- The Bills cut Corey Coleman yesterday, less than one month after trading a non-conditional draft pick for him and assuming his guaranteed base salaries in each of the next years. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes that Buffalo did not like Coleman’s attitude from the time he arrived, and the former first-rounder is also still dealing with tightness in his hamstrings. It is telling that the Bills would let Coleman go despite the team’s obvious need for receiving talent.
The Bills have moved their roster to 53 players but cutting the following:
- DE Mat Boesen
- OG Ike Boettger
- DB Breon Borders
- DB Ryan Carter
- WR Kaelin Clay
- WR Corey Coleman
- OT Gerhard de Beer
- WR Malachi Dupre
- RB Keith Ford
- DT Rickey Hatley
- DE Albert Havili
- OT Josh James
- DE Mike Love
- DB Dean Marlowe
- TE Nick O’Leary
- WR Cam Phillips
- OT Mo Porter
- WR Austin Proehl
- C Adam Redmond
- WR Brandon Reilly
- RB Sam Rogers
- DE Ryan Russell
- LB Corey Thompson
- TE Keith Towbridge
- LB Tanner Vallejo
- DB Levi Wallace
- OT De’Ondre Wesley
- LB Xavier Woodson-Luster
- RB Travaris Cadet
- DE Terrence Fede
- DB Kelcie McCray
- P Jon Ryan
- WR Rod Streater
- DT Tyrunn Walker
Buffalo will take on dead money by releasing Coleman, whom it acquired from Cleveland earlier this year. Ryan lost out in the punting battle to Colton Schmidt.
The Raiders will acquire quarterback A.J. McCarron from the Bills, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Buffalo will receive a fifth-round pick, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Bills signed McCarron to compete for their starting job this spring, but he quickly fell behind both Josh Allen and Nathan Peterman.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden made clear that the team was in the market for a veteran backup quarterback and that they weren’t happy with the performances of returning players Connor Cook and E.J. Manuel. It’s unclear what the compensation is at this point, but it’s likely nothing more than a late round pick.
The Raiders haven’t announced all their cuts yet, but this means that at least one of Cook or Manuel will be sent packing, if not both. McCarron developed a reputation as one of the league’s better backups while holding Andy Dalton’s clipboard the past few seasons.
He was expected to have opportunities to start this offseason, but he was greeted with a quiet market in free agency. He didn’t draw much interest outside of Buffalo, and ended up signing a two-year deal there. The Bills will now move forward with Allen and Peterman, although they haven’t announced who will start between the two.
Corey Coleman‘s brief tenure in Buffalo has come to an end. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Bills are releasing the wideout.
Following a pair of underwhelming seasons in Cleveland, Coleman was traded to the Bills earlier this month for a seventh-rounder. The move seemed to be of little risk for the Bills, who were hoping the receiver would show some of the promise that made him a 15th-overall pick in 2016 draft. However, he 24-year-old didn’t end up showing a whole lot in the preseason with his new team, hauling in only three receptions for seven yards.
After being traded at the beginning of the preseason, Coleman seemingly didn’t have enough time to crack Buffalo’s roster. With the wideout out of the picture, any one of Andre Holmes, Jeremy Kerley, or Kaelin Clay could push for the third receiver spot behind Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones.
Coleman had shown intermittent promise during his time with the Browns, although he had only managed to compile 56 receptions for 718 yards and five touchdowns in 19 career games. The former Baylor standout struggled with injuries — most notably, two hand breaks — and he saw the GM who drafted him ousted last year. Coleman was signed through the 2019 season and would have been under Bills control through 2020 via the fifth-year option.
Of course, considering Coleman’s brilliance in college, some time will surely take a shot at the wide receiver now that he’s a free agent. There are presumably plenty of receiver-needy teams that would be willing to sign the 5-foot-11, 185-pound wideout.
On the eve of roster cutdown day, here’s the latest out of the AFC:
- The Browns have turned to multiple players this offseason in search of Joe Thomas‘ replacement, but after moving well-regarded left guard Joel Bitonio to left tackle, it doesn’t appear the team is ready to slot him there in Week 1. Hue Jackson said Bitonio might be moving back to guard and has declined to say who will be his left tackle starter against the Steelers, per Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland (on Twitter). Austin Corbett‘s left guard job is also not certain, per Jackson (via Jeff Schudel of the Lorain Morning Journal, on Twitter). Rookie UDFA Desmond Harrison may be the latest name to get a crack at left tackle, which would be an interesting move for a team with Shon Coleman and Greg Robinson still on the roster.
- It appears the Titans may be without two of their top edge rushers when they suit up for Week 1. With Derrick Morgan already expected to be out because of meniscus surgery, Harold Landry suffered a sprained ankle — a second opinion revealing that this could be a high ankle sprain, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter) — is uncertain for Tennessee’s opener. No joint damage occurred, but the Titans may opt to play it safe with their second-rounder.
- Working as both a camp kicker and punter with the Ravens, rookie UDFA Kaare Vedvik has drawn attention around the league this month. Teams are monitoring this situation, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link), since Vedvik will not be beating out Justin Tucker or Sam Koch.
- Nathan Peterman has a real shot to be the Bills‘ Week 1 starter, despite having made one of the worst starts in modern NFL history last season. Signs are pointing to Peterman to begin the year as the Bills’ starter, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic writes. The 2017 fifth-round pick completed 80 percent of his preseason passes and watched the Bills deploy A.J. McCarron instead of him in Thursday night’s preseason finale, a game usually reserved for backups or players set to be cut. McCarron signed for two years and $8MM this offseason. Josh Allen is obviously the long-term option, but while he learns, Peterman may be the Bills’ guy.
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Darius Victor
Buffalo Bills
- Released: S L.J. McCray
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Darius Hillary
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OL Kyle Bosch, OL Matthew Diaz
- Waived: WR Ricky Jeune, OL Dustin Stanton
Houston Texans
- Released: WR Chris Thompson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released from IR: S Don Carey
Los Angeles Chargers
- Claimed off waivers (Texans): DT Marcus Hardison
- Waived/injured: OL Zachary Crabtree
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: RB Larry Rose
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Anthony Denham
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: RB Ja’Quan Gardner
- Waived: S Chanceller James
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: LB Deontae Skinner
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Released: DT Tenny Palepoi
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived/Injured: CB Sojourn Shelton
Detroit Lions
- Waived: DL JoJo Wicker
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Brandon Banks
- Waived/Injured: WR Matt Hazel
Disturbing new details have emerged about Richie Incognito‘s arrest. According to the arrest report, funeral home employees say the former Bills Pro Bowler wanted his father’s head cut off for research purposes and walked through the funeral home punching caskets and throwing objects (via Stevie Johnson of the Democrat and Chronicle).
Bills linebacker Keenan Robinson has retired from the NFL. On Thursday, Robinson came to the conclusion that he no longer has what it takes to play in the NFL and said goodbye to his teammates, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. The Bills subsequently placed him on the reserve/retired list. 
Robinson appeared in 58 games for the Giants and Redskins from 2012-2017. He was a 13-game starter in 2013, but his playing time has been reduced ever since and he missed ten games last year due to a quad injury.
As an experienced player with special teams abilities, Robinson had a real chance to make the Bills’ final cut when he joined the club in late July. After competing with fellow veteran linebackers Ramon Humber, Julian Stanford, and Deon Lacey for about a month, however, Robinson felt that he had lost a step.
We wish Robinson the best in retirement.
Richie Incognito has been arrested in Arizona for disorderly conduct and making threats, according to Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter). The incident took place at a Scottsdale funeral home, where Incognito was making arrangements for his father’s funeral. 
[RELATED: Vikings Deny Interest In Incognito]
Incognito allegedly created a disturbance by “acting erratically and making the employees feel incredibly uncomfortable” at the funeral home, a source tells Florio. Incognito, the source says, made a gun gesture toward one of the employees, and said that he has guns in his truck. When cops arrived, they found weapons in Incognito’s vehicle.
“On 8/20/18 at 3:30pm, Scottsdale patrol officers responded to Messinger Pinnacle Peak Mortuary at 8555 E Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale reference a Disorderly Conduct call,” the Scottsdale police department said in a statement. “Initial reports advised that a male, later identified as 35-year-old Richard Incognito, was at the mortuary reference funeral arrangements for his father. Incognito reportedly was upset with staff and began to damage property inside the business and shout at employees. At several points during his contact with staff, Incognito threatened to retrieve guns from his vehicle and return to shoot the employees. Once on scene, officers detained him as the incident was investigated. Based on the investigation, Incognito was arrested and held on misdemeanor charges of Threats and Disorderly Conduct.”
This year, Incognito agreed to a pay cut with the Bills only to “retire” for a short time and force his release from Buffalo. Days after his release, Florida cops placed Incognito in a mental hospital after he hurled weights at a gym and told officers that the government is spying on him. Incognito claims that he has drawn interest since then, but it’s hard to imagine a club gambling on him given all of his issues. This latest arrest surely won’t help matters.
Last year, Incognito graded out as the 12th best guard in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. He ranked seventh amongst all guards in 2016 and second in ’15, making him the Bills’ top-rated offensive lineman of the last three years.