Niagara Gazette

‘Many NFL teams had been budgeting for the cap to be in the mid-240s next season, but the significant jump benefits teams like the Bills. With the new cap number, the Bills are still projected to be $43.701 million over, but that number is now down from roughly $56 million and could be the difference in keeping a few players or signing a few new ones in free agency.’

‘This time around, the Bills must be more judicious with their handling of the position. A.J. Epenesa started to come around the last two seasons, but he spent his first two changing his body shape after shaving 10-15 pounds since college, while Boogie Basham was never a true fit for the defense and was dealt for a seventh-round pick prior to the season.’

‘Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State), Malik Nabers (LSU) and Rome Odunze (Washington) are considered to be top-notch receiver prospects entering the NFL draft and are so highly thought of that the Bills likely won’t sniff any of them when they hit the clock with the 28th pick. And even the ultra-aggressive Brandon Beane (who has traded up in the first round two years in a row) likely won’t want to pay the price to move up this year.’

‘Over the last two seasons, 64 backups — not counting rookies who took over after the season started — have started 217 games, winning 42.4% of them. The Bills, meanwhile, have spent $9.803 million on backup quarterbacks since 2020 — with no starts — and they have accumulated nearly as many end-of-game kneel-downs (35) as passing attempts (36).’

‘Mangas was officially announced during the bye week, two weeks after Brady was promoted to offensive coordinator. The two were teammates at William and Mary and then overlapped as assistant coaches there in 2014.’

‘The Chiefs are constantly attacking, constantly putting pressure on opponents and sometimes it creates whacky circumstances. And in the biggest moments of games, the Chiefs know how to pounce on those miscues through aggression and the ability of coaches and players to execute in step.’

‘Of the 22 Hall of Fame quarterbacks who played during the Super Bowl era (since 1966), 19 reached the Super Bowl at least once and 15 won a championship. There are also 15 Hall of Fame quarterbacks who played their entire careers during the Super Bowl era and only Dan Fouts and Warren didn’t reach one.’

‘The Buffalo Bills had a lot of players who have more years behind them than had left last season. They were the sixth-oldest playoff team this season. Four players over 30 when the season began started at least 10 games, while three more played at least 30% of the snaps when healthy.’

‘Additionally, the Bills added Jahmile Addae as the cornerbacks coach, leaving the University of Miami, where he coached the secondary for the last two seasons. The 39-year-old has coached exclusively in college since 2007, with stops at Arizona, Cincinnati, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota and West Virginia.’

‘The Bills have 22 unrestricted free agents, some of whom can return on cheap deals and will still have to fill out the roster in free agency and sign their draft picks. So it’s time to start looking at who might not be around next season.’

‘The Bills have eight players whose salaries will each account for more than 5% of next year’s salary cap — including Allen’s 19.4% — but Beane has already said restructuring is coming for players during the offseason, even with Spotrac.com projecting the cap to rise roughly $18 million for 2024.’

‘“Sean really trusts him and that’s why he hired him,” Bob said. “They’ve been in sync for all these years, and when you sit in there, he’s heard a lot of the things over seven years that Bobby suggested. So he understands what type of personality Bobby has as far as a football coach and philosophy and that type of stuff and obviously, he feels really, really comfortable with it.”’

‘The 40-year-old’s relationship with McDermott dates back to 2011, when Babich was an administrative assistant for the Carolina Panthers’ coaching staff and served as a defensive assistant the following year. Babich spent three seasons with the Cleveland Browns and one with Florida International University before coming to Buffalo.’

‘The Bills could try to bring back Gabe Davis — who went without a catch four times in the last two months of the regular season — but he may be out of their price range, with Spotrac.com projecting him to command a market value of $13.6 million per year in free agency. Trent Sherfield’s deal is up, while Deonte Harty may be a cap casualty after neither fit in consistently this season.’

‘What Brady does best is find a rhythm and doesn’t steer away from the game plan if it’s not working early. Where Dorsey tried to find the perfect play every play, Brady is more willing to take 2-yard gain, establish it and then fool defenses by running another play off of it as the game progresses.’