Archives for June 2017

'Buffalo's interest in Maclin should come as no surprise. Wide receiver is one of the Bills' weakest positions in terms of talent and depth.'

'"Not to brag, but I was the first guy he talked to when the news broke," McCoy said at his charity softball game in Rochester Sunday. "I kind of understand because I've been through it. Maybe not to the extreme of being released, but being traded. That's basically telling you, 'You're not good enough for us.' I understand that. He was hurt, but I played with him and I know the guys in the locker room and I know he can help us out tremendously. I've been doing my recruiting already. Don't be surprised if it happens."'

'"You don't know the reason, but from what I know and what I've seen of Jeremy Maclin, he's definitely a great player,” Taylor, who was competing in McCoy’s event on Sunday, said to reporters. “Would love to have a guy like him on our team competing and coming out and making plays for us. It would especially mean a lot to our wide receiver room, putting another veteran guy with a whole bunch of talent and still potential left to reach his best. I would love to have him."'

'Taylor could benefit from having another threat on the outside. Prior to an injury plagued season a year ago, which limited Maclin to just 12 games and 536 receiving yards, in 2014 and 2015 he had back to back 1,000 yard receiving seasons and combined to score 18 touchdowns.'

'“I want to play and it’s one of those where we’ll see what happens,” he said during the Kelly for Kids Foundation Gala on Sunday. “Training camps are around the corner and if teams lose a back or two, maybe they’ll give me a call.'

'“You go from a place where you’re always there to somewhere else, you’ve got to adjust and adapt, and I’ve done that. This is like home to me.”'

'So what's the likelihood the Bills sign him? That depends on Maclin's price tag, for starters. The Bills have shown with their interest in tight end Gary Barnidge recently that they're not against adding to the roster at this point, but spending big money to do it doesn't seem to be in their plans. With about $15 million in space under the salary cap, they should have room to do just about anything they want, including go after Maclin, who should have some good years left at 29.'

'National NFL reporters make some early predictions about the team’s 2017 record, LeSean McCoy’s chances to win the rushing title, and fantasy football prospects for Sammy Watkins, Tyrod Taylor, Jonathan Williams and Zay Jones.'

'In his case, though, it's more about being able to preserve what is left of his stature in the NFL after taking a $10-million pay cut over two years to remain with the Bills. That only happened because the rest of the league, including some of its most quarterback-needy teams, spoke loudly about how it perceives Taylor.'

'Now, the group I’m most concerned about is linebacker. Lorenzo Alexander is nothing more than a third-down pass rusher, Preston Brown is mediocre, and Reggie Ragland is essentially an unproven rookie coming off a serious knee injury. They just signed Gerald Hodges. OK, whatever. Ramon Humber? Plus, neither of the rookie draft picks figures to play much. Let’s hope Doug Whaley was right about Ragland when he drafted him in the second round in 2016.'

'No one can argue that wide receiver is one of the Bills' weakest positions. The Bills' top three receivers entering the season are Sammy Watkins, Zay Jones and Andre Holmes. Watkins is a dynamic player when healthy, but a foot injury limited him in 2016. Zay Jones should be a quality addition to Buffalo's offense, but the rookie is currently dealing with a knee sprain. Holmes, Buffalo's top free agent addition at receiver, is coming off of a 14 catch campaign. There's plenty of question marks with Buffalo's top three and beyond.'

'And so now, a less than a month later, it’s time to give Beane his share of credit. Not only does the organization have the alignment it’s lacked—assistant GM Joe Schoen worked with Beane in Carolina, and with VP of player personnel Brian Gaine in Houston—the Bills didn’t have to push candidates into jobs where they weren’t qualified.'

'Watkins can't escape the fact that fellow '14 classmate Odell Beckham Jr., has produced overwhelmingly better numbers despite being selected eight spots later.'

'Mabin joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent from Iowa. The Bucs released him on May 9.'

'"I'll make other head coaches pay for not drafting me or picking me up," Brown said. "I feel (people) still don't respect me, so for me I have to prove myself again. I always play with a chip on my shoulder. If you don't respect my game, I will make you respect my game.'