Niagara Gazette

‘The Bills somehow dodged holiday and international games on their 2025 schedule. Buffalo will, however, have at least five primetime games for the third consecutive season, starting with the season opener.’

‘The NFL released its slate of international games Tuesday and the Bills are not part of any of the seven games this season. They are also not on the schedule for the Christmas nightcap nor Black Friday games on Amazon Prime.’

‘The Bills have turned into one of the NFL’s big box office attractions over the last few years, playing 22 primetime games since 2021. And they were the sixth-most watched team in the league last year, averaging 23.1 million viewers.’

‘Seventh-round pick Kaden Prather snapped off his route and created separation on a 5-yard out. A few plays later, undrafted free agent Stephen Gosnell snapped off his route and got Hairston again.’

‘Over the course of three days, the Buffalo Bills are allotted 10 hours per day to hold their yearly rookie minicamp. For their nine draft picks, it’s orientation and an introduction to how an NFL practice is conducted. For the other 30 or so players — give or take a priority undrafted free agent — it’s a tryout.’

‘If there is a year a wide receiver could sneak onto the roster, this is it. The Bills are still seeking a special teams-oriented receiver and whether Akharaiyi can cover kicks and punts will determine his fate. He only played three years of FBS football after two years of junior college. He had 1,033 yards and seven touchdowns on just 43 receptions at UTP in 2023, but his numbers dropped to 25 grabs for 391 yards at Mississippi State last year. At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Akharaiyi is a tweener between slot receiver and outside receiver.’

‘The start of Elijah Moore’s career hasn’t gone according to plan.’

‘The Buffalo Bills have more positional battles on tap than they have in recent memory. Even after a roster purge led to eight of 10 draft picks making last year’s roster, there wasn’t much mystery on cutdown day.’

‘Anyone looking for the “Aha!” moment on Brandon Beane might want to pump the brakes for a minute.’

‘Elijah Moore agreed Wednesday to a one-year contract worth $5 million, first reported by ESPN. The 25-year-old has four seasons of NFL experience, the last two with the Cleveland Browns after being a 2021 second-round pick of the New York Jets.’

‘Brandon Beane hasn’t been overly concerned about the Buffalo Bills offense. He’s addressed it on multiple occasions during the pre-draft lead-up. And he’s apparently tired of talking about it.’

‘The Buffalo Bills scored 29 points in their AFC championship game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, two shy of their season average. Even if the Bills scored 31 points in that game, they still would have lost by one.’

‘General manager Brandon Beane also didn’t seem concerned about taking one Friday night. Well, we quickly learned why. The Bills traded a fourth-round pick (132) and a fifth-round pick (169) to the Chicago Bears for the 109th pick, the one they traded away to draft South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders.’

‘Time will tell how his draft picks pan out. But at the very least, the Buffalo Bills are primed to have serious competition at cornerback and defensive tackle.’

‘The Bills took defensive players with their first five picks of the NFL draft and six of their first seven. Buffalo has gone from lacking depth to creating what should be intriguing training camp battles.’