Bills To Interview Brandon Beane Again
On Monday, Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst became the fourth executive to interview for the Bills’ vacant general manager post, but only one has booked a second meeting with the team. That’s Panthers assistant GM Brandon Beane, who will head back to Buffalo for another sitdown with the club this week, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Beane has emerged as the favorite to land the job, per Schefter, which isn’t surprising when you consider his ties to first-year Bills head coach Sean McDermott. The two are familiar with each other from McDermott’s tenure in Carolina, where he served as the defensive coordinator over the previous six seasons.
Despite his inexperience as a head coach, McDermott has become arguably the most prominent voice in the Bills organization during his first few months in Buffalo. McDermott’s influence at Bills headquarters helped lead to ex-GM Doug Whaley‘s ouster, so Whaley’s successor will clearly have to share power with the coach to some degree.
Along with Gutekunst and Beane, the Bills have met with Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine and Eagles director of college scouting Trey Brown regarding their GM position. As of now now, though, it seems that the job is Beane’s to lose.
Bills Interview Packers’ Brian Gutekunst
The Bills interviewed Packers Director of Player Personnel Brian Gutekunst on Monday (today) for the GM job, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). He now the fourth known candidate for the position. The Bills have since confirmed the news via press release.
Gutekunst has long been considered a top GM candidate and the Packers have not promised him that he will be the successor to Ted Thompson. However, it’s not a given that Gutekunst will leave for the Bills even if he’s offered the gig. This offseason, he was considered to be the favorite for the 49ers’ vacancy before withdrawing his name from consideration. Apparently, he received a new deal from the Packers (read: pay raise) that kept him from leaving.
After coach Sean McDermott effectively ran this year’s draft in Buffalo, it’s not clear if the Bills’ next GM will have final say over the 53-man roster. Gutekunst turned down an opportunity to run things in San Francisco in which he would have ceded some control to Kyle Shanahan, so this position might not suit him either.
So far, the Bills have also interviewed Eagles’ director of college scouting Trey Brown, Panthers executive Brandon Beane, and Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine.
Tre Boston To Visit Three Teams
Tre Boston, who was released by the Panthers last week, has free agent visits lined up with three clubs. The 24-year-old safety (25 in June) tweeted that he visited the Steelers several days ago and plans to meet with the Chargers and Bills shortly.
Boston appeared in 15 games (10 starts) for Carolina last season, and he was projected to return as the team’s starting free safety in 2017. As such, his release came as something of surprise, especially since the Panthers did not select a safety in this year’s draft.
Boston graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 46 safety last season, putting him in a three-way tie with Jairus Byrd and George Iloka. Boston’s coverage grades were not as strong as Byrd’s or Iloka’s, but he made up ground with a better showing in terms of pass rush. Boston’s 78.1 overall score stands as a career high, but he was on roughly the same plane in 2014 and 2015, his first two years in the league (though he started just five regular season games in 2014 and only one in 2015).
It therefore seems as if Boston could be a serviceable starter in the league, or, at the very least, quality depth. He would likely serve as a depth piece with the Steelers, who have Mike Mitchell and Sean Davis penciled in at the starting safety positions. The Chargers selected safeties Rayshawn Jenkins and Desmond King in the middle rounds of last week’s draft, and they do have Dwight Lowery returning, but Lowery did not fare much better than Boston in 2016 in terms of Pro Football Focus’ metrics, and he turned 31 in January (though Lowery was decidedly better in coverage than Boston). Buffalo, meanwhile, signed Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer this offseason to revamp their safety tandem, but Boston could certainly compete with Poyer for the team’s starting free safety job.
Bills Interviewing Trey Brown For GM Gig
There’s a new name to add to the list of Bills general manager candidates. According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the team’s owners will be interviewing Trey Brown, the Eagles’ Director of College Scouting, for the open position today.
After working as a scout with the Patriots for three years, Brown joined the Eagles organization in 2013. Having originally served as the team’s West Coast Area Scout, Brown presumably had a major influence on the team’s selection of Zach Ertz and Matt Barkley. Last offseason, he was promoted to the Director of College Scouting position. Previously, Brown was a standout cornerback at UCLA, and he had a brief stint with the Bears after being signed as an undrafted rookie.
As our own Zach Links previously noted, it’s uncertain how much clout the organization’s next GM will ultimately have. Sean McDermott reportedly had a larger voice in the team’s recent draft than their now-former general manager, Doug Whaley, and it’s uncertain whether the head coach will continue to have a front office presence. Whaley and the entire scouting department were fired last week.
Brown is now the third reported candidate for the open gig. The team reportedly met with Panthers executive Brandon Beane and Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine earlier this week. Panthers director of player personnel Don Gregory is supposedly on the team’s radar, while running back LeSean McCoy has been touting Chiefs co-director of player personnel Brett Veach.
Bills Sign 13 UDFAs
The Bills have signed 13 undrafted free agents. Here’s the full list:
- RB Jordan Johnson (Buffalo)
- G Greg Pyke (Georgia)
- DT Nigel Williams (Virginia Tech)
- TE Keith Towbridge (Louisville)
- G Zach Voytek (New Haven)
- S Jeremy Tyler (West Virginia)
- TE Jason Croom (Tennessee)
- P Austin Rehkow (Idaho)
- S B.T. Sanders (Nicholls State)
- WR Daikiel Shorts (West Virginia)
- DE Marquavius Lewis (South Carolina)
- CB Marcus Sayles (West Georgia)
- WR Brandon Reilly (Nebraska)
The signing of Johnson, a Buffalo product and graduate of nearby Sweet Home High school, should make fans happy. He could perhaps find inspiration in fellow UB running back Branden Oliver who went undrafted out of college but went on to make an impact in the NFL.
The Bills’ roster now stands at 92, so we should see at least a couple of cuts go down shortly.
Latest On Bills’ General Manager Search
Panthers executive Brandon Beane‘s interview for the Bills’ general manager position will take place on Thursday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twittter link).
Beane is one of two known candidates for the Buffalo vacancy, as the club also has plans to meet with Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine on Thursday. Meanwhile, while the Bills haven’t formally requested a meeting with Panthers director of player personnel Don Gregory, he is “on [Buffalo’s] list,” tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, who adds the Bills could look to interview Gregory in the near future.
Running back LeSean McCoy has his own preferred candidate for the GM position, as he took to Twitter on Wednesday to advocate for Chiefs co-director of player personnel Brett Veach for the Bills position. Veach worked for the Eagles when McCoy was drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft, and was in fact pushing for McCoy to be Philadelphia’selection, tweets former NFL scout Dan Hatman. Needless to say, McCoy has no say in the Buffalo search process, and Veach hasn’t been contacted as of yet.
Why The Bills Fired Rex Ryan
The Bills parted ways with Rex Ryan last December in part because of the coach’s declaration that the season was over when the playoffs were still in reach, Albert Breer of The MMQB writes. Ryan was believed to be on the hot seat in Buffalo, but that incident apparently sealed his fate. Months later, the Bills have a new head coach in Sean McDermott and Ryan has a new job as an analyst for ESPN.
Bills To Interview Texans Exec Brian Gaine
Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine will interview for the Bills’ GM job on Thursday, John McClain of The Houston Chronicle tweets. Gaine has Houston’s permission to interview.
[RELATED: Bills Hosting TE Gary Barnidge On Visit]
The Eagles were eyeing Gaine for a high-profile position prior to the 2015 season and the Texans gave him a promotion to keep him from leaving. Since then, Gaine has been linked to a number of GM vacancies. With Rick Smith in charge, Houston might not have a higher title left to keep Gaine from wanting to bolt.
It’s not clear how much say the next GM of the Bills will have over the 53-man roster. New head coach Sean McDermott reportedly wrestled control of the draft away from Doug Whaley and he might not be willing to give up that power.
Gaine is now the second exec scheduled to interview for the opening, following Panthers assistant GM Brandon Beane.
Bills Hosting TE Gary Barnidge On Visit
The Bills are hosting tight end Gary Barnidge on a visit today, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Barnidge was cut by the Browns this week following the selection of Miami tight end David Njoku. 
[RELATED: Bills Decline Sammy Watkins’ Option]
Barnidge broke out with the Browns in 2015 when he recorded 79 receptions and 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns on his way to a Pro Bowl selection. Before fantasy football fanatics learned his name, however, he spent several seasons with the Panthers. His final two years in Carolina overlapped with Sean McDermott‘s first two years as their defensive coordinator, so his shared history with the Bills head coach could lead to a deal.
The Bills currently project to have Charles Clay as their lead tight end. Tight ends Nick O’Leary, Gerald Christian, Logan Thomas, and Blake Annen are also under contract.
Bills Claim CB Charles James
The Bills announced on Tuesday that the team has claimed cornerback Charles James off waivers. James was cut by the Colts on Monday. 
[RELATED: Bills Decline Sammy Watkins’ Option]
James, a 5’9″, 186-pound Charleston Southern product, took the field for 12 of the Giants’ contests as a rookie in 2013 and another 21 with the Texans from 2015-16, including 12 last season. While with Houston, James enjoyed some celebrity as the standout star of 2015’s “Hard Knocks.” The hard knocks of the league have caused him to bounce around a bit, but he’ll look to stick with Buffalo.
The Bills added another veteran corner this week with the signing of Shareece Wright.