Buffalo Bills News & Rumors

Bills Shopped DT Adolphus Washington

The Bills had Adolphus Washington on the trade block during training camp, ESPN.com’s Mike Sando hears. The asking price was a fifth-round pick, but there were apparently no takers. Adolphus Washington (Vertical)

Washington, a third-round choice under the Bills’ old regime in 2016, was acquitted of a weapons charge over the summer. The new management in Buffalo had at least some interest in moving on from the defensive tackle and one has to wonder if they could revisit that idea with the trade deadline coming up. Not everyone is convinced that the Bills would pull the trigger on a deal, however.

I just think with [defensive tackle] Kyle Williams being so old, it could be hard to trade him,” one NFL executive told Sando. “Plus, they have a good thing going right now.”

However, the 3-1 Bills have shown a willingness to revamp their roster via trade. Nothing can be ruled out when talking about the team that shipped Sammy Watkins to the Rams and Ronald Darby to the Eagles on the very same day in August.

Washington started 11 games for Buffalo last season. This year, he’s appeared in three games – all off of the bench – with four total tackles.

Bills Release WR Walt Powell

The Bills announced that they have release wide receiver Walt Powell. Powell was set to come back from suspension after serving a four-game ban to start the year. Walt Powell (vertical)

[RELATED: Bills’ Jordan Matthews To Have Thumb Surgery]

The release is not a great endorsement of Powell’s skill set, particularly since Jordan Matthews is dealing with a thumb injury that will keep him sidelined for at least one month. With Powell out of the picture, Buffalo may look to bump either Malachi Dupre or Brandon Reilly from the taxi squad to fill the void.

Powell first entered the league as a sixth round pick of the Cardinals in 2014. Since then, he has bounced around the league quite a bit including stints with the Jets, Raiders, and Bills (twice). Powell was hoping to bounce back in 2017 after last year’s campaign was cut short by a November ankle injury. He’ll have try and make that happen somewhere else, however.

Bills WR Jordan Matthews To Miss Time

Bills wide receiver Jordan Matthews is expected to undergo thumb surgery and will miss at least one month of action, according to Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 (Twitter link).Jordan Matthews (Vertical)

Matthews, whom Buffalo acquired (along with a third-round pick) in an August trade in exchange for cornerback Ronald Darby, had been serving as the Bills’ de facto No. 1 wideout, although he is actually third in receptions behind running back LeSean McCoy and tight end Charles Clay. On 13 targets, the 25-year-old Matthews has managed 10 catches for 162 yards and one touchdown for the surprisingly 3-1 Bills. Playing in his contract season, Matthews is scheduled to become a free agent next spring.

Given that the Bills were already fielding one of the NFL’s worst receiving corps before the Matthews injury, the club will likely lean on the run game even more heavily than it had in Weeks 1-4. Buffalo has thrown the ball at a lower rate than any other team in the league thus far (just 45.31% of plays), and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that percentage dip even further.

Zay Jones, Andre Holmes, and Kaelin Clay will likely see more targets with Matthews sidelined, while the Bills could also promote either Malachi Dupre or Brandon Reilly from their practice squad. A free agent addition probably doesn’t make sense given that Matthews will return later this year, but Anquan Boldin is still available after retiring from the Bills just before the season began. The veteran pass-catcher has ruled out a late-season return, however.

Matthews wasn’t the only Buffalo player to go down on Sunday, as linebacker Ramon Humber suffered a broken thumb and will miss time, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Humber, who has never been a full-time starter during his nine-plus-year NFL career, had played on nearly 95% of the Bills’ defensive snaps to this point and graded as the league’s No. 33 linebacker, per Pro Football Focus. Matt Milano is likely to step into the starting lineup, while Deon Lacey and Tanner Vallejo could also see increased usage.

Bills Promote Eric Lee

  • The Bills have filled the vacant slot on their 53-man roster by promoting defensive end Eric Lee from their practice squad, the club announced today. Lee, an undrafted free agent out of South Florida in 2016, will make his NFL debut on Sunday if he sees the field against the Falcons. After finishing with 11.5 sacks during his final collegiate season, Lee spent the entirety of the 2016 campaign on the Texans’ practice squad, but was waived by Houston during final cutdowns earlier this month.

Shaq Lawson Suffers Injury At Practice

  • Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson also ran into trouble during practice this week, suffering a groin injury Thursday, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports. A starter after missing most of his rookie season due to injury, Lawson has two sacks thus far. The recently signed Ryan Davis may be Buffalo’s top option if Lawson can’t play in Week 4.

NFL Workout Updates: 9/27/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • LSs Andrew East and Anthony Kukwa (link)

Washington Redskins

NFL Workout Updates: 9/26/17

Tuesday’s workout updates (links via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle or ESPN’s Adam Caplan):

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/17

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Promoted to active roster: WR Krishawn Hogan

Miami Dolphins

San Francisco 49ers

NFL Waiver Priority Now Based On 2017 Record

We’re coming up on Week 4 of the NFL season and that means that waiver claim priority will be based on the current league standings instead of last year’s. Of course, waiver priority is based on the inverted NFL standings, which have built in tiebreakers to sort out the many logjams that naturally occur.

Throughout the offseason and the first three weeks of the regular season, the Browns enjoyed top priority thanks to their 1-15 finish last year. Now, we have a brand new pecking order. Here is a full rundown of the current waiver claim priority, which will change from week to week (Twitter links via Field Yates of ESPN.com):

T-1. Bengals

T-1. Browns

T-1. 49ers

4. Giants

5. Chargers

6. Colts

T-7. Texans

T-7. Seahawks

9. Cardinals

10. Jets

11. Saints

12. Bears

13. Dolphins

14. Buccaneers

15. Ravens

T-16. Panthers

T-16. Cowboys

T-16. Rams

T-16. Steelers

T-20. Broncos

T-20. Lions

T-20. Packers

23. Vikings

T-24. Bills

T-24. Jaguars

T-24. Patriots

T-24. Raiders

T-24. Eagles

T-24. Titans

30. Redskins

31. Chiefs

32. Falcons

 

Eagles Claim Trae Elston Off Waivers

The Eagles announced that they have claimed safety Trae Elston off waivers from the Bills. He’ll be on the 53-man roster when the Eagles take on the Giants on Sunday. Trae Elston (vertical)

The Bills dropped Elston on Tuesday, opting to replace him with fellow safety Robert Blanton on Wednesday morning. A UDFA out of Mississippi last year, Elston spent time with three different clubs in 2016 before Buffalo claimed him off waivers from the Browns. He is still looking for steady work, but on the plus side he has already amassed a solid jersey selection. The 23-year-old saw time in both of the Bills’ games this season with the bulk of his work coming on special teams.

The Eagles have been looking for safety depth and they initially tried to fill that void by signing safety DeAndre Houston-Carson off of the Bears’ practice squad this week, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). They were blocked on that attempt when Chicago bumped him to the 53-man roster, however.

Elston is likely to be on the active roster this weekend with starter Rodney McLeod and reserve defensive back Jaylen Watkins on the mend.