Archives for July 22, 2017

'Boldin, 36, had 67 catches for 584 yards and eight touchdowns last season for Detroit. He ranks 14th in NFL history with 13,779 receiving yards and won the 2015 Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work off the field. A 14-year veteran, he's a three-time Pro Bowler. If signed by the Bills, he would figure to compete with Andre Holmes and Philly Brown for the No. 3 receiver job behind Sammy Watkins and rookie Zay Jones.'

'The biggest change, however, is with the team’s personnel. Gone from last year are mainstays Jonathan Meeks (second on the team with 316 snaps on special teams), Lerentee McCray (fourth with 255 snaps) and Corey White (fifth, 247). Kicker Dan Carpenter was also cut, as was long snapper Garrison Sanborn.'

'While there could be a surprise or two elsewhere, here are 10 positions that figure to have the best competition starting Saturday.'

'McCoy has three years left on his contract (including 2017), with cap hits ranging from $8.875 million to just a shade over $9 million. The Bills can get out of the deal after this season for minimal damage on the salary cap in terms of dead money. Will the team's new front office want to pay that much money for a running back in his 30s? That's something we'll have to find out.'

'Finally, I wouldn't have had as much a problem with Javad's initial story if he had noted most of the things he said in his Wednesday follow-up.'

'Let’s assume Sammy Watkins will be healthy. I know, that’s a bit of a leap. The other starter, and even the No. 3 position, are wide, wide open. Rookie Zay Jones will likely get the first crack, and if his college career means anything, he should be able to lock it down. Then, you’re looking at a hodgepodge of mediocrity led by Andre Holmes, Philly Brown, Jeremy Butler, Dezmin Lewis, Rod Streater, and Walter Powell. Yikes. Perhaps fewest drops wins?'

'Earlier this offseason, the Bills hosted free-agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin but Maclin ended up signing with the Ravens. Boldin, who played on a one-year $2.75 million deal in 2016, caught 67 passes and eight touchdowns for the Lions a year ago and 69 passes for the 49ers the year before that.'

'It's unknown why Ragland would have a weight clause in his contract. The linebacker gained an undisclosed amount of weight following Alabama's National Championship and weighed 259 pounds at the 2016 Senior Bowl, but he'd go on to lose 12 pounds before the combine.'

'"Hopefully the new regime, the new culture, the new way of doing things — what you'd like to see if for Marcell to jump on board," Beane said. "And not only do it himself, but he's been in the league long enough, you'd like to see him grabbing some others. First of all, before you can lead, you have to do it yourself.'

'"As a head coach I believe that the minute I was hired I own that, right?" McDermott said. "I'm a part of that. So to try and separate one's self from that I think is the wrong approach. That said, as a team going forward, we have to focus on what's immediately in front of us and the vision for the future. And so creating the right dynamic around the present team is important in terms of our focus, our mindset. And really we spend a lot of time talking about, I spend a lot of time thinking about, how we develop the right mindset with our football team. And that's for anywhere I've been, in particular in this case."'

'Although Boldin's age (36) isn't ideal for a receiver, it wouldn't be a shock to see him earn the No. 2 spot in Buffalo if he were to sign with the team. The Bills have been looking to add receiving depth since March when they lost both Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin to the 49ers in free agency.'

'The Bills still have question marks at the wide receiver position. The hope is that No. 1 wideout Sammy Watkins is and stays healthy this season. Veteran Andre Holmes and rookie Zay Jones are expected to battle for the No. 2 job. Boldin would be in that mix, as well, if he signed with the Bills. The 36-year old would be a reliable veteran presence at the position. He’s missed only one game the past four seasons and has played in 202 of a possible 224 games throughout his career.'

'“It crushed me early on,” McDermott recounted. “It crushed me from the standpoint of, I looked introspectively, just looked at myself and said, ‘what did I do wrong?’ I didn’t place any blame, no. It was, ‘what did I do wrong?’ I feel like that period of my career, that period of my life, had I not gone through that, I don’t know if I would be here now. What I mean by that is, my whole career had been going like this every year."'

'Let's not kid ourselves — any wide receiver would be an upgrade to the Bills receiving corps, which at the moment is weak.'

'“Communication has come a long way,” said Hyde. “I just think that goes along with learning the playbook. Once you get comfortable you can go out there and communicate.”'