Archives for March 12, 2014

‘Byrd was upset last year because the Bills denied him the opportunity to test the open market. He refused to sign his $6.916 million franchise tag until every offseason workout and training-camp practice was over.’

‘Whaley doesn’t need to hit a bunch of home runs in the coming days and weeks. But he can’t afford to whiff, either. He’s nominally a first-time GM, but he’s no rookie. This roster is his; it reflects his football vision, and it’s time to show some real progress.’

‘Carroll meets with Bills coaches today. He’s a big, fast player who entered the NFL as a raw prospect but played pretty well as a starter in Miami last season. Is he good enough to get contract worthy of a capable NFL starter? Miami, with loads of money to spend, apparently didn’t think so.’

‘Wednesday could be an interesting day. A snowstorm expected to rock western New York could alter the plans of free agents hoping to visit One Bills Drive. Miami cornerback Nolan Carroll is one player known to be coming to town.’

‘The Saints weren’t in a position to spent megabucks on a free agent as they’re about $2 million under the salary cap before the Byrd deal. So the Saints will have to make significant salary maneuvering to make this deal work as Byrd secured the $9 million per season price tag he sought in free agency.’

‘The 5-foot-10, 203-pound Byrd, a former second-round pick by Buffalo, has gone to three Pro Bowls in his five seasons. He has 22 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and three sacks since entering the NFL in 2009 out of Oregon.’

‘Caussin missed the past two seasons because of injuries. He was sidelined last season with a hip injury sustained early in training camp. Caussin missed the 2012 season because of a knee injury.’

‘Without going into detail, general manager Doug Whaley announced Tuesday the team released Kolb after he failed a physical.’

‘Over 73 career games, Byrd has 356 tackles and 22 interceptions, nine of which came in his 2009 rookie campaign.’

‘Carpenter has converted 160-of-191 field goals (83.8-percent) in his career, along with 186-of-187 point after tries for 666 points in 92 games played. His 160 field goals made since 2008 are fourth-most among NFL kickers.’

‘The Bills said Tuesday that Kolb, who also missed games in the 2010 and 2011 seasons with separate concussions, failed a physical.’

‘Nine of Byrd’s 22 career interceptions came in his rookie season, a year in which he also registered a career-high 11 passes defensed.’

‘”This reiterates our core principle, to sign our own guys and a guy that made 33 out of 36 field goals in that stadium is somebody that we were very interested in and we were very happy to get him signed up for a long-term deal,” said Whaley.’

‘The Bills will move on with Williams as their top safety, and one of Da’Norris Searcy, Duke Williams or Jonathan Meeks as the other starter. That is, of course, unless Buffalo addresses the position through the rest of free agency or in the 2014 NFL Draft.’

‘”Even when I was playing against Buffalo in my Miami days I’ve always recognized how great the fans have been here and their support of the Bills,” Carpenter said Tuesday. “For us it was a no brainer to come back to Buffalo. We were comfortable and loved it here last year. To be able to go back somewhere and be wanted where you would like to go, you’re very fortunate in this league for that to happen. We’re very happy to be here and excited to see where it goes.”‘