HEADLINES

Buffalo Bills News & Rumors

NFL Injury Notes: Hurts, Rapp, Elliss, Flowers

January 25th, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Adam La Rose

Jalen Hurts‘ knee has been a talking point during the week after it was injured during the Eagles’ divisional round victory. The team will have its franchise quarterback in place tomorrow, although his mobility will remain something to monitor.

Hurts made progress in practice over the past few days, and he was listed as a full participant. He does not carry a designation heading into Sunday, confirmation that he will be in the lineup for the NFC title game. The two-time Pro Bowler did say, however, that he anticipates he will wear a knee brace tomorrow (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).

Philadelphia’s offense has continued to rely heavily on running back Saquon Barkley through the first two rounds of the playoffs. He has racked up 355 scrimmage yards to date in the postseason, and he will no doubt be a focal point against the Commanders tomorrow. Nevertheless, Hurts’ mobility will important to watch given his capabilities as a rusher and his significance to the ‘Philly Shove’ in short yardage and goal line situations.

Here are some other injury notes from around the NFL:

  • Regarding tomorrow’s other conference title game, the Bills will be shorthanded in the secondary. Safety Taylor Rapp exited last week’s win over the Ravens with a hip injury, and he has not practiced since. Head coach Sean McDermott ruled Rapp out yesterday. As a result, second-round rookie Cole Bishop – who handled a part-time role on defense during the regular season – is in line to start.
  • The Broncos were the first team to be eliminated from the postseason by the Bills, and their defense was dealt an injury blow in the process. Rookie edge rusher Jonah Elliss suffered a fractured scapula bone in his right shoulder during the loss to Buffalo, as detailed by Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette. Elliss, the Broncos’ third-rounder in last year’s draft, had an impressive debut campaign with five sacks despite only logging a 38% defensive snap share. Tomasson writes he is expected to be fully recovered in time for offseason workouts in April, so a clean bill of health for the 2025 campaign should come to pass.
  • Zay Flowers suffered a knee sprain in Week 18, and it kept him out of the wild-card and divisional rounds. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after Baltimore’s season-ending defeat (via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec) the second-year wideout could have been in play for this week had the team advanced to the AFC title game (subscription required). More notably, Harbaugh added surgery may be required during the offseason on the affected knee. After an encouraging rookie season, Flowers topped 1,000 receiving yards and earned a Pro Bowl nod. His health for 2025 will of course be of great importance to the Ravens.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/25/25

January 25th, 2025 at 7:38pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s standard gameday practice squad elevations in advance of championship Sunday:

Buffalo Bills

Kansas City Chiefs

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

Liam Coen Not Expected To Return To Jaguars HC Mix; Joe Brady, Kellen Moore Still On Radar

January 23rd, 2025 at 12:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

12:16pm: It now appears the Jags will stay with their HC search and conclude it before deciding on a GM. Going coach before GM is not entirely uncommon, but CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones points to the team not beginning a true GM hunt until a coach is in place. It would not surprise to see interview requests go out to execs, but if the team intends on separating the searches entirely, it will be a bit before that step happens.

10:37am: Liam Coen‘s decision to pass on a second Jaguars HC interview, and thus remove himself from consideration for the open job, looks to have been significant. Hours later, Shad Khan reversed course on his plans with Trent Baalke. The veteran GM is out, leaving more questions in Jacksonville.

Baalke’s presence had been seen as a deterrent in the Jaguars’ coaching search. Would removing the GM mean Coen could move back into play? It does not appear that will happen, with the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud reporting the Buccaneers‘ OC is expected to sign his extension today.

Prior to Khan’s decision to boot Baalke, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler noted Bills OC Joe Brady would be a name to watch in light of the Bucs play-caller bowing out. The young assistant impressed in his virtual meeting. Indeed, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds the Jags’ list of second interviews is expected to include Brady and Eagles OC Kellen Moore. As of now, the Jags’ finalists include Robert Saleh and Patrick Graham. Each will conduct their second interviews this week. The Athletic’s Michael Silver initially indicated the search will expand beyond these two.

The prospect of a second Jags run at Coen would make sense, but the retooling organization has some issues to sort out. And Coen may well be eyeing a spot on the 2026 HC carousel rather than seeing where the Jaguars are at GM once they launch a search. A new GM may also be the team’s second priority now, as Bovada’s Josina Anderson indicating the franchise is considering a few scenarios in terms of how to proceed with its HC and GM spots. If nothing else, the Jags may be OK hiring a head coach before a general manager.

Given this year’s remaining candidates, it would be a bit surprising if the Jags gave their next head coach power over a GM. Baalke held roster control following Urban Meyer‘s firing, but it is fairly clear the recently fired GM’s presence was, much like in 2022, not helping attract candidates. Although Khan gave Meyer power in 2021, he had pursued the formerly successful college HC for a while. That experience going so poorly may well influence Khan to keep a traditional power structure post-Baalke, but the Jags are in need of a solution after Coen and Ben Johnson turned them down.

As far as replacing Baalke goes, no known candidates have emerged. The Jets are the other team looking, after the Titans (Mike Borgonzi) and Raiders (John Spytek) have made their choices. Commanders assistant GM Lance Newmark appeared the favorite for the Jets’ job, but Trey Brown and Darren Mougey are still in the mix; each will conduct second interviews today. Newmark may be in play for the Jags, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini writes, but it is not known if a candidate that had been linked to following Johnson to Las Vegas and then join Aaron Glenn in New York would be coveted without the presence of an ex-Lions staffer.

After Baalke’s 2024 extension spree preceded a 4-13 season and a complete overhaul, the Jags are in the unusual spot of having paid a potential franchise QB (Trevor Lawrence) while carrying HC and GM vacancies. The Chargers managed to find good solutions here when in this spot last year, but they had vacancies from the start and used Justin Herbert‘s presence to attract Jim Harbaugh. After Coen and Johnson did not see enough positives about Jacksonville’s situation, will Lawrence help sway Brady or Moore?

Saints Planning On Second Interviews With Joe Brady, Kellen Moore

January 22nd, 2025 at 9:18pm CST by Ely Allen

As other head coaching gigs around the league are starting to fill up, the Saints are continuing on with the process to fill their vacancy. The team recently reported their intent to schedule second interviews with Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, as well as a first meeting with former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network added today that New Orleans will also be looking to meet for a second time with Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Both coaches interviewed with the team last week before their respective divisional matchups in the playoffs. With both coaches advancing, the Saints’ opportunity to interview each coach again may have to wait until after this weekend’s conference championship games, when one or both coaches either will be eliminated from the playoffs or will have a two-week break before the Super Bowl.

Brady has been on staff in New Orleans before, though he did not hold a high-ranking post during his past stint with the team. He served as a Saints offensive assistant from 2017-18. Brady has since been on the rise, a climb that began when he served as pass-game coordinator for LSU’s unbeaten 2019 national champion team. After being fired from his post as Panthers OC, Brady has rebounded in Buffalo. Josh Allen has submitted his best all-around season, piloting the Bills to a third straight AFC No. 2 seed under Brady. The Bills ranked second in scoring this season and have beaten both the Lions and Chiefs.

Moore just completed his first regular season as Philly’s offensive coordinator. While the Eagles failing to improve on their 2023 offensive rankings, they still matched an impressive offensive output (seventh in points, eighth in yards). Under Moore, Saquon Barkley had an historic season. Moore has previously been lauded for his offensive approach in stops with the Chargers and Cowboys, as well.

While Moore’s first interview with the Saints was his first of the current interview cycle, he isn’t a stranger to the head coaching interview circuit. He’s earned interviews in each of the past three offseasons, including meetings with the Chargers (2024), Panthers (2023), Broncos, Dolphins, Jaguars, and Vikings (2022). He’s since interviewed with the Jaguars and Cowboys this offseason, and he is considered a frontrunner for the job in Dallas.

Here’s how the head coaching search is shaping up in the Big Easy:

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/22/25

January 22nd, 2025 at 5:59pm CST by Adam La Rose

Wednesday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Philadelphia Eagles 

Both Spector and Covey now have up to 21 days to practice before being activated. It will be interesting to see if either of them are brought back in time for this weekend’s divisional round matchups. Buffalo and Philadelphia both have four IR activations remaining with as many as two games remaining in the teams’ respective seasons.

Updated 2025 NFL Draft Order

January 19th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Two weekends of playoff football have come and gone, providing us with 10 more draft slots cemented into position as NFL teams continue to be eliminated from the playoffs. The top 18 picks were already divvied up at the conclusion of the regular season to the teams who failed to make the playoffs, while picks 19-28 have been determined over the past two weeks.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order has been determined by the inverted 2024 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. The playoff squads are being slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular-season record.

The league’s Super Wild Card weekend resulted in the elimination of Chargers, Steelers, Broncos, Packers, Buccaneers, and Vikings after their respective losses. Tampa Bay benefitted from the three-way tie in record with Denver and Pittsburgh, just as the Chargers did over the Packers.

The divisional round of the playoffs resulted in the elimination of the Texans, Rams, Ravens, and Lions. This time, Houston held the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, gifting it higher draft priority.

We are still at a place that, for the first time since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002, there is a chance that every team drafts in the first round, as no first-round picks have yet been traded. It’s extremely unlikely that this will remain the case, as draft-day trades are a very common occurrence, but it’s still an interesting concept to note this close to the draft.

Here is how the draft order looks following two weeks of playoff football:

  1. Tennessee Titans (3-14)
  2. Cleveland Browns (3-14)
  3. New York Giants (3-14)
  4. New England Patriots (4-13)
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)
  6. Las Vegas Raiders (4-13)
  7. New York Jets (5-12)
  8. Carolina Panthers (5-12)
  9. New Orleans Saints (5-12)
  10. Chicago Bears (5-12)
  11. San Francisco (6-11)
  12. Dallas Cowboys (7-10)
  13. Miami Dolphins (8-9)
  14. Indianapolis Colts (8-9)
  15. Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
  16. Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
  17. Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
  18. Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
  20. Denver Broncos (10-7)
  21. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
  22. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
  23. Green Bay Packers (11-6)
  24. Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
  25. Houston Texans (10-7)
  26. Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
  27. Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
  28. Detroit Lions (15-2)
  29. Washington Commanders (12-5)
  30. Buffalo Bills (13-4)
  31. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
  32. Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)

Bills Could Adjust QB Josh Allen’s Contract In Offseason

January 19th, 2025 at 10:16am CST by Rory Parks

Bills QB Josh Allen will square off against Ravens QB Lamar Jackson in a highly-anticipated divisional round matchup today. This offseason, Allen may receive a bump that puts his pay more in line with his Baltimore counterpart and his other peers in the top tier of the league’s signal-callers.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link), Buffalo could offer Allen a contractual adjustment in the coming months, which sounds as if it would take the form of a raise. The Bills restructured their franchise passer’s deal last March – a standard maneuver that converted salary to signing bonus for cap purposes – though Allen subsequently said he was not looking for an increase in pay.

That is despite the fact that the six-year, $258MM deal Allen signed in 2021 is looking more and more like a team-friendly accord. Not only is Allen under club control through 2028 – he is the only non-Patrick Mahomes passer to have signed for more than five years since the Chiefs icon’s pact was finalized – but his $43MM AAV currently ranks 14th in the league’s QB hierarchy, behind a number of less-accomplished players like Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love, among others. His $100MM in full guarantees is now outside the top-10.

On the other hand, Allen’s cap charge increases from just over $30MM in 2024 to over $43MM in 2025, and then it spikes to a perhaps untenable ~$64MM in 2026. Some sort of reworking could serve the dual purpose of smoothing out those cap hits while bringing Allen closer to the top of the market.

And he has certainly earned it. While it remains to be seen whether the Wyoming product will land the first MVP award of his career for his 2024 efforts, his consistently excellent play has transformed the Bills from one of the AFC’s doormats to a conference powerhouse. 

Since Allen entered the league in 2018, he has piloted Buffalo to a 76-34 regular season record, and the team has reached at least the divisional round of the playoffs in each of the past five years. Like Jackson, his fellow 2018 draftee, the lone knock on Allen is the fact that his club has not yet secured a conference championship, a shortcoming that one of those players will be able to address next week.

In 2024, Allen compiled his lowest passing TDs (28) and passing yards (3,731) totals since 2020, but he led the league in QBR (77.5) and was eighth in traditional quarterback rating (101.4), largely because he was much more careful with the football. He threw just six interceptions – compared to 18 picks in 2023 – and fumbled just five times (the lowest mark of his career). He remained an invaluable asset in the running game, racking up 531 rushing yards (on a 5.2 yards-per-carry average) and 12 rushing scores. That production was in spite of the fact that Allen played through a fractured non-throwing hand for most of the season.

As Rapoport notes, Allen has a great relationship with the Bills, and a revised deal benefiting both parties makes plenty of sense.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/18/25

January 18th, 2025 at 5:08pm CST by Ely Allen

Saturday’s minor moves, including stand gameday practices squad elevations for the weekend’s remaining divisional playoff games:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

Load More Posts