Two Bills Drive

'The coach gets to look at him with a fresh set of eyes that says all of the spectacular plays Watkins made at Clemson and those flashes of brilliance he has shown as a pro mean nothing right now. What matters is that Watkins is, once again, healing from one of the double-digit injuries he has had since his rookie season. Therefore, it didn't make any sense to McDermott that the Bills pick up a fifth-year option on his contract that would have been guaranteed against injury.'

'Cut(s): Cyrus Kouandjio, Seantrel Henderson, Greg Pyke, Voghens Larrieux, Jac’Que Polite, Michael Ola.'

'Beane, 40, has been a member of the Panthers organization for 20 years, including the last six with new Bills head coach Sean McDermott. Beane was promoted to assistant GM behind Dave Gettleman in 2015 and has even served as an interim GM for the Panthers for 10 games in 2012.'

'Remember, Taylor was a player endorsed internally by Rex Ryan and the Bills had already made their off-season decision on him before McDermott was in the picture. It would not be surprising if McDermott decided to go in another direction now that he has full control.'

'The Panthers assistant general manager is thought by many to be one of the strongest in-house candidates to take over in Carolina after the current GM retires. Dave Gettleman, 66, remains the GM of the Panthers and Beane works along with him.'

'Beane interviewed for the San Francisco GM position in 2016.'

'“I appreciate it. It was a huge honor, I mean last year to get that opportunity. Now, it’s just time to tease the success and kind of build upon that as far as a defensive standpoint,” Alexander said. “Often times you get caught up, you know that I went to the Pro Bowl, Pro Bowl MVP, No.91. etc. Sometimes guys can fall into the pit fall of, ‘Ok, I made it. I’m successful, I’ve kind of accomplished things that I want to.’ And you kind of forget about the work you need to put in or the work that took you there. You may take a day off here and a day off there.'

'McCoy is very familiar with Veach from his time with the Philadelphia Eagles. Veach started his career as Andy Reid's assistant (2007-2009) and moved on to be one of the Eagles' top scouts. Veach played a large role in Philadelphia drafting the running back, as well as DeSean Jackson.'

'Gaine has spent 18 seasons in the NFL, including the last two as the Texans' director of player personnel. In that role, he provides a supervisory and leadership role to both the pro and college scouting departments and the Texans player evaluation process. He previously spent 2008 to 2013 with the Miami Dolphins in various leadership roles in their personnel department. Prior to that, he spent time under Bill Parcells with the Dallas Cowboys' front office.'

'Barnidge, 31, has a connection with Bills coach Sean McDermott. The tight end was with the Carolina Panthers (who made him a fifth-round draft pick from Louisville in 2008) in 2011 and 2012, McDermott's first two seasons as their defensive coordinator.'

'The Texans hired Gaine in 2014 to be director of college scouting. In 2015, they promoted him to director of player personnel, and he has established himself as a rising talent in the scouting ranks.'

'Of particular interest for Bills fans should be what happened to the 27 players who had their options declined from 2011-13. Only four of them re-signed with the teams that drafted them after their rookie contracts expired. They were…'.

'The former Buffalo Bills' safety, who was released in April, has seen both of his last two seasons end early because of neck injuries, but is evidently not ready to hang up his cleats — despite pleading from his family and friends to do just that.'

'The Bills' running back threw his support behind Veach on Wednesday, doing so in a series of tweets.'

'But Orchard Park Town Board members on Wednesday night will consider placing a moratorium on the expansion of parking facilities within a mile of New Era Field. Those "satellite parking lots" that already exist would not be affected. But homeowners and owners of other private parking lots would not be allowed to increase their footprint or the number of cars they park, or create parking lots at sites where they have not existed before.'