WGR

‘In just one season in Buffalo, Long appeared in 14 games and was primarily used as a utility lineman who could play both guard and center. The 29-year-old had signed a three-year deal with the Bills back in February of 2019 worth $12.6 million.’

‘Butler was a 2016 first round pick of the Carolina Panthers out of Louisiana Tech when Bills head coach Sean McDermott was the team’s defensive coordinator. New Bills defensive line coach Eric Washington was his defensive coordinator for the past two seasons there. Although he failed to live up to his first round status through his first three years in Carolina, the 6-foot-4, 330 pounder had a breakout year in 2019, collecting six sacks and 32 total tackles. Like Jefferson, Butler projects to play the interior defensive line for the Bills but has the versatility to play outside, especially in a three-down lineman set, where he had much of his success last season in Carolina.’

‘”We like versatility, so we’ll move all of our guys around. Rarely do we have a guy that is a one-whole player. Mitch Morse is probably one of the only ones that is going to play center only. Dion Dawkins is going to play left tackle. But the rest of those guys are going to move around and play both guards or guard-tackle, center-guard… We’re going to put the best five out there, the same motto as we had last year. If it’s better with Cody at right guard, he’ll play there. If it’s better with him at right tackle, he’ll play there.”‘

‘According to an NFL Players’ Association email sent to players and obtained and published online on July 25 by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Aug. 3-11 will be referred to as the “acclimation period” and consist of a maximum of two hours of strength and conditioning, with one hour devoted to the weight room and the other hour to on-field conditioning. Only strength and conditioning coaches are allowed to be with players while they are participating in these two hour strength and conditioning periods.’

‘Winters has started 79 games over the course of seven years played for the Jets. He has had injury issues, being placed on injured reserves four times, including last season when he missed seven games. In nine games, Winters had a 64.6 grade from Pro Football Focus, had just one sack allowed, and two penalties.’

‘Ford is one of those internal options to replace Feliciano at right guard, if the organization wants to move him from right tackle, where he played all of his rookie season last year. In fact, Ford and Nsekhe rotated at right tackle every couple series all season until Nsekhe was injured Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins and missed the next five games. In that time, Ford manned the right tackle position by himself. The second round rookie was inconsistent, but got better as the season progressed. He had trouble with speed rushers on the outside. Head coach Sean McDermott told WGR on Monday that during training camp, they’ll have Ford take reps at both tackle and guard, a position he played plenty in college and many projected him to play in the NFL.’

‘”It’s a challenge. That’s what I have a great staff around me. We’ve got great ownership that gives us what we need to win and the resources we need. With that, it makes my job a whole lot easier. And I’m just fortunate to have good players as well that make my job easier. It’s been a team effort. For those that have been around here, the complexion of our building has changed, and again, I think it gives us the chance to be successful. I don’t know that it’s realistic to think that we’ll keep it 100%, in terms of the positive or negative cases, but I think that’s just being realistic about it. We’re trying to get ourselves focused on growing as a team, bringing our team together, getting to know one another because today is really our first day together as a full team.”‘

‘Although King’s main position is cornerback, he’s been primarily used on special teams over the last couple years. In 2018, King played 29.2% of Seattle’s special teams snaps compared to just 14.6% on defense. Last season, he played 35.5% on special teams and 29.5% on defense.’

‘”At the end of the day, we still have to hold ourselves to a high standard,” Beane told reporters via a Zoom conference Sunday morning. “Nothing’s changed here. We expect playoff caliber practices.”‘

‘The Bills may elect to move Ford from right tackle to right guard, a position many feel he’s more suited to play at the NFL level. Ford started at right tackle for 15 games last season as a rookie, but often rotated with Ty Nsekhe, who played 10 games, missing six due to an ankle injury. If Ford kicks inside, Nsekhe and Daryl Williams would most likely battle for the starting right tackle spot. Williams was a Second-Team All-Pro in 2017 while starting at right tackle all 16 games for the Carolina Panthers. However, he tore his right MCL and dislocated his kneecap in 2018 and missed almost the entire season. After re-signing a one-year contract in Carolina last offseason, he played in all 16 games, but moved around to different spots on the offensive line, starting four games at left tackle, three at right guard, and five at left guard.’

‘Although King’s base position is cornerback, he could provide more value for the Bills on special teams. In each of the last two seasons, King played a higher percentage of special teams snaps than defensive snaps. In 2018, King played 29.2% of Seattle’s special teams snaps compared to just 14.6% on defense. Last season, he played 35.5% on special teams and 29.5% on defense.’

‘While being placed on the Reserve/Covid list can mean that a player either tested positive or was in close contact with someone who did, the Bills confirmed to ESPN that five players have tested positive, and provided the following statement: “As we were informed by medical experts as training camp opened, we expected to have positive tests for COVID,” the team said in a statement to ESPN. “With 5 since the beginning of the testing period last Tuesday, we decided to take a disciplined, proactive and preventative approach to hopefully eliminate additional cases within our team.”‘

‘The Bills have now had five players test positive since they started administering tests last Tuesday.’

‘Fans complain about how often Smith is used, but he was on the field for less than 30% of the offensive snaps last year (and more than 25% in only one of the last seven game), and is one of the best blockers in the NFL for his position. Almost every team has a guy like Smith, and it’s good to have one. The Bills also gave Smith a three-year, $9 million deal, and cutting him would only save $1.75 million versus $1.5 million still on the cap as dead money.’

‘Williams and Taylor either tested positive for the coronavirus or have been in close contact with an infected person or people. They can return as soon as they’ve cleared testing protocols of multiple negative tests in a row.’