Archives for May 9, 2017

'The Bills last week demurred on that option year, mostly because of Watkins injury history. If they picked up Year No. 5 they would owe him nearly $13.3 million, a figure he would earn even if he couldn’t pass his 2018 physical. That’s an expensive commitment for a player who might miss all or part of the season.'

'Monday was the busiest day yet in the Buffalo Bills' search for a new general manager, with a second interview and a new name added to the list of candidates.'

'A sampling of offseason power rankings shows little is expected of the team in 2017. ESPN debuted its rankings Monday, with the Bills coming in at No. 26.'

'Beane has been an assistant GM the past two seasons and has been relatively limited when it comes to actual scouting experience. The other candidates so far — Texans assistant GM Brian Gaine, Eagles college scouting director Trey Brown and Packers player personnel chief Brian Gutekunst — have significantly more credentials for evaluating prospects and free agents and overseeing a crew.'

'The Bills are one of only two NFL teams without a GM (or equivalent job title) after firing Doug Whaley last month, but the other team with an opening, Washington, is expected to reconfigure its front office without filling the role. That means the Bills have no competition for whoever it is they want to hire.'

'According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Carolina Panthers assistant general manager Brandon Beane is heading to Buffalo for a second interview. Beane was one of three candidates to get an interview in the first round of interviews. Terry and Kim Pegula interviewed Beane, Houston Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine and Philadelphia Eagles director of college scouting Trey Brown down in Boca Raton, Fla.'

'ESPN Insider and Football Outsiders looked at every NFL roster and picked the biggest weakness on each team. Scott Kacsmar selected tight end for the Bills. He noted that the Bills addressed many needs in the draft, but failed to find a tight end.'

'Rapoport’s report also indicated that Gutekunst was a finalist for the San Francisco 49ers general manager hiring in January until he re-signed with the Packers '

'Gutekunst, 43, has spent the last 18 years in the Packers' player personnel department. Gutekunst was promoted to the Director of Player Personnel in March of 2016 after serving as the director of college scouting for three years.'

'Beane has been with the Panthers organization for 20 years spending the past two years as the team's assistant general manager. This is the second time Beane has interviewed for an open general manager position in the National Football League. He interviewed for San Francisco's job in January before losing out to John Lynch.'

'Beane was Buffalo's first interview and had to come with an incredibly strong recommendation from head coach Sean McDermott, otherwise, this pairing would have had no shot of happening. Beane, very much in the mold of the Pegula's reported search for a Buffalo Sabres GM, fits the mold of someone with "new blood" that has plenty of league experience but has never held the permanent title of general manager before.'

'“Whatever you do right now is the impression that will last throughout the season. So make the impression you want to make right now when you come into minicamp” Milano said of the advice he received from Carter.'