Bills Notes: Scouting Staff, Taylor
- The Bills made a few changes to their scouting staff Friday, most notably hiring former Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey as a senior college scout, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Hickey only lasted as Miami’s GM from 2014-15, but he previously worked in a scouting capacity for several years in Tampa Bay. Along with Hickey, the Bills added scouts Gerald Dixon, Doug Majeski and Brian Fisher, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The team dismissed all three last month, but they’ll return in newly hired GM Brandon Beane‘s front office.
- Speaking of the Bills, quarterback Tyrod Taylor has gotten off to a nice start in OTAs in new offensive coordinator Rick Dennison‘s system, says James Palmer of NFL Network (video link). Taylor is familiar with both Dennison and the Gary Kubiak-created system the Bills are using, as the passer studied it in Baltimore as Joe Flacco‘s backup from 2011-14 (Dennison was the Ravens’ QBs coach in 2014). Moreover, Kubiak has always regarded Taylor as a good fit for the system, per Palmer. That could bode well for Taylor as he enters a crucial season in Buffalo, which will have the opportunity to easily escape his contract next winter.
Bills Sign Second-Rounder Dion Dawkins
- A day after inking their top two picks to contracts, the Bills have signed their third selection, second-round offensive lineman Dion Dawkins (No. 63 overall). The former Temple Owl should be a factor on the right side of the Bills’ offensive line in 2017, perhaps as a Day 1 starter at tackle, after the team traded up to land him. The Bills’ veteran options at right tackle, Jordan Mills, Cyrus Kouandjio and Seantrel Henderson, have failed to impress on the field. Further, both Kouandjio and Henderson have dealt with off-field issues. Henderson will miss the first five games of the year on account of a suspension.
Bills Add Lake Dawson To Front Office
- The Bills, continuing to reshuffle their front office, have announced the hiring of Lake Dawson as their assistant director of college scouting. Formerly with the Titans and Browns, Dawson joins Gaine, Joe Schoen and Malik Boyd as additions the Bills have made to their front office since naming Brandon Beane their general manager last week. Dawson was a wide receiver with the Chiefs from 1994-97.
Bills Sign Second-Round WR Zay Jones
- The Bills have signed second-round wide receiver Zay Jones, who’s the fourth of their six draft picks to ink his rookie deal. Jones caught an FBS-record 399 passes, including a ridiculous 158 last season, in four years at East Carolina. That production helped lead the Bills to trade up for Jones, who should be the wideout-needy club’s No. 2 WR after Sammy Watkins in 2017. Jones is now dealing with a knee injury, according to ESPN’s Mike Rodak, though it doesn’t seem particularly serious.
Bills Sign Rookie CB Tre’Davious White
The Bills have signed first-round pick Tre’Davious White, according to a team announcement. Per the terms of his slot, his four-year deal will be worth $10.1MM, including a $5.48MM signing bonus. As a first-round pick, the Bills will also reserve the right to tack a fifth year on to his contract down the line.
The Bills entered the draft with the No. 10 pick but moved down to the No. 27 pick after the Chiefs offered up their No. 27 overall pick, a third-round pick, and their 2018 first-round selection. With that No. 27 pick, the Bills selected White, a player that they hope can immediately step into a primetime role.
Buffalo allowed Stephon Gilmore to leave in free agency this year and the release of slot specialist Nickell Robey-Coleman thinned things out further. Now, White and 2015 draft pick Ronald Darby project as the starting corners with something of a ragtag bunch behind them.
In his final year at LSU, White had 35 total tackles (including four tackles for a loss) and two interceptions. The rap on White is that he’s not an overly aggressive tackler, though his coverage skills should allow him to succeed at the next level.
Bills Hire Malik Boyd
- The Bills have hired Malik Boyd as their new director of pro personnel, the club announced today. General manager Brandon Beane has worked quickly to revamp Buffalo’s front office, as he’s hired former Texans executive Brian Gaine and former Dolphins staffer Joe Schoen this week. Boyd, meanwhile, has worked for the Cardinals for the past 12 years, and spent the past three season as Arizona’s assistant director of pro scouting. He’s also spent time with the Colts, had a three-year career as an NFL defensive back.
Brian Gaine's Bills Duties Emerge
- In moving from the Texans to the Bills, Brian Gaine made a lateral move in Brandon Beane‘s eyes. As Bills VP of player personnel, Gaine will oversee the Bills’ pro and college scouting departments while reporting directly to Beane, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports. Beane, of course, beat out Gaine for the Buffalo GM job. But the New York native saw enough in the Bills’ offer to move over from a similar job with what’s been a more successful franchise to the franchise with the longest active postseason drought among American major pro sports teams.
Minor AFC Transactions: 5/15/17
Teams are doing lots of spring cleaning today, so we’ll split the moves into two separate posts for each conference. First up, the AFC:
- The Raiders announced the signing of safety Marcus McWilson. A Kentucky product, McWilson played in 13 games for the Wildcats in 2016, racking up 108 tackles (4.5 for loss) and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown.
- Following suit on a busy transaction day for fringe roster cogs, the Ravens added four UDFAs to their offseason roster. Baltimore added linebacker Randy Allen (South Alabama), wide receiver Aaron Bailey (Northern Iowa), defensive back Jaylen Hill (Jacksonville State) and tackle Roubbens Joseph (Buffalo), Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.
- The Browns signed defensive backs Donte Carey and Najee Murray. Both players participated in the team’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. To make room, the team waived offensive lineman Josh Boutte.
- The Titans signed defensive lineman Jimmy Staten, a fifth-round draft pick by Seattle in 2014. In addition to Staten, they inked defensive lineman Cameron Robbins (Northwestern), linebacker Johnny Ragin (Oregon), cornerback Trevon Hartfield (Southwestern Oklahoma State), and kicker Jordan Gay (Centre). Staten, Robbins, Ragin and Hartfield all took part in the team’s rookie minicamp. To make space, the Titans waived defensive lineman Roderick Henderson and linebacker Reshard Cliett.
- The Jets announced the signing of linebacker Jevaris Jones and released fellow linebacker Austin Calitro.
- The Colts signed free agent guard Blake Muir and four undrafted free agents: cornerback Dante Blackmon, safety Tyson Graham, wide receiver Al-Damion Riles, and offensive tackle Andrew Wylie. To make room for the new players, the team parted ways with center/guard Austin Blythe (a 2016 seventh-round pick) and cornerback Frankie Williams. The Colts also waived three 2017 UDFAs: wide receiver Jerome Lane, cornerback Chris Lyles, and guard Chris Muller.
- The Bills have signed linebackers Abner Logan and Anthony Harrell while waiving safety Jeremy Tyler and linebacker Junior Sylvestre.
Bills Hire Brian Gaine Away From Texans
The Bills have hired Brian Gaine away from the Texans. Buffalo announced that Gaine is coming aboard as the new VP of Player Personnel.
The move will sting for the Texans as Gaine was one of GM Rick Smith‘s top assistants. At the same time, Gaine has received serious consideration for GM jobs in the past, including the Bills during this cycle, so they have been bracing for this day. Brandon Beane, the newly appointed GM in Buffalo, says he is excited to work with Gaine as a talent evaluator.
“It’s generally a pretty lateral move, but Brian was excited about building this and starting this,” Beane said in a press release. “I think partnering with me and [assistant G.M. Joe Schoen] was attractive. I know Brian and who he is to the core and trust that he’s going to be a big time asset.”
Because this was something of a “lateral move,” as Beane phrased it, the Texans were not contractually obligated to let Gaine out of his contract. However, he has family in New York and he preferred the opportunity in Buffalo to what he had in front of him in Houston.
The Bills, 49ers, Eagles, Bears, and Jets all interviewed Gaine for GM openings in recent years. Even though he’ll be joining up with Beane’s operation for 2017, we can probably expect him to get some GM attention next offseason if things go well.
East Rumors: Brady, Patriots, Bills, Taylor
Recently, Tom Brady was asked if he is annoyed that Bill Belichick hasn’t traded Jimmy Garoppolo and his non-answer might raise some eyebrows.
“When you’re a member of a team sport, the best guy plays,” the Patriots quarterback told Ian O’Connor of ESPN.com. “So I always want to make sure I’m the best guy, and I give our team a great chance to win. But if you’re ever not [the best guy], part of being a great teammate is letting the other guy do that, as well. Competition is what has always driven me. I’ve never been one that was hand selected, to be this particular player. … In high school, college, professionally, I think the greater the competition, the more that it really allows me to dig deep and bring the best out of me.”
Of course, this is a far cry from Brady saying that he’s peeved at the team for not trading the backup QB, but he didn’t shoot the notion down when given the opportunity either. The Patriots were at least mulling a Garoppolo trade at some point this offseason, but it seems that they set an extremely high asking price because they ultimately did not want to part with him.
Here’s more from the AFC and NFC East:
- In an interview on Monday, Bills GM Brandon Beane said Tyrod Taylor will probably be the team’s starting QB, but he cautioned that he’s “not in business of handing out jobs on May the 15th,” (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak).
- Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas cleared a giant hurdle this weekend when the team declined to sign veteran Travis Coons after a weekend tryout. “I try not to focus on the competition,” Rosas told James Kratch of NJ.com. “I just try to focus on how I can improve myself and be the best specialist I can be.” For now, Rosas stands as the only kicker on the team’s roster.
- The Jets auditioned running back Stevan Ridley last week.