Archives for May 20, 2015

'“Bryce is doing what he has to do right now, taking care of his family in the offseason, but yes, it will set him back,” he said. “I mean, he’s five, six weeks behind everyone else. Once he gets here, it’s going to be hard to slow down and catch him up. That’s one of my biggest concerns, but, you know, he’s got the playbook. Hopefully he’s taking care of his business and hopefully he’ll come in in great shape and we’ll see what happens.”'

'The team did not release terms of the contract, but under the league's rookie wage scale, Darby's deal is expected to be worth about $4.5 million over its duration. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound cornerback won a national championship during his college career at Florida State, finishing with 79 tackles and 16 passes defensed in 42 games, with 23 starts.'

'"I wish that wasn't the story, my dad going through cancer," she said. "After reading through it and reliving each moment again, I was able to see what an encouragement our story can be to other people. If we had to go through that pain and suffering to give someone else hope, then the words and everything in the book is so worth it."'

'During his last season at Florida State, Darby was targeted once every 10.1 snaps, the fewest of any cornerback in the 2015 NFL Draft. He was also the fastest cornerback at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.38-second 40-yard dash. The high-school track star has been clocked at 6.28 seconds in the 55-meter dash and 21.05 seconds in the 200-meter dash.'

'"We are going to do the work and put it in the dirt, and I hope I can help get these guys ready for a big year," Reed said in a statement released through his agency.'

'"Speculation is the key word there," Roman said. "I don't believe whoever's saying that, and it's the furthest thing from the truth. He's busting his hump every day and doing a very good job. There's a lot of clay to mold there as well. Whatever people are talking about, I don't know where that's coming from. The answer is no, he's doing a good job."'

'Rookie guard John Miller has been working in place of Williams, who carries a $3.4 million cap hit for 2015. Offensive line coach Aaron Kromer says the Bills will continue to rotate along the offensive line throughout the offseason, but offensive coordinator Greg Roman said he has been blown away by Miller, who the Bills drafted in the third round.'

'Darby's signing means the Bills have all six of their rookie draft picks under contract.'

'With the Bills returning Stephon Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin as the starting corners, Darby is expected to contend for a backup role.'

'The 5-11, 195-pound Darby finished his Seminoles career with 79 tackles and 16 pass breakups over 42 career games. As a freshman in 2012, he was named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.'

'“It is rare to find someone with that athletic talent that has the heart and desire to be great,” Bills wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal said Tuesday. “We have a saying: ‘What’s good enough, isn’t.’ For many guys good enough is good enough. For Sammy that doesn’t be the case.”'

'“Athletic, fast, that’s why we drafted him,” said defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman in describing Darby. “Looks like a pretty good man-to-man cover guy from what we saw in the rookie minicamp, but he hasn’t gone up against the big time NFL receiver. Usually if you can cover, you can cover. It usually doesn’t matter who it is, but he’s been pretty impressive so far.”'

'“He might be the opening guy there,” said head coach Rex Ryan in a radio interview on Bills flagship station WGR Sportsradio 550 Tuesday morning. “He’s been very impressive. I think right now that’s the most important thing just because we’re not going up against anybody. But this guy has a big, wide, square body and we are hitting bags and his technique is pretty good. He has really been impressive.'

'“We’re in the learning process right now,” said Kromer. “Is John Miller learning quickly? I would say yes. He has a good background coming out of college and when we interviewed him for the draft we knew that he had the ability to learn quickly and to adapt a technique just through our interviews. So it’s been a good start, but it’s only a start and we have a long way to go.”'