Two Bills Drive

'He suffered a knee injury and missed the 2016 season. Ragland was having a tough time adjusting to the new defense of Head coach Sean Mcdermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, and found himself far down on the depth chart.'

'Ragland (6-2, 252) was selected in the second round (41st overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He sat out the 2016 season with a knee injury. Prior to entering the draft, Ragland played four seasons at the University of Alabama where he became one of three linebackers in Crimson Tide history to earn unanimous first-team All-American honors. The Huntsville, Alabama, native recorded 222 tackles (116 solo), 4.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and an interception in his college career. His senior season, Ragland was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year after recording 102 tackles, 2.5 sacks, seven passes defensed and two forced fumbles.'

'A four-year player at the University of Alabama, Ragland was part of the 2012 and 2015 national championship teams.'

'Wenning, 26, fills the open spot that existed on the team’s 90-man roster. The 6-3, 225-pound signal caller is a former sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2014. It was there that he was coached by Bills offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, who was the Ravens quarterbacks coach at the time.'

'With the trade Buffalo adds another draft choice to their stockpile, though this one will be in the 2019 NFL draft. The Bills already have Kansas City’s first-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft after their trade this past April.'

'“I think I’ve done alright,” said Brown. “I never grade myself higher than a C. I’ve got a lot to improve on, get some turnovers and help this offense get more points on the board.”'

'"Well, it's concerning, it is concerning," he told reporters. "Any time guys are injured it's concerning. That said, they're in the protocol and really can't go any further as far as those (Taylor and Yates) are concerned. But, you know, we're hopeful at this point that everything works out."'

'"I'll say this, we got off on the right foot," McDermott said of his relationship with Dareus. "And then we decided last night to make the decision we did, I did. And every decision I make is going to be in the best interest of this football team, and that's the way it goes."'

'It was suggested that Beane was "sending a message" by sending Dareus home. Really? If you ask me, it was a merciful gesture. Dareus didn't have to suffer through that game. Even by preseason standards, it was one of the worst football games I've ever witnessed — and I've covered the Bills for the entire drought.'

'Banyard looks to have moved into the No. 3 running back role and is playing several positions on special teams. Jones is getting an extended look as a gunner on special teams, but hasn't really given the coaches any reason to keep him.'

'Charles Clay – Seven targets resulted in four catches for 47 yards for the Bills' starting tight end. That's a promising sign heading toward the regular season. The Bills have carefully managed Clay's work load this summer, and Saturday showed he looks ready for meaningful games.'

'"Me and McDermott, we had a discussion," Dareus said. "We're on the same page and we're going to continue to move forward.'

'"Reggie has made some progress," defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said last week. "He's getting more time at the linebacker spot. You can see more of a burst, but still not quite where we need him to be to make it a point where Preston would be in jeopardy of losing his job. It's not at that point yet. Preston's doing a good job for us. He's had a good preseason, a good offseason in general. Reggie's making progress, but we still need to see more and we'll see what happens this week as he progresses even more."'

'Christian Ponder may be one of the favorites to land a roster spot with the Bills leading up to Thursday's game. As Joe Buscaglia of WKBW-TV pointed out, Ponder has some experience playing under Rick Dennison. The veteran spent two weeks with the Broncos during the 2015 season.'

'There wouldn't be much of a learning curve for Ealy with the Bills. Before being traded to the Patriots, Ealy spent his first three seasons with the Carolina Panthers. With Sean McDermott as his defensive coordinator, Ealy would rack up 14 sacks in his first three seasons in the league.'