CBS Sports

‘The 102nd pick in the 2015 draft, the 6-foot-6, 330-pound Williams started two games during his rookie season. That season, Williams helped the Panthers win a franchise-record 15 regular-season games en route to an NFC title. Williams broke into the starting lineup in 2016 and made a career-high 16 starts during the 2018 season. After injuries limited him to just one game in 2018, Williams made 12 starts in 2019, his final season with the Panthers.’

‘Needless to say, this is quite the coup for Buffalo. Milano was expected to test the free agent market and many assumed — including those within the organization — that he would likely be lost upon hitting free agency with a number of teams driving up the price for his services thus making him too expensive for the Bills to retain.’

‘When healthy, Brown was both a big-play threat and favorite option for Allen in the passing game. The Bills fared well while the wideout battled his ankle injury throughout 2020, however, with trade acquisition Stefon Diggs taking over as the No. 1 receiver and leading the NFL with 127 catches for 1,535 yards. Fourth-round draft pick Gabriel Davis also flashed in place of Brown, scoring seven times and averaging more than 17 yards per reception as one of the Bills’ top downfield weapons.’

‘A seventh-round pick in the 2018 draft, Smith spent the first two years of his career with the Panthers. Just before the start of the 2020 season, he was traded to Buffalo in exchange for a 2023 conditional seventh-round pick. Smith played in 12 regular-season games last season, recording a career-high nine tackles. In the Bills’ Week 17 win over the Dolphins, Smith tallied five tackles (one for loss) and his first career forced fumble. Smith was largely used on special teams; he took part in at least 53% of the Bills’ special teams snaps in each of his 15 active games (including the postseason).’

‘Hyde has continued to be an integral part of the Bills’ defense. He finished fifth on the team in tackles last season while helping the Bills reach their first AFC title game since 1993. The Bills, with about 6,700 fans permitted inside Bills Stadium, won their first home playoff game in over a quarter century after defeating the Colts in the wild-card round. Buffalo followed that win with a 17-3 win over Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in the divisional round.’

‘”It was a hell of a season that we had,” said Diggs, who had six catches for 77 yards on 11 targets against Kansas City. “Just going into that new chapter for me with my new team. So many good things happened. To come up short in that moment I felt like I let my team down from my point of view. I felt like I could have done more. I wanted to remember that moment, I wanted to embrace it in its totality and have an appreciation of it and grow from it. I needed to go through that and see it because I know I’m a champion, and one day I will be.”‘

‘”It was such a great room,” Davis said about Buffalo’s wide receiving corps. “That room was the tightest, I feel, in the whole NFL. I learned a lot of things from the guys in front of me. … These guys are different when it comes to playing receiver and I just tried to pick up everything that I could.”‘

‘The Bills are looking at an estimated $3 million in cap space this offseason with the reported minimum salary cap being set by the league at $180 million. That’s down from the $198 million last year and one of the main reasons why Buffalo is just one of many clubs needing to either make players on the roster cap casualties and cut them or simply let them walk because they can’t afford them.’

‘The Bills were one of the teams named by ESPN’s Ed Werder when he reported last week that approximately a dozen teams had shown interest in Watt since the Texans released him. The Bills are coming off of an impressive 13-3 season which ended in the AFC Championship Game. Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs became a dynamic duo that was almost unstoppable on offense, and the defense improved as the year went on as well. Buffalo also employs a scheme that features four down linemen, which could be something attractive to Watt.’

‘”I think his decision-making has really improved, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. I thought he’s done a great job of protecting his body compared to his first two years. I think he’ll naturally continue to learn the game,” Beane said of Allen. “It’s another year in our system, Brian Daboll is likely to be back. Continuity is important at the quarterback position, and it appears to be heading that way again as we go into Year 4.”‘

‘What Allen accomplished in 2020 was MVP-caliber, even if he won’t take home the league’s highest individual honor. Allen set the Bills’ franchise record for passing yards in a season (4,544) and passing touchdowns (37), finishing with a 107.2 passer rating. He finished fourth in the league in completion percentage (69.2), fifth in passing yards, fifth in passing touchdowns, and fourth in passer rating — while also rushing for 421 yards and eight touchdowns.’

‘Daboll found himself fielding interest this year for head coach vacancies because of his ability to create a prolific offense in Buffalo, fueled largely by the leaps and bounds progression from quarterback Josh Allen, but is now expected to stay put with the Bills, barring an unexpected turn of some sort with the Houston Texans in their search for a new head coach. Needless to say, this pleases Beasley greatly because while he wants what’s best for Daboll, he also wants what’s best for a Buffalo offense that ranked No. 2 in the league this season.’

‘The Brown release may seem surprising, but after the 2020 he endured with injuries and limited production, at his age (31 in April), it would hardly come as a shock. Yes, Brown did usher in the new, offensive-driven Bills in 2019, but the reduced salary cap makes it much more difficult for Buffalo to keep him on the roster in 2021.’

‘While he did not detail when he suffered the injury, it appears that Beasley may have sustained it during Buffalo’s Week 16 win over New England. After not appearing on the injury report prior to that game, Beasley did not play in Buffalo’s regular season-finale after missing that week’s practices. He returned for Buffalo’s wild-card game against the Colts, catching all seven of his targets for 57 yards in the Bills’ 27-24 victory. After not making a catch in Buffalo’s divisional round win over Baltimore, Beasley caught seven of nine targets for 88 yards in Sunday’s loss to Kansas City.’

‘Watching your opponent celebrate having accomplished the very thing you wanted to achieve is a tough thing to do. There’s a reason not many players — in any sport — remain on the field or the ice or the court to watch that happen. But apparently, Diggs just felt that he had to be out there, to get a good look at what he missed out on when his team fell short in the AFC title game. Perhaps he’ll use it as motivation going forward.’