Two Bills Drive

Marlin Briscoe was the first African-American quarterback to start a pro game 34 years ago for the Denver Broncos. Now he's trying to make a difference again at an outreach program in Los Angeles. After his release from the Broncos, Briscoe latched on with the Buffalo Bills and became a wide receiver, a position he had never before played. The first season, he became the Bills' offensive MVP. A year later, he led the league in receiving and became an All-Pro

As for Blake, the Saints would like to receive a fourth-round pick for his services, with the Bills one team that may be interested. The Bills are looking for a veteran QB to compete with Alex Van Pelt, which almost certainly means that Rob Johnson won’t be back.

The 31-year-old Blake has a cap figure of $6.166 million in 2002, which is why the Saints want to trade him. They would save about $2 million by trading him. He is also due a roster bonus of $1.25 million on March 2.

‘Without that special teams edge, he quickly fell to No. 5 wideout behind starters Eric Moulds and Peerless Price, rookie Reggie Germany who moved up to the No. 3 spot and even Jeremy McDaniel who fell into disfavor.’

‘The Bills lost reserve receiver Avion Black to the Texans. But after Black was taken, the Bills did not bother to pull Johnson back onto their protected list, as was their option.’

‘Stop pretending he’s going to swallow a huge salary cut and come crawling back to a town that is sick of him. Put the fans, the players, the media and Rob himself out of their misery and cut the guy right now.’

The 24-year-old Black was mostly a special teams player for the Bills last season. He has 697 total return yards, eight receptions for 90 yards and five special-teams tackles in his NFL career.

The Houston Texans didn’t want Rob Johnson on Monday, and the Buffalo Bills still haven’t decided whether they intend to keep him.

By selecting Bears backup Danny Wuerffel to go with veteran Mike Quinn, the Texans don’t have to hit the QB market hard. If Gus Frerotte, Jim Miller or Rob Johnson — if he’s cut by Buffalo — wants to come to Houston for a $1 million, one-year deal, the Texans will probably accommodate him. Frank Reich started in Carolina until Kerry Collins was ready in the first month. The Texans — if they draft Carr — are only asking for games, not years, from a veteran QB.

‘"We’ve been pretty open about the situation right from the end of the season," Donahoe said. "If there’s a chance for Rob to come back the contract’s a factor. If they’re not receptive to that, it’s going to be difficult for us to bring him back. We can’t do it under the current number."’

Veteran LB Marvcus Patton, a starter for the Kansas City Chiefs the last three seasons, agreed to a six-year contract Monday. Patton was an eighth-round draft choice of the Buffalo Bills out of UCLA and played on all four of the team’s Super Bowl squad.

‘Asked the chances of Johnson taking a pay cut, Donahoe replied: “I don’t know. You’d have to ask Rob that question. I’m not good at mind-reading. And a pay cut is only the first step”, Donahoe added.’

[Q] On the possibility of Rob staying and accepting a pay cut…

[A] You would have to ask Rob that question. I am not good at mind reading, I failed that course in college. We have had discussions with David Dunn, we’ll have some more and see what happens. We have spoken a couple times.

‘On Monday, Bills general manager Tom Donahoe said he hasn’t ruled out using either a franchise or transition tag on Cowart prior to Thursday’s deadline. Such a move would at least give Buffalo the right to match any offer made to Cowart by any other team.’

‘Black, who turns 25 in April, had just four catches for 45 yards last season.’

Avion Black was the only Buffalo Bill taken in 19 picks taken by Texans.

Len Pasquarelli, ESPN.com senior NFL writer: The two-year veteran wide receiver is still very raw and only caught eight passes in 2001. But he has good size and decent speed, nice body control, and seems to have potential as a wideout and clearly can help in the kickoff return game. With a cap price of $460,000, he’s worth a gamble.