Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Sean McDermott said a couple times this summer that the competition between Tyrel Dodson, A.J. Klein, Terrel Bernard and Baylon Spector was not yielding the results he was hoping for, meaning none of those players stepped up and outright won the job.’

‘The other two available spots, general manager Brandon Beane said Wednesday afternoon, are expected to be filled by a pair of outsiders.’

‘Giving up on a 2021 second-round draft pick after just two seasons and 4.5 sacks represents quite a whiff on the part of general manager Brandon Beane and his college scouting staff.’

‘As early as Wednesday, changes will start to be made as the Bills are expected to place wide receiver Justin Shorter and linebacker Baylon Spector on injured reserve. That will open two spots for players who were released Tuesday in what will amount to paperwork moves.’

‘When Sherfield signed as a free agent back in the spring, he was almost an afterthought with Diggs and Gabe Davis as the starters, Khalil Shakir returning for his second season and speedy Deonte Harty already signed to a more lucrative free agent deal. However, there is now plenty of thought being given to the idea that Sherfield might be the No. 3 receiver in Buffalo’s offense, No. 4 if you count rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid as a receiver.’

‘NFL teams must pare their rosters to 53 men by 4 p.m. Tuesday, and it’s never easy to tell players who have worked so hard that their time has come. And while the Buffalo Bills had a pretty good idea all summer who was making their initial regular-season roster, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some really tough decisions to make.’

‘So at Soldier Field during the Bills’ 24-21 victory over the Bears, Allen had to be feeling a little pressure to perform. He played more than three quarters because starter Josh Allen played just one series, and third-stringer Matt Barkley sat out with an elbow injury, and it was certainly a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs.’

‘Cable/Network: CBS. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WROC (Channel 8, Rochester), WIVB (Buffalo area), WSYR (Syracuse area), WKTV (Utica area), WENY (Elmira area), WRGB (Albany area), and WBNG (Binghamton area).’

‘Still, while not critical, there are several tough calls to make – three starting spots, plus backup and special teams roles at the back end of the roster – and Saturday’s 1 p.m. preseason finale against the Bears at Soldier Field is the final proving ground for those players still in the hunt for jobs.’

‘“Baby model,” Van Demark said the other day with a smile. “My mom took me and my brother into (New York City from their home in Wayne, New Jersey) like every other weekend and then we would do baby model pictures and it was cool. Obviously I don’t remember it, but my mom’s got all the pictures framed from like Ralph Lauren, Toys ‘R Us, all that stuff.”’

‘Later, Janine Talley ― “Twitter famous” in her own right ― posted an update on the service now called X. Photos revealed Darryl Talley’s choice: A sign for Nick Tahou’s, along with a plate in various stages of consumption. While the exact contents were obstructed by the requisite meat hot sauce, it appeared that the former linebacker ordered his plate with a hot dog and hamburger, along with home fries, baked beans and a smattering of raw onions.’

‘What was interesting about Whitner’s comment is that he threw a little shade at star quarterback Josh Allen while making the case for the Bills to go after Taylor. “Running the ball and running it with consistency in the fourth quarter, in four-minute situations,” Whitner said. “In four-minute situations, we have the ball, we have to retain it and knock as much time off the clock to win those close games in the payoffs. You cannot continually put the ball in Josh Allen’s hands in those moments; we’ve seen him fail in those moments.”’

‘“We’re using the process right now to make sure that we’re ready to go when it counts and right now we’re in the midst of that,” he said. “There’s some things that we just need to do a little bit better as far as coordination, as far as all being on the same page, so we can really take advantage of the exceptional talent that we have to win one-on-one.’

‘Pretty soon the preseason, the time to get the mistakes out of the way, will be over and the Bills will be facing a very good New York Jets defense led by destructive defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Based on what we saw in Pittsburgh, that’s a scary thought.’

‘It’s safe to say that the Bills could not have played any worse than they did across approximately 45 cringe-worthy minutes at Acrisure Stadium as they trailed 27-0 after three quarters before scoring two touchdowns with Kyle Allen at quarterback in the fourth quarter.’