WGR

‘According to NFL insider Adam Caplan, Long’s deal is worth $13 million, but he has the possibility of earning $15 million overall.’

‘Here are 10 wide receivers whose contracts are set to expire who may be targets for the Bills, and my feelings on each…’.

‘The letter also reiterated something he has said since his arrival less than two years ago – that the team will continue to focus on drafting, developing, and re-signing its own players. It said that he realizes the team has needs in all three phases, and also stated that now that their salary cap situation is extremely healthy, they will be “active, but calculated” in this year’s free agent market.’

‘The Fanduel Sportsbook in New Jersey has put together their early odds for who will be the Super Bowl champ in 2019. Put them on the list of who’s counting against the Bills in 2019. They have the Bills tied for the worst Super Bowl odds at +15000. The Arizona Cardinals are also at the bottom with the same odds.’

‘Chad Hall has been promoted to receivers coach. Hall has been on the Bills’ staff for the last two seasons as an offensive assistant, mainly working with receivers. Hall worked closely with Robert Foster and Cam Phillips last season and will replace Terry Robiske, who is now the running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Similar to Dorsey, Hall spent some time in the NFL, playing for Philadelphia, San Francisco and Kansas City over four seasons.’

‘The 63-year old Culley joined the Bills in 2017 as part of head coach Sean McDermott’s initial staff, coming from Kansas City where he was the Chiefs Assistant head coach and wide receivers coach.’

‘The Bills have had just two long snappers in the last 10 years. Reid Ferguson took over for Garrison Sanborn in 2016, after Sanborn spent eight seasons here in Buffalo.’

‘It’s possible they could still grab that offensive lineman in the second round, given how much lower he is on their board, giving them one of the ten best prospects in the draft and still addressing that need later with a player they like. But if they take that lineman at nine, they’ve given up any opportunity to take one of the top players in the draft just to fill a current hole with a much less thought-of prospect.’

‘Hughes has been a very good player for the team since arriving in a trade prior to 2013. He’s stayed healthy, not missing a single game in his six seasons with the club. He’s averaged 5.5 sacks over the last four years, but is now five years removed from his last double-digit sack season. The Bills already need to find a premiere pass rusher and Hughes will be 32-years-old before the 2021 season kicks off, which means that position should be on the table no matter what already. If they grab one early-on, it would give the team a lot more options on what to do with Hughes, knowing they already have a young pass rusher in the pipeline.’

‘“I’m always going to be emphatic about that,” he said. “I know people say, ‘well last year you needed a quarterback and you drafted one.’ Well, my answer to that would be, ‘we didn’t draft him at 21. We moved up to where we thought we had to get to do that.’ If we had stayed at 21 and just taken whatever quarterback was left then, that would have been drafting for need. We’re at nine and we’re going to take the best player, offense or defense, and we’ll continue to do that rounds two, three, and beyond.’

‘“It’s weird,” Beane said. “This year we’re in the top ten and we don’t need to be. It’s funny how it all works out, but it’s nice to be able to focus a little more of our energy all the positions.”’

‘Most folks, whom I’d probably tend to agree with, have beaten the anti-Allen drum since he was drafted last April. One of the things they say is that a quarterback who struggled in college likely won’t all-of-the-sudden be good in the NFL. That is probably spot on, but saying that without context can get messy. If he was set up to fail as a passer at one level but given the proper tools at the next, wouldn’t it be possible to see growth considering the tools he possesses? Some food for thought.’

‘Here are some of the early projections, several of which include the Bills taking the same player and a majority that have them going with the same position.’

‘Let’s not forget how the team got in the situation they were in in the first place when Beane arrived. He said from the day he was hired that it would take two years to fix the cap mess. That resulted in having to eat close to $70 million of dead money this past season. Now, in his own words, “that’s fixed,” but that doesn’t mean Beane is, nor should, just start writing blank checks to average players just because they play wide receiver or offensive line.’

‘One of the biggest impacts Alexander has had with this Bills team is his role as a leader in the locker room and on the field.’