CBS Sports

‘The first game will pit the Tennessee Titans at the Buffalo Bills, to be played at 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.’

‘Patriots: New England will be entering Year 2 of Mac Jones and will be looking for the first-round quarterback to take the next step in his development. This offseason, they have provided him with some new weapons, including receivers DeVante Parker and second-round pick Tyquan Thornton. However, they did lose offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels this offseason, which cannot be overlooked. On defense, the departure of J.C. Jackson will also be a hole that Bill Belichick will need to fill in some capacity.’

‘Those two picks were also somewhat surprising, if only because you almost never see two punters get taken that early With Stout going at 130th overall and Camarda going three picks later, this year marked just the third time since 1993 that two punters were taken before the end of the fourth round. The only other times it happened came in 1993 and 2007.’

‘James, 22, enters the NFL with four years of college experience, emerging as a change-of-pace star for Georgia in 2021, when he totaled over 1,000 scrimmage yards despite making just three starts. His ability to shift in space should bode well for his future with the Bills, with Devin Singletary and Zack Moss already in place as more traditional ball-carriers. Buffalo attempted to sign Commanders pass-catching specialist J.D. McKissic in free agency before the veteran returned to Washington, so Cook could immediately slot into such a role as a rookie.’

‘Brady just unveiled a new clothing brand back in January and Allen might have single-handedly put it out of business with that one tweet.’

‘The Bills currently play in Orchard Park’s Highmark Stadium, their home since 1973 and the fourth-oldest complex in the NFL. Under their 30-year lease with New York State and Erie County for construction of the new stadium, the Bills will get a record $850 million from public taxpayers, as well as $250 million from Erie County, in addition to the $600 million state funds. Gov. Kathy Hochul had made funding a new Bills stadium one of her “signature proposals,” per The News, and Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes defended the investment as a win for the community.’

‘Diggs had two years remaining on his current contract, which was slated to carry roughly an $18 million salary cap hit in each season. The news comes during the same off-season in which Tyreek Hill ($72.2 million guaranteed) and Davante Adams ($65 million guaranteed) received lucrative contract extensions of their own.’

‘On the play, Hill flashed his patented “peace” sign at Bills defenders at about the 16-yard-line before completing the 64-yard touchdown that gave Kansas City a 33-29 lead. A taunting penalty would not have wiped out the score; it would have either been assessed on the point-after attempt or the ensuing kickoff.’

‘”While there are more hurdles to clear before getting to the finish line, we feel our public-private partnership between New York State, Eric County, led by county executive Mark Poloncarz, and the National Football league will get us there.”‘

‘”We’re always trying to evolve — on the field, off the field, schematically — and in this case with Josh’s running or the amount of times that we run him, we have to continue to evolve that way and making sure we’re doing right by him by doing right by our team,” McDermott said at the NFL Owners Meetings Sunday, via NFL.com. “So, we are going to keep a close eye on that. But the one thing we will never take from Josh is his competitive nature and spirit. So, he’s gonna do it when he’s gonna do it.”‘

‘After three years in the Big Apple, Jamison Crowder is headed to Buffalo. The former Washington and Jets receiver is signing a one-year deal with the Bills, as confirmed by CBS Sports NFL insider Josina Anderson. Crowder will help fill the void left following the Bills’ recent decision to release Cole Beasley, who caught 231 passes over his three seasons in Buffalo.’

‘Keenum will replace the departed Mitchell Trubisky in Buffalo.’

‘Lotulelei found mixed results when healthy. He logged just 17 total tackles in his Bills debut but stepped up in 2019, recording two sacks to go along with three quarterback hits and three tackles for loss. He nearly matched a career high in sacks in 2021, with three, despite playing just 11 games, while also recording three QB hits and four tackles for loss.’

‘Altogether, counting the playoffs, Buffalo’s defense was a middle-of-the-pack unit when it came to sacking the opposing passer. In two postseason affairs against Patrick Mahomes, it felt like the Bills generated ample pressure to render the superstar quarterback to a level that would’ve allowed the Bills to outscore his offense. But the sacks were almost non-existent.’

‘The soon-to-be 33-year-old is entering his 11th season in the NFL. He spent his first seven seasons in Dallas before joining the Bills three years ago. For his career, Beasley has 550 receptions for 5,709 yards and 34 touchdowns. The 5-foot-8 wideout caught 231 passes for 2,438 yards and 11 touchdowns during his three seasons in Buffalo. He caught 82 passes for 693 yards and a score in 11 games last season after catching 82 passes for a career-high 967 yards and four touchdowns in 2020.’