The GM has made multiple trades that have resulted in adding picks in the next two drafts.'

'According to the Batavia Daily News, Reilly will be added the team's practice squad. Various reports also indicate Shorts, Sayles, Lewis, Seau, and Sanders will also be added to the practice squad, if another NFL team doesn't claim them. Buffalo is allowed to place 10 players on their practice squad.'

'“Yup, 100%. We have all sorts of tags when we (grade) a player … all the measurables that you would normally see. But we also have, ‘Is he ultra-competitive? Was he a team captain?’ You know, all the little indicators of what this guy is. We also have tags that are mental. We’re concerned with, ‘How smart is this guy?’ … Part of that entails asking the weight coach: ‘How hard does this guy work in here?’ And asking his guidance counsellor, ‘How hard does this guy work in school?’ Now, the competitive guys? Most of them? They have good grades, too. Yeah, some of them have schooling issues. But most of them that can learn, they’re busting their butts. But I definitely make our scouts ask every single thing about them.”'

'Clay becomes the latest ex-Panther to jump on the Charlotte-to-Buffalo train, following Bills head coach Sean McDermott, Beane and several players.'

'Clay played seven games for the Ravens last season, returning 23 punts and 14 kickoffs. He was initially drafted by Tampa Bay in the sixth round in 2015, but spent most of that season on Detroit's practice squad.'

'Clay is an undrafted rookie who impressed during the preseason with exceptional speed. He had a 58-yard reception against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Panthers feel they are deep at wide receiver.'

'Clay, a sixth-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015 out of Utah, has also spent time with the Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens and Panthers. In 2015, he returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown for Baltimore against the Cleveland Browns. He has appeared in seven NFL games, all with the Ravens in 2015.'

'Seymour was a sixth round pick of the Bills last year out of USC. He played fifteen games his rookie year, starting three of them.'

'Waived/Injured – WR Jeremy Butler, OT Michael Ola.'

'You then add that up with a slew of other factors: not being a good fit for the Sean McDermott zone-based defense, missing a lot of time during the summer with injuries, and failing to impress when he was healthy. In a man-to-man defense like the one Rex Ryan used to employ in Buffalo, Seymour seemed at home. In McDermott’s zone defense, Seymour seemed a little foreign to its concepts.'

'In the battle for one of the final spots on the roster at wide receiver, Daikiel Shorts was just a tad behind Brandon Reilly — but the Bills have liked what they’ve seen from Shorts just the same. I would expect them to try and snap him up on to the practice squad when they become available on Sunday at 1:00 pm.'

'The Bills keeping a total of six running backs was the biggest upset of the day. I thought it would have come down to one spot between Taiwan Jones and Joe Banyard, and at least through the initial cuts, there was room for both. Each player brings their own ability to special teams, and Jones showed a little bit of ability on offense in the preseason finale as well. If the Bills make waiver claims on Sunday, one of Jones or Banyard might not be around by the start of the work week.'

'The move was announced after the roster cut deadline passed. The acquisition means the Bills need to make a corresponding roster room to remain at the 53-man limit.'

'In a crowded backfield it was a long shot for Johnson, who signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent, to make the roster. The former Sweet Home star scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the preseason finale against the Lions on Thursday night.'

'Seymour, a sixth-round pick of the Bills last year, lost out in a big for the starting cornerback job opposite rookie Tre’Davious White following the team’s trade of Ronald Darby. He also lost out in the battle for the starting nickel corner role to Leonard Johnson.'

'Two players were moved off the roster via injury settlements with the Bills. The most notable was Rod Streater, who was arguably the most consistent receiver in training camp. He sustained a dislocated toe in the preseason game against Philadelphia and had not been able to practice since.'

'As the Buffalo Bills prep for the season, they are also spending off days helping local youth prep for school. This past Monday was a day off for the Bills, and for linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, it was a chance to give back to the local community. Through his ACES Foundation and with support from National Grid, Alexander took 57 students from South Park and Lackawanna High Schools school supply shopping at Walmart. Each student was provided with a Walmart gift card to ensure they have what they need for the upcoming school year. Joined by a group of his teammates, Alexander and crew were able to make a difference.'

'Jones certainly has the potential to break out this season. Not only does he have talent, but he has a major opportunity in Buffalo. As Kiper stated, Jones isn’t unaccustomed to being the main threat on an offense. During his senior year at East Carolina, he received a high volume of throws. He turned those targets in record-breaking production. In the same position on the Bills offense, he could impress again.'