Archives for March 2013

‘After attempting to restructure a contract to keep the quarterback with the organization, Fitzpatrick declined the offer.’

‘Throughout the process, maybe the last few weeks or so, I’ve been in constant communication with Buddy talking things out, trying to figure out some sort of solution to the roster bonus, the salary and all that. This isn’t something that all of a sudden was thrown at me, I was blindsided by it, this is something that we talked about for a week or two. It was a lot of just private conversations. It was nice for it to be kind of left between me and him and not played out through the media. It stinks. I really did enjoy being a Buffalo Bill, and unfortunately we couldn’t get anything worked out.’

‘I know this isn’t sexy or even complimentary. Part of me thinks about Fitz reading this and getting the wrong impression. Even while I was slamming the book shut on him as Bills quarterback, every single bit of my Buffalo fan-being (or what’s left of it) was taking the brunt of that impact on the ankle. Seriously, how many times did you hear someone say, “If only we could put Fitz’s head on JP’s body” over the past three years? And it made sense. Remember “Buffalo Lives?” Losman wanted to single-handedly bring this city back. He loved it here, too. He just wasn’t good enough.’

‘He once performed at a level that convinced the club he should be paid like a franchise quarterback, but less than two years after signing a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Buffalo Bills have parted ways as the team released the veteran signal caller Tuesday.’

‘”My first five years started out up and down,” McKelvin said. “I showed flashes of me being a good cornerback, showed flashes of being there in position with foes coming in there and making plays over my back. I’ve never been a guy that was out of place or been a person that’s been burnt or anything like that. I’ve been beat by spectacular plays. As far as the return game, I’ve always been a great returner.”‘

‘Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine last month in Indianapolis, general manager Buddy Nix said, “We will try to be active in free agency. We’re not going to go crazy and overspend and get ourselves in a bind where we can’t keep some of our own, but we will be a player.”‘

‘”We’re excited that Leodis remains on our roster,” said Bills coach Doug Marrone. “Obviously, he is one of the most exciting kick returners in the game today, but we’re also counting on him to be very competitive for the starting corner position opposite Stephon Gilmore. We feel he could play an important role in our defense moving forward.”‘

‘”I see myself going out there and competing for the starting spot,” he said to reporters on Monday. “The contract says what it says, but I’m just going out there to compete and do what I gotta do to compete and make this team be better.”‘

‘How might they go about addressing all those needs? Here’s a position-by-position look at how they might be approaching the start of the new league year.’

‘San Diego Chargers – With the rumors very short on the Chargers and Levitre, this is more of a logical fit than anything. First, the rumor: Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune wrote on Twitter that the Chargers have indeed expressed interest in Levitre. On the logical side? Levitre is a Santa Cruz, CA native, which is roughly a seven-hour drive down to San Diego. He’s a California guy both born and raised.’

‘This was the only offer I was really looking into. They did a good job of coming after me and did a good job of doing it before the deadline of whenever the teams could talk to me. Buffalo was always the place I wanted to be. Like I said, I have my nephews and my brother up here. They are in school and he is working. It was like a no-brainer for me to come back.’

‘”This feels awesome,” McKelvin said moments after signing his multi-year contract extension. “It feels great to have a chance to stay with one team for pretty much your entire career. It’s a great feeling that I don’t have to move my family or anything like that. It’s great to be with one organization and have them have my back and come back and show my loyalty that I want to be here.”‘

‘He was the Director of College Scouting with the Washington Redskins and helped them win two Super Bowl titles, he then finished his career with the Houston Texans.’

‘Among his many awards, he was chosen for the All-AFL team, played in five AFL All-Star games, and helped Buffalo win the AFL Championships in 1964 and 1965. He is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, the Buffalo Bills’ Wall of Fame, a member of the Bills 25 year anniversary team as well as the 50 year anniversary team.’

‘However, I’m beginning to fear the Bills will lose offensive guard Andy Levitre, who might be team’s most underappreciated linemen. Levitre is certainly a very solid player, but perhaps more importantly, he’s been durable, something you can’t say about most of the team’s recent linemen. Haven’t heard any reports on the Bills reaching out to Levitre, so with that said (or unsaid), no news could very well be bad news.’