Bills DT Marcell Dareus Could Play This Week
Bills head coach Rex Ryan told reporters it “looks like there’s a chance” defensive tackle Marcell Dareus makes his season debut on Sunday against the Patriots, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Dareus has yet to play in 2016 due to a four-game suspension and hamstring issues.
[RELATED: Latest On Bills’ Aaron Williams]
In August, Dareus was handed his second suspension in as many years, though his ban in 2015 only lasted one game. After the league handed him his latest ban, the 26-year-old claimed it was the result of a missed drug test. Dareus also declared he’d check into rehab. Neither of those statements proved true, however, as later reports indicated that Dareus did not miss a test — he instead violated the league’s drug program multiple times dating back to his one-game suspension last year. And, in lieu of rehab, Dareus received treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Dareus, would immediately upgrade a Buffalo defense that currently ranks 16th in DVOA, per Football Outsiders. An All Pro in 2014 and a two-time Pro Bowler, Dareus will take snaps from incumbent nose tackle Corbin Bryant, who’s been filling in while Dareus has been sidelined. Though 3-4 nose guards don’t typically rack up impressive statistics, Dareus has averaged six sacks per season over his five-year career, and is also an impressive run defender.
Latest On Bills Safety Aaron Williams
Bills safety Aaron Williams will wait until the offseason before making a decision on the future of his NFL career, Williams’ father tells John Wawrow of the Associated Press. Williams suffered a neck injury after taking a vicious hit from Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry in Sunday’s game (which can be viewed here). Landry was fined nearly $25K for the hit.
[RELATED: Buffalo Bills Depth Chart]
Retirement hasn’t yet been brought up in discussions with Williams, according to his father, but the defensive back plans to revisit the subject with his entire family later this year. The injury is doubly worrisome given that Williams suffered a severe neck ailment in 2015 that cost him 11 games and forced him to consider retirement. This time around, Bills head coach Rex Ryan admitted that Williams is facing “long-term concerns,” but deemed him week-to-week, according to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com.
Williams, 26, is in the midst of his sixth NFL season, all of which have been spent with the Bills. He’s been a starter for the majority of his career in Buffalo, posting seven interceptions and 183 tackles through 59 games. Having agreed to an extension in 2014, Williams is signed through the 2018 campaign, with cap hits north of $6MM in each of the next two seasons.
Williams, unsurprisingly, is unlikely to play on Sunday when the Bills face the Patriots. Buffalo has other options at safety that can fill in while Williams is sidelined, including Robert Blanton, Duke Williams, and Jonathan Meeks.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/27/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: T Michael Ola
- Cut: T Will Poehls
Green Bay Packers
- Cut: CB Keith Baxter
Houston Texans
- Signed: G Josh Walker
- Cut: T Joseph Cheek
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: RB Zac Brooks
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Chris McCain
Bills Audition Sean Renfree
- Quarterback Sean Renfree and wide receiver R.J. Harris each tried out for the Bills today, tweets Howard Balzer (Twitter link).
Bills Promote Ed Eagan
- The Bills have promoted wide receiver Ed Eagan to the active roster. In a corresponding move, offensive lineman Michael Ola has been waived. Buffalo was in dire need of pass-catching help as both Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin are dealing with injuries.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Chris Hubert
- Cut: OT Martin Wallace
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Dobson Collins
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Gerald Christian, WR Mose Frazier, CB Joe Powell
- Cut: WR Corey Washington
Cleveland Browns
- Cut: OL Mike Liedtke
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OT Matt Rotheram
- Cut: RB Mike James
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: CB Keith Baxter
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: S Doran Grant (Twitter link via Howard Balzer), DT Louis Nix
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Bobby Richardson
- Cut: LB Deion Barnes
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DT Sterling Bailey, OT Austin Shepherd, DB Cedric Thompson
- Cut: TE Kyle Carter, TE Brian Leonhardt, QB Joel Stave
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Shamiel Gary, DT Anthony Johnson (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Reshard Cliett (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OT Keavon Milton
- Cut: TE Rashaun Allen
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: RB Zac Brooks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Donteea Dye
Washington Redskins
- Signed: WR Matt Hazel
Latest On LeSean McCoy
After Bills running back LeSean McCoy aggravated his hamstring on Sunday, one source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter) he’ll “be [in the] same position this week, probably questionable” for this Sunday. After falling 28-25 to Miami, the Bills return home to take on the New England. Given his past hamstring issues and his importance to the team, one has to wonder why the Bills aren’t putting him on the shelf and starting Mike Gillislee instead.
Browns Make Handful Of Moves
The Browns have claimed quarterback Joe Callahan off waivers from the Saints and center Gabe Ikard off waivers from the Bills, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. To make room for those two, the Browns have waived fullback Malcolm Johnson and defensive back Darius Hillary.
Callahan, an undrafted rookie from Division III Wesley, will now join his third team this month. The Packers previously cut Callahan on Oct. 13, paving the way for the Saints to add him for what amounted to a short-lived stint in New Orleans. The way things have gone under center this year for Cleveland, he could end up on the field at some point.
Injuries have forced the Browns to shuffle through five quarterbacks, the latest being fifth-round rookie Kevin Hogan. He debuted in the Browns’ 31-17 loss to the Bengals on Sunday after fellow rookie Cody Kessler departed with a concussion. Kessler is currently in the NFL’s concussion protocol, meaning it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to play against the Jets on Sunday. Josh McCown, who has missed most of the season with a broken collarbone, could return this week. However, if he and Kessler are out, Hogan and Callahan would be the Browns’ top two signal-callers.
Johnson, whom the Browns chose in the sixth round of last year’s draft, was active for their first seven games this season and picked up one start. He also notched five receptions.
LeSean McCoy Timetable In Question
- The initial plan for LeSean McCoy was to miss Sunday’s Bills-Dolphins game, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. Anderson initially reported McCoy was facing a potential multi-game absence, but the Bills’ top ball-carrying weapon said postgame he felt fine during pregame warmups, per Josh Alper of PFT. Rex Ryan added he wouldn’t have put McCoy out there if he wasn’t 100 percent, though McCoy leaving the game early could delay his timetable and place his status for next week’s key Patriots tilt in question. Shady characterized the injury as minor, but hamstring maladies are particularly troublesome for skill-position talents.
LeSean McCoy To See Limited Role?
LeSean McCoy‘s status has vacillated from missing multiple weeks to being back in the Bills’ lineup Sunday. The hamstring injury the standout ball-carrier sustained this week did not stop him from traveling with the Bills to Miami and could be mild enough to allow the seventh-year running back to have a role in Week 7, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).
Signs are pointing for McCoy to play in a limited capacity against the Dolphins, per La Canfora, with Mike Gillislee in that case seeing his role expand. Shady is expected to be active for the game, La Canfora notes.
Both are running well on a per-carry basis for a rejuvenated Buffalo outfit, but Shady has amassed 100-plus rushing yards in three of the four games since Anthony Lynn replaced Greg Roman as the Bills’ OC.
We heard earlier this week McCoy could be facing a multi-week absence because of the hamstring setback, so expecting a full workload from the darkhorse MVP candidate might be a stretch. Despite the danger of hamstring injuries on skill-position players, and McCoy’s own history with this type of injury, the Bills did not make a move to add a running back this week. The Bills have Reggie Bush and Jonathan Williams behind Gillislee if McCoy can’t go.
Having rushed for 587 yards (5.6 per carry) this season, McCoy is on pace for his fifth 1,000-yard campaign. He only gained 895 on the ground in his 2015 Bills debut. He missed time in ’15 due to a hamstring ailment, which could induce the Bills to play it safe with their cornerstone offensive threat. But it’s shaping up as a true game-time decision in advance of the 1 p.m. tilt.