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Front Office Rumors: Bills, 49ers, Colts

March 23rd, 2017 at 12:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com brought us news on the Redskins’ GM search. Further down in his column, he presented more front office news from around the NFL. Here’s a look at the highlights:

  • New Bills coach Sean McDermott could convince ownership to import front office guys with whom he has a relationship. JLC floats the name of Panthers director of player personnel Don Gregory and notes that there are “already rumblings that the marriage of McDermott and Bills GM Doug Whaley” will not last.
  • The 49ers are also looking to add to the front office. This makes sense given that new GM John Lynch is a front office neophyte.
  • New Colts GM Chris Ballard may want to shake up the scouting core, but league sources tell JLC that he may have to wait a year since the evaluators that are already there have more time to go on their contracts. Still, Ballard badly wants to poach Seahawks executive Ed Dodds. If Indy can land him, he’ll probably get a promotion over his current title. Jets director of college scouting Rex Hogan is also a Ballard target, but JLC hears that he still has a good amount of time left on his contract and might be harder to pry away.
  • Bears exec Morocco Brown, who has history with Ballard, could be a possible candidate for the Colts and 49ers. JLC notes that Brown had a solid relationship with new SF coach Kyle Shanahan in D.C.

Details On Lorenzo Alexander's Contract

March 22nd, 2017 at 11:13am CST by Zachary Links
  • Lorenzo Alexander, LB (Bills): Two years, $5.95MM. Cap numbers of $2.55MM (2017) and $3.4MM (2018). $1.1MM signing bonus. Base salaries of $2MM (2017, fully guaranteed) and $2.45MM (2018; $300K fully guaranteed; $1MM guaranteed for injury only). $300K roster bonus due on third day of the 2018 league year and additional per-game roster bonuses of $6K+ in 2018. Incentives up to $850K (2017) and $1.25MM (2018) in playing time and Pro Bowl incentives. (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).

Linebacker Zach Brown Fires Agent

March 21st, 2017 at 10:15am CST by Zachary Links

Linebacker Zach Brown is apparently frustrated with how free agency has gone thus far. On Tuesday morning, Brown fired agent Carl Carey and signed with Jason and Michael Katz of CSE Talent (Twitter link). Zach Brown (vertical)

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Brown now ranks as PFR’s top free agent linebacker and he’s one of the most talented free agents left on the board at ay position. We expected Brown to cash in after a career year, but he hasn’t garnered as much interest as anticipated. The Colts and Raiders both met with Brown, but the Colts have since signed linebacker Sean Spence and the Raiders might be done with LB shopping in free agency after adding Jelani Jenkins. Right now, his market might be comprised of just two teams. Brown is currently visiting with the Dolphins and, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets, he’ll meet with the incumbent Bills once he’s done there.

If the Dolphins sign Brown and convince Kiko Alonso to play outside linebacker, they could have a strong veteran LB starting cast with the two of them plus offseason addition Lawrence Timmons. The Bills, meanwhile, would like to retain Brown after successfully re-signing fellow free agent ‘backers Lorenzo Alexander and Ramon Humber.

Bills Meet With Cam Robinson

March 20th, 2017 at 10:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Meanwhile, former Foster teammate Cam Robinson met with the Bills and Panthers. A Jaguars stop is next for the first-round tackle prospect, Rapoport reports. The Carolina visit occurred today. Robinson, Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk and Utah’s Garrett Bolles headline the tackle class.

Bills Meet With Keenan Robinson

March 20th, 2017 at 4:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Keenan Robinson logged his second visit of the offseason by making a trip to Buffalo to meet with the Bills, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Last week, Robinson visited the Bengals, but Cincinnati ended up agreeing to a deal with higher-profile UFA linebacker Kevin Minter to help keep Robinson unattached.

The Giants had Robinson stationed as a player they wanted to re-sign, but Big Blue traditionally doesn’t spend much on linebackers and has several returning players. New York also re-signed Mark Herzlich today to add to their defensive second level.

PFR’s No. 11 remaining UFA linebacker, Robinson started six games and played in all of Big Blue’s contests last season, making 79 tackles and seven pass deflections. He started in 21 games for the Redskins in 2014 and ’15.

The Bills could well lose Zach Brown, who’s been a coveted commodity as a UFA after recording 149 stops last year. They still have Preston Brown and 2016 second-rounder Reggie Ragland, who missed all of last season due to injury. The Bills are transitioning back to a 4-3 look after two years in Rex Ryan’s 3-4. Robinson, though, has experience in both, with the Redskins using a 3-4 alignment and the Giants in their traditional 4-3.

Bills Re-Sign KR/PR Brandon Tate

March 20th, 2017 at 2:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills re-signed kick returner/punt returner Brandon Tate, the team announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Brandon Tate (vertical)

Tate, 30 in October, returned 26 punts for 301 yards last season, good for an 11.6 yards per attempt average. He also returned 29 kicks for 662 yards. He had only eight catches (12 targets) as a receiver and he’ll probably do most of his work on special teams once again in 2017. On our most recent edition of the free agent rankings, we had Tate as the No. 14 ranked available wide receiver.

In other Bills news, the rival Dolphins are hosting linebacker Zach Brown on a visit. Also, over the weekend, the Bills signed wide receiver Andre Holmes. Meanwhile, former Bills head coach Rex Ryan will be in the booth instead of on the sidelines in 2017.

Contract Details: Taylor, Cook, Willson

March 19th, 2017 at 11:45am CST by Rory Parks

The latest contract details from around the NFL:

  • Tyrod Taylor, QB (Bills): Taylor earns an additional $500K if the Bills make it to the divisional round of the playoffs in 2017, which becomes $1MM if they advance to the AFC Championship, and $2MM if they advance to the Super Bowl. The same package of incentives applies to 2018 (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
  • Jared Cook, TE (Raiders): Two years, $10.6MM, $1.6MM in incentives (effectively a one-year $5.3MM deal with $800K in incentives) (Twitter link via Ben Volin of The Boston Globe).
  • Luke Willson, TE (Seahawks): One year, $1.8MM, $1MM in incentives (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle).
  • Kayvon Webster, CB (Rams): Two years, $7.75MM. Salaries of $2.75MM (guaranteed), $3MM. $1MM 2017 roster bonus guaranteed, $500K 2018 roster bonus guaranteed. (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Sean Spence, LB (Colts): One year, $2.5MM. $750K signing bonus. $500K in incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
  • Kendall Wright, WR (Bears): One year, $2MM. $250K signing bonus. $2MM in incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).

Bills To Pay Hauschka Nearly $3MM In '17

March 18th, 2017 at 3:07pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • New Bills kicker Steven Hauschka called the Seahawks’ decision to release him and replace him with Blair Walsh an “interesting” one. “I thought it was interesting that direction that they would go in,” Hauschka said, per Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. “But I’m not really concerned about that anymore because my job’s just to go out there and kick and that really doesn’t have anything to do with me now. But, yeah, it was definitely an interesting move.” Hauschka will make $2.6MM from the Bills this season ($1.6MM base/$1MM signing bonus) after collecting $2.7MM from the Seahawks in 2016. Walsh will earn an $800K base and a $300K roster bonus in Seattle.

Bills Sign Andre Holmes

March 18th, 2017 at 1:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

It looks to be the real thing this time. Andre Holmes is signing with the Bills, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The former Raiders wide receiver drew an offer from Buffalo this week, one that was mistaken for an agreement by the NFLPA. The Bills announced the move.

It’s a three-year pact worth $6.5MM, per Rapoport (on Twitter). This proves interesting since the Bills’ leaked offer was for three years and $4.5MM. This stands to provide the Bills a pass-catcher with some experience, albeit with a bit of an inconsistent track record. This appears to conclude an interesting situation, one that revealed the terms of Buffalo’s offer to the sixth-year wide receiver before he actually agreed to terms. Three days later, though, Holmes looks to be on his way to western New York.

The 28-year-old Holmes played the past four seasons as a member of the Raiders, drifting downward in Oakland’s pass-catching pecking order as the team continued to stock its receiving corps. The Raiders re-signed Holmes on a one-year deal last spring but used him as their No. 4 receiver. Previously having accumulated a 693-yard, four-touchdown season on a less talented 2014 Raiders team, Holmes caught just 14 passes for 126 yards while playing behind Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree and Seth Roberts last season. A former UDFA, Holmes did haul in three touchdown passes in 2016.

He actually commanded considerable interest this offseason, with as many as six teams pursuing the UFA wideout. Holmes visited the Lions but opted to sign on with the Bills as one of Sammy Watkins‘ sidekicks.

He joins a Bills team that lost No. 2 man Robert Woods in free agency and saw Percy Harvin retire again. Holmes should have a better path to regular playing time in Buffalo, which added potential supporting-casters Corey Brown and Jeremy Butler this offseason.

Bills Sign Three Free Agents

March 17th, 2017 at 8:30pm CST by Connor J. Byrne
  • The Bills have signed three free agents – cornerback Leonard Johnson, running back Joe Banyard and wide receiver Corey Washington. Johnson easily possesses the most experience of the trio, having appeared in 62 games and started 20 with the Buccaneers, Patriots and Panthers since entering the NFL in 2012. He also has five career interceptions, though none since 2014, and connections to the Bills’ coaching staff. Johnson played under defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier in Tampa Bay in 2014 and head coach Sean McDermott in Carolina last season. Banyard, a five-year veteran of the Vikings and Jaguars, has collected 23 career rushes – 21 of which came in 2014. Washington, meanwhile, hasn’t played in a game since 2014, when the then-Giant totaled the only 14 appearances and five catches of his career. He had a brief stint on the Bills’ practice squad last year.
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