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Buffalo Bills News & Rumors

Bills Meet With LB Tyrell Adams

March 30th, 2021 at 6:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of several Texans 2020 starters no longer with the team, Tyrell Adams booked a Bills visit. The defending AFC East champions brought in the veteran linebacker for a meeting, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Although Adams bounced on and off Houston’s practice squad at previous points during his three-year tenure with the franchise, he started 12 games last season. Adams spent a few hours as a Bill in 2017, with the team claiming the defender off waivers from the Raiders during the Sean McDermott–Brandon Beane regime’s first year. But the Bills sent Adams back to the waiver wire due to an injury.

The Texans, who added Adams in 2018, re-signed him in 2020 to a one-year deal worth $970K. An injury to Benardrick McKinney prompted Adams’ rise to a starting role for the first time, and the former UDFA made 125 tackles — up from his previous career high of 18 — in his fifth pro season. While Pro Football Focus graded the 28-year-old defender outside its top 60 at linebacker, he filled up the stat sheet by adding two sacks and forcing two fumbles.

Like most spots on their roster, the Bills are well-fortified at linebacker. They have Tremaine Edmunds on his rookie contract and just signed Matt Milano to a four-year extension. Buffalo also has A.J. Klein on its roster and just re-signed special-teamer Tyler Matakevich.

Bills Sign T Bobby Hart

March 30th, 2021 at 5:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

On a busy Tuesday for offensive line transactions, the Bills added some potential depth. They signed veteran tackle Bobby Hart.

The Bills signed Hart to a one-year contract. A former Giants seventh-round pick, Hart spent the past three seasons as the Bengals’ starting right tackle.

Despite Hart’s seventh-round arrival, he has spent extensive time in teams’ starting lineups. The Giants used him as a first-stringer in 21 games in three seasons but cut him on the first day of Dave Gettleman‘s GM tenure. The Bengals scooped Hart up and used the ex-Day 3 draftee as a 45-game starter — including all 16 games during the 2018 and ’19 seasons — and signed him to multiple contracts.

While Hart has been viewed as a low-end tackle option for much of his career, Pro Football Focus did give the Florida State alum his highest career mark last season and ranked him 49th among tackles. In Buffalo, however, Hart would be ticketed for a backup job.

The Bills recently re-signed right tackle Daryl Williams to a multiyear deal and have Dion Dawkins entrenched as their left tackle. The Bills did enter Tuesday light on swing tackle options. Hart, 26, would make sense for such a role.

NFL Contract Details: Fuller, Ford, Barr, Pats

March 26th, 2021 at 9:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

As free agency’s second wave continues, here are the latest contract details from around the league:

  • 49ers DE Dee Ford: Two years, $24MM. $11.6MM guaranteed, with $4.6MM of that sum due in 2022, David Lombardi and Matt Barrows of The Athletic note (subscription required). Ford’s 2021 guarantees ($7MM) include a $4MM base salary. Ford’s contract also includes a void year (2023).
  • Dolphins WR Will Fuller: One year, $10.63MM. Contract maxes out at $13.63MM, with $3MM available in performance-based incentives, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Fuller will receive a $9.6MM signing bonus and is due a $990K base salary.
  • Vikings LB Anthony Barr: One year, fully guaranteed $9.4MM. $8.4MM signing bonus, $1MM base salary. Barr’s cap number will drop to $6.1MM. Contract includes $3MM in sack-based incentives and features two void years, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling (all Twitter links).
  • Patriots T Trent Brown: Fully guaranteed $6.5MM base salary, up to $2MM in per-game roster bonuses, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Contract can climb to $11MM based on the roster bonuses, $1MM for 90% playing time, $1MM for a Pro Bowl nod and $500K in weight incentives. Brown must stay under 380 pounds, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets.
  • Bills DE Mario Addison: $4.1MM base salary in 2021, $3.25MM of that is guaranteed, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic tweets. Addison is also due a $1.9MM roster bonus. His contract will now void after 2021.
  • Colts T Sam Tevi: One year, $2.51MM. $1MM guaranteed, $1.5MM base salary. The deal also includes $1MM in playing-time incentives, Wilson tweets.

Bills Host Sean Davis, Tyler Ervin On Visits

March 26th, 2021 at 7:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two members of the 2016 draft class visited the Bills on Friday. The team brought in veteran safety Sean Davis and longtime return man Tyler Ervin.

Davis spent 2020 with two teams, signing with Washington but returning to Pittsburgh after his WFT free agency deal ended with a post-training camp release. The Steelers re-signed Davis and used him as a depth piece. A Texans fourth-round pick, Ervin spent the 2020 season with the Packers.

Davis is best known for his run as a Steelers starter, a role he held from 2016-18. The former second-round pick delivered inconsistent work as a first-stringer and saw injuries — ankle and shoulder maladies — cost him 15 games in 2019. Soon after Davis went down, the Steelers traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick. Davis played in 16 games behind starters Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds last season. The Bills have two entrenched starters at safety, with the Jordan Poyer–Micah Hyde tandem going into its fifth season.

Primarily a return man as a pro, Ervin has extensive experience returning kicks and punts. He served as a kick returner with the Texans, Jaguars and Packers. The San Jose State product would make sense as a replacement for Andre Roberts, who agreed to terms with the Texans shortly after the legal tampering period began. Roberts made the Pro Bowl in both of his Buffalo seasons.

Bills Sign RB Matt Breida

March 25th, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Matt Breida will leave the Dolphins but stay in the AFC East. The Bills are signing the four-year veteran running back, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Breida is expected to sign a one-year deal. The Bills announced the move.

The Dolphins acquired Breida from the 49ers during the 2020 draft but did not receive much production from the elusive back. Breida, however, has rushed for more than 600 yards in multiple seasons — including 814 in 2018 — and is one of the league’s fastest ball carriers. He will join Devin Singletary and Zack Moss in Buffalo.

The 49ers shipped Breida to the Dolphins for a fifth-round pick, but he ended last season with just 254 rushing yards despite having played in 12 games. Miami has since pivoted to former Rams back Malcolm Brown, who will team with Myles Gaskin. The Bills’ backfield suddenly looks crowded, with Breida set to vie for time with recent Day 2 picks.

A former UDFA out of Georgia Southern, Breida played a key role for multiple Kyle Shanahan offenses. He topped five yards per carry in both 2018 and ’19, doing so on 153 carries in 2018. Raheem Mostert ended up usurping Breida in San Francisco, but Breida still helped a 49ers backfield that was without high-end signing Jerick McKinnon for two full seasons. The 26-year-old back will look to re-establish his career in Buffalo.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/24/21

March 24th, 2021 at 10:21am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

Seattle Seahawks

Bills To Re-Sign Isaiah McKenzie

March 23rd, 2021 at 12:36pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Bills are keeping their gadget player. Buffalo has agreed to terms on a new deal for receiver/returner Isaiah McKenzie, his agency announced on Twitter. It’s a one-year deal worth $1.15MM with $350K guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.

Before he decided to re-sign with the Bills, the Bears were a team that expressed interest in McKenzie as a free agent, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). McKenzie entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Broncos back in 2017. He struggled fielding punts, was cut midway through the 2018 season, and promptly claimed by Buffalo. Since then, he’s turned into a very nice find for Sean McDermott.

On his only punt return of the season in 2020, he returned it 84 yards four a touchdown. He couldn’t be the normal returner due to the presence of All-Pro Andre Roberts, but with Roberts signing in Houston McKenzie should be the return guy in 2021.

He also carved out a sizable role on offense, playing around a quarter of the offensive snaps last year. He finished with 30 catches for 282 yards and five touchdowns, and also had ten carries.

Bills’ Star Lotulelei To Return

March 23rd, 2021 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

In the midst of the initial free agency frenzy, Star Lotulelei informed the Bills that he plans to return in 2021 (Twitter link via Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic). The defensive tackle opted-out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lotulelei inked a five year, $50MM free agent deal with the Bills in 2018. The deal yielded mixed reactions and mixed results. The former first-round pick has largely declined since his strong rookie year in Carolina. Although he started for the Bills in 2018 and 2019, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus weren’t high on his performance. In ’19, Lotulelei was on the field for 516 snaps and recorded two sacks from the interior.

Still, Lotulelei can help the Bills’ run defense, which was one of their weak spots in 2020.

Contract Details: Trubisky, Andrews, Carson, Jones, Reiff, Joyner

March 21st, 2021 at 6:57pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Let’s catch up on the latest contract details from around the league:

  • QB Mitchell Trubisky, Bills: One-year, $2MM base salary with $1.5MM guaranteed, $500K signing bonus, and $2MM available in incentives. Via Field Yates of ESPN on Twitter.
  • C David Andrews, Patriots: Four-years, $19 MM, with $6.5MM fully guaranteed. More money available in play-time incentives. Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network on Twitter.
  • RB Chris Carson, Seahawks: Two-years, $10.425MM, $4.5MM signing bonus and $1MM guaranteed salary for 2021. $4.5MM non-guaranteed 2022 salary and $450K in per-game roster bonuses in ‘22. Up to $1.4MM in incentives in both years. Via Dan Graziano of ESPN on Twitter.
  • RB Aaron Jones, Packers: Four-years, $48MM. The $13MM signing bonus is the only fully guaranteed money in the contract. A $3.5MM roster bonus is due on the first day of next league year. For 2023, a $7MM roster bonus is due on the third day of the league year. You can read the full breakdown of each year of the contract via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
  • OL Riley Reiff, Bengals: One-year, $7.5MM. $5.5MM guaranteed. We hadn’t known the terms of this contract yet, and $7.5MM is a pretty decent price for the Bengals for a solid starting tackle. Via Yates on Twitter.
  • S Lamarcus Joyner, Jets: One-year, up to $4.5MM. $2.5MM is guaranteed, with a $1MM signing bonus and $1.5MM base salary. Up to $500K in per game active roster bonuses and $1.5MM in playing time and interception incentives. Via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter.
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