Archives for May 2016

'“The more and more we thought about it in talking about it with ownership, the head coach, the medical staff and myself and Shaq and his representatives, we said, ‘Let’s be proactive with this thing. Let’s not have an incident which may come up five months from now or five days,’” said Whaley. “So the unpredictability of when it could happen again we decided to remove all doubt. We said, ‘Let’s get the shoulder surgery done now and that’s pre-emptive and then we remove all doubt as to when this could flare up again either during the season or two years from now.'”'

'“It feels great,” Ragland told Buffalobills.com. “You get this opportunity and you work so hard your whole life as a kid just to be in this position. You’ve put yourself in this position so now you’ve got to come through. So I’m very thankful I got the deal done and now it’s time to get to work.”'

'Ragland also has a health issue, an enlarged aorta that he and the Bills insist won't give him any problems. Where have we heard that one before?'

'"I had frost all over my face, my arms were beat red," Knox said, "and I was frozen but I didn’t care because I wanted Russ Brandon to see, I wanted Rex to see, I wanted Doug Whaley to see, I wanted every single coach who came in that day to see that nobody in or out of that team wants it more than me and I know I got my message across. I emailed Rex Ryan, I emailed Greg Roman and I keep trying to put it in their mind what I am willing to do. I’m not trying to say these others guys aren’t but when they see a guy not giving it everything they have or they are at the end of their career or maybe they just don’t have the same passion for the Bills that I do, (I hope) that they will think of me."'

'Reggie Ragland. No, the Bills won't get see returns on their first-round investment any time soon. Lawson, the 19th overall pick, might not return until mid-season… and how much will he help after missing so much time? The shoulder surgery certainly is a blow to Rex Ryan's defense this year and will put even more pressure on Reggie Ragland, the 41st overall pick, to be an instant contributor. Both Ryan and Doug Whaley were quick to say the team landed three starters "off the bus" this draft. Without money to find such talents in free agency, that was the goal in the draft.'

'LeSean McCoy. The Bills' running back hasn't spoken publicly since being investigated for his role in a Philadelphia bar brawl back in February. McCoy has not been charged, and it seems unlikely he'll face NFL discipline, but the investigation was just the latest in a line of things McCoy has been involved with that the Bills would probably rather he steered clear from. The term "distraction," is probably overused and too strong here, but McCoy's negative headlines have outweighed the positive ones since he was acquired. It will be interesting to hear his side of this story – provided the Bills make him available to tell it.'

'The 26-year old Knox has been training while working as a strength coach. While he thinks he got the message across to the Bills, he's still waiting for the phone to ring. He still can't believe the Bills cut him in the first place.'

'IK Enemkpali, Randell Johnson, Lorenzo Alexander, Max Valles, Lavar Edwards, Cedric Reed, Eric Striker, Claudell Louis, and Bryson Albright.'

'The biggest difference on offense will be that Tyrod Taylor will get almost all the first team reps during OTA practices, which is quite a contrast from last spring when he was part of a three-man rotation when the starting job was up for grabs. This is Taylor’s ship to run this season, and it should be very beneficial to every aspect of the passing game.

'The first two choices, Shaq Lawson and Reggie Ragland, factor heavily into the process as well, although Lawson will likely be missing when the season begins because of the surgery the outside linebacker from Clemson recently underwent to repair his right shoulder.'

'This shouldn’t be considered a “holdout” considering OTA’s are voluntary, though the source said Gilmore will continue to train in Charlotte and Miami as the team hits the field this week. Buffalo's scheduled OTA's are May 23, May 24, May 26 this week, May 31, June 1 and June 3 next week, and then June 6-9. Mandatory minicamp is slated for June 14-16.'

'The stories of Robey who overcame a tragedy himself and thrives as one of the shortest players in the league were legendary by the time Seymour stepped on campus. Seymour heard all about Robey keeping a notebook full of the other cornerbacks' strengths and weaknesses on the team.'

'The work allowed will still be extremely limited, compared to real football practices, but what happens starting this week will have some of the Phase One and Phase Two restrictions lifted. And, yes, they are now officially referred to as "OTAs." We can all stop pretending.'

'The QB and running back took the field inside Memorial Coliseum as a part of the NFL Players Association rookie premiere. It was their first opportunity to suit up in their game day uniform and helped create their own rookie trading cards.'

'The potential bad news is the Bills' decision to basically ignore the right side of their line, where questions linger at tackle and guard.'