Bills Fire Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman
After losing to the Jets on Thursday night, the Bills are shaking up their coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman has been fired, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The Bills have appointed Anthony Lynn, their running backs coach, as their new OC (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The Bills have confirmed the news via press release.
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Roman’s firing is a shocker for a number of reasons. Of course, it’s pretty rare that a team will can a coordinator two games into the season. Also, the Bills’ offense wasn’t necessarily the problem in Thursday night’s loss to the rival Jets. The Bills defense was picked apart all night by Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Forte and the shortcomings on D can partially be chalked up to the missing pieces in Buffalo’s front seven. The Bills lost to the Jets 37-31, dropping them to 0-2.
Roman, hired in January of 2015, was the NFL’s highest paid offensive coordinator. The 44-year-old was expected to be the offensive counterbalance to head coach Rex Ryan, but Buffalo apparently wasn’t satisfied with what they’ve seen so far. While the Bills have not been an offensive juggernaut over the last year-and-change, Roman did help mold Tyrod Taylor into one of the league’s more promising quarterbacks. One could also argue that the offense has not been operating at full strength as Sammy Watkins played through injuries last year.
Lynn, meanwhile, is a rising star in coaching circles. This past offseason, Lynn interviewed for a number of other gigs, including the 49ers and Dolphins head coaching jobs. If Lynn can help improve the Bills’ offense, he will be a top candidate for vacancies around the league in the spring.
The Browns, Rams, Buccaneers, and other clubs had interest in hiring Roman prior to the 2015 season, but Buffalo outbid them all. Roman came with the reputation as an offensive guru even though his play-calling was suspect towards the end of his tenure with the Niners.
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Bills Promote Gabe Ikard From Practice Squad
- The Bills promoted offensive lineman Gabe Ikard from their practice squad to their active roster in advance of tonight’s game against the Jets, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter).
Poll: Who Will Win The AFC East?
Of all the NFL’s divisions, the AFC East has offered the least in terms of parity during the 2010s. Every other NFL division has featured at least two teams claiming a title and this one still features a Patriots team that will deploy the Bill Belichick–Tom Brady duo for a large chunk of the season.
[RELATED: PFR’s Impact Rookies Series]
The Patriots have won seven straight AFC East crowns and 13 of the past 16. New England is set to return its 39-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback in Week 5, where he’ll again team with one of the best tight ends in NFL history. Still, Rob Gronkowski has yet to make his 2016 debut yet and the Pats still have questions on defense due to injuries, suspensions, and the trade of Chandler Jones. However, the Jimmy Garoppolo-led outfit still showed enough to beat one of the league’s best teams in Week 1 despite a host of key inactives.
Both the Jets and Dolphins upset the Patriots last season to deprive them of home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs, and each played a returning playoff team close in Week 1. Last season’s second-place finisher, the Jets bring back arguably the best defensive line in football and, after some arduous negotiations, they have Ryan Fitzpatrick back on the other side of the ball.
The most recent non-Patriots division champion (in 2008), the Dolphins continue their first season under offensive wunderkind Adam Gase with a trip to Massachusetts on Sunday. The Fins haven’t made the playoffs since that ’08 campaign but added veterans in Arian Foster and Mario Williams, and drafted once-projected No. 1 pick Laremy Tunsil in Round 1.
Despite finishing with at least eight wins the past two seasons, the Bills own the longest playoff drought in football at 17 years. Their offseason extension for Tyrod Taylor and re-signing of Richie Incognito became overshadowed by a host of suspensions, injuries, and cuts.
So, in advance of the AFC East’s first matchups, who will win the division this season?
Who Will Win The AFC East?
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New England Patriots 76% (1,274)
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New York Jets 14% (240)
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Miami Dolphins 7% (125)
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Buffalo Bills 2% (35)
Total votes: 1,674
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PFR’s Impact Rookies Series
All summer long, longtime scouting consultant Dave-Te Thomas of The NFL Draft Report has been breaking down the draft class of every team in the league and identifying the players that can immediately make a difference. The Impact Rookies series, which wrapped up today with a look at the Seahawks, provides unique insight to this year’s NFL freshman class from a veteran guru who worked closely with several teams around the league leading up to the draft.
Here is the full rundown of the Impact Rookies series:
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/16
Here are Monday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Trevon Hartfield (Twitter link via Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910)
- Cut: QB Aaron Murray
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: OL Chris Martin (Twitter link via agent Brett Tessler)
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: TE Jake Stoneburner (Twitter link via Joel A. Erickson of The Advocate)
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Victor Ochi, WR Wendall Williams
- Cut: RB Raheem Mostert, WR Myles White (via team press release)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Alan Cross (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
Bills Waive Glenn Gronkowski
No more Baby Gronk in Buffalo. Today, the Bills announced that they have released Glenn Gronkowski so that they could welcome veteran Jerome Felton back into the fold. The Bills also signed safety Damian Parms to the practice squad. 
Gronkowski surprised many observers when he edged Felton for the team’s starting fullback job, leaving Felton without an NFL home to start the season. The Bills reportedly liked Gronkowski more than Felton from a pure football standpoint but it may be that the team’s motivation was financial. Buffalo saved $1.55MM by cutting Felton and instead going with Gronkowski, who was earning the league minimum. The Bills are flip-flopping on that today, but Felton has presumably re-signed on a cheaper deal.
If Gronkowski clears waivers, he may be a practice squad candidate for the Bills. For a full view of the Bills’ practice squad and 53-man roster, check out their page on Roster Resource.
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Bills To Re-Sign Jerome Felton
Weeks after cutting him, the Bills have agreed to re-sign Jerome Felton, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Felton was a roster casualty when the Bills trimmed down to a 53-man roster. 
Felton was signed as a free agent last offseason to a four-year pact worth $9.2MM with $4MM guaranteed. Known as a great lead blocker, Felton put himself on the map as he cleared the way for Adrian Peterson in his 2012 MVP campaign. This offseason, however, he found himself leapfrogged by Glenn Gronkowski, a younger and cheaper fullback option.
In other Bills news, we learned today that the team could be without Sammy Watkins for multiple games as the wide receiver is experiencing pain in his surgically-repaired foot.
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Sammy Watkins To Miss Multiple Games?
In the past, Sammy Watkins has managed to play through some serious pain. However, the pain he is now experiencing in his surgically repaired foot could cause him to miss several weeks of action, sources tell Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The good news here, however, is that x-rays did not reveal any new fractures.
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After having a perfect attendance record in his rookie season, Watkins was forced to miss three games in 2016. In the spring, Watkins suffered what was termed as a minor foot fracture and had to have a screw inserted. In his 13-game season, Watkins hauled in 60 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns in his shortened season.
On Sunday, Watkins had four catches for 43 yards in Buffalo’s loss to the Ravens. Losing Watkins for any length of time would be devastating for Buffalo, particularly given the holes they have on the other side of the ball already. It doesn’t help that this is a short week for the Bills as they face off against the rival Jets on Thursday night.
Beyond Watkins, the Bills have Robert Woods, Marquise Goodwin, Greg Salas, Brandon Tate, and Walt Powell at wide receiver. Buffalo also has a pair of receivers on the practice squad in Matt Hazel and Dez Lewis.
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Seantrel Henderson Won't Appeal Suspension
Tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury, did not accompany the Patriots on their trip to Arizona on Friday, reports Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). That means Gronkowski will not play Sunday against the Cardinals, according to Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter). Gronkowski’s absence will leave New England’s offense without its two best players (quarterback Tom Brady is suspended) as the Jimmy Garoppolo-led club goes on the road to face one of the NFL’s premier teams.
More from around the league as the first Sunday of the regular season draws closer:
- Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 32, would like his playing career to last until at least age 40, he told Pete Dougherty of USA Today. “I think it’s more realistic now than it was when I first started playing,” the eight-year veteran said of achieving his goal. “The way the (practice) schedule is now, training camp, the research on nutrition. I think it is possible to play and play well into your 40s.” Only three QBs – Packers legend Brett Favre, Hall of Famer Warren Moon and Vinny Testaverde – have started at least 10 games in their 40s since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, notes Dougherty. Aside from Rodgers, fellow current signal-callers Brady and Drew Brees have also expressed a desire to last that long. As a 39-year-old (40 next August), Brady looks like a shoo-in to accomplish that goal.
- The Eagles’ Darren Sproles will act as more of a receiver than a running back this year, writes Paul Domowitch of Philly.com. Sproles led all running backs in receptions (232) from 2011-13 as a member of the Saints, but he wasn’t as involved in the Eagles’ passing game under now-former head coach Chip Kelly the previous two seasons. Sproles still caught 95 balls, including 55 last year, while combining for 140 carries. As a runner, he’s unlikely to approach last year’s 83-attempt mark in new head coach Doug Pederson‘s offense, per Domowitch, with Ryan Mathews and Kenjon Barner set to receive the bulk of the work. For his part, Sproles is content with taking on more of a pass-catching role. “They’re playing to my strengths,” he said. “I really like this offense.”
- Brian Fettner, the agent for the Bills‘ Seantrel Henderson, explained Friday why he and his client dropped their appeal of the right tackle’s four-game suspension for marijuana use. Fettner stated (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter): “Merciful or not, there is no medical exception that the NFL will accept. It doesn’t matter that Seantrel is battling Crohn’s disease, and has had his intestines outside his body. It doesn’t matter how you take it, if you digest the cannabis, that’s it. And they don’t care. So you can appeal and lose, and push it back, or you can get it over with. Per the negotiated letter of law, it seems like a futile appeal. We don’t want to waste anyone’s time. We want Seantrel back as soon as possible.”
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Bills Promote K Jordan Gay To 53-Man Roster
The Bills will promote kicker Jordan Gay to the 53-man roster, according to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW (on Twitter). A roster spot opened up earlier today when Seantrel Henderson was officially hit with a four-game suspension by the league office. 
Gay, 26, has spent the last two years in Buffalo. With Dan Carpenter there to handle field goals, Gay will likely handle kickoffs if he is active in the next four games. Gay, who has been listed as a punter in the past, has had two stints with the Panthers with a Giants stop in between. The Bills are the only team to put him on the field in the regular season, however.
With Gay on the 53-man roster, the Bills have an open spot on the taxi squad.
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