Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“I’m really happy with the production that we’ve gotten out of the first- and second-year players,” Beane said late in the season, lumping in the 2017 draft which McDermott presided over that brought Tre’Davious White, Dion Dawkins, Matt Milano and Zay Jones. “We’ve got to continue, and it starts with adding another draft class. Drafting is number one here.”’

‘Clay was undeniably one of the least productive players in the NFL in 2018 based on performance relative to salary, as he earned $9 million for his 21 receptions, 184 yards and no touchdowns. His play was so far below par, coach Sean McDermott deactivated him for the Dec. 23 game in New England and went with Jason Croom and Logan Thomas at tight end.’

‘“He is part of our plan,” Beane said at his New Year’s Eve press conference. “I think if we can improve in other areas, that will help LeSean. Early in the year, our pass game was not very good. You could see it. Teams were focused on, ‘All right, if we stop 25, this team isn’t going to go far.’ While we did improve our pass game, our run game stayed stagnant for a lot of the year. Again, LeSean will come back in 2019 and we’ll go from there. I’m not a believer that LeSean is done.”’

‘No Bills wide receiver has ever led the league in anything with the exception of Elbert Dubenion, who in Buffalo’s 1964 AFL championship season topped the AFL — not the NFL, mind you — in yards per catch at 27.1.’

‘Buffalo’s blundering blockers formed one of the worst units in the NFL, and Beane and McDermott are facing a major overhaul. Right tackle Jordan Mills, right guard John Miller, and center Ryan Groy are free agents who, in all likelihood, will not be re-signed. Backup Jeremiah Sirles is also a free agent.’

‘In addition to studying potential renovations at KeyBank Center, home of the NHL Sabres, the Pegulas are weighing another renovation of New Era Field, or the construction of a new venue for their NFL team, mostly likely either in Orchard Park or downtown Buffalo.’

‘But, as they have both said numerous times, culture is very important to McDermott and Beane, and all three of these players would put that culture to the test.’

‘It is unfair to judge Beane’s performance during the 2018 off-season because, unlike this year, he simply didn’t have the resources to sign impact players. Nonetheless, he brought in many players who wound up making the roster and contributing, either positively or negatively, to Buffalo’s 6-10 record.’

‘Williams, who goes by Duke, is a 6-foot-3, 225-pounder who does not have great speed; he did the bulk of his damage for the Edmonton Eskimos on short and intermediate routes. However, he certainly was productive as he led the CFL in 2018 with 1,579 receiving yards and tied for the league lead with 11 touchdowns on 88 catches. He was a CFL all-star, and twice was named the top performer of the month in the league.’

‘Williams is just the ninth Buffalo player to earn six or more Pro Bowl nods. He is the Bills’ career leader in games played (183) and sacks (48.5) by a defensive tackle.’

‘In late December, McCoy lost a round when a state judge in Georgia refused to dismiss the litigation against him. But, with a legal maneuver, McCoy and a co-defendant in the lawsuit have now pushed the litigation to federal court. There, they can again seek dismissal of the lawsuit.’

‘In what ranks as a classic understatement, general manager Brandon Beane said Monday, “I’ve got to do a solid job this offseason to improve our offense. We’re not happy with a lot of things that happened.”’

‘In the final NFL rankings, it looks like it had a tremendous year as Buffalo ranked No. 1 in fewest passing yards allowed, No. 2 in total yards allowed, fourth in first downs allowed, and eighth in third-down defense. But, as we all know, points are what matter, and the Bills ranked 18th in that category, one of the main reasons being that they were terrible in the red zone as teams scored a touchdown 70.8 percent of the time they drove inside the 20, third-worst in the league.’

‘Allen knows that with $90-million in cap space and 10 draft picks, GM Brandon Beane will be making over the roster like an episode of Flip or Flop. He hears everyone saying, “You need more talent around you.’’ But his response? “I love the guys we got. I care about all of our guys,’’ Allen said. He knows change is inevitable in the Not For Long league. But it’s nice when a guy doesn’t throw his teammates, even soon-to-be ex-teammates, under the bus. Leadership doesn’t take time off.’

‘“There are times when we didn’t play well enough on special teams and we’ll dive deeper into that as we get into our evaluation in the next couple days here,” he said, which, when reading between the lines, wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for Crossman.’