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Buffalo Bills News & Rumors

Bills’ Kouandjio Involved In Strange Incident

April 20th, 2017 at 12:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Bills offensive lineman Cyrus Kouandjio was involved in a bizarre incident with police earlier this week, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News. Details on the incident are sparse, at the moment, but the tackle was found “not fully clothed” and in a field not far from the scene of a car accident. Kouandjio, who had climbed over an electric fence, screamed “Shoot me!” when approached by police. Cyrus Kouandjio (vertical)

“We are aware of the matter involving Cyrus and are carefully monitoring his condition and gathering more information,” the Bills said in a statement. “We don’t have all of the details, so we won’t have any further comment at this time.”

Police suspect that Kouandjio pulled off of Route 400 and ran when he saw police lights. His exact role in the accident is not clear and there’s also no word on any potential mind-altering substances being involved. One has to presume that Kouandjio has undergone psychiatric evaluation and drug testing since the incident on Tuesday.

Kouandjio, 24 in July, has appeared in 25 games for Buffalo since being drafted in the second round of the 2014 draft. The DeMatha Catholic High School and University of Alabama product has been a solid contributor for the Bills, earning a higher score from Pro Football Focus last season than guys like Jake Matthews, Russell Okung, Doug Free, Andrus Peat, and other notables.

Bills Host Chad Kelly

April 19th, 2017 at 1:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson
  • Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly visited the Bills on Monday, reports Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. Kelly, the nephew of Bills legend Jim Kelly, is considered a Day 3 prospect thanks a multitude of injury concerns and off-field issues. After recovering quickly from a ACL tear, Kelly underwent wrist surgery in early April and won’t be able to throw for three months. Buffalo may be looking for a developmental quarterback in this year’s draft, as Tyrod Taylor‘s new contract doesn’t tie him to Buffalo for long.

Opinion: Bills Need To Retain Mike Gillislee

April 18th, 2017 at 7:31pm CST by Connor J. Byrne
  • The Bills need to match the Patriots’ offer sheet to restricted free agent Mike Gillislee and stop the flow of talent to New England, opines Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. The Pats signed Gillislee to a two-year, $6.4MM contract, including $4MM in 2017, after adding ex-Bills receiver and then-RFA Chris Hogan on a front-loaded deal last offseason. That worked out well for New England and poorly for Buffalo in 2016. Unlike the Hogan situation, the Bills would receive compensation for Gillislee’s departure – a fifth-round pick – but they’d lose another important member of their offense to an AFC East rival. The Bills could have avoided this situation by tendering Gillislee at a second-round level, which only would have cost them about $1MM extra, Rodak notes. In that scenario, Gillislee would have been on the Bills’ books this year at a reasonable $2.7MM.

Patriots Sign Bills RB Mike Gillislee To Offer Sheet

April 18th, 2017 at 1:15pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Patriots have signed Bills restricted free agent running back Mike Gillislee to an offer sheet, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The deal is worth $6.4MM over two years, and contains $4MM in year one, per Rapoport. Buffalo now has five days to match the Patriots’ offer, and while the Bills haven’t yet made a final decision, they “don’t believe” they’ll match the sheet, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.Mike Gillislee (Vertical)

New England hosted Gillislee — and fellow RFA back Damien Williams — on a visit last week, and the club has now further signaled its interest in the 25-year-old Gillislee. Buffalo, suprisingly, only tendered Gillislee at the original round level (at a cost of $1.797MM). Because Gillislee was drafted in the fifth round, the Patriots would only have to sacrifice a fifth-rounder in order to sign him away. The Bills have the option of matching the contract, but for another $1MM or so, the Bills could have placed the second-round tender on Gillislee and likely warded off any potential suitors.

The Patriots already have a stocked backfield after adding free agent Rex Burkhead to a depth chart that includes Dion Lewis, James White, Brandon Bolden, and D.J. Foster. But that hasn’t stopped New England from pursuing other options, as they’ve been linked to veteran Adrian Peterson in recent weeks. The Pats also reportedly have an offer on the table for LeGarrette Blount, who scored 16 touchdowns for the club in 2016.

The Bills, meanwhile, currently have less than $10MM in cap space, meaning matching the Patriots’ terms could be a problem. Losing Gillislee, who averaged an NFL-best 5.7 yards per carry on 101 attempts last season, would leave Buffalo with Jonathan Williams, Mike Tolbert, and Joe Banyard as depth pieces behind starter LeSean McCoy.

Bills Debating Watkins’ Fifth-Year Option

April 15th, 2017 at 9:13am CST by Ben Levine

The Bills only have several weeks to decide whether they’ll pick up Sammy Watkins fifth-year option, and Sal Capaccio of WGR550.com reports that the organization is still debating whether they’ll make the move. According to the writer, the team is especially wary of the fact that the option is guaranteed against injury.

Sammy Watkins (Vertical)The option would cost the Bills around $13MM against the cap for the 2018 season, although Capaccio notes that the team could pick up the option and subsequently negotiate a lower value via a long-term contract. Watkins has participated in rehab with the team over the past couple of weeks after undergoing foot surgery, and both the front office and head coach Sean McDermott are set to meet with the medical staff to get an update on the wideout’s progress.

Picking up the option seems likely, and the Bills would still have some flexibility. The option wouldn’t be guaranteed (except for injury) until the 2018 offseason, so if Watkins struggles next season, they team isn’t obligated to pay him that money. If the team decides to not pick up the fifth-year option, they could still retain the receiver via the franchise tag. Capaccio estimates that the franchise tag for wideouts will be around $16.5MM next offseason.

Watkins struggled through a foot injury in 2016, and the wideout ended up missing half the season. He finished the campaign with only 28 receptions for 430 yards and two touchdowns. The former first-rounder also missed three games during the 2015 season, but he still managed to haul in 60 receptions for 1,047 yards and nine scores.

Carucci: Bills Unlikely To Take QB In R1

April 14th, 2017 at 7:21pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • As for the Bills‘ reported interest in Deshaun Watson, Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News is betting that’s a smokescreen tactic. The Bills are indeed sending some strong signals Watson’s way, it appears, but Carucci believes the Tyrod Taylor adjusted contract will allow them to keep an eye on future prospects as opposed to developing one now. Buffalo can again escape from Taylor’s deal a season after authorizing it.

Bills Host Garett Bolles

April 13th, 2017 at 9:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson
  • The Bills are hosting Utah offensive tackle Garett Bolles today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). One of the fastest rising players in the draft, Bolles is now considered the top offensive lineman available, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets pushed into the top-10 based on the dearth of tackles in the 2017 class. Buffalo, though, already has a long-term option on the left side in Cordy Glenn, while right tackle is spoken for by Cyrus Kouandjio.

Patriots Host Mike Gillislee, Damien Williams

April 13th, 2017 at 8:16am CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots got a double dose of restricted free agent running backs on Wednesday. The Patriots hosted Bills RFA RB Mike Gillislee and Dolphins RFA RB Damien Williams, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Mike Gillislee (Vertical)

The Bills surprised many in the football world when they assigned Gillislee an original round/right of first refusal tender, which would only entitle them to a fifth-round pick if they did not match an offer sheet. For another $1MM or so, the Bills could have placed the second-round tender on Gillislee and that probably would have kept every potential suitor at bay. Gillislee averaged an NFL-best 5.7 yards per carry on 101 attempts as LeSean McCoy‘s understudy.

Williams, 25, was eclipsed by Jay Ajayi in Miami last year. Ultimately, he finished out with 35 carries for 115 yards (3.3 yards per carry average) and three touchdowns. Although the Dolphins would like to keep him, they would be able to get by just fine with Ajayi and Kenyan Drake holding down the RB position. They can also replenish the RB group in the late rounds of this year’s draft.

It’s fair to wonder whether the Patriots’ interest in either player is sincere. Already, the Pats have free agent addition Rex Burkhead, Dion Lewis, James White, D.J. Foster, and Branden Bolden on the roster and LeGarrette Blount remains available. The Patriots could be taking a real look at guys like Gillislee, Williams, and Adrian Peterson, but they could also be faking it to put additional pressure on Blount to re-sign. It doesn’t sound like Blount has much of an outside market for his services, so that could be an effective strategy for New England.

Shareece Wright Visits Bills

April 12th, 2017 at 5:35pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Free agent cornerback Shareece Wright visited the Bills on Wednesday, according to an announcement from the team.

Shareece Wright (vertical)

The 30-year-old Wright has been on the open market since the Ravens released him March 7, and he hadn’t garnered any known interest until his meeting with Buffalo. Wright, also an ex-Charger, started between six and 14 games in each of the previous four seasons – including nine in 2016 – so he’d lend some experience to a Bills team that’s largely bereft at corner after No. 1 man Ronald Darby. The six-year veteran has gone three straight seasons without an interception, though, and ranked a below-average 75th in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 111 qualified corners in 2016.

If the Bills sign Wright, he’ll go down as the third offseason addition to their cornerback corps, joining free agent pickups Marcus Cromartie and Leonard Johnson. Those two are clear downgrades from the corners the Bills have lost this offseason, however, with Stephon Gilmore having signed with the Patriots and Nickell Robey-Coleman having somewhat surprisingly gotten his release.

Bills Notes: QBs, Humphrey

April 12th, 2017 at 5:13pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Bills have shown significant interest in prospective first-round quarterbacks of late, but it could be a ploy to trade down from the 10th overall pick, suggests Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. By publicly meeting with signal-callers, including North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, the Bills might be trying to coax a QB-needy team into moving up to No. 10. Head coach Sean McDermott acknowledged that possibility Wednesday, telling WKSE-FM in Buffalo (via Mike Rodak of ESPN): “We’ll take a look at those [quarterbacks], but it doesn’t mean we’re taking a quarterback. Maybe these last three or four trips were just kind of all a smokescreen, right? It’s kind of like hiding your presents from your kids. You kind of put them in different spots and see, right? We’ll just see.” However, the Bills didn’t want the news of their meetings with QBs to leak, according to Greg Gabriel of 670theScore. Further, the fact that owner Terry Pegula has been on hand for workouts with QBs implies the Bills, despite having Tyrod Taylor, view the position as a major need, posits Gabriel (Twitter links).

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