When free agency begins, the Buffalo Bills have 14 pending unrestricted free agents and three restricted to deal with. Since I don’t feel much like writing a long lead-in to an already obvious topic, I’ll jump right into things with a forecast on how things may shake down, who’ll be back and who’s most likely to be playing elsewhere in 2012.
LOCK TO RETURN
Scott Chandler: It makes far too little sense for either side to want to part ways after the season Chandler just had. The Bills finally got solid production out of the tight end spot with Chandler, who caught 38 passes for 389 yards and six touchdowns as he became a go-to guy for Ryan Fitzpatrick. The offense is clearly better with him in the lineup, and I’d be shocked if Buddy Nix didn’t provide fair compensation for his services. Most people, including myself weren’t even sure he’d make the 2011 roster last summer.
Coming & Going: The Bills Free Agent Class – continue reading…
Monday was locker room clean out day for the Buffalo Bills, and most players (no, not Stevie Johnson) made themselves available to the media.
One of them was linebacker Andra Davis, who had quite the interesting second campaign in Buffalo this year. Davis began the season as the starting inside linebacker but was eventually supplanted by rookie Kelvin Sheppard. Ever the class act, Davis never griped or complained publicly. Instead, he worked as hard as possible and perhaps more importantly, served as an outstanding mentor both on and off the field for Sheppard.
The potential unrestricted free agent spoke with reporters about how grateful he is to still be playing in the NFL and made it clear he has no plans to retire at this time.
Andra Davis Has No Plans To Retire – continue reading…
This is hardly an exact science and there’s sure to be at least one or two surprises few if any saw coming, but with the Buffalo Bills preseason slate officially over it’s time to take a stab at projecting the final 53-man roster.
All cuts around the league are due by Saturday afternoon, though some are sure to start leaking out in advance of the cutoff time.
As far as the Bills go, there’s at least a handful of tense decisions to Chan Gailey, Buddy Nix and his staff to make. Based on performance this summer, the roster should be pretty much set in stone. But never an organization that shies away from saving a few bucks, a few surprises could be in store due to player contracts.
Without further ado, here’s my take on what the Bills’ roster will look like come Saturday night.
Bills Final 53-Man Roster Projection – continue reading…
Now that the dust of the 2011 Draft has settled, it’s time to analyze the current state of Buffalo’s roster. We’ll be taking a look at one position at a time. Today: Inside Linebacker.
Buffalo’s inside linebacker corps in 2011 could look drastically different than in 2010. Buffalo’s mainstay at that position – Paul Posluszny – is a free agent. Two other contributors (Akin Ayodele and Keith Ellison) are also free agents. Two draft picks (Kelvin Sheppard and Chris White) were selected to bring some depth to the position. This is definitely a position to watch in the preseason, as it could shake out in many different ways.
Players Under Contract (4): Andra Davis, Reggie Torbor, Kelvin Sheppard, Chris White
Possibly Departing Free Agents (3): Paul Posluszny, Akin Ayodele, Keith Ellison
Buffalo Bills Post-Draft Roster Analysis: Inside Linebacker – continue reading…
No one would blame Buffalo Bills linebacker Andra Davis if he were a tad reluctant to share his knowledge of professional football with a budding rookie who someday, perhaps sooner than later, will take his job. After 10 seasons in the NFL, including missing the final 10 games of last season with a shoulder injury in his first season in Buffalo, Davis is far closer to being out of the league than he is from being in his prime.
Fortunately for Kelvin Sheppard, the consummate team player paying it forward with his know-how and words of wisdom to the Bills third-round rookie linebacker — and he’s glad to do it.
Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News has a tremendous article about Davis and fellow veteran linebacker Reggie Torbor doing all they can to make the pro transition easier for Sheppard. Many Bills veterans convened last week in Elma for player organized workouts and Sheppard was one of three rookies in attendance for team bonding activities along with fellow draft picks Marcell Dareus and Da’Norris Searcy.
Bills’ Linebacker Andra Davis Is A Team Player – continue reading…
You might say it was a case of identity crisis.
Entering the 2010 season with a brand new coaching regime, many Bills players found themselves in alternate roles and with different responsibilities. No unit was more affected than the defensive front seven, as they were informed over the offseason that the team was switching to the illustrious 3-4 scheme under new coordinator George Edwards.
The ambitious move was supposed to signal an end to the Dick Jauron Cover 2, a defensive philosophy that featured a “bend-but-don’t-break” approach to stopping the opposition. With a 3-4 in place, the Bills were finally stylizing themselves after the notorious defenses run by smash mouth juggernauts like Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Bills Linebackers Have Long Way to Go – continue reading…
With the Buffalo Bills and the rest of the NFL simply running through OTA’s, there’s not much to report on, and compelling stories not named Marshawn Lynch and Aaron Schobel are hard to find. It’s only June, but we now know the general outline of what the Bills 2010 roster will look like, and have begun making our own projections and predictions about how they’ll fare when September rolls around.
If you’ve been reading the newspapers and websites all over, you’ve already seen a consensus formed, one that has Buffalo finishing dead-last in their division. On paper the Bills were already behind on talent compared to their rivals, and the AFC East was the NFL hub of free agent moves and trades this offseason.
Sizing Up the AFC East – continue reading…
When the Buffalo Bills hired George Edwards as the team’s new defensive coordinator on February 4, it was announced that the team would be transitioning from the 4-3 zone-style defense implemented by previous head coach Dick Jauron to the 3-4 defense Edwards worked in with Cleveland and Miami. Switching from a defensive system that calls for light, quick personnel to a system that requires big, physical personnel is one of the more challenging transitions an NFL team can make.
After the Bills’ free agent signings of former Ravens DE Dwan Edwards and former Broncos ILB Andra Davis on Tuesday, the team’s 3-4 personnel is starting to take shape nicely.
Bills’ 3-4 coming together, still lacking key personnel – continue reading…
I’m perceived by most as having a rather negative perception of the Buffalo Bills and I’m fine with it. In fact, I think it’s mostly well deserved- but that’s another discussion for another time.
One thing I’ll give myself some credit for is not being afraid to admit when I’m wrong. And after the events that took place at One Bills Drive on Tuesday, I now confess to being wrong about Buddy Nix—and this new front office.
The names of the two latest Bills acquisitions may never appear on a billboard on the thruway but make no mistake about it; the team became a much better defensively in a mere 24 hours.
Nix proves Bills serious about change with deals – continue reading…
The Buffalo Bills have attempted to upgrade their inside linebacking unit by signing free agent Andra Davis to a two year deal.
Josina Anderson, a Denver reporter originally tweeted the news.
Davis had 90 tackles and 3.5 sacks with the Denver Broncos last year.
Many consider Davis’ release from Denver last week one of the league’s more surprising off season moves to this point. Davis was productive in Denver last year with 90 tackles and 3.5 sacks. His addition to Buffalo would solidify the inside linebacker position along with Paul Posluszny and Kawika Mitchell, though there’s a chance the addition of Davis could also mean the departure of the oft-injured Mitchell.
Bills upgrade ILB with signing of Andra Davis – continue reading…
As first reported by Josina Anderson of Fox 31 in Denver, recently released linebacker Andra Davis is in Buffalo to visit the Bills today and according to her report is schedule to take a physical on Tuesday.
Many consider Davis’ release from Denver last week one of the league’s more surprising off season moves to this point. Davis was productive in Denver last year with 90 tackles and 3.5 sacks. His addition to Buffalo would solidify the inside linebacker position along with Paul Posluszny and Kawika Mitchell, though there’s a chance the addition of Davis could also mean the departure of the oft-injured Mitchell.
Davis was originally a fifth round draft choice by Cleveland in 2002. He spent last year with Denver after spending seven seasons with Cleveland.
Davis is the second defensive player the Bills have brought in over the last week. They failed to sign Jimmy Kennedy over the weekend when the defensive tackle decided to re-sign with Minnesota.
