Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“The Bills as a team, it’s a brotherhood and you see guys celebrating together,” he said. “That’s something I realized right away, and you know this is a team that’s going to battle for all four quarters and play hard.”’

‘He was traded to the Seahawks in April of 2019 in exchange for a seventh-round pick, and in two seasons with Seattle he began to emerge as a pass-catching weapon for Russell Wilson. He caught 66 passes for 558 yards and 3 touchdowns the past two years.’

‘Factoring in the approximately $4 million they will need to sign their 2021 draft picks, and whatever Josh Allen’s new cap figure is going to be once his massive contract extension – which Beane said is likely coming in the next few months – the Bills simply can’t do much more in free agency.’

‘Trubisky took a beating in Chicago from media and fans, and much of it had to do with his inability to meet enormous expectations as the No. 2 overall pick and being chosen by the Bears ahead of Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson, both of whom have gone to become superstars.’

‘Beane was asked whether extension talks have begun during a Zoom call with reporters, and he joked, “Yeah, he said he was gonna give us a nice hometown discount, and hopefully we’ll get him done.”’

‘The rumors continue to fly that the Bills are the team to watch in any trade for Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, so we’ll see how that plays out in the days to come. Cameron Brate of the Buccaneers may be another potential trade target for Beane.’

‘Having started Tuesday with approximately $9 million in cap space according to sports financial website spotrac.com, Beane will put most of that to use to make sure the Buffalo offense can keep humming. Sanders, per multiple reports, is expected to sign a one-year deal worth $6 million.’

‘The Bills entered the offseason with 14 unrestricted free agents and four restricted free agents, and the three biggest names — linebacker Matt Milano and offensive linemen Daryl Williams and Jon Feliciano — all decided Buffalo is where they wanted to be and didn’t even bother testing the open market.’

‘Obviously, this is great news for quarterback Josh Allen, and when you look at the 2020 Buffalo offense – one that set multiple team records including points scored with 501 – the only starter who won’t be returning is wide receiver John Brown whose release last week helped create some of the salary cap space that was used to re-sign the free agents.’

‘“Me and my agent felt very comfortable with the numbers and then the organization is amazing,” Williams told reporters during a Zoom call Friday afternoon. “I told my agent that we definitely wanted to make Buffalo our No. 1 spot if we can make it happen. So I’m glad it did.”’

‘Milano agreed Thursday to a four-year, $44 million deal that includes $24 million in guaranteed money to stay with the Bills, something that came as a surprise because it didn’t seem possible that the Bills could find enough money to keep him.’

‘Instead, I would re-sign Isaiah McKenzie at a much more palatable rate to reprise his diverse role in the offense, look to Gabriel Davis to be the No. 2 outside receiver which he proved he can be as a rookie, groom Isaiah Hodgins to become a contributor, and draft someone to develop.’

‘Defensive tackle Vernon Butler, who was a prime candidate to be released given the $6.8 million in savings he would have represented, has reportedly agreed to a pay cut to stay with the team. It’s unknown how much less he’ll be making and what the cap savings would be.’

‘McKenzie, who Daboll calls “an Energizer bunny,” can do a little bit of everything as he can line up outside or in the slot, and he was often the player Daboll would put in motion which served two purposes – to get the defense to notice him and perhaps take one eye off another receiver like Stefon Diggs or Cole Beasley, and to help Allen determine what coverage the defense might be in.’

‘The biggest reason why the Bills didn’t tag anyone is that their salary cap situation is tight. Currently, based on a $185 million cap, sports financial website spotrac.com has the Bills with approximately $6.5 million in available cap space for the top 51 salaries (which are the ones that count against the cap right now).’