Two Bills Drive

Buffalo two-year veteran wide receiver Avion Black is still very raw and only caught eight passes in 2001. But he has good size and decent speed, 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.

‘Texans General Manager Charley Casserly and head coach Dom Capers wouldn’t comment on specific players during a national conference call earlier this week, but they didn’t seem overly enthusiastic about Johnson when asked about him.’

Some catching up on the details of a few new contracts recently awarded to quarterbacks: The five-year deal signed by Alex Van Pelt of Buffalo is worth $5.4 million and it includes a $1 million signing bonus along with base salaries of $650,000 (for 2002), $750,000 (2003) and $1 million each for 2004-2006.

‘The Buffalo Bills have signed guard Robert Hunt and wide receiver Andre Rone, the team announced Friday. Both were free agents.’

‘Blank covets McKay, whose credentials are better than the three candidates he’s interviewed — Buffalo director of football operations Tom Modrak, New Orleans general manager of football operations Randy Mueller and Seattle senior vice president Mike Reinfeldt.’

‘Hunt, a guard, was in Kansas City’s training camp last year but was released at the end of preseason. He played for the Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL Europe in 2000. Wide receiver Rone spent three seasons on Detroit’s practice squad after being cut by Miami, where he had entered the NFL as a rookie free agent in 1998.’

No one believes Carolina will ever pay Sean Gilbert the $10 million he’s scheduled to make or that Rob Johnson will ever see the $11 million his contract calls for.

‘This could well be the off-season’s most interesting week for the Bills.’

Today they signed WR Andre Rone and G Robert Hunt.

‘Kelly, selected for induction earlier this month, said his biggest wish is that Hunter is able to join him on the podium for the formal induction ceremonies in Canton, Ohio.’

‘If the 2001 NFL season taught us anything it was that the line between “genius” and “idiocy” is a very fine one indeed.’

‘During the football season, NFL players are allowed one day, Tuesday, away from their strict training regimen. The Buffalo Bills view this day, not as a day to rest, but an opportunity to give back to the community that so avidly supports them.’

‘Fina, one of five Bills made available for selection, is too old and his contract too expensive under the criteria Texans general manager Charley Casserly has developed for Monday’s draft.’

‘Levy could help them shed their desperation. He would bring a touch of class and leadership to an organization that has become the laughingstock of the league. And he might just be the right man at the right time for a veteran team that still has enough talent to make a run at the Super Bowl in 2002.’

‘"Any player that was over 30 years old we eliminated from our thinking," Casserly said during a telephone conference call with the media on Wednesday. Casserly added that he doesn’t want to gamble on whether older players can complete the duration of expensive, long-term contracts. That’s a number of strikes against Fina, who turns 33 next month and has five years left on a deal scheduled to pay him $19 million. Fina’s durability is also in question after knee problems forced him to miss three games last season.’