Niagara Gazette

‘The starters won’t play much and the final score is irrelevant. But, hey, there’s NFL football to be played Saturday.’

‘T.J. Sanders found the biggest man in the snack line and walked up to him. “You know I have beef with you, right?”’

‘Coach Sean McDermott announced his franchise quarterback will not play during the preseason opener Saturday. The rest of the team’s starters will play about a quarter, although there are a few exceptions.’

‘“Hunting quarterbacks the same way,” Epenesa joked. “Just grab them and take them out.”’

‘After missing eight practices with a calf strain, Williams returned to practice for the first time Wednesday. Williams sustained his elbow and knee injuries last season but neither required surgery, while his calf injury came from just a small slip while running during the third practice of training camp.’

‘The prospect of tackling Michael Hoecht seems like a religious experience.’

‘The Buffalo Bills released their unofficial first depth chart of the preseason. What does it mean? Not much.’

‘“However they handle it is how they handle it,” Davis told GNN Sports Monday after practice. “And that’s just nothing that I can worry about. I can control being out here on the practice field, and when my opportunity is called, to go out there and maximize my reps.”’

‘“I don’t think about it anymore because I know what it did to me in 2022, just my mental game, my happiness, my on-field performance,” Edwards told GNN Sports. “I think that if you simplify your life and what you do in practice and in games, it just makes everything easier. So I’ll worry about that if the conversations happen today or if they happen in March.”’

‘Fifteen players were on the report and 13 didn’t practice. Just about all of them project to make the 53-man roster, including nine potential starters. One name that wasn’t on the list was running back James Cook.’

‘“What we basically have to do is see them enough times to arrive at a conviction or evaluation,” said Gaine, who has been in the NFL since 1999, including a two-year stint as GM of the Texans. “… You need to see that prospect as much as you can, either through film or a live look or a practice or visiting a school to allow you to make that conviction.”’

‘“There was never a doubt that I wasn’t going to try and come back,” Davidson said. “I just stayed the course and continued working. I knew my opportunity would come. I’m still working for that now.”‘

‘Gosnell got behind cornerback Tre’Davious White and hauled in a pass from Josh Allen for a 50-yard touchdown. It was one of just two long touchdown passes for the offense, with the other being a bomb from Mitchell Trubisky to Deon Cain.’

‘The Buffalo Bills were without five wide receivers and their top two tight ends in some capacity Tuesday, leading to mixing and matching with the first-team offense. But the top three receivers haven’t changed since training camp opened.’

‘ Landon Jackson wanted to keep a promise. He declared after the Buffalo Bills selected him in the third round of April’s draft that he was a high-energy player. Jackson believes he plays with an edge without crossing the line. Players like that usually thrive when the pads go on.’