Archives for June 9, 2017

'"It's one rep at a time, one day at a time, and we'll just take it like that," the coach said. "And we're going to get him into the summer and then … we'll have a plan in place in terms of what'll take place between now and the start of training camp, just like we'll do with all the players."'

'Powell released the following statement: "I was disappointed to recently find out that I had mistakenly used a product that caused a positive result during testing. Although I'm frustrated with the result, I've accepted the league's discipline of a four game suspension. I apologize to my teammates, coaches, the entire Bills organization and the Bills fans for my mistake. I will continue to give the Bills my best effort every day, and help contribute to a successful 2017 season."'

'"I don’t love the fact that whatever amount was paid for that, but that’s between him and Uber at this point. I know that Uber – we’ve got that partnership moving forward which I’m sure everyone’s excited about – but I just love the story. We all should. That’s what building a team is all about, is what guys do because they love one another, right? At the end of the day, he knows that he’s accountable to his teammates and he knows he needs to be here and, to me, that action spoke volumes about who he is and who we are."'

'Just a quick note on the Jeremy Maclin visit yesterday: we had a nice visit. Jeremy and I, as well as some other members of our staff, overlapped in Philadelphia for a couple of years there. Jeremy’s a very good person and a good football player and really, that’s all I’m going to say at this point. Really don’t want to get into the other parts of it, just want to keep that between us and the player at this point. With that I’ll turn over to any questions.'

'Hardy was a second-round draft pick of the Bills in 2008 out of Indiana University. He played just two seasons for the Bills, appearing in 16 games and making 10 catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns. The Bills released the following statement: "We are saddened to learn of the passing of James Hardy today. We send our condolences to the Hardy family as they deal with this tragic loss."'

'Hardy was arrested in Los Angeles and accused of attacking three police officers and resisting arrest in 2014, and he was deemed incompetent to stand trial. He spent time that year in a mental institution.'

'"I mean, the structure alone is pretty detailed," Dareus said Thursday after practice. "I don't want to say that he's a micro-manager but he makes sure that we are very sharp on what we are doing. They are really on us and they are paying a lot of attention to a lot of small details and making sure we are doing the right things. I'm happy for him to be in and just really excited to see what we can do."'

'Jones, a second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, returned from a sprained knee this week and is now a full participant in practice. The rookie has a clear path to start opposite Sammy Watkins when the Bills open the season against the New York Jets provided he can stay healthy. If the Bills signed Maclin, however, Jones' starting job and share of targets in the offense could be in jeopardy. Still, Jones lit up when talking about Maclin's visit and the chance to talk to him.'

'"I was disappointed to recently find out that I had mistakenly used a product that caused a positive result during testing," Powell said in a statement released by the team. "Although I'm frustrated with the result, I've accepted the league's discipline of a four game suspension. I apologize to my teammates, coaches, the entire Bills organization and the Bills fans for my mistake. I will continue to give the Bills my best effort every day, and help contribute to a successful 2017 season."'

'"We don't look at it that way," McDermott said. "I appreciate the fact that those guys know and respect him in this case … Anyway, that's a healthy dynamic that we have with a lot of our players. They've got to know that they have a voice too and there's ownership. I respect that and that's healthy. That said, we've got to do what we feel is in the best interest of this team.'

'By our count, Tyrod Taylor was 9-for-17 passing during team drills on Thursday. Taylor had one throw that was up for dispute. His final pass was a pretty toss to Andre Holmes in the end zone. Holmes caught the pass but there was some dispute over whether he caught the pass in bounds. The Bills didn't have referees on hand at practice.'

'Williams', the Bills' fifth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, was stopped for suspicion of DUI last July in Arkansas. The video of the incident showed Williams admitting to drinking a 40 oz. bottle of beer and pleading with the officer not to arrest him because he had just been drafted into the NFL. He did not take a breathalyzer and his lawyer told TMZ that the prosecutors did not have enough evidence against Williams to charge him.'

'Hardy was committed to a mental health facility in 2014. He was accused of attacking three police officers and the judge ruled Hardy was not competent to stand trial.'

'“Realistically, I don’t even think about the past. We’re just moving on. We’re in McDermott’s regime and we’re having fun with it,” Dareus said. “The past is the past and we just really want a great future.”'

'Yikes, backup QBs look bad: Too high, too low, too far behind are a couple of way to describe passes thrown by TJ Yates and Cardale Jones. Yates tossed a pick during work with the second team and even Nate Peterman nearly did. But if there was a silver lining, Cardale Jones had a touchdown to round out the practice inside the red zone to Logan Thomas.'