Archives for August 2017

'After Friday, 28 of the 53 men on the Bills’ final 2016 regular-season roster are gone.'

'Watkins’ departure signals another step in owner Terry Pegula’s plan to rebuild his team — which is in the midst of a 17-year playoff drought — practically from scratch. Pegula fired head coach Rex Ryan in the last week of the 2016 season and waited until the day after this year’s draft to send Whaley packing.'

'The Bills, who haven’t made the playoffs since 1999, are under new management, with first-year Coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane working quickly to leave a fresh imprint on a team that seems to be forever spinning its wheels.'

'“We kind of had an idea about him trying to rebuild the whole team,” McMiller said of Brandon Beane, the new Bills general manager. “We’re definitely excited about going over to L.A. It’s warm weather. The fans are great. They’re going to be getting a brand new stadium. We’re just looking forward to it.”'

'McDermott acknowledged his most difficult challenge was not merely breaking the news of Watkins' departure to Taylor. "I'll take it a step further: How do you sell it to the entire team?" McDermott said, before outlining his message.'

'Watkins and Matthews will both become unrestricted free agents in March.'

'"Definitely surprised," said quarterback Tyrod Taylor. "Being in this league seven years, you know every day you step into the building could be your last day. I wish Sammy the best. I have faith in coach (Sean) McDermott, I have faith in management that they made a decision based on the betterment of this team. Just surprised it happened so fast."'

'All of this points to another trade, with possible targets including the Jets, when McDermott's roster makeover resumes.'

'The Bills' decision to trade their top receiver and top cornerback for future draft picks signals that first-year general manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott view the Bills as a long-term rebuilding project.'

'"I have faith in our management and I have faith in Coach McDermott that they made a decision based on the betterment of this team. Like I said, definitely just surprised that everything happened. It just happened so fast," Taylor said.'

'Speaking of the Bills quarterback, Taylor also finds himself in a make-or-break year, even if that career might not be in western New York. Taylor just lost his top receiver, and while he's getting a viable weapon in Matthews, remember that Matthews was the focal point of a wide receiving corps that was seen as one of the worst in the league in Philadelphia last season. Even if you argue that Matthews has a higher floor than Watkins by virtue of missing a total of just two games over the past three seasons, it should take some time for Taylor to develop a rapport with his new No. 1 wideout.'

'The Bills, meanwhile, added a whole bunch of draft value in these deals. They now own two first-round picks (theirs and the Chiefs', the result of a draft-day deal that saw the Chiefs move up for quarterback Patrick Mahomes), two second-round picks (theirs and the Rams'), and two third-round picks (theirs and the Eagles') in the 2018 draft.'

'In a nutshell: The trades are just two more examples of first-year head coach Sean McDermott moving to clear players from the previous regime and shaping the roster in his vision.'

'The Bills now have two picks in the first, second, and third rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft.'

'Beane was asked if he still would’ve made one trade had the other fallen through. He said, “It’s hard to say if I wouldn’t have, but with both getting similar traction the last couple of days and once I saw both of them as far down the road as they were getting, I kind of said I want to do them together if I can. If somebody had backed out, I don’t know.”'