Niagara Gazette

‘Thomas is considered by many to be out of reach for the Bills at No. 28, which has allowed Mitchell’s name to heat up, barring a trade. Between CBS, ESPN and NFL.com, Mitchell has been mocked to the Bills 20 times over the last two months and seven of eight analysts for CBS currently have him going to Buffalo.’

‘Only three players — Edmunds, Ed Oliver and Tre’Davious White — have played at least 50% of the defensive snaps as rookies since McDermott was hired by the Bills in 2017, a contrast to the eight rookies who managed that feat on offense. That may change this year.’

‘“If it makes sense, I’ll do it, but I don’t love it,” Beane said. “I just know that there were times in Carolina in some of my younger years where we did trade it and I felt more times we were disappointed later that we did it. Like that player we got didn’t put us all the way at the top and then you get to the next year’s draft and you’re picking 17 and you go, ‘Look who we could’ve just had.’”’

‘Diggs never attacked Allen or the franchise in his limited media availability last season, but his once effusive and unsolicited praise for the quarterback diminished. In public it seemed that it was a one-way relationship, as to this day, no one has revealed why Diggs was unhappy or why he needed to leave the facility on the first day of mandatory minicamp last year.’

‘“I think they should probably put an end to those conversations, but I don’t think that will happen because it’s very clickbait,” University at Buffalo sprints coach Jhad Jones said. “Every time it comes up, I see a lot of track coaches on social media get riled up about it and start Tweeting about it, talking about it on Facebook and on message boards, so it creates a great buzz that I think that they are trying to get.”’

‘Buffalo has 28 players returning from last season’s opening day roster, the fewest since 2019. Allen, now, should be the unequivocal face of the franchise in the way Patrick Mahomes is with the Chiefs, Tom Brady was with the Patriots and Aaron Rodgers was with the Packers — a cut above the rest.’

‘Beane has established himself as one of the most aggressive general managers in the NFL, trading up in the first round four times in his six drafts with the Buffalo Bills. But Beane has never mortgaged an extra first-round pick to make a move, even when it was time to draft Josh Allen in 2018.’

‘A smile and engaging personality catapulted Simpson to stardom no Buffalo athlete has ever experienced, parlaying a career of running through defenses to running through the airport in a national Hertz car rental commercial, while working as an analyst on Monday Night Football and the NFL on NBC. And then all of that was washed away on June 12, 1994.’

‘For close to 10 months, in 1995, as a reporter for WIVB TV/News4Buffalo, I spent an average of 60 hours a week chronicling Simpson’s trial for the slashing murder of his estranged wife and a restaurant waiter. It had been dubbed the “Trial of the Century” (though truth be told it was more the “Trial of the Second Half of the Century,” proceeded in 1935 by the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, the accused Lindbergh baby kidnapper).’

‘Perhaps the Bills take a step back this season and reach the playoffs as a wild-card, but once a team gets into the tournament, anything can happen. The Giants in 2007 and 2011, the 2012 Ravens, the 2020 Buccaneers and 2021 Rams are all examples of teams that weren’t expected to do much damage but got hot in the playoffs and won the Super Bowl.’

‘What the Bills currently have is a chance to craft a more diverse offense, and although Diggs was an elite receiver for the Bills, both he and Davis lined up split wide more than 70% of their snaps in Buffalo. The three top receiving threats remaining — Dalton Kincaid, Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir — all played more than 50% of their snaps out of the slot last season.’

‘Diggs, 30, caught 445 passes for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns over four seasons in Buffalo after being acquired from the Minnesota Vikings for a first-round pick in 2020. He is the only player in franchise history with four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving and 100-catch seasons.’

‘While Diggs caught 100 passes per season and the team was ascending, it was easy to overlook his eccentricities, his brooding and vague messaging on social media. But over the last year, the drama increased and the production declined, making Wednesday’s trade to the Houston Texans inevitable.’

‘The Bills don’t currently have the resources to make such a move, nor can they risk future resources for such an impulsive decision. Perhaps they could move up into the middle of the first round if the fourth option, LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. shoots up draft boards, but history says trading up for a receiver at any point in the first round isn’t a fruitful endeavor for any team seeking to make or win a Super Bowl.’

‘The also Bills officially announced the signing of Austin Johnson Thursday to be the primary backup for DaQuan Jones, Williams fits more into the role of Ed Oliver’s backup at 3-technique. A chunk of his career has been spent in 3-4 defenses, where he has flipped between defensive end and defensive tackle, but 57% of his career snaps have come as 3-technique defensive tackle, where he’s more likely to play in Buffalo’s four-man front.’