Archives for January 21, 2017

'The connection to Taylor is obvious, and potentially quite significant. Dennison served as the Baltimore Ravens' quarterbacks coach in 2014, while Taylor was Joe Flacco's backup. The Bills are getting a coach who will be quite familiar with their starting quarterback of the last two seasons.'

'"That is definitely what I’m happy about," he said. "I can go to the facility and work on the things I need. Honestly, for the last three years, I’ve just been getting by with talent and the coaches putting me in situations, but now I get to focus on having a legit offseason. I can train with the top receivers, things like that is what I’m looking forward to.'

'The longest-tenured member of the team, Williams joins Bruce Smith (11) and Fred Smerlas (five) as the only other defensive linemen in franchise history to make five Pro Bowls. For his career, Williams has 40.5 sacks, the most ever among defensive tackles.'

'The Bills had a whopping 27 assistant coaches last season, a number well above the league average.'

'A lot of teams no longer pay big bucks to running backs, who are easy to find. McCoy is a special talent, but he's on the books for $8.875 million next season, with $6 million of that in base salary. That's a lot for a running back if you're not expecting to contend.'

'Your chance has arrived. There’s a new podcast, or “DroughtCast,” created by Ryan Nagelhout that is actually churning out a game-by-game recap of the Bills’ 17-season playoff drought.'

'Lawson had arthroscopic knee surgery, but he’s expected to be cleared to participate in all off-season workouts. Lawson, Buffalo’s first-round draft choice in 2016, had shoulder surgery last May and missed all of the Bills’ off-season program and training camp as well as the first six games. In the 10 games he played, he had minimal impact with just two sacks and 13 tackles, and he actually saw a reduction in his snap counts later in the year.'

'Rapoport added that he could see Taylor returning to the Bills on a restructured deal that would free up some cap space for Buffalo. Here's a look at everything that Rapoport said about the Bills adding Dennison.'

'In his first season with the Bills, Lawson recorded 13 tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble in 10 games. He missed Buffalo's first six games of the season after having shoulder surgery shortly after the draft. Upon his return, he was eased into the lineup behind veteran Lorenzo Alexander.'

'Williams made 15 starts this season and recorded 64 total tackles and five sacks. Pro Football Focus gave Williams a grade of 82.7 this season, good for 17th among all interior defenders. His run defense grade of 84.8 was the fourth highest grade at the position.'

'Buffalo's 2014 first-round draft pick had two screws surgically inserted into his left foot in April after tests discovered a stress fracture. He was cleared to practice a few weeks into training camp before complaining of discomfort and soreness.'

'The foot surgery is the second for Watkins. He underwent the first procedure in April but experienced issues after playing in two regular-season games and was placed on injured reserve. He returned to play in the final six games.'

'Lawson, the Bills' first-round pick in the 2016 draft, missed the first six games of last season because of shoulder surgery he elected to undergo after joining the team.'

'Whether or not Watkins participates in any on-field work prior training camp will depend upon his rehab and recovery, as well as if he is cleared by both Dr. Anderson and team physicians.'

'However, if the Bills do this right with Watkins this offseason and don't allow him to force his way back on the field too prematurely, there are many reasons for optimism to finally get him back to 100-percent health. Both Bryant and Jones have been able to come back and continue their dominant ways in the NFL, and with a similar type of injury, perhaps Watkins can be the third to follow that trend.'