Two Bills Drive

‘The Bills, in fact, made a contract offer to the four-time Pro Bowler as early as Tuesday afternoon, and if he accepts, he could be on the field Sunday when they host the Patriots in the season opener at Ralph Wilson Stadium. That wouldn’t surprise anyone in the Patriots’ locker room.’

‘Picked by the Buffalo Bills in the eighth round of the 1969 draft, the Grambling star who later went on to play for the Los Angeles Rams, was named the 36th most influential minority in sports by Sports Illustrated this year. But Harris wouldn’t mind if he moved down that list because that might mean more blacks are getting more higher-profile jobs, especially in the NFL.’

‘New Orleans and Washington are the other two teams seriously pursuing Milloy, but the Bills are believed to have the inside track. A league source said Milloy and his agent, Carl Poston, planned to lay out the options Tuesday night, before reaching a decision Wednesday morning.’

‘The Bills are considered to have the salary-cap room to sign Milloy, and could use an established safety in their continuing attempt to upgrade an already revamped defense. Buffalo’s current starters are Coy Wire, who’s coming off an encouraging rookie season, and Pierson Prioleau, a four-year veteran who was a first-time starter last season.’

‘An unconfirmed report says the Bills have reached a verbal agreement with Milloy. Buffalo has only three safeties on the roster in Coy Wire, Pierson Prioleau and Izell Reese.’

‘Of the 53 players, 23 weren’t on the Bills’ active roster a year ago.’

Buffalo’s Gregg Williams: This is not your typical on-the-bubble situation. Williams is in the final year of his contract, has a team ready to win, and could wind up hitting the jackpot somewhere if he and the Bills come through. Odds are Buffalo makes the playoffs and Williams enjoys his payday in upstate New York. But if not, he and the Bills could be ex’s.

Within two hours of Milloy’s stunning release, ESPN.com reported Tuesday afternoon that the Buffalo Bills had already made a solid contract offer.

‘Drew Bledsoe, who played with Milloy in New England, has reportedly lobbied hard for the Bills to sign the hard hitting strong safety who is also known as a solid clubhouse leader.’

‘New England’s sweep by an aggregate score of 65-24 showed just how far Buffalo had to go. Sunday’s opener will demonstrate just how far the Bills have come.’

‘The Patriots are 9-2 in their last 11 games against AFC East opponents, dating back to the 2001 season.’

In a move that some observers regard as curious and others see as cutting edge, five teams — Buffalo, Denver, Indianapolis, San Diego and Washington — will begin the season with only two quarterbacks on their active rosters.

After re-evaluating James Stewart’s shoulder injury, the Lions decided to put on him on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday. After injuring the shoulder in Detroit’s final preseason game against the Bills, it was originally thought that Stewart would only miss the first three or four weeks of the season. While Stewart’s injury obviously hurts, Detroit addressed its lack of depth at tailback over the weekend by acquiring Olandis Gary from the Bills.

We apologize for the inconvenience, but we had to turn off guest access to our message board because of server load. We will allow guests back in once the Lawyer Milloy situation dies down.

The Chicago Bears signed G Corbin Lacina to a one-year deal today and made room on the 53-man roster by waiving T Bernard Robertson. Originally drafted in the sixth round (167th overall) of the 1993 draft by Buffalo, Lacina has played in 121 career games with 79 starts, playing for the Bills for five seasons (1993-97).