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Buffalo Bills News & Rumors

Could Bills Franchise LB Matt Milano?

February 4th, 2021 at 7:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Linebacker Matt Milano should be one of the top free agents available at his position…if he makes it that far. While speaking to reporters last week, Bills general manager Brandon Beane “did not rule out using the franchise tag” on the 26-year-old (per Jourdon LaBarber of the team’s website).

“We’d love to be able to get Matt back,” Beane added. “He knows that. I shared that with him and I’m sure Sean has as well. The business side matters. He wants to and he’s earned the right to go to free agency and see what his market bears.

“We’ll do our best to retain him and as many guys as we can. We just don’t even know the numbers yet and what it’s going to be. There’s going to be some tough decisions unfortunately for us, whether it’s letting guys go on this roster or having to watch guys leave.”

Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic adds some additional context, noting that the franchise tag would be a realistic option if the two sides can’t agree to a long-term pact. However, considering the expected $15MM franchise price for linebackers, Buffalo would likely have to cut a few players to retain financial flexibility. Sheil Kapadia and Aaron Reiss of The Athletic agree with the franchise-tag sentiment, noting that a Milano tag would be similar to last offseason when the Patriots and Vikings surprised many by franchising guard Joe Thuney and safety Anthony Harris, respectively.

A 2017 fifth-round pick, Milano has spent his entire career with the Bills, including a 2019 campaign where he compiled career-highs in games started (15) and tackles (101). He was limited to only 10 games (five starts) in 2020 due to a pectoral injury, but he still managed to compile 45 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He started each of the Bills’ three playoff games, collecting an additional 25 tackles.

Bills Re-Sign OL Jordan Devey

February 1st, 2021 at 1:41pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

As the Bills start to get their offseason in order following their AFCCG loss to the Chiefs, they’ve made a relatively minor move. Buffalo has re-signed offensive lineman Jordan Devey to a one-year deal, the team announced Monday.

Terms weren’t immediately available, although it’s safe to assume it’s for close to league minimum. He bounced between the practice squad and active roster, and only played a couple of offensive snaps this past season. While he didn’t see the field much for Buffalo, he has received some significant run in the past. In 2019 he started four games with the Raiders, and appeared in seven with a couple of starts with the Chiefs the year before.

Devey entered the league as an UDFA in 2013 and has bounced around since, starting four games for the Patriots in 2014 and nine with the 49ers in 2015. He won Super Bowl XLIX with New England. Although he has a decent amount of starting experience this is nothing more than a depth signing, and in an ideal world he won’t be helping to protect Josh Allen next year.

Bills Waive CB E.J. Gaines

January 29th, 2021 at 3:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

E.J. Gaines has not played in a regular-season game since the 2018 season, and it appears the veteran cornerback will need to relocate again in order to return to action in 2021.

The Bills waived Gaines on Friday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Gaines passed on this season via a COVID-19 opt-out decision in July. While this caused his contract to toll to 2021, the Bills signed him to a veteran-minimum deal and will not take a notable financial hit because of this move.

Originally a 2014 Rams draft choice out of Mizzou, Gaines played for Buffalo in 2017. The former sixth-round pick started all 11 games he played that season. After playing in Cleveland in 2018, Gaines re-signed with the Bills in 2019. The Bills reached an injury settlement with Gaines in 2019 but brought him back again year later.

FB Patrick DiMarco To Retire

January 28th, 2021 at 5:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

Patrick DiMarco began the 2020 season on IR and ended it as a free agent, and the veteran fullback will not attempt to return next season. DiMarco announced his retirement Thursday (via Twitter).

Originally a Chargers UDFA in 2011, DiMarco became best known for his work with the Falcons. The ex-South Carolina Gamecock made the Pro Bowl in 2015 and was Atlanta’s primary blocking back from 2013-16.

DiMarco, 31, helped pave the way for Devonta Freeman‘s two Pro Bowl nods, aiding the Falcons’ transition from Steven Jackson to their Freeman-Tevin Coleman backfield in the mid-2010s. Freeman and Coleman combined for more than 1,600 rushing yards in 2016, when the Falcons boasted one of the highest-scoring offenses in NFL history.

The Bills signed DiMarco to a four-year, $8.5MM deal in 2017. Primarily working as a special teams contributor, DiMarco logged three 16-game seasons from 2017-19 but suffered an injury that prompted Buffalo to move him to IR ahead of Week 1. The Bills released DiMarco via injury settlement prior to their season opener.

Illustrating the role of the modern fullback, DiMarco logged just seven career carries. He did score four receiving touchdowns with the Falcons, however.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/26/21

January 26th, 2021 at 6:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s reserve/futures deals:

Buffalo Bills

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/25/21

January 25th, 2021 at 6:16pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s reserve/futures deals:

Buffalo Bills

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams

As a reminder, these are all non-guaranteed deals, usually for practice-squad-type players, to help teams flesh out their 90-man offseason rosters.

Coaching Notes: Seahawks, Titans, Dolphins

January 24th, 2021 at 9:36pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve got another couple of names to pass along for Seattle’s wide-ranging offensive coordinator search. The Seahawks want to interview Bills quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey and have already spoken with Rams pass-game coordinator Shane Waldron, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. They’ve been linked to what seems like every offensive coach in the league now, including Adam Gase and other big names. Dorsey was a backup quarterback in the league for a handful of years, and the 39-year-old was the Panthers’ quarterbacks coach from 2013-17.

He joined the Bills last season. Waldron is another young guy who has coached under Rams coach Sean McVay since 2016 since they were both with Washington. He started as McVay’s tight ends coach in Los Angeles before getting promoted to quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator. The Seahawks don’t appear to be honing in on anything in particular, and at this point it’s anyone’s guess who they’ll hire.

Here are more coaching notes from around the league:

  • The Texans are the only team still with a head coach opening, but they aren’t letting one key assistant go out the door yet. They recently blocked offensive coordinator Tim Kelly from interviewing for OC openings with two other teams, and those interested teams were the Titans and Lions, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Since it would be a lateral move and he’s still under contract, Houston can block those requests. As Breer points out, there has been buzz that Deshaun Watson likes Kelly, and the team could be looking to keep him in order to curry favor with their disgruntled starting quarterback. Detroit has since filled their vacancy with former Chargers coach Anthony Lynn.
  • Speaking of the Titans’ opening, Tennessee will be interviewing Pep Hamilton for the job in the next few days, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Hamilton was the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach this past year, and did a great job helping with the development of Justin Herbert, so he’s been drawing a lot of interest for OC jobs. He was talked about as a candidate in Miami, and is one of the finalists in Pittsburgh as well. The Titans of course are looking to replace Arthur Smith, now the head coach in Atlanta. Hamilton coordinated the Colts’ offense from 2013-15, and had a lot of success with Andrew Luck.
  • The Dolphins are still looking for their OC, but they have made a different key hire on offense. The team has parted ways with quarterbacks coach Robby Brown and replaced him with former NFL passer Charlie Frye, they announced in a tweet. It’s the first NFL coaching gig for Frye, who was Central Michigan’s offensive coordinator the past two seasons. It’s interesting that they’d hire the QBs coach before the OC. A third-round pick of the Browns back in 2005, Frye also played with the Seahawks and Raiders until 2009.

Patriots Were Finalists For Stefon Diggs

January 24th, 2021 at 6:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Bills’ thrilling run to the AFC Championship Game almost never happened. It’s unlikely Buffalo would’ve made it this far without Stefon Diggs, and they apparently came very close to losing him to a division rival.

Diggs was very nearly traded to the Patriots this past offseason, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. We had heard back in March that the Pats had expressed some interest, but we didn’t know how close they came until now. Rapoport writes that Buffalo and New England were the two finalists, and that the Vikings gave the Patriots a chance to match the Bills’ last offer.

Bill Belichick declined, and the rest is history. Interestingly, Rapoport adds that Minnesota never intended to trade the star wideout, “but had a number in mind of what it would take if it did.” He also writes that the Bills first tried trading for Diggs at the 2019 trade deadline but were rebuffed.

It’s fun to think about what would’ve happened had Belichick landed the top wideout. Diggs was ultimately traded on March 16th, the day before Tom Brady announced he’d be leaving New England. It’s unlikely that would’ve convinced Brady to stay as it seems his mind had been made up, but it would’ve at least given Cam Newton and the passing game a real viable threat in 2020.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/23/21

January 23rd, 2021 at 4:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest NFL minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed to reserve/futures deal: WR Deon Cain

Buffalo Bills

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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