Two Bills Drive

‘Though Ralph is a spry 83-year-old, he won’t live forever. Is there an ownership group in place that would make the commitment to western New York that Ralph has?’

‘The Buffalo Bills have retained a key element of their young secondary, reaching contract accord with three-year veteran cornerback Chris Watson, a restricted free agent. By re-signing Watson, the No. 3 cornerback on the roster, the Bills keep intact one of the NFL’s best young corner corps. Watson is a top “nickel” player and the prime backup to starters Antoine Winfield and Nate Clements. None of the three is older than 24 and all are excellent in coverage.’

On Trey Teague signing:

This signing definitely diminishes the need for an offensive tackle. It's a great pickup because the Bills now have a known quantity, a player with experience who doesn't have to be broken in as a rookie would. I think they could concentrate on a defensive lineman and/or a safety in the first round.

@ The Bills probably will know by the middle of the week whether they’ll have quarterback Jeff Blake on the roster. His agent says Blake is a day or two away from deciding where to go.

‘Teague was a durable starter for the Denver last season after missing the final 14 games of the 2000 season with a knee injury. He was drafted in the seventh round by Denver out of Tennessee in 1998.’

Orchard Park, NY – The Bills today announced that the team has agreed to terms with offensive tackle Trey Teague, an unrestricted free agent, and also reached agreement on a new contract with restricted free agent cornerback Chris Watson.

Marques Sullivan spoke, prior to the news of Trey Teague. He is HUGE, and seems very shy. He just got back to Buffalo on Monday so he didn’t have much news to pass along.

Tony Driver has been here all along, and what a nice guy he is. Got into the crowd and joked with a lot of the people, and even hassled Sullivan with some questions. Driver says his ACL is coming along ahead of schedule and the trainers are pulling back the reigns a bit to ensure he heals correctly. He won’t participate heavily in the mini-camps.

Both seem to be tremendous representatives for the Buffalo Bills. Both were very positive with the moves that have been made in the off-season, and both emphasized that Bills fans will not be disappointed.

‘Teague approved a four-year deal worth a total of about $10 million that includes a two-tiered signing bonus, the source said. Teague will get a signing bonus of about $1.5 million this year. If the Bills are satisfied with him, they have the option of giving him a second signing bonus before next season.’

@ Defensive tackle is a high priority, seeing that teams could bust through the middle on Buffalo all last season without someone such as Ted Washington. That doesn’t mean, however, Buffalo will go for someone the size of Washington – remember Gregg Williams doesn’t like fat guys.

‘Teague, an unrestricted free agent, agreed to terms Tuesday with the Buffalo Bills. The four-year deal is worth about $10 million and includes a two-tiered signing bonus. Teague will receive $1.5 million to sign this year and another $2 million or so if the Bills opt to pick up the remaining three years of his contract after the season.’

‘They spent much of the past two days pondering whether to increase their offer to Teague, who started all 16 games last season at left tackle. They allowed Teague to go to a Bills team that needed help on its offensive line and had been projected to use the No. 4 pick in next month’s draft on one of college football’s two premier tackles, Mike Williams of Texas or Bryant McKinnie of Miami.’

@ A former Notre Dame star, Burris entered the NFL as a first-round choice of the Buffalo Bills in 1994. He played four seasons in Buffalo before signing with the Colts as a free agent in 1998.

ESPN sportswriter talks about his feelings about the Sabres and Bills. "For me, the worse Super Bowl was when the Bills played the Cowboys in Pasadena, Calif. (Super Bowl XXVI), because not only did they get trounced, when the whole second half is like an arena football game for the other team, it’s just so bad."

‘By acquiring Teague, the Bills provide themselves with plenty of options in the 2002 draft. The conventional wisdom has been that general manager Tom Donahoe will take one of two standout offensive tackle prospects, either Mike Williams of Texas or Miami’s Bryant McKinnie, with the fourth overall choice next month.’