Archives for May 2017

'“If they’re on this roster and they’re in that meeting room, we think they can play,” Dennison said. “Obviously we thought pretty highly of those guys to draft them, but we’re going to have them go out there and compete and like I said, once they show that they can handle the material, they’ll work for playing time and they’ll work for more playing time the better they get.”'

'Dennis Hickey, a former general manager of the Miami Dolphins (2014-2015), was brought on board as a Senior College Scout. Prior to his time with Miami, Hickey spent 18 years in scouting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he last served as Director of Player Personnel (2011-2013).'

'“Honestly, my mom has been renting homes my whole life. She’s never once had a mortgage or paid to buy. It’s always rent,” White said. “So, I feel like my duty is to get her in a comfortable situation where she can call something her own. I feel like that is my job as her child. I feel like I owe that to her for all the sacrifices that she’s made for my little sister and my two brothers and I.”'

'“He’s doing what I expected when I worked with him in Baltimore,” he said. “I think he knows what he’s doing, he knows where everybody is; he’s a good leader in the huddle. I think he’s doing a good job. Obviously, his work habits are just as great as they were back then. I mean, he’s working his tail off at it. He’s watching film, he’s doing work outside of the building.”'

'"At the end of the day, God told me to come here," Boston said, via ESPN's Chargers reporter Eric D. Williams. "And I'm a man of faith, so I couldn't go against his word."'

'"Honestly, my mom, she's been renting homes my whole life," he said. "My duty is to get her in a comfortable situation, where she can call something her own. I feel like that's my job as her child – I owe it to her for all the sacrifices she made for my little sister and two brothers."'

'“My job is to focus on football,” White said. “I see guys when contracts aren’t done, they hold out, but I’m all about competing. My calling here is to play football and I came in to compete, learn the playbook and get comfortable with all the guys. Earn everything, and earn the right to play alongside guys like Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus and the other guys in our secondary. I never for once thought about the contract, it’s not done, holding out, anything like that. I love the game so I’m going to do that before anything.”'

'Given all of Sammy Watkins’ injury problems, and the fact that he’ll probably be held out of meaningful practice until training camp, not having Jones could be a setback. If nothing else, it might slow Jones’ adaptation to the NFL by losing on-field reps, not to mention time with quarterback Tyrod Taylor.'

'"That's just natural," Dennison said. "Like I said, when we were in Baltimore, he did a good job with anything we did. Dropback, keepers, our play pass, he handles the checks very well. I don't think it's a matter of making anything square pegs and round holes. I think he plays the game well. That's what we're trying to do. Get our guys to play the game well and win some games."'

'The Bills were also without Mike Tolbert, left tackle Cordy Glenn (ankle), center Eric Wood (rest) and tight end Charles Clay (rest). With Glenn out, rookie Dion Dawkins was taking reps at left tackle.'

'"There's not a whole lot we can do about it, setback or not," Dennison said. "So we're giving him every experience we can. I mean, asking him questions in meetings and make sure he's up to task and he has been. I asked him a question today and it was a little obscure. He answered it fine. So he's been studying and working. All we can do is give him all the experience we can on video, let him see some things. If he gets a chance to do everything it would be only in a walk through. When the time comes, we have to get him healthy and get him on the field."'

'"Right now, I feel like it hasn't hit home yet," White said. "Whenever it hits, I know my life changed. I'm able to do some things for my mom that typically a normal guy wouldn't be able to do. Just coming from the background I come from, that's a big deal. I'm very proud of myself.'

'Any hope that Zay Jones would take advantage of Sammy Watkins' absence this spring needs to be put on hold. Jones went down with a knee injury earlier this week and is considered week-to-week. Luckily, Jones sprained his knee and didn't do major damage, so the Bills dodged a bullet. However, these reps in the spring would have been valuable for him to get a jump start on winning the No. 2 receiver job.'

'"He's had a heck of a career," Beane said. "He rose to a level of VP of Player Personnel. He's interviewed for multiple GM positions. To have a guy with his experience and leadership and high character, we talked about that in the interview. What type of player are we looking for. Lake understands that it is the guy on the field, but as the assistant college director, we're going to make sure our college scouts are working the background and the character on prospects. What type of man are we getting when we scout these guys?"'

'Jones, the 37th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, is expected to compete for Buffalo's No. 2 wide receiver job this summer. His biggest competition will be veteran Andre Holmes.'