Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“I mean, losing Richie and Eric, I’d be lying if I told you that it didn’t matter,’’ McCoy said Tuesday as Bills mini-camp got underway at New Era Field. “Some people might say that to kind of nip it in the bud and get it out of the way, but those guys are great players.’’’

‘“I’ve never had my job on the line,” Lawson said recently. “I just want to get better every day, talk to the coaches every day, do what I need to do to get better. It’s stuff I didn’t do my first two years, asking the coaches for extra help and stuff like that. So I’m staying on top of it, staying after practice and working extra on my game.”’

‘“It’s early in our process here; we have a plan and we have to stick with it,” McDermott said. “Doesn’t mean we don’t listen. We’ll keep our ear to the ground and our eyes peeled on what’s going on and adjust accordingly. That’s important, but the important part right now is to develop a good foundation and that’s what we’re doing.”’

‘Smith is well-acquainted with the Edmunds family. Tremaine’s father, Ferrell, played tight end for the Miami Dolphins in the late 1980s and early ’90s when the Bills-Dolphins rivalry was at its peak. Also, Bruce’s son, Alton, was college roommates at Virginia Tech for one year with Tremaine’s older brother, Trey, who now plays running back for the New Orleans Saints.’

‘“Down a few pounds, body feels good,” Wood said before he headed out to play in the tournament. “Can’t play ball, which stinks, and I miss it, and there’s been times this spring where I’ve seen pictures posted and you think, ‘That’s my team,’ but it’s all good.”’

‘Given his very public battle with oral cancer, which continues on after cancer returned to his jaw earlier this spring, Kelly checks all the boxes for the criteria of the award. He just jumped the gun a bit on announcing that fact.’

‘Fortunately for the 6-foot-4, 314-pound Teller, regularly ingesting that gastrointestinal time bomb has not hindered his path to the NFL, mainly because as a weight room fanatic, Teller was able to disintegrate those calories. So, imagine what that same work ethic, in conjunction with proper nutrition, might be do for the 23-year-old rookie in his quest to win a starting job on the Bills’ offensive line.’

‘“With every player you have, that’s our job as the coach; tell them how to do it, show them how to do it, and accept no excuses,” Daboll said. “Our job is to go back and evaluate it and give them some type of correction to help them improve. Give them some type of feedback to help them be a better player. The biggest thing for a coach is to be truthful, don’t sugarcoat things; if it wasn’t done the proper way, point out the reason why and give them a better way to do it.”’

‘”I understand ownership is trying to do what’s best for their business,” he said Thursday following the Bills’ OTA workout. “For me personally, I don’t have control over any of that so I’m going to continue to do the community work, continue to engage the community, and I encourage all of our guys around the league to do the same thing.”‘

‘“As far as Richie’s situation specifically, I’m not going to get into any specifics at this point,” McDermott said. “I wish Richie well as he moves forward. I appreciate all he did for this organization, and my one year of his career, what he meant to us and what he meant to me.”’

‘Because the Bills released him, they cannot seek to recoup any bonus money they had already paid him. He carries a $1.15 million dead salary cap hit for 2018.’

‘“Chuck got it,’’ said Fred Smerlas, the Bills five-time Pro Bowl nose tackle and Wall of Fame member drafted by Knox in 1979. “He knew how to create unity. Other coaches just don’t get that. If there’s a sport where you need adrenaline, you need energy, you need unity, it’s football.’’’

‘The announcement was a nice birthday present for Thomas, who turned 52.’

‘Kelly, of course, has done this before. Since he retired as a player following the 1996 season, there have been innumerable pretenders who have come to Buffalo with the intention of being the next franchise quarterback, and every one of them has failed, some quite miserably.’

‘“I’ve spoken to the Bills and they have assured me that they love hosting training camp at St. John Fisher and with four more years left on the current agreement they have no plans to make a change.”’