Bills Claim S Trae Elston Off Waivers
Both defensive backs waived by the Browns on Thursday have now been claimed. The Bills have been awarded safety Trae Elston, per a club announcement.
Elston entered the league as a UDFA last year with the Saints. He missed final cuts and went on to have a practice squad stint with the Bucs before joining Cleveland’s active roster. After some roster reshuffling at the end of the year, he wound up signing back with Cleveland as a reserve/futures player before his Thursday release.
The Ole Miss product, known for his hard-hitting style, didn’t suit up for any regular-season games as a rookie.
Bills Notes: Watson, Trubisky, Kouandjio
The Bills will send representatives to Clemson to meet with quarterback Deshaun Watson on Friday, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Bills general manager Doug Whaley is supposedly “in love” with Watson, but there’s a belief that the team’s highest-graded QB prospect is North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com said Thursday on NFL Network (via Conor Orr of NFL.com). The problem for Buffalo, if it looks to draft a first-round passer, is that Trubisky might not be on the board when it’s on the clock at No. 10. Cleveland, which owns the 12th pick, may be angling to move ahead of the Bills to ensure it grabs Trubisky.
- Austin Knoblauch of NFL.com offers more details on a bizarre incident involving Bills offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio this week. Police in Elma, N.Y., responded to a 9:22 a.m. call on Wednesday regarding a suspicious man in a field, which turned out to be a partially undressed Kouandjio. Firefighters then had to administer first aid to Kouandjio for an undisclosed condition. And though Kouandjio screamed “Shoot me!,” he was cooperative with deputies and was not arrested. Kouandjio did go to Erie County Medical Center for further evaluation, however.
Bills Still Mulling Mike Gillislee’s Offer Sheet
It’s widely believed that the Bills will not match Mike Gillislee‘s offer sheet from the Patriots, but no final call has been rendered. Head coach Sean McDermott told reporters today that the team is still in deliberations on the matter. 
[RELATED: Bills’ Kouandjio Involved In Strange Incident]
“Mike’s a good player. We’re in the process of evaluating the offer sheet and we’ll have a decision in a few days,” the coach said (Twitter link via team account).
Earlier this week, the Patriots inked Gillislee to a two-year offer sheet worth $6.4MM over two years. Complicating matters for the Bills is that the deal is worth $3.96875MM in year one (exact figure via Ben Volin of The Boston Globe, via Twitter). That’s less than ideal for the Bills since matching the bid will tack on another $2.2MM for the coming year over his previously scheduled $1.797MM rate. Currently, the Bills have $10.8MM in space but they still have to consider the upcoming draft and filling potential holes in late stage free agency (Twitter link).
If Gillislee is plucked away by the Patriots, the Bills will receive a fifth-round draft choice, per the terms of the original round tender. For another $1MM or so, the Bills could have placed the second-round tender on the promising young running back and likely warded off any suitors. After Gillislee averaged 5.7 yards per carry last season and proved himself a potential successor to LeSean McCoy, that probably would have been the smart play.
Bills’ Kouandjio Involved In Strange Incident
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. 
“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
- 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
- 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
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.
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
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.
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
- 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
- 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.